If you’re planning on building a new PC, you want all the information you can get. And one of the best people to get it from is YouTuber Paul’s Hardware, who was kind enough to join us on the CES floor for a chat about building a new PC in 2024. To see Paul and PCWorld’s Adam Patrick Murray break it down, you need to check out our latest YouTube video.
On building PCs in 2024, Paul says that it’s great that we now have some more flexible options on the cheaper end of things. That includes AMD’s seemingly immortal AM4 platform, which got brand-new CPUs (including a less expensive X3D option for gamers) at CES. You do sacrifice the option for more powerful future upgrades with a system limited by DDR4 memory, but between AM4 and new AM5-based APUs with integrated graphics, it’s much easier to build a powerful PC for $1,000 or less.
On Nvidia’s new Super cards, Paul is less bullish. “Take, for example, Nvidia’s decision to make the RTX 4080 Super $1,000. On one hand I am somewhat pleasantly surprised by that, based on Nvidia’s track record. On the other hand, we’re also like, you know, an abused victim, who’s like ‘oh thank you for not smacking me with a billy club again!'” (An exaggeration, he assures us.) Paul, like others we’ve spoken with at CES, acknowledges that AI firms gobbling up high-power chips are putting pricing pressure on regular consumers.
What about those new back connector cases we’re seeing as the War on Cables continues? Paul likes how they can make building a PC for the first time more friendly, but wants the various manufacturers to agree on a standard so we can get more cross-compatible parts and not send problematic, semi-proprietary parts into the secondary market. For the latest on building the best desktop and gaming PCs, be sure to subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.