Steam & PC Parts AISteam Games & PC Parts
HOME

PC Building Guides

Organised by experience level. No generic advice — numbers you can verify and failures that actually happen.

Beginner

Prebuilt (BTO) vs Self-Built PC: Cost and Trade-offs

Compare prebuilt (BTO) and self-built PCs by price, warranty, effort, and what happens when something breaks.

Intermediate

Balancing PC Parts: Where Builds Bottleneck

How CPU/GPU balance, memory configuration, and power sizing actually affect performance, with numbers.

Advanced

Custom Loop Water Cooling: Parts, Cost, and Failure Modes

What a custom water loop requires, what it costs, how leaks happen, and how it differs from an AIO.

Advanced

Building a Loop from Parts: D5 vs DDC Pumps, Mounting and Control

Choosing and controlling a bare pump instead of a finished unit: D5 vs DDC, speed control, vibration, and how to power it.

Expert

Building Your Own PC Case: Design Notes and Boutique Makers

Design notes for building a PC case from scratch, plus a list of small-batch boutique case makers by country.

Expert

Making a Custom GPU Water Block: Cooling Cards With No Product Available

How to water-cool a GPU with no commercial block: measuring, designing, outsourcing machining, sealing, and pressure testing.

Open the configuratorPC PartsTroubleshootingCompare parts