How to Build a Cheap Gaming Computer: 10 Steps (with Pictures)

{“smallUrl”:”https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/e\/e7\/Build-a-Cheap-Gaming-Computer-Step-2-Version-5.jpg\/v4-460px-Build-a-Cheap-Gaming-Computer-Step-2-Version-5.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”\/images\/thumb\/e\/e7\/Build-a-Cheap-Gaming-Computer-Step-2-Version-5.jpg\/aid675953-v4-728px-Build-a-Cheap-Gaming-Computer-Step-2-Version-5.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=\”mw-parser-output\”><p>\u00a9 2023 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. This image is <b>not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc.<br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>”}

2

Pick a good video/graphics card. You’ll want a good video card. It is recommended for newer games to operate well. The rule of thumb is that the graphics card takes up one third of the budget. It is worth to take a look at used graphics cards in a very tight budget, especially the models GTX 960, GTX 970 and GTX 1050. For any larger budget any new graphics card by AMD or NVIDIA will suffice. The best value is carried by the series AMD RX 5xx and the GTX 1660Ti.

Advertisement

{“smallUrl”:”https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/7\/76\/Build-a-Cheap-Gaming-Computer-Step-4-Version-5.jpg\/v4-460px-Build-a-Cheap-Gaming-Computer-Step-4-Version-5.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”\/images\/thumb\/7\/76\/Build-a-Cheap-Gaming-Computer-Step-4-Version-5.jpg\/aid675953-v4-728px-Build-a-Cheap-Gaming-Computer-Step-4-Version-5.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=\”mw-parser-output\”><p>\u00a9 2023 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. This image is <b>not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc.<br>\n<\/p><p><br \/>\n<\/p><\/div>”}

4

Pick a large and fast storage drive. Storage comes in two types: hard drive (HDD) and solid state (SSD) storage. HDDs use mechanical components which makes them cheaper, but also slower. SSDs are a newer technology which is very fast due to being free of moving parts. SSDs can be 2x to 50x as expensive as a HDD. Make sure your mainboard is compatible to the drive: Many SSDs and almost all HDDs come with the common SATA connector, while some high-end SSDs use the M.2 connector. Usually a 1 TB 7200RPM hard drive is enough to store many games, but if the budget allows for it, you should include a small, 120GB-256GB SSD for your operating system and your favourite games to load faster.