Question Fundamental tips to build or buy a gaming PC

[luke514_]

I would like to play games like total war, bannerlord 2 etc. and I need to buy (or build) a pc.

For my current budget, it would be better to buy a used pre-built gaming pc (and in the future build one) but I don't know how or "check" if it is "built" correctly or not.
Specifically, I would like to have a comprehensive guide (also send links if it already exists) to help me choose the "main" parts:

• GPU
• CPU
• RAM
• power supply
• cooling

What I would like to know is how to choose these components so that they are in “tune” with each other!

For example, I expect you to tell me, "gpu and cpu must not create a bottleneck.." or "RAM frequency must be.." or "is it possible to increase the RAM with this motherboard?.." etc.

I have searched on youtube but I think the best solution is to ask enthusiasts like you.
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To make it easier, I bring you an example of an already built pc (found online recently) on which we can make all the necessary considerations together to say "yes, it is a properly built pc that works well or not"

i3 9100 - gtx1650 4gb - 8gb RAM DDR4 - ASrock M310CM-DVS mainboard

 

[USAFRet]

My personal build/buy level is $500-$600. A budget up from that, build.
Also, Who will be doing maintenance. You? No problem.

For example, I expect you to tell me, "gpu and cpu must not create a bottleneck.."

That is FALSE. The B word is soooo misused and irrelevant. There is always some 'bottleneck'.
Ignore that.


Basically, start here:

*How to Ask for New Build or Upgrade Advice*

How to Ask for New Build or Upgrade Advice First off, respect where respect is due - this is an adaptation of the Animal's *How To Ask For New Build Advice* Sticky. I created this because there's a lot of posts nowadays asking for upgrade advice both on here and on the CPU forums, and I feel...

forums.tomshardware.com

Post in the System Forum

 

[35below0]

It's a good idea to ask for advice. Without advice it's possible to spend too much money, or choose unreliable components, or components that don't make sense together or don't physically fit inside a case.
It's not about frequencies. It's about knowing what mistakes people make and not making them.


If you want to build a new PC, start with the monitor. What size and refresh rate do you want? And how much can you afford.
Your monitor decides how powerful the GPU and CPU need to be to push all those frames onto the screen.
This decides how much power your system will need.
Deciding how much storage you want and what case to build in is not complicated. Memory is usually a simple choice as well.


Other important things are
- your location, because it determines what is available and at what price
- your specific needs. like will you do rendering? Do you need USB-C ports? Is silence important? Will you be transporting the PC a lot, etc. Any information you can give will be useful.
- your budget. You can always adjust your needs and wishes if your money is tight, or you can increase the budget to get more out of your PC
- how many years will you use this PC before buying another one?

 

[Flayed]

What I would like to know is how to choose these components so that they are in “tune” with each other!

Work out what kind of performance you are looking for from the system and pick appropriate parts. Probably better to decide on a budget and people here will give you a part list that gets the most performance for the money.

 

[Moonstick2]

For my current budget, it would be better to buy a used pre-built gaming pc (and in the future build one) but I don't know how or "check" if it is "built" correctly or not.

You've not been very clear with the way you've worded your question. You're beginning to get lots of replies from the viewpoint that you're planning to build a system, but it sounds like you're right now you're only wanting to buy a used gaming PC?

You can't choose all the components and then go out looking for a used PC that has them, that's impractical.

Try the following:

1) List the games you want to play ("etc" isn't so helpful) and whether you've got a monitor already or will need to buy one. This gives people a starting idea of the CPU/GPU you'll likely need as a minimum.

2) List your budget. This gives people a better idea of what you should be hoping to buy. You also need to be clear if this budget is PC only or you need to buy a monitor, keyboard, mouse, games controller...

3) When you've been given a starting point, start looking around and if you find a likely purchase, you can post the details + price here and see if people think it's a promising buy or not.

Your example PC would be impossible to advise on: there's no price ($10? Buy it!), there's no detail about the drives, and there's nothing about the PSU. The PSU especially is a minefield, as it's the part that most people skimp on yet causes the most problems as a result. But then if a PC was good enough value you could budget for replacing the PSU if it wasn't a good one.

 

[LinuxDevice]

I will suggest that in the past, and for a very long time, a GPU with 8 GB of VRAM has been sufficient. This is still sufficient in many games. However, we are starting to see that sometimes a GPU with 11 or 12 GB of VRAM is useful (just depends on the game). You can't really expand that number later, so I suggest your GPU have at least 11 GB of VRAM.

Actual amount of RAM in the computer itself can usually be expanded later, although you might have issues adding more RAM while keeping the old RAM (mixing RAM sticks of different performance is an issue). I don't know of any games that currently need over 32 GB of system RAM. Quite often 16 GB will do the job.

The number of games which are greatly improved by using solid state memory instead of old style hard drives is also growing. I suggest that if you have many games, then a 1 TB SSD or m.2 NVMe will probably be large enough. 512 GB will work if you don't have a lot of games. Getting a 2 TB SSD or m.2 NVMe would last for a lot of games.

 

[geofelt]

What is your budget?
Will you buy new or used?
Will your needs change after the initial purchase?

The problem with pre-built pc's is that they are not built to be upgraded.
Sometimes the parts are proprietary.

Buying used, you need to know your seller.
You need to have recourse if the pc does not perform as advertised.

On components, it used to be that for a gaming system, one should budget 2x the cost of the cpu for the graphics card. With the mining craze that ratio changed, but is coming back.

On any pc, the power supply is more important than you may think.
Get the make/model of the PSU and the initial warranty. More than 7 years the unit will be ok.

 

[Silas Sanchez]

Ok here are some that are derived from my own experience, in no particular order:

0- Do your research! Make sure every part is fully compatible.
1- Build your own pc so you accomplish the steep learning curve. buying a pc without knowing much or how to fix problems is a fools game, even more in todays day and age. Trust me, the problems never end and you need experience so you have a chance of fixing them.
2- always go mid range, never high end. buy a mid range and get 4-5 years out of it then repeat.
3- never waste your time overclocking anything, its a fools game that leads to stability issues.
4- make sure the case is big, has big fans blowing on the motherboard.
5-important to establish a baseline, install windows, gpu and mobo drivers.
6-test cpu and gpu for stability in benchmarks.
7-make sure to image/clone your OS after everything is installed and stable.
8-get a top quality tier 1 psu and if possible oversize it considerably.
9 -get retail windows version.
10- go cpu air cooler, water cooling doesn't add much besides complexity and failure points, and anyone who actually knows physics knows why this is. if on air cooler, then stay away from intel they generate alot of heat.
11-keep gaming rig/OS seperate from other things like work.

 

[35below0]

2- always go mid range, never high end. buy a mid range and get 4-5 years out of it then repeat.
11-keep gaming rig/OS seperate from other things like work.

These are the only points i would disagree with and only slightly.

It's possible to get 8-10 years out of a mid range build. It largely depends on how quickly advances in tech cause bloat and slow things down.
The component most important here is the CPU i believe (as long as the PSU is a 10y+ warranty, high quality model). Any cut-down, budget CPU is going to hurt longevity so if possible go for a top i5 or i7 Intel or AMD equivalent.
RAM cam also make a difference. Buying 16Gb today is very near the limit and 24 Gb is not a great comfort. 32Gb is perfect. 64 Gb is going to be wasted/unused for years and years, and it will almost certainly be a slower kit.


As for keeping a gaming rig separate from work, i don't see why. It can do both, unless work is something very specific.
Any reason or personal experience for suggesting this?