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Introduction:I have been that person: The person who seems confused by any PC part other than the cool-looking case and monitor, yet still wants to get a shiny new PC for the best price. If you are that type of person, I would like to help you understand the concepts behind the buying and building of a shiny new PC! First: Price Range & Price DedicationIf you are like me, I like to go into an activity with a rough outline. In PC building, that is your price range and use case, which the latter is used to determine how the price of each component is allocated into the total. If you don't know what each percentage means, take note of your range and then read below. There is 3 basic tiers to PC building price ranges:
The Basics: CPU & GPUTo put it simply, CPUs are the main unit to load your computer and any background process', while the GPU is for games or rendering 3D models. The CPU should be a priority when you are wanting to have a great user experience, and the GPU should be a priority when you are wanting to play games with high performance. Again, a lot of these decisions depend on your specific use case, but the 3 use cases mentioned above are a general spread for the recommendations. Also, do not strictly adhere to price or percentage guidelines. There is more price ranges than mentioned, so only use this as a starting point. RAM/StorageRAM, or Random Access Memory is used to temporarily store information on your computer. It is very fast, but not very large in capacity. A general rule to live by is that 4GB is not at all recommended, since more modern operating systems need to have more in order to run multiple programs. 8GB is for when only doing one task at a time, such as gaming or browsing the web. 16GB or more is if you want to run more programs in the background. Remember, the increase in RAM is only useful if you 1) are going to be using it the majority of the time, and 2) your other components (CPU/GPU) can handle the multiple programs. Storage is where you, well store your personal files. It has been recommended to use SSDs (Solid State Drives) to put your operating system on, unlike a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), which is much slower, but with larger capacity, and is used to store files that won't be accessed that often, such as large games or databases. A 256GB SSD is needed if you are planning on downloading some games or programs, but not a lot. 512GB or more is if you are downloading a lot of games, programs, or need extra space for other things. Any size of a HDD of >2TB is good to have as an overflow storage for extra games and files. Other: Case, PSU, Motherboard, and CosmeticsThe motherboard is used to connect all the parts that you got together. A general tip for this is to get either just the required (Not planning to upgrade) or a bit above (Future-proofing). The PSU is used to give power to your core devices that you also bought. Try to get a PSU that has an 80+ Bronze or better rating (80+ Silver/Gold/Platinum), although only go for the higher tier if you need the reliability. The last two factors to consider in a PSU is Wattage and Connectors. Does your PSU have the right connectors for your expensive GPU? For your motherboard? For your Hard Drive? For Wattage, add up all the maximum energy consumption of your components, and try to go a little more that that. The common wattages for PSUs are: 500W, 650W, 800W, 1000W, & 1200W. For Cosmetics & Case, make sure that your motherboard and storage devices can fit in the case (Form factor for Cases/Motherboards, in order of size: mATX, ATX, eATX), and if you want LED strips on your case, and RGB case fans, go for it if you want to. Just don't spend a ton of money on just cosmetics. Conclusion: This is where I endThis is where I end, and your decisions begin! Experiencing the process of PC building is way more enjoyable than the planning, and when you get your components, assemble them according to a tutorial, or do some research. You don't want to snap your fancy GPU connectors!
Good Luck!
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