While PC gaming may not be as popular as console gaming, it’s still a huge market. According to recent stats, Steam has 90 million active users! So if you want to get involved in PC gaming, you’ll need a PC. You could buy one ready made or you could save money and use our PC build guide.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at the key components that you need and which ones you should buy.
Are you ready to get started and build your dream PC? Then read on!
PC Build Guide: The CPU
The most important part of any custom cheap gaming PC is the CPU. This unit controls the rest of the machine and does all of the complicated calculations that let it play games.
So which CPU should you be using in 2020? Intel used to rule the roost but in recent years, AMD has come back as a major force in CPUs. (Enlightenedwomen.org)
The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a fantastic mid-range option that packs huge performance but costs less than $200.
If you’re willing to spend more to get the very best performance, the Intel i7 is the CPU for you. This beastly chip can boost up to 5.1 GHz, which is insane power. It also has a high pricetag of around $400.
RAM
If you want to run intense games or have multiple applications open at once, a good amount of RAM is vital. Depending on your budget, we would recommend going for either 16 or 32 GB.
If you’re on a budget, 16 GB is more than enough for current games and multitasking. If you want to future-proof your machine, then 32 GB is the optimal amount of RAM.
Graphics Card
So you want to run all the latest games on ultra-high? Then you’ll need a potent graphics card. AMD’s ATI series represents a fantastic medium-range option here, like the Ryzen. We’d recommend the 57000 XT for 1080p monitors: it’s more than enough!
If you want to play games in 4K or use multiple monitors, you’ll need something with more power. For these purposes, an RTX 2080 is the card you’ll want. It costs around $800 but is worth every cent.
These components make for cool gifts for gamers, so you could always drop hints to your family and friends before the holiday season.
Storage
You need storage for your games. We’d recommend pairing an old-fashioned hard drive with a solid-state drive (SSD). Hard drives offer the storage space that you need (we’d recommend at least two terabytes) while SSDs are very, very fast. Steam lets you swap your games around with ease, so you can always keep your most-played games on the faster but smaller SSD.
Use Our PC Build Guide and Get Started
While we’ve not covered every component in our PC build guide, the rest are quite simple. Find a power supply with enough power, a compatible motherboard, and a solid case, and get going!
For more interesting and informative articles like this one, be sure to check out the rest of our blog!
