I want to get into PC Gaming. (Yes I'm that guy.)

[RaddyCaddy]

Hello. I believe it is important to note this is my first forum post ever, no I'm not trolling, and no I didn't come here to get snarky or defensive. I've been a console gamer for years, but I'm sick of all the shady tactics and anti-consumer culture. Also, some of my favorite games (4X games, real-time strategy, city/empire builders, etc.) are nonexistent on consoles.
I do need help though. Whenever I go to my PC Gaming friends, they're quick to bombard me with lot's of jargon I don't understand and laugh at me when I double take. They also seem intent on making me build my own PC and dismiss every other option.
Note that I'm not trying to do anything crazy here. I'm not trying to get a rig that can run Witcher 3 on ultra settings or play triple A blockbusters with ease. I don't plan on playing any hyper realistic massively multiplayer online shooters.
I'm not trying to build the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
I'm just looking for tips and help for finding something that can run games like Civilization 5 and it's expansions, smoothly and easily, with little slowdown or background trouble. Preferably without having to get me to bust out a toolbox or crack open my savings account.
I'm also interested in the modding community and how it works.
I've heard the PC Gaming community is a passionate and accepting one, so please, I'm asking from one gamer to another, uplift me from my console gaming peasant status.
Thanks!

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Building a PC is pretty simple. The hardest part is actually plugging in the little wires on the motherboard for the power button, indicator lights, etc.

Going AMD for the processor is an easy choice. A 6-core AMD processor is right around $100, you just can't beat AMD prices vs Intel. Buying the best video card you can find for around $100 should play everything you want, the video card is the one place to spend a bit of extra money if you can. A motherboard is about $75. 8GB of RAM is about $60. Case and power supply together should be about $100. 1TB hard drives are $50. That's pretty much it, you probably have a monitor already. If you are going to replace the current PC you have (assuming it's a desktop), you'll most likely be able to use your HD (and your OS and everything, no reinstall of Windows required), case, and optical drive. Maybe your RAM as well if it's DDR3. If your power supply is 500 watts or better, you can use that too, 400 or so watts would probably be enough (depending on the CPU and video card you get) but you'd be pushing it.

As you can see everything would be just under $500 and reusing your current PCs parts would about $100-$200 less depending on what you can reuse.

 

[Bad Jim]

The first thing you should do is go on GOG right now and pick up Colonization and Sid Meiers' Alpha Centauri while they are super cheap. Practically any PC will run them, and there are a lot of other great 4X titles on GOG that are old enough to run on anything.

https://www.gog.com/promo/summer_sid_meier_bundle_180615

That said, if your friends are willing to help you build a PC, do that, because you'll save so much money it's unreal. Beware that new strategy titles have system requirements like everything else. You won't have a good experience if a new game runs at a snails pace because you bought the cheapest thing that could possibly run Civ 5.

 

[Asclepion]

Welcome, Brother!

It is true that building your own PC is overall the best option. You will know exactly what parts are in your system, and will have a deeper understanding of machines so that you can troubleshoot the PC yourself should anything go wrong with it.

Here is a good starting point, with an overview of the components of a PC and price guide for every level of builds:

http://www.logicalincrements.com/

May your fans be quiet, your draw distance far and the LEDs of GabeN guide you when all other lights are gone.

 

[Doom972]

If it's your first PC, I suggest not building it yourself. I would suggest getting a pre-built PC with an i7 CPU or its AMD equivalent, a GeForce 660 Graphics card or its AMD equivalent (or better), and 8 GB of RAM (DDR3 or better). This would allow you to play everything that will come out in the forseeable future at high settings.

Note that nVidia graphics card numbers can be a bit deceiving. For example, a GeForce 750 is less powerful than a 660, while a 760 is the 660's equivalent. The left most digit signifies the generation, while the one after it signifies its performance. A higher generation means new features, not better (or worse) performance.

 

[RaddyCaddy]

The Logical Increments chart is great and my friends directed me to NewEgg.com which looks promising. I'll definitely take a look at building one, seeing the savings. However I'm still considering buying a pre-built one to start out considering I'm a bit of a noob and the pre-made nature could alleviate some of the headaches. Just weighing the options. Thanks guys!

 

[someguy1231]

If you're nervous about building your own PC, you can do what I did: Order a pre-built PC and then make a few adjustments yourself, if needed. I bought a pre-built computer tower for $300 that had a mid-end AMD processor, 8GB RAM, and used the processor's integrated GPU. I've since gotten a better CPU and a dedicated video card that lets me run most modern games on at least high settings at 1080p60fps, but if you aren't looking for something that high-end, you should be fine just getting a pre-built computer for $250-350.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Note that nVidia graphics card numbers can be a bit deceiving. For example, a GeForce 750 is less powerful than a 660, while a 760 is the 660's equivalent. The left most digit signifies the generation, while the one after it signifies its performance. A higher generation means new features, not better (or worse) performance.

Well, yes and no.

There's a far bloody cry between a 560 and a 960, for instance.

 

[Dalisclock]

Hello. I believe it is important to note this is my first forum post ever, no I'm not trolling, and no I didn't come here to get snarky or defensive. I've been a console gamer for years, but I'm sick of all the shady tactics and anti-consumer culture. Also, some of my favorite games (4X games, real-time strategy, city/empire builders, etc.) are nonexistent on consoles.
I'm just looking for tips and help for finding something that can run games like Civilization 5 and it's expansions, smoothly and easily, with little slowdown or background trouble. Preferably without having to get me to bust out a toolbox or crack open my savings account.
I'm also interested in the modding community and how it works.
I've heard the PC Gaming community is a passionate and accepting one, so please, I'm asking from one gamer to another, uplift me from my console gaming peasant status.
Thanks!

Welcome to the PC Master Race(JUST JOKING!).

Right now, GOG.COM and Steam are having their summer sales, so I'd advise heading over there and picking up some things that look good to you super cheap(or at least) cheaper.

Modding tends to vary from game to game, so you'll have to consult modding sites for whatever games you are interested in. I don't normally mod myself, except in rare cases where I've gotten deep enough into a game where the vanilla version just isn't cutting it for me anymore. Right that that pretty much consists of Kerbal Space Program right now, which I've sunk more time into then pretty much any other game I've ever played. However, I would recommend modding games one mod at a time, so if your game suddenly doesn't work, it makes it a lot easier to figure out which Mod is the problem.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

The Logical Increments chart is great and my friends directed me to NewEgg.com which looks promising. I'll definitely take a look at building one, seeing the savings. However I'm still considering buying a pre-built one to start out considering I'm a bit of a noob and the pre-made nature could alleviate some of the headaches. Just weighing the options. Thanks guys!

Hey OP, as many others have said, building your own really is the way to go. It's the best bang for your buck and it really is nice making your rig your own. And you mentioned you have friends who are into Pc gaming in your first post. Having one of them around plus favoriting some videos on youtube should get you through your first build pretty smoothly.

 

[Zakarath]

Building you PC is more immediate hassle, but it pays off in the long run. In addition to almost certainly saving a bunch of money, you also stand to learn quite a bit about how it all works and fits together, which is quite useful when you want to upgrade components or build your next one. And you don't have to deal with all the shitty bloatware that comes installed on most pre-assembled PCs.

It sounds like your looking for a computer comparable in power to the one I had for the past few years, and just replaced last month. (Finally had enough money that I could afford to splurge on a high-end rig)

My old one ran stuff like Civ 5 just fine, had a AMD quad-core CPU, 8 GB RAM, and a Radeon 6850 video card. With the case, hard drive, power supply, and dvd drive, it ended up costing a little over $800, counting ~$90 for Win 7.

You can probably build a machine with comparable or better power to that one for $500, these days.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

2. Applying thermal paste. When you unbox the CPU - there will be a cooling unit (a fist-sized aluminum radiator-thingey with a fan) that you'll need to place over the CPU. That is, again, a foolproof process about four screws with detailed instruction in the manual, but before doing that you'll need to apply a thin layer of thermal paste (from a tube that will be in the box along with the CPU) to the area that will touch the CPU itself. Too little and too much are bad for your CPU's longevity. Ask YouTube for know-how on the matter.

I've never bought an Intel chip but AMD chips come pre-pasted on the stock heatsink/cooling fan end of things (at least the one a friend bought a few years back and the one I bought last year). You literally just align the pins (there's really only one way to put the CPU in) and lower the heatsink/cooling fan on the CPU.

 

[BarryMcCociner]

Most decent PC parts suppliers will give you instructions on how to set up your hardware. I know, awesome, Right? I think it's awesome of them anyway.

This isn't 20 years ago. A trained monkey could build a PC these days. Most of the complex stuff you had to deal with is now automatically handled by your hardware rather than manually set.

Just be mindful of the static electricity in your body while you're setting up your hardware and you're golden there's plenty things you can buy that will reduce, even eliminate static in your body. While they aren't technically necessary you're always, always, ALWAYS better off safe than sorry. A good pair of antistatic gloves runs about 20-40 dollars.

Edit: FLATTENED COPPER! Flattened copper will do well against static electricity.Just touch the copper before you open the case.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

Seeing as no one's mentioned it yet, here's a great place that specializes in helping you build: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc. This subreddit is 300k strong.

There's also https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/, as far as I know it's the home of the "PCMR". It's a mixed community mainly focused on the community aspect, but they're friendly (usually). make sure you post your finished build there after you've had help from r/buildapc.

Reddit can take some getting used to, but it's great once you understand it. r/buildapc will also forgive any mistakes you make.

 

[The Jovian]

If you're interested in modding games go to moddb.com it is an expansive mod archive and chances are that whatever mod you're searching for you'll find it there.

 

[Doom972]

Note that nVidia graphics card numbers can be a bit deceiving. For example, a GeForce 750 is less powerful than a 660, while a 760 is the 660's equivalent. The left most digit signifies the generation, while the one after it signifies its performance. A higher generation means new features, not better (or worse) performance.

Well, yes and no.

There's a far bloody cry between a 560 and a 960, for instance.

I did say to get at least a 660. Previous generations' graphics cards won't be sufficient.

 

[Joccaren]

As has been said a thousand times, build it yourself, its cheaper, ect, ect, ect.
Because seriously, you're going to pay a fortune for a store bought gaming PC, and it'll come with a bunch of stuff you don't need to inflate the price tag normally - 16Gb RAM, a 980GTX and a high-end i7 processor.
For most games, you'll need a mid-high range i5 at most, 4 generations back and 3 models down for the graphics card provides adequate performance, and you're not likely to need 16Gb of RAM whilst we're still trying to make the transition to 64 bit for most games [32 bit programs can only access 2Gb of memory].

PCs are fairly easy to build, however I can understand being uncomfortable with it, so getting your friends to help would be a good idea. But, if you want to do it yourself, look up some Youtube videos and follow them. Its pretty easy, just don't wear anything that's likely to generate a high static charge, or touch the parts to anything likely to have a high static charge. Grounding yourself before working on the PC is a good safety measure of sorts, but isn't 100% necessary - you get away with not doing it most of the time, depending on what it is you're fiddling around with.

If you must got for a pre built... You're going to want to run it past your friends or us prior to buying, just because of how the pre-built market is. You could pay a fortune for a pile of uselessness, or could pay very little for something even more useless. Odds are you'll be looking at between $800 and $1200 if buying pre-built though.


In terms of mods... Its open country. How do mods work? Depends on the game.
There are two main types of mods. You've got the Dark Souls fix mods, or the KOTOR 2 restored mods, or the alternate Mass Effect 3 ending mods, where the mod makers know the game engine to some extent, know some programming, and program up some plugins to slightly alter how the game runs, adding in missions and the such - or in some lucky cases where we get the source code, actually editing the game itself. These are rare, however, and most games have no mods at all because the community isn't passionate enough to do this, and this is required to mod those games.
Then you've got your Warcraft/Starcraft/Skyrim/Sins of a Solar Empire/ect. Mods, where the game designers have designed the game in a fashion such that it is meant to be modded, and you can launch a dev-made editor to mess around with stuff in game, save it as a file, and have the game load that file and use its changes. Games like this are rare, but in the ones that exist mods are really common.

Installing them happens in one of two ways normally. If its the first type of mod I described, it'll generally come with an installer that will install all the files for you, if it finds the game installed on your system. Makes installation easy, as you do nothing. If its the latter, you copy and paste the mod into the 'mods' or 'maps' folder of the game, and its installed - you just have to choose to run the mod at game or map launch.
There are a couple of exceptions, like Minecraft where you have to open the main file and drop some folders in there, but if its any more difficult than saving the file to your desktop, the mod maker will generally give instructions on how to install.

Communities for mod making are pretty damn open really. The first mods I described don't really have a huge creator community. You have a few creators, and a bunch of fans.
The second kind I mentioned has a lot of creators and a lot of fans, and anyone can make a mod and put it up on the internet for others to use. Do be prepared to be heavily critiqued if you do this though, as there'll be a lot of people posting trash, and only a few people posting really good stuff.
There are also a lot of communities that exist around teaching people how to mod the sorts of games where the developer provides tools for you to mod with. Whilst anyone can make a mod, there's a lot of things you need to know how to do to make a good mod, and that's what these sites will try to teach you.


But, anyway, welcome to the Glorious PC Gaming Master Race. Once you get your first PC set up, its really not that hard to do anything these days. Shove a disk in, install the game if you have the disk space to do so, and then run it. Maybe update drivers once a year or so. Its come a long way from the good old days when things really were complicated and compatibility was almost non existent.

 

[CeeBod]

Just to add to the above awesome comments, if you're completely phazed by the whole idea of building your own despite everyone telling you it's easy, there are shops that will make your PC for you, using the components you pick - so it's kind of a half-way house between pre-built (overpriced and with sub-optimal parts), and build it yourself.

http://www.scan.co.uk/3xs is the one I use - mainly as it's nearby to where I live! Even if I'm making my own PC, and buying the components elsewhere I still like using Scan's site to virtually mash together some components, to give me a few ideas before I decide what spec I'm putting together.

 

[LordLundar]

The Logical Increments chart is great and my friends directed me to NewEgg.com which looks promising. I'll definitely take a look at building one, seeing the savings. However I'm still considering buying a pre-built one to start out considering I'm a bit of a noob and the pre-made nature could alleviate some of the headaches. Just weighing the options. Thanks guys!

Another option is a custom built machine. You pick your parts and the company in question assembles it for you. The result is a machine tailored to your needs and wants but you don't have to deal with the fears that result with building it yourself. It's slightly more expensive but it's an ideal solution for people wanting custom rigs but don't have the knowledge to do it themselves.

http://www.ncix.com is the site I usually use for ordering parts and they have a builder wizard so you can be sure your chosen components will work together.