Beginner's Guide: Configuring a Gaming Desktop
Power Supply Unit
The computer power supply is a critical component, as its role keeps your computer operating properly. Without the PSU, how would your gaming PC function? Lets take a closer look at what you need to consider when selecting a power supply unit for gaming intentions.
- To begin, check the base wattage that your selected PSU can handle. This will be the consistent amount of power that is transferred throughout your computer at any given time. Also, considering gaming purposes, check out the max wattage to ensure that when under the most stressful circumstances, your PC want suddenly face power issues.
- Also, one of the main connection sources for the motherboard is left for the power supply unit. Be sure to check if your motherboard can handle such a PSU by checking its connector. This is known as the main power connector, and will be distinguishable from other connection source.
- Also, as many components for computer advance technology wise, the PSU has extra wiring meant for powering individual components, rather than the motherboard doing so. Specifically, the video card is of concern, this needing a stable power source under certain circumstances. The secondary storage device, the HDD or SSD, and other optical drives have their own separate power connectors, usually using the SATA interface and older IDE interface, that utilize connector for both interfaces.
When selecting a PSU, just be sure to check the power ratings, plus any additional power connectors you may want or need to ensure every significant component needing a direct power connection gets what it is required.
For more Info, check out our Power Supply Unit Page, Here.
Computer Case
The computer case is the enclosure that situates all the hardware. I recommend selecting a case based around your motherboards dimensions. The two most typical case that are associated with gaming happen to be the Full size and Mid size tower cases. Here are some specifications you will see:
- Start out by selecting a case that has broad dimensions. The actual size of your case will help determine the relating hardware that can fit inside of it. Typically start with the motherboard that will help determine what other components are most compliant with the case.
- You really need to understand the dimension of the motherboard you have possibly selected, as it has to fit what dedicated space the case offers. Common form factors for motherboards are ATX and mATX.
- The motherboard isn't the only component that requires you to check the dimensions. The drive bays that house the optical drives, the CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray drives and the bays that house the secondary storage device, the HDD's or SSD's, need to be considered. With that, check the PSU size to, to ensure it fits properly into the selected case. You should check out our Computer Case page to fully understand this information and to avoid any confusion when finalizing your selection of gaming computer hardware.
- Last, you can personalize your case to boast how epic your system is to colleges and friends. This can really justify the time put into your case, as well as the hardware inside the case.
Case Cooling Keeping your computer sufficiently cool is becoming increasingly important as technology advances. This is because many of the components related to gaming perpetuate a high degree of heat because they are performance based. Rather than opting out for hardware the produces less heat, applying a system of fans, connecting heat syncs to certain components, or adding a liquid based cooling system can promise the best and most reliable performance. Check out below what you may need to consider.
- Begin by selecting a case built for gaming, which usually consists of many bays to install fans, whether they were included in the case upon purchase, or you decide to add better quality fans in their place. Space is very important here, so choose wisely.
- Also, you can apply heat syncs that can transfer heat from components that generate a higher degree of thermal energy, like the processor, video card, and chipset, to ensure they receive the coolest temperatures durning operation.
- A notorious option among gaming enthusiasts includes a liquid based cooling system that can be connected to majority of the components you feel necessary. This has to be the most efficient method in heat reduction, but you will sacrifice price for something as elaborate as this. Fair warning, this requires a degree of expertise, so I suggest letting the professionals handle this installation if you decide on this cooling method.
Overall, just be aware of the potential danger your computer has when selecting performance based hardware, due to the fact heat is a very big issue. Refer to our Computer Cooling page to ensure you understand any precautions associated with keeping you PC cool.