How I Plan a Gaming PC Build
166There are lots of right (and wrong!) ways to plan a gaming PC build. In this video I discuss a flowchart that outlines how I like to do it.
Here is a rough outline of what I discuss in the video:
1. Monitor resolution and framerate will guide the whole process and budget!
4K gaming is still very expensive
1440p is the sweet spot if budget allows
1080p if limited budget
Other considerations: freesync/gsync, high refresh rate, ultrawide, color accuracy, image ghosting, contrast, HDR, etc
2. GPU
Look up reviews at your target resolution and framerate
Revise budget or monitor target as needed
Most important part of a gaming build
3. PSU
Good quality brand or you may destroy your PC!
Watts greater than or equal to recommendation for GPU
4. CPU
Second most important part of a gaming build
Past 6 cores gaming gain is minimal, but helps with streaming, video editing etc
Speed matters, but is contained by GPU (fastest CPU vs Midrange CPU might perform identically in games if the GPU is the limiting factor)
Some need a cooler, some come with one- easy to overspend on CPU cooler
5. Motherboard
Must be compatible with CPU
Check it has all the connections you need (USB, wifi, etc)
Doesn’t have much direct impact on gaming performance beyond allowing overclocking headroom
Easy to overspend
6. RAM
2 sticks is better than 1 (allows dual channel)
Speed matters (moreso on Ryzen) but don’t overspend this will matter a lot less than GPU and CPU to overall gaming performance
Over 16GB won’t help much in gaming
7. Storage
Get an SSD big enough for at least your operating system and frequently used programs.
Read reviews!
Faster can be good, but if budget is limited don’t overspend
Consider adding more at a later date if needed
HDD can be used for extra storage
8. Case
Check it fits CPU cooler and GPU
Check airflow reviews
Aesthetics- do you want a window to see your parts? Or just get a nice looking case and not worry about the interior of your PC
9. Check compatibility and get feedback
PC partpicker
Online forums and subreddits
Take online feedback with a grain of salt
10. Revise parts if over budget (parts listed below in order of least to greatest impact on gaming performance)
Case
Storage
Motherboard
CPU Cooler
GPU Cooler Model
RAM speed
CPU cores (although going below 6 or especially below 4 could have a big impact in certain games)
CPU speed (for example dropping a 6 core Ryzen 5600x to a 6 Core Ryzen 3600 will have 20% gaming performance decrease theoretically, but that might not actually happen in games that are limited by your GPU)
GPU speed (actually dropping to a lower end GPU will have the biggest effect on your gaming performance)
May need to go back to step 1 and target a different monitor resolution if you can’t get in budget. Could also consider getting used parts.
If you revise your build, consider repeating step 9
11. Buy the parts
Buying all at once will avoid parts getting outdated before you have a complete build especially if you are waiting on multiple parts to have stock available
Consider the return policies available from the stores you buy from
12. Watch/read lots of build guides
13. Your parts manuals should be your main resource when actually building