Gaming PC Building: Everything You Should Know

So you want to get a new gaming PC but do not know where to start? That is completely fine – building a PC can be an arduous task – especially for newcomers. 

You need to pay attention to many things when making a new gaming rig, and it is easy to overlook essential aspects when you are just starting out. Lucky for you, I have built a ton of gaming machines! 

And with that, let’s get into all the essential bits you should know about when building a new gaming PC!

Budgeting

The first part of creating a new gaming rig comes much earlier than the actual creation process. Before you start focusing on and buying each component, reflect upon your budget. 

High-end gaming rigs can cost an eye-watering amount of money. Ideally, it would be best to have a good idea of your buying power and the spending limit for your rig before you move further on. 

This will help you not only understand the extent to what hit your bank account will take, but it is also incredibly helpful in determining the items you should purchase. For example, if you have a medium-level budget, throwing all your money away on a new RTX 4080 graphics card would not be wise.

About the card: The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4080 Gaming OC 16G Graphics Card is a high-performance GPU that offers up to 2x performance and power efficiency with NVIDIA Ada Lovelace Streaming Multiprocessors, 4th Generation Tensor Cores, and 3rd Generation RT Cores. The card is powered by GeForce RTX 4080 16GB integrated with 16GB GDDR6X 256-bit memory interface and features WINDFORCE Cooling System, RGB Fusion, Dual BIOS, Protection metal backplate, and Anti-sag bracket. The card is designed to bring stunning visuals, fast frame rates, and AI acceleration to games and creative applications. The product has received a 4.7 out of 5 rating from 90 customer reviews and is ranked #54 in Computer Graphics Cards on Amazon.

Instead, you would be looking to purchase mid-end cards like a GTX 1060 and spend the leftover money elsewhere! 

Additionally, you should also reflect on your priorities during the budgeting phase. You are building a gaming PC, so you should be focusing more on items like Graphic Cards, RAMs, SSDs, and the like. 

In short, think carefully about how much you want to spend and where you want to spend it. 

PC Components

Now that you have planned out your budget, it is time to move on to the creation process. For your Gaming PC, you will need to focus on several components – some more than others. 

Below is a rundown of important information regarding the electronic equipment you should focus on for your new gaming rig!

Graphics Card

Since we are trying to build a gaming PC here, having a high budget for the GPU only makes sense. Of course, this does not mean that you go all out on the card – it is important to spread out your budget. 

Going cheap on your GPU can really deteriorate the overall performance of your machine in terms of Gaming. The card that you purchase should depend upon your requirements.

You will need a mighty card if you are looking to play high-end modern games like The Last of Us Remake, Resident Evil 4, Red Dead Redemption, and the like. Something like an RTX 4080 or AMD Radeon RX 7900 would be recommended in this case. 

However, it is safe to assume that most gamers do not have that kind of a budget! Considering a mid-level budget, opting for GPUs such as the GTX 1660 or Radeon RX 590 is best. Not only are these much more affordable, they have a ton of longevity and are surprisingly powerful! 

RAM

The RAM sticks you go for are also critical to gaming performance. Generally speaking, anything below 8 GB of RAM will undoubtedly cause constant lag and stuttering with modern games. 

Take it from someone who was stuck with 8 GB RAM for a while – it is super annoying to work with. If you want a buffer-free experience – opt for at least 16 GB of RAM. Something like the Corsair Vengeance LPX would be perfect!

You could go for 32 GBs worth of RAM if you have a higher budget. That said, this is generally quite a large amount of RAM memory, which probably would not be utilized all that much – but it would future-proof you for the next couple of years. 

Additionally, be sure to take into account the generation of memory and speed you are getting. Aim for anything above DDR4 RAM with at least 3000+ MHz speeds as a ballpark figure. 

SSDs and Storage

SSDs are absolute godsends. If you want a good gaming experience, invest in a good SSD. Obviously, you will need them for storage, but the high speeds of SSDs mean short loading times – very, very short loading times. 

You will especially feel the speed difference if you are recently shifting from an HDD to an SSD. Nowadays SSDs have become significantly cheaper. It is completely understandable if you do not want to purchase a huge-sized SSD with multiple Terabytes of storage. 

Here is a tip if you want to remain cost-effective and still need a bang for your buck – purchase a mid-sized (256 GB) SSD, and couple it with a large-size HDD. Now, store all your games on the HDD, and each time you want to play something – move it to the SSD.

This way, you would not run out of space, will save up a bit of money, and still enjoy all the perks of having a high-speed SSD! For buying options, I have generally had good experiences with drives like the SAMSUNG 980 PRO. For Hard Drives, on the other hand, I prefer options like Seagate’s BarraCuda!

Power Supply & Motherboard

Often overlooked components, the Motherboard and PSU are the soul of a gaming PC! It is unfortunate how often these parts can be neglected – which can cause some severe issues in the long run!

For example, a good gaming rig with a poor power supply will cause heating issues and significantly decrease your machine’s performance and the overall life of other PC components. Likewise, an inefficient Motherboard will be detrimental to your entire setup.

I recommend a Motherboard similar to the Gigabyte Z690 AORUS to ensure good connectivity and compatibility with all components. This might seem a little expensive – but it is completely worth it. If you want to go for a cheaper option, though, Gigabyte’s B660M is also an excellent one!

Cases & Peripherals 

When you are building a gaming PC, you will obviously need to spend a little on aesthetics. Even if you do not go for high-end RGB lighting and everything, it is still an excellent addition to have a good-looking case for your machine.

Cases not only help make your machine look better – good ones can help protect your components from significant damage. Of course, this is something that should be last on your budget list since it does not directly affect overall performance. 

My personal favorite is the Phanteks Eclipse G360A. It has all the features that make for a good gaming case and is also exceptionally elegant!

Last on the list for components are gaming peripherals! I will not go long about this because the list can be pretty extensive – but the central part is that you will need a gaming keyboard, mouse, and headset!

The first two are subjective, but having a gaming headset requires a good amount of research. Lucky for you, I have already written out everything you need to know when buying a good gaming headset!

Future-Proofing

I have essentially covered everything you need to know about building a gaming PC, but as one final tip, I would advise you to focus a bit on future-proofing. 

When you are building a new PC, investing in components that have greater longevity is an intelligent decision. It would be a shame to make an expensive PC only to realize that it would become outdated after a year or so. Whenever you have the option, invest in high-quality and durable components. 

Additionally, always try to get upgradable components. For example, a Motherboard with RAMs pre-installed could be soldered onto it. In that case, you will not ever be able to increase your RAM capacity and instead would have to substitute the entire Motherboard!

In short, always opt for parts that will help you future-proof yourself.