Build calculator

Say what the machine is for and how much of one you want. The generator ranks our library by the specifications that decide capability, takes a part at that standing for each component type, then runs the whole selection through the same compatibility engine the builder uses and substitutes anything that conflicts.

What the tiers mean

A tier is a position in the ranking for each component type, not a price bracket. Mid-range takes a part around two thirds of the way up our library for that type; high-end takes one near the top; no compromise takes the most capable we hold.

Entry sits low deliberately. It is the right choice where a machine has one narrow job and no need for headroom, and the wrong one where you expect the build to last.

The same tier means different things for different purposes, because each purpose weighs the component types differently. A high-end office machine and a high-end 4K gaming machine share almost nothing.

How parts are ranked

Processors are ordered by core count first and clock speed second, which separates a four-core part from a sixteen-core one reliably and distinguishes parts with the same core count reasonably.

Graphics cards are ordered by memory capacity and power draw. Power draw is a crude proxy, but within a generation it tracks the size of the chip fairly closely.

Memory and storage are ordered by capacity, then by speed. Power supplies by capacity. Coolers by rated heat dissipation where it is stated, radiator length where it is not.

Every figure comes from the manufacturer, through the open database this site imports. Nothing here is measured by us or estimated.

What happens when parts conflict

Picking the best part for each type independently can produce combinations that do not work together: an AM5 processor with a DDR4 board, a card longer than the case allows.

So the generator runs the complete selection through the compatibility engine and, where it finds a conflict, replaces one of the parts involved with the nearest alternative in capability that resolves it. Every substitution is reported rather than made quietly, because a tool that silently changes your build is one you cannot check.

Where a conflict cannot be resolved from the parts available, it says so and leaves the conflict visible instead of pretending the build is fine.

What this is not

It is not a benchmark. Ordering parts by published specifications tells you that sixteen cores beat four; it cannot tell you which of two similar processors is faster in a particular game. That needs measured results under comparable conditions, which we do not have and do not claim to.

It is not a shopping list, and it quotes no prices. We have no source for current retail prices that we can publish, so rather than show figures that would need qualifying every time they appeared, we show none.

It is a starting point. Open the result in the PC Builder, change whatever you disagree with, and it will re-check compatibility and power as you go.

If you would rather start from a build somebody has already assembled and explained, our build guides cover a range of purposes with the reasoning written out in full.