Need Gaming PC advice!

[Colt47]

Don't worry so much about putting a computer together, it's not as bad as some people make it out to be. The important detail to understand is that building a PC is a step by step process that can take two or three days depending on how experienced someone is. I'm currently using my first computer build right now and it took me one day to put it together and another to install the OS and test to make sure it's running alright.

My suggestion is that if you are more interested in just having a system you can play on and aren't into the hobby of computer building, go to avadirect or another reliable custom computer builder and have them put it together for you. That way you have support for PC problems and have a rig built towards the purpose you have in mind.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Define "Your average big-budget game".

Yeah, sorry. I realise it's not an exact science.

Let's see... Let's say Skyrim for instance. I know Skyrim doesn't exactly have the most detailed rendering, but that's probably balanced out by the sheer volume of stuff it has to render right? What do you reckon I'd need to be able to play Skyrim with at least moderate graphics settings, and how much would it cost me (for simplicity's sake let's not take mods into account just yet)?

Thank's a lot for all your other advice.

 

[LAGG]

I'll side with the people telling you to build a desktop instead, if gaming (and working) is what you really want it for. Laptops are 2x-3x more expensive for the same specs, have bad keyboards and small vertical screen space. With the money you save from getting a desktop instead of laptop you can guarantee an Oculus Rift later this year.

 

[Danny Ocean]

You're right, I probably would be keeping it in one place for the vast majority of the time anyway. I was thinking less in terms of the convenience of transporting it around campus, and more in terms of convenience when transporting my stuff between home and campus, although I suppose I'd manage without too much fuss.

Perhaps I'm just overestimating the size and weight of a desktop, because before I got this laptop the family PC we used had been around since 2003, and was a fairly hefty piece of kit.

When I moved back after Christmas I brought with me the PC, two screens, and all the other stuff. I put the PC back in the box the case came in (be sure to keep that), and put everything in a big bad padded with clothes. I had the biggest, wooliest jumpers cushioning the screens. In fact, the two screens were probably the most awkward part.

Now, don't get me wrong, it was heavy. All those clothes PLUS books PLUS PC PLUS screens added up. My PC is also a bit heavier because the CPU is water cooled. But I managed without any help and I'm only a small guy. It's definitely not as easy as a laptop, but you can still do it.

Having used both a laptop and a desktop at uni, I've got to say I prefer the desktop. Plus, for the money, you can get a much better desktop than laptop.

And don't worry about building it yourself. All the components come with instructions, and there's guides online. Most things can only go on one way. It's like lego. No, wait, it's easier than that. It's like new lego.

Flicking through my latest copy of CustomPC, I reach the pages listing their recommended builds at various prices. Budget is £537, Mid-price is £993, Performance PC is £1,538, and EXTREME ULTRA is £2,238. You can, of course, reduce these prices by getting stuff second hand or lowering the price of one thing here and raising it there and so on. I re-use parts between each PC, so many of the components below were also in the old computer, so the upgrade and shift of form factor for uni was relatively cheap, although the total cost of buying all this stuff new may be quite expensive.

Here's my PC:

Case: Bitfenix Prodigy [http://www.amazon.co.uk/BitFenix-Co-Ltd-BFC-PRO-300-KKXSK-RP-%25200b%25200bProdigy/dp/B008BZVTX8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369230899&sr=8-1&keywords=Bitfenix+prodigy] £75
Motherboard: Asus P877Z-I Deluxe Mini-itx [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-P8Z77-I-Motherboard-Intelligent-Processors/dp/B007RHVDU0/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369230932&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=Asus+P877Z-I+Deluxe+Mini-itx][footnote]Mini-itx refers to the size of the motherboard. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_form_factor[/footnote] £145
CPU: Intel i5 3570k [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Generation-i5-3570K-3-40GHz-Technology/dp/B007RUZKK6/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369231425&sr=1-1&keywords=Intel+i5+3570k] @ ~4Ghz £170
RAM: 8Gb of DDR3 [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9-1600MHz-Vengeance-Memory/dp/B004CRSM4I/ref=pd_bxgy_computers_img_z] [footnote]DDR3 as opposed to DDR2- these are just versions of RAM.[/footnote] £~50[footnote]I have fancy ram- you can get it much cheaper.[/footnote]
CPU Cooling: Corsair H80i [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-Series-Digital-Performance-All-In-One/dp/B009ZN03AA/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369231474&sr=1-1&keywords=Corsair+H80i] £80[footnote]Optional. The Stock CPU cooler that you get for free with it is OK for most things[/footnote]
Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX 570 ~£230 at time of purchase.
PSU[footnote]Power Supply Units convert the 240v AC from the mains into DC usable by the computer[/footnote]: Corsair AX760 [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-Series-Digital-Performance-All-In-One/dp/B009ZN03AA/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369231474&sr=1-1&keywords=Corsair+H80i] £125
Hard Disk 1: OCZ Vertex 30GB [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-CT032V4SSD2-32GB-9-5mm-Internal/dp/B00826WCL4/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369231123&sr=1-2&keywords=32gb+ssd]- Solid State[footnote]Hard drives are basically very high-capacity, very fast spinning CDs stacked on top of eachother. They are read like an old vinyl record with a read/write head that moves across its surface reading and writing data. Solid State drives have no moving parts, and are basically collections of RAM chips with a small battery so they don't lose their data when you turn the power off. They are much faster and tougher than hard drives, but they cost more per gigabyte of storage space.[/footnote] £40 [footnote] Modern equivalent drive. When I got the OCZ vertex it was a new thing and more expensive than they are now.[/footnote]
Hard Disk 2: Crucial CT128M4SSD2 128GB- Solid State [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-CT032V4SSD2-32GB-9-5mm-Internal/dp/B00826WCL4/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369231123&sr=1-2&keywords=32gb+ssd] £85
Hard Disk 3: Samsung HD103SJ [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-HD103SJ-internal-SATAII-7200RPM/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369231292&sr=1-3&keywords=Samsung+1tb+hard+drive] 1Tb £70[footnote]Modern equivalent again.[/footnote]
Hard Disk 4: Samsung HD103SJ 1Tb £70
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Total is about £1140.

Possible savings, whilst still staying the same sort of small-but-good PC:

1. Get the non-deluxe version of the motherboard- it's a bit slower and doesn't have WiFi, but it's cheaper at ~£80
2. Cheaper CPU- get a Core i3. [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-3-30GHz-Graphics-Advanced-Extensions/dp/B008F65MO0/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369232051&sr=1-5&keywords=Core+i5] ~£90 Only two cores, but they're fairly quick and most games don't use more than one or two anyway.
3. Cheaper RAM- Crucial costs only £35 for 8GB (Crucial.com is the generic go-to, and their system scan tool is helpful for picking the right kind of RAM)
4. No CPU cooling
5. Cheaper GPU- Mine was top-end at the time. No need for that. Perhaps this one [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-NVIDIA-GTX660-PCI-E-Graphics/dp/B0099AOAUI/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369233058&sr=1-2&keywords=geforce+gtx+660] £150
6. Cheaper PSU- A good power supply is important, because if it messes up it can potentially break the entire system! Not good! I wouldn't skimp here, so make sure to get a good brand at that at least it's bronze certified. Perhaps This one. [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-Builder-Series-Modular-Certified/dp/B00ALYOTTI/ref=sr_1_4?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369232144&sr=1-4&keywords=Corsair+psu] £60
7. Just one hard disk. An SSD is MUCH faster (seriously), but you'll get a lot more bang for buck with a single big hard drive. Just be sure to back up your work. The second 1tb HD you see on my build is purely a backup for everything else. Cheapest recontamination is This [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-Barracuda-500GB-Internal-Drive/dp/B005F306RY/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369232475&sr=1-1&keywords=500gb+seagate+barracuda+ST500DM002] ~£40.
8. You can save on buying an OS buy re-using your old OS re-install disk (use the code that came with the old PC). But if that's not an option, windows 8 is your cheapest option right now. £70 [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Windows-WN7-00403-English-Version/dp/B009HI2W66]

So with some rough saving calculations, you can get a little but powerful PC for...

CASE- Bitfenix Prodigy £75
CPU- Intel Core i3 3220 £90
MOBO- Asus P8H77-I Motherboard M-ITX £80
RAM- From Crucial £35
COOLING- £0
GPU- GTX 660 £150
PSU- Corsair CXM 600W £60
HDD- Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200rpm £40
OS- Windows 8 64-bit OEM £70

= £600.

It may be less if you shop around or buy used.

If you go up to your £800 budget you can improve components, add components like an SSD or quieter cooling fans, or buy a screen and peripherals and speakers if you need them.

Bounce this off the other techy people and see what they think.

Oh, and the person above who said it took 2-4 days to put his PC together? That's a verry long time. Even the first time I ever built one it took me only a Saturday afternoon. I was up and running with all the software installed and updated by Sunday lunchtime. He perhaps took longer because he stress-tested his PC or overclocked it, which you don't need to do.

 

[Aramis Night]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152388 $900

It has a decent GPU, CPU and 8 gigs of ram

Unfortunately it's hard to find a good gaming laptop for a decent price.
If you change your mind and get a desktop let me know your price range and I'll either do a parts list if you want to buy one or find a decent one prebuilt.

Seriously, go with this. It is pretty much exactly what you're asking for. Everyone else is just trying to talk you out of what you want. Gaming laptops are not the devil despite what too many on this forum would have you believe. I bought a really nice Asus ROG laptop(g50vt-x1) 2nd hand off craigslist for about $600 about 4-5 yrs ago. No complaints. still runs everything i play well enough. Gaming laptops aren't for going from classroom to classroom with, but you've already made it clear that you're more concerned about taking it with you when you go back home on breaks from college, which the gaming laptop will be great for.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152388 $900

It has a decent GPU, CPU and 8 gigs of ram

Unfortunately it's hard to find a good gaming laptop for a decent price.
If you change your mind and get a desktop let me know your price range and I'll either do a parts list if you want to buy one or find a decent one prebuilt.

Seriously, go with this. It is pretty much exactly what you're asking for. Everyone else is just trying to talk you out of what you want. Gaming laptops are not the devil despite what too many on this forum would have you believe. I bought a really nice Asus ROG laptop(g50vt-x1) 2nd hand off craigslist for about $600 about 4-5 yrs ago. No complaints. still runs everything i play well enough. Gaming laptops aren't for going from classroom to classroom with, but you've already made it clear that you're more concerned about taking it with you when you go back home on breaks from college, which the gaming laptop will be great for.

I don't know, a desktop certainly isn't off the table. It will never be as convenient as a laptop, but if I can get a reasonably compact desktop that performs better, for a lower price, then it's worth thinking about.

I'm just trying to keep my options open right now. I don't want to rush into anything.

 

[Joccaren]

Yeah, sorry. I realise it's not an exact science.

Let's see... Let's say Skyrim for instance. I know Skyrim doesn't exactly have the most detailed rendering, but that's probably balanced out by the sheer volume of stuff it has to render right? What do you reckon I'd need to be able to play Skyrim with at least moderate graphics settings, and how much would it cost me (for simplicity's sake let's not take mods into account just yet)?

Thank's a lot for all your other advice.

Skyrim's main issue is its lack of optimization really, at least in my experience, though rendering extra stuff does put a fair strain on it [Which is why its lucky to have render distance options you can set, so likely have high visual settings and mid-low render distance settings, seeing as you don't need to see that sword on the ground 500m away when its hidden by trees anyway, and looks like a dot its that small]

Also from my experience, dependent on what resolution you're looking to play at, it isn't too hard to run on middling settings.
At 720p my old 9800GTX from six years ago handled it fairly well. Of course going up in resolution will drop things off rather quickly, but for middling settings at 1080p a 240GTX [5 year old card] is reported to handle it around 45FPS. Newer cards SHOULD perform better, but I'd check benchmarks for them to be sure.

At a cost guess for the GPU - less than $200. Can't give an exact estimate as I'm not sure where you live, and I don't have quite the time ATM to look through a good set of cards to get the best price that'll run things.

As for a CPU, i5 will handle anything fine. Could probably get a high end i3 to do it if you were to know what you're looking for, but for an easy solution an i5 should do the trick. The recommended models to get - that will handle the highest of high end gaming with ease - will put you back about $220. Lower i5 models should cost less, but I'd need to check benchmarks and figure out what'd likely work.

RAM - 4Gb will last anything fine. At least anything up till this point, with consoles finally having more than 1/20th the RAM of a low-mid PC we might see some games using the full 8Gb in the future, however RAM is amazingly easy to replace and rather cheap too. 4Gb would set you back between $20-$50, dependent on where you shop and what you get.

Note: This is all for a Desktop. For a laptop, the general recommendations from my previous post should be used [At least 4Gb RAM, i5 CPU, second number in the GPU name is 5 or higher]. Should run things fine, though I don't use laptops very often, so I'll leave specific recommendations to others.