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The processor (CPU) is housed behind the\u00a0colorful middle fan.<\/p>\n
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USC Computer Science student Chris McKinney\u00a0has worked on nearly 50 different computers.\u00a0 <\/span>From McKinney’s experience, building and upgrading computers is not difficult if you know where to look for cheap components.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 2″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/budgetP3_LA_.jpg”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 2″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n Graphics cards or GPUs are important to the performance of a PC for gaming. The better the graphics cards, the better graphics your computer will be able to process. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 1″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/BudgetP1_La_edit.jpg”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n McKinney removes the graphics card from a PC, demonstrating that building or upgrading a PC may not be as difficult as it seems.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 4″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”News Story” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”0px||0px|” background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n Chris McKinney, a computer engineering student\u00a0at USC, has built quite a few computers. McKinney\u00a0said that building computers is fascinating and that the amount of money that you can save by building your own rig is significant.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s kind of cool, and especially if you\u2019re willing to get a little bit creative you can get a lot more computing power for less money,<\/strong>” McKinney said.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re an avid gamer and don\u2019t already own a gaming PC, you may be missing out.<\/p>\n McKinney has a lot of experience when it comes to building PCs, having built five. McKinney’s experience is even greater if you consider the amount of PCs that he has upgraded or reconfigured, which is around 50.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0McKinney has used these computers for both leisure and work. \u00a0One of the computers is used as a server, while another is used for cryptocurrency mining in their startup company Blue Chip AI.<\/p>\n From McKinney’s experience, building a computer can be much cheaper if you listen to this advice,:<\/strong><\/span> \u201cDo not be afraid to go buy used hardware if you are at the budget level.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUsed hardware is an amazing resource because there are a bunch of people out there looking to upgrade their stuff and they have old graphics cards or CPUs and motherboards even,\u201d McKinney\u00a0said. He said many people sell their old parts to help pay for the upgrades.<\/p>\n\n