What type of games are you playing? Look at the recommended specifications and start with this.

Try to think about what else you would use the machine for other than gaming, are you a streamer or a YouTuber? If so then make sure you choose your CPU wisely. Think of a CPU like a motorway, the more lanes (cores) the smoother the traffic will flow. Remember some CPUs also use Hyper threading technology which doubles up the usage of the cores. Not all these lanes are used by games, but they can be used by programs running alongside the games.

OK so now you know roughly what you need, but how do you choose from the huge selection of components available to make the best gaming PC for you?

First, we suggest starting with the case as this is the box we see every day so you have to think about the size. At Punch, we offer small footprint PC’s right the way through to huge cases that look like a piece of art. Are you going to hide the box away? Does it need to be quiet? Or do you want it as a show piece that will make you the envy of all your friends and colleagues?

Next, we need to look at the CPU. The CPU is the brains behind the computer, as we mentioned above think of the CPU like a motorway the more cores the smoother the information will flow (this only makes a difference when you are using programs that utilise multi core technology or if you are running several programs at the same time)

So how do the CPU’s stack up? Here is a brief outline of how the 2017 CPU offering is made up; we will also give the CPU benchmark score* (the higher the better for overall CPU performance)

Intel Pentium Dual Core (latest version is part of the Kaby Lake range)– This is a dual core CPU with hyper threading. This means the CPU has 2 cores but each core can process 2 threads of information at any time G4560  Score: 5004

Intel Core i3 – This is the first in the range of the Core i processors from Intel, the latest version (7^th Generation code name Kaby Lake) is a dual core processor again with hyper threading but runs at a slightly higher frequency than the Pentium. i3-7100 score: 5933

Intel Core i5 – This is the first Intel Core i processor with 4 Physical Cores or a quad core processor. In applications that utilise multi core technology this CPU will outperform the Core i3 even at a lower frequency, this is mainly due to the cores having their own resources rather than Cores with hyperthreading which share some resources (caching). i5-7400 Score: 7431

Intel Core i7 – This is the flagship CPU from Intel and comes in many iterations, starting with 4 Cores each with Hyper threading right the way through to 10 Cores each with Hyper threading (20 lanes on the motorway!) These are the ideal CPU for any application but only if it fits within your budget! i7-7700 CPU Score: 10795 right through to i7-6950X Score: 20018

AMD have spent a number of years in the wilderness, whilst Intel’s Core family of processors have dominated. However, the first generation of AMD’s Ryzen processors have made a big impact due to their huge clock speeds and core numbers. The AMD Ryzen 7 1700 8 core CPU Scores: 13793 and the AMD Ryzen 7 1700x 8 core CPU Scores: 14685. Both at extremely good prices.

*Benchmarks correct as of work week 23 2017. Links provided to the latest rankings.

Next to choose is the motherboard. There are several things to consider when choosing a motherboard, these cover memory, storage types, graphics and CPU performance.

As you increase the specification of the motherboard you unlock higher frequency memory (discussed below), open more options with storage types, unlock the ability to add additional graphics cards and finally to overclock your CPU.

Overclocking your CPU allows you to change the base frequency of the CPU offering better performance for no additional cost. To do this you must make sure you have the correct selection of components and the skill required to change the Bios settings to allow for a stable overclock. Changing settings incorrectly can result in the PC being unstable to generally not working at all. To simplify this process, we have created a range of overclocked solutions meaning you can configure your own options and we will do the technical side offering around 10% more CPU performance at no extra cost!

Next in the process is the graphics cards; the graphics card is the hardware used to process all the visual side of computing, so 3D rendering, textures, lighting and colour.  So how do you choose the right one?

We have 2 competing brands on Graphics cards, NVidia and AMD, both offer comparable products and quite often it comes down to preference of brand and price. In researching your required specification for the games you are likely to play you should have a minimum card in mind. We would suggest at this point, if it fits within your budget then upgrade this side as far as you can, the reason being games change frequently and get more and more complex with every iteration. It is usually new games releases that cause most people to look at upgrades or new systems as their current configs simply aren’t big enough. Nothing drives the frames per second (fps) at higher resolutions (1080p, 4K, 5K) more than the graphics card, so investment here is one of the best future proofing options.

Then we need to look at memory and storage

Memory is the technology that allows you to open up and keep programs running, the more you have the more you can run at the same time and the faster the frequency of the memory the fast it works (programs open up faster). Be sure the motherboard you pick supports the speed of memory you choose. Or use a configurator like the one built into this site to ensure the compatibility between components of your PC.

Storage is as it suggested, it’s for storing all of your data. The obvious differences in storage are capacities, generally listed as GB (Gigabytes) or TB (Terabytes) 1TB = 1000GB. So how much can you store on 1TB?

1TB will allow you to store around 320,000 Digital Photos or 16,600 hours of digital music or 250 two-hour DVD’s or more importantly your massive Steam library.

Other than capacities the other side to think about is the type of storage, this varies quite significantly between traditional style HDD’s and newer SSD’s. Typically, SSD’s are much faster than traditional HDD (usually around 5-6 times faster) however the cost per GB is significantly more expensive. If it fits within your budget we suggest mixing an SSD (used as an operating system boot drive and for your most commonly used programs) and then couple this up with a large capacity storage HDD (for all your games, photos, music and movies), this way you get the best of both worlds.

Last bits to consider when configuring your PC are the Cooling, Wi-Fi, Optical Drive and OS Options

Cooling – your PC will have a standard cooler option as default. You can upgrade this to a water cooler, this will help to keep the CPU cooler and hopefully last longer. A water cooler is essential when overclocking the CPU as the temperatures rise when you push it harder.

Wi-Fi – Are you planning on connecting this to a home Wi-Fi network or would you prefer to run a network cable to the back of the PC. The choices of Wi-Fi cards simply change with the speed of which the card can work to. Gigabit network ports are standard on every Punch system.

Optical Disk Drive (ODD) – With Broadband speeds increasing and more and more people opting to stream media has meant the DVD and Blu-ray drives are not required as much anymore but are still there as an option if you prefer. If you cannot see an offering in the ODD section of our own configurator it probably means you have selected a case that doesn’t house this type of drive, try changing the case to unlock this option.

Operating System – available in Home and Pro configurations, if you are planning on using the system on a work network then Pro should be your OS of choice if not then home should do you fine.