Common Mistakes in PC Build: Budget and Component Selection

Welcome to our website. On our website, we usually do reviews, comparisons, performance and quality analysis of various budget PC builds, laptops, GPUs, CPU monitors and various gadgets, such as smartphones, action cameras, smart watches, so that you can easily find out the pros and cons of a product. You can know about and make decisions easily.

The topic of today’s article is very different from all other articles. Today’s topic is our common mistakes with PC build. Today’s article is for those who want to build a PC as absolute beginners or are planning to build a PC. How to build a value for money, balanced PC according to your budget and purpose and some things to keep in mind during component selection of PC building and common mistakes made by our customers while building a PC There is a detailed discussion about them

Budgeting according to objectives

Deciding between a custom-built desktop PC or a laptop hinges largely on your budget and intended use. Firstly, it’s crucial to clearly define the purpose of your build and then establish a budget accordingly.

The versatility of a PC build spans a wide range of uses, from light tasks like browsing and office work to heavy-duty applications such as video editing, graphics design, and gaming. Each of these activities demands specific hardware configurations tailored to optimize performance. For instance, a serious gamer or video editor requires robust components like a powerful processor and graphics card, which may necessitate allocating a significant portion of your budget accordingly.

Avoiding common mistakes in PC build involves understanding these nuanced hardware requirements and avoiding oversights that could lead to suboptimal performance or compatibility issues. Ensuring your chosen components align with your intended usage prevents the common pitfalls that can arise during the assembly process.

processor

The central part of the PC is the processor. If there is no graphics card, then a large part of the build budget should be kept for the processor. In this case, it is very important to decide what kind of work you will do before processor selection. Before building, have a clear idea whether the app you are using is single core dependent or multi core. You can check the reviews online. You can find out how the processor of your choice performs in the respective application or in comparison to other processors available in the same budget.

It may be that the processor you liked does not have good single core performance, but you mistakenly bought it because you were satisfied with the multicore performance, but yours today is completely single core based.  The opposite is not impossible.

Processor selection according to the gadget –

Understanding processor temperatures through reviews is crucial, as it guides proper cooling decisions—a common mistake in PC build is overlooking this vital aspect. Whether you’re using Intel or AMD, from midrange to flagship or high-budget processors, investing in an aftermarket cooler is essential if your workload stresses the processor frequently. Opting for an air cooler priced between 20 to 40 US dollars ensures efficient heat dissipation, safeguarding both performance and processor longevity. Relying solely on a stock cooler for extended periods can lead to compromised performance and potential damage, highlighting the importance of proactive cooling solutions in PC builds.

 

Motherboard:

One of the components of the PC component is the motherboard. Almost all components are housed in the motherboard. Almost all of us have some idea about processor and graphics. But our idea about motherboard is very insignificant. Many people don’t understand what to do when buying a motherboard. To run your processor properly, which chipset, which budget, which tier of motherboards are capable, it is important to know these things in the case of motherboard selection.

Motherboard selection according to the processor:

Selecting the right motherboard that matches your processor’s capabilities is crucial for optimal PC performance—a common mistake in PC build is mismatching these components. Entry-level motherboards like HX10 (H610, H510, H410) and AX20 (A320, A520, A720) suit processors such as Core i3 or Ryzen 3. Stepping up to mid-range processors like Core i5 X400, X500 or Ryzen 5 X600, X500 (3500, 3600, 5500, 5600, 5600X, 3600X, etc.), B550, B650, B450, B460, B560, B660 chipset motherboards are more suitable.

For more powerful processors like Ryzen 7, Core i7, Ryzen 9, or Core i9, opting for higher-end chipsets like Z690, Z790, Z590, X470, X570, X670 is recommended to avoid another common mistake in PC build—using an inadequate motherboard. It’s common to see users pairing high-end processors with inexpensive $95-$130 motherboards, limiting their potential. Conversely, investing in pricey motherboards for basic processors like Ryzen 3 or Core i3 can also be a mistake.

Specifically, AMD’s Ryzen 5 3000-5000 series processors typically work well with B450 and B550 motherboards—a good choice to avoid common mistakes in PC build. However, if future upgrades aren’t planned, opting for a B450 motherboard can be cost-effective, provided it supports the processor. Overspending on components like Samsung’s GN4 SSD without ensuring your processor can fully utilize it is another pitfall to avoid.

Moreover, using a cheap motherboard with inadequate VRM (Voltage Regulator Module) for a powerful processor severely limits performance. Since Intel’s 11th gen, selecting a budget motherboard has become trickier due to poor VRM performance in many models—a known mistake in PC build. For Intel’s locked 11th/12th gen processors (e.g., 11400, 11500, 12400, 12500), investing at least 12000 thousand rupees is advisable, avoiding H510 and H610 chipset motherboards.

 

What to look for before buying a motherboard

When shopping for a motherboard, it’s easy to get caught up in features like slots and appearances. Sure, having multiple display outputs and plenty of USB ports is convenient, but the real key to a good motherboard lies in its performance capabilities. More RAM and SSD slots are great, but your processor’s ability to consistently receive power is crucial for optimal performance. This depends on the VRM (Voltage Regulator Module), which manages power delivery. A motherboard with a robust VRM design and effective cooling—like heatsinks—will ensure your processor runs smoothly even under heavy loads.

Don’t know much about VRMs?

No worries. Watching YouTube videos or reading forums can help. Channels like Hardware Unboxed rigorously test motherboards across different budgets and chipsets, revealing which ones handle processors well and deliver stable power. They identify which motherboards perform consistently and which ones fall short. For instance, their Best B560/660 Motherboard Roundup or Best Z690 Motherboard Roundup videos are informative resources.

For practical insights, channels like Buildpickers also conduct thorough motherboard tests. Before making your purchase, focus on ensuring compatibility with your processor. By prioritizing a motherboard with a strong VRM setup and adequate cooling, you’ll maximize your system’s potential. Remember, it’s not just about features; it’s about how well your motherboard supports your processor’s performance needs.

 

Graphics Card-

Alongside the processor, one of the most important components related to a pc’s performance is the graphics card. Especially for gaming, the use and demand for graphics cards in Bangladesh are increasing day by day. There are several factors to keep in mind when buying a graphics card.

Before purchasing a graphics card, you need to reconsider the nature of your work. Clearly decide what types of tasks you will be doing and which applications you will be using.  Determine whether these applications rely entirely on the graphics card or function solely through the processor. Also, check if the requirements mention the need for both a good quality graphics card and processor. If your tasks do not require a powerful graphics card, it would be better to invest in a good processor instead, as spending extra on a graphics card in such cases would be a waste of money.

Buy Graphics Card According to Your Need

If content creation, editing, rendering or productivity is your goal, then it is more logical to go for Nvidia GPUs, especially the RTX 20 or 30 Series. This is because Nvidia offers the NVENC encoder advantage for video editing and rendering and Nvidia has fewer driver issues and bugs.

A common myth related to graphics cards is that the better the graphics memory, the more powerful it is. Even today, in markets and rural areas, graphics cards are judged by VRAM. In reality, besides memory, the performance of a graphics card also depends on architecture, clock speed, memory clock, memory bus, the number of CUDA cores and many other important features. If you want to run applications that naturally use a lot of a memory, you should choose a graphics card with higher VRAM capacity, VRAM clock and bandwidth. It is advisable to research thoroughly before building in this regard. On the other hand, many applications rely solely on CUDA cores, the number of cores and clock speed. In such cases, you should focus on these specifications rather than memory.

To Know about the performance, pros and cons, heating issues etc. of a specific graphics card model, there are sites like Guru3D, Techpowerup and TomsHardware. You can also find reviews on YouTube by searching for the model.

 

RAM

When it comes to RAM, it’s important to get dual-channel RAM, especially in AMD systems. Using two RAM sticks instead of one significantly boosts performance because AMD Graphics VRAM is allocated from RAM, which can greatly impact performance due to the RAM’s channel.

A Few Words About RAM

RAM itself does not directly increase or speed up performance. While it’s essential for multitasking and RAM speed can impact gaming, it doesn’t surpass the importance of the graphics card or processor. Therefore, spending an extra $40-$50 on a more powerful processor or graphics card is more worthwhile than investing that money in extra RAM. This investment would create a more balanced PC. For systems like Ryzen 3 3200G, 2200G, or Ryzen 5 5600G, 32GB of RAM is unnecessary, and even a single 16GB stick is overkill. As of 2024, the sweet spot for RAM is 16GB, with 8GB being the minimum. No matter what, you should have at least 16GB of RAM in your build. For those who use Adobe apps, do heavy editing work, multitask, and browse extensively, 32GB RAM would be recommended.

If you plan to upgrade gradually, start with one or two 8GB sticks. Taking one 16GB stick at a time will reduce performance and increase costs when upgrading later.

 

Caution before buying Ram

When buying Ram, you should choose RAM of the same brand and model. Never opt for multiple brands or different models of RAM, as this can lead to problems like blue screens, crashes and hangs. In many cases, issues like channel problems and XMP not being activated can also occur.

 

SSD

When buying an SSD, we often get stressed about whether to choose an SSD or HDD. I always prefer SSDs, but if someone needs more storage, they can use an SSD along with a 1TB HDD. There isn’t much to suggest about SSDs. If you can find an SSD with DRAM cache, you should definitely go for it, or SSDs that support Host Memory Buffer (HMB) technology can also be good options. When choosing an SSD, pay attention to the warranty, Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF), and terabytes written (TBW) capacity. Don’t buy unknown Chinese brand SSDs without ensuring the warranty, after-sales service, and importer reliability. Since SSDs don’t have a direct impact on performance, there’s no need to cut costs on graphics cards or processors to buy an expensive SSD.

Choosing SSD Based on the Type of work

What kind of work will you be doing? If you have a lot of editing, rendering, or exporting tasks, you should choose M.2 NVMe type SSDs. The software should also be stored here. However, if you have a lot of movies, series, photos, or personal data, an HDD or at most a SATA SSD will be perfect. Before buying an SSD, you need to check the motherboard’s SSD slot form factor, supported PCIe generation, and the processor’s supported PCIe generation.

Sometimes people spend a lot of extra money on a Gen4 SSD, but their processor and motherboard don’t support Gen4. Even if the motherboard supports PCIe4, if the processor doesn’t, you won’t benefit from the extra speed of Gen4, as the SSD will run at Gen3 speeds. Therefore, when selecting storage, it’s essential to keep the build budget in mind and ensure compatibility.

 

Power supply

Many opt for budget power supplies to save money, avoiding high-end choices for short or mid-budget builds. You can find decent 450W units priced between $40 and $60. For systems with a GPU, a 650W power supply is ideal for current 6-core and 4-core processors. Brands like Deepcool, Antec, and Cooler Master, along with Corsair’s CSK or CX, offer reliable options.

If you have a high-end build and have enough budget, you must buy gold rated, modular power supplies, and in this case, a significant part of the budget should be allocated for the power supply.

Casing

Nowadays, there is a unique fascination with casings. For some, a casing is just a box with RGB light fans used for aesthetic enhancement, while others think it’s enough to keep the PC in a thin, small metal box. In reality, the health of the internal components depends on the casing. Therefore, you should pay attention to several aspects when buying a casing:

• Firstly:

The dimensions of the casing, i.e., how large it is in terms of length, width, and height. Also, check the supported motherboard form factors. Ensure that you selected motherboard can be installed in this casing. If you plan to build a PC with a different form factor mother in the future, make sure it will fit in the casing.

• Secondly:

Check the maximum clearance for the CPU cooler.

• Thirdly:

Check the clearance for the graphics card. Know the size of your selected graphics card and the clearance available in the casing. If you plan to install a larger graphics card in the future, consider that when selecting a casing.

• Fourthly:

Cooling and ventilation. Verify if it supports liquid cooling and AIO coolers, and if so, what maximum size is supported. Check the ventilation features of the casing. Determine how many fans can be installed, how many are included, and if the front panel has a mesh or glass. Generally, mesh casings provide better airflow than glass ones.

• Fifth:

Storage options. Find out how many SATA SSDs and HDD drives can be installed. Clearly know the support for 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch drives to avoid problems when installing drives later.

• Sixth:

Cable management. Learn about the cable management features of your selected casing and how comfortable it is to build with. Watching YouTube videos can help.

• Seventh:

Power supply size. Know the size of the power supply that can be installed.

• Last but not the least:

If the casing has RGB fans, check if they are ARGB, if they can sync with the motherboard, or if they can be controlled with a separate button. Confirm this beforehand.

WARRANTY

Make sure you understand the warranty terms for each product you choose, as well as the importer, to avoid any risks when servicing or replacing them. If the budget is not at all low then our advice would be to go for the official product. You can safely use the official product.

 

RGB

Not to mention anything about RGB, many times we come to build a short or mid budget PC with RGB casing, headphones, keyboard fan, RAM, SSD. But I think it is an unnecessary expense. Because, RGB does not increase FPS on our computer, so we should focus more on important components without investing in RGB from short budget or mid budget.

conclusion:

Building a PC on a budget requires careful planning and informed decisions. First, determine a realistic budget that balances performance and affordability. Research and select components that offer the best value for money, prioritizing essential parts like the CPU and GPU. Don’t overlook the importance of a quality power supply and adequate cooling. Avoid common mistakes such as incompatible components, insufficient power supply, or poor airflow management. Stay updated with reviews and guides, and consider future upgrade paths to ensure your build remains relevant. By taking these steps, you can create a reliable and efficient PC without overspending.

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