What this is
A real PC build picker. Choose a CPU and the motherboard dropdown only shows boards that fit the socket. Pick a board and the RAM dropdown only shows compatible kits. The summary panel does the math: total price, estimated power draw with a 150W system-overhead allowance, recommended PSU wattage with a 20% safety margin, and a performance-tier estimate that takes the lower of CPU and GPU tier (so a flagship GPU paired with an entry-level CPU doesn’t lie to you).
Compatibility warnings fire in real time: socket mismatch, chipset incompatibility, RAM type mismatch, PSU undersizing, and GPU-too-long-for-case clearance. Build URL captures the full state so you can share a build by copying the URL bar.
Why this exists
Most PC-builder sites are either glorified affiliate-link generators or PCPartPicker reskins. This one is opinionated about the parts list (every entry is editor-picked, with a notes line explaining why it’s in the dataset) and honest about what it can and can’t tell you. It can’t promise that street prices haven’t moved since the last verification date. It can’t simulate every edge case of multi-GPU or watercooling fitment. What it can do is keep you from buying a 358mm GPU for a case that maxes out at 341mm, or pairing DDR4 RAM with a DDR5 board.
The underlying parts dataset is published openly under CC BY 4.0 at /data/pc-builder-parts.json — you can fork it, remix it, or build your own picker on top of it. Required attribution: TechFuelHQ PC Builder Parts Dataset, CC BY 4.0. The same applies to every TechFuelHQ open dataset.