Need help building a gaming PC on a limited budget.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Hi, fellows. Thought I'd ask for some opinions on this on these boards. I'd like to join the Master Race, but I have no idea what to do.

So, I know how to use a computer, but don't know squat about building it, reading specs and everything. I'm trying to buy/build one on an $800 budget but have no clue where to start.

Any chance you can help a fellow poster out with some tips? Which parts to buy, where can I find it and so and so?

At worst, it can be a solid discussion platform for PC guys, at best, you're helping out a person who'd really like to play PC games on high settings but don't want to spend more than $800.

Thanks and will give out TP's for the responses.

[colincb]

http://www.tomshardware.com/

Go to Latest Articles and select "Build Your Own." Plenty of Q&A in the forums too.  I've built a few and it's not difficult as long as you have some patience, but you should familiarize yourself as to what's important and what's hype.

[KeepRondo]

I used to know a lot about this.

I can tell you that you'll need a motherboard and a good video card. Probably want 8 gigs of ram. I think the Intel i7 is the latest generation chip. This could be wrong. I haven't been into building computers for 10 years.

I used to buy the parts from newegg.com. I'm not sure if that's still the best site for getting good deals on computer parts but it was back when I was buying parts.

I'm also interested in what other posters suggest for you.

[BitterJim]

I built mine about a year and a half ago, and got a lot of my stuff from microcenter in Cambridge (you can order stuff online and pick up in store, no need to pay for shipping), and then newegg.com for a couple of other parts

My first suggestion would be to figure out what kind of CPU you want (for the budget, I'd probably suggest an i7 from last generation if possible, they're still very good without costing quite as much as the new generation.  Then get a compatible motherboard, don't go too overboard on it, a mid-ish range one should be fine (but make sure it's SLI compatible, so you can upgrade your graphics card later without needing to shell out for a newer card)

For a graphics card, I'd probably suggest a GeForce 670 (I just upgraded from a 650TiBoost, which has similar specs to a 670, and it was able to run almost every game at or near max settings)

8 GB of memory is sufficient, I really like have 16 but it's by no means necessary (12 would probably be a good amount if you're willing to spend the money)

A solid state drive is really nice to have, but at that price point I'd probably go for a 2TB or so hard drive.  For a power supply, I'd suggest going modular (partially modular rather than fully), it helps cut down on clutter in the case

If you have some extra money, I would use it to upgrade the graphics card a bit (or the RAM)

I hope that helps a bit, feel free to ask if you have any questions about any of it (and sorry if any of it makes no sense, typing this on a phone makes it hard to go back and reread it

[celtics247]

completely agree on the Tom's Hardware guides,  they are usually a good starting point.  The one important thing for a gaming PC that is not part of their "Budget" build is an SSD Drive (256Gb min).  This makes a huge difference in initial load time and level transitions.  The video card is the other important piece so if you can upgrade either of these as part of your build then that will make a big difference in gaming performance.  You could also check Newegg or TigerDirect for bundles, meaning a group of components all sold together but not assembled.  Like this: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=9161126&CatId=31

 
this is without a video card and you probably want to downgrade the HDD drive and add an SSD Drive or eliminate the HDD all together if you can live with only 256 Gb.  Also need a copy of Windows 8.1, so that's another $80 - $100.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Thanks for the feedback, fellows. Would definitely take these points. TP for the responses.

[Celtics4ever]

Good video card and power supply are key to a gaming rig.   Then memory and ventilation and processor.  Tiger Direct used to have kits that some guys I knew used and they were nice machines. 

I got an Antec case and had a guy build me one as I made payments.   I paid him cash under the table and over the course of eight weeks I had a very good machine.

[Csfan1984]

I try building at 2nd tier level but its about $1000-1400. First tier is $2-3k. I usually buy parts through Newegg or tigerdirect. Reason I go for 2nd tier is that it will not be outdated for 5 years. If you go too cheap it will likely be too far behind in system requirements after 2 or 3 years. I believe newegg and tiger have reviews and guides to help.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I try building at 2nd tier level but its about $1000-1400. First tier is $2-3k. I usually buy parts through Newegg or tigerdirect. Reason I go for 2nd tier is that it will not be outdated for 5 years. If you go too cheap it will likely be too far behind in system requirements after 2 or 3 years. I believe newegg and tiger have reviews and guides to help.

So, any chance I can ask if ypu think I can't build a solid enough machine for $800?

[Csfan1984]

I try building at 2nd tier level but its about $1000-1400. First tier is $2-3k. I usually buy parts through Newegg or tigerdirect. Reason I go for 2nd tier is that it will not be outdated for 5 years. If you go too cheap it will likely be too far behind in system requirements after 2 or 3 years. I believe newegg and tiger have reviews and guides to help.

So, any chance I can ask if ypu think I can't build a solid enough machine for $800?

Sure you can still build a dependable machine. I am just speaking about a software's hardware requirements for running games or tool/engineering programs. Optimal requirements seem to jump up about 3-5% every year. If your pc isn't spec'd high enough it won't be able to run newer stuff "well". If you're just using it for school or office work $800 is fine.

[Csfan1984]

One thing you can do is look into the "recommended" requirements of the current games you want to play on PC. Try to build to that if possible. Shooting to build at minimum requirements would be a bad idea.

[Celtics4ever]

PC gaming is somewhat on life support at times, maybe buy a top notch consule?  Depends on what games you play though, MMOs are better on the computer.

[Csfan1984]

PC gaming is somewhat on life support at times, maybe buy a top notch consule?  Depends on what games you play though, MMOs are better on the computer.

I agree most game companies  are now developing games for console then porting to the PC with the exception of MMOs. If you like steam, mods and MMOs build a PC. If into far cry, COD, and the like new gen consoles are best imo.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

PC gaming is somewhat on life support at times, maybe buy a top notch consule?  Depends on what games you play though, MMOs are better on the computer.

I have a next gen console. I just want all my FPS on a PC as I can play FPS better with a mouse than a controller. Whichever games I can play with it is gravy. Like Civ V. With the mods being easily accessible, it would be great to have a machine good enough to run it.

Thanks for the feedback. I just really don't know how to speak "tech" so I'd thought I'd try looking here. From wat I've seen so far, I should start with power supply and video card.

Any recommendations as to brand, specs? What am I looking for if, say, I want to build a PC that can handle FPS games very good?

[Csfan1984]

PC gaming is somewhat on life support at times, maybe buy a top notch consule?  Depends on what games you play though, MMOs are better on the computer.

I have a next gen console. I just want all my FPS on a PC as I can play FPS better with a mouse than a controller. Whichever games I can play with it is gravy. Like Civ V. With the mods being easily accessible, it would be great to have a machine good enough to run it.

Thanks for the feedback. I just really don't know how to speak "tech" so I'd thought I'd try looking here. From wat I've seen so far, I should start with power supply and video card.

Any recommendations as to brand, specs? What am I looking for if, say, I want to build a PC that can handle FPS games very good?

You're looking at 8g of ram, 2.5 Intel. Nividia Gtx680, ssd drive and of course the power supply to run it.