How To Build A
Gaming PC

Updated: 5 Jun 2011

Are you looking to build a gaming PC? Gaming PCs need heavy duty computing power, graphics and sound. Hence, you'll need to select components that maximize performance in these areas, while saving money on other components.
 

In this article, I'll show you three sample PC configurations for building a gaming PC - budget, mid-range and performance. Read on and take a look at the components you'll need. The most important step in the building process is the selection of your PC components. In general, for a gaming PC, it's important to have a top-notch CPU, graphics card and large amounts of RAM, all installed on a good motherboard. So focus on these components when building out your PC.

1. Overview

And how do you install all your components once you've bought them? The installation process is not that complicated. Find out more in guide on building a gaming PC.
 

1. Budget Gaming PC

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Quad Core Processor ($120)

Motherboard: Gigabyte 880GM-UD2H Motherboard ($70)

RAM: Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3 RAM  ($30)

Video Card: Sapphire 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770 Video Card  ($100)

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB  ($85)

Case: Cooler Master HAF HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Mid-Tower Case ($50)

Power Supply: Ultra U12-40873 LSX 650W Power Supply ($70)

DVD Burner: ASUS DRW-24B1ST DVD Burner  ($20)

Monitor: Samsung BX2231 21.5" LED LCD Monitor ($150)

Sound Card: Built-in motherboard audio ($0)

Speakers: Logitech Z506 Surround Sound Speakers ($75)

Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech Cordless Desktop 920000879 EX 100 Combo ($20)


Total Cost: $790 (USD)


This budget gaming PC is very affordable at $695. It even includes a monitor in the price. I decided not to include a dedicated sound card - we simply go with built-in audio on the motherboard. I've also left the operating system out of the picture. Usually you'd go for Windows 7 Home Premium which might set you back another $100. You might also need some extra cash to play some of the latest games which, of course, you can now play with this machine :)

What I like about this rig is the AMD Phenom II X4 and the 4GB of DDR3 RAM, together with the Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 and huge 1 TB hard drive. These components all make for a devastatingly good gaming experience.
 

2. Mid-Range Gaming PC

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K BX80623I52500 Quad Core Processor ($220)

Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Pro Intel P67 Motherboard ($150)

RAM: Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3 RAM  ($30)

Video Card: EVGA 01G-P3-1380-KR GeForce GTX 460 Video Card ($150)

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB  ($85)

Case: Thermaltake VM20001W2Z Armor A60 Gaming Mid-Tower Case ($70)

Power Supply: Ultra U12-40873 LSX 650W Power Supply ($70)

DVD Burner: ASUS DRW-24B1ST DVD Burner ($20)

Monitor: Samsung BX2231 21.5" LED LCD Monitor ($150)

Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer ($50)

Speakers: Logitech Z506 Surround Sound Speakers ($75)

Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech Cordless Desktop 920000879 EX 100 Combo ($20)


Total Cost: $1070 (USD)


What's the best thing about this gaming PC? I'd say it has a good balance between price and performance. This baby is going to out perform many of the "off-the-shelf" gaming desktop PCs you buy from brand name manufacturers (e.g. Alienware) whom I think grossly overcharge customers.

The Intel Core i5 CPU will scream and that ASUS P8P67 Pro motherboard is one of the best in the market right now for Intel chips. You also get a great audio experience via the dedicated Creative Labs Sound Blaster card.
 

3. Performance Gaming PC

CPU: Intel Core i7 970 Processor ($600)

Motherboard: ASUS P6T7 WS SuperComputer Motherboard ($410)

RAM: Corsair XMS3 Tri Channel 12GB PC10666 DDR3 RAM ($160)

Video Card: Sapphire 100311SR Radeon HD 6970 Video Card ($350)

Solid State Drive: OCZ VTX3-25SAT3-120G Vertex 3 Solid State Drive ($310)

Hard Drive: Seagate ST33000651AS Barracuda XT 3TB Hard Drive ($210)

Case: Thermaltake VN10001W2N Level 10 GT Full Tower Gaming Case ($270)

Power Supply: Thermaltake TPG-1050M ToughPower Grand Power Supply ($150)

DVD Burner: Sony BD-5300S-0B 12X Blu-Ray Writer ($100)

Monitor: Samsung FX2490HD 24" Widescreen HD LED Monitor With Tuner ($320)

Sound Card: Creative Labs SoundBlaster X-FI Titanium Fatal1ty Pro ($140)

Speakers: Logitech Z906 5.1 Speaker Systemicon ($320)

Keyboard: Logitech G19 Gaming Keyboard ($170)

Mouse: Logitech G700 Gaming Mouse ($80)


Total Cost: $3590 (USD)


This is the "Dream Gaming Machine" configuration. The Intel Core i7 970 processor is one of the fastest CPUs on the planet at the time of writing. Throw in that huge chunk of 12GB RAM and a Radeon HD 6970 video card and you are bound to get out-of-this-world frame rates in your 3D Games.

The solid state drive above is 240GB and can contain a lot of your games - you can expect load times to be extremely short with that drive. We also have a normal SATA hard drive with ample space - 3TB to be exact.
 

Conclusion

As you can see, the budget and mid-range gaming PC configurations are within the reach of most users. If you have a lot more cash to spare, then you can consider the high-end machine - but like I said, that system configuration is sort of a dream machine - meaning that I wouldn't realistically pay that much for a gaming PC.

To recap, if you love to play computer games, you need a good gaming PC. You've just seen what the various configurations for these machines look like - so select  your components you want, then go out to buy them from your computer retailer. Once you've got your components, assemble your PC and start to enjoy your games!

By the way, many readers tell me once they've got their PC components, they need help in assembling their gaming PC. I've in fact written a book about this very topic - in there, I recommend specific components for a gaming PC, then show step-by-step instructions and photos on how to assemble the machine.

Click here if you'd like to find out more about this book on building a budget gaming PC.

If you're worried that your computer will get filled with virus or malware, the best thing to do is to create a mirror image of your computer after its initial use or directly after a reinstallation. That way, you'll always have a clean copy of Windows with your frequently used programs, set up just the way you want. Among the best mirroring packages is the Acronis True Image, which is simple to use and can be customized to fit your requirements.

Related Articles

You may also wish to read the following related articles:

How to choose a good CPU for your computer
A guide to choosing computer motherboards
A guide to choosing the best desktop computer system
A simple guide to setting up your own wireless network
Some information on choosing hard drives and other data storage