Building a gaming PC in 2025: What do you need?

So you want to get a new PC. Whether you're new to the world of gaming, coming over from consoles, or simply upgrading your setup, this guide to building a gaming PC in 2025 is sure to be useful.

Nowadays, it's easy to browse and purchase pre-built PCs. If you want to save yourself the hassle of canvassing for parts and building the PC, then this is a better option, assuming that the prices are fair. You can still exert some effort in researching the value of each component in the pre-built PC and deciding whether the price is fair.

You should decide on a budget first before you go out and buy the parts. After all, you wouldn't want to fall short on cash and end up with a half-built computer.

A mid-range, USD $1,000 PC will go far and will allow you to run most modern games, but not at their highest settings. Also, keep in mind that you will have to buy peripherals and accessories, too, so make sure you have money set aside for that.

An extra USD $500 to USD $1,000 going towards your PC will get you way more breathing room and can afford you a high-end, future-proof build that can most likely run newly-released games. This budget should go into getting a better GPU and CPU.

Compatibility is the keyword here. You absolutely need to check if your CPU is compatible with your motherboard, and if your motherboard can fit into your chosen case.

A good resource to refer to is pcpartpicker.com. It has compatibility filters that automatically remove choices that don't work with your current build, as well as a system that warns you of potential issues you may have.

Secondly, don't be afraid to ask questions. Consult your local store or a more experienced friend for some advice if you're unsure.

A majority of your budget should go into your Central Processing Unit (CPU) and graphics card, or GPU. This is a consistent balancing act - if your CPU and your GPU are mismatched, you may experience some bottlenecks in performance.

Generally, Intel processors are preferred by users who have a more forgiving budget, since they provide a more balanced performance across various types of tasks.

AMD, however, wins out in being cost-effective while not experiencing a massive dip in performance, especially for gaming purposes.

Again, Intel and AMD use different sockets in motherboards, and your mobo choices are further narrowed down by generations. Intel chips use LGA sockets, while AMD chips fit in AM sockets.

For both Intel and AMD chips, the generation is more important than the performance tier. Meanwhile, the letter suffix tells you more about the chip itself.

On a budget, Intel and AMD CPUs with the letter F are the most budget-friendly ones, at the cost of not having integrated graphics. If you're building a gaming PC, you'll have a discrete GPU anyway. Intel K CPUs and AMD X, XT, and X3D CPUs, on the other hand, are the high-performance ones, but will require more power.

Cooling down your CPU is important, too, but you can be quite free with your choices here. If you're going with liquid cooling, seek help from an experienced builder (or use online resources) to check for compatibility.

Motherboards primarily come in three form factors: ATX, Micro-ATX, and Mini-ATX, in order of largest to smallest.

This is usually denoted in the model number: ATX if it's full-size, an M if it's micro, and an I if it's mini. You should note which size you're getting to make sure you get a case that can accommodate your motherboard.

The most important thing to note is the socket that the motherboard has, making sure it's compatible with your chosen CPU. Motherboards also have a maximum amount of RAM they can support, so you should also pay attention to that.

Now comes the meat of your build (and budget) — the GPU. If you're on a budget, you can't go wrong with a GeForce RTX 3060 or anything above. Note that each retailer has slight differences in offerings like fans, RGB, and price, but should all be generally plug-and-play with your motherboard.

Random Access Memory, or RAM, is a well-needed resource by just about anything you run or play on your PC. Nowadays, having 32 gigabytes of RAM is the standard.

If you're opting for this, get two sticks with 16 GB each. Then, look up resources on how to dual-channel on your particular motherboard to maximize performance. Most of the time, this will be in the form of using alternating RAM sockets (e.g., using slots 1 and 3 in a 4-memory slot motherboard).

Each RAM stick has a frequency, and you should always aim for two identical sticks with the same frequency to reduce the chances of things going awry.

Next is storage. They come in two types, Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) and Solid State Drives (SSDs), with the latter having two form factors, the NVMe and the SATA.

It's widely encouraged that you have at least one SSD, preferably an NVMe, to contain your operating system. This will ensure fast boot times and a smooth Windows experience. You also want to put your games on an SSD, and with game sizes soaring nowadays, you can't go wrong with getting another one.

The HDD should contain files that you won't access often. Stuff like pictures of your favorite cat, recordings from your game, and your coveted stash of totally legally obtained academic textbooks should be here.

Note that all of these connect directly to your motherboard, so make sure you have enough ports for them. The NVMe M.2 slots, in particular, vary in each motherboard.

Fans are old-school, but they're reliable and way easier to build. Getting a handful of these, connecting them to your motherboard, and screwing them into your case takes no time at all. Just make sure you're configuring at least one to be the "intake" fan, blowing air into your case.

Another choice for cooling is liquid cooling. This will take significantly more effort to set up, but you won't have to clean and maintain as many fans. This option is for the more experienced builders, so if that's not you, go ahead and phone a friend (or a shop).

It's imperative that you choose a power supply that can support your components, plus some overhead for when you decide to upgrade in the future. The power it delivers is measured in watts, and an approximation of how much you need can be acquired by manually adding each component (troublesome), but pcpartpicker displays this automatically.

Each PSU also has a corresponding efficiency rating, which measures how well it converts and delivers electricity to your PC. The sweet spot for this is 80-plus Gold, but Platinum and Titanium ones are also worthy upgrades.

Modular PSUs offer less mess when you're organizing wires, but cost a little bit more.

Lastly, give your build a shell by choosing a case. You can go ham here, choose according to your tastes, but make sure it can fit your motherboard and your HDDs (labeled as "3.5" bays.")

Taking all of this into consideration, here is an example budget PC build for 2025:

Again, this doesn't count other peripherals and accessories such as your monitors, mouse, and keyboard.