I've decided against buying a console this generation and im going to go the PC route. However, I don't know much about computers and am going to need help building a gaming rig. Any help would be appreciated.
How do I build a gaming PC?
- Thread starter redmoretrout
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Questions to ask yourself:
1. How much are you prepared to spend?
2. What games do you want to play?
3. Are you going to use it for any other things like video or music processing?
If you have money and want to splurge, your options widen a lot and you can spend a lot of money on brandname parts. If your aim is something more economical then the selection of parts and manufacturers narrows down.
1. How much are you prepared to spend?
2. What games do you want to play?
3. Are you going to use it for any other things like video or music processing?
If you have money and want to splurge, your options widen a lot and you can spend a lot of money on brandname parts. If your aim is something more economical then the selection of parts and manufacturers narrows down.
This is the best place to start:
http://www.logicalincrements.com/
By sticking to the 700-1000$ range you should be able to play all current games with high-ultra settings, as long as you're not into extra complications like three monitor setups or streaming.
One tip would be to take it slow, though it only applies to a small number of people. If you're not in a hurry and are patient, you can just scan eBay, Newegg, etc and pick stuff up when it's on sale, though that can take the better part of a year if you insist on seeing it through.
The only other thing you need is a screwdriver. A flat-head or a #2 philips to be exact. Odds are that if you have one screwdriver in your house, it's one of those. The actual assembly is easy, and your motherboard comes with step-by-step instructions for the whole process.
http://www.logicalincrements.com/
By sticking to the 700-1000$ range you should be able to play all current games with high-ultra settings, as long as you're not into extra complications like three monitor setups or streaming.
One tip would be to take it slow, though it only applies to a small number of people. If you're not in a hurry and are patient, you can just scan eBay, Newegg, etc and pick stuff up when it's on sale, though that can take the better part of a year if you insist on seeing it through.
The only other thing you need is a screwdriver. A flat-head or a #2 philips to be exact. Odds are that if you have one screwdriver in your house, it's one of those. The actual assembly is easy, and your motherboard comes with step-by-step instructions for the whole process.
Do you speak german or know someone who does?
My favourite computer magazine prints often their "recipes" for gaming pc's and they released a video how to assemble the pc.
Here's the link:
http://www.heise.de/ct/projekte/c-t-Steam-Box-Spielkonsole-selbst-bauen-1812446.html
They build two versions.
Cheap one: price around 600?, playes Bioshock infinite and Skyrim with high settings in 41 FPS (both games)
Expensive one: around 700?, Bioshock infinite and Skyrim in 75 and 95 FPS in ultra settings.
The prices are from april, should be lower now and do NOT include a OS.
Both rigs were more quiet then XBONE and PS4 and used less power.
The only downside: The PCs were intended as steam maschines, so they have no optical drive.
If you are interested, i can send you the list of the recommended parts for the rigs.
Edit:
I just checked the site clowndoe recommended and thy have mostly the same builds. Looks very good to me. Thanks clowndoe, i didn't know this site before.
My favourite computer magazine prints often their "recipes" for gaming pc's and they released a video how to assemble the pc.
Here's the link:
http://www.heise.de/ct/projekte/c-t-Steam-Box-Spielkonsole-selbst-bauen-1812446.html
They build two versions.
Cheap one: price around 600?, playes Bioshock infinite and Skyrim with high settings in 41 FPS (both games)
Expensive one: around 700?, Bioshock infinite and Skyrim in 75 and 95 FPS in ultra settings.
The prices are from april, should be lower now and do NOT include a OS.
Both rigs were more quiet then XBONE and PS4 and used less power.
The only downside: The PCs were intended as steam maschines, so they have no optical drive.
If you are interested, i can send you the list of the recommended parts for the rigs.
Edit:
I just checked the site clowndoe recommended and thy have mostly the same builds. Looks very good to me. Thanks clowndoe, i didn't know this site before.
It's been a while since anyone has posted in the chat, but myself and this group have given many recommendations:redmoretrout said:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/chat/PC-Builders-and-Hardware-Group
and the admin of that group made this thread with a walkthrough of how to do it:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.409043-An-introductory-guide-to-the-world-of-PC-gaming-including-DIY-and-maintenance-with-usergroup?page=1
obviously recommended parts and prices have changed, but if you do a bit of learning yourself and ask questions, people are MORE than happy to help you along the way with what you need to know for the basics.
if you were able to give us (the group, the thread, whoever) a budget of how much you want to spend, and if you already have a monitor/keyboard/mouse/windows operating system, we would most likely have a list of what you should get within a couple hours.
gmaverick019 said:
Thanks, that link was very helpful, anyways I'm looking to spend about 1,500 for a computer. I have an old crappy monitor that I wouldn't mind upgrading if there is a little cash leftover, but it certainly isn't a priority. I have a mouse & keyboard, but will need a new operating system.
For $1,500 consider using http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/redmoretrout said:
Having built my own machines I found out that those guys are pretty close to what it would cost me to do it myself as long as they have deals available when you purchase. I'll likely never build my own machine again due to the hassle and time to cobble one together.
When you find a machine you like, make sure to go through every part of it because you can often times get free upgrades just by finding them and clicking that you want them in the order or drop parts you don't need. These computers are like Alienware but without the $400 price increase just for having the logo. I've gone through them for desktops and gaming laptops with fantastic customer service. The computers are insanely customizable (including lazer etching and such) So I'll give you an example:
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Infinity_8800_Pro/ (there are many other options, I just picked this one because it was close to your price without going over)
$1455 base price:
Base Specs: Intel® Core? i7-4790K 4.0 GHz 8MB,
Liquid Cooling
Asus motherboard: ASUS Z97-P ATX
8GB 1866 Mhz RAM
GeForce GTX 770 2GB GDDR5
800 watt power supply
Drive 1: 256 GB SSD
Drive 2: 2 TB blue caviar (Western Digital) HDD
DVD/CD drive (also burner)
OS: Win8 but you can switch to Win7 for free (or drop the OS for $60 back).
Standard 3 year warranty
There is a monitor available for $139 that offers a $139 mail-in rebate. So, free if you're willing to mail in a piece of paper. You can also drop the price by changing the tower or something else (examples below) in a way to leave enough room to get a monitor in your price range.
Standard shipping is included.
I'm just going to list the deals this specific example has available if you just click on the radial button to customize the offer.
Tower: Can choose from multiple cases and can drop the price by as much as $89 by choosing a different case.
CPU: It's already a free upgrade from the 3.5 CPU but you can also drop to the i5 to drop the price by $110 if you recognize that CPUs aren't all that important in this day and age except for having multiple cores.
Free Games based on CPU purchase: If you're getting the i7 or i5 which comes with this you get a bundle of games if you check the box. Intel software and Game bundle (Grid Autosport, Shadowrun Returns, Starchart and McAfee LiveSafe)
Cooling: If you don't overclock the system then liquid cooling may not be necessary. You can drop it by another $20 if you go with the Intel standard cooler which does work.
Video Card: This is a damn fine card but there is wiggle room here for other cards. Like Dropping to the 750Ti gets you $165 off the price.
Free Games based on Video Card Purchase: If you get the default card, you get a free copy of Watchdogs if you check the box.
Free gaming keyboard and mouse.
Free Gaming Zalman headset (if you click the radial button next to it, these deals are available for anyone willing to take the time to go through the product list)
"Free" monitor. 22" Widescreen 1920x1080 LG 22M34D-B 5ms LED Backlight, D-Sub, DVI-D & Analog RGB, it is only free in that you get a mail-in rebate for getting this monitor that is the same value as the cost of the monitor.
I didn't realize that Path of Exile starting costing anything. Was pretty sure it's an entirely free to play game.Lightknight said:
Yeah, I just copied and pasted what they offer. The Company offering that bundle as part of a deal probably wants to try and increase traffic by including it with non-free to play games (truth?) in order to make it more legitimate. Didn't give any thought to it except that Watchdogs is the only one I'd care for out of that list. Good catch though.Aramis Night said:
EDIT: Nope! All three of the games from that bundle are free to play. Only Watchdogs is the one that matters. Sneaky Sneaky Nvidia...
Editing the original post now too. The CPU also offers the following free: Intel software and Game bundle (Grid Autosport, Shadowrun Returns, Starchart and McAfee LiveSafe)