A guide to building your first gaming PC

In order to experience these incredible graphics, there has been high demand for gaming PCs, driving the prices of prebuilt computers upwards, leaving gamers at a loss. (Photo: Shutterstock)
In order to experience these incredible graphics, there has been high demand for gaming PCs, driving the prices of prebuilt computers upwards, leaving gamers at a loss. (Photo: Shutterstock)
2021 has been an incredible year for video games, from stunning graphics to incredible systems and adventures made available at the fingertips of every gamer out there. It is clear that technology is pushing the limits of what the art of video games is capable of.اضافة اعلان

In order to experience these incredible graphics, there has been high demand for gaming PCs, driving the prices of prebuilt computers upwards, leaving gamers at a loss.

However, don’t fret! This guide will not only teach you about the parts and components that you need to seek out in order to build a gaming PC, but also give you advice on how to safely assemble the PC, as well as some tips and tricks that will help you optimize your build.

All of the parts mentioned below can be found at local Jordanian retailers such as City Center, Taipei, PC Circle, and many more. There are also online shopping options for your convenience.

Motherboard
Motherboards, for the most part, come in two flavors; LGA and AM. These determine the types of microchips, or CPUs, that are supported by the motherboard that you are considering.

Each board’s LGA or AM is typically followed by a number, indicating the model of CPU that is compatible with said board.

Make sure that you keep your CPU in mind when purchasing a motherboard as all motherboards differ in the types of processors that they are able to use during operations, so make sure that the CPU that you want can integrate with your motherboard.

Investing in a motherboard will run you anywhere between JD90-JD300, depending on how much component variety you would like to implement into it.

CPU
The CPU (central processing unit) is the brain of the computer and is in charge of all of the functions that a computer handles at any given moment. Even right now, if you read this article on a tablet, a smartphone, or a PC, your CPU is constantly working in order to ensure that everything functions as needed. The CPU also happens to be the second most expensive item on a PC part shopping list.

There are two brands of CPUs to look out for, INTEL and AMD.

Simply put, INTEL is more reliable, having better quality and efficiency, whereas AMD is known for its incredible speeds but high power consumption. AMD is also known to be cheaper, so if you are running on a budget, an AMD CPU is usually your best bet.

An AMD CPU will cost you between JD150 and JD200 if you are going for a budget-friendly option, or between JD300 and JD500 if you are going for the best of the best. Alternately, INTEL will cost you about JD200-JD300 if opting for the budget-friendly variety, or JD300-JD550 for the latest releases.

GPU
By far one of the most important components in the construction of a gaming PC is a GPU (graphics processing unit). The better and more powerful your GPU is, the more likely you are to crank all settings in video games up to 11 and experience the future of graphics.

Unlike CPUs that only realistically are provided by two dominating brands on the market, GPUs are produced by a wide variety of companies, and it becomes a hassle to determine which is the best for your buck. NVIDIA, AMD, ASUS, INTEL, EVGA, Gigabyte, ZOTAC and Sapphire are some of the largest manufacturers on the block.

Here are the leaders in the market:

1) NVIDIA: Powerful, great community support, built to last – but expensive.

2) AMD: Powerful, but certain games require messing around with the settings in order to optimize, new kid on the block (trendy), and much more budget-friendly than NVIDIA.

While I did mention other types of manufacturers, NVIDIA and AMD are dominating the current GPU market. The strong reputation and community feedback from gamers themselves solidify these two as the most reliable graphic cards on the market.

As for specific GPUs themselves, NVIDIA’s 3000 series (3070/3080) is currently the most up to date graphics card. But if money is not a problem, the RTX series is the best, as it enables dynamic lighting in games, creating a hyper-realistic feel.

AMD’s 6000 series (6700/6800) is currently priced at the same price as NVIDIA. You might want to go for NVIDIA if you are looking to get the latest GPUs. Alternatively, if on a budget, go for some of the older AMD models such as RX5000 series, as they are much lighter on the wallet, but still provide enough gaming performance to give you an edge over the competition.

If you are looking to invest in the latest NVIDIA GPUs, that will run you anywhere between about JD1400-JD1700, but if you are willing to opt into an older model that works great as well, you can get any of the 1000/2000 series for JD400-JD600. An AMD will cost you JD250-JD400 if you are keeping it easy on the wallet. Unfortunately, the 6000 series AMD offers are currently unavailable in Jordan.

PSU
There are hundreds of companies out there that produce PSUs (power supply unit), both expensive fancy models and cheap knockoffs. Truth be told, as long as the company is known to have relatively stable PSU’s and most importantly, provides the sufficient amount of power for your build, then you are all set. As far as the amount of voltage needed, be sure to check your motherboard and its requirements before purchasing a PSU.
Many reliable PSUs can be found for anywhere between JD50-JD200.

Storage
You’ve got all of the components for a game to run, but where would you keep it?

At a time when games are beginning to reach hundreds of gigabytes, it is important to have an ample amount of storage for your machine. Storage, unlike GPUs and CPUs, is quite simple; it falls into two types and various sizes.

1) HDD: Hard disk drives (HDDs) are the grandfather technology of storage in computers. Typically much larger than their counterparts, HDDs are the optimal solution when it comes to having bulky storage on your PC. Additionally, HDDs are cheap, and with commercial models hitting the 10s of terabytes at affordable prices, they are by far the most affordable solution.

2) SSD: Operating completely differently than the HDD, SSDs (solid-state drive) are capable of accessing stored information significantly faster than a typical HDD. In other words, the PC, games, and all software that requires memory access are stored significantly faster. However, SSDs have much lower storage capabilities in contrast with HDDs, and are significantly pricier than the more traditional HDDs. Additionally, SSDs do not handle being filled up completely well, often slowing down as soon as the memory load hits 90 percent of total capacity.

A decent capacity SSD will cost JD100-JD200, while the HDD options will go for JD50-JD200, depending on how much storage you want to have.

Memory
Memory, or random access memory (RAM), is the short-term memory of a computer. RAM speeds all processes within the computer as it temporarily stores information for quick access when a specific software requires it.

The more RAM you have, the smoother and faster your PC will work. Typical gaming PCs have 32 gigabytes of RAM, which is more than sufficient for all of your gaming needs. Otherwise, if you are running RAM heavy games, particularly those with RTX, push the RAM up to 64 gigabytes, purely out of caution.

This should not cost you too much, landing at about JD90-JD200 depending on how much RAM you want your PC to have.

Fans and coolers
CPUs and GPUs create a significant amount of heat due to the amount of power that they consume. As a result, cooling systems are there to prevent the PC from overheating, shifting air from the inside of the case to the outside, and vice versa.

There are two systems of cooling that are popular in today’s gaming PC’s setup: air ventilation and liquid cooling. As far as which is better, while the liquid cooling systems are all the rage and do indeed cool more efficiently, the amount of setup and potential problems that may come along with them is a challenge best tackled by people that have already built PCs in the past.

As far as air vents go, they work like a typical fan. The number of fans that you could have depends on the case itself, and in many cases today, some fans come pre-installed within the case.

Choosing an ideal cooling rig can cost you anywhere between JD50-JD200, depending on how many fans you buy and how much power they use.

Putting it all together
While each board has different layouts and sockets, there are several guidelines that all PC builders must be aware of when constructing a PC. Once you have the parts in hand and are looking at the motherboard, you will instantly catch on to where each component is supposed to go. However, there are guidelines for CPU planting, memory insertion and best practices overall that you should read up on before setting up the PC itself.

Never build ungrounded
Grounding is the act of removing all electrical charge from your body. Jordan News highly recommends that you ground yourself before touching any hardware, as a discharge from your body can end up short-circuiting the computer parts, turning them into useless junk.

Don’t fiddle around with the spikes
It is of utmost importance that you do not touch those pins. Under no circumstances should those pins touch anything other than the protective cover they come in, or the motherboard. The pins on CPU’s are incredibly fragile, and a single bend of the pins can not only kill your CPU, but can sometimes ruin the motherboard itself by shorting the electronics inside.

Thermal Paste
Thermal paste is usually sold in tubes, and is used to create a heat-transiting layer between the CPU and the CPU cooling system. Do not over-paste the CPU, as this can lead to less efficient heat transfer, therefore increasing the temperature of your CPU, which results in higher wear and tear over time. A simple rice-grain sized droplet is all you need.

RAM sticks are best left single
Going for two RAM sticks? Make sure to space them out, leaving an empty slot between each. This optimizes the PC’s RAM read speed, and increases the speed at which the PC can pull from its short term memory. If going with 4, simply plug the RAM sticks into the empty sockets — the computer will do the rest from there.

WIFI?
Before you buy a motherboard, make sure that it has WiFi capabilities if you require them. I have seen and heard of many newcomers to the scene that would build a computer, boot it up, only to be horrified to find out that there is no WiFi functionality pre-built into the motherboard.

This can easily be fixed by purchasing a WiFi adaptor and plugging it into the USB slot. However, this is inefficient and may sometimes cause either slower internet speeds or random disconnects during your play sessions.

Final tips
By following the basic guidelines outlined above, you should be able to start a roadmap to your ultimate gaming PC build in no time. Keep in mind that there are plenty of other things to learn, such as proper cable management, hybrid-storage solutions, and more.

For one last general tip for all of you out there, consider first writing down a full list of all of the hardware that you would want to see in your machine. Then, use online tools such as “PC Part Picker” to ensure that all of your parts actually integrate with one another.

Afterwards, when at the shops themselves, do not be shy; ask around! Most people at hardware stores know exactly what their items can or cannot do, and they will be your best resource of information when it comes to figuring out whether or not your build will work well once it is assembled.

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