Research, research, research
Look, I’m glad you’re reading this guide, but it really shouldn’t be your only resource. I’ve already mentioned PCPartPicker, but do yourself a favor and check out other consumer tech sites—yes, I want you to visit our competitors. Places like Tom’s Hardware or PCMag provide thorough reviews of the latest PC components with plenty of benchmarking results that make it easy for you to decide which part to get without having to sift through every release.
It’s helpful to know about the latest products so you don’t end up buying old parts and building an outdated desktop. Right now, the latest CPUs are Intel 12th Gen and AMD Ryzen 5000. Nvidia’s RTX 30-series graphics cards are in high demand while AMD has its own Radeon RX 6000 series. New models are always being launched, so be sure to check in on your favorite tech sites before you start building. In the end, the more research you do, the better you can cater your desktop to your needs.
