What do I need to consider when buying hardware to meet my needs?
Problem
I'm looking to build a new computer from the ground up. I'm not sure what to look out for and need guidance and help on how to pick the hardware needed to construct my new rig. How do I know what to buy? How do I find out if a given CPU will be enough for a certain game or application that I want to run? How do I find out if a given graphics card will be enough for a certain game or application? What is important when looking at motherboards? How much memory do I need? How do I know how much wattage I need for a power supply? What size case do I need? What relevant standards do I need to read up on and be aware of? PCI, PCIe, SATA, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, etc... What "gotchas" do I need to be on the lookout for? Please keep responses generation-agnostic to ensure they will be helpful to our future users. While Stack Exchange does not permit shopping recommendations, it doesn't provide any general advice to consider when buying hardware. So, instead of just telling those that ask what to buy…
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1 Fix
Fix for: What do I need to consider when buying hardware to meet my needs?
Buy a computer for the upcoming years, not for today. Let's assume you are still at an university and that you probably want to get a computer for gaming purposes. In about a year you will graduate and have a very mobile life, but you're out of money to get a new laptop and the company laptop can't be taken home. Wouldn't you wish you had bought a laptop? Or assume that you are an architect student and want to become one of the next big architecture designers. If you bought a computer which is …
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