How To Build A Gaming PC, Plus Sample Builds To Get You Started

Building your own gaming PC is a rewarding experience and gives you far more control over Step-by-Step Gaming PC Build the pieces and parts that wind up in your PC tower. Those without any familiarity of the internal workings of a PC may think that the process is too daunting and and opt for a pre-built PC. But if you’re in that camp, you’ll probably be surprised to learn that building your own PC isn’t nearly as colossal of an endeavor as it used to be. If you’re interested, we’ve created this handy guide to teach you how to build your own gaming PC. We’ve also included a couple of sample builds below that you could follow in order to build a high-end or budget gaming PC.

Before we dive in, we should note that this guide only covers the actual PC. You’ll have to pair it with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse (at the bare minimum). For suggestions on which peripherals to pick up, check out our roundups of the best gaming keyboards, best gaming mouse, best PC gaming headsets, best PC controllers, and best cheap gaming monitors.

A look at some gaming PC builds
Before we get to the actual building portion, we need to talk about finding and buying the parts for your PC. Finding the right parts can be confusing — and expensive. Gaming PCs can cost as little as $500, or as much as several thousand dollars to build. Obviously, more expensive parts usually mean more power, but shopping for a build that fits your budget is often the biggest obstacle for first-time builders. There are several components that you need, each with a plethora of models, specs, and compatibility requirements to consider.

We know this can be overwhelming, so we created example builds from hardware available at the time of writing. The first is a high-end rig powerful enough for bleeding-edge gaming performance, and the other is a more affordable $1000 build that will run most games at decent settings.

Tools
For the vast majority of your build, you’ll be using a No. 2 Phillips screwdriver, but if you’re installing M.2 SSDs into your motherboard, then you’ll want to use a smaller No. 1 Phillips screwdriver for that.

Flashlight:

Thankfully, nearly every smartphone on the market can be used as a flashlight, and you’ll likely need it when installing certain cables and components into your case.

Thermal paste:

You’ll want a tube of thermal paste to keep your CPU’s temperature low during use. Most CPU coolers come with thermal paste already applied, which means you won’t need any extra. However, if you do end up buying a tube of thermal paste, you can clean the cooler’s paste off and use your own.