Recommendations for Building a PC

General Recommendations

If you are looking to build a computer with and for your kids, I highly recommend the following:

1. Have a good reason to build a computer
   • Check out my articles on my experience in building a computer with my son, and why you should favor a PC over a console any day of the week
     • School requirements
     • Gaming
2. Learn about the different parts of a PC
   • A great resource is my article on Computer Building Basics
3. Check out computer parts on PC Part Picker
   • Check out the gaming rig my son and I put together
4. Enlist the help of family members to lower the total out of pocket expense for you
   • With this help, try to focus on buying higher performance parts
   • Look for deals, especially around holidays
5. If possible, gift the parts as part of a gift giving holiday/celebration/birthday
6. If you need help building the PC, refer to the tremendous resources available online and in the instructions that are provided with each of the hardware components
   • Reach out to tech savvy friends and family members for help

Computer Part Recommendations

I recommend building a PC with the minimum specs as listed below. If you need help, check out the gaming rig my son and I built together.

• Motherboard:
  • WiFi 5 and up enabled
  • Bluetooth enabled
  • PCIe 4 slots
  • 2 to 4 RAM slots to accommodate at least 32GB of DDR4 RAM
• CPU:
  • Intel Core i5 or greater
  • Ryzen 5 or greater
  • Minimum 4 cores
  • Greater than 3GHz clock speed
  • Option 1 – Integrated Graphics (does not require purchase of GPU)
    • Limited gaming experience
    • Chance to save money on initial investment, where GPU can be purchased at a later date for more serious gaming experience
  • Option 2 – No integrated graphics (requires purchase of GPU)
• GPU:
  • 8GB VRAM
  • Greater than 1GHz clock speed
  • Minimum 1080p output at 60fps
• Hard Drive
  • Solid State Drive (SSD)
  • Minimum 512GB
• RAM
  • DDR4
  • Minimum 16GB
    • Can buy two 8GB sticks
• PSU
  • Fully modular
  • Minimum 80 Plus standard
• Chassis
  • Cool LED lighting
  • Tempered glass on sides
  • Mid to full sized tower
  • Equipped with at least one fan