Build Your Ultimate Dream Gaming PC In New PC Building Sim

PC Gaming Simulator 2 — (Image credit: PC Gaming Simulator)

Developer Spiral House announced the sequel to the original PC Building Simulator software in March. So if you enjoyed the original simulator or were intrigued by it, now is your chance to give the new version a test run. PC Building Simulator 2 hit open beta on Friday, and the free testing period runs until June 20.

In case you haven't heard about PC Building Simulator before, the game is very much true to its name. Originally it was touted as a way of trying out different components in different cases in a 3D environment, so you could check out and optimize PC builds before purchasing the hardware. It grew to include many DLCs packed with components and peripherals models from different brands as a simulator game. The game consists of a PC build and repair shop career mode and could even show you projected 3DMark benchmark results of the DIY builds you conjured up.

PC Building Simulator first hit the pre-alpha release on Steam in early 2017, but it wouldn't be until early 2019 for it to be a finished release, with a continuous stream of DLC content packs to follow. The sequel poses to "push the limits on virtual PC creation to new heights (and, of course, add better RGB)." In other words, there are more building and customization options than ever, with improved visuals for eyeballing your finished builds.

As well as greater component choice and improved visuals, the game designers say there are innovative changes to the repair shop experience for a more satisfying "career." A playthrough of the career mode offers at least 30 hours of gaming and access to 1,200 components, with licensed parts from all the most prominent names. Many of the changes in this sequel utilize years of gamer feedback, so they should be widely welcomed.

It is easy to join the PC Building Simulator 2 Open Beta. If you head over to the Epic Games Store (EGS) page for the game, scroll down until you see a section that shows 'Editions' and adds the Open Beta demo to your cart. When you subsequently navigate to your cart, you can check out for $0.00. The beta provides one hour of career mode and an accessible build mode with a limited selection of parts. Epic is the publisher for this sequel, so it will be exclusive for the EGS, at least initially.

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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

2 Comments Comment from the forums

GenericUser

I've never understood the point/appeal of this game, but I've also built enough actual PC's that doing so virtually seems rather frivolous to me. I imagine this is for people who are just getting into PC building and maybe really enjoyed doing their first build and wish they could do it some more/again, but without dropping the thousands it would cost to build several more PC's.
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michalt

GenericUser said:
I've never understood the point/appeal of this game, but I've also built enough actual PC's that doing so virtually seems rather frivolous to me. I imagine this is for people who are just getting into PC building and maybe really enjoyed doing their first build and wish they could do it some more/again, but without dropping the thousands it would cost to build several more PC's.
I could see if I was doing a particularly aggressive build (spacing wise) I'd like to try it out on a simulator first to even see if what I was doing was vaguely possible. But I'm not the target market for the game as I don't enjoy the process of building a PC... I just like the results of a well put together machine with high quality parts.
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