A gaming PC is all about its components. They determine the resolution, graphics settings, and frame rate at which you’ll play. Together with HYPERPC, a premium gaming computer manufacturer in UAE, we’ll guide you through the key components to use when building a gaming PC in 2024.
Deciding on the Build
Before selecting components, you need to answer the following questions:
- What resolution do you plan to play at?
- What frame rate do you want to achieve?
- What graphics settings will you use?
- Are you planning to enable ray tracing?
Your answers will directly impact your choice of components and the maximum cost of your build.
Choosing a Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Modern games are optimized for 4, 6, or 8 cores. There’s no real need to buy top-tier CPUs like the Intel Core i9-14900K with numerous processing units just for gaming. High-end processors are expensive and mainly beneficial for work purposes. In gaming, they offer only a slight increase in FPS compared to more budget-friendly CPUs.
CPUs like the Intel Core i5-14400(F) or 14600K will handle all modern games with ease. Their power is sufficient for any game, and they won’t bottleneck even the most powerful NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards.
The key is to avoid buying outdated CPUs. Their architecture provides much lower performance in games. For Intel, the latest generations are 13th and 14th, and for AMD, it’s the 7th generation. The generation is indicated by the first digits in the CPU model name.
Choosing a Graphics Card
When selecting a graphics card, consider:
- The resolution of your monitor
- The desired frame rate
- Preferred graphics settings
For gaming at Full HD resolution on high or ultra-settings, choose NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 or 4060 Ti. These cards will provide 60 FPS or more in almost all modern single-player games. In online games, the frame rate will be even higher, as multiplayer titles are usually less demanding.
If you plan to game at Quad HD resolution (2K) on high or ultra-settings, opt for an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, 4070 Super, or 4070 Ti. For Ultra HD (4K) gaming, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super, 4080, 4080 Super, and 4090 are suitable choices.
Ray tracing technology significantly reduces FPS in games. If you plan to enable it, it’s recommended to choose a higher-tier graphics card. For instance, if you want to play with ray tracing at Full HD resolution, opt for a card designed for 2K resolution. This way, you won’t need to lower the graphics quality to maintain a high and stable FPS.
While AMD cards are typically more affordable than NVIDIA, they don’t handle ray tracing as well. If ray tracing is important to you, it’s better to go with an NVIDIA card.
Choosing RAM
Most games require 16 GB of RAM, but demanding titles like Horizon Forbidden West on ultra-settings may need 32 GB to avoid freezes and stutters in open-world environments.
When choosing between DDR4 and DDR5 RAM, prioritize DDR5. It’s much faster and enhances CPU performance in modern games. Consider DDR4 only if you’re building a budget system.
For gaming PCs, RAM modules are installed in pairs—two or four sticks—to activate dual-channel mode, which significantly boosts system performance in games.
Choosing an SSD
Hard drives are too slow and unsuitable for stable gaming performance. Therefore, a gaming PC should have an SSD. Install your games on it to avoid long loading times and minimize FPS drops.
The speed of the SSD doesn’t really matter; games load at about the same speed on budget SATA SSDs and faster PCI-E drives.
Choosing a Case and Cooling
The case should accommodate all your components. Ideally, it should have plenty of ventilation and fan mounting points to allow for a powerful cooling system. This will extend the lifespan of your components and protect them from throttling.
Newer generation processors run very hot and require powerful tower coolers designed for TDPs of 200 watts or higher. Liquid cooling systems are also a good option.
Conclusion
To build a gaming PC, first determine your desired graphics settings, resolution, and FPS. Then follow these recommendations:
- Choose a current-generation CPU with 6 performance cores. They are relatively affordable and handle modern games well.
- Your choice of graphics card depends on your monitor’s resolution. The higher the resolution, the more powerful GPU you need.
- Most games run fine on 16 GB of RAM, but opting for 32 GB ensures stable FPS even in demanding titles.
- SSD speed is not crucial, so there’s no need to overspend on expensive PCI-E SSDs.
- The case should support all your components, and the CPU cooler should handle a TDP of at least 200 watts.
