Build the best pixel-pushing PC the right way with this comprehensive guide to PC building! Packed with guides, sample builds, benchmarks and kit tests, it's the right way to make the right choices.

Welcome! • …to the only guide you need to understand the intricacies of building your own custom PC.

THE ESSENTIALS

WHY BUILD YOUR OWN PC? • BUILDING YOUR OWN PC IS ONE OF THE BEST HOME-BREW TASKS YOU’LL EVER UNDERTAKE. YOU PROBABLY ALREADY HAVE YOUR REASONS – BUT IF YOU’RE UNSURE, LET US SELL IT TO YOU! 

THE ESSENTIAL PC BUILDER’S TOOLKIT • GET THE RIGHT TOOLS BEFORE YOU START BUILDING

SET UP YOUR WORKSPACE • LEARN THE TRICKS THAT WILL HELP YOU TO BUILD A PC QUICKER, SAFER AND SMARTER

STAY SAFE • THERE ARE HIDDEN DANGERS LURKING INSIDE EVERY PC CASE, BUT ONCE YOU KNOW WHAT THEY ARE, YOU CAN AVOID THEM

CORE GEAR

CHOOSE YOUR PC’S PERFECT COMPONENTS • YOU GET BACK WHAT YOU PUT IN. DISCOVER HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT PARTS FOR YOUR PERFECT BUILD AS WE CONSTRUCT A QUALITY £700 PC

The little details

Room to grow

Boom or bust?

ANATOMY OF A PROCESSOR • A DEEP DIVE INSIDE YOUR PC’S MOST COMPLEX BIT OF SILICON

Skylake Deep Dive • Intel’s latest CPU architecture offers new power and opportunities

ANATOMY OF A GRAPHICS CARD • WE’VE DECODED THE GRAPHICS CARD TO FIND OUT WHAT MAKES TOP GAMES TICK

The future of the GPU • It could be the perfect time to upgrade your current graphics card, but what do you need to prepare for the GPU future?

Is NVLink the end for PCIe?

GPU showdown

The High-Bandwidth Bomb • The PC platform, and motherboards in particular, are about to drop a bomb on your desktop

U.2 comes to the PC

ASUS X99 TUF SABERTOOTH • So sleek, so stealthy, so good

ASROCK X99 E-ITX • Impressive engineering that struggles to find a home

MSI Z97 GAMING 6 • Great entry-level gaming motherboard

ASROCK Z97 EXTREME6 • Storage support master defeated by overclocking

MSI 970A SLI Krait Editi on • Beginner board hampered by ageing chip

ASUS X99 TUF SABERTOOTH

KILLER COMPONENTS

ANATOMY OF AN SSD • WE CRACK OPEN THE CASE TO FIND OUT WHAT’S INSIDE A FLASHY, FAST SOLID-STATE DRIVE

Super-Speed Storage • What’s the best storage option for you?

WAIT! WHAT HAPPENED TO SATA EXPRESS?

Pick the perfect desktop storage for your machine

MUSCLE MEMORY MYTHS • It’s tempting to always get the biggest and fastest memory kit, but how much RAM do you actually need?

THE AESTHETICS OF MEMORY

Pentiums, Celerons and APUs: buying memory for a Budget PC

ANATOMY OF A MONITOR • GET THE FULL PICTURE ON WHAT’S INSIDE YOUR SCREEN

FLAT-PANEL PERFECTION • With more features and technology than ever, welcome to the golden age of PC monitors!

QUANTUM LEAP

Everything’s Cool • Understand your PC’s thermodynamics to unlock its true power

INSTALLATION FUN AND GAMES

WATERCOOLING 101 • What strokes do you need to learn to become a water-cooling master?

DISPELLING THE MYTHS • MANY FICTIONS CLOUD THE WORLD OF WATER COOLING, SO WE’VE SIFTED THE REALITY FROM THE RUMOUR

THE BUILDS

BUILD YOUR PERFECT PC • WHETHER YOU’RE UPGRADING YOUR PC OR STARTING ANEW, THIS IS THE BEST KIT

BUDGET • When every pound counts, spend them wisely

MAINSTREAM • A stunning rig doesn’t have to cost a fortune

HIGH-END • For when you really want to treat yourself

Build A Budget Windows 10 PC • Create your own DirectX 12-ready rig for a piffling £540

Time To Get Building • A step-by-step guide to putting your Windows 10 PC together

TWICE AS NICE:...