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Started By
Message
what's the best deal, specs and place to buy a gaming computer?
Posted on 11/16/12 at 10:41 am
Posted on 11/16/12 at 10:41 am
my lap top is just too old to keep up without lag and looking for a good tower based gaming computer. i'd like to keep it around a grand but don't know enough about them to make a purchase on my own and don't trust salesmen. i'm sure i would need an I7 processor.
i'm bored and don't have any hobbies so i figured i would get back into computer games. any help is appreciated
i'm bored and don't have any hobbies so i figured i would get back into computer games. any help is appreciated
This post was edited on 11/16/12 at 10:42 am
5
Posted on 11/16/12 at 10:47 am to mooseknuckle
Best bet is to build one.
This post was edited on 11/16/12 at 10:47 am
Posted on 11/16/12 at 10:48 am to mooseknuckle
The only correct response is to build it yourself. You will never, ever, ever, get a good value gaming computer from a retailer/manufacturer.
Also, you absolutely do not need an i7 processor for gaming. I personally have one but that is because I also do a lot of video editing/encoding, virtual machines, 3d modeling, etc. Games don't take advantage of hyperthreading. An i5-3570k would suit you perfectly. Hell, even the slightly older 2500k.
There are quite a few people here, including myself, who are experts in computer hardware and would be willing to help you out in selecting components and going through the process.
Also, you absolutely do not need an i7 processor for gaming. I personally have one but that is because I also do a lot of video editing/encoding, virtual machines, 3d modeling, etc. Games don't take advantage of hyperthreading. An i5-3570k would suit you perfectly. Hell, even the slightly older 2500k.
There are quite a few people here, including myself, who are experts in computer hardware and would be willing to help you out in selecting components and going through the process.
Posted on 11/16/12 at 10:50 am to stout
quote:This.
Best bet is to build one.
You can save yourself a ton of money and its not incredibly hard to DIY. The hardest part is trying to decide which parts to buy.
Posted on 11/16/12 at 10:53 am to ILikeLSUToo
i appreciate it. so where would i even begin? a web site or local store? also how long would it take and what kind of price am i looking at?
This post was edited on 11/16/12 at 10:55 am
Posted on 11/16/12 at 11:06 am to mooseknuckle
For complete simplification, just get everything from Newegg. Newegg is the cheapest 90% of the time. Occasionally another site will run a special, but rare that Newegg won't lower their price in response. A few brick n mortar stores run specials, but not around BR. I wish we had a Fry's or a Microcenter.
As for how long would it take to build? I can put one together in 15 minutes. For a first-timer, it might take you several hours, including time spent reading the manual and maybe watching youtube instructional videos. Hell, I'll build it for you if you want.
As for price. That completely depends. Some of us have sunk a couple grand into our computers, spending 500-600 on cooling alone. Others build perfectly capable budget gaming computers. There's no way I can give you an optimal configuration/part list without knowing your budget, what all you plan to do with the computer, whether you need a monitor, etc.
Give me that info and I'll grab some links to parts you need to fit your budget.
As for how long would it take to build? I can put one together in 15 minutes. For a first-timer, it might take you several hours, including time spent reading the manual and maybe watching youtube instructional videos. Hell, I'll build it for you if you want.
As for price. That completely depends. Some of us have sunk a couple grand into our computers, spending 500-600 on cooling alone. Others build perfectly capable budget gaming computers. There's no way I can give you an optimal configuration/part list without knowing your budget, what all you plan to do with the computer, whether you need a monitor, etc.
Give me that info and I'll grab some links to parts you need to fit your budget.
This post was edited on 11/16/12 at 11:08 am
Posted on 11/16/12 at 11:11 am to ILikeLSUToo
I live in Houston and we have fry's. I would need monitor and everything. Like I said I'd like to keep it around a grand if I could but can go higher if I had to.
Mostly using the computer for games and playing around on the Internet. Nothing earth shattering.
Mostly using the computer for games and playing around on the Internet. Nothing earth shattering.
This post was edited on 11/16/12 at 11:13 am
Posted on 11/16/12 at 11:13 am to mooseknuckle
Aaah lucky. I've been in there, but my wife was with me so I couldn't spend the day there.
I'll grab some hardware links now.
What size monitor are you considering?
I'll grab some hardware links now.
What size monitor are you considering?
This post was edited on 11/16/12 at 11:14 am
Posted on 11/16/12 at 11:40 am to mooseknuckle
I'll sell you a brand new 570 that's never been opened
Posted on 11/16/12 at 11:53 am to RATeamWannabe
quote:
I'll sell you a brand new 570 that's never been opened
Still trying!
Posted on 11/16/12 at 11:56 am to mooseknuckle
Pcpartpicker.com
Posted on 11/16/12 at 11:57 am to mooseknuckle
Like everyone said, build it. I build my first one this year and it was a little nerve racking to do, but when I was done I was like wow that was easy.
For games sign up for Steam and thank me later.
[link=(store.steampowered.com/)]LINK[/link]
For games sign up for Steam and thank me later.
[link=(store.steampowered.com/)]LINK[/link]
This post was edited on 11/16/12 at 12:03 pm
Posted on 11/16/12 at 12:05 pm to DoUrden
newegg has a tutorial on how to put one together. It's on youtube. I would link it but I'm too lazy
Posted on 11/16/12 at 12:15 pm to ILikeLSUToo
24". Does fry's offer a kit that you can put together yourself? How knowledgable are the staff. I've only been in one to and didn't have time to look much because I had to grab something for work.
Posted on 11/16/12 at 12:18 pm to mooseknuckle
Here's a configuration. Including the monitor, it goes over your budget, but not by much. And I think the configuration here justifies exceeding the budget.
CPU
i5 3570k -- Pretty much the standard gaming CPU of today, since as I said you do not need an i7 for gaming.
LINK
Motherboard
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 -- In my opinion, best all around board in reliability, overclocking, and other features for its price.
LINK
Memory
CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 -- RAM is cheap. Another $38 would get you 16GB total. Not necessary for gaming, though.
LINK
Graphics
HIS IceQ X H785QN2G2M Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit -- Runs Black Ops 2 on 1080p at high settings, comes with A FREE COPY OF FAR CRY 3 HOLYSHITLIMITEDTIME. Not a balls-to-the-wall card, but good nonetheless.
LINK
PSU
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W -- solid PSU, gives you room to expand/upgrade/overclock and even add a second 7850 if you want.
LINK
Solid State Drive
Kingston SSDNow V+200 KR-S3020-3H 2.5" 120GB SATA III -- Great value SSD for its performance. 120GB should be good for OS and a few games that would benefit from fast load times.
LINK
HDD
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB -- for your other non-program stuff.
LINK
Optical
Pick a DVD burner. They are 20 bucks. If you even want one. Search Newegg or go to Fry's.
Case
I'm not going to choose a case for you since the designs vary, and I don't know what your tastes are. Go here: LINK
The link should have them sorted by best rating. These are midtowers, so expandability is limited but not totally out of the question. Full towers cost more. I prefer them, but many others do not. You can expect to pay between $50 and $100 for a decent case. Pretty much anything on the first page of results is fine. I don’t have personal hands on experience with every single one of them, though.
Monitor
1080p monitors will be about $150 for the 21-23 inch range, and higher for 27” range. There are also the Korean IPS monitors for $350-400 on ebay. Just grabbed one myself.
Including a $150-ish monitor, this totals to between $1050 and $1100 after rebates and depending on the type of case you choose.
Additional Recommendation: Replace the stock cooler with at least a budget aftermarket cooler such as the Corsair Hyper 212 Evo ($30-ish), or you won't be able to overclock that k-series chip very much, if at all.
If you're a software junkie like me, upgrade the SSD to a 240gb.
CPU
i5 3570k -- Pretty much the standard gaming CPU of today, since as I said you do not need an i7 for gaming.
LINK
Motherboard
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 -- In my opinion, best all around board in reliability, overclocking, and other features for its price.
LINK
Memory
CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 -- RAM is cheap. Another $38 would get you 16GB total. Not necessary for gaming, though.
LINK
Graphics
HIS IceQ X H785QN2G2M Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit -- Runs Black Ops 2 on 1080p at high settings, comes with A FREE COPY OF FAR CRY 3 HOLYSHITLIMITEDTIME. Not a balls-to-the-wall card, but good nonetheless.
LINK
PSU
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W -- solid PSU, gives you room to expand/upgrade/overclock and even add a second 7850 if you want.
LINK
Solid State Drive
Kingston SSDNow V+200 KR-S3020-3H 2.5" 120GB SATA III -- Great value SSD for its performance. 120GB should be good for OS and a few games that would benefit from fast load times.
LINK
HDD
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB -- for your other non-program stuff.
LINK
Optical
Pick a DVD burner. They are 20 bucks. If you even want one. Search Newegg or go to Fry's.
Case
I'm not going to choose a case for you since the designs vary, and I don't know what your tastes are. Go here: LINK
The link should have them sorted by best rating. These are midtowers, so expandability is limited but not totally out of the question. Full towers cost more. I prefer them, but many others do not. You can expect to pay between $50 and $100 for a decent case. Pretty much anything on the first page of results is fine. I don’t have personal hands on experience with every single one of them, though.
Monitor
1080p monitors will be about $150 for the 21-23 inch range, and higher for 27” range. There are also the Korean IPS monitors for $350-400 on ebay. Just grabbed one myself.
Including a $150-ish monitor, this totals to between $1050 and $1100 after rebates and depending on the type of case you choose.
Additional Recommendation: Replace the stock cooler with at least a budget aftermarket cooler such as the Corsair Hyper 212 Evo ($30-ish), or you won't be able to overclock that k-series chip very much, if at all.
If you're a software junkie like me, upgrade the SSD to a 240gb.
This post was edited on 11/16/12 at 12:20 pm
Posted on 11/16/12 at 12:21 pm to mooseknuckle
Tigerdirect has kits
Posted on 11/16/12 at 12:34 pm to ILikeLSUToo
quote:
PSU
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W -- solid PSU, gives you room to expand/upgrade/overclock and even add a second 7850 if you want.
I would get at least a semi-modular psu. It made my cable management FAR easier when I built my first PC
Posted on 11/16/12 at 12:51 pm to bluebarracuda
Oops, didn't even notice it wasn't modular at all.
This one's even better. A little more, but has a $20 rebate: LINK
This one's even better. A little more, but has a $20 rebate: LINK
Posted on 11/16/12 at 1:02 pm to ILikeLSUToo
That's the same one I have 
I'm looking to sell it soon (just to go fully modular and sleeve) if you want to buy it up.
I'm looking to sell it soon (just to go fully modular and sleeve) if you want to buy it up.
Posted on 11/16/12 at 1:38 pm to ILikeLSUToo
And that's why I come to tigerdroppings.
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