Tips & Tricks For Build Your Own PC

Building a games PC can be a stressful and confusing process. There are so many parts to choose from and sometimes the will to build it yourself can dim and you start to become tempted to buy one ready made from manufacturers or retailers such as Dell or PC World. While it is definitely the easiest option it is much more expensive to buy a ready made PC than it is to build one yourself.

By building a PC you'll understand just what is inside and how your machine works. It'll be easier to upgrade later and you'll be able to build a better machine for the same cost.

I've built several PCs for gaming and there are always several things that I look out for and consider to be most important. The main component of any gaming computer is the graphics card, and this is the area that you really cannot afford to cut back on. With the rate that games are increasing their demands on PCs you'll need to spend the money and buy the latest graphics card that you can afford. It is well worth stretching your budget as far as you can go for the GPU as it will make a world of difference when rendering the 3D environments that all modern games use. I would generally give 30-40 percent of my budget to the graphics card.

The next things to consider are what I feel are the real backbone of your PC, the motherboard and processor. If you search the Internet you can find some really great deals on motherboards and processors so make sure you shop around. A dual core processor is mandatory these days and make sure that your motherboard can support all the components that you intend to buy. For this reason the motherboard is often the last item that I choose when building a PC.

For most gaming I would say that 2GB of RAM is sufficient. There doesn't seem to be much need for any more yet and if you're running Windows XP you won't be able to make use of any more anyway. When choosing your power supply bear in mind that this is another area that you can't afford to cut back on. I've had three power supplies blow up in the same machines before finally deciding to spend the money on a decent one. Turned out it was money well spent and the expensive power supply lasted me for three years. Make sure you don't do the same mistake as a blown PSU could even fry your other components, ending in a very expensive accident.

Some people view peripherals with greater weight than others. I think they're definitely important as they're the parts that you actually spend time touching and using. Make sure you get a large flat screen monitor to save on desk space and enable to you run in nice large resolutions.

When choosing a keyboard I find that a regular keyboard is quite sufficient for everything I need, but make sure that the buttons are smooth and not too chunky to press. You'll want something that is really easy to use. A mouse is worth spending a little on, I'd recommend a five button infra red mouse.

As for sound a good set of headphones is superior to speakers and a lot cheaper so if your budget is stretched at this point I'd certainly endorse buying a good headset. Ensure you get a large hard drive as well, as you'll definitely want to store music and film on your computer, so the bigger the better. You can pick up 1TB drives for around a hundred pounds these days.

The final part is the case, and I think a lot of people spend too much time and thought on it. I would really cut back and get the cheapest case you possibly can and save the money to spend elsewhere. I have had the same old case for six years and it's served me just fine.

Building a PC is a difficult task and it can seem more effort that it's worth, but when you save so much money you'll be able to have a computer that lasts a much longer time that if you'd gone to a retailer. Good luck building your PC and hopefully you won't blow anything up, like I've done on too many occasions.