- 2018 best gaming pc build install#
- 2018 best gaming pc build upgrade#
- 2018 best gaming pc build full#
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. GPUs (See on Amazon) are typically defined in terms of the number of slots they take up inside the chassis and the physical length of the card. GPU prices are currently so over-inflated, my honest advice is not to buy a GPU at all and make do with whatever you’ve already got, buy used, or otherwise limp along until the cryptocurrency market calms the hell down.Īpart 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. Always make sure to match your CPUs listed TDP with the TDP of the cooler you are using (CPUs shipped from AMD and Intel will come with an appropriately rated CPU cooler if you buy retail packaged parts). Higher-end CPUs typically draw more power and you may want to use a better cooler with top-end models. Past the question of socket compatibility, which CPU you choose has knock-on effects on the rest of the system build. Whether you’ll be able to afford DRAM is another question. 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. We have to say “in combination,” because in some cases, CPUs (See on Amazon) have supported multiple types of DRAM, which meant which standard you used was a question of which your motherboard supported. The combination of the CPU and motherboard you choose determines your RAM type.
Intel’s current socket standard is LGA1151, while AMD’s is Socket AM4. This is commonly referred to as a socket standard. There are three basic motherboard types in the consumer market, in order of size: Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX (mATX), and ATX.ĬPUs fit into sockets on motherboards, which means the motherboard has to have the appropriate number of pins (or holes, in AMD’s case). The motherboard you pick shapes what your system is capable of and how much expandability you can expect in the future. It won’t fry - we’re a bit past that point now - but the system may destabilize and will run slowly. It’s fine to use a cooler that can handle a 150W TDP on a 50W chip, but don’t try using a 50W cooler on a 150W CPU. This is the amount of heat the cooler is designed to dissipate over a given period of time and should be matched to the listed TDP of the CPU at minimum. Note: CPU coolers are typically rated in terms of their TDP, or Thermal Design Power. Given that CPUs have topped out at roughly 140W (with a handful of exceptions) for a decade, this is a great way to keep using a valuable component that can cool a newer chip just as well as an old one.
2018 best gaming pc build upgrade#
If you have an older cooler, in many cases, Noctua offers upgrade kits that will allow you to keep using it on a newer motherboard. Note the way the cooler overhangs the RAM slots. There’s usually not much difference in connectivity - small PCs can rival large ones when it comes to USB ports and other peripheral options, if they’re designed to do it.Ī Noctua NH-U14S, installed.
2018 best gaming pc build install#
Need to install a new SSD or HDD, and don’t feel like taking the old one out? No problem. The other advantage of larger cases, if I’m being honest, is that they let you be lazier. An HTPC case isn’t going to offer that kind of benefit. There are towers, for example, that allow you to access the rear of the motherboard to remove a bolted-on heatsink without having to pull the entire motherboard to do it. Small cases are typically harder to work in, both because they give you less room to maneuver when installing or removing components and because you may have to install hardware in a specific order. There’s overlap between case and motherboard sizes, so I’ll address that question more fully later on.
2018 best gaming pc build full#
Note the small number of rear slots.Ĭases tend to be marketed as one of several types of tower - full tower, mid tower, and mini tower are the three basic categories, along with a few for literal “desktop” machines (HTPC).
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