Help me get into PC gaming

[nad302]

For the past 5 years i have been using mac and would like to start playing games on a pc, after a quick search around i found this: http://bit.ly/zQZzWu . As far as i can gather from searching it would be powerful enough to play modern games if it had a better graphics card. My questions are will this be powerful enough to play, lets say BF3 (on any settings) and if it is only the graphics card holding it back then can anyone recommend a more suitable graphics card for the machine (not wanting to spend over 100 extra). Thanks

 

[BloatedGuppy]

For the past 5 years i have been using mac and would like to start playing games on a pc, after a quick search around i found this: http://bit.ly/zQZzWu . As far as i can gather from searching it would be powerful enough to play modern games if it had a better graphics card. My questions are will this be powerful enough to play, lets say BF3 (on any settings) and if it is only the graphics card holding it back then can anyone recommend a more suitable graphics card for the machine (not wanting to spend over 100 extra). Thanks

I don't like these mystery boxes with curiously no-name components. Is it good quality RAM? Is it a no-name power supply? Is the video card from Asus, or Sparkle? Who knows! A lot of these big internet retailers pack their pre-made machines with a lot of cut rate components, and that's bad for all kinds of reasons...from performance to stability to the lifespan of your machine.

The general specs of it are fine, though. You really don't need (or possibly want) an i7 processor, as I've heard the hyper threading can actually hinder games. i5 is cheaper, and if the above is true, better. 8 gigs of RAM is more or less essential at this stage, I'd say. And for a video card you've got a few options.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

Anything from the top 20-30 options there would be fine, unless you really wanted to future proof, in which case you'd want to go with stuff in the top 10. Let your budget decide.

 

[Cronq]

Don't be lazy. Build it yourself. If you can't figure out how to assemble a pc then you need to go back to preschool and redo the lessons on duplex Legos.

 

[Wolfram23]

The specs are ok, but like Guppy said, it probably has very mediocre components. In particular the motherboard and PSU are suspect. The GPU is also going to be a waste of space because a 520 is good for... playing HD movies. That's about it.

i5 2500k CPU
Almost any P67 or Z68 motherboard is fine (Gigabyte has a couple good and cheap Z68 boards)
8 gigs RAM like GSKILL is cheap and good
IMO look for at the very least a Radeon 6850, ideally get a GTX 560 or 6870 or if budget permits a GTX 560Ti or a 6950 1gb.
Corsair, Antec, Seasonic, XFX, and OCZ all have pretty good PSUs. Anything in the 650W range would be fine for a system like this. 550W would probably handle it, but it's not a bad idea to give some head room.

Cases are more of a personal choice, most enthusiast cases are far better than stuff you get from brand names like the on OP linked to. I've used the Zalman Z9 Plus for a friend's build and it is a really good cheap case. Antec 300 is another good one, and I've heard good things about Arc.

HDD prices are coming down so just get on that is 7200rpm, maybe 1TB.

 

[DazZ.]

Really, don't go to Argos of all places to buy a computer.

http://www.meshcomputers.com/ I would tell you to build your own but I'm playing a game right now so a link to a better place than Argos is all I have time to do.

Although I could have linked anywhere.

 

[nad302]

For the past 5 years i have been using mac and would like to start playing games on a pc, after a quick search around i found this: http://bit.ly/zQZzWu . As far as i can gather from searching it would be powerful enough to play modern games if it had a better graphics card. My questions are will this be powerful enough to play, lets say BF3 (on any settings) and if it is only the graphics card holding it back then can anyone recommend a more suitable graphics card for the machine (not wanting to spend over 100 extra). Thanks

I don't like these mystery boxes with curiously no-name components. Is it good quality RAM? Is it a no-name power supply? Is the video card from Asus, or Sparkle? Who knows! A lot of these big internet retailers pack their pre-made machines with a lot of cut rate components, and that's bad for all kinds of reasons...from performance to stability to the lifespan of your machine.

The general specs of it are fine, though. You really don't need (or possibly want) an i7 processor, as I've heard the hyper threading can actually hinder games. i5 is cheaper, and if the above is true, better. 8 gigs of RAM is more or less essential at this stage, I'd say. And for a video card you've got a few options.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

Anything from the top 20-30 options there would be fine, unless you really wanted to future proof, in which case you'd want to go with stuff in the top 10. Let your budget decide.

General consensus is that i shouldn't buy that one so was wondering if you could give a simple list of specs i should be looking at for a 700 pound computer? Thanks for the information on the graphics cards as well

 

[Wolfram23]

You sure about that 560Ti? That thing runs hot enough to replace the earths main source of warmth.

I never understand why people care about the temperature of the card. I mean you might have a little more headroom for big overclocks if the card runs cooler, but generally you could just, you know, turn the fans up. Or buy a different model with better cooling.

Spoiler: Not that hot

 

[Weaver]

You sure about that 560Ti? That thing runs hot enough to replace the earths main source of warmth.

I never understand why people care about the temperature of the card. I mean you might have a little more headroom for big overclocks if the card runs cooler, but generally you could just, you know, turn the fans up. Or buy a different model with better cooling.

Spoiler: Not that hot

I agree. I have a 580 GTX and it runs pretty hot. The thing is, this doesn't actually matter. My case is well ventelated, my wiring is clean and, most importantly, the card is designed to run at these temps. I've left Folding@home GPU4 running for several days straight and the card has yet to explode or melt.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

General consensus is that i shouldn't buy that one so was wondering if you could give a simple list of specs i should be looking at for a 700 pound computer? Thanks for the information on the graphics cards as well

Different stores stock different parts, but I can give you a general outline.

P67 Mobo. I like Asus. Don't buy no name.

i5 3.1-3.3 GHz Quad Core Processor

8 GB Memory. I dunno what people prefer here. Patriot or Corsair or Kingston or Gskill is fine. As long as it's not Generic.

GTX 560 Ti/570 if you like NVidia, 6950-6970 if you like ATI. Having had both in recent years, I prefer Nvidia for gaming. Just better, faster driver support.

That's the meat of your machine. Mobo, CPU, RAM, Video Card. You'll have cash left over you can invest in a SSD if you wish, or some fancy accoutrements. You may be tempted to go for a massive monitor, but do try to keep A) eye strain and B) the performance hit of high resolutions in mind.

As a final note, do make sure you buy a reasonable case (Antec make good cases, this is a good budget case: http://store.antec.com/Product/benclosure/three-hundred/0-761345-45003-4.aspx) and make sure it has proper ventilation. The case in question there needs an additional front fan added before it's good to go (but they'll install that for you when you order the machine). Shitty cases are cramped, which makes upgraded a nightmare...noisy, which makes day to day life a nightmare...and hot/dusty, which cooks your components. Don't buy a shitty case.

PS - Welcome to PC Gaming. Enjoy getting a dozen games during a Steam Sale for the price of a single console game.

 

[JesterRaiin]

I never understand why people care about the temperature of the card. I mean you might have a little more headroom for big overclocks if the card runs cooler, but generally you could just, you know, turn the fans up. Or buy a different model with better cooling.

Moreover : Z68 chipset equals <link=http://www.lucidlogix.com/product-virtu.html>Lucid Virtu. The discrete card will "sleep" and generate minimal heat until the user runs some video game or demanding application.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Alternate explanation for why your PC is running hot...

Spoiler

 

[nad302]

General consensus is that i shouldn't buy that one so was wondering if you could give a simple list of specs i should be looking at for a 700 pound computer? Thanks for the information on the graphics cards as well

Different stores stock different parts, but I can give you a general outline.

P67 Mobo. I like Asus. Don't buy no name.

i5 3.1-3.3 GHz Quad Core Processor

8 GB Memory. I dunno what people prefer here. Patriot or Corsair or Kingston or Gskill is fine. As long as it's not Generic.

GTX 560 Ti/570 if you like NVidia, 6950-6970 if you like ATI. Having had both in recent years, I prefer Nvidia for gaming. Just better, faster driver support.

That's the meat of your machine. Mobo, CPU, RAM, Video Card. You'll have cash left over you can invest in a SSD if you wish, or some fancy accoutrements. You may be tempted to go for a massive monitor, but do try to keep A) eye strain and B) the performance hit of high resolutions in mind.

As a final note, do make sure you buy a reasonable case (Antec make good cases, this is a good budget case: http://store.antec.com/Product/benclosure/three-hundred/0-761345-45003-4.aspx) and make sure it has proper ventilation. The case in question there needs an additional front fan added before it's good to go (but they'll install that for you when you order the machine). Shitty cases are cramped, which makes upgraded a nightmare...noisy, which makes day to day life a nightmare...and hot/dusty, which cooks your components. Don't buy a shitty case.

PS - Welcome to PC Gaming. Enjoy getting a dozen games during a Steam Sale for the price of a single console game.

Long time no speak Iv been looking around and think iv found one I'm happy with, just wanted to get others opinions on it (and you seem to know the most out of the people i have asked),
https://www.arbico.co.uk/product_customize.php?countid=100110458-288603&pid=100164 Are the parts good? and is it powerful enough for modern games?

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Long time no speak Iv been looking around and think iv found one I'm happy with, just wanted to get others opinions on it (and you seem to know the most out of the people i have asked),
https://www.arbico.co.uk/product_customize.php?countid=100110458-288603&pid=100164 Are the parts good? and is it powerful enough for modern games?

I'm a little wary of the brandless video card.

The specs are fine. Even though I'm not crazy about AMD nor ATI, they're perfectly competitive.

 

[nad302]

Long time no speak Iv been looking around and think iv found one I'm happy with, just wanted to get others opinions on it (and you seem to know the most out of the people i have asked),
https://www.arbico.co.uk/product_customize.php?countid=100110458-288603&pid=100164 Are the parts good? and is it powerful enough for modern games?

I'm a little wary of the brandless video card.

The specs are fine. Even though I'm not crazy about AMD nor ATI, they're perfectly competitive.

Think i will just go for it, thanks for your help btw

 

[Waaghpowa]

Spoiler: Not that hot

I've got dual 470's, and the temp on them drives me crazy. Looking forward to replacing them with 500 series cards >.>.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Thanks

1: Join http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/chat/Escapist-PC-Gamers
2: Steal Underpants
3: ??????
4: PROFIT!

 

[dogenzakaminion]

First off, don't build a pc yourself if you don't know how. You're more likely to break something making it cost even more money. Get a friend (who knows how) to help you or go the safe route and get a pre-built one. There's no shame in not building it yourself.

Second: You don't need the most hardcore (i.e. expensive) hardware to run new games on full. The 4th poster had very good advice in terms of actual hardware that should be fine.

Third: It's worth researching graphics cards in depth since they cost a lot and can vary wildly between manufacturers.

Good luck

 

[Cronq]

First off, don't build a pc yourself if you don't know how. You're more likely to break something making it cost even more money. Get a friend (who knows how) to help you or go the safe route and get a pre-built one. There's no shame in not building it yourself.

Second: You don't need the most hardcore (i.e. expensive) hardware to run new games on full. The 4th poster had very good advice in terms of actual hardware that should be fine.

Third: It's worth researching graphics cards in depth since they cost a lot and can vary wildly between manufacturers.

Good luck

If you don't have the knowledge or the few minutes of time it takes to research how to build a pc, then you're experience on PC will be poor. PC's perform poorly when people don't understand how they work or how to use them properly (just like any other tool. Suprise!!) If you're expecting plug-n-play and aren't willing to put in a minimal effort then stick with a console.

 

[dogenzakaminion]

If you don't have the knowledge or the few minutes of time it takes to research how to build a pc, then you're experience on PC will be poor. PC's perform poorly when people don't understand how they work or how to use them properly (just like any other tool. Suprise!!) If you're expecting plug-n-play and aren't willing to put in a minimal effort then stick with a console.

This is true, but building up knowledge on building and the runnings of a pc can be a costly affair. You can of course do some research, but for experience it's better to use hand-me-down parts to reduce the risk. This is at least what I did with my first proper pc. Found a company that had a good rep, had them build it for me, and as I learned more I tweaked and modded it so I got what I wanted. I kept the parts and practiced building on a separate rig so when I felt comfortable I knew I could get it right. But again, this is just my own experience and my advice comes from that.

I do, however, think that it's perfectly viable to get plug-and-play computers. Are they going to be as good as custom built ones? Probably not, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do research on the hardware going into it (something i stated in my post).