I originally got this game with the intention of teaching myself PC building. Although there is a lot about this game that doesn't translate to real life, I do still believe in it as a useful teaching tool. It helps you get more familiar with these parts, terms, and how everything fits together. It lets you try out combinations and figure out what works and what doesn't. It helps you get the confidence you need to go out and try this for yourself.

That said, very early on in the game it stops holding your hand. The learning curve becomes very steep. I know I didn't know everything I needed to pick the right parts for a lot of the early benchmarking jobs. I spent a lot of time on Google looking things up, and want to make things easier for the next player.

Quick disclaimer: I do not have much experience building PCs in real life. Ideally most of this will apply outside the game, but I can't say for sure. Do your own research before you build, and don't take my word as gospel. And if you know more about this topic than me, feel free to correct me in the comments and I may adjust this guide as needed.

Also, this guide is still in development. TBE stands for "to be expanded" and I'll be using that as the shorthand for stuff I want to research more before I try to explain, or else think I'll have more to say later. If anybody wants to contribute to this guide, feel free to hit me up.

2/13/2021 Update: I just got back onto this game after a long Hiatus and realized they've added a lot of quality-of-life updates. The most noticeable of these is a filter on both the inventory and the shop, so using these specs to select the perfect part will be a lot easier. I'll try to update this guide to use this new filter, but that will take some time. I'm also starting the part of the game that introduces custom water cooling and I'll add some sections to address this.

First of all: make sure you play the "How to build a PC" section on the game. It functions not only as a tutorial, but also gives you basic language and understanding for building PCs. Just do it, and maybe do it multiple times until you feel comfortable with your terms and processes.

I also want to give you a couple of general suggestions:

• If you have the in-game currency to do so, try to get the part-ranking app for your personal desktop. It is limited to CPUs and GPUs, but those tend to be the most complicated parts so it's very useful.
  
• Use Free build to explore new concepts if you don't feel confident in career mode. It's called free build for a reason; it's free.
  
• When replacing a part, always try to get the same component, or if you're upgrading as close to the same component as you can and still fill the requirements. If they have a Ryzen CPU in they're computer, don't replace it with an Intel.
  
• Google is your friend. Don't be afraid to look up stuff you don't know.
  
• There are also several steam guides that go into a lot of stuff specific to this game. I'll add links to some I particularly like, but if you need something specific just look it up and see what you get.

The CPU (central processing unit) is the brain of the computer. The power of this piece of hardware is essential to the performance of your computer, so it is important to figure this stuff out.

TBE. In general, the higher the frequency, the better the CPU

TBE. In general, the more cores, the better the processor.

The socket describes what kind of motherboards the CPU can fit in. At the beginning of the game, the only sockets you're going to have are AM4, Kabby Lake, and Skylake. Latter on they'll add Coffee lake, and there may be others I haven't earned access to yet. The important thing with this is that whatever kind of socket your motherboard has, it can only take CPUs with the same kind of socket (though, for some reason, Skylake and Kabby Lake are apparently interchangeable. Don't ask me why, for now I'm considering it a gift horse and won't be looking it in the mouth)

The number of watts measures the amount of power used by the CPU. In general a high Wattage means a more powerful CPU, but it's not as good of an indicator as Frequency and Cores. Really, the only place where this comes into play is if you're trying to figure out how big of a power supply you need, but even that I generally just ballpark and hope for the best. I wouldn't worry about this in the game too much.

CPU coolers, like the name suggests, directly cool the CPU to keep it from overheating and crashing. This is particularly important if you want to try overclocking, but still an essential part of even bare-bones pc processing.


There are 2 main types of CPU coolers: Air coolers and Water coolers. Air coolers more straightforward, and water coolers are a little more complicated. You don't even get to access water cooler until after you've leveled up a few times.
The main thing to keep in mind is that if you're adding water cooling, you're going to not only place it on top of the CPU but also fit the fan piece on the sides of the case. You may have to remove some pieces or case fans to fit it in, so keep that in mind.

Air flow is listed in CFMs (cubic feet per minute) and describes the rate that air is cycling though the fans. In the game, Air Flow is the only factor in cooling quality. In general, the higher the number = the better the cooling power.

The socket refers to what kind of CPU socket it can fit onto. TBE

Again, this is pretty straightforward. This measures how big the cooler is. You shouldn't have to worry about this in the game to much,, unless you have a very small case or something.

Motherboards are probably the most important part of the computer. It's most likely going to be the first part you add to the computer, and replacing a broken one involves taking out half of the components (which I way I groan whenever I see it)



For our purposes, you can probably ignore this spec. I can't find any clear-cut relationship between motherboard chipset and computer performance. However, if you're interested in how these relate to the real world, I found a link comparing certain Intel motherboard chipsets[www.pcworld.com]:


Edit: I've sense discovered a youtube video that might demystify this stat a little: https://youtu.be/h9CmdPt30v8

Socket describes what kind of CPUs will fit for this motherboard. This corresponds to the same spec in the CPU, you can read more about it in the CPU section.

The only RAM type I've seen in the game so far is DDR4. TBE

The size of the motherboard tells you what kind of cases it will fit into. The only thing you need to worry about for the purposes of the game is' that it has to match one of the motherboard sizes listed for the case, but if you're interested in how these sizes translate to real life here's a chart I picked up from buildcomputers.net

:Again, straightforward. This is the highest memory speed the motherboard can handle. More about this spec in the Memory section.

Some motherboards are able to handle 2 graphic cards. If they can't, then this section is listed as N/A. If they can, then it will either have SLI, Crossfire, or both. For our purposes, if you do want to use 2 GPUs make sure that whatever Multi-GPU they have is included in the motherboard's specs.

Memory (or RAM, lots of people use these terms basically interchangeably) is where the data for ongoing processes in kept. At the risk of oversimplifying things... this determines how well your computer can multi-task.



The general naming format is along these lines: "Brand" + "Series" + "Size"GB +"Frequency"MHz

Brand and Series

Brand and Series don't have much direct relevance to the performance of the RAM, but it is a good idea to note them if the job asks for a specific brand.

Capacity

The capacity (I'm calling it capacity for a lack of a better term, you can usually get away with describing it as "so-an-so gigs") describes how much memory is actually in the stick. Higher the number, the more memory you have, and the better your computer can perform. This is actually the most important spec for this part, and is probably going to be the first one you look for when browsing the store.

Something worth noting is that you can Double, Triple, or 4x this number for your overall machine by using multiple RAM sticks. You can only use parts with the same Size and Frequency though, so make sure you have as many as you need if you're going this route.

Frequency

This is the same spec as Frequency down below.

At least at my point in the game, the only RAM type I've seen is DDR4, so I don't know much about this spec. TBE

This measures the speed of the memory. Higher the number, better the performance.

Graphics cards (aka GPUs) are kind of min-computers focused entirely on processing the images for your monitor.



Okay, I suspect that there is some kind of standard naming convention for the entire name, but I can really only find two mostly-consistent elements: the brand name, and the series number. The brand name is pretty self-explanatory, but you're going to want to pay attention to the series number.

Somewhere in the name of most GPUs (with the exception of my first example) you're going to see a 3 or 4 digit number out by itself, somewhere in the middle or at the end. I've underlined a couple of examples below:

Two things I've noticed about these series numbers:

1. When building to a specific game (using the "Will it Run?" program) any GPU from the same series as the one listed will usually fit the minimum specs (assuming the VRAM also matches, see below)
   
2. If you're installing multiple GPUs, the two parts need to match at least series numbers, even if you want to use a different brand.

If anyone else knows anything about the naming convention, please let us know in the comments. TBE

VRAM, or Video RAM, is RAM dedicated to the graphics. Like regular RAM, the higher the number of gigs, the better your graphics card is at multi tasking.

TBE

TBE

This describes the physical size of the GPU. If this is larger than the max GPU length for the case, then it won't be able to fit

The electrical power required to run this GPU. Like the Wattage of the CPU, this has some relevance to what kind of PSU you need, but I can usually eyeball it.

As I explained in the Motherboard section, you can sometimes install multiple GPUs, but only when both the Motherboard and the GPU allow you to. If this spec says N/A, you're out of luck. If it has Crossfire or SLI, then make sure you have a Motherboard with that spec.

The storage is where all of your file folders, programs, and Operating system info is kept.



The general naming convention is of the following format: "Brand" + "Series" + "Size"GB + "Cache"MB

Brand and Series

The series and Brand don't have much to do with the performance of the storage. Take note of these if the job requests a specific brand though.

Size

This should be the same spec as "Size" down below.

Cache

TBE

So far the only types of storage I've been able to find are HDD, SSD, and a few M.2 pieces. HDD stands for "Hard Drive. SSD stands or "Solid-state Drive." The general consensus I've found online is that SSDs are overall better than HDDs, but HDDs are older and more well known.

HDD, SSD, and M.2 all fit into different parts of the case. The HDD usually go in a drive bay you need to open up and slide out. SSDs usually go on the side or back of the case. M.2 types usually plug directly into the motherboard, around the graphics cards.

The size of the storage determines how much data it is able to handle. More gigs, more information it can store.

Pretty straightforward, this is the speed that data transfers to and from the storage device.

Computers run on electricity, so obviously you need to get power from somewhere. The Power Supply Unit (PSU) takes the power from your wall outlet and passes it on to all of the parts that need it.



The wattage measures how much power your PSU is able to pass on to the computer parts. Higher the number, the more powerful parts it can support.

I usually end up ballparking this number for my in-game builds, but if you want to make sure you have enough power to support all the parts you have, then add up their individual wattage loads and compare it against the PSU wattage, like this:


That said, you're probably going to want a PSU with more power than I listed here, since this doesn't account for any power eaten up by cooling and lights. In the above scenario, I'd recommend going for at least a 350 W PSU just to be safe.

This describes the physical size of the PSU. This has to be smaller than the corresponding spec on the case, or it won't fit.

So far, I've only encountered 3 types of PSUs: Modular, Semi-Modular, and Non-Modular. This spec really on refers to weather or not it has cables included or if you get to used your own colored cables. Modular doesn't have any cables included, Semi-Modular has some cables and some you need to add yourself, and Non-modular has all the cables included.

TBE

Cases don't have as much of a direct link to performance, but it will determine what kind of parts you can put in the computer.



TBE

This corresponds to the Size spec on the Motherboard. This lists what standard sizes of Motherboards that can fit into the case.

TBE. This has to match the Size spec on the PSU you plan on using for the computer.

This corresponds to the "length" spec in the PSU. It has to be at least as large as the length of the PSU you plan on adding in there.

Pretty self-explanatory. This is the biggest GPU size the case can handle.

Again, pretty self-explanatory. Any CPU fan you put in has to be smaller than this.

Case fans are a lot like CPU coolers, but you can add a lot more of them, they cool more than one part, and they're really optional.



TBE (I haven't seen anything other than a case fans)

Like with CPU coolers, this measures the rate of air flow though the fan, and can generally represents the cooling power.

This size can affect what kind of cases it can fit into, but I haven't been able to figure out how to predict that. TBE

For those that want to try overclocking, a useful tool for getting the most out of your CPU and GPU and get highter bechmarks with terrible equipment:
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1513505217

If you want to predict what kind of 3D mark scores your build will get, here's a guide for getting onto the nitty-gritty scores for each part.
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1954152216

If you want to know for sure where certain parks fit in the rankings, you can check out this guide.
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1586909365

If you want to look into some more details for RAM, you can try this guide
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1350328959

If you have any corrections/tips you want to contribute to this guide, please let me know in the comments.