Choosing starts with dividing the budget, not with a list of parts. The graphics card takes the largest share, because it is the part that draws the picture in games. The processor and the power supply have to keep up with it, or it will not show what it can do.

The proportions did not come from instinct. We looked at our own catalog to see how gaming performance rises with the price of a card, and set the point where spending more stops paying off.

Every build then goes through roughly thirty compatibility rules: from the processor socket, through cooler height inside the case, to the length of the graphics card.

The power supply always gets headroom above the calculated draw. That headroom grows when a card's consumption is not known from a reliable source. We would rather add a little to the price than recommend a machine that shuts down under load.

What we don't do: we don't guess. Where product data is missing, we say so instead of filling in a plausible number.

The selection methodology was devised by Tomasz Synowski.

We take prices and availability from the stores we track: X-Kom, Komputronik, Media Expert and RTV Euro AGD. We refresh them four times a day, so the build on screen is calculated at today's prices, not last month's.

For every request we show a mixed build, which takes each part wherever it is cheapest at that moment, and a separate build from each store. The mixed one usually comes out cheaper, but it means several parcels and separate complaints. A single-store build is one delivery, and often the option to have the store assemble it.

The lowest price is not always the best one. A product can be listed while the store has none, and the cheapest version of a card can come with a weaker cooler and a shorter warranty. So we take you to the specific offer, to check before you buy.

We earn a commission from the stores. Buying through our link supports the site, and the price you pay does not change. The commission has no effect on which parts we choose or on the order of the results — no store can pay us for a higher position.

You are building your first PC. You roughly know what you want to spend, but you are not sure whether the processor fits the motherboard, or whether the card will fit in the case. We answer those questions for you, so you do not have to learn socket names or standards to buy a machine that works.

You are replacing an aging machine. A computer a few years old rarely needs everything replaced at once, but it is hard to judge on your own which part is holding the rest back. Take control over every part and mark what stays — we will build around it and check that the new parts will work with it.

You are buying a computer as a gift. Give the amount and what it is for, and you get a finished list with prices and links. You do not need to know hardware, or to read reviews.

If the computer is only for the web, video and office work, take the ready builds — cheap, with no separate graphics card and no questionnaire to fill in.

A prebuilt gaming PC is a configuration somebody else chose. You buy it like any other appliance: one order, one warranty, one number to call.

With a build of your own you decide on every part and see what each one costs. You know what you are paying for, and you can move the money to where it matters most to you.

It costs time. You choose the parts, check they work together, and assemble the machine yourself — or pay a store to do it. With parts from several stores, each complaint goes to its own seller.

We take the first half of that work on ourselves: we choose the parts and check they fit together. The last word stays with you, because sometimes it comes down to details the manufacturers do not publish.