I want a gaming computer, but am a newbie. Help?

[Ellanie]

I think the title says it all, but I'll explain.

I'm starting to note a pretty desperate need for a new computer as my little netbook is suddenly showing physical wear, but instead of buying another portable, I am seriously looking into diving into a gaming PC as my next computer.

The simple issue is that I really don't know where to begin in my search on either building one or purchasing a ready made one as up until very recently, had little interest in PC gaming.

Google's been a big help on starting, but I would really love a discussion on this since everyone has different ideas and preferred gear. So, any good resources or recommendations? Or, do you mind telling me what you play on?

[Steve]

First, watch this:

(followed by the other 2 parts), if you think you can handle building one, as it's not a hard thing to do if you follow the basics, you will save quite the amount of money.

Building a decent gaming computer doesn't cost more than 600 dollars, and it's still more than enough to run things on high settings at 1080p.

[DZComposer]

Budget will be your main factor. Don't skimp on your power supply, though. A power supply can take everything else with it if it fails the wrong way, and a crap power supply is more likely to fail.

1. First, choose your CPU. Intel? AMD? Which one is better will depend on who you ask, though lately the Intel's have the raw-power advantage, but the AMDs tend to be a little bit cheaper. But, I've built great machines on both platforms, so either way you will be fine.

What you want to do is find the CPU that provides the most for your price range. For this, you need to do some research.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/ <- Visit this site to help you choose your CPU, they have a handy set of charts that will show you raw power, and power for the price.

Once you choose your CPU, make note of what socket it is. This is important because you will need to get a motherboard with that CPU socket.

2. Motherboard. After choosing your CPU, decide what features you want built-in. Some things, like network cards, are not available in higher-spec consumer versions. In these cases, built-ins are fine. Sound cards can be something you can get built-in as well, though there are better add-on ones. Your choice.

Video cards you definitely do not want on-board, as for gaming you'll want something with independent memory and busses.

Once you have the features, you choose your board. Once again, research it!

Brands to avoid: ECS, Epox, Foxconn (even though they probably build most of the ones below, their designs suck), anything not on the list below

More-trustworthy brands: Gigabyte, Asus, Acer, Asrock, XFX, Intel, MSI

All of the trustworthy brands have their dud models. Research the ones you like, read reviews, and choose a well-rated one. Replacing motherboards is a pain, as you have to disassemble the computer. Best to pick something you won't have to replace until upgrade time.

3. Memory. Go to the motherboard manufacturer and download the manual of the board you are ordering. Look at the tested memory list. Buy memory on that list, or that is in the same series as memory on that list. Yeah, it's a standard, but I've been bitten by quirky no-workies involving with this enough times that I don't mess around when it comes to this.

As far as how much memory, At least 4gb, but you'll probably want 8 if you can afford it.

4. Video Card. AMD or nVidia? Doesn't really matter, both make great GPUs. Buy the best bang for your buck again. If you want multiple cards, you motherboard will play a role in this decision (Most are either SLI [nVidia] or Crossfire [AMD], but not both).

Everything else is easy, though you need a storage medium, usually a hard drive, an optical drive (mainly for OS install), power supply (don't skimp, but a well-reviewed one), and case.

In you're case, you'll need a Keyboard, a Mouse, and a Monitor as well, seeing as your previous machine is a netbook.

[CrypticQuery]

1) Make sure to watch those Newegg videos; they were invaluable during my time putting everything together.

2) This guide is great too, and is updated on a consistent basis - http://www.diyallday.com/how-to-build-a-computer/

3) Heed -everything- that DZ has to say; it becomes invaluable help.

4) GamersNexus also has some fantastic sample builds for relatively cheap prices - http://www.gamersnexus.net/pcbuilds

[DZComposer]

If you have a Reddit account, /r/buildapc is a community of system builders who can answer specific questions you have. Especially helpful if your new machine won't boot when you turn it on.

They have a great text guide if you want something you can quickly reference: http://www.reddit.co.../comments/f3efg

Also, a parts/price guide that I wish I had found earlier: http://s1002.photobu...rrent=Guide.png

Save for the graphics card and case, my machine fall in the "Extreme" category, surprisingly. Though I have last-year's Mobo. I've also bought this piecemeal. This is a great advantage to building. Upgrading is much cheaper up-front! I don't have to plop $2000 at once to get a high-end machine.

I need a new graphics card bad. I'm running a Radeon HD 5830, which I sure my Core i7 2600K and 16 GB of ram laugh at on a daily basis. If I remember correctly, that's pretty damn close to the GPU in the WiiU.

Though the card isn't terrible. I can run Skyrim on full settings FWIW.

["User"]

The only thing I have in the extreme setting is the motherboard but the case is relatively close to that as well. I did not have a lot of money but my computer was quite old so I decided to invest the most in the MOBO and case and work from there. My processor is only a simple i3.

[Steve]

Believe it or not, a 210ish intel processor will do the same as a 1000 dollars processor in games, there's no difference, maybe 1fps?.

Nowadays, most games only use 2 cores, there are only a few handful game engines that fully use up to 4 cores. So the trend is to go 4 cores. Right now, as it is, the best gaming processor is the i5 3570k, and it costs around 220-230 dollars last time I checked. No game uses the extra capabilities of intel's i7 series, so unless you do a ton of multitasking, virtualization and the like, it's just no good.

PC gamers on a tight budget go for either an i3 or a phenom II x4 955+ black edition series. Unless dealing with a game engine that uses 4 cores (right now, if I remember well, Frostbite 2.0 engine is the only one that uses 4) a good i3 is more than enough. The phenoms II are good quad cpus from amd but are usually outperformed by good i3s. It's all about the architecture they use. AMD is currently outperformed by intel in terms of gaming power.

"Bottleneck" is something else you have to consider, you win nothing by buying a really expensive gpu and a really cheap cpu.

Basically, you need to tell us your budget, the games you want to play and your screen resolution.

[Icy]

Go with DZ and Steve's advice. Very helpful.

It is especially crucial that you make sure all your parts will be compatible with each other. If you get an incompatible part, well, oops... It's especially bad if you grab a motherboard that just doesn't go with the CPU, GPU, and RAM. That's the worst thing someone can do. So just do some research.

I will add that I love Sapphire for graphics cards. I run a Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 and it's great. Never had trouble with them.

Also when choosing a power supply, do make sure it has enough wattage for your parts. The graphics card, mainly. Just check the specs of the GPU and it usually has a wattage requirement. Just make sure you get a well-reviewed power supply that will work and you're good.

Also, if you're on a tight budget and not looking to play games like Battlefield 3 on ultra, I will recommend this link here: http://www.informati...puter-2012.html

Not great but it's extremely cheap and gives you everything you need to play most games on pretty high settings.

But if you can go a little higher, get a better CPU, GPU, memory, and motherboard.

Also don't forget you'll need a monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, and an OS to go along with the main tower. That really increases the price of a gaming PC and a lot of people take those things for granted.

(I've never had to worry about those things when building my PCs as I've used the same monitor, speakers, keyboard, etc, for a long time and I never have to replace them)

[Ellanie]

Oh my goodness. Thank you so much for this much help! I'm sorry for taking a bit to respond, I'm current stuck on my cell phone.

My gaming taste veers more toward puzzlers, adventure, and RPGs. My recent interest in Final Fantasy XIV is what garnered my desire for my next computer to be a gaming level machine, but FFXIV is getting rebooted, so the game's particuarly high demands will no longer count. (Unfortunately, the best Square has to offer on required hardware on the A Realm Reborn reboot is that current players won't need to update their machines, but it is going to have a PS3 version, so it gives a very general idea on what I'll be needing.)

Since my entire computer situation a bit desperate, I feel the best route for me is to buy a good PC and build from it down the road. I have a keyboard, mouse, and monitor(or, more acurately, a small HDTV that has the proper plugs untill I get an LCD monitor proper), so it's just the tower. I don't want to spend more than $500 to get started, and even then, I'm still saving for that as my netbook's now immenent failure was not expected.

[Vy'drach]

Someone on ponychan posted this in a thread about someone else looking for a good gaming PC.