How to build a gaming computer: a beginner’s guide

Plan the build

Start with the games you want to play and the screen you play them on. A 1080p screen needs far less power than a 1440p or 4K one, and the graphics card is where most of the budget should go.

A parts list tool such as PCPartPicker helps: it checks that the parts you choose fit together, warns about clashes and shows prices from several shops.

The parts, in plain English

• Processor (CPU): does the general work. Its socket must match the motherboard’s.
• Graphics card (GPU): draws the game, and matters most for frame rates. Check its length fits the case and note the power supply wattage its maker recommends.
• Motherboard: connects everything. It must suit the processor (socket and chipset) and the case (ATX, micro-ATX or mini-ITX).
• Memory (RAM): 16 GB is the starting point for games today, 32 GB is comfortable. Two matching sticks work better than one.
• Storage: an NVMe SSD, which plugs straight into the motherboard, for Windows and your games; a hard drive only if you need cheap space for files.
• Power supply (PSU): enough watts for the graphics card and the rest, with some headroom, from a maker with a good reputation. A cheap power supply is a false economy.
• Cooler: some processors come with one, many don’t. Check before you buy.
• Case: fits the motherboard and the graphics card, with room for air to flow through.

Before you buy

• Check every part on your compatibility list together, not one at a time.
• Newer processors can need a newer motherboard BIOS. Check the motherboard maker’s support page says your processor works with the BIOS it ships with, or that the board can update its BIOS without a processor.
• Keep the boxes and receipts until the PC has run well for a few weeks.

Put it together, in this order

1. Work on a clear, hard table, not carpet. Touch something metal before you handle parts, to get rid of static. A medium Phillips screwdriver does most of the job.
2. Fit the processor in the motherboard while the board is still out of the case: line up the triangle or notches, lower it in, and never force it.
3. Fit the NVMe SSD in its slot on the board, under its heatsink if there is one, and screw it down.
4. Fit the memory in the slots the motherboard manual names for two sticks (often the second and fourth), and press until both clips click.
5. Fit the cooler. Peel off any plastic film from the cooler’s base first: left on, it makes the processor overheat and the PC crash in games. Use thermal paste if the cooler hasn’t got it already.
6. Screw the motherboard into the case, on the standoffs that match its holes.
7. Fit the power supply, then the graphics card in the top long slot, screwed to the case.
8. Connect the cables: the big 24-pin plug to the board, the 8-pin processor power at the top of the board, the graphics card’s power, the fans, and the case’s front-panel leads (the power button pins are marked in the manual).

The first start, and if it won’t power on

Plug the monitor into the graphics card, not the motherboard, then switch on. If the PC starts, open the BIOS (usually the Delete key at start-up) and check it sees the processor, all the memory and the SSD. Turn on the memory’s speed profile (XMP or EXPO) there.

If nothing happens, or the screen stays black, check these before you change any part:

• The 24-pin and the 8-pin processor power plugs are pushed fully home.
• Both memory sticks are fully seated, with both clips closed.
• The case’s power-button lead is on the right two pins.
• The power supply’s own switch is on, and the monitor is on the graphics card.

Many new builds that won’t start have one of these simple faults. One customer’s brand-new self-build wouldn’t power on at all: we came out the same day and fixed it on the spot.

Install Windows and the drivers

1. Make a Windows 11 USB stick with Microsoft’s free Media Creation Tool on another computer, start the new PC from it, and follow the steps.
2. Install the motherboard’s chipset drivers from its maker’s website.
3. Install the graphics driver from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel, depending on your card.
4. Run Windows Update until it finds nothing more to install.

Free tools worth having

• PCPartPicker, to plan the build and check the parts fit together.
• HWMonitor, to watch temperatures while you game: a processor or graphics card running very hot is the first thing to look at when games crash.
• Your graphics card maker’s own app, to keep the graphics driver up to date.

When to ask for help

Take your time, and don’t keep swapping parts when something goes wrong: a fault is far easier to find when the build is tested properly. If it crashes in games, runs hot, or won’t start at all, that is the kind of job we do.

One customer’s crashes came from plastic the builder had left on the processor. In the customer’s words: “This company came and fixed the problem really quick.”