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[Neiteio]

Build a nice PC with OS, monitor and everything for $1500 and use the other $500 to go nuts on the next Steam sale.

So I should change my target budget for $1,500 for everything? If that would still build a nice rig, I'd definitely like to save $500.

Also, I was thinking about making it what my friend called a "micro build," where the tower is smaller but it still has all the full-sized components. Apparently that can be done, which would allow me to move it around the house so I could, say, show friends PC games on my HDTV via hdmi.

 

[BennyBlanco]

I'm pleasantly surprised that $2000 will build a beastly PC. I'm also looking to build one soon, and my budget is around $3500. I need everything excluding a monitor.

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread.

$3500 is an obscene amount of money to spend on a PC. Unless you are planning to go 4k I guess.

 

[kutthoat5150]

I'm receiving conflicting messages, lol.

I just want a gaming PC that will play BioShock Infinite on highest settings.

I love that game, lol.

Lol, you can have a PC for half your cost and play it at highest settings

 

[Cels]

gsync monitor or bust

 

[Nabs]

So I should change my target budget for $1,500 for everything? If that would still build a nice rig, I'd definitely like to save $500.

Also, I was thinking about making it what my friend called a "micro build," where the tower is smaller but it still has all the full-sized components. Apparently that can be done, which would allow me to move it around the house so I could, say, show friends PC games on my HDTV via hdmi.

Do you have a smaller device that can run Steam? You could just use Steam Streaming instead of lugging around a tower.

http://store.steampowered.com/streaming/

 

[Neiteio]

Do you have a smaller device that can run Steam? You could just use Steam Streaming instead of lugging around a tower.

http://store.steampowered.com/streaming/

A smaller device that can run Steam? Also, wouldn't streaming risk lag? Seems like it'd be really high-bandwidth.

 

[YianGaruga]

So I should change my target budget for $1,500 for everything? If that would still build a nice rig, I'd definitely like to save $500.

Also, I was thinking about making it what my friend called a "micro build," where the tower is smaller but it still has all the full-sized components. Apparently that can be done, which would allow me to move it around the house so I could, say, show friends PC games on my HDTV via hdmi.

Once again, check the "I need a new PC" thread. There's a build for 1200 that will run anything you throw at it (yes, even Bioshock), and $300 should get you OS, monitor and peripherals. Maybe a bit over $1500 after all, but nowhere close to $2000.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

It would be way over your budget, but I can't recommend getting a G-Sync monitor enough. I just got mine set up the other day and it has been a revelation.

No more screen tearing and being able play at frame rates as high as 144 is absolutely huge.

I got the BenQ XL2420G for $540 on Amazon. Absolutely worth every dollar in my opinion.

 

[PandaShake]

Forget the water cooler. You won't need it unless you're thinking of overclocking. What type of productive work will you be doing? An i5 cpu is all you need for gaming.

Since you have the budget, just get the GTX 980. Check out Newegg ratings for which manufacturer you prefer.

Use pcpartpicker.com and find compatible mobo. Latest gen i5 cpu and GTX 980. You've already found the guts of your pc. Everything else just needs to be compatible and you're good to go. That's plenty high-end.

I do recommend a mechanical keyboard though. They feel amazing. Check out Corsair M70 keyboard.

 

[Krejlooc]

Skip the monitor all together. Put the savings towards the consumer Oculus rift releasing this year :V

 

[Krejlooc]

A smaller device that can run Steam? Also, wouldn't streaming risk lag? Seems like it'd be really high-bandwidth.

I have a rig about $1500, slightly bigger than the xbox one. Same width and length, about twice as tall. Mitx mobo, full sized gtx 980. I will have to buy a new mobo for sli in the future, but you don't need to worry about that.

 

[Neiteio]

Man, this thread is eye-opening. I thought I'd have to spend a lot more. I'm still not sure how to interpret everything in the OP of the other thread (information overload), so I appreciate some of the directions here. I guess I'll be revising my budget to a high of $1,500 (including the OS, Microsoft Office, monitor, etc). Like I said, I didn't want to spend $2,000, so it's nice to hear that won't be necessary to make something capable.

 

[protomouse]

Do you need all that storage? I'd put my entire storage budget towards a large SSD. 128G is barely enough for gaming.

Use pcpartpicker.com!

With that budget, you can build a thing of true beauty.

Remember to buy flame stickers for your case. It makes the cpu faster.

SPEEEED DEMON

 

[Starsunder]

$3500 is an obscene amount of money to spend on a PC. Unless you are planning to go 4k I guess.

Well to be fair I was throwing all kinds of shit in there, such as a i7-5930k, 32 gigs of DDR4 ram, gtx 980, etc.

But so far I've only looked at Newegg; I haven't really priced out components at multiple websites.

 

[hammertomb]

Remember to buy flame stickers for your case. It makes the cpu faster.

 

[Neiteio]

Building a gaming PC just feels so overwhelming. I think the PC parts market would make itself dramatically more accessible if they named the various components with something short and sweet, rather than a long string of letters and numbers. It's dizzying!

 

[Krejlooc]

Even at $1500 you'll have a killer rig. I'd say a "decent" budget would be around $750+.

Go for a $1500 budget, though, and prepare to be blown away.

Spoiler

totally go after an Oculus rift this year, too

 

[Krejlooc]

Building a gaming PC just feels so overwhelming. I think the PC parts market would make itself dramatically more accessible if they named the various components with something short and sweet, rather than a long string of letters and numbers. It's dizzying!

So first number is the series number. Second is sort of a class identifier - 3= budget, 5/6-midrange, 7/8/9 = enthusiast.

All you really need to know.

I love building a pc, it's so cool. A hobby unto itself. You wind up with a machine tailored exactly to your needs. It's like your very own game machine. I have a dedicated rig under my tv for games, nothing else but games.

 

[Hindl]

Building a gaming PC just feels so overwhelming. I think the PC parts market would make itself dramatically more accessible if they named the various components with something short and sweet, rather than a long string of letters and numbers. It's dizzying!

I know what you mean man I felt the same when I built my pc last October. But honestly go to the other thread and post what you want there. Some of the most helpful people on gaf I've talked to. They'll guide you thru everything

 

[Rogue_Ledr]

I wonder how good you could get on a $1,500 budget.

IF you only needed the system itself and not the monitor and other stuff.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Well to be fair I was throwing all kinds of shit in there, such as a i7-5930k, 32 gigs of DDR4 ram, gtx 980, etc.

But so far I've only looked at Newegg; I haven't really priced out components at multiple websites.

Check out MicroCenter if you have one local. They saved me hundreds.

 

[Occam]

@Krejlooc
In order to increase effectiveness, you really should start to mention Oculus Rift more often. Possibly in every post you make. No matter if it fits the topic or not. Surely you'll find a way if you put your mind to it.

PS.
Consider adding it to your avatar, too.

PPS.
Oculus Rift!

 

[Krejlooc]

I wonder how good you could get on a $1,500 budget.

IF you only needed the system itself and not the monitor and other stuff.

I built an i7 4970k, gigabyte H97N dual-wifi mITX mobo, 16 gb ddr3 corsair vengeance black ram, evga gtx 980 sc, with an antec isk 600 case, and windows 8.1 for under $1500.

Edit: ^I built this specifically for the OCULUS RIFT

 

[Neiteio]

Even at $1500 you'll have a killer rig. I'd say a "decent" budget would be around $750+.

Go for a $1500 budget, though, and prepare to be blown away.

Spoiler

totally go after an Oculus rift this year, too

When you say $1,500, are you including the monitor, keyboard, etc?

 

[Rogue_Ledr]

I built an i7 4970k, gigabyte H97N dual-wifi mITX mobo, 16 gb ddr3 corsair vengeance black ram, evga gtx 980 sc, with an antec isk 600 case, and windows 8.1 for under $1500.

Hate building stuff myself.

Wish I could get someone to do it for me.

 

[Krejlooc]

When you say $1,500, are you including the monitor, keyboard, etc?

You can get keyboards for like $5 on ebay. I said in my post I use my tv for my monitor, but my build was also under $1500 without it.

 

[wildfire]

Motherboard $200

You can get a solid mobo with wifi and can overclock for $150

If I had your cash I would spend $200 but based on your temperament I don't see a reason you shouldn't just save your money.

i7 CPU $220

You mean i5. You can't get an i7 that low unless it is used.

GPU $400

How do you feel about noise coming from a GPU. If you don't care at all then just save yourself $60-$70

SSD 128GB

I strongly suggest getting a 256 GB SSD. The file sizes of indie games are great but AAA games are extremely obnoxious.


Water cooler

If you are getting a swifttec H series cooler ok. If not then I would be very mindful to ask what makes that cooler better than the swifttec. There is a certain cooler that matches the swiftec H series but I can't remember what it is. Regardless you don't really need one this expensive. You could cut the price in half.


Mouse $50

Normally I would say this price is right but I feel logitech hit it out of the park with the Proteus G502.

It is worth considering spending the extra $20.


Monitor

I strongly recommend waiting and preordering the Acer XB270HU.

It's an IPS 144hz panel with Gsync and ULMB support that is slated to be released this year.

It will be expensive but if you find a better deal on the OS/Office software and reduce your expenses on the GPU and motherboard you'll be able to squeeze it in if it costs $500.

If it costs more than that I would understand if you are reluctant to get it but it will be worth it.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Monitor

I strongly recommend waiting and preordering the Acer XB270HU.

It's an IPS 144hz panel with Gsync and ULMB support that is slated to be released this year.

It will be expensive but if you find a better deal on the OS/Office software and reduce your expenses on the GPU and motherboard you'll be able to squeeze it in if it costs $500.

If it costs more than that I would understand if you are reluctant to get it but it will be worth it.

I'm pretty sure that thing is going to be at least $800.

 

[Toonami 99]

If you have time to wait, pick out the components you want to build and wait till summer to see the sales. Prices drop during the summer because newer products are released that time, especially monitors.

 

[Polioliolio]

With help of the people in the PC thread here, I put together a PC for my girlfriend. It amounted to about 1,200 or so, and takes everything that's been thrown at it thus far.

For 2000 bucks, you'll be set.

Also, don't spend more than 200 bucks on a monitor.

This BenQ 27" LED that I've used in Japan, promptly ordered when I returned to the US, and now my girlfriend has one as well, is one of the best reviewed monitors out there, and the price is a steal.
She got it off buy.com for 170 or so dollars when we were getting together the parts we wanted.

Right now the model is 2760, and on Amazon, it's 205 dollars.

 

[Nyoro SF]

2k is a very high level for a PC. If you would like my recommendation, don't skimp on SSD size, it will burn you later.

 

[Ultimadrago]

I hate to ask this again but how hard and/or time consuming is it to build a gaming machine? I always imagine myself accidentally destroying $700 worth of work because I put something in the wrong place or forgot to solder something

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Also, don't spend more than 200 bucks on a monitor.

I take it you haven't experienced G-Sync.

 

[Krejlooc]

I hate to ask this again but how hard and/or time consuming is it to build a gaming machine? I always imagine myself accidentally destroying $700 worth of work because I put something in the wrong place or forgot to solder something

Lmao

You can't put anything in the wrong place, everything uses unique sockets. You don't solder when you build a computer, it's like plugging in a sega genesis cartridge.

 

[Damaniel]

That kind of budget will buy you pretty much anything you want. High end Core i7, 32 GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, a GTX 980 (or 2), even a couple of decent monitors, mouse and keyboard. I can't think of anywhere you'd have to compromise if you're willing to spend that much.

 

[Addnan]

/r/microsoftsoftwareswap save yourself several hundred $ on OS/Office.

 

[BeforeU]

That kind of budget will buy you pretty much anything you want. High end Core i7, 32 GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, a GTX 980 (or 2), even a couple of decent monitors, mouse and keyboard. I can't think of anywhere you'd have to compromise if you're willing to spend that much.

You kidding right? There is no fucking way you could fit all this in 2k. Do the math.

 

[Jindrael]

I hate to ask this again but how hard and/or time consuming is it to build a gaming machine? I always imagine myself accidentally destroying $700 worth of work because I put something in the wrong place or forgot to solder something

Building a PC isn't rocketscience.

Most stuff nowadays is just putting stuff into sockets etc.
You need to be able to use a screwdriver and just be a bit mindful about how you handle the parts, should something not fit perfectly you are probably doing something wrong, never brute force something unless you really know what you are doing.

Soldering isn't necessary at all for a normal user.

 

[Dmented]

Please get a 144hz monitor. You won't regret it.

 

[Krejlooc]

Building a PC isn't rocketscience.

Most stuff nowadays is just putting stuff into sockets etc.
You need to be able to use a screwdriver and just be a bit mindful about how you handle the parts, should something not fit perfectly you are probably doing something wrong, never brute force something unless you really know what you are doing.

Soldering isn't necessary at all for a normal user.

Soldering hasn't been a normal pc thing since like European microcomputers from like 1988. And even then, only if you wanted to mod the shit out of your computer and, like, turn an a500 into a tower. And even then, it was rare.

 

[Producer]

$2000 is overkill lol

 

[Firebrand]

I hate to ask this again but how hard and/or time consuming is it to build a gaming machine? I always imagine myself accidentally destroying $700 worth of work because I put something in the wrong place or forgot to solder something

It's not difficult at all. Just be careful about handling the parts regarding static electricity (wear a wristband connected to the case and maybe not a woolen sweater), and the hardest thing is likely getting the smaller connectors for power LED, power button etc right. RAM in particular are easy to damage but they're also the cheapest thing to replace. Most common newbie mistake is probably putting the motherboard right onto the case without the raisers in between.

You don't really have to build your own thing though, I usually pay a local store to put it together for not all that much extra, and that includes 2 year warranty on the whole thing. If you want the get the absolute most out of your money though then you shouldn't be afraid to put it together yourself.

 

[scitek]

you could include a 50-inch 4kTV with the extra money you'd have with that budget.

 

[Fotheringay]

I hate to ask this again but how hard and/or time consuming is it to build a gaming machine? I always imagine myself accidentally destroying $700 worth of work because I put something in the wrong place or forgot to solder something

Unless you're installing an aftermarket cooling system, building a PC is doable by anyone capable of watching a youtube video, and not wearing socks on shag carpeting before touching your parts. I was able to walk my completely computer illiterate friend 1000 miles away through building his own with a few tomshardware links and some recommendations on cable management.

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

/r/microsoftsoftwareswap save yourself several hundred $ on OS/Office.

There are also a few Gaf sellers in the Buy Sell Trade thread.

 

[Barzul]

You can save a lot on the OS and Office price....I got my windows 8 for like $20 bucks when I bought it off Reddit.

 

[Ultimadrago]

Thanks guys, I currently own a (premade) gaming laptop and am thinking about going for the real deal later this year or early next. Building is still rather alien to me, so when I do go through with it I will be at stone 1!

 

[wildfire]

I'm pretty sure that thing is going to be at least $800.

Acer intends to compete with the Asus Swift. That means it will be $700 max. Could be $600 but I doubt it myself. Still there is nothing wrong in suggesting a top of the line specs monitor.

Thanks guys, I currently own a (premade) gaming laptop and am thinking about going for the real deal later this year or early next. Building is still rather alien to me, so when I do go through with it I will be at stone 1!

NCIX will let you pick the parts and build it for $50.

That could work for you if you have an idea of what parts you want.

 

[Javaman]

Don't cheap out on the monitor since that's what you're going to be staring at for years. Better yet, buy two and set up dual monitors. I've been running that for years and absolutely can't go back to one.

 

[protomouse]

I hate to ask this again but how hard and/or time consuming is it to build a gaming machine? I always imagine myself accidentally destroying $700 worth of work because I put something in the wrong place or forgot to solder something

CPU, RAM, expansion slots (GPU etc) sockets, power and I/O connectors are all designed in a way that prevents components from incorrect installation. There's no soldering.

Building a PC is easy. It just requires a bit of diligence, but the reward is oh so sweet.