Anybody have any advice for building a PC?

[Jan_Hus]

Sincerest apologies if this has been asked before, but after being shafted by Sony one too many times, and trying (with no avail) to game on my Macbook (lol I know...) I've decided to upgrade from mere console peasant, to glorious PC nobleman... So I thought I'd ask you kiwis for some advice in building a decent PC for a reasonable price. I don't really need a nuclear rig, just something that can handle games like Fallout 4 and Skyrim remastered at a reasonable framrate (I'm okay with 30-45 fps, but if there exists a low-cost build that can get sixty, that would be great!) I'm just wondering about the reasonably priced builds that you ladies and gents have seen.

 

[alex_theman]

Budget?

 

[Shivan Kutty]

Don't.

Get a laptop.

 

[alex_theman]

Don't.

Get a laptop.

If you are gaming, a laptop is shit for value, IF you don't game not plugged in.

 

[Jan_Hus]

Budget?

Hopefully under 600$

 

[Shivan Kutty]

I live in a place where the power goes off without warning. So laptops are convenient. I've seen "gaming laptops" advertised.

 

[alex_theman]

Hopefully under 600$

Bang

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($53.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($31.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon RX 460 2GB Red Dragon Video Card ($111.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Zalman ZM-T1 PLUS MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($27.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.33 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($90.72 @ B&H)
Total: $518.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-12 22:34 EDT-0400

 

[alex_theman]

I live in a place where the power goes off without warning. So laptops are convenient. I've seen "gaming laptops" advertised.

Get an uninterruptible power supply.

 

[idosometimes]

This will play most new games on medium with decent framerate. You could save a little money by getting a 6400, which is $150 at fry's today with their coupon code. You could cut out the SSD, but I wouldn't do it. At least 120gb for OS. It really speeds up your system.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($198.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($53.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($32.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($37.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 950 75W 2GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill FBM-02 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.33 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($88.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $632.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-12 22:46 EDT-0400

 

[alex_theman]

This will play most new games on medium with decent framerate. You could save a little money by getting a 6400, which is $150 at fry's today with their coupon code. You could cut out the SSD, but I wouldn't do it. At least 120gb for OS. It really speeds up your system.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($198.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($53.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($32.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($37.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 950 75W 2GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill FBM-02 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.33 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($88.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $632.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-12 22:46 EDT-0400

Keep in mind he said a build under 600 that handles those 2 games well. And a i5 isn't really needed for what he needs.

 

[idosometimes]

Keep in mind he said a build under 600 that handles those 2 games well. And a i5 isn't really needed for what he needs.

It depends on the price. Makes sense at the $600ish budget and gives you a very decent system. quad core is the way to go. i3 is good for your porn streaming HTPC, but i5 is a must for the games.

I have an i5 6600k that I need a 6gb 1060 for. Total cost will be around $665. My e3 1270v3 system I am using now was around $550, but the CPU was used. You can build medium-"end" PCs that will last 3-5 years pretty cheap. Beats savings $50 to get an i3, I think.

 

[alex_theman]

It depends on the price. Makes sense at the $600ish budget and gives you a very decent system. quad core is the way to go. i3 is good for your porn streaming HTPC, but i5 is a must for the games.

I have an i5 6600k that I need a 6gb 1060 for. Total cost will be around $665. My e3 1270v3 system I am using now was around $550, but the CPU was used. You can build medium-"end" PCs that will last 3-5 years pretty cheap. Beats savings $50 to get an i3, I think.

Eh, but that 50 dollars can be pumped into other parts. Modern i3's are fine for gaming.

 

[QI 541]

Keep in mind that peripherals aren't included in these builds, so if you don't already have a monitor + keyboard/mouse, it'll cost you about another $100.

 

[c-no]

I live in a place where the power goes off without warning. So laptops are convenient. I've seen "gaming laptops" advertised.

They are so long as they can handle the game they play without any lag or overheating. Gaming laptops however are expensive.

Keep in mind that peripherals aren't included in these builds, so if you don't already have a monitor + keyboard/mouse, it'll cost you about another $100.

It would cost another $100 with a monitor unless one has a TV that shares the same HDMI output as the video card. Then again, I don't know how good it is to game with a PC using a TV as the monitor.

 

[tarni]

They are so long as they can handle the game they play without any lag or overheating. Gaming laptops however are expensive.


It would cost another $100 with a monitor unless one has a TV that shares the same HDMI output as the video card. Then again, I don't know how good it is to game with a PC using a TV as the monitor.

It's fine. I play the PC versions of stuff like Dark Souls and some fighters on my TV. If a console can do it why not a PC?

 

[MrTroll]

Whatever you do don't skimp on the CPU or the MB. Everything else is easy to upgrade at a later time, especially RAM. And don't buy some off-brand gook PSU either or it'll probably blow up. This subreddit is a good place to watch for hardware deals. If you rush to buy everything at once you're going to end up spending more and getting less.

 

[alex_theman]

Whatever you do don't skimp on the CPU or the MB. Everything else is easy to upgrade at a later time, especially RAM. And don't buy some off-brand gook PSU either or it'll probably blow up. This subreddit is a good place to watch for hardware deals. If you rush to buy everything at once you're going to end up spending more and getting less.

I don't disagree with this, but quality matters more than featureset. Most modern i3s are fine for gaming.

 

[Jan_Hus]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I honestly wish I had just skipped the PS4 and just bought a gaming PC.

 

[MrTroll]

I don't disagree with this, but quality matters more than featureset. Most modern i3s are fine for gaming.

Unless they started making quad-core i3's then no. Almost all games and engines made in the last 2-4 years are going to benefit from if not require an i5 at least. An i3 might work but it will severely bottleneck the rest of your system.

 

[alex_theman]

Unless they started making quad-core i3's then no. Almost all games and engines made in the last 2-4 years are going to benefit from if not require an i5 at least. An i3 might work but it will severely bottleneck the rest of your system.

i3s have 4 threads, they aren't strict dual cores. In addition, they won't bottleneck heavily on anything except a really powerful card, like a Titan X.