8 Gaming PC Building Mistakes to Avoid

Buying gaming PC parts can be a time-consuming process. Without adequate research and preparation, you can easily end up with incompatible components or crippled performance. Let’s discuss the top mistakes people make when building a gaming PC and what to do to avoid them.

Good to know: for those who want a portable gaming PC, you may soon be able to build your own laptop from the ground up.

Mistake 1. Buying an “OC Edition” Graphics Card

This may seem counterintuitive. You’re a gamer, so you want the best. You don’t want that RTX 3070 that your grandma is using. You want the beast: “RTX 3070 Gaming OC eXtreme Edition.” But slapping the words “gaming” and “OC” (overclock) next to a graphics card’s name is simply a marketing gimmick to make you pay more for almost the same hardware. This is not to say that this applies to all gaming hardware. For example, a gaming mouse may be worth the extra price.

When a manufacturer launches a graphics card, it’s in their best interest to push their hardware to the (safest) limit. It would not make sense for a regular RTX 4070 to score, say, 10,000 points in a benchmark, while the “OC edition” would score 12,500. It would mean that an entire team of engineers at a giant manufacturer left 25 percent of performance on the table. At the most, a factory-overclocked graphics card would give you 5 percent more FPS and better cooling.

However, the price for a fancy overclocked card is usually much higher than that of the regular variant. You could pay 20 percent more for 5 percent more performance, which is not a win. Furthermore, you can overclock your graphics card to get the same boost in performance instead of buying the costlier card. Buying the right graphics card should be focused on opting for the proper performance class, rather than getting lost in unique variants of the same GPU.

Mistake 2. Buying Faster RAM for More FPS

Believe it or not, doubling the RAM frequency won’t give you double the performance when PC building. If you upgrade from, say, slower 3200 MT/s CL16 DDR4 to 6000 MT/s CL30 DDR5 RAM, you could get an average of 8 to 10 percent more FPS. In rare cases, faster RAM could bring you as much as 20 percent improvement from faster RAM, as the video card processes frames internally and rarely needs to access data in your system RAM while it’s rendering.

RAM speed may give you significant improvements in other areas, such as compiling programs, rendering videos, and multitasking, but it matters very little in gaming. Your best bet is to pick a reputable brand of RAM and not pay attention to extremely high frequencies or the lowest latencies. If a lower frequency RAM, say, DDR5 5600 MT/s, is cheaper, buy that instead of the pricier DDR5 7200 MT/s RAM. You can invest the money you saved in a better graphics card to see much bigger improvements.

With the price of DDR5 RAM at an all-time low, you can get some of the best RAM for gaming for around $100. But, just like “gaming” video cards, this cool-looking RAM that claims to be game-optimized isn’t necessarily worth the extra money when building a gaming PC.

Tip: once you select your RAM, this step-by-step RAM installation guide will help you build your computer.

Mistake 3. Judging a CPU by Generation and Number of Cores

There is a huge difference in performance between a 9th Gen Intel Core processor and a 13th Gen one. But you won’t see gains as significant when you go from one generation to the next. Sometimes a new generation brings improvements, like better power efficiency and overclocking headroom, with some new features introduced. But in terms of gaming performance, the improvements are often very small. The rule of thumb is the same as above: don’t pay 50 percent more money for 10 percent more performance.

Regarding the number of cores, you could get 60 FPS with a modern 6-core CPU and only 65 FPS with an 8-core CPU. Regarding gaming, single-thread performance matters much more than the core count, as this is real-time rendering. Having 12 cores won’t help your CPU do that faster. However, multiple cores can help in CPU-bound games, where many things need to be processed simultaneously.

Consult multiple reviews before buying your CPU, and choose a more powerful graphics card instead of a flagship processor.

Mistake 4. Cheaping Out on the Power Supply

One of the biggest mistakes people make when PC building is buying a power supply that’s incapable of supplying enough stable power to your components. It’s not enough to just buy a PSU with enough wattage to support your PC’s power consumption. You should also choose a reliable unit from a trusted brand that can sustain your power-hungry components for the long term.

Cheaping out on your power supply can lead to unexpected shutdowns and even damage to your computer parts. Ensure that you opt for a unit with at least an 80+ Bronze rating (80+ Gold, ideally) and enough wattage headroom to account for sudden spikes and future upgrades.

Good to know: your CPU should maintain certain temperature ranges during gameplay to avoid overheating.

Mistake 5. Incompatible Components for PC

Considering the number of CPU generations that exist simultaneously, be careful when selecting your motherboard, RAM, and hard drive. Your CPU will always be compatible with only a specific CPU socket or platform. For instance, buying an AMD Ryzen processor will be compatible with only specific chipsets, depending on whether your CPU belongs to the AM4 or AM5 platform.

Similarly, you’ll also have to ensure that you’re buying the correct type of RAM – DDR4 or DDR5 – based on the memory your CPU and motherboard are compatible with. Note that Intel’s 12th and 13th generation processors support DDR4 and DDR5 RAM, but you’ll still need to choose the correct motherboard.

Mistake 6. Buying Parts That Won’t Fit in Your Case

Another common PC building mistake is buying parts that are physically incompatible with your case. Whether you’re upgrading your rig or building a new gaming PC, it can be depressing if you end up with a graphics card that is too long or a CPU cooler that is too high.

Avoiding this mistake is simple if you compare your case specifications against the dimensions of your components. Besides manufacturer product pages, you can browse Reddit or watch YouTube videos to ensure that you buy physically compatible gaming PC parts.

Good to know: choosing a computer case for your new gaming PC requires several considerations.

Mistake 7. Buying Insufficient Cooling

There was a time when the stock cooler that shipped with your processor was enough to avoid thermal throttling. But, as CPUs became denser and more power-hungry, TDPs rose beyond the capabilities of the humble stock coolers.

To choose the right CPU cooler, ensure that the fan matches the CPU’s TDP value of the motherboard socket. Additionally, weigh the pros and cons of air coolers, liquid coolers, and custom loops before deciding on one. Choosing an AIO liquid cooler would be the right choice for most users, unless you’re targeting a specific aesthetic or want no-holds-barred enthusiast cooling.

Mistake 8. Not Budgeting Effectively

PC building is an expensive endeavor, and if you don’t plan well, you could end up blowing your budget on an overly expensive graphics card or high-end motherboard, and find yourself out of funds for the rest of your components. As a rule, around half of your budget for a gaming PC should be reserved for the graphics card. After that, the CPU, RAM, and PSU should be the top priorities when building a value-for-money gaming PC.

Once you’ve configured a good balance between your processor, graphics card, memory, and power supply, choose a motherboard with the features you need instead of buying a high-end chipset that won’t improve your FPS. Next, choose a case that’s compatible with your build. You can spend a bit on a good-looking case if you have room in your budget. Lastly, if your budget permits, select a reasonably priced solid-state drive and some secondary storage.

PC Building Requires Careful Consideration

These PC building mistakes can quickly ruin your gaming, especially if you’re a beginner. They may seem obvious to the experienced builders but can be lifesavers for new builders.

When building a gaming PC, you can also compare prebuilt vs. custom gaming PCs and check out the best custom PC builder websites to make the process a bit easier.

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