The non-definitive guide to building your own PC

[PsychoFish]

Right, so you have decided to join the #PCMasterRace and you've decided to build your own PC, you poor soul, because you don't want to buy a pre-built PC. I'll tag in @TheJoker here to add in his R5 (R5 because the economy is shit and 2c won't get you very far)

I'm assuming there's a good chance that, even if you haven't gotten your hands dirty inside of a case, you still have a basic knowledge of the components that go inside. I'll assume that if you're reading this you're a n00b.

So what components and parts (aka bits, bobs and doohickeys) do you generally need to make a working PC:

• Case
• CPU
• Motherboard
• RAM/Memory
• GPU
• Powersupply (PSU)
• Storage/HDD
• The other stuff^TM

How the hell do you select a case?
The basic things I take into consideration is cooling, form factor and "The Other Stuff"^TM
Form factor (generally ATX or E-ATX for most mainstream motherboards) will affect how well your motherboard fits into the case. The location of the PSU (Power Supply Unit) inside the case, the location of the 5¼-inch drive bays and the location of the PCI-E slots on the motherboard all affect the case decision.

The basic idea is that you want enough room to fit your graphics card into the case (because some cards can be stupidly long) and still be able to get power cables and the like into it with relative ease.

The CPU
Things can get hairy here, but for the most part you want a CPU with multiple cores. My suggestion is to not settle for anything under 4 cores. If you want to push your CPU to the absolute limits and overclock then you will need an unlocked CPU. Look at the TDP (Thermal Design Power) of the CPU. Stock coolers are OK if you're not going to overclock or run the CPU under heavy load for extended periods of time. When in doubt consider getting an after market CPU cooler. Read up a little about the CPU you intend on buying, or ask some questions. Generally, as mentioned, if the CPU you're looking at has 4-cores and is somewhere between 2.5-4.0GHz you'll be OK. Other factors include the amount of cache the CPU has (more is better)

The Motherboard
This should be something that is a given, but the socket type of your CPU should match that of your motherboard. Pay attention to the location of the RAM slots and the PCI-E slot(s) on the board. Read the specifications on the manufacturer's page (not the fluff, but the part with the numbers and technical data). The choice of motherboard WILL affect the type and speed of the RAM (and other components). Look at the Expansion Slots and their speeds, especially if you want to run SLI. If you are going to use additional components that connect to the motherboard (Sound Cards, etc) make sure you have slots for these.

Memory
Looping back to the motherboard, look at what your board supports DDR3 or DDR4 and take note of the speeds supported. Some motherboard manufacturers will even state additional information like the maximum total amount of RAM and maximum size per RAM module. More MHz generally means more $$$. If the motherboard supports dual channel memory architecture I would suggest you buy modules in pairs, i.e if you need 8GB of RAM get 2 x 4GB RAM modules. Install the modules as per the manual of your motherboard (generally these will be labeled or color coded)

GPU
Think about what you want to play or do with your system and keep your budget in check.

The PSU
This little hotly debated item is often overlooked in building your own PC. I tend to use an 80/20 rule wit h the PSU. My suggestion is to add the maximum WATT draw for each and every component, CPU, GPU, RAM, add-on cards, CD-ROM, Bluray drive, etc etc. This is approximately the minimum size your PSU needs to be HOWEVER this number should never be more than 80% of the maximum Watt output of the PSU. The problem is capacitor aging which reduced the effectiveness of your PSU over time, also if you decide to upgrade RAM, add additional HDDs, get a faster/better CPU or GPU you want that extra little bit of overhead for growth. So if your watt calculation comes to say 500W don't get a 550W or 600W PSU, for the love of all things sane get a 650W or better.

The HDD
The often overlooked component of that can make life strange. If you can afford an SSD, get it, but also get a mechanical drive. Install your OS and READ intensive applications (and the data these applications read) on your SSD. For everything else use your mechanical drive. Even a 128GB SSD is perfect for the OS and will make your machine boot like a boss. If you really worry about how long it takes to start up your latest copy of Call of Battlefield 2000 install that on the SSD, else wait the extra 20 seconds for it to load. You can also consider getting a hybrid drive as a secondary. Alternatively you can go expert level HDD configuration and get two SSDs and a RAID controller and run your SSDs in a RAID 1 configuration.

The other stuff^TM
Do you need a sound card? Mostly this answer would be no, especially if you're using cheap headphones. It's really a nice to have, and can give awesome eargasms if combined with good quality headphones or decent 5.1 surround sound speakers. If you're skimping on speakers or headphones just steer clear.

Mice. You don't always need a gaming mouse with a million DPI and 10 zeptosecond polling rate. What you do need to do is pay attention to the DPI and polling rate. DPI works on a higher is better (as a general rule) and polling rate on a lower is better (generally speaking).