How to Make a Gaming Computer

Gaming computers aren’t as complicated as you may think, and making your own gaming computer isn’t as difficult as a lot of people would make you believe. Since you already have a specific application in mind when building your own gaming machine, there are really only three main components you need to worry about, and everything else is really secondary: the processor, video card, and RAM.

The processor or CPU is the brains of the computer – it does most of the calculations your games need to run (with the video card doing most of the graphics work). With it being such an important component, you would instinctually go for the fastest – and most expensive – processor you could find, but there is a better alternative to blowing cash on something that will be obsolete in a year: getting a processor that will play tomorrow’s games at a low price is the sweet spot for any gaming computer.

The video card (sometimes referred to as the GPU) is another important component in any gaming rig, as it handles almost all of the graphics for your games. One of the problems with video cards – especially the middle and low end ones – is that they tend to become obsolete faster than the other components of a gaming computer. Generally, getting a high end video card when you’re upgrading or building your gaming rig is essential as it gives you breathing room before it’s time to upgrade again.

Memory, or RAM, is another very important part of a gaming machine. While both the CPU and GPU handle calculations, RAM actually stores the results of these calculations. There is one basic rule about RAM you need to know: the more memory you have, the better your system will perform. While you can get away with 1GB of RAM, most people feel that modern computers run well on 2GB, and enthusiasts prefer 4GB of RAM (and on a 64-bit machine, 8GB or more are always welcome).

Once you’ve selected the right core of components, everything else – from the motherboard down to the hard drive and case – will fall into place. Making a gaming computer doesn’t have to be difficult: just find the right processor, video card, and memory for your budget, and everything else is simple.

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