Advice on my first gaming PC. (I know nothing)

[Olas]

For the past 3 years I've been using my little i3 Dell laptop for pretty much all my gaming. It's been a real trooper. I've pushed it to, and I'd say well beyond the limit of what it was ever intended to handle, and it's never thrown a fuss. (Unless you count the sound of fanblades)
However, It's become increasingly obvious that my little rig isn't going to cut it much longer. I'm thinking of taking the leap and finally getting a real PC.

So here's the deal. I'm not exactly made of money, but I don't need the [a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Sequoia"]Sequoia[/a] either. I'd just like a decent PC for a good price, preferably something that can be easily upgraded in the future. This is the first time I've ever bought a computer (my laptop was a gift from Santa). I know almost nothing about PCs so the idea of putting one together myself sounds terrifying, but that doesn't mean it's out of the question.
Anyway, if anyone here has any advice I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

[YicklePigeon]

I'd advise having a look at the Tom's Hardware guide for a budget gaming PC (for under $500, which you can read here [http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-overclocking-pc-building,3273.html] - note though that the specification doesn't include a copy of Windows).

Now, as you say, you're not comfortable with putting together a PC yourself - so here's a general idea as to what to look for in a pre-built system.

CPU: Either Intel's Core i5 or an AMD Phenom II x6 CPU - both series are on a par with one another and will last you some years before an upgrade.
RAM: At least 4GB, preferably 8GB just to future proof you slightly.
HDD: At least 1x500GB hard drive (preferably with 16MB of cache, at least a speed of 7200rpm with a 600MBps transfer rate)
Graphics: Either the GeForce GTX 560 SE or Radeon HD 7770 (or better if you have the cash)
Sound: I see no reason to use the onboard audio (except as a backup), to be fair I'd say getting a separate sound card is somewhat optional, but if it was me? I'd be wanting a proper sound card. Any sound card will do (as I'm an onboard sound snob), although with Creative Labs always being slow with driver updates...

I would invest in a good keyboard and mouse, should you buy a system that only offers the basic budget stuff...but everyone has their wants and desires for a keyboard and mouse so I leave that to you. Same for the monitor (I'd suggest getting a used monitor off eBay for use as a second monitor, useful for putting Skype etc on that monitor whilst you play games).

I would have went into detail on the motherboard, but if you're going to buy pre-built then it's of no real consequence. Plus it's a bit of a minefield until you choose either Intel or AMD. I would state that, according to the users that participated in the latest Steam survey [http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey] (as of September 2012), that AMD CPUs account for 27.4% of those who taken part and Intel the remaining 72.6%.

Anyway, I hope this helps a little. Happy PC buying/building!

 

[Azorian]

Building a computer youself will get you the most bang for your buck. If you want to try your hand at that, the DIY/build-build-your-own section in Tom's Hardware will give you almost all the info you need, and I'm sure knowedgable peeps on the forums here will happily help you out.

Now, if you're not up for that, the next best value (other than waiting and searching for awesome one-time deals), is in the "business" section of computer sites like Dell and HP, etc. They have better support for these than the consumer versions, but you will end up with something less flashy and more like a workstation. That being said, use Tom's Hardware to find one with good graphic card options and from there you can upgrade the other components as necessary. Skip or skimp on the easy-to-replace items like keyboards, hard drives, and software, you can buy these bits cheaper separately from someplace like newegg.com. Try to get one with no peripherals at all, no monitor, nothing and then buy/upgrade these separately (Upgrade to an SSD!). Pare down the software bundle to just the OS and then use open-source or cloud based office/productivity solutions.

I think those are the best options for getting a good gaming system for the least amount of money.