Roundup Research-based
The Best Budget Power Supplies
Where it is safe to save money on a power supply and where it very much is not, plus which cheap units are worth putting in a machine you care about.
By BenyaminPC Building & Hardware Compatibility: From Parts List to First Boot
Power supplies, cooling, GPUs, motherboards and the compatibility rules that decide whether your parts list actually becomes a working computer.
Before you buy anything
Three checks to run before you order a single part
- 1 How to Install a Graphics Card The order of operations that avoids the three things people damage, and the checks worth doing before you close the case and put the screws back. How-to
- 2 How to Build a PC The assembly order that avoids taking things back out, the steps where people damage components, and what to check before the first power-on. How-to
- 3 How to Install a Power Supply Fitting the supply and routing its cables in the order that avoids taking it back out again, plus the orientation question people get wrong. How-to
Power Supplies
7 guides
No guides in this topic yet.
Roundup Research-based
The Best Power Supplies
The one component whose failure can take the rest of the build with it. Which units are worth trusting, and what the label is actually telling you.
By Benyamin
Guide Research-based
What Wattage Power Supply Do I Need?
How to work out the real power draw of a build, how much headroom to add on top, and why the graphics card decides almost all of the answer.
By Benyamin
Guide Research-based
How to Buy a Power Supply
What the numbers on a power supply mean, which of them matter, and the physical and electrical checks to run before the unit reaches your build.
By Benyamin
Comparison Research-based
Modular vs Non-Modular Power Supplies
Detachable cables cost more and buy something real in a small case. When the premium is worth paying and when it is money you should spend elsewhere.
By Benyamin
Review Research-based
Corsair RM750e Review
A mid-capacity supply with a long warranty, full modularity and a fan that stays off at idle. What it suits, and the builds it is wrong for.
By Benyamin
How-to Research-based
How to Install a Power Supply
Fitting the supply and routing its cables in the order that avoids taking it back out again, plus the orientation question people get wrong.
By BenyaminCases, Cooling & Airflow
7 guides
No guides in this topic yet.
Roundup Research-based
The Best Case Fans
Static pressure, airflow and noise are three different specifications. Which fans suit radiators, which suit open intakes, and what the numbers mean.
By Benyamin
Roundup Research-based
The Best CPU Coolers
What actually keeps a modern processor in check, why the cheapest good air cooler beats most liquid ones, and when liquid cooling genuinely earns its place.
By Benyamin
Roundup Research-based
The Best PC Cases for Airflow
A case is a duct with a window. Which ones actually move air, what a mesh front really buys you, and the measurements to check before ordering.
By Benyamin
Guide Research-based
How PC Cooling Actually Works
Where heat comes from in a build, how it leaves, and the small number of decisions that decide whether your machine runs cool and quiet or neither.
By Benyamin
Comparison Research-based
Air vs Liquid CPU Cooling
Liquid cooling is not automatically better, and air is not automatically cheaper in every sense. The specific cases where each one is the right answer.
By Benyamin
Review Research-based
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE Review
A dual-tower cooler at a single-tower price that made most of the mid-range cooling market difficult to justify. What it does, and what it does not fit.
By Benyamin
How-to Research-based
How to Set Up Case Fans
Which way each fan should face, where they belong, and how to set a curve that keeps the machine cool without making it audible from another room.
By BenyaminGPU & CPU Selection
9 guides
No guides in this topic yet.
Tier list Specification comparison
CPU Tier List: Processors Ranked by What They Are For
Desktop processors sorted into five bands by workload, from flagship to entry. Specifications from AMD and Intel, with the benchmarking left to the labs.
By Benyamin
Tier list Specification comparison
GPU Tier List: Graphics Cards Ranked by What They Run
Every graphics card worth buying, sorted into five bands by the resolution it is built for. Specifications from the manufacturers, benchmarks left to the labs.
By Benyamin
Roundup Research-based
The Best Processors for Gaming
Which processors actually raise your frame rate, which ones are wasted money next to a mid-range graphics card, and what the socket costs you later.
By Benyamin
Roundup Research-based
The Best Budget Graphics Cards
What a limited graphics budget actually buys in the current market, where the memory compromises are hiding, and when to buy last generation instead.
By Benyamin
Roundup Research-based
The Best Graphics Cards for 1440p Gaming
1440p is where most gaming money sensibly goes. Which cards hold high settings at a high refresh rate, and which ones run out of memory first.
By Benyamin
Guide Research-based
How to Buy a Graphics Card
The specifications that decide whether a card suits you, the ones that do not matter, and the physical checks people skip until the card will not fit.
By Benyamin
Guide Research-based
How Much VRAM Do You Actually Need?
Video memory is the specification that decides how long a graphics card stays usable. What the real requirement is at each resolution, and how shortage behaves.
By Benyamin
Comparison Research-based
AMD vs Intel: Which Processor Should You Buy?
The two platforms differ in cache strategy, upgrade path and cooling demands. Which of those differences will actually affect the machine you are building.
By Benyamin
How-to Research-based
How to Install a Graphics Card
The order of operations that avoids the three things people damage, and the checks worth doing before you close the case and put the screws back.
By BenyaminMotherboards, RAM & Storage
7 guides
No guides in this topic yet.
Roundup Research-based
The Best Gaming Motherboards
A motherboard decides what you can connect and what you can upgrade to. Which features are worth paying for and which are marketing on a heatsink.
By Benyamin
Roundup Research-based
The Best RAM for Gaming
Capacity, speed and timings in the order they matter, plus why the advertised speed is not what you get until you switch it on.
By Benyamin
Roundup Research-based
The Best SSDs for Gaming
Sequential speed is the number on the box and the one that matters least. What actually decides whether a drive feels fast, and how much capacity to buy.
By Benyamin
Guide Research-based
How Much RAM Do You Actually Need?
What sixteen, thirty-two and sixty-four gigabytes each get you in practice, and how running short shows up before you ever see a warning.
By Benyamin
Guide Research-based
How to Buy a Motherboard
Socket, chipset, form factor and connectivity, in the order that decides whether the board suits your build and how long it stays useful.
By Benyamin
Comparison Research-based
NVMe vs SATA SSDs: Which Should You Buy?
One is several times faster on paper and the difference is invisible in most of what you do. When the faster drive is worth it and when it is not.
By Benyamin
How-to Research-based
How to Install an M.2 SSD
A five-minute job with three ways to go wrong: the standoff, the retention screw, and the slot that quietly disables something else on the board.
By BenyaminBuild, Compatibility & Upgrades
7 guides
No guides in this topic yet.
Roundup Research-based
The Tools You Need to Build a PC
Most of a build needs one screwdriver. Which tools genuinely prevent damage, which are convenience, and which you can safely ignore entirely.
By Benyamin
Roundup Research-based
The Best Upgrades for an Older PC
The specific parts that make the largest difference to an ageing machine, and the compatibility traps that catch people upgrading rather than building.
By Benyamin
Guide Research-based
A First PC Build, Planned Properly
How to choose parts that work together, where first-time builders overspend, and the compatibility checks worth doing before anything is ordered.
By Benyamin
Guide Research-based
What to Upgrade First in an Old PC
Which single change actually makes an ageing machine feel new, how to find the component holding you back, and when to stop upgrading and rebuild.
By Benyamin
Comparison Research-based
Prebuilt vs Building Your Own PC
Building your own is usually cheaper and always more work. What a prebuilt actually costs you, and the specific cases where it is the better decision.
By Benyamin
How-to Research-based
How to Build a PC
The assembly order that avoids taking things back out, the steps where people damage components, and what to check before the first power-on.
By Benyamin
How-to Research-based
How to Update Your Motherboard BIOS
When a firmware update is genuinely needed, how to do it without leaving an unbootable board, and the feature that makes it safe on modern hardware.
By BenyaminGuides in this section are written by Said and Benyamin, who compare published manufacturer specifications, documentation and warranty terms. Nothing here has been tested, and every guide says so above the fold. Prices are never shown — only the band — because a stale price is a misleading one.