How To Build A Gaming PC In 2018 – A Beginner’s Guide

As a beginner building a gaming rig can be really confusing, and investing in the wrong bit can be a costly mistake in these financially tricky times. But that is where we come in. We have prepared a step by step guide to help you build a killer gaming PC that will cope with the latest AAA titles for at least two years without costing you a fortune.

Before buying any hardware you will first need to check the compatibility between the components so take your time and do your search in the selection process to avoid any compatibility issue. You can find the all the guidelines and compatibility resources on the manufacturers’ website.

Now let’s take talk about the typical hardware components that you will be needing to craft your own gaming beast:

1.  CPU/Processor
2. Motherboard
3. Memory (RAM)
4. Graphics processing unit (GPU)/ Graphics Card
5. Storage, hard disk drive (HDD), solid-state drive (SSD)
6. Power Supply Unit (PSU)
7. Case

• Central processing unit (CPU):

The very first part that you should think about is the processor, here you will find two brands to choose from: Intel and AMD. The Intel chips are well-known in the market to offer the best performance but are often overpriced. AMD on the other hand shines at the budget end, it provides almost similar or sometimes even better performance at the same price as Intel. Most games are not CPU intensive so if invest in powerful GPU it is going to last you several years. For our budget friendly build, we are going with the mid-range Intel Core i5 6600 which is part of Intel’s latest line of CPUs and offers really impressive performance.

• Motherboard:

Once you have decided which CPU to buy you will have to look for a motherboard with the specific socket type that you CPU will require. For Example; in this build we have socket type LGA 1151 so we have decided to go with the MSI H110M which is a pretty solid and inexpensive mother that is compatible with our Intel Core i5 6600 CPU.

You don’t need to go crazy with motherboards as most of the expensive ones come with redundant features that you will not be needing. Just go with a budget-friendly motherboard as they do not make any difference in the actual performance and save some bucks for other components.

• Memory (RAM):

Next up you will need system memory (RAM) this is where your computer holds the current application running. You will at least need 12 Gigs of RAM to run the modern games smoothly. Our MSI motherboard supports the latest generation of DDR4 memory so we have decided to pick two sticks of 8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX RAM. The !6 GB RAM is the best choice for mid-range PC builds as it will provide with smooth gameplay at high settings.

Graphics processing unit (GPU)/ Graphics Card:

A graphics card is the most essential and expensive component in a gaming rig as it is responsible for all the graphic-intensive tasks. You will need to invest in a powerful and expensive graphics card if you want to get high FPS at max settings.

We would recommend you to go with Nvidia Geforce GTX 1070 or 1070Ti if you have a good budget but if but if you are looking for a budget-friendly card then Nvidia Geforce GTX 1050Ti would be the right way to go.  One thing that you must know that finding a decent graphics card at a reasonable price is really difficult these days as the prices of GPUs have nearly doubled all thanks to cryptocurrency mining.

• Storage:

If you want great performance from your PC then don’t settle down for anything less than an SSD. You can opt for an HDD for a secondary storage as they provide great capacity at a cheap price but you primary boot up storage device should be an SSD as they offer really great and impressive speed boost compared to a regular hard drive. In present time you will at least need a 250 GB SSD run everything smoothly.

• Power Supply Unit (PSU):

You will need a good PSU to pump that electricity to all your components. Never go for a cheap power supply just to save some money cause you might end up frying your PC’s part which will cost you even more. We have decided to go with Corsair power supply with an 80+ bronze rating which is pretty sufficient for this build.

• Case:

The case is the least important part of a gaming rig as it would not going affect the performance. The case design and the cost is totally your choice. Just make sure that it has good ventilation to keep your PC cool. You will also need to consider the size of your motherboard so that it can fit in your case.

So this was our step by step guide on how to build a gaming PC in 2018. If you have any queries then make sure to drop down a comment below.