So, you want to build yourself a PC. First off, congratulations! This is the way! But secondly, how? How does one go from deciding to build a PC, to having one running on your desk to game on? Well, if this is you, then this is perfect post! Here are all the steps you need to take before starting your PC Build.
1. Money, money, money
Having a good think about what you are prepared to spend is the best first step to take when researching building your PC. When building yourself you’ll need to factor in the costs of the case, CPU, GPU, PSU, Motherboard, storage, and RAM. But that isn’t where it ends. You also need to think about monitors, peripherals and even a Windows Key might cut into your budget. Breaking down how much you want to spend here is a great way to start considering the parts to look at.
2. The 90/10 rule
The second major step is thinking about what you will be doing with the PC 90% of the time. Are you a major FPS competitive gamer, who needs every frame possible? Or more of an open world explorer, far more concerned with getting the best graphics rendering? Or perhaps you aren’t a gamer at all and want it predominately to use the Adobe sweet. Whatever you will be doing with your PC 90% of the time, is a huge factor for what hardware you want to go with and can also save you a lot of cash too. After all, if you are just planning on playing Roblox in your browser, having the latest and greatest GPU just isn’t necessary – well, unless you just want to show off.
3. Read up, chuck!
If leading up to buying your PC hardware you aren’t just overflowing your Google History with multiple searches of all your parts, then you’re doing it wrong. Please do yourself a favour and don’t just buy the cheapest or most expensive item without properly looking into it. Say you’ve elected to go with a 3070 Graphics card, there are SO many options for that from different brands. Make sure you do your reading, check reviews, YouTube videos – scour the entire internet for as much information that you can find. There is nothing worse than spending money and waiting on a part only to install it and find out it was not even remotely the right one for you – or worst, it’s just completely busted, and you neglected to check the dozens of bad reviews first before adding to card.
4. Extras, extras, you gotta think about it!
Before finalizing the parts list, double check you’ve covered it all. There are lots of little minor things that can really screw you over if you haven’t thought about it. For example, did you know that not every PC can support Wi-Fi? Unlike gaming laptops or consoles, PCs don’t inherently have Wi-Fi in built, often retuning you to purchase a motherboard that supports it. If you forget to factor this in, you might find yourself having to run the worlds longest Ethernet cable through your entire house. Another major thing to keep in mind, is things like PSU wattage, compatible ports (not all motherboards or cases can support USB C for example), and any other quality of life extras worth considering. Its well worth takin the time to check all this before digging your hands into your wallet.
5. Pop your Parts in PC Part Picker, please
The last of the major steps you need to take before starting your PC Build, is to pop everything into PC Part Picker. This website is honestly, the holy grail when it comes to planning your PC build, as is well worth familiarising yourself with. This website has access to thousands of parts from all sorts of brands that you can pop together. It also tells you things like your estimated wattage needs, as well as flagging any potential issues with your hardware sizes for example. Lastly, it does give you rough idea of your parts cost, but I would also recommend doing some price hunting yourself as PC Part Picker does have a limited range with some prices.
So, now that you’ve made it through all these steps, you officially have permission to go buy your parts. But next comes the big step, building!
Do you think I missed any steps you need to take before starting your PC Build? Share them in the comments below to help your fellow builders out there! Also, remember to check out the rest of our Tech posts here, or head over to our YouTube channel for more awesome content from us!
