Whether you want to buy a new PC or build one yourself, squeezing the most out of your budget is a challenge akin to four-dimensional chess. Every decision you make has repercussions, some of which may not show themselves until three years down the line.
This article is here to help. Based on my own 25 years’ experience reviewing desktop PCs, responses from PC vendors, and an interview with our very own Lee Grant, I aim to cover the big questions, the pitfalls, and squeeze in a few handy tips.
While you can visit sites such as PCPartPicker (pcpartpicker.com), which is a great starting point as it does an excellent job of ensuring your parts are compatible, this – like all “configure it yourself” systems – assumes you know roughly what you want already. It reduces our game of chess to two simplistic and manageable dimensions, of price and spec, but lacks soul. There’s also the very real risk of either under-specifying or over-specifying.
This guide to buying PCs is also a dog-eared love letter to desktop PCs as a whole. Modern laptops pack phenomenal amounts of power into a tiny space, but if you find yourself computing from the same desk 99% of the time then PCs remain the best choice for value and upgrades. Much like Trigger’s broom, if you choose wisely they can morph over the years to the point where virtually nothing remains of your original machine.
Laptops vs Desktop PCs
So let’s start with that question: should you buy a laptop or desktop PC?
“The beauty of desktops is that they’re upgradable,” said Lee Grant. “They can be fixable. They’re the nearest thing you get to sustainable technology.”
Away from games, however, a modern laptop may be just as fast as a desktop PC. In recent years the CPUs inside laptops have caught up with their desktop counterparts to a quite incredible degree, and have actually overtaken them in terms of running AI tasks. And while you can’t fit as much storage into a laptop, both desktop PCs and laptops have standardized on the M.2 form factor.
Games are a different matter, as Ben Miles from Wired2Fire points out.
“Laptops make for great mobile gaming companions, but the form factor isn’t as performant, upgradable or aesthetically striking as a good gaming desktop,” he said. “Mobile versions of CPUs and GPUs have closed the gap... but are still hamstrung by power envelopes.”
The other key difference is that Nvidia’s mobile chips fall a long way short of their desktop equivalents, despite sharing the branding.
“A mobile RTX 5090 is barely as fast as a desktop RTX 5070 Ti,” said Ben. “Plus, gaming laptops aren’t meaningfully upgradable beyond RAM and storage, and are often loud and uncomfortable to use as a primary gaming device.”
The Balancing Act: How to Split Your Budget
So, let’s assume you want to buy a desktop PC. The next big question is how you set about choosing the various components.
“The most commonly asked questions we receive are usually regarding what performance [you can get for a budget] on a given game or set list of games,” said Dave Gornall of CyberPowerPC.
Ben gave a similar reply. “Our most often asked question is ‘what do I need to run X smoothly?’... It’s very easy to spend money unwisely on PCs and end up with a spec that is grossly over-specified in the wrong area.
“The key is balance,” he continued. “If you overcook one component at the expense of another, you’ll end up with a bottleneck... You can totally hobble the performance of a powerful GPU if the CPU, RAM or cooling is not up to the standards.”
So how should you split your budget?
“There are no rules of thumb that fit every user’s scenario,” said Ben, “but it’s a generally accepted truism that 40-50% of your total PC budget should go on the GPU for a premium gaming system. The art is in balancing the remainder of the budget to rule out any bottlenecks.”
Beyond Gaming: Define Your Use Case
While gaming is a big focus for many buyers, it isn’t the only one.
When Lee talks to customers, he starts with the basics: “What are they going to use it for? What do they use their current machine for? What software packages are key? You need a hook to start with.”
“Use case of the PC is the most important,” said CyberPowerPC’s Dave Gornall, “as it allows us to make informed decisions on component selection.”
While budget is important, don’t tie yourself down too exactly. But there’s one more thing to consider: your budget may be too low.
“The adage of ‘buy cheap, buy twice’ applies to PCs more than almost any other purchase,” said Ben. “The key is to set realistic expectations; £1,000 won’t get you a Triple-A 4K gaming monster, but it will certainly allow you to enjoy all current releases at more modest settings.”
AMD vs Intel: The CPU Battle
Next we asked about the ongoing battle between AMD and Intel.
“In the ‘money no object’ category, AMD X3D processors have a clear advantage over Intel alternatives for gamers,” said Ben. “In the HEDT [high-end desktop] space, AMD Threadripper has ruled supreme for many years.”
Away from the high end, things are more balanced.
“Intel and AMD trade blows for the best performance per pound spent,” said Ben. “What steers us towards an unequivocal AMD recommendation is its long-term commitment to supporting socket platforms, and processors that don’t have a recent history of suddenly dying.”
Historically, AMD also provided better value overall thanks to the cost of its package. This advantage isn’t as clear cut since both Intel and AMD switched to DDR5 memory, however.
AMD vs Nvidia: The GPU Showdown
“The video card question is by no means as clear-cut as it was a few months ago,” said Wired2Fire’s Ben Miles. “The market has been very lukewarm towards Nvidia for the 50-series launch... AMD, by contrast, has seen a hugely positive response to its 9000-series releases.”
If you want 4K gaming at top settings, then your choice boils down to the RTX 5080 and 5090, which “reign uncontested,” said Ben. “Outside of that race, there is a very real AMD threat to Nvidia’s dominant market position.”
Choosing the Right Motherboard
One area where it’s incredibly easy to become unstuck is the motherboard.
First, that means choosing the right chipset. You need to do your own research to find out what the differences mean. Thinking about your storage demands also helps. As you go up AMD’s range, you’ll see more support for more PCIe lanes.
“Firms have never been very good at explaining exactly what happens if I plug in, let’s say, four SATA drives – does that knock out one of the M.2 slots?” said Lee. “You have to research.”
Memory choices are much simpler. Both AMD and Intel have shifted to DDR5 RAM, and your choice of motherboard dictates the speed of memory supported. How much memory you need depends on usage, but these days it makes little sense to choose less than 16GB in total. For streaming while gaming, 32GB is a wise aim.
Chassis and the Power Supply
Choosing a chassis is a hugely subjective decision. What I will say is that there’s no point in buying the flashy, RGB-heavy designs if your PC is going to sit out of sight.
You should also make sure you choose the Goldilocks size of case. Go too small and it becomes a nightmare to replace components.
When it comes to power supplies, don’t fall into the trap of thinking bigger is always better.
“Over-specifying power supply units is a common mistake,” said Lee. This is an area where PCPartPicker is a great aid as it will show PSUs with the minimum power options. You may want to add 100W to give your system room to grow.
Staying Cool and Managing Fan Noise
How do you ensure that a PC isn’t too noisy?
“Careful component choice comes first – you need to make sure your cooling hardware isn’t going to be overwhelmed by the rest of the parts,” said Ben Miles. “Don’t underestimate the importance of sympathetic vibrations and resonance.”
As CyberPowerPC’s Dave Gornall points out, “[Noise] depends on the use-case scenario; however, only using high-quality fans that have PWM control is pivotal.”
It may surprise some readers that often the quietest PCs are the ones with the highest number of fans, due to skilled builders understanding airflow.
Nor should you imagine that a liquid-cooled PC is always quieter than an air-cooled one. Anyone building such a system should tread carefully.
“Customers buy water coolers... not realising there is a longevity with those things,” said Lee. “They do leak and they do destroy systems.”
Our final word on the physical side of building a PC is about cable management.
“It sets apart a professional build from an amateur build,” said Ben. “Good cable management isn’t just about aesthetics – it can transform thermals as well.”
Give It a Go!
If there’s one lesson to learn from our experts, it’s that building a great PC isn’t easy. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it yourself.
“Give it a go, but do your research first and don’t expect it to be 100% plain sailing,” said Ben Miles. “If it doesn’t power on first go, stay calm, don’t panic and seek advice.”
My one word of warning is that you shouldn’t necessarily expect to save a lot of money. You can save a small amount, but your PC won’t include the warranty or the reassurance of an expert.
Like Ben, Lee encourages people to try building systems themselves.
“It’s about just encouraging people to have a go, because that promotes sustainability... It’s not a big, scary thing: PCs are a lot easier to build than they used to be. So I encourage everyone to have a go.”