This site used to do an awesome buyers guide every year or so. I built my last pc using that guide and it has served me well ever since. Its done so well that i still dont need an upgrade but for future reference i would like to see the buyers guide return.
From a personal opinion, my system is approaching 3 years old, and it hasn't had any issues except with the newest games at max settings. I think hardware has slowed down a bit, so a guide would probably recommend the same / similar hardware from month to month. The community here is also really helpful, so a lot of people just post their budget, what they have and need, and others help them choose the appropriate hardware. I did appreciate the buyers guides as they used to provide a lot of info into why they chose each part, and also provided alternatives, but I can also see it being quite a bit of work.
AFAIK, the Buyers' Guide was something that was done in conjunction with Custom PC - so since this site no longer has anything to do with Dennis (yay!) or the magazine, it's disappeared. As mansueto said, the community here is friendly enough that you'll get more than enough help when the time comes to upgrade your current rig. tbh, unless you want to play the latest and greatest games at stupid resolutions, your current setup will probably do you for a few more years, and if you want a bit more "oomph", just upgrade the graphics card.
Buyers guide? Should be close enough: Ultra low cost build: Whatever you can salvage from some spare PCs / used stuff from marketplace. Low cost build: Athlon X4 860K BE 1x R9 280 Asus A88XM-PLUS or Asus Crossblade Ranger depending on format preference 2x4GB DDR3, pretty much any of the Corsair Vengeance stuff will be good enough Corsair RM550 250GB 840 EVO 2TB WD Caviar Black Mid range build: i5 4690k 1x GTX 970 Asus Maximus VII Gene or Hero depending on format pref 2x8GB DDR3, pretty much any of the Corsair Vengeance stuff will be good enough Corsair RM 750 250GB 840 EVO 4TB WD Caviar Black Reasonable high end build: i7 4790k 2x GTX 970 Asus Maximus VII Gene or Hero depending on format pref 4x8GB DDR3, pretty much any of the Corsair Vengeance stuff will be good enough Corsair RM 1000 512GB 850 Pro 4TB WD Caviar Black High end: 5960X 3x GTX 980 Rampage V Extreme 4x8GB DDR4, Crucial Elite 24000C15 Corsair AX1500i 960GB Mushkin Scorpio Deluxe 3x 4TB WD Re Then just throw in a case to your taste and a Cpu cooler that fits in the case (be careful to double and triple check clearance to side panel if using tower coolers). Optional: Blow £1000+ on shiny wc toys
I miss it too, it was worth the read every month. Though the explanaitions "why we chose this or that" could be shorter (or left out) if they're too much work. @Anfield Thx, now how to update this monthly without it becoming an endless thread....hmmm
I thought there was one i the Forums, but I can't find it (and yes, I have looked longer than 3 seconds) There's a Buyers Guide Legal Advice, but that doesn't cover the topic.
A hive mind buyers guide could be a good shout, and might also prove to be an interesting discussion (to read at least, I wouldn't have a clue at the moment).
