My first gaming PC: the planning stage
20.10.2021
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Max wants to assemble his first gaming PC all by himself. But before any screws are tightened or plugs snapped into place, a comprehensive roadmap is required. Which components are the best given his available budget? What is indispensable? And what can be retrofitted later?
My 15-year-old son Max is fulfilling his dream of having his first computer. But he won’t take the easy way out with a ready-made model. He wants to assemble his PC by himself. It’s my first home-built game station as well. Good I’m just an onlooker/reporter, then.
PC equipment: test reports and videos are the way
For over a year, Max has been watching YouTube videos and studying test reports. Gradually, the components that would make up his gaming PC crystallised. Keeping in mind our budget, of course. Only following his 15th birthday did we finally get an estimate. Thanks to some gracious gifts, his savings increased to a total of almost 2000 Euros. What didn’t change over time: the graphics card issue.
But apart from that, the following equipment was chosen:
First there was the processor. AMD’s Ryzen 5 5600X provides a good mix of performance and price. It also helps determine the motherboard. To save money, it’ll be a model without WLAN. «A LAN cable will offer better ping anyway,» the would-be eSports pro reports.
When it comes to the casing, Max made more and more sacrifices over time. Lighting became less important with time and a set budget. In the end, however, he’s satisfied with the compromise in design, size and price. All selected components should fit into the Corsair 4000D Airflow. In addition, there’s still room for expansion.
A suitable graphics card was also quickly settled on: a Geforce 3060 Ti or 3070. However, current supply shortages and associated high prices make it hard to find one that won’t break the budget. Prices in Germany already seem high to me. Compared to Switzerland, however, the range and prices in this country are almost heavenly in comparison.
Little thought went into the RAM, power supply and fan. But that doesn’t mean Max hasn’t done his research in order to choose good parts in the price range that suits him. After all, the PSU has to deliver enough power, the fans have to fit into the case and the RAM has to be chosen to match the available slots. He can save on the SSD. It was a birthday gift from me.
Peripherals: a PC on its own doesn’t do much
Without the right peripherals, even the best gaming computer is useless. A platitude, but one that tends to be forgotten when PC parts are purchased. A monitor, mouse, keyboard and headset are the minimum accessories. Together, however, they quickly hit the triple digits. And that doesn’t even include the deeply desired gaming chair.
The Asus TUF VG249Q was chosen as a monitor: 24-inch, Full HD resolution, 144 hertz refresh rate. As soon as he’s saved up enough money, Max plans to buy a second one.
Max got the Model D from Glorious PC Gaming Race a few months before his birthday. It’s already been used extensively on our laptop. A matching mouse pad is also already on my desk. YouTube recommendations pointed us towards a product from Hong Kong. Max is very happy with his X-raypad.
Actually assembling a keyboard by himself will have to wait due to cost reasons. For the time being, Max is content with an off-the-peg model. The Ducky One 2 TKL Skyline isn’t a very common one either.
We’re running out of budget for a headset, but Max fortunately already looked at the under-100 Euro range. In the end, he spontaneously went for a Logitech G Pro instead of the HyperX Cloud II.
Checking in
Just under 1600 Euros for the PC – with the graphics card accounting for half – is quite a hefty sum. In addition, there are peripherals worth almost 500 Euros. Max is aware that he still needs a Windows licence, as well as one or the other game.
Next steps
In the second part of my series, I get to watch Max assemble his rig. I’ll report on what worked well and where the newbie encountered a few problems. But worry not, his old man is always ready to leave the role of observer and help out.
When I was but a young student, I'd sit in my friend's living room with all my classmates and play on his SuperNES. Since then I've had the opportunity to test out all the newest technology for you. I've done reviews at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, and have now arrived at Galaxus.de.
