How we actually build a gaming PC

The short answer

One PC at a time. About 4 hours of build, 4–8 hours of unattended stress-testing, then review, photograph, double-box, ship. We don’t batch builds; each one gets the same attention. The work that matters most isn’t flashy — cable management you can’t see, BIOS settings nobody checks, drivers updated to the version we ship rather than whatever Windows Update offers in three months.

Step 1: Parts

Every SKU draws from a short standard list of parts. We don’t use a configurator on the back end either; if a Family is ordered, we know exactly which Ryzen 5 7600, which RTX 4060, which DDR5 kit, and which motherboard model are going in.

Brands we use:

• Motherboards: ASRock, MSI, Gigabyte. B550 chipset for Starter, B650 for Family and Plus. Always a real OEM-channel board, not white-label.
• Power supplies: EVGA, Corsair, Seasonic. 80+ Bronze on Starter, Bronze on Family, Gold on Plus. PSU is one of the most failure-prone components when cheap; we don’t cut here.
• SSDs: Samsung, Crucial, Western Digital. Gen-3 NVMe on Starter; Gen-4 on Family and Plus. Tier-1 brands have noticeably better firmware reliability.
• RAM: Crucial, Corsair, G.Skill. We test the kit with the motherboard before committing.
• Case + fans: mid-tower with mesh front for airflow. Fractal, NZXT, Phanteks for cases; Arctic, Noctua-equivalent for fans. The Plus uses a tempered-glass mid-tower with a 240mm AIO.

What we don’t do: source from random eBay sellers, use refurbished parts on new builds, or substitute “equivalent” parts without telling you. If a specific model is out of stock, we tell you the substitution before we build.

Step 2: Assembly

Order matters. We build in a consistent sequence:

1. Motherboard prep on the bench. Install CPU (carefully — pin damage on AM5 is a real risk), CPU cooler with fresh thermal paste, RAM seated firmly with audible click.
2. Boot test out of case. A quick power-on with monitor + keyboard before installing in the case. Catches DOA RAM, motherboard, or CPU before we waste an hour on cable management.
3. Mount motherboard in case. Standoffs in the right positions, I/O shield seated, screws snug.
4. PSU in case, power cables routed. Modular PSU cables only as needed.
5. Drives installed. NVMe in M.2 slot with heatsink; SATA SSD if a second drive is ordered.
6. GPU last. Always last so we can route cables properly underneath.
7. Cable connections to motherboard. Front panel headers, USB, audio, fan headers all in the right pins (the manual is open on the bench).

Step 3: Cable management

This is the part where most builders cut corners. We don’t. Cables run behind the motherboard tray, tied to the chassis, away from CPU and GPU airflow. The visible side looks deliberate; the hidden side looks deliberate too.

Why this matters past aesthetics: airflow stays unobstructed (CPU runs cooler), components are easier to replace if something fails (cables aren’t a tangle), and the PSU exhaust isn’t blowing through a forest of unused cables. Cable management is one of the markers of whether a builder cares.

We photograph the build with the side panel off as part of the shipping documentation. You see what good cable management looks like; if your PC ever needs a part swap years from now, the inside still looks the way the photo did.

Step 4: Windows + drivers + zero bloatware

Windows 11 Home (genuine OEM licence) goes on, fully updated to current. Then drivers in the right order — chipset first, then GPU, then audio, then network. The version we install is whatever the manufacturer’s current stable release is on build day; we don’t rely on Windows Update to backfill drivers eventually.

What we install:

• Windows 11 Home, current cumulative updates, .NET runtimes.
• Steam, Epic Games launcher, Microsoft Store — signed-out, just installed.
• Windows 11 Family Safety pre-configuration: kid’s account in the Family group, ready for you to set screen-time and content filters.
• Discord client (signed-out).
• The Plus also gets OBS Studio installed and pre-configured for streaming.

What we don’t install:

• No McAfee, Norton, or other antivirus trial. Windows Defender is the right answer in 2026.
• No manufacturer toolbar, no “helpful” widgets.
• No ad-loaded browser variants.
• No Office or Google Workspace (you install whichever your school provides).

Step 5: Stress-test and burn-in

The PC sits and runs heavy load for 4–8 hours, monitored. The point is to find any component that’s going to fail in the first month and fail it now, in the workshop, before it ships.

• Prime95 — CPU stress, all cores. 1–2 hours. We watch CPU temperature and look for any throttling.
• OCCT — combined CPU/RAM/PSU stress. Catches power-delivery issues that Prime95 alone misses.
• 3DMark / Heaven — GPU loop. Verifies stable graphics performance and thermal envelope.
• HWInfo log — running through the whole burn-in, capturing temperatures, voltages, fan speeds. We read the log; any anomaly gets investigated.

If a part fails the burn-in, we replace it and re-run. The customer never sees it. About 1 in 30 builds turn up something during burn-in — usually a flaky stick of RAM or a slightly under-spec PSU rail.

Step 6: Photograph and ship

Last step: photograph the inside and outside of the PC with the side panel off, then double-box for shipping. Outer carton is plain; no “mygamingpc.ca” branding on the outside if requested for gift surprises.

The team at Exponential Labs, Inc. dba mygamingpc.ca reviews the build photo, the burn-in log, and the order details before booking the courier. The hand-off from Kavan to the company is where the “builder builds, business ships” division actually lives. Kavan doesn’t schedule pickups or hand the PC to a courier — he hands it over with the documentation, and the company takes it from there.

DIY vs prebuilt — an honest comparison

If you’re technically inclined and have time, DIY is a real path. The cost savings are typically $100–$300 versus a boutique prebuilt at the same spec, depending on parts deals you find. The trade-offs:

• Time: 6–10 hours including parts research, the actual build, BIOS troubleshooting, driver hunt, Windows install. Fast for someone who’s done it before; slow if it’s your first time.
• Warranty: each part has its own manufacturer warranty (good) but you’re the one filing each claim individually (less good). No single-point-of-contact when something breaks.
• Trouble-shooting: when the PC won’t POST or a game crashes, you’re your own tech support. Forums help; the patience to read forums is the actual cost.
• Parental-controls work: the Windows pre-configuration and the Parental Controls Kit are work we do that you do yourself in DIY.

If you’re shopping at PCPartPicker already, you don’t need this page. If you’re not, prebuilt from a small Canadian builder is a fair value.

Why we don’t have a configurator

Three reasons. First, choice-reduction is the product — the parent who lands here doesn’t want to learn what RAM CAS latency is. Second, three honest builds let us know each one inside-out; a configurator means every customer gets a slightly different PC and we can’t test as deeply. Third, configurators are easy to design badly — they push you toward higher-margin parts you don’t need.

Pick by what your kid plays.

A note on who actually does this

Kavan builds. Exponential Labs, Inc. dba mygamingpc.ca reviews and ships. Kavan is 13; he’s been building PCs for years and is genuinely good at it. If a 13-year-old being the builder is a deal-breaker for you, we understand — the build quality and warranty terms are the same as any boutique builder, but the founder story is part of the brand and we won’t obscure it. More about how the business runs.

Frequently asked questions