PC Building Simulator: Career Guide

A practical guide to PC Building Simulator's career mode: how jobs, money and levels work, a reliable diagnose-and-fix routine, building and overclocking for 3DMark targets, workshop upgrades, and what the IT and Esports expansions add.

Researched September 2026 — current as of v1.15.3 (April 2022) plus the January 2023 analytics update. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Version note: PC Building Simulator (2019) is still sold on Steam but receives no new content; its last content update was v1.15 (March 2022). The sequel, PC Building Simulator 2, launched on the Epic Games Store in October 2022. Everything here is about the original.

Quick Start

• Career mode is a business sim. You run a repair and build shop. Jobs arrive by email; finishing them pays money and XP.
• Read every job email twice. Customers specify exactly what they want (a part, a benchmark score, a colour). Missing a detail lowers your rating.
• Levels unlock parts. Many high-end components are locked behind your shop level; early jobs are simple on purpose.
• Keep a cash buffer. You pay rent and electricity bills. Going into debt early slows everything.
• Order parts with the right delivery speed. Faster delivery costs more; plan jobs a day ahead to use the cheap option.
• Never forget thermal paste. It is so common there is an achievement for forgetting it.
• Benchmarks use 3DMark. Jobs asking for a score need the right CPU/GPU combo — and sometimes overclocking.
• Customer ratings matter. Your star rating is tracked (achievements at 4, 4.5 and 5 stars), so meet every stated requirement.
• Salvage and resell. Spare parts and whole spare PCs can be sold for money.
• Try How to Build a PC mode first if you have never built a real PC — it walks through the assembly order step by step.

Game Modes

Mode | What it is

Career | Run your workshop, take jobs, pay bills, level up

Free Build | Sandbox with unlimited money and all parts

How to Build a PC | Guided tutorial on assembly order and part functions

IT Expansion | Free story content: IT support for Irratech Corp (over 20 hours)

Esports Expansion (DLC) | Tech support for esports teams, arena setups and gifts from players

Career Mode Basics

Jobs

Common job types:

• Full builds to a spec or budget.
• Upgrades (add a GPU, more RAM, a new drive).
• Repairs — find and replace a broken component.
• Virus removal — scan and clean the system in the OS.
• Cleaning — remove dust buildup from components.
• Benchmark targets — hit a 3DMark score; "Perfection" is getting the exact requested score.

Money

• Income comes from completed jobs and selling spare parts/PCs.
• Expenses: parts, delivery, rent, electricity and workshop upgrades.
• Achievements track milestones such as $1,000, $10,000, $100,000 and $1,000,000 in the bank — and getting into $3,000 of debt.

Levels and unlocks

• XP from jobs raises your level. Achievements mark levels 6, 12, 18, 24 and 30.
• Higher levels unlock newer, more expensive parts and better jobs.

Workshop upgrades

• Second and third workbench — work on more PCs at once.
• Storage cupboard — more space for parts.
• Bigger workshops — upgrade to a bigger workshop, then an even bigger one.
• Uncle Tim's Bargain Basement — Mystery Parts Packs; a gamble for cheap parts.
• DEKOR catalogue — cosmetic items for your shop.

Diagnose-and-Fix Routine

Use this checklist for repair jobs:

• Read the complaint in the email.
• Power on the PC. Does it boot? Blue screen? No display?
• Open the OS and check software issues: run the antivirus for viruses, check storage and drivers as needed.
• Inspect the inside. Look for dust (clean it), missing thermal paste, loose or missing cables, and wrongly seated parts.
• Test suspect parts by swapping in known-good parts from your inventory.
• Check temperatures and stability if overclocked — undo aggressive overclocks that cause blue screens.
• Only replace what the customer asked for or what is actually broken; extra changes can annoy them.

Building a PC in the Game

Standard assembly order (mirrors real life):

• Case open, side panel off.
• Motherboard prep: CPU, thermal paste, cooler, RAM, M.2 drives.
• Install the motherboard into the case.
• PSU, then storage drives.
• GPU into the PCIe slot.
• Cables: 24-pin motherboard, CPU power, GPU power, SATA, fan/RGB headers.
• Close up, power on, install OS if needed.

Compatibility checks the game enforces:

• CPU socket must match the motherboard.
• RAM type and speed must be supported.
• Case size must fit the motherboard form factor, GPU length and cooler height.
• PSU wattage must cover the build.

3DMark Targets and Overclocking

• Scores depend mainly on CPU and GPU. If a job needs a certain score, adjust those first.
• RAM has a smaller effect; dual-channel helps.
• Overclocking in the BIOS raises clocks and voltages. Too much and the PC blue-screens or the CPU breaks (there is an achievement for breaking one).
• Cooling matters. Better air coolers, AIOs, or custom water loops allow higher stable overclocks.
• The Perfection achievement asks for the exact requested score — use small overclock steps to hit it.

Step-by-step overclocking:

• Increase the multiplier or frequency a small step.
• Run 3DMark and watch temperatures.
• If it blue-screens, step back and raise voltage slightly — or stop.
• Stay within safe temperatures for the cooler you have.

Cooling

Option | Pros | Cons

Stock/air cooler | Cheap, simple | Limited overclocking headroom

AIO liquid cooler | Good cooling, clean look | Needs radiator space; check case compatibility

Custom water loop | Best cooling, looks spectacular | Complex: reservoirs, pumps, radiators, tubing

The v1.15.x patches fixed many AIO and radiator clipping/collision issues in specific cases, so if a cooler would not fit before, it may now.

Expansions and DLC

• IT Expansion (free): work for Irratech Corp. Complete tickets (TikkIT achievements at 25, 50, 100 tickets) and story jobs, some with your colleague Natalia.
• Esports Expansion (paid): manage tech for esports teams, move into bigger and elite workshops, set up arenas under time pressure, and earn gifts from players.
• Workshop DLC from brands (Fractal Design, EVGA, AORUS, Overclockers UK, NZXT, Republic of Gamers, Razer) add themed workshops and parts.
• The Maxed Out Edition bundles the base game with nine DLC items.

DLC at a glance

DLC | Type | Worth it?

Esports Expansion | Paid second career | Yes, if you like the career loop — it is the only DLC with new structure and its own achievements

Fractal Design / EVGA / AORUS / Overclockers UK / Republic of Gamers / Razer / NZXT Workshop | Paid themed workshops plus branded parts | Cosmetic plus parts; buy only for brands you care about

Overclocked Edition Content | Paid content pack | Optional extras

Good Company Case | Free | Grab it — costs nothing

Soundtrack | Paid | Music only

The Build & Benchmark Bundle pairs the game with the real 3DMark if you want to compare your own PC against the in-game scores.

Esports Expansion career in brief

The Esports Expansion runs as its own career rather than a mode inside the base career. You maintain gear for players on esports teams, work to a weekly budget, and handle match-day setups in the Arena, where some tasks are timed. Things worth knowing before you start:

• Timed Arena jobs. Two achievements (Setup Wizard and Clean Sweep) ask you to set up the whole team or clear a disaster in 120 seconds or less. Lay out spare parts before match day.
• Gifts and likes. Players reward good service with gifts; there are 26 to collect, and achievements at 1, 10, 15 and all 26 gifts plus one for 20 Likes from a single player.
• Career end rating. Your career ends with a bronze, silver or gold watch depending on performance. Gold is the Top Tier Technician achievement.
• Team loyalty. One achievement asks you to stay with the Vandals for the whole career, another to work for every available company — they need separate playthroughs.
• Workshops. You move into a bigger workshop and later the elite workshop as you progress.

Achievement Plan

The game has over 90 Steam achievements. Most base-career ones fall out of one long career save; do the "silly" ones in a spare save or Free Build where possible.

Goal | Achievements (exact names) | How

Money | Back in the black, Seems you're pretty good at this, You rock at this!, Maybe you should try something else? | $1k / $10k / $100k / $1m in the bank — just keep playing and stop spending

Debt | I'm broke, Uncle!, Building isn't cheap! | Go $3,000 into debt, then climb out of a $2,500 debt. Do it deliberately in a throwaway save

Jobs | That's what I'm talking about, Smashing it, Taking care of business, Work ethic 101, Wow, you really like PCs | 10 / 30 / 100 / 200 / 500 jobs in a single playthrough

Levels | From humble beginnings..., Things are under control, Building momentum, Mr big business, Mister Big | Levels 6 / 12 / 18 / 24 / 30

Ratings | Customer satisfaction, Bending over backwards, Customer's ALWAYS right. | 4, 4.5 and 5 star rating — follow each email to the letter

Workshop | Double trouble, Triple threat, Keeping things neat, Growth Strategy, Executive Suite | Second/third workbench, storage cupboard, bigger and even bigger workshop

Uncle Tim | Feeling Lucky...?, Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained, Majority Shareholder, Owner | Mystery Parts Packs (1, then 15 different ones); buy 51% and then all of the company stock from Uncle Tim

Selling | Making Money, Side Hustle, Tim 2.0 | Sell 1 / 10 / 20 spare PCs

Office PC | Show off, Lead by example, Blow 'em away, Treat yourself (RAM/CPU/GPU), Getting your feet wet | 3DMark 5,000 / 10,000 / 20,000 on your own office PC; 128GB RAM, a Threadripper, a GTX 1080 Ti; custom water cooling

Overclocking | Perfection, If you fail the first time..., Overvolted | Exact requested 3DMark score; BSOD 10 times from overclocking; break a CPU (do the last two on your own office PC)

Quick freebies | Easy to forget, The Best of Both Worlds, My favourite feature..., Your music sucks, PC LOAD LETTER, Get your wings | Forget thermal paste; pair AMD CPU with NVIDIA GPU; play internet radio / your own music; hit 5 printers; finish How to Build a PC

IT Expansion | Hot TikkIT, Golden TikkIT, TikkIT Master, Employee of the Month | 25 / 50 / 100 tickets yourself; all story jobs yourself or with Natalia

Grind tips: the $1,000,000 and 500-jobs achievements are the long ones. Sell leftover parts instead of hoarding (except for "So you're the reason why the prices are so high?", which wants 100 GPUs in your inventory, and Hoarder, which wants every possible part — leave those for last, when money is no object).

Update History (final support era)

Version | Date | Highlights

v1.14.1 | Dec 2021 | Cooler and case fit fixes; IT Expansion job "Me again..." could now reach 5 Kudos

v1.14.2 | Jan 2022 | Large batch of part collision, cable and benchmark-data fixes

v1.14.3 | Jan 2022 | Fixed PCs duplicating; Overclocked Edition DLC entitlement fix

v1.15 | Mar 2022 | Last content update: new parts (including the CORSAIR iCUE 5000T, more small form factor and white parts) and a free Irratech open-plan office venue

v1.15.1 / v1.15.2 | Mar 2022 | AIO/radiator/reservoir fit fixes in Corsair, NZXT and other cases

v1.15.3 | Apr 2022 | Steam Deck on-screen keyboard, PS5 controller support, Workshop wallpaper fix

January 2023 update | Jan 2023 | Disabled Unity Analytics tracking; no gameplay changes

If a cooler or radiator refused to fit in a specific case on an older save, it is worth retrying — much of the 2022 patching targeted exactly those collisions.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Forgetting thermal paste — the CPU overheats.
• Not plugging in power cables, especially CPU or GPU power.
• Ordering parts you do not need and burning cash.
• Over-overclocking customer PCs without enough cooling.
• Going into debt early by buying workshop upgrades too soon.
• Ignoring the email requirements (colour, brand, exact score).

Advanced Tips

• Keep a small stock of common parts (budget PSUs, RAM, storage) to finish simple jobs without waiting for deliveries.
• Batch jobs that need the same parts in one order.
• Sell leftover parts and build spare PCs to sell once you have extra workbenches.
• Use Free Build to test builds and overclock settings before trying them on a paid job.
• Steam Workshop wallpapers work in the in-game OS (v1.15.3 fixed a case where the integration failed).
• Build your office PC up early. Several achievements (3DMark 5,000/10,000/20,000, 128GB RAM, Threadripper, custom loop) are tied to your own office machine, not customer PCs — and it is the safe place to experiment with overclocks.
• Controller and Steam Deck: v1.15.3 added PS5 controller support and the on-screen keyboard on Steam Deck.

FAQ

Is PC Building Simulator still updated? Its final updates were in 2022–2023. The sequel is PC Building Simulator 2.

Does it teach real PC building? Yes, the How to Build a PC mode explains each part and the assembly order.

How do I make money faster? Prioritize well-paying jobs, avoid unnecessary fast deliveries, sell spare parts, and upgrade workbenches once you have steady income.

Why won't my PC boot? Check power cables, RAM seating, CPU compatibility, and whether thermal paste and cooler are installed.

How do I overclock? In the BIOS, raise frequency in small steps, test with 3DMark, and watch temperatures.

Which achievements are hardest? The 500-jobs, $1,000,000, Hoarder (every possible part in inventory) and the Esports gift collection (all 26 gifts) have the lowest unlock rates. Plan them into one long save.

Is PC Building Simulator on Steam Deck? v1.15.3 added Steam Deck on-screen keyboard support and PS5 controller support, so it is playable with a controller.

Is the Esports Expansion worth it? If you enjoy the career loop, yes — it adds a new career structure with its own goals.

Sources

• Steam store page — PC Building Simulator
• Steam news — PC Building Simulator v1.14–v1.15.3 and January 2023 update
• Steam global achievements — PC Building Simulator
• Wikipedia — PC Building Simulator