Gaming PC Build Calculator

The calculator adds estimated costs for parts you don't budget individually — power supply ($150, $100, or $70 depending on GPU tier), a flat $100 case, a cooler ($80 or $40 depending on CPU tier), and a motherboard estimate ($200 or $130 depending on CPU tier) — on top of your GPU, CPU, RAM, storage, and peripherals budgets. This is intentional: it reflects that a real build needs those parts too, so the total is a realistic full-system cost rather than just what you priced out yourself.

It multiplies your GPU Budget by a flat 0.15 dollars-to-performance factor, then divides by a resolution demand multiplier (1.0x at 1080p, 1.6x at 1440p, 2.8x at 4K). This is a deliberately simplified model — it doesn't account for specific GPU generations, game engines, or CPU bottlenecking — so treat the number as a ballpark for budget planning, not a benchmark-grade performance prediction for any particular game.

Estimated FPS is derived entirely from GPU Budget and the resolution multiplier — CPU Budget doesn't appear in that formula at all. CPU Budget does affect Total Build Cost and, indirectly, whether the build is flagged as balanced via GPU % of Budget, but the simplified FPS model in this calculator treats performance as GPU-bound only.

It's your GPU Budget divided by Total Build Cost, expressed as a percentage — the calculator flags the build as balanced when that figure falls between 30% and 55%, reflecting common PC-building guidance that a gaming-focused build should put roughly that share of its money into the graphics card. A build far outside that range, in either direction, tends to underperform its total price tag even if the overall budget is generous.