Tomshardware Does a really good analysis of cpus and gpus for each month. I highly suggest following their guide since it's updated each month so this post on CPU/GPU won't be outdated.
The analysis is good for either low, mid or high end PCs but in this post I'll stick mainly with low end since I'm cheap.
I highly suggest to wait (at least) until the ivy family comes out before building anything.
Intel new Ivy family is coming out with their tri-gate 22nm technology.
What difference does nm make? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22_nanometer
Basically more transistors on the die, less heat, less power, more powerful. That's why Intel is so far ahead because they're physically improving on the technology. Basically Intel's archeitecture is advance enough to the point that AMDs aren't hitting the price/performance ratio anymore.
CPU
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...lock,3106.html
GPU
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...view,3107.html
Motherboards
Motherboards don't make that much of a difference. I personally like Asus, Gigabyte, MSI but in the end they're just MB. Look at their warranties that appeal to you. You as a builder just have to make sure you're building with the family that the CPU is compatible with. Basically the socket type of the MB matches the socket type of the processor. Newegg is a good place to buy computer parts from. http://www.newegg.com
There's also different standard sizes like ATX, mini ATX, etc. If you get a standard ATX case than any MB can fit in there.
RAM
DDR3 comes in different speed. The JEDEC standard modules are:
800 PC3-6400, 1066 PC3-8500, 1333 PC3-10600, 1600 PC3-12800. Depending on the processor and MB, most support 1600 PC3-12800 (the higher the better)
Anything outside the JEDEC standard aren't standard and you'll have to check the MB and CPU to make sure it matches (if you're a regular builder, you don't have to worry about this). Also timings don't matter unless you wish to overclock.
Power Supply (PS)
This is probably the most technical and trickest area to learn. Basically make sure the the watts rating is at least 350-400W(for a regular setup, higher if you're using x-fire or SLI). The tricky part is the rails. Make sure to have 12 V on each rail. (which comes standard on modern PS). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_supply_rail
Cases, Harddrives (HDD), mouse, KB
Mostly a preference for each person (like Harddrive/SSD size and price). Compare prices online. Most time online is cheaper than in stores.
What if I have a Laptop?
Laptops are static by nature. The CPU/GPU are low powered version of the desktop version which means weaker performance. You can't upgrade GPU (where a lot of games depends on) but CPU you kind of can but it's not worth the effort and time to do it since the laptop isn't engineered to be upgraded in mind. You need a discrete (dedicated) gpu card as a minimum requirement in your laptop.
So if you want to buy a laptop again, you'll have to pay at least $600 minimum for one. With a mid-high end intel or amd cpu and discrete, that's $700 minimum.
Anything < $600 you're only going to find a good processor with an integrated card which does not scale well for future tasks like games.
You can build a desktop that produce the same performance about half or 2/3rds the cost of a laptop.
So I found a laptop with a discrete card, which laptop graphics card is better?
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Compari...rds.130.0.html
This site gives a good idea on the performance your card will get compare to other cards. Make sure your card is at least in the class 1 or 2 level. Class 3 is doable if you're tight on cash. Avoid class 4 and 5 card at all possible.
Buyer Beware for laptop
Don't look at just price to determine a laptop has a discrete or integrated card because a laptop company(sony, apple, ibm, etc) can sell laptops that has an integrated card for $800 while the laptop with a discrete card next to it will sell for the same price! So watch out when looking for a gaming laptop.
A friend of a friend that I knew, she bought a $1000 laptop with no discrete card in it and she can barely run games on it. =(
That's one area where laptop manufactures make money off the average consumer by selling them laptops that has integrated gpu for a high price.
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