Your CPU is your brain for everything your computer does. If your CPU is weak your computer will be slow at everything you want it to do. So your first focus should be on your CPU.
which platform and brand should you I use?
if you are on a budget go for AMD. Their desktop CPUs offer a really good performance per dollar up until the 100$ range. Anything above that is a waste of money. Their FX CPUs are good for gaming, but struggle in single core performance. This is because their FX line was introduced in 2012 and ever since they did not update it. Intel surpassed AMD long time ago and are the only reasonable choice at investing more than 100$ into your CPU.
Intel releases a new CPU architecture every year, thus they are the reigning kings on the market. Tho you have to do some research about their current series, but in the end you will be thankful for spending the time and money into it. Their current platforms are 1150 (supporting DDR3 RAM) and 1151 (supporting DDR4 RAM).
But AMD offers you six/eight cores for the same money as intel provides you with two/four!
yea, they do. But you have to see it like this : Imagine a rowing boat which has up to four places for rowers (this is the game you want to play, games usually utilize up to four cores). You have to chose between six/eight 15 year old boys with 8inch arms (AMD), which of two would be standing around doing nothing or two/four Arnold Schwarzeneggers (Intel). Who would you let row? Obviously the two Arnie's since they can move the boat much faster than the teenagers, even when they are outnumbered.
these are the rules I follow when buying a CPU :
If all you do is playing games that are not very demanding (LoL, CS:GO, Dota, etc.) go for the highest clocked i3 CPU (usually 110-130$).
if you want to play some AAA titles which can stress your CPU pretty well (Battlefield, Call of Duty, Fallout 4, Witcher 3 etc.) you should go for the lowest clocked i5 CPU with no prefix at the end of its number (around 150-180$). Buying anything else above this is again a waste of money because all i5's are the same except for clockspeed which doesn't really matter in the jumps they do (usually you spend about 20$ for each aditional 100Mhz).
So why should I buy something like an i7 if the lowest i5 is enough for everything?
Interesting Question. i7's are not made for the average gamer, but for enthusiast who want to archieve the highest numbers possible or users who must handle many many tasks at the same time like professional video editors or streamers. In some cases, like people when you want to spend about 1300$+ on your computer, I do recommend you to buy an i7, because some GPU's in the 600$+ range get bottlenecked by an i5 and need an i7 to unlock their full power (which you obviously want).
Why the hell should I buy a CPU cooler if there already is one bundled with my CPU?
simply because the one bundled with your CPU cooler is shit. Stock coolers exist to give you the ability to use your computer without catching fire within the first five minutes. Otherwise than that they are loud as hell and weak, they even fail when your computer is under full load. So get rid of these and buy an aftermarket CPU cooler. Investing about 20$ here is enough already. These coolers are quiet, strong and will keep your computer living for a long time. Only if you plan to overclock (which in my guide only is possible at 1300$+) you can concider spending a little bit more for higher overclocking results, but don't expect double the performance increase by doubling your money invested in the CPU cooler.
This is the most important part when it comes to gaming. Your GPU is the muscle power your computer can bring to move them pixels on your screen.
So I need to spend a shitton on these and ignore everything else when I only want to play games, right?
no. Your GPU is equally bound to your CPU. Spending 50$ on a CPU and 500$ on a GPU won't help you at all, in fact a 200$ GPU would bring the exact same results because your CPU would bottleneck the 500$ down. Balancing CPU and GPU power is the key to the most FPS/eye candy.
I heard Nvidia is always better than AMD
again, no. It is a question of belief, an AMD GPU and a Nvidia GPU for the same price should perform on the same level and only differ a little bit. Do some research on your own when you want to compare two GPUs with each other.
what's up with VRAM?
VRAM is your memory for mostly textures. Higher VRAM means you can run the game on higher settings and resolutions. If there are GPUs like the GTX 960 who offer a 2GB and a 4GB version, go for the 4GB. Right now, 4GB of VRAM are perfect for gaming in 1080p. Anything above that (6/8/12GB) is made for higher resolutions (1440p/2160p). Before aiming for this you have to check if your monitor can output resolutions this high, obviously.
Right now, the standard for gaming is 8GB of RAM. This will suit you fine, but having more RAM allows more multitasking and even some new games (like the Devision) can output more consistent FPS when they have even more RAM available. This is why I recommend to buy atleast 16GB for the higher priced builds, and also for being better equipped for the future.
What's the difference between DDR3 and DDR4? These are standards for the size and speed of your RAM sticks. DDR3 was the mainstream RAM until 2015, when then DDR4 was introduced by the 1151 socket. In games there is no difference between playing with DDR3 and DD4. Also DDR3 is cheaper, thats why I recommend the 1150 socket.
what is it with the RAM speed?
these are irrelevent for you, unless you use your integrated Intel GPU (which you don't).
None, unless you want to overclock. Overclocking requires a Zxx chipset and is only supported by CPUs with a "k" in the end of their name. Besides that a Bxx chipset covers all your needs for usual gaming. You will need 2/4 RAM sockets, 1 PCIe socket, 2 SATA sockets, some Fan headers and thats pretty much it. anything else is just a bonus.
what is up with the chipsets you just mentioned?
to sum everything up as short as possible :
(Intel)
Hx1 chipset : Crap, do not buy these. They exist for computers with low energy consumptions like office computers.
Bxx chipset : Covers all your needs.
Hx7 chipset : The same as Bxx, but more expensive and a little bit more ports.
Zxx chipset : Equal to Hx7, but with overclocking.
(AMD)
760G chipset : Covers all your needs, and has onboard graphics (in case your GPU is broken and you still want to use your computer)
970 chipset : More ports than 760G, but no onboard graphics.
980G chipset : Equal to 970 but with onbaord graphics
990X chipset : equal to 980G but with overclocking.
What CPU socket do I need?
AMD FX series : AM3+
Intel i3/i5/i7 4xxx/5xxx series : 1150
Intel i3/i5/i7 6xxx series : 1151
what is an SSD and why should I buy one?
SSD stands for Solid State Drive and describes a hard drive which consists of non moving flash memory, which is about 10 times faster than the usual HDD memory. SSD's are almost impossible to break, they live much longer than HDD's, and are faster. They are the next step in memory technology, but still relatively expensive. You should install your Windows OS here to speed up your computer significantly . They are slowly replacing HDD's but pricing is still an issue, so you also buy an HDD so you don't have to pay 300$+ for 1TB of space.
Install your OS, drivers and progams on your SSD and dump all your other files on your HDD
Usually, a more expensive PSU means more safety. You wouldn't carry around your child in a plastic bag, would you? So you wouldn't buy a cheap PSU to feed your computer a slow and painful death. More expensive means more safety here. Also this section is very reliant on the brands you buy.
So what brands should I buy?
The safest way to go are beQuiet!, Seasonic, Enermax, EVGA, Cooler Master and Corsair
How many watts do I need?
You can enter your full build at pcpartpicker.net and there you can see how much wattage your computer will consume under maximum load. Usually between 350-500 are normal numbers for a gaming computer.
what is it with these 80+ ratings?
this just means how much energy is efficiently used from your wall.
80+ means that atleast 80% of the wall power pulled will be utilized. Then there are 80+ bronze, 80+ silver, 80+ gold and 80+ platinum. In this order, the efficiency of your PSU increases and lowers your power bill. Never buy a PSU that is not atleast 80+ certificated.
