Ars Technica System Guide: Four sample PC builds, from $500 to $5,000
1 min read
Summary
Ars Technica has updated its PC building guide for the first time since September 2022 with five suggested builds for different budgets and requirements, despite the current unfavorable conditions of inflated and fluctuating prices alongside limited availability for many components that have made PC building less attractive and enjoyable as a hobby.
The proposed builds include a 1,000machinefor4Kgaming,a1,250 mini PC for browsing and light productivity, a 1,750machinethatbalancesgamingandproductivity,a2,500 monster PC for 4K gaming, and a dream $4,000 4K gaming PC that the author dubs the “God Box.”
As inflation and supply chain issues continue to affect the PC hardware market, the guide recommends factoring spare parts into any new build in order to future-proof it as much as possible, as getting components to upgrade older machines may prove challenging or expensive.
The author also notes that the current absurdity of some of the highest-end components on the market has reached the point where building a moderately powerful PC with last year’s high-end components can often make more sense than spending extra on the latest, cutting-edge parts.
