The Custom Gaming Blog

The Custom Gaming Blog keeps you updated with the latest information released here at Build-Gaming-Computers.com. Whenever a new article, custom build, video, or related hardware news story is posted at the site, you can find out about here.

Recommended Builds January 2012

The latest custom gaming builds for the start of the new year are now live on the site, in time for the many end of year clearance sales that tend to occur around this time of year. The following 4 build examples will help you get the most bang for your buck in different price ranges.

Recommended Gaming Desktop Builds: January 2012

Recommended Builds December 2011

The latest custom gaming build examples for the month of December are now live on the site. Once again, we show you 4 high-value, high-performance builds for 4 different price categories to help you in getting the most bang for your buck during the holiday season:

Recommended Gaming Desktop Builds: December 2011

Top 3 High End Gaming Laptops

Our top 3 value picks for high-end gaming laptops for the holiday period and into the future. These high performance laptops represent the very best performance for value in 3 different price ranges.

Obviously a custom desktop build of the same price will be more powerful in general than any laptop, but if you need your high end gaming to be portable then one of these beasts will serve you well for a long time.

Best Gaming Laptops: Top 3 High End Laptops December 2011

November Recommended Builds Update

We're now midway through the month and our Budget, Mid Range, High End, and Extreme build examples have been tweaked to give the most bang for your buck and to stay current with the best value components as of right now.

Each build's main core components have remained the same because they still demonstrate the very best value for gaming in their respective price range, and only minor changes such as a more cost-effective case for the Mid Range build and better-value accessory recommendations have been made since the start of the month.

The most common reader question we have received this month is how to build a hybrid of the 2 most popular builds: the Budget and Mid Range builds. Therefore we have included a new section on how to cut the cost of the Mid Range build without sacrificing gaming performance, which will suit those on a budget between 800-1000 dollars.

Happy gaming, and good luck with your own custom build.

Recommended Gaming Desktop Computer Builds - November 2011 Update

Recommended Builds - November 2011 Update

Hard Drive Prices Predicted To Rise Further

If you weren't aware of the already significant increases in hard drive prices over the past couple of weeks, you should know that worldwide production of hard drives have been cut short due to last month's unfortunate major floodings in Thailand where Western Digital and other major hard disk manufacturing plants have been closed down.

This has caused a sudden significant rise in hard drive prices around the world, and prices are predicted to continue rising over the next few months as major hardware vendors slowly lose their stock. It is predicted that the shortage will not be rectified until at least Q2/mid 2012, so if you were planning on buying a hard drive for an upgrade or a new custom build, it seems to be a case of first in best dressed.

Smart consumers arounds the globe are getting in sooner rather than later to buy new hard drives, as prices continue to rise with no end in sight. My own advice reflects that of many in the industry: if you were planning on a new PC build within the next few months, get in early instead of waiting for the holiday and christmas periods and then wondering why your hard drive costs as much as your video card.

Here are some helpful links about the current world wide shortage:

CNET.com - Hard-disk shortage hits consumer outlets
The Impending Hard Drive Shortage

Recommended Builds November 2011

The latest Recommended Custom Gaming Builds for the month of November are now live on the site at the Best Builds. A lot of painstaking research has gone into these builds to make sure you get the most bang for your buck if you're in the market for a new gaming PC build this month.

The 4 best-value custom build examples for high performance gaming: the Budget Gaming Build, Mid-Range Gaming Build, High End Gaming Build, and the Extreme Gaming Build. Choosing between them will depend on your budget, and a lot of parts can be mixed and matched to create your own custom variation to suit your needs.

Recommended Custom Gaming Builds November 2011

Battlefield 3 - Are You Ready?

The game that we've all been eagerly anticipating is finally here, but are you ready for it? We receive many reader emails from gamers asking whether their particular specs are good enough to handle the latest ground-breaking First-Person Shooter.

All three recommended custom PC builds in our Best Builds section are capable of handling Battlefield 3, even the entry-level rig (named the Budget Build) which will run it quite well with decent framerates on medium/high settings.

For those hardcore gamers who wish to play it at its very best (flawless performance even with visual settings turned on maximum) you will need to be looking at a system on par with the Mid-Range Build or similar.

Alternatively, for those on a strict budget you can 'spice up' the Budget Build to make it run Battlefield 3 even better by making the following changes:

• Swap the GeForce GTX 550 Ti for the GeForce 560 Ti
• Add another 4GB of RAM to make a total of 8GB

This will allow you to play BF3 and other demanding titles in their full glory without spending an arm and a leg.

EA's Battlefield 3 - Available 10/25/2011

Recommended Gaming Builds - October Update

The top 3 Recommended Custom Builds for October 2011 have been fully updated but the majority of the core components have stayed the same as they are still great examples of the very best systems you can put together for each price range right now.

The recently released AMD bulldozer processors have not impressed much so we have stuck with Intel's i5 and i7 CPUs which are still considered the best for high-end gaming. This could change with their future releases, but for now it looks like Intel still holds the crown for high performance CPUs. As always, we will keep you updated on any changes to the market over the coming weeks.

AMD's "Bulldozer" Processor

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Choosing The Best Gaming Headphones For Your PC

Guide to choosing the best gaming headphones for your PC for the very best immersive gaming experience. Gaming headphones are a must-have accessory for the serious gamer.

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Choosing the Best Gaming Monitor

Guide on how to choose the best gaming monitor. The best monitors for gaming have fast response rates, high contrast ratios, and are large enough to provide a surreal gaming experience.

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Recommended Builds October 2011

The latest Recommended Custom Gaming Builds for October 2011 are now live on the site. The main core components have stayed mostly the same since September, with a few changes to each build to keep up with the latest in the market.

Recommended Builds October 2011

Best PC Case For Gaming - Top 4 Full Tower Computer Cases

To help you choose the best PC case for your custom gaming PC, we have chosen 4 of the best-rated high end full-tower cases available right now for a great base to your new rig.

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The Best PC Barebone Kits For Gaming

PC barebone kits can save you money on your custom PC build, and here are the top 3 best-value barebones computer kits available right now for high performance gaming.

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Best Radeon Video Cards of 2011

The top 3 best-rated ATI Radeon video cards for gaming this year. If you're after both a high value and high performance card, consider one of these popular Radeon video cards.

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Installing a Graphics Card: Step by Step

An easy to follow guide on installing a graphics card. Includes information on installing video card drivers, and safety guidelines to protecting your video card from damage during installation.

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Best Video Cards For Gaming in 2011

We reveal the best video cards for gaming in late 2011. The top 3 video cards for gaming were judged for both value for money and performance in the latest games.

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Recommended Budget Gaming Desktop Computer Builds

Here are the recommended custom gaming desktop computer builds for three different price ranges: budget, mid-range, and high-end. All parts for each build have been chosen for value and performance.

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Solid State Hard Drive - Benefits Of SSDs And Are They Worth The Money?

Explains what a solid state hard drive is and advice on buying SSD technology.

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The State Of PC Gaming

An interesting article from GameSpot on the current state and future of PC Gaming. The future looks bright indeed!

GameSpot.com - The State Of PC Gaming