Hey, I have been gaming on the PC for about 2 years now, but sadly have very little knowledge about actually building a gaming PC. I've been noticing my computer is slowly becoming more and more obsolete as requirements keep going up, and decided to buy a new computer. However, like I said, I know very little about actually building computers, so preferably I'd like to not have to actually assemble the computer. I know the basics about buying, don't buy from Best Buy, don't buy brand name like Dell, but beyond that I'm kind of lost. Advice for how to proceed / where to buy? As far as specs go, I'd like to have it play Crysis well, meaning High / Very high at 30-40 FPS +, and under or around $1,000 US. Thanks!
It's going to be VERY hard for you to find a computer for around $1000 that will play Crysis at the settings you want, much less if it's gotta be built for you. Crysis really is a ridiculously GPU intensive game. Are you wanting just a tower for around $1000, or a whole computer / monitor / peripherals? Honestly, you're better off looking into building your own a little more... It's NOT something hard to do. Not at all. The most worry-some part of the build is putting the processor and heatsink in place, and they're very easy to do (especially if you use the stock coolers, they click right in). Everything else after that is cake work. If you need help putting everything together, there's plenty of people on here that are willing to help (me being one of them), so don't hesitate to ask if you do choose to build one yourself.
Building a PC is easy. Like really easy. Every connector is asymmetrical in some way so literally nothing can end up where it doesn't belong. The hardest part is keeping track of which wires you've plugged in - and if you don't bounce from component to component like a maniac, even that is a fairly smooth task. Don't believe me? That's about the most detailed article I've ever seen on the subject. If even that is a bit daunting, stuff from PCMag, ExtremeTech, MaximumPC or similar sites will have articles based on that same process, except simplified even further. Even with the increased effort involved in actually choosing parts and assembling them into a fully-functioning machine, building a system yourself gives the distinct advantage of being by far the most cost-effective method of system creation around. Let's face it: you're looking to play Crysis on high settings on a $1K machine. The only way to do that outside of building it yourself is either a) going a few hundred dollars over that budget or b) cutting significant and crucial corners like quality of the power supply. I'm certainly not trying to say that OEM builders like Cyberpower don't do a good job of putting quality systems together. But there are always tradeoffs involved in getting someone else to do your work for you - and when computer performance is concerned, the best results will come from you. Besides, you've stumbled onto a friendly and pretty close community of people who do this kind of thing for fun. If you decide to build it yourself, you'll have help every step of the way. - Diosjenin -
Well, first a few things- -I do have a monitor already, 1680 x 1080, along with a keyboard and mouse, so I would be shopping just for a tower -If I were to build it myself would I need any special tools? Honestly, I wouldn't have such a problem with building myself if I had someone to help me, I just really don't have any experience with building stuff (my building credentials being a third grade shop class and a childhood of legos =P), but if it is not as complicated as you say I would be more than open to the idea, especially if that's the only way to get around 1,000 dollars. So assuming I'd be able to build it myself, what parts should I order and from where? Thanks again for the help!
one Philip's head screw driver. that's all, building PC is like (as Diosjenin said) building Lego, unless you force something REALLY hard, you can't break anything and you can't plug anything in the wrong place.
I built my first computer a year and a half ago, I had not much more knowledge than your average Joe. It's ridiculously simple.
Philips-head screwdriver. That's really it. My only experience with building things before my first computer was Legos, too. Admittedly I have a lot of experience with Legos, since it was basically my only hobby before computers joined the fray. But the build went off without a hitch nonetheless. - Diosjenin -
Parts to order and from where. Right. Buy from newegg.com whenever possible. A test setup: CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 OEM - $180 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R - $120, $15 rebate RAM: OCZ Reaper HPC 2x2GB DDR2-800 - $53, $30 rebate GPU: Zotac GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 - $285, $40 rebate Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB - $75 Case/PSU: Cooler Master RC-690-KKA1-GP with included Cooler Master Real Power Pro 550W PSU - $150 Optical Drive: Asus DRW-20B1LT DVD+RW - $30, $10 rebate CPU Cooler: Xigmatec HDT-S1284EE with Arctic Silver 5 OEM - $46 for both Total: $1039 with $95 available in rebates. Two things to consider: 1) You might not get all of those rebates, as some companies like to deny them to you. Whatever ones you do get will probably serve primarily to counterweigh the inevitable shipping costs. So take $1039 as a decent indicator of what it will end up costing you overall. 2) This configuration is pretty limited in terms of upgrade options. If you feel like you might update this configuration later on, it could use a little reworking. The motherboard would be swapped with an eVGA 750i F.T.W, which is $170, $140 with rebate. The same case mentioned before also comes in a version with a 650W power supply for $20 more, which would also be highly recommended to cope with the additional power draw. Alternatively, you could buy a case (example I, example II, example III, example IV) and a power supply (example I, example II, example III) separately, which could (could) save you money and result in a more comprehensive build, but it would also up the complexity involved in the build process. Your call. - Diosjenin -
