Build the Best Gaming PC Your Money Can Buy: A Detailed Guide (Updated Sep 2014)

- Direct Download of PDF (Recommended for clickable links and clearer images)
- PDF Version to Read in Browser (Google Docs) (Google handles PDFs poorly, so images are somewhat distorted and some links are not clickable or are broken)

Last Updated: September 20, 2014
Recent Changes (PDF ONLY!):

September 2014: This is a fairly significant update to the guide, including major updates to hardware suggestions, added content, and a new section about big-budget builds. See page 9 of the thread for a full summary of changes.

March 2014: Added cliffsnotes at the end! Removed specific part lists in favor of a different approach.


















I've formatted this guide the best I could with this forum's limited code, but the main purpose of this thread will be for discussion of the guide, and to answer any questions you might have.

As of December 2013, I have stopped updating the text in the thread. Because of the forum's limited code, it is far too time-consuming to updated images and text. And worse, I can't effectively add to the guide here because of the character limit per post. So, read the PDF for the most accurate up-to-date info.It's best to download the PDF and use a proper PDF reader. Google's formatting of PDFs breaks all of the links. Link to directly download the PDF.

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Introduction

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++++ALERT: You are reading an out-of-date version of the guide and wasting your time. Read the PDF for the most accurate up-to-date info.It's best to download the PDF and use a proper PDF reader. Google's formatting of PDFs breaks all of the links. Link to directly download the PDF. I have stopped updating the text in the thread because the forum's limited code makes it far too time-consuming to change images and add text.++++
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If you’ve spent some time on various PC forums, you’ve likely seen several posts by people looking for advice on selecting parts—or a critique on the parts they’ve already selected. They post their part list, and ideally, a few experienced folks come along and help put together a better part list for the same amount of money. Because most of us have lives, the “help” usually comes in the form of “get this one, it’s better because of [insert vague statement].” Then someone disagrees, and then a debate ensues that’s filled with emotion and random benchmark data rather than a useful explanation on what’s actually important and why it’s important. It ultimately confuses the person asking for help, or at best, that person leaves the thread with a decent part list and no earthly idea why it’s decent.

Because I’m so passionate about PC hardware, I consider it a disservice to any first-time or otherwise inexperienced builder to merely provide a bunch of parts in a list and wish him well. I’m the type of person who asks “why” a lot, and with any major purchase or venture, I fervently explore the thought process behind every decision I need to make or piece of advice I receive. If PC gaming is/will be a somewhat significant part of your life—and if you’re spending even a few hours a week doing it, I consider that significant—my hope is that this guide will give you an immense sense of pride and confidence in knowing you made informed decisions.

Yes, this guide is long. I initially set out to write a short outline-style guide that covered the basic rules of thumb in selecting each part, but I quickly realized that there needed to be a stronger backbone to those basic rules to put them into context. That eventually led to what you see here. To be quite honest, it could easily be twice or three times as long, and if you were to research each subject covered in this guide, you would end up reading exponentially more words than are written here. The length of this guide is shorter than a young-adult novel, so I hope you can take a couple of hours of enrichment.

This guide explains:
> The essential components of a gaming PC.

> Which parts are most important and how much of your budget you should allocate to each component.

> The criteria to consider in selecting each part and which of those criteria are most important.

> Game performance levels, basic monitor specs, graphic quality settings, and why understanding them is of the utmost importance before choosing any hardware or budget.

====///====Brand Bias====\\\====
There’s brand bias engrained in nearly every PC hardware discussion, and if not, someone will still insist there is. I’ll go ahead and admit that there is some level of bias. Since this guide includes part suggestions for “sample” builds at various budget levels, I’m sure there will be differences of opinion. But where there is bias, I acknowledge it and offer alternatives. The sample builds are there only to offer a general representation of the performance you’ll get at different budgets. It’s the least important part of this whole thing. This is a guide. It’s meant to empower you, not fill your head with dirty fanboy lies.

====///====Understanding the Technical Jargon====\\\====
This is both a beginner guide and a semi-advanced guide rolled into one, as I believe you can learn something here even if you’ve built a PC before and are simply shopping around for your next build. But as I said, this guide could be several times longer than it is, and part of my strategy to avoid that was to make several assumptions about the reader’s knowledge. If you’re reading this, I assume you’re interested in choosing parts for a gaming PC build. Therefore, I also assume the following:
> You have a basic understanding of what is required to make a PC run (CPU, motherboard, RAM, GPU, etc.)

> You’re familiar with basic CPU jargon (GHz, quad-core, 8-core, hyperthreading, etc.)

> You’re capable of building a PC or can at least competently follow directions on YouTube.

> You want a build that performs well at stock speeds and are not yet ready to venture into overclocking and enthusiast-level cooling solutions.

> You have or will have a set budget – it’s generally better to configure a PC based on the performance you want, taking into account everything you intend to use it for besides gaming. But it’s easy to get carried away using that method, especially for first-time builders. You might end up with a $1,500 configuration that performs worse than a $1,000 machine configured by an experienced builder. For that reason, we will be working with predefined budgets that scale in performance level appropriately. At the end of the guide, I will offer sensible enthusiast-level upgrade suggestions for the ballers who want the biggest e-peen.

If there are any terms or concepts you don’t understand, do not be afraid to ask. My goal is to help you understand everything I discuss in this guide, not scare you away or make you feel in any way inferior.