Hey everyone! I'm feeling a bit anxious about tackling my first PC build, and I could really use some advice! I'm building this for my partner, who enjoys gaming, so I'm trying to ensure it has room for more demanding games and graphics in the future.
Here are some details on my plans:
1. I plan to buy parts as I find good deals. I have two CPUs in mind—one with an integrated GPU and one without. My thought was to save about $200 if I can get the dedicated GPU first. **Should I just go for the integrated GPU?** If the dedicated GPU fails later, my partner won't be gaming on the integrated one anyway.
2. This build will run a Debian variant, as most of their games work better on LMDE compared to Windows. There's one game that I hope will run better with an AMD GPU since it did work on my laptop with an iGPU. **Is this still a good strategy in 2025?** I remember Realtek being a headache years ago, but I've read it's still problematic.
3. We might upgrade the RAM and storage later, but the current specs are already better than my partner's laptop.
4. **I'm clueless about cooling.** Will the fans included with my setup suffice? The case seems to come with extras too.
5. **PSUs are a mystery to me.** Is the 750W I chose adequate? My current setup pulls under 600W, so I thought 750W would give us some extra headroom.
6. I've seen thermal paste mentioned. I've never dealt with it before; do I need to think about that for this build?
Thanks a ton for any insights! I'm eager to dive into this instead of struggling with more laptops that break down every few years. My partner's laptop's been grounded mostly, so a solid desktop setup would really benefit us.
1 Answer
The integrated graphics will generally do well for older games at medium settings, but if you want to future-proof against more demanding titles, it might be worth getting the dedicated GPU first. Plus, you save money that way, which is always a plus!
Great point! I'll keep that option open. Thanks for your input!