BASICS

Beginner's glossary

7 min read

Before building your PC, it helps to know what each part does. You don't need to be technical: here's every component explained the way you'd explain it to a friend. With this, everything else on the site will be much easier to follow.

The main components

Processor (CPU)

It's the "brain" of the PC. It handles the calculations that keep everything running: the operating system, programs, and much of a game's logic. When you see names like "Ryzen 5" or "Core Ultra 7", that's the processor. Two specs you'll hear often: cores (how many tasks it can handle in parallel) and clock speed in GHz (how fast it resolves each one).

Graphics card (GPU)

The part that draws what you see on screen. In a gaming PC it's usually the most important part and the most expensive, since it determines the quality and frame rate your games run at. Names like "RTX 5060" or "Radeon RX 9070" refer to the graphics card. It's important enough that we dedicated an entire guide to it.

RAM

The temporary working memory. While you use the PC, everything that's "open" (the game, the browser, your programs) lives in RAM because it's very fast to read from. It doesn't save anything when you power off — that's what storage is for. Today, 16 GB is the comfortable minimum for gaming and 32 GB is the sweet spot. The current type is called DDR5.

Motherboard

The base where everything else connects: the processor, RAM, graphics card, drives. Think of it as the "board" that lets each part talk to the others. It doesn't add performance on its own, but it defines which parts you can connect — that's why compatibility starts here.

Storage (SSD)

Where everything is stored permanently: the operating system, your games, your files. Today the standard is an SSD (solid-state drive), much faster than old hard drives. Among SSDs, NVMe drives are the fastest (they connect directly to the motherboard), while SATA drives are a bit slower but cheaper.

Power supply (PSU)

The part that powers the entire PC with electricity. It's measured in watts (W): the more powerful the rest of the build (especially the graphics card), the more watts you need. Choosing a PSU with enough headroom is key for stability and longevity. It's not the flashiest part, but a bad PSU can damage the rest.

Case

The "box" that holds and protects everything. Besides looks, it matters for two practical reasons: parts need to physically fit (especially large graphics cards), and it needs good airflow to keep temperatures low.

Cooling

Keeps the processor cool as it heats up while working. There are two types: air (a heatsink with a fan, the most common and affordable) and liquid (called an AIO, more efficient for powerful processors). An overheating processor throttles its performance to protect itself, so cooling it properly matters.

Terms you'll hear often

Socket

The physical "slot" where the processor plugs into the motherboard. The CPU's socket and the motherboard's socket must match. For example, current Ryzen chips use the "AM5" socket.

TDP

A measure (in watts) of how much heat a processor generates. It tells you how powerful its cooling needs to be.

Form factor

The standard size of a motherboard or case. The most common are ATX (large), Micro-ATX (medium), and Mini-ITX (compact). The motherboard needs to fit in the case.

1080p / 1440p / 4K

Screen resolutions, from lower to higher detail. The higher it is, the sharper the image looks, but the more work for the graphics card. It's the key spec for choosing your GPU.

FPS (frames per second)

How many images per second the game generates. More FPS = smoother motion. 60 FPS is the comfortable standard; competitive players aim for 120 or more.

Bottleneck

When one part is so much weaker than the rest that it "holds them back." For example, a very powerful graphics card paired with a very weak processor: the GPU can't perform at its best because the CPU can't keep up. The goal is to keep parts balanced.