Gaming PC buying guide
Decide the screen first, put the graphics card next, and let everything else follow. Reversing that order is how gaming budgets get wasted.
The screen comes first
The resolution and refresh rate of the screen set the workload, so choosing parts before choosing the screen is guessing. A card that is generous for 1080p at 60 Hz is ordinary for 1440p at 144 Hz, and the difference is not marginal.
If you already have a screen, that decides the target. If you are buying both, decide the screen first and specify the card to drive it.
Then the graphics card, then the rest
With the target set, the card is the next decision and normally the largest line in the budget. The processor should be good enough not to hold the card back, and there is little return past that point. Memory should be sufficient for the games and whatever else runs alongside them.
Storage matters more than it used to: modern games are large, and a mechanical drive turns loading into waiting.
- Screen: resolution and refresh rate, decided first
- Graphics card: matched to that screen
- Processor: good enough not to hold the card back
- Storage: solid-state, and larger than you think you need
Leave room to upgrade
The graphics card is the part most likely to be replaced in two or three years. A case with physical clearance and a power supply with headroom turns that into a straightforward swap. Neither costs much at build time; both are expensive to retrofit.