(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Welcome to my thread! Here you will learn how to build a gaming computer on different budgets, and how to decide on your parts. All of this will include the seperate parts for the PC, and will not contain ANY pre-built PC's. Just click next to start the tutorial . Also, an asterisk (*) next to the product means that either I or a friend with a custom built PC owns this products and LOVES it

[multipage=Price Range]

These are the different price ranges I will be working with in this thread.

700$ - 999$

1,000$ - 1,399$

1,400$ - 1,999$

2,000$ - 2,999$

3,000$ +++

[multipage=Central Processing Unit (CPU)]

700$ - 999$
I would recommend no more than a quad core if you are buying in this range, and DEFINITELY not an Intel processor, as an AMD one works just as well and will save you money in the long run. All of the processors I list here are under 175$. Here is the set of processors I would reccomend, and there will be a link to each product with it:
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1,000$ - 1,399$
This is the point where I would start considering a six core processor, although once again, it is not necessary. I will be including mainly Intel processors at this point, as some people do buy for the name as well. I don't believe any of these processors go above 215$ as well.

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1,400$ - 1,999$
This is pretty much the price point where I recommend you jump off the AMD train. You can still use a processor of theirs, but you can also buy for the brand name of Intel, your choice. Just because we are in the 1,400$ to 1,999$ range does not mean you have to get the best processor, but it should be thought about. None of the 3 processors in this section will be over 370$.

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2,000$ - 2,999$
From here on out, there will only be six core processors, and they will only be Intel. Some of you may be wondering why the AMD eight-core processor is not on this list, and it is for the simple reason that I have owned one, and it performed WORSE than my AMD II X4 980 Black Edition from before on this list. These 2 processors are both below 600$.

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3,000$ +++
Here is where we get to the processor I like, and dislike at the same time for it's intense as hell price. You want the name, you got it. You will have bragging rights for years for owning this baby, and with a price tag of 1,000$, your paycheck must also be something to brag about.
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[multipage=Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)]

Ah, my favourite section of the computer, the graphics processor. We are going to get to some insane ass sh*t. Please do note, that unless otherwise stated, these are gaming-oriented cards, and will do less than a specialized graphics card to help with rendering programs. All of the AMD cards will be the Sapphire version, and all the nVidia cards will be the EVGA version unless otherwise stated, as they are my favourite manufacturers of it.

700$ - 999$
Here, you can still get an amazing graphics card at a relatively low price. Most of these in the section will be AMD GPU's, as they are the best bang-for-your-buck graphics cards. All of these cards are under 200$.

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1,000$ - 1,399$
Time to step it up a little bit. There will be an even distribution of card types here, and this section will be quite empty compared to the others in terms of my reccomended choices. These cards will all be under 350$.

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1,400$ - 1,999$
This is where we start getting into the crazy-ass cards, or you can choose to do Crossfire (AMD)/SLI (NVIDIA) with 2 cards from before to get similar performance. There will be a small amount of cards here, and they will be under 500$.
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Some setups of the previous cards in SLI/Crossfire are:

2 x NVIDIA GTX 550Ti 1GB GDDR5

2 x NVIDIA GTX 560 1GB GDDR5 *

2 x AMD Radeon HD 6850 1GB GDDR5

2 x AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB GDDR5

2,000$ - 2,999$
You are in luck my friend. We will be using the two top-of-the-line graphics cards from both NVIDIA and AMD. It really doesn't get much better then this, so be prepared when I say that these cards are both upwards of 700$.

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A few more Crossfire/SLI combinations that would match up are:

3 x NVIDIA GTX 550Ti

3 x NVIDIA GTX 560Ti

2 x NVIDIA GTX 570 *

3 x AMD Radeon HD 6850

3 x AMD Radeon HD 6870

2 x AMD Radeon HD 6950

3,000$ +++
Don't even think about a higher-end gaming card. That was it. This is where the big-ass, scary 3D graphics cards come out. I hope you have a nice fat paycheck, because it will all be gone by the end of this. If you just want to have normal cards in your system for gaming at this point, I would do Crossfire 6990's or SLI 590's, and you will be crying with happiness. Now, let's get on to the real sh*t. The lowest priced GOOD card in this section is 1,159$. Good luck.

You must login or register to view this content. (1,159$)
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You must login or register to view this content. (3,999$)

[multipage=Power Supply Units (PSU)]

All Price Ranges
Here's the thing about power supplies. Obviously, you want a power supply that can support your parts, but it's also good to have one that doesn't just cut it. Going above what you think you need prevents you from frying your PSU, and also can allow you to upgrade certain parts in the future. Assuming you are in the range of under 1000$, you should be thinking about a 750W or 850W PSU. If you are that intense kid with 10 grand in his pocket to spend on parts, you will likely need a 1300W to 1500W PSU. Sounds like a lot, but trust me, YOU NEED IT. For PSU's, I'd recommend looking at Thermaltake for anything larger than an 850W PSU, and Corsair (specifically the enthusiast series) for any lower denominations of PSU's. Just go to You must login or register to view this content. and browse through the different PSU's to find what you think you need. Also, remember that if you need any help, just post a comment below and I'll help as soon as I can.

[multipage=Motherboard]

Stuff To Be Added

[multipage=Memory (RAM)]

All Price Ranges
Contrary to popular belief, more ram does not necessarily increase your gaming experience, as it really depends on the game. Despite what I just said, however, it's better to have more and not need all of it than have less and not be able to play a game. Price range generally doesn't have an impact when it comes to RAM, but here are some different types of RAM for those wanting a casual gaming experience (You must login or register to view this content., You must login or register to view this content. and You must login or register to view this content.). If you looked at all of those, you should have noticed that the max speed on the first two was 1600MHz, while the max speed on the last one was 1333MHz. My friends, do not fool yourselfs by buying 2000MHz RAM. My friend uses his ram on 1066MHz and plays Crisis 2 at 90-100 FPS with no issues, and 60FPS recording. Now, I know not all of this comes down to RAM, but it isn't necessary to buy a high speed RAM set. Don't get more than 1600MHz RAM, unless you really want more, or you are running a server (which is a fairly blank PC that usually has 24-32GB of RAM). If that is what you are interested in, You must login or register to view this content. is a set of 24GB of ram that will suit your needs. Notice it's max speed is only 1333MHz. IGNORE IT. It is perfectly good memory, and will do whatever you need it to do and better.

[multipage=Hard Drive + SSD]

Stuff To Be Added

[multipage=Cases]

All Price Ranges
Pretty easy to choose a case for your computer. I recommend Antec cases, because they are cheap and very well-made. Most of them come with four or more fans, and most range for between 30$-90$. Keeps your stuff cool very well. Just search up "Antec case" on the hardware website you're on, and I'm sure you'll find something that suits you!

[multipage=Monitors]

Stuff To Be Added

It says "How to make your own gaymen PC", when It only tells you what parts to buy.





falcon guide: You must login or register to view this content.

Good point, I'd change the title, but the iPad I'm on screws up the post when editing for some reason.

Ehh, May be wrong but im pretty sure that board can't accept a i5 CPU. Think its for 2nd gen i7's only.

Building a computer even at $700-$999 I would say go with at least a i5-2320. Not wanting to start a brand war but Intel have proved to be better in the gaming field and AMD has yet to prove their selves.(Plus you could build a $500-$600 computer around a AMD CPU).

Also with the cores, 6cores don't mean much, due to nothing really utilizing the cores. Most games are just getting into the 4core range, and might want to add in a little thing about the difference between I5's and I7's and which one best suits the user

Just built my PC about 3 weeks ago for $650! I bought all my parts from MicroCenter! They have really good bundle deals on CPU's and Motherboards! I got the AMD Phenom II X6 1100T for $120! So happy with my PC's performance! I can BF3, Skyrim, and Batman: Arkham City to their max settings! This is a good tutorial! Here are my specs if you or anyone is interested!

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1100T @ 3.3 GHz(6 Cores!)
GPU: Radeon HD 6870 1 GB
RAM: 8 GB @ 1600 MHz
PSU: 600w Coolmaster?(Not sure)
HD 750GB(Free Dad gave it to me)

You should never get AMD Processors, they're all less powerful than their intel counterparts, and there is very very limited upgrade options in the future.
Not to mention how little 3rd party cooling there is for AMD Processors.
Low Budget: i3 2100 Proccessor.
Mid or High Budget: i5 2500k or i7 2600k. Although the i7 2600k is not worth an extra 100$ over the i5.

Wait for the new nvidia 7xx

Thanks, i may use this.

I've bookmarked this, good thread

I want to upgrade my GPU Nvidia GTS 250 512MB to GTX 580 will my PSU 550W is enough to support GTX 580?