Considering getting a gaming PC this summer. Help

[redmoretrout]

So I'm considering getting a PC this summer, but I really don't know where to begin. First things first is a quality gaming PC even doable on a budget of $800 (canadian)?

Any help would be appreciated

 

[The Madman]

Sure, it's doable. It won't be the most bleeding tech computer at that price but it'll be able to run everything on the market if not always on the highest settings. You'll have to build it yourself however as pre-built computers are always more expensive and you'll be saving money doing it yourself.

My advice? Go onto websites like PCpartpicker or r/buildapc and look for PC in a similar price range. Compare prices online, look for deals online or off, and make sure to cross-reference and ask questions if needed. On partpicker there's the 'Completed Builds' tab which has a slider for price range and which can be adjusted to Canadian prices, do that and look over the highly rated builds and see what's there, what parts people are using, and what seems to be popular and why.

I have a local chain called Memory Express that sells high end computer parts and which does price matching, so I was able when I was building a new PC awhile back to put together a list of parts and of places that sold said parts cheaply then have the local chain match the prices as well as toss in a few deals of their own to lower the cost even further. See if that's an option for any stores near you, it's a great money saver.

Finally at that price you're going to have to skimp on some things, but be sure they're things that can be easily upgraded later. Don't skimp on a motherboard for example since that's not easily changed, whereas you can always add more RAM or a better graphics card down the line if you want. The Hard Drive is another spot you can save money by buying one with smaller capacity and holding out on an SSD, which is much more expensive, till a later date. Again, things that can be easily upgraded.

Monitor are also expensive, see if you can use an old one for now or get one for cheap because the $800 budget really doesn't leave much room for that if you want it to be a solid gaming PC. Little things like a mouse or keyboard can also be cut to save money if you have free or super cheap options available.

But yeah, with a bit of research and a bit of effort it's easily doable. Have fun!

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Wouldn't this belong in gaming discussion?

Anyway, I'm gonna keep an eye on this thread. When I get a job/graduate, I'm thinking about getting a gaming laptop or PC.

 

[Alfador_VII]

Wouldn't this belong in gaming discussion?

Anyway, I'm gonna keep an eye on this thread. When I get a job/graduate, I'm thinking about getting a gaming laptop or PC.

Dont try to use a laptop for gaming unless there's no alternative. It won't be ideal for the job, it'll be a lot more expensive, and almost impossible to upgrade.

Of course if you NEED the portability, then you got no choice.

 

[redmoretrout]

I appreciate the advice but I really don't know enough about computers to build a custom one. I'm certain I'd manage to fuck something up. How much of a price difference would there be between a pre-made computer and a custom built one?

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

I appreciate the advice but I really don't know enough about computers to build a custom one. I'm certain I'd manage to fuck something up. How much of a price difference would there be between a pre-made computer and a custom built one?

A huge one actually, since pre-made either comes from a brand(and on the low-mid end of the cost scale they always skimp somewhere), or from a technician, who will charge an arm and a leg for his time. Also it's actually not very hard. Computers are modular, and so are most cases. The building a custom is pretty easy, also possibly the best option when on a budget. The only thing you have to worry about is not over tightening the screws on the motherboard too tight and fallowing the instructions. Almost everything has it's own slot, and a low-mid end computer for gaming is actually a good place to start building. Finally if you're worried too much about over tightening motherboard screws, you can get plastic mounts that use no screws. You don't need to know a lot about computers to build one. You just need to know everything you need, and where to spend your money. Also I think NewEgg ships to Canada now, and their prices usually can't be beat, plus their review system is really helpful.

 

[Albino Boo]

I appreciate the advice but I really don't know enough about computers to build a custom one. I'm certain I'd manage to fuck something up. How much of a price difference would there be between a pre-made computer and a custom built one?

The best guide to what to buy for a self built gaming PC is http://www.logicalincrements.com/ You can select the currancy of your choice. For $800 Canadian you can get something on the good tier.

 

[Inglorious891]

I appreciate the advice but I really don't know enough about computers to build a custom one. I'm certain I'd manage to fuck something up. How much of a price difference would there be between a pre-made computer and a custom built one?

Huge difference. I've found one decent PC for gaming in the $800 price range (all it realy needed was a better GPU) while looking for prebuilts for my friend who refused to build one, but besides that one PC with only $800 you're gonna end up getting a really shit gaming rig.

To be honest, I had the same fears as you before I first built my PC (I also knew jack shit about PCs beforehand). Hell, most people will, but I guarentee isn't not as difficult as it sounds. Every part only goes into once specific spot, and as long as you don't drag your feet on fuzzy carpet all day static isn't going to be much of a factor. Just make sure to do some research on building PCs and ask questions if you need help. You'll find that after building it it's not really that difficult.

I'm also curious if you have a copy of Windows 7 or any peripherals (monitor, keyboard, etc.), as the existence of those two things will affect your budget greatly.

EDIT: Since we're posting helpful websites, the one I used to assemble a list of parts is http://pcpartpicker.com/. It lists damn near every part out there that you could buy and it checks compatibilty for you.

 

[loa]

800$ isn't only doable, that's a mid-upper level pc which will last you a long time.
I take it peripherals such as mouse, keyboard, monitor etc are not included in that budget?

If you go for a tower, I suggest the gtx970 graphics card from MSI since it runs very cool and has almost inaudible fans which it even turns completely off in idle mode and is still a very capable card.
You'll probably never get headaches about gpu temps with that.

Another thing that is pretty much required nowadays (because it's neat) is an SSD which produces no noise or heat and boots up your operating system in 5 seconds instead of 30.

Try looking around at forums like tomshardware [http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/] to form a better idea of what concrete hardware you want for that budget.
You'll also need a power source, cpu fan (Scythe tatsumi. Great cooler for 20 bucks, all you need. Just don't go with the stock cpu cooler, ever. Some of those will merrily let the cpu die under load) RAM and an optical drive.

For a case, I suggest this:
http://geizhals.de/eu/nanoxia-deep-silence-3-schwarz-nxds3b-a1146008.html
which is sound dampened and comes with quality case fans so you will have no heat issues despite the dampening which is a lot of value for the price.

If you don't feel you're up to the task of building that custom made thing yourself, ask around which onlineshop near your country does that for you. Some of them offer that service if you order all the parts there for a fee of ~20-50$.
I would advise against a completely premade one from dell, alienware or whatever.
Those tend to be very poor value for your money and sometimes the hardware constellation makes little sense and bottlenecks itself.

Wouldn't this belong in gaming discussion?

Anyway, I'm gonna keep an eye on this thread. When I get a job/graduate, I'm thinking about getting a gaming laptop or PC.

Dont try to use a laptop for gaming unless there's no alternative. It won't be ideal for the job, it'll be a lot more expensive, and almost impossible to upgrade.

Of course if you NEED the portability, then you got no choice.

Those are all non-issues, I had a gaming laptop and the thing was very silent and nice to use.
The real issue is that if you game on a laptop, it is pretty much doomed to die from overheating and if anything about the darn thing fails, enjoy sending the entire thing for repairs over and over.
A big box is ugly, heavy and clunky but it makes up for that in reliability.

 

[EvilRoy]

I appreciate the advice but I really don't know enough about computers to build a custom one. I'm certain I'd manage to fuck something up. How much of a price difference would there be between a pre-made computer and a custom built one?

I suggest using logical increments as albino boo mentioned, and just basically taking that list to memory express. You should be able to find one if you're Canadian, and if you call ahead and let them know that you want to build your first PC for around $800 they can give you suggestions and help. If you buy the motherboad, ram and processor from them at the same time, they will mount the chip and ram to the motherboard and test it for you on the spot. And then leave it put together so you don't have to worry about that.

For an additional fee I believe they are willing to make the whole PC for you, but personally I found that once the chip was mounted on the motherboard, that was the hard part done. Everything else is more or less ikea instructions, and the guy will probably just suggest you do it youself and give you a list of tips to keep in mind.

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

Wouldn't this belong in gaming discussion?

Anyway, I'm gonna keep an eye on this thread. When I get a job/graduate, I'm thinking about getting a gaming laptop or PC.

Dont try to use a laptop for gaming unless there's no alternative. It won't be ideal for the job, it'll be a lot more expensive, and almost impossible to upgrade.

Of course if you NEED the portability, then you got no choice.

Those are all non-issues, I had a gaming laptop and the thing was very silent and nice to use.
The real issue is that if you game on a laptop, it is pretty much doomed to die from overheating and if anything about the darn thing fails, enjoy sending the entire thing for repairs over and over.
A big box is ugly, heavy and clunky but it makes up for that in reliability.

Actuallu I've had a few gaming laptops and I have learned one important lesson from them. Anything in a standard or slim notebook or laptop size is going to overheat like crazy. They simply don't have the space necessary for the additional fans to keep them cool. On the other hand the large cased gaming notebooks like some ASUS G series and MSI gaming laptops, and ESPECIALLY AlienWare notebooks work just fine, and tend to live long lives. What killed my last M18X AlienWare was actually faulty video memory. I still have it, just weighing if it's worth the cost to replace the card(which it can be, also upgrade, has two slots for them too.), or just buckling down and buying a new one. Regardless pure gaming notebooks in the 17.3"-18.4" size range are extremely pricey.

I know a lot of people are going to rail at me that AlienWare is really expensive, and you're paying mostly for the brand name. But I like having a Gaming Laptop on hand. I can go places and play games with them, even if they barely meet the standards of portable. AlienWares still tend to be reliable, have good support, and they're easy to work with when something does go wrong.

 

[BOOM headshot65]

I appreciate the advice but I really don't know enough about computers to build a custom one. I'm certain I'd manage to fuck something up. How much of a price difference would there be between a pre-made computer and a custom built one?

Dont worry, I am in the same boat, and while it may get me called a Heratic by the PC Master Race, I am more than willing to shell out some extra coin to have one built for me. To that end, I am going to get mine built by Cybertron PC [https://www.cybertronpc.com/default.asp?#] for multiple reasons:
1) They are based in Emporia, Kansas, my home state. (always good to support your hometown businesses)
2) They provide lifetime tech support, weather or not you keep their parts or put in your own.
3) You can actually get [what I think is a] good quality computers for a lower price.
4) From what I have read, their towers provide excellet airflow and upgrade capability.
5) From what I have seen in interviews, their founder is a pretty cool guy who wants to help people who may not know a damn thing computers and he wont screw people over.
6) Continuing on the quality, many of the reviews I have seen that their computers are very well built and rarely have problems, and they apparently do a lot to ensure safety during shipping.

Currently I am looking into getting the Viper X5 because it is a pretty strong computer for around $900 USD (for the tower).

Spoiler: My planned Parts I want them to put in it

Processor: Intel i5 4690K (3.5 Ghz)
Motherboard: MSI Z-97 PC Mate
Memory: Generic 8GB RAM (I will be upgrading to 4x4GB Corsair RAM sticks myself)
Video Card: Nvidea GeForce GT740 2GB (upgraded from the stock AMD Radeon R7 240 2GB, and I will be upgrading to a GeForce GTX-900 or GTX-700 Series)
Hard Drive: 1TB Toshiba Hard-drive (Which I will upgrade into a SSHD After the Memory upgrade)
Optic Drive: DVD+RW Drive)
Case: Strike X-One Blue
Power Supply: Ultra 600W PSU (upgraded from the stock 450W PSU)
Operating System: Windows 8.1 64-Bit

Also comes with a free keyboard and mouse, and I am going to have them add an extra fan to the front to back up the stock one on the back.

Total Cost: $925.24 USD

 

[Antari]

So I'm considering getting a PC this summer, but I really don't know where to begin. First things first is a quality gaming PC even doable on a budget of $800 (canadian)?

Any help would be appreciated

If you aren't going to build it yourself and are in Canada. Memory Express is a good company to go with. As long as you are on the right side of the country.