Q&A for How to Create a Gaming Computer

If you want to build a PC for your home for general use or a media PC. There's a number of sites out there on the web that you can use to assemble parts, but you'll need things like a case, power supply, motherboard, processor, memory, graphics card, solid state drive, internal cooling systems, like a fan and heat sink. So there's a number of different components that would go into it.

A video card basically provides the video, you know, the graphics for the computer. Most of the time when you're talking about video cards, you're talking to a desktop computer. Today, most motherboards will have onboard graphics. You will need a video card if you want to do more advanced gaming, more advanced graphics simulations on your machine. And in that case, you'd be looking for speed and performance. There's websites out there that can benchmark performance. But graphics cards these days have their own processors, known as, a GPU, a graphics processing unit.

You must choose your core piece first and build around it. This requires research. Choose your processor first, which will dictate the type of motherboard. The RAM will need to be compatible with the motherboard, as will the video card.

When speccing out a tower, you have to keep your components in mind; you need to make sure it's the right size for your motherboard, allows proper airflow, and has the features you want/need. The more expensive cases may have features you may not want or need (lights, water-cooling, etc.), while the cheaper cases may lack options you'd like.

Not necessarily. The motherboard can be smaller than the case, however it cannot be larger.

To install the Operating System (OS), you just have to insert the OS CD or download the software onto another computer and transfer via a USB stick. Then follow the instructions, which will be specific according to the OS you're using.

Definitely the 980Ti, but make sure you get the right card and you're not getting scammed, because a 980Ti has 6 GB of memory, not 2 GB.

Yes, you do. If you want good performance, no matter how good the CPU is, you want a graphics/video card. In fact, to get the most out of that CPU, you will want to get a video card.

No, because following installation, the product key needs to be activated through Microsoft. Once the key has been used, Microsoft will reject activation with the same code.

Most will be compatible with i7 but if you are spending that much money, don't go lower than a GTX 970ti.

The monitor itself is nothing but a display of what is on the actual computer. There is nothing installed on a monitor.

Use the charger to connect it to the PC and install drivers. Or, you can use a wireless Bluetooth receiver since most controllers are Bluetooth but this requires driver installation as well.

The pin count is not necessary. Just make sure the socket type of your CPU matches that of the motherboard. Intel motherboards are not compatible with AMD CPUs and vice versa.

The GT 710 is a common GPU in computers that came out in 2014. At the time, it was a decent gaming GPU. However, the market has evolved and the GT 710 is now very dated. You'll have to replace the card to do much more than light gaming.

Try to purchase from reputable brands such as Kingston, Corsair, G.Skill, etc. These companies have great reviews and are some of the best on the market.

The GTX 10 series is Nvidia's newest GPU lineup running on the new Pascal microarchitecture and is their best-performing line to date. The GT 1030 is the lowest-performing GPU in the lineup (low-end mobile GPU), followed by the GTX 1050 (mid-end gaming GPU), the GTX 1060 (mid-to-high-end gaming GPU), GTX 1070 (high-end GPU), and the GTX 1080 (second-best GPU performance wise). The GTX 1080 also comes in a Ti model, which is the best-performing GPU and also one of the most expensive.

Yes, the G4560 is a great budget CPU. If you have a 1050 Ti and about 8GB of RAM you should be able to play most games on medium or low settings.

Laptops are generally non-upgradeable. Unless you have an MSI laptop (which are sometimes upgradeable) you won't be able to change out your motherboard.

Most prebuilt gaming PCs should, but if you are building one, you'll need to buy an adapter.

With a processor like that, get a minimum of a GTX1060 with 6GB of memory, and expand from there. Maybe consider getting a cool LED case.

No, as long as it's compatible with your motherboard and the system is powered down, you should have no problems changing the processor.

It depends, most modern motherboards already have it, but definitely look it up in your motherboard's description.

Windows installs most drivers automatically, but if you want to make sure, visit the website of the individual manufacturer of your component. Windows itself comes with a web browser ("Edge" in that case).

No. Pretty much the only controller you can use for games on a PC is the Xbox controller, because Windows and Xbox are both made by Microsoft.

Most games will give you the option either in-game or from the launcher to have the FPS displayed on the screen. Check Options in the game and look for an area that lists the keyboard commands; this will typically let you know which key to press (if not, just Google "how do I display fps in )".

The motherboard is installed with the 6 to 12 (depending on your specific model) standoffs and corresponding screws. And yes, you can pair those, as long as your motherboard supports the CPU.

Yes, technically you can, though if the components have been used, they may be a bit worn out. You also need to make sure they are motherboard compatible.

Some RAM will always be used up by system processes. The computer still has 4 GB of RAM and will perform as though it does.

Technically yes, but it really depends on how big the hardware to your computer is. You will also need to make additional holes for ports. It's a lot easier to get a regular computer case.

VGA is essentially obsolete. So are most analogue signal/cables. DVI is already on the way to obsolete, especially DVI-I (which could be used to produce VGA with a simple adapter). Modern graphics cards tend to have HDMI and/or DisplayPort.