Tech For Anyone - Build Your Own Desktop PC

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ATX motherboards See on Amazon are full-sized standard consumer products, with a typical seven expansion slots. A decent rule of thumb: Your GPU and cooler options may be constrained if you opt for a small tower, even if the motherboard itself always fits into the available space.

The CPU you pick determines your motherboard. This is commonly referred to as a socket standard. Generally speaking, the motherboard box will tell you which is which, and given that DDR3 is on its way out, DDR4 should be the only solution you really have to worry about as far as DRAM is concerned. Past the question of socket compatibility, which CPU you choose has knock-on effects on the rest of the system build.

Higher-end CPUs typically draw more power and you may want to use a better cooler with top-end models.

Optional Components

Apart from that minor problem, the two big GPU issues to be aware of are the physical size of the card and its overall power consumption. Dual-slot cards are now the norm across most of the market, since this design allows for larger, quieter coolers, but this also means you need a certain minimum footprint within your case.

In this case, the motherboard manufacturer has chosen to space the first slots out, to allow for a double-sized cooler for each of two GPUs. The Radeon R9 X2. The other physical constraint to be aware of when buying a GPU is length — and this plays into what kind of chassis you buy.

Because some smaller chassis allow the drive bays to partially overlap the motherboard tray, you can wind up with a case that has less than 9. Most consumer cards are shorter than this, but always check the length of your GPU model against the internal width of the motherboard tray.

First, the PSU See on Amazon needs to provide sufficient power for all the components in the system, with some additional room on top for a safety margin. Sites like Newegg have their own power supply calculators, with varying degrees of complexity depending on how far down this particular rabbit hole you want to jump. Second, consider the number of six or eight-pin plugs for powering GPUs.

How to Build a PC in 2018: Choosing the Right Components

Third, consider whether you want an 80 Plus unit or something that offers a higher level of overall power efficiency. This article should offer some additional context for that decision and some general power consumption advice. Do not buy a generic power supply from a no-name vendor. I cannot, cannot, cannot stress this enough. Gallons of ink have been spilled on this point and they all point in the same direction.

Generic PSUs from no-name vendors will die at less than half the load they claim to rate, more often than not. Do not do this. Skimp everywhere and anywhere else, but do not skimp here. RAM prices See on Amazon are also currently high and may remain that way through the end of For storage you have two choices — larger, but much slower hard drives, or faster and smaller SSDs. AMD Ryzen 3 G quad-core! Not only do you get double the cores, you also get a vastly superior onboard graphics chip, the AMD Radeon Vega 8, which is actually more than capable of powering through modern games at moderate resolutions.

Note that this CPU is not guaranteed to work in anything but a series motherboard, like the one recommended below. This inexpensive board is absolutely packed with features, starting with the new, cutting-edge B chipset from AMD.

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The responsiveness of a system with an SSD is so superior to systems with a hard drive that we simply don't think you should build a PC today without one. Among all budget drives, the MX GB drive is now the only drive to consider at its pricepoint. To mount this to the motherboard, you'll need a jeweler's-type screwdriver. Who says a budget case has to look budget? Among the lowest-priced cases on the market, the FBM-X1 nonetheless packs in plenty of quality and style. It's also amazingly small - far smaller than typical desktop towers! To control the noise levels of the fans, you'll want to connect them to the motherboard, rather than directly to the power supply.

Don't worry about what cables you need - they're included with the motherboard and power supply! Every six months, Microsoft offers a huge new content update to Windows 10, ensuring that it continues to extend its lead over previous operating systems. In addition to its superior usability, it also has lots of fine tuning under the hood to improve performance and provide greater customization options. While this system will offer very good gaming performance with its built-in Ryzen GPU, once you've developed a taste for high-end gaming, you may want even more performance. With enough VRAM to easily handle typical p monitors, along with an efficient architecture, this card is a perfect match for a budget system.

This drive can be used instead of or in addition to the solid-state drive recommended earlier in this guide. If you need the capacity offered by a hard drive, then there really is no substitute in terms of value per dollar.

Before you start

While most people probably have a spare keyboard or two laying around, if you need a new one to go with your system, you can't go wrong with this inexpensive option from Microsoft. Going with a wired keyboard avoids issues with interference and low batteries, and more importantly saves money too!

While you may have an old mouse sitting in your desk, you probably want to upgrade to a new, modern model like the awesome MW from Cherry. We love this model! While some wireless mice can have drop-out problems, we've had nothing of the sort with our MW sample. It's truly the ideal home office monitor! We think it's definitely worth the extra cash.

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