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Feature: The price is so, so right
PC Specialist Apollo R1 review: A GTX 1660 gaming PC for just £700
There's no denying the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 is a great graphics card for £200 / $220. Offering 60fps speeds at High or maximum settings at 1080p, and Medium to High at 1440p, it's effectively replaced the 6GB GTX 1060 as my new best graphics card of choice for budget-conscious buyers. In terms of overall value, however, it faces stiff competition from the equally nippy…
Feature: But a not so tiny(ish) price
Despite being part of the same series as MSI's console-like Trident 3 8th PC, the Trident X is a much more substantial kind of gaming desktop. It's much larger for starters, although its 396x383x130mm dimensions still place at the smaller end of the desktop PC scale, and its fixed base means it has to stand vertically instead of having the option to lie it on…
Feature: Strixly speaking...
Asus ROG Strix GL12CX review: The Core i9, RTX 2080 monster PC
It's not often I have particularly strong feelings about PC cases, but man alive there's a lot going on with Asus' new ROG Strix GL12CX desktop. You've got your swishes, your slashes, your grilles and your grates, matt versus gloss versus RGB lighting, and even a full-blown chasm thanks to its hot-swap SSD bay. It's a lot to take in, but provided you can get…
Feature: One for the ages?
MSI Aegis 3 8th review: The PC that thinks it’s from Dead Space
When I opened up the box containing MSI's Aegis 3 8th PC, I wasn't entirely sure whether I was looking at a miniature desktop or the disembodied head of Dead Space protagonist Issac Clarke. With its pointed stack of glowing RGB strips and dark, angular chassis, the Aegis 3 is a dead ringer for Clarke's ominous helmet, albeit without the added decoration of spattered Necromorph…
Feature: A console you really need to fork out for, too
The MSI Trident 3 8th is probably the most console-like mini PC I've ever laid eyes on. Measuring 346x323x72mm, it's roughly the same size as an original Xbox One, and can be laid down on its side if you don't fancy standing it vertically with its accompanying base. That's pretty handy if you're after a PC that can sit neatly inside a TV stand, although…
Feature: Magic Magnus
Learning how to build a PC from scratch is all well and good, but having someone make one for you - or at least make most of one for you - can sometimes be a heck of a lot easier, especially if you're after something altogether more petite to maybe sit beneath your telly or perch neatly on top of your desk without having a…
Feature: Building blocks
Building your own gaming PC isn't too bad if you know what you're doing, but for first-time builders it can be quite the daunting experience. Sometimes, it's just easier to get someone else to do all the legwork for you, especially if you're after something small and diddy like the rather swish Zotac MEK1. Other times, though, it can be both cheaper and more satisfying to make one…
Feature: Storage wars
All right, our How to build a PC guide is so very nearly over. Just a couple more steps and you'll be home free. In this article, we'll be installing some storage for all those lovely games you've got waiting to play. I'll mainly be covering traditional 2.5in SATA SSDs and 3.5in HDDs here, but fret not if you've gone down the fancy NVMe route - I'll…
Feature: Down to the wire
Hooo boy. Here comes the fun part of our How to Build a PC guide. And by fun, I mean, excruciatingly awful and needlessly fiddly. It's time to connect up your system panel connector and all your case cables to all the teeny tiny metal prongs dotted around your motherboard. Hooray!
Feature: Bringing it all together
How to put your case back together again and connect your peripherals
Congratulations! You've made it through our How to Build a PC guide. Now it's time to double-check and triple-check that everything's connected properly, put your case back together and plug in those peripherals. Let's get started.
Feature: Window of opportunity
Here it is. The final step of our How to Build a PC guide. You've got your brand-new PC ready and waiting. All we need now is to give it an operating system. I'll be taking you through how to install Windows 10 in this particular article (it really isn't as bad as everyone says it is, even if it can be immensely irritating sometimes),…
Feature: Power to the people
The first step in our How to build a PC guide is installing your power supply, or PSU for short. Before we begin, however, we need to make sure your case is prepped and ready for it. That means taking out any lingering bits and pieces your case manufacturer might have left in there when you bought it, so get that screwdriver at the ready.…
Feature: The mother of all problems
You've just learned how to install your power supply; the next step in our How to build a PC guide is installing your motherboard. This is arguably one of the fiddliest bits of building a PC, so it's important to take your time here. I'll be building into an ATX-sized motherboard into a mid-tower case in this particular instance, but the same steps apply for…
Feature: Keeping it cool
Welcome back to our How to build a PC guide. With your motherboard and power supply now firmly in place, it's time to get those fans going. Most cases these days come with a few fans pre-installed - usually one at the front to bring cold air in and one at the back to throw hot air out - but adding more can be useful…
Feature: Gonna need a minute to process this
Here comes the tricky bit in our How to build a PC guide. I know I said that earlier when we were learning how to install a motherboard, but that was just fiddly. Installing your CPU requires a delicate sense of precision, as bending one of its many pins underneath could spell disaster for your entire build. So, take a deep breath, and let's get…
Feature: RAM it in
Next up in our How to build a PC guide is installing your RAM. As you may well have seen in our Best DDR4 RAM article and buying guide, your PC's RAM (or random access memory, to give it its full and proper name) is the middle ground between your CPU and your various storage devices, be they SSDs or more traditional HDDs. RAM can…
Feature: Now you're playing with power
Building a PC can be pretty damn satisfying when you're not paying through the nose for one of today's best graphics cards and actually manage to get it all working when you first turn it on, but sometimes we just want someone else do the hard work for us - especially when that someone is graphics card extraordinaire Zotac and the PC in question is…
Feature: Poverty pricing, surprisingly pleasing performance
Can you even buy a proper gaming PC for £500, or approximately $700? Not a PC that occasionally turns its hand to the odd ancient game. Quake III will run on an old smartphone, but that's missing the point. Well, it's missing my point, which is to sniff out whether half a grand is enough for a PC bought specifically, or at least substantially, for…
