Tips for Building A Gaming PC Without Breaking The Bank
Building their very own gaming PC is one of the most exciting things that gamers get to do in their lives. The whole experience is even more enjoyable and rewarding because most of us gamers work hard hours and save cash for a long time to be able to build a gaming PC.
However, building a gaming PC on a certain budget is not an easy task. It is because in most cases gamers end up overspending while building their gaming PC. Or, they miss out on some components because they spend cash on other non-essential components.
For this reason, a gamer needs to be extra careful while spending money on components for their gaming PC build. Money must be spent as efficiently as possible, so the gaming PC build remains within budget and does not break the bank. Here are our top tips for building a gaming PC without breaking the bank.
Decide What You Are Planning To Do With Your Gaming PC
The first step in building a gaming PC is deciding what you are planning on doing with it. Of course, you will be gaming, but you have to decide what kind of games you are going to play.
League Of Legends / Dota 2
If you are planning on playing games like Dota 2 or League of Legends, then you don't need to spend a lot of cash on your gaming PC build. You shouldn't be spending a lot of cash on the latest and greatest graphics card or processor. It is because these video games do not require high-performance hardware and can run on a bare-bones PC. League of Legends and Dota 2 will run smoothly even on a decent laptop. So if the main reason you are building a gaming PC is to play these games, then you can surely save tons of cash.
ESports Shooters - Beginner
If you are getting into the world of eSports shooters like Valorant or CSGO, it might be tempting to jump right into a 240Hz monitor and all the latest gaming PC hardware. However, if you are a beginner, then you are better off saving some of the cash. If you have never experienced a 60Hz monitor before, then trust us, it is going to be more than enough for you. Not only that but most eSports titles are highly optimized, which means that you will be getting a decent framerate even on a low spec PC.
Competitive eSports Gaming - Semi-Pro
As you climb up the ladder and become good at a particular eSports title, you will start to notice that your in-game performance is being limited by the performance of your hardware. It is only this time that you should consider getting high-performance hardware.
For example, if you are currently getting only around 80 to 100 FPS in a particular eSports title, you will need to make some upgrades so you can achieve over 140 FPS. You may also need to get a 144Hz refresh rate gaming monitor. Getting all this equipment will significantly improve your in-game performance so they are definitely worth it.
Casual Gaming
If you are a casual gamer, you can easily save tons of cash building a gaming PC for yourself. The thing is, all you need to enjoy a single-player game is a framerate of around 60 at 1080p and the normal graphics preset. Fortunately, even a budget build costing around 500 USD can deliver this much performance.
Latest Single Player Games With Maximum Graphics
If you are a gamer who prefers to play the latest games to get launched, and you want to play them on maximum graphics, then there are certain things you won't be able to compromise on. Firstly you will need a powerful graphics card to push out all the demanding graphics. Secondly, you will need a processor that has at least 6 cores and 12 threads. And finally, you will need a hard drive with enough space to store all the games.
Decide On Your Budget
The next step is deciding on a budget that you are planning to spend on your gaming PC. Because you have already decided what you are planning to do with your gaming PC, it will be easier for you to decide on a budget. Deciding on a budget is very simple. One way to do that is to decide on the maximum amount of cash you are willing to spend on your gaming PC. Or you can just aim for the minimum amount you can spend on all the essential components.
Make A List Of Essential Parts
After deciding on a budget, you should start making a list of the essential parts. Pick out all the parts that you need for the gaming PC according to what you are planning to do with it. After that, add up all the prices.
If you notice that you have gone over budget with the essential parts, you can try cutting out some costs by getting lower performance hardware, or you will have to increase your budget. Secondly, if you notice that you have gone under budget, then you can either add some other components like RBG fans or a better CPU cooler, or you can just save the money and do something else with it.
Avoid Bottlenecks
A bottleneck is one of the most common ways that PC gamers end up spending tons of unnecessary cash while building a gaming PC. When you have all the best hardware for your gaming PC, but one thing is holding back its performance, then that is called a bottleneck. So if you built a gaming PC with a bottleneck, then you just spent tons of cash for the performance of the cheapest component in your build.
Function Over Form
If you look at any computer, what's the one thing that you would say differentiates it from a regular computer, or what makes it a gaming computer. The first thing that would pop up in your mind would be RGB. The next thing would include angular and cool-looking gaming peripherals.
While it is true that a desk setup that has RGB and angular-designed peripherals is probably a gaming computer, it does not have to be that way. It is also true that tons of gamers love RGB and would want to get more RGB for their gaming setup, but getting RGB may cost you a lot more than you think.
When you are building a PC on a budget, and you don't want to break the bank while buying all the components for it, it does not make sense to spend a lot of cash on stuff that makes your setup look like it's a gaming setup. If you will go for looks, you may end up spending a lot more than you planned out.
Besides, when you are on a budget, who cares what your gaming PC looks like. All that matters is how it performs and how much FPS are you able to achieve in video games. However, this does not mean that you shouldn't try to make your PC look good. A clean setup with proper placement of all the components on the desk looks great. And if you are really into RGB, you can spend a couple of bucks on an RGB strip and make your setup light up.
Checking Out The Used Marketplace
One of the best ways to get some parts for a way less price than their MSRP is by looking for them on the used marketplace. Some gamers have tons of cash to spare and buy all the latest and greatest components that the market has to offer. These kinds of gamers usually make upgrades when they see new components hitting the shelves. When they make upgrades, their older components are not of much use for them so they usually end up in online marketplaces. This is where you come in to swoop all the cheap computer hardware. Sometimes you can get amazing deals.
Conclusion
If you are trying to build a gaming PC while spending as little money as possible, then the first thing that you should do is decide what you are planning on doing with it. It will save you from tons of unnecessary purchases. For example, if you are just planning on playing games like Dota 2, there is no need to spend hundreds of dollars on a graphics card that can run the latest games in 4k.
Along with that, some other things that you can do include deciding on a budget before you start buying components, making a list of the essential components, making sure that you avoid bottlenecks, and checking out the used marketplace for cheap components. If you add all those things and use all the tips that we have mentioned here, you can easily save a couple of hundred bucks on your next PC build.
