Not looking to build anything bleeding-edge here. Just something that can play my current Steam library well, and perhaps some early current-gen titles, if possible.
My gaming PC (which was also my work PC) has gone belly up. It even freezes while doing disk cleanup, defragmentation, etc. Pretty sure the hardware is failing.
Going off-hand (writing from the office so I can't check; usually I work at home), it was an Asus Republic of Gamers laptop, bought in 2011 -- Windows 7, 64-bit, i7, 8GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M (2GB), 1TB HDD, etc...
I'm no expert on PCs, but I think those are the relevant details. It served me well, allowing me to enjoy most games on Steam (although it was obviously starting to struggle with recent releases).
This time, I'm thinking of making a desktop PC. My friend in IT will help me build it. He also told me what -types- of parts I need, and possible price ranges. But he hasn't had a spare moment yet to make specific recommendations. Which is where I'm hoping GAF can help.
I'd like to spend around $2,000, maybe more, but ideally I'll stay within that amount. This would include the monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. I'm not looking to make a bleeding-edge monster rig. I'd just like something that can play all of my last-gen PC games (BioShock Infinite, etc) really well, and that can hopefully play some newer releases, as well. For the next few years, I'll be leaning on my PS4 for more advanced games, but I still need a gaming PC to access my current Steam collection, etc.
My friend in IT, shooting from the hip, said recommended parts would include:
+ Motherboard (with Wi-Fi): ~ $200
+ 8GB RAM: ~ $200
+ i7 CPU: ~ $220
+ GPU: ~ $400
+ 3TB HDD: ~ $110
+ 128GB SSD: ~ $100
+ Water cooler: ~ $100
+ Power supply: ~ $100
+ Windows 8 and Microsoft Office: ~ $300
+ 24-inch monitor: ~ $200
+ Monitor cable: ~ $10
+ Tower (with USBs): ~ $70
+ DVD/CD writer/burner: ~ $20
+ Keyboard: ~ $50
+ Mouse: ~ $60
+ External SD adapter: ~ $20
I think that's around $2,160. I'm told each of these price estimates are high-balled a bit. I could put more into the GPU if I can save more on other parts.
Of course, all of this might be woefully misguided. I'm looking to create something that would be fast, stable, keep its cool, and do what I want it to do -- where gaming is concerned, that means great performance for last-gen games, and decent performance for some early current-gen games.
Any ideas on specific parts? I'm hoping I can assemble a list of links to specific parts, which my friend can then review, and perhaps proceed to buying them and putting this rig together.
My gaming PC (which was also my work PC) has gone belly up. It even freezes while doing disk cleanup, defragmentation, etc. Pretty sure the hardware is failing.
Going off-hand (writing from the office so I can't check; usually I work at home), it was an Asus Republic of Gamers laptop, bought in 2011 -- Windows 7, 64-bit, i7, 8GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M (2GB), 1TB HDD, etc...
I'm no expert on PCs, but I think those are the relevant details. It served me well, allowing me to enjoy most games on Steam (although it was obviously starting to struggle with recent releases).
This time, I'm thinking of making a desktop PC. My friend in IT will help me build it. He also told me what -types- of parts I need, and possible price ranges. But he hasn't had a spare moment yet to make specific recommendations. Which is where I'm hoping GAF can help.
I'd like to spend around $2,000, maybe more, but ideally I'll stay within that amount. This would include the monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. I'm not looking to make a bleeding-edge monster rig. I'd just like something that can play all of my last-gen PC games (BioShock Infinite, etc) really well, and that can hopefully play some newer releases, as well. For the next few years, I'll be leaning on my PS4 for more advanced games, but I still need a gaming PC to access my current Steam collection, etc.
My friend in IT, shooting from the hip, said recommended parts would include:
+ Motherboard (with Wi-Fi): ~ $200
+ 8GB RAM: ~ $200
+ i7 CPU: ~ $220
+ GPU: ~ $400
+ 3TB HDD: ~ $110
+ 128GB SSD: ~ $100
+ Water cooler: ~ $100
+ Power supply: ~ $100
+ Windows 8 and Microsoft Office: ~ $300
+ 24-inch monitor: ~ $200
+ Monitor cable: ~ $10
+ Tower (with USBs): ~ $70
+ DVD/CD writer/burner: ~ $20
+ Keyboard: ~ $50
+ Mouse: ~ $60
+ External SD adapter: ~ $20
I think that's around $2,160. I'm told each of these price estimates are high-balled a bit. I could put more into the GPU if I can save more on other parts.
Of course, all of this might be woefully misguided. I'm looking to create something that would be fast, stable, keep its cool, and do what I want it to do -- where gaming is concerned, that means great performance for last-gen games, and decent performance for some early current-gen games.
Any ideas on specific parts? I'm hoping I can assemble a list of links to specific parts, which my friend can then review, and perhaps proceed to buying them and putting this rig together.
The rig you're proposing isn't "decent", it's pretty damn good.
