Strange time to build a PC. That’s partly because fewer people are doing it – sales of parts and finished PCs have dropped across the industry as people continue to make do with what they bought at the start of the pandemic. And GPU prices, while closer to “normal” than they have been in the past two years, are still historically high.

But that doesn’t mean it’s bath it’s time to build a PC. Storage and memory are basically cheap and you can buy a lot of processor power for little money (especially if you’re used to an older quad-core processor you bought five or six years ago). Intel and AMD have also released new processors since our last system guide update in July, and Intel is finally getting into GPU production after years of failed launches and delays.

Now is the perfect time for a new version of our PC building guide, so we’ve rounded up five build examples targeting different budgets and use cases. You can buy certain components that we recommend and get a good, functional PC, or you can use them as a starting point and make changes depending on what you want and need.

Note on component selection

Part of the fun of building a PC is getting it to look the way you want it to. We’ve chosen cases that physically match the motherboards and other components we recommend and that we think will style well with each system, but there are many cases out there and our selection won’t be the only option available. .

As far as PSUs go, we mostly recommend EVGA models with some kind of 80 Plus efficiency certification because we have good experience with them in our builds as well as those we put together for friends or acquaintances. However, if you have a preferred brand, by all means choose what suits you. The same goes for RAM – we’ll be recommending capacities and speeds, as well as links to kits from brands that have worked well for us in the past, but that doesn’t mean they’re better than many other RAM kits with equivalent specs.

Finally, we will not include the cost of a Windows license in our cost estimate. There are many different prices to pay for Windows.$139 for an official retail license from Microsoft$120 for for “OEM” license for system buildersor $15 to $40 for a product key on shady gray market product key reselling sites. If you have a product key for Windows 10, Windows 8, or Windows 7, you can also install and activate Windows 10 or 11 at no additional cost, since Microsoft has never banned this option after the Windows 10 free upgrade period. You can even install Linux! We will leave these decisions to you and your god.

We also didn’t list prices for most peripherals such as webcams, monitors, keyboards, or mice because we assume most people will reuse what they already have or buy those components separately. If you are adventurous, you can even make your own keyboard! If you need more advice, Kimber Streams Wirecutter Keyboard Guides are comprehensive and informative.