PC36 Gaming PC Configurator

Configurator PCs allow you to choose the spec

Compatibility is guaranteed and you have a safety net - we check all parts lists before building

Not quite the spec you want? Or need to change something that's not in the options? Submit a Custom Spec Request and we'll get right on it! -> Click HERE

✅ The freedom to spec it out as you like

✅ Curated parts list so you're not overwhelmed by choice

✅ You can add multiple configurator listings to your cart to compare, then just check out with the one you want

✅ Safety net - we check all parts lists to ensure they make sense before building

❌ Not as customisable as our Custom Spec option

What parts make the most difference to gaming performance?

Here is our recommended order, from most important to least important. This will guide you as to how much of your budget to allocate to each part

Graphics Card ("video card")
CPU
Storage capacity (allow 100GB per game you want to have installed. 1TB = 1000GB)
Memory
Motherboard
CPU Cooler
Aesthetics/look - i.e. case, coloured cables etc
Power Supply
(not because it's not important, but because the way we set up this page means the power supply will always be reliable)

There are 2 CPU manufacturers: Intel and AMD Ryzen. Both are great, but with some slight differences. There is a TL;DR at the bottom of this dropdown if you don't

RYZEN:
Where Ryzen excels is the value proposition. A system based on Ryzen will be more upgrade-friendly because the motherboards receive updates longer into the future - this means you can upgrade your CPU without having to change any other parts
Ryzen CPUs tend to run cooler than their Intel counterparts, and use less energy from your wall socket
The main drawback of Ryzen is that there is very little overclocking potential, for both memory and CPU. For most people, this will not be a concern (NB: overclocking voids warranty because it is running the components past the manufacturer specification)

Naming scheme:
Cores:
Ryzen 3 (4-core), Ryzen 5 (6-core), Ryzen 7 (8-core), Ryzen 9 (12 or 16-core). This tells you the number of cores in ascending order. Gamers will typically go for a Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 as the best middle ground. Games do not benefit from more than 8 cores in general. Higher core counts are usually better for productivity tasks like video editing
Numbers:
Each generation has a number after the "Ryzen 3/5/7/9" - for example Ryzen 5 7600. This shows it is in the 7000 series. The higher the series the newer the CPU is
Letters:
F = no integrated graphics (which is OK because you have a dedicated graphics card anyway)
No letter = has integrated graphics (can be useful for troubleshooting, but is generally not used because you have a dedicated graphics card)
G = has upgrade integrated graphics (we do not sell these in gaming PCs because you already have a graphics card)
X3D = has additional fast storage built in which greatly increases gaming performance


INTEL:
Intel's advantage is overclocking ability - this means you can run faster memory and run your CPU past manufacturer limits (NB: overclocking voids warranty because it is running the components past the manufacturer specification)
Intel also offers some more budget options that Ryzen have not got an equivalent for
The drawbacks of Intel are: higher temperatures and power usage and lack of upgrade options - this means you'll need more elaborate cooling

Naming scheme
Cores:
i3 (4-core), i5 (6-core), i7 (8-core), i9 (8 or 12-core). This tells you the number of cores in ascending order. Gamers will typically go for an i5 or i7 as the best middle ground. Games do not benefit from more than 8 cores in general. Higher core counts are usually better for productivity tasks like video editing
Intel CPUs have a mix of Performance and Efficiency Cores. Performance cores are the powerful ones for the big tasks, and Efficiency cores are little cores that deal with minor background apps. So despite an i9 having 8 "P" cores, it also has 16 "E" cores
Numbers:
Each generation has a number after the "i3/5/7/9" - for example i5 14600. This shows it is in the 14th generation. The higher the generation the newer the CPU is
Letters:
No letter = has integrated graphics (can be useful for troubleshooting, but is generally not used because you have a dedicated graphics card)
F = no integrated graphics (which is OK because you have a dedicated graphics card anyway)
K = overclockable (and normally about 5-10% faster at stock)


TL;DR recommendation:

Most people would do best with a Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 system because it is upgradabale, stays cool and quiet, and provides great gaming performance. The highest-performing CPU we recommend is the Ryzen 7 7800X3D

The page will only let you choose suitable coolers, so whatever you go for it will work. But here is some more guidance:

Tower air cooling
Tower air cooling uses a hunk of metal strapped to the CPU and a fan attached to it
Air cooling is the most reliable because the only moving part is a fan, which is cheap to replace if it breaks (which they very rarely do)

Liquid cooling
Liquid cooling uses a metal plate strapped to the CPU which has water channels in it. The heat is transferred into the water via the plate. The water is pumped out to a metal radiator, and fans push the heat off it
Liquid coolers usually cool more effectively but are more expensive
Liquid coolers are reliable nowadays and normally run flawlessly for years, but not as reliable as air cooling becuase there are more moving parts
They come in 240mm (2-fan) and 360mm (3-fan) variants - the higher the number the more cooling

Stock cooler

The free included cooler - it is sufficient for cooling but will run hotter and louder than any of the other options. You'll get a much beter experience by upgrading this

Which to choose?
Liquid cooler advantages: more effective cooling, looks nicer
Air cooling advantages: cheaper, more reliable
RGB lighting is optional

The page will only let you choose suitable motherboards, so whatever you go for it will work. But here is some more guidance:

All motherboards will include WiFi and Bluetooth
The motherboard is responsible for co-ordinating your PC parts and providing them with the right power

INTEL:
"H" boards: These are basic motherboards which are OK for i3 and non-K i5 CPUs
"B" boards: Midrange boards (no CPU overclocking)
"Z" boards: Higher end boards that allow CPU overclocking

We recommend "B" boards for most users up to and including i7 CPUs
i9 users should use a "Z" board, but "B" board will also be OK
Higher end boards usually have more USB ports as well as other features


RYZEN:
"A" boards: These are basic motherboards which are OK for Ryzen 3 and 5 CPUs
"B" boards: Midrange boards that allow overclocking
"X" boards: Higher end boards that allow overclocking

We recommend "B" boards for all users because they have all the features needed without overpaying
There is very little benefit to Ryzen "X" boards unless you have a specific need
We do not recommend "A" boards because they usually have fewer features e.g. not allowing the best CPU performance or only having 1 M2 SSD slot

All our configurator systems use DDR5 memory because it is the newest standard. They will always be set up in dual-channel mode
Memory is like extremely fast storage that keeps your system snappy
For gaming, it makes a modest difference. A fast kit could get you up to 10% more performance

There are 3 components to memory:

Capacity:
16GB is OK for budget systems
32GB is recommended for most people
64GB is normally overkill and only useful to power users

Speed
Measured in MHz (higher is better)
Below 5600MHz - in our opinion a bit too slow
5600 MHz - midrange speed
6000-6400MHz - the sweetspot. Fast but not too expensive
Over 6400MHz - very fast
Over 7000MHz - for experienced users only because it will require manual tweaking. Only available by special request
NB: Ryzen systems typically cannot achieve over 6400MHz

Latency
Measured in CL (lower is better) (technically "ns" but we will simplify with CL)
Under CL30 - normally only achievable with manual tweaking
CL30-CL32 - Low latency; our recommendation
CL34-CL36 - midrange
Over CL36 - considered slower

Overall recommendation:
32GB 6000MHz CL32 for the best price to performance ratio

RGB lighting options available

All our configurator systems use PCIe version 4.0 SSDs for responsive performance. Therefore, it leaves you with very little to worry about spec-wise

Capacity:
1TB = 1000GB. Allow 100GB per game you wish to have installed on average. If you plan to do video editing or have other large files on the system bear this is mind
It is generally better to get more storage than you think you need
We start at 1TB to ensure a decent amount of storage right away. Most users will benefit from 2TB

Midrange vs Premium
We don't use cheap, rubbish SSDs. All SSDs will have memory buffering technology to keep them snappy

Midrange drives will have midrange speed, usually 3500-5000Mb/s read, and memory buffering such as HMB
Premium drives will have top end speed, around 7000Mb/s, and dedicated DRAM memory buffering

SSD speed doesn't normally affect game performance, so most users will be best off with a midrange drive, and use the saved money on other components

You can choose to add Hard Drives as secondary drives for more storage, but it is strongly recommended to only store games on an SSD. Hard drives are too slow, but can be used for cold storage of small files like picutres, films, music, schoolwork etc

There is a lot of choice when it comes to graphics cards, so we'll do our best to clear it up for you here
All of them can do recording and streaming

There are 3 manufacturers:
NVIDIA, AMD Radeon, Intel ARC

Radeon normally provides the best raw performance per £. For pure gamers, this is a great choice
NVIDIA has unique features and is better at Ray Tracing. The "90" class cards are unmatched and provide the ultimate performance but with a high price tag
Intel ARC is new on the scene so we do not currently offer these in our configurator, so that they have time to mature

The video card you want is mainly based on what resolution you play at, so we'll group them for you here. The higher the number for each brand the faster it is

Recommendations
1080p Gaming
Radeon:
RX 7600
RX 7600 XT

NVIDIA:
RTX 4060
RTX 4060 Ti

1440p Gaming
Radeon:
RX 7700
RX 7700 XT
RX 7800 XT

NVIDIA:
RTX 4070 / SUPER
RTX 4070 Ti / SUPER

4K or Ultrawide Gaming
Radeon:
RX 7900 XT
RX 7900 XTX

NVIDIA:
RTX 4080 / SUPER
RTX 4090

What about the GB of VRAM?
1080p Gaming: 8GB+ recommended
1440p Gaming: 12GB+ recommended
4K gaming: 16GB+ recommended
(these are fixed depending on the video card you choose)

The case provides the general look of your PC and holds all the components. Good cases provide plenty of space for mouting and sensible airflow paths

All our options are standard "ATX" size, which is normally 40-50cm long, 40-50cm tall and 15-25cm wide. For smaller options you will need to use our Custom Spec service or buy a pre-specced Ready-to-Go PC

We've got a limited selection of our favourites to help you choose. These are all cases we've used before and trust. So simply choose the one you like the look of

If you want the internals of the PC to be white, then you need to choose this option as well

The listing is set up to ensure you always get an adequate power supply. We only use trusted brands like Corsair, Deepcool, MSI, beQuiet etc

Choosing to upgrade generally gives you more expandability in future and quieter operation

21 days total

3 days faster if you pay with bank transfer at checkout

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*There may be an additional wait if parts are scarce - this is rare and you will be informed every step of the way

Delivery

The majority of PCs are delivered via DPD. Some oversized models may be delivered by UPS. Typical delivery time is 5 business days after completion

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Returns

We will accept returns if you contact us within 14 calendar days from delivery, provided the PC is in the same condition it is provided to you. That includes any boxes and packaging. Do not throw away the packaging until you are sure you don't want to return (PC boxes are a specific size so you may find it hard to return if you destroy the box) - we advise keeping the box somewhere safe (you can collapse it) in case you need to send us the PC for upgrade or repair.

The buyer pays the return postage cost.

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Warranty

We provide a 2-year warranty as standard on all gaming PCs, with options to extend. We will repair any problems with the PC which we have caused due to assembly or component faults. User error is not covered, nor are viruses or problems arising from unauthorised tampering with the PC.

For warranty claims, we will provide a drop-off delivery label free of charge. If you would like the PC collected instead, there would be a small surcharge for this.

Technical support is included via email and live chat

Buy immediately

• Credit/Debit Card
• Bank Transfer (checkout and we will send instructions - payment must clear before shipment)
• PayPal

Buy Now Pay Later

• PayPal Pay in 3 or 4* (choose PayPal and when choosing your payment card scroll to the bottom and you'll see the credit options)
• PayPal Financing 6-36 months (coming soon; but needs some work on our end first!)

*Pay in 3 / 4 is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Pay in 3 eligibility is subject to status and approval. UK residents only. Pay in 3 is a form of credit, may not be suitable for everyone and use may affect your credit score. See product terms for more details