PC Jargon Buster & A Basic Guide to Components

Here’s some insight into the components inside of a PC and a little about what each PC part does. It’s important to know what you’re buying and why, so that you can tailor your build to your needs and wants. This will allow you to make good choices so that you get the most out of your hard-earned cash.

When building your computer, it’s important to consider exactly what it will be used for. This can help keep costs down and avoid any wasted power. Buying the best CPU on the market won’t do you any favours if all you’re doing is browsing and performing basic tasks. The same goes when buying a component that is just not powerful enough to get the most out of the rest of your build or upgrade.

The PSU in your computer is one of, if not the most important component inside of your PC. It’s the beating heart that provides stable power to the rest of your computer, as long as you choose a good one. Many overlook the PSU, perhaps because when it comes to differences on screen, there’s nothing you’ll really notice. However, a quality supply is much more likely to keep the rest of your PC running smoothly for a longer amount of time and give you less hassle overall.

Despite what some people think, the higher the wattage, doesn’t mean that your PC will pull more from the wall! You can have a system working perfectly on a 500W supply, swap it for a 600w model and the system will still use the same amount of power. Your computer will draw only the power it needs and the wattage rating of the PSU won’t cause it to use more. 

There are a few internet-based tools out there that can help you find the right wattage for you. Most are super easy to use and you should have a rough idea of what you’re looking for in no time.  Be quiet has its own wattage calculator, which is quick and easy to fill out. You can use the information there to help you with your decision, even if you buy a totally different brand. Do keep in mind that these are estimates and not exact figures. Leave yourself some headroom and check the manufacturers recommended wattages for your chosen graphics card.

You may have already seen the ‘80 Plus’ logos on the boxes or product pages of power supplies. These are basically efficiency certifications. The higher the rating, the better the efficiency at 20%, 50% and 100% of the load it’s rated for. If you read up on the numbers, it all becomes rather confusing. The good news is that you don’t need to get caught up in all of that stuff. The rating logos make things much easier. 

The ratings run from white to titanium, with the price and efficiency rating being higher the more precious the metal. A white power supply is the most inefficient of the bunch, while the titanium rated models are the leaders of the pack. That said, this doesn’t mean you should instantly save up for the best of the best, unless of course you really want to. 

For basic PCs used for browsing and office work, you’ll be just fine with any budget model. All of this should be taken into consideration alongside user reviews though! The efficiency ratings are totally separate from product reviews. There are some excellent bronze rated models out there that many would swear by, as well as some rather iffy higher end, much more expensive models. 

Work out the wattage that you need for the system you are building or upgrading. Figure out your budget and check reviews. We often see some fantastic offers come up on hotukdeals, so keep an eye out. If the wattage is higher than what you're looking for, but the price and reviews are good… That’s fine! Having headroom for upgrades later down the line is never a bad thing.

• White
• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum
• Titanium

Without one, you’d have nothing to plug the rest of your components into. Its job is to allocate power and let all of the other parts communicate. Buy one that has the features you need, whether that’s one with built-in Wi-Fi, lots of USB ports or that has a specific connector. Technology has come a long way and you’ll find some great specifications and features even on lower-end boards

Each motherboard has a socket number that will give you an indication of which processor will fit onto it. If you have a specific processor in mind, check its socket number and make sure you choose a model that matches it.

Example: The AMD Ryzen 7 5800x is AM4, so you will need to look for an AM4 motherboard to match.

The brain of a PC and choosing the right one could make a big difference to how your PC performs. The more cores and threads a CPU has, the more it can cope with at the same time. While the speed is all about… well, the speed at which it can perform. I’ll make this as basic as possible and keep architecture differences out of it, as I don’t want to overwhelm you with lots more than you bargained for at this point. 

The question I’d ask you first would be “What are you doing with the PC?” Simple PCs used for everyday browsing, shopping and homework would be fine on a 2 or 4 core processor, as long as it’s one of the more modern models. 

When it comes to gaming, many of the big titles benefit from more cores. While a 4 core processor might run the game, you will likely find that a 6 core would handle things much better alongside modern graphics cards. At this point in time, I’d consider at least a 6 core model to keep you going for years to come. These are much more common in gaming systems these days and there's a good reason for it! They’re well priced and do a fantastic job with games. Simple.

8 Core CPUs are also great for modern games, but come at a much higher cost in general. I’d consider these if you use your PC for more than gaming. Perhaps you render the odd video and want some extra speed, or perhaps you’re getting into streaming and want to keep things running smoothly. Either way, if you just game and are unsure on whether to go for a 6 or 8 core, then it’s pretty likely that you don’t need an 8 core in the first place. In some games, an 8 core part may offer some boosts, although this is going to be down to how the game is built. Most of the time it’s a negligible difference for the extra cost anyway

12+ cores are for those after some serious processing power for super heavy workloads and are usually used by professionals seeking the very best parts to make the most of their time. With some CPUs having up to 64 cores costing thousands of pounds, I think it’s safe to say that most of us will be happy to ignore those.

Quick recap:

• 2 Cores - Basic use - browsing, office work, emails and homework applications.
• 4 Cores - The Above + gaming and better multitasking performance.
• 6 Cores - The above +  better performance overall, especially in modern games for years to come.
• 8 Cores - The above + extra scope for heavier workloads or streaming your own content

Not to be confused with storage, as it sometimes is! RAM holds on to information that you may need to access quickly and helps your system run quickly. It temporarily stores information from running programs, so that it can give you quick access to it as and when you need it. This saves the processor from having a rummage around in slower storage for data and ultimately makes your whole experience much snappier. 

Basic systems can get away with 4GB just fine if you’re not really doing much and want to go super budget. Outside of that 8GB is deemed ideal for most systems. If you’re playing the latest games then 16GB has become pretty much standard, as requirements for top settings are more demanding than ever.

Buying memory can be really confusing with all of these different speeds to consider. AMD’s Ryzen CPU line-up has always benefited well from faster speeds. That’s not to say Intel doesn’t, although AMD is much more sensitive to these speeds, which is all down to how they are made. 

Aiming somewhere between 3000MHz and 3600MHz depending on budget and build, should give you great performance regardless of brand. Gamers are going to want to go for the higher MHz RAM if they want to get the most out of their Ryzen CPU. You’ll find that higher speed kits (4000Mhz+) jump a lot in price and your money would probably be better spent elsewhere, like on the PSU or GPU.

This handles the image output of your computer and displays it on your monitor.

When it comes to buying a GPU, you’ll need to think about what you’re using it for. If it’s for basic use then you may find that your processor is equipped with one that’s sufficient. It’s important to remember that not all processors have this function though, so be sure to check the specifications for integrated graphics before purchasing.

If you’re building a gaming or heavy workload PC, then you will likely want something more powerful than a built-in graphics chip. The biggest names in the industry are AMD and Nvidia. Both tech giants offer cards for budget, mid-range and high-end systems. Pricing since around the end of 2020 has skyrocketed, due to shortages of parts though, so holding out for a good deal that suits you could be well worth it.

For those wanting to see more frames per second in games, or plan on speeding up their graphical workloads, you’ll want to pick an appropriate card for the job, so take your time, consider the resolution you want to display and the amount of frames per second you’re aiming for. (See the jargon section for more on frames per second and resolution).

When it comes to storage, we have several types to choose from. Below you’ll find information on the most common types found in today’s PCs, from the classic HDD to super-fast NVMe M.2 drives. Let’s take a look!

The cheapest storage options are usually hard disk drives (HDD). They’ve been around for decades and absolutely do the job well, especially as they’ve got faster and more efficient over the years. They’re mechanical so there are moving parts inside, which leaves them prone to damage if they’re not handled with care, which is why they are protected in a chunky metal casing. Inside that casing are spinning disks that are written to and read by a little magnetic arm that moves around to write or fetch the data you need. To connect one to your PC you’ll need two cables. 1x SATA power, which you’ll find on your power supply anyway, as well as 1x SATA Data. Normally included with your motherboard.

Then come solid-state drives (SSD). They have no moving parts as they use flash memory chips to store your files, just like a USB stick or mobile phone. Even a basic SSD is much faster than any HDD and they’re regarded as one of the best upgrades for those wanting to speed up their PC. Just like hard disk drives, they require the same power and data cables.

Up next are M.2 Drives, which are also a type of SSD. M.2 drives have a smaller form factor than any of the above options and mount directly to your motherboard, providing you have a connector available for it. Great for smaller builds or when space, in general, is an issue. They don’t require any extra cables and just slot right in.

NVMe drives use a different protocol to other SSD options, which basically provides you with some huge speed upgrades over all of the other types. They share the same form factor as the above M.2 SSD, so don’t require any extra cables when installing. You will need to check that the motherboard you have can support the drive you’re looking to buy, otherwise you may not get the full speed out of your new storage.