PC Pros - Help me Get a Computer

[michael87cn]

The last time I had a computer that ran games well, was... I think 2001? I think I used to play Warcraft 3 or something.

It's been a long time, and game requirements are so huge now, that I know nothing about PCs, and how to get a good one. I mainly just stick with consoles but I'm FINALLY able to afford a $500-600 PC, which... according to many, is enough to get an amazing beast of a PC. Well, here's your chance to show how "easy" it is, by helping me.

You see, I've been doing some shopping, and it's scaring the heck out of me. Looking at PCs and PC parts. You see I don't know which parts work with which towers/motherboards, so building one myself seems like an impossibility; and when I look at pre-built ones, I read comments like these.

on newegg.com:

a bad review for the same PC

"

Pros: The cardboard box it came in served it's purpose.

Cons: NONE STOP HEADACHE... As soon as I turned it on the GT640 video card was crashing or having errors in the first few moments of running it. I thought I would update the driver from the MSI website for WIN8 64 and it still continuted to act up. Now it's been 2 days and I've gone through all the drivers on the GEFORCE website and still they all crash... I HATE WIN8 and I'm starting to ask WHY they have WIN8 with a card that isn't working correctly with it or even stable!!! AGGGHHHH!!

Other Thoughts: Going to the Avatar website provides NO support other than a phone number with only 8-5 Cali time. No updates... no drivers... nothing..."

a good review for the same PC

"

Pros: Excellent computer. Runs a lot of games really well. Very lightweight and has nice blue LEDs. Comes with Windows 8. Has three fans.

Cons: If you're trying to run games such as Battlefield 3, Crysis 3, Batman: Arkham City. You know the higher end games. This won't be your choice. I mean yes this is a terrific computer, but it won't handle those games. However, you can always switch parts. Also, the computer gets really hot if you're not careful. The GPU has it's own fan to cool it down. It only really gets hot if you're running games.

Other Thoughts: Overall, I love this computer. Works well and it does everything that I want at the moment. Can run Minecraft on full if that helps anyone. Haha!"




It seems there are good and bad things about every PC, and that almost makes me want to say Fck it and stick to consoles, which are compatible with EVERY game and application that they use, usually don't have driver issues with their hardware, and don't overheat easily.

I have a headache. So let me make this short: I have around $600 to get a PC. HELP ME OUT!

edit: the PC in question was this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=83-258-020&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=5&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29#scrollFullInfo

 

[Andante]

$600, you will have trouble getting a "good" pre built PC.

To build a GOOD, like an actual machine that can run games on 1920x1080 on ultra, then you need to buy parts individually when they are on sale over a month or 2 period and build it yourself.

 

[michael87cn]

$600, you will have trouble getting a "good" pre built PC.

To build a GOOD, like an actual machine that can run games on 1920x1080 on ultra, then you need to buy parts individually when they are on sale over a month or 2 period and build it yourself.

Why are people always saying its so easy and cheap to have a good PC if its not true?

Is this a good PC?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/CyberpowerPC-Black-Gamer-Ultra-GUA250-Desktop-PC-with-AMD-Quad-Core-FX-4130-Processor-8GB-Memory-1TB-Hard-Drive-and-Windows-7-Home-Premium-Monitor-Coo/17811825

As I said above, I really can't just buy parts and know how to put them together.

 

[Andante]

Building the actual thing is easier than putting together a lego set.

PS. I'd say its hard to get the parts if you have no idea about the parts and doing it in 1 day. It's really easy if you use sales/rebates and have general knowledge of what you need.

Also the $600 PC you linked is meh, can run low/mid range games on high, but I doubt it would be able to run battlefield 3 on even medium settings well on higher resolutions.

 

[michael87cn]

Building the actual thing is easier than putting together a lego set.

That's not true, I've tried before and I broke a very expensive processor as the gold pins break very easily. It got jammed and when I tried to pull it out one of the like 200 pins bent, ruining it entirely.

See, this is what I'm talking about. You people say its like building legos but in truth thats just a bunch of bull. You say its cheap when it's really not, and you say its easy when in reality its like playing the board game operation.

I think I'll just preorder a PS4 if no reliable help comes my way. But I will say this: you PC pros best not gloat if its not true. I'll call you guys out from now on.

 

[michael87cn]

Thank you for replying about the PC I linked, I really have my doubts about going the PC route now though. It just seems like a big gamble that could blow up in my face and waste a lot of my money.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

$600, you will have trouble getting a "good" pre built PC.

To build a GOOD, like an actual machine that can run games on 1920x1080 on ultra, then you need to buy parts individually when they are on sale over a month or 2 period and build it yourself.

Why are people always saying its so easy and cheap to have a good PC if its not true?

Is this a good PC?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/CyberpowerPC-Black-Gamer-Ultra-GUA250-Desktop-PC-with-AMD-Quad-Core-FX-4130-Processor-8GB-Memory-1TB-Hard-Drive-and-Windows-7-Home-Premium-Monitor-Coo/17811825

As I said above, I really can't just buy parts and know how to put them together.

That graphics card won't hack it next gen, I'm afraid.

The price can be reasonable if you build it yourself. Custom builds are a lot easier than you probably think, but a bit harder than a lot of enthusiasts claim it is. It takes a fair bit of research and I'd recommend maybe having a more knowledgeable friend with you for your first time. Or at least watch a LOT of tutorials like I did.

A good pre-built PC will set you back a lot, especially going into next-gen.

 

[Andante]

Building the actual thing is easier than putting together a lego set.

That's not true, I've tried before and I broke a very expensive processor as the gold pins break very easily. It got jammed and when I tried to pull it out one of the like 200 pins bent, ruining it entirely.

See, this is what I'm talking about. You people say its like building legos but in truth thats just a bunch of bull. You say its cheap when it's really not, and you say its easy when in reality its like playing the board game operation.

I think I'll just preorder a PS4 if no reliable help comes my way. But I will say this: you PC pros best not gloat if its not true. I'll call you guys out from now on.

... you sound bitter, also the processors fit right in the slot, the only way to mess it up is if you are literally in a fitting a square peg into a round hole scenario.

So... yeah, I'd say if you are somewhat intelligent then yes its easier than a lego set.

 

[michael87cn]

Building the actual thing is easier than putting together a lego set.

That's not true, I've tried before and I broke a very expensive processor as the gold pins break very easily. It got jammed and when I tried to pull it out one of the like 200 pins bent, ruining it entirely.

See, this is what I'm talking about. You people say its like building legos but in truth thats just a bunch of bull. You say its cheap when it's really not, and you say its easy when in reality its like playing the board game operation.

I think I'll just preorder a PS4 if no reliable help comes my way. But I will say this: you PC pros best not gloat if its not true. I'll call you guys out from now on.

... you sound bitter, also the processors fit right in the slot, the only way to mess it up is if you are literally in a fitting a square peg into a round hole scenario.

So... yeah, I'd say if you are somewhat intelligent then yes its easier than a lego set.

I'm just a bit upset that this whole process is so frustrating and full of uncertainty.

That's not true at all about processors. Atleast not back when I did it, they had a ton of tiny gold pins and it was very easy to think you had it in the right place but in reality you were a fraction off, and MOST of the pins would snap into place, but not all of them, causing the bent pin. The structure of the tower and placement of the motherboard didn't help as it was very hard to see what I was doing.

I just read a review about the walmart PC I linked, and like 15% of customers were having reboot issues as the power supply is apparently only worth $11.00 . . . .

Why on earth are companies selling PCs labeled "Gaming Desktop" if they use really cheap parts mixed with decent ones?! *rips hair out* :|

 

[michael87cn]

I just really want to play games like StarCraft 2, Minecraft, Guild Wars 2, etc.

I don't really plan on playing Shooters on max resolution and max settings. If that helps.

Also really want to play the Fallout games and Dark Souls on PC.

 

[lacktheknack]

Well, that escalated quickly.

To recap:

-OP wants the Escapist, proponents of the "Build-It-Yourself" camp, to help him choose a "beast" prebuilt PC on the cheap. This isn't doable, as prebuilt PCs always come with premiums on top of full-price parts

-Responder states the above, recommends building it yourself, noting that buying the pieces over time to save more money

-OP responds with accusation of PC gamers lying about the value of PC gaming, proposes a different prebuilt computer, notes that he "cannot" build it himself

-Responder says that building a PC is easy, says that general knowledge of computers will be useful, notes that the second prebuilt computer is not very good.

-OP narrows in on the "building is easy" comment, calls BS, then cites a piece he broke from mishandling it (how did you "jam" the chip? Were you shoving it in with your thumb? O__O). Accuses all PC builders of lying about the simplicity of PC building, states he'll pre-order a PS4 if no one will help him with his impossible goal, and then "threatens" to call out anyone who claims that PCs are of good value in the future.

I smell a trap.

OP, stick with the PS4. No one can help you find a cheap pre-built because there are none.

EDIT: This was supposed to be in response to post five, but the post was in limbo for a while.

 

[GoaThief]

Most negative reviews regarding errors/crashing and the like can be put down to the (mis)user.

That said, it's not the best time to be buying a new rig as there's both new consoles and graphic cards on the horizon and I expect hardware to get outdated quickly. If you can wait, I would. Spend that time familiarising yourself with systems and components.

 

[michael87cn]

Well, that escalated quickly.

To recap:

-OP wants the Escapist, proponents of the "Build-It-Yourself" camp, to help him choose a "beast" prebuilt PC on the cheap. This isn't doable, as prebuilt PCs always come with premiums on top of full-price parts

-Responder states the above, recommends building it yourself, noting that buying the pieces over time to save more money

-OP responds with accusation of PC gamers lying about the value of PC gaming, proposes a different prebuilt computer, notes that he "cannot" build it himself

-Responder says that building a PC is easy, says that general knowledge of computers will be useful, notes that the second prebuilt computer is not very good.

-OP narrows in on the "building is easy" comment, calls BS, then cites a piece he broke from mishandling it (how did you "jam" the chip? Were you shoving it in with your thumb? O__O). Accuses all PC builders of lying about the simplicity of PC building, states he'll pre-order a PS4 if no one will help him with his impossible goal, and then "threatens" to call out anyone who claims that PCs are of good value in the future.

I smell a trap.

OP, stick with the PS4. No one can help you find a cheap pre-built because there are none.

I think you really misunderstood me on a lot of levels and even input a little of your own take on my words there. If my frustration comes out in my posts its because its genuine, that's all. I don't mean to insult or accuse anyone or anything like that.

 

[deleted139124]

DELETED

 

[lacktheknack]

I think you really misunderstood me on a lot of levels and even input a little of your own take on my words there. If my frustration comes out in my posts its because its genuine, that's all. I don't mean to insult or accuse anyone or anything like that.

OK.

But you'll have to simply accept that, if you're not willing to build, then you'll need a prebuilt that costs $800+ just to play a game such as Dark Souls, and you'll have no support for any AAA games in the future.

If you drop the Dark Souls requirement, then you'll be able to get something that plays the other games for $500 (although not on high settings). Minecraft may be laggy, though (it uses Java, which is terribly optimized).

 

[michael87cn]

I guess buying a PC is a bit like buying a car. Unless you fix cars or know about them, you can't really put one together yourself.

If you trust a dealer to sell you a good one, you're likely to have some components come broken or really cheap (and therefore likely to break quickly).

So if you want a good affordable car, you have to build it yourself...

:| This is why people stick with consoles. They come put together, are extremely cheap, have no compatibility issues, don't come with cheap or broken parts and they function. Best of all you don't need to know how to make them. Unfortunately they don't support RTS and MMORPGs really.

My message to PC users (who fix and build PCs and know how they work) don't advertise that its easy, cheap and that anyone can do it. Because that's just not true it seems.

Thanks for your time guys this has been educational. I'm going to buy one of these prebuilt PCs and hope my luck holds out, because that's really all I can do. I don't have the time to learn to build them myself or the desire to. I might try replacing the power supply and graphics card though as that seems to be the important bits.

 

[WenisPagon]

I was a greenhorn and put together a PC quite easily. There's not some sort of huge barrier to entry, you just need to follow directions and treat the pieces delicately.

 

[Hazy992]

My message to PC users (who fix and build PCs and know how they work) don't advertise that its easy, cheap and that anyone can do it. Because that's just not true it seems.

Well of course it's not going to be easy if you're not even going to put the effort in to learn how to do it.

A year ago I wouldn't have had a clue about how any of this shit works, but I watched some videos, looked on forums and the like and I'm now typing this on a PC I put together just a few weeks back.

It's not difficult to learn it and once you know how you weren't forget it, but if you're coming at it with an antagonistic attitude and have no intention of ever even TRYING to learn then we can't help you.

 

[Elberik]

Go to this site: http://www.cybertronpc.com/home~cat~gamers.htm

The prices are the "default" setups but you can customize the parts.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well damn it just when I needed an up to date PC build site I can't get find one.
But anyway something like this is what you should look for:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227491
Except of course the optic drive, case, mouse, keyboard and Windows bump the price up needlessly, now most shops will allow you to modify the package but I don't know if Newegg is one of these.

Also for the last fucking time people there is no future proof PC, your shit is outdated more with every new day, there is also no "next-gen" in PC because devs are not fucking waiting 8 years for new hardware, there is new stuff out every damn week and anything you bought the week before will be just a little slower then.