Brad Brown
Brad Brown is a Silicon valley computer programmer that lives in California.
1/8/2026
This document is currently in development and still being updated until further notice here.
Although, I try to make this document accurate, I'm not responsible or liable for any errors. I'm not responsible or liable for any problems or damages that you might encounter if you use any information from this document. In addition, any work you do is done at your own risk.
You can encounter high voltages that can be deadly so any work you do is done at your own risk. This document is not intended to teach you how to work with high voltages.
The Budget Gaming PC Build Guide shows how to build a Windows gaming PC and includes specific components parts and prices.
The three standard motherboard sizes from smallest to largest are Mini ITX, Micro ATX, and ATX.
Make sure the case you get fits your motherboard size. Some cases will fit more than one size of motherboard size.
The four different case sizes do not have standard height, width, or length but the typical heights are shown below going from shortest to tallest.
Mini ITX: Typical Height 13".
Micro ATX: Typical Height 15".
Mid-Tower ATX: Typical Height 20".
Full Tower E-ATX: Typical Height 25".
Which Size Case is Right For You? Gaming PC Case Sizes Explained.
DDR1 Released 2000 184 pin Desktop 200 pin Laptop
DDR2 Released 2003 240 pin Desktop 200 pin Laptop
DDR3 Released 2007 240 pin Desktop 200 pin Laptop
DDR4 Released 2014 288 pin Desktop 200 pin Laptop
DDR5 Released 2020 288 pin Desktop 200 pin Laptop
Every DDR RAM Explained In 4 Minute
SATA: The type of physical connection which is the same has hard drives used but it is slow and obsolete.
AHCI: The protocol the hard drive uses and obsolete. Can't handle the fast speeds of SSDs.
M.2: M.2 only indicates the shape of drive. Some M.2 drives are SATA and some are MVME.
PCIE: As of 2026 this is the standard physical connection used by SSDs.
MVME: As of 2026 this is the modern protocol used by SSDs.
Every SSD Type Explained In 8 Minutes
darkFlash ITX PC Case, Pre-Install 3 PWM ARGB Fans Computer Case, Full View Dual Tempered Glass ITX Case, Mini Size, Supports 240mm AIO(C275P) (White) (1/8/2026 $54.17)
MATX PC Case,270° Panoramic Tempered Glass Panel Gaming PC Case,3 Fans Pre-Installed Micro-ATX Computer Case,USB 3.0,Black(V3) (1/8/2026 $49.99)
Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L Micro-ATX Tower with Magnetic Design Dust Filter, Transparent Acrylic Side Panel, Adjustable I/O & Fully Ventilated Airflow, Black (MCB-Q300L-KANN-S00) (12/28/2025 $34.99)
Micro ATX Case PC Case: MATX Case DTX Mini PC ITX Desktop Computer Case Support Micro ATX MATX DTX ITX Mini PC (1/8/2026 $69.99)
Bgears b-Voguish Gaming PC Case with Tempered Glass panels, USB3.0, Support E-ATX, ATX, mATX, ITX. (Fans are sold separately) (12/28/2025 $33.99)
Thermalright TL-C12C-S X5 CPU Air Fan, 120mm Silent Computer Case Cooler Fan, with S-FDB Bearing, up to 1550RPM Speed PC Cooling,5-Packs (12/28/2025 $18.59)
As of 1/2/2026, the current flagship architecture is the Ryzen 9000 (Zen 5).
How to Pick Parts for a Gaming PC in 2026!
AMD Ryzen 5 9600X - Ryzen 5 9000 Series Granite Ridge (Zen 5) 6-Core 3.9 GHz - Socket AM5 65W - Radeon Graphics Processor - 100-100001405WOF (1/2/2026 $199.99)
GIGABYTE B850 EAGLE WIFI6E AMD AM5 LGA 1718 Motherboard, ATX, DDR5, 3x M.2, PCIe 5.0, USB-C, WIFI6E, 1GbE LAN, EZ-Latch 5-Year Warranty (1/2/2026 $179.99)
As of 1/2/2026, DDR4 memory is significantly cheaper than DDR5 so a lot of PC builders are deliberately buying older DDR4 motherboards so they can use save money on RAM.
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 6-Core, 12-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor with Wraith Stealth Cooler (1/2/2026 $92.77)
ASRock B550M PRO4 Supports 3rd Gen AMD AM4 Ryzen™ / Future AMD Ryzen™ Processors Motherboard (1/2/2026 $84.99)
ASUS Prime B550M-A WiFi II AMD Micro ATX Motherboard with PCIe 4.0, WiFi 6, ECC Memory, HDMI 2.1, RGB Header (12/28/2025 $99.99)
OLOy DDR4 RAM 16GB (2x8GB) Black Owl 2666 MHz CL19 1.2V 288-Pin Desktop UDIMM (MD4U0826190BJ0DA) (1/9/2026 $87.99)
ASRock PRO Series PRO-650G 650 W ATX 3.1 Compatible 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Power Supply (12/27/2025 $44.99)
MSI MAG A650BN, Non-Modular Compact 650W Power Supply, 80+ Bronze, Low-Noise Fan, Active PFC Design, 5 Year Warranty (12/28/2025 $60.34)
600w Power Supply Non-Modular ATX PSU with 6+2 Pin Connectors PFC Protection and 120mm Silent Fan Gaming PSU KY-600 Black (12/28/2025 $32.98)
Apevia SFX-AP500W Mini ITX Solution/Micro ATX/SFX 500W Power Supply (12/28/2025 $37.99)
ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT Challenger 12GB GDDR6 192-bit 0dB Silent Cooling 7680 x 4320 DisplayPort HDMI LED Indicator 18Gbps Dual Fan Graphics Card (1/9/2026 $399.99)
ASRock Challenger Arc B570 10GB GDDR6 PCI Express 4.0 x8 ATX Graphics Card B570 CL 10GO (12/27/2025 $209.99)
ASRock Intel Arc B580 Challenger 12GB OC Graphics Card, 2740 MHz GPU Clock, 12GB GDDR6, DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI 2.1a, Dual Fan Cooling, 0dB Silent Operation (12/27/2025 $209.99)
AI Overview
China's First 6nm Lisuan G100 GPUs Officially Ship to Customers
Lisuan Technology's G100 graphics cards started shipping in small batches in late 2025, primarily within China, targeting performance around the NVIDIA RTX 4060, but mass availability in the USA isn't confirmed and is more likely for 2026, with significant development hurdles overcome through parental investment after financial issues, marking a significant step for China's domestic GPU industry.
MSI Gaming RTX 5050 8G Shadow 2X OC Graphics Card (8GB GDDR6,128-bit, Extreme Performance: 2617 MHz, DisplayPort x3 2.1a, HDMI 2.1b, NVIDIA Blackwell Architecture) (12/27/2025 $219.99)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500 6-Core, 12-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor with Wraith Stealth Cooler (1/2/2026 $92.77)
ASRock B550M PRO4 Supports 3rd Gen AMD AM4 Ryzen™ / Future AMD Ryzen™ Processors Motherboard (1/2/2026 $84.99)
OLOy DDR4 RAM 16GB (2x8GB) Black Owl 2666 MHz CL19 1.2V 288-Pin Desktop UDIMM (MD4U0826190BJ0DA) (12/27/2025 $90.99)
ASRock PRO Series PRO-650G 650 W ATX 3.1 Compatible 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Power Supply (12/27/2025 $44.99)