What are your computer specs?

[jackleapp81 456]

How soon and how badly you're in need of one because 2014 is going to be a huge leap year for PC tech as with the arrival of AMD's Mantle and Direct X12, Nividia's new G-Sync chip for monitors to use, Intel is upgrading their Haswell CPU lines with Haswell E series (including 8 core cpu beasts), another line of graphics cards, and best of all is the arrival of DDR4 memory that will replace the standard DDR3 memory within a few years, this year is going to give PC's a huge leap in tech and power. Finally, wait another year and Intel will release their new line Broadwell CPUs.

 

As others have said, it depends on what your budget is and how many awesome stuff you want on your rig.

I'm looking to get one pretty soon since a few friends of mine have been saving money up for months on our separate bank accounts so that we can start PC gaming together on a regular basis. I have about 1000 dollars saved up in one account, and my friends have already bought and purchased theirs (although they were only looking in the $500 range). I had no idea that Nvidia and Intel were planning on releasing all of these new technical upgrades. But how much will it cost? I'm betting that it'll be awhile before the technology reaches an affordable price point. And if the G-Sync chip is just going to be in a monitor, then I could purchase one later unless there are going to be specific PCs that will only be able to operate through those monitors. 

 

And price-range wise, I'm currently hoping to find a gaming PC that can run most current-gen games on max settings for around 1000 dollars. 

Edited March 26, 2014 by jackleapp81

[Nuke87654 1,849]

I'm looking to get one pretty soon since a few friends of mine have been saving money up for months on our separate bank accounts so that we can start PC gaming together on a regular basis. I have about 1000 dollars saved up in one account, and my friends have already bought and purchased theirs (although they were only looking in the $500 range). I had no idea that Nvidia and Intel were planning on releasing all of these new technical upgrades. But how much will it cost? I'm betting that it'll be awhile before the technology reaches an affordable price point. And if the G-Sync chip is just going to be in a monitor, then I could purchase one later unless there are going to be specific PCs that will only be able to operate through those monitors. 

 

Alright, as you said, it's going to take some time till those stuff work as they should and be cheaper. You may not have to look into those if you want also if you're looking for a PC rig at $1000, I can find one for you at that price at Newegg, though it will take some time.

[FractalMoon 378]

Thermaltake LV-10 GTS half tower case.

EVGA SuperClocked GTX 770

AMD FX-8350

Corsair Enthusiast Series 750W PSU

WD Caviar Black 2TB hard drive

Cheapo Lightscribe DVD-RW drive

Total price: $1250

Gear:

Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013 keyboard

Razer Naga Hex mouse

Razer Kraken Pro headset (Yeah, I've had good luck with razer's stuff so I've stuck with it)

LG HBS-700 headphones for taking calls while in game.

[jackleapp81 456]

Alright, as you said, it's going to take some time till those stuff work as they should and be cheaper. You may not have to look into those if you want also if you're looking for a PC rig at $1000, I can find one for you at that price at Newegg, though it will take some time.

Would you mind looking into that for me? I would appreciate it a lot, since I'm really new to building gaming rigs, and I'm honestly not sure what I should be looking for in one. It seems like every time I reach a decision, someone tells me that I could get the same specs for a lot cheaper, or that I need one PC part over the other, or..any number of contradictions. 

[Katana 298]

Woah, we're definitely getting the high end of the estimates here.

 

For one thing, most of these builds are assuming you're pretty much coming from complete scratch. In many cases, you can actually make use of an existing monitor, speaker setup, keyboard, etc. When you buy a new game console, you tend not to factor in the cost of the TV. The guts of the computer usually make sense to buy all together though.

 

I would definitely estimate that a gaming computer suiting most needs can be had for a range from $500 to $800, depending on how many shiny extras you want - and whatever the case, it will definitely play games like Crysis 3 or Metro Last Light.

 

I don't have the time to offer up a complete parts list, but a few general pieces of advice:

 

• Unless you are doing a lot of video production, image editing, or other intensive "professional" programs, OR you leave open dozens of browser tabs with 17 programs open, I would recommend you to get no more than 8 GB RAM (I've survived on 4GB a long time!!) and no CPU more powerful than an i5. Those tend to be as good as you'll ever need them for gaming. Keep in mind that most games are still 32-bit, and more or less capped at 4 GB (although with extra programs, you could theoretically go over)
• An SSD is a verrry likable extra. It's a bit more to manage by installing all large programs on your main hard drive, but it means operating system tasks like startup are a breeze.
• Get the "OEM" edition of the operating system, which usually comes in a less-fancy package. It's usually cheaper.
• Do NOT get a laptop. It's honestly just not worth it for gaming; there's nothing wrong with getting a general-purpose laptop so that you can play the many 2D/indie games out there no trouble. But don't get one intending to play Latest Release 5 Ultra: High Settings Evolved.

 

I can also give you a parts list, of everything you need to make a computer work.

1. Motherboard (must be compatible with CPU (check "slot type" ie "LGA 1155"), RAM, have one or more PCI-Expressx16 slot for the graphics card (GPU))
2. CPU
3. RAM
4. Hard drive (you can have more than one, for instance a Solid State Drive or SSD, and a Hard Disk Drive or HDD)
5. Power Supply, or PSU - this is the large block that converts power from the cable, and supplies the other internal components
6. Case - a big fancy metal box
7. Graphics Card, or GPU - if you are getting a relatively small case (ie, smaller than "mid tower") you'll want to ensure this is not too big.
8. Monitor
9. Keyboard, mouse
10. Either headphones, or speakers, or both (if you remember the term "sound card", those are now integrated in the motherboard)
11. OPTIONAL: DVD drive. Lately, a lot of people can do without these thanks to digital distribution.
12. IF your gaming desk is not close to a router, a wireless adapter

Boy, I'll look pretty silly if I forgot something.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Katana

[SomeReallyRandomGuy 137]

Well, I paid £435 for this ($715).

 

- Case CIT Vantage Green
- Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3

- Hard drive: Toshiba DT01ACA100 (1TB)

- CPU: AMD FX 6300 - Overclocked to 3.9Ghz

- GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 7750 (2GB, GDDR3 Memory)

- RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport, 8GB 1600Mhz

- OS: Windows 8.1 Standard

 

Thats all I can remember off the top of my head for the PC specs.

 

I use my 32" TV for my primary display, and a old Acer monitor as a 2nd display (Primary when I play PS4/Xbox)

 

If I find the image I have of my setup, I'll add it in a edit

 

Edit #1

 

Gear:

- Mouse: Anker 2000 DPI Multi-profile gaming mouse

- Keyboard: Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 (Upgrading soon, don't recommend for gaming)

- Headset: Turtle beach PX21 (Sadly broke a few days back)

I also have a set of speakers, but have no information on them.

Edited March 26, 2014 by SomeReallyRandomGuy

[Nuke87654 1,849]

Would you mind looking into that for me? I would appreciate it a lot, since I'm really new to building gaming rigs, and I'm honestly not sure what I should be looking for in one. It seems like every time I reach a decision, someone tells me that I could get the same specs for a lot cheaper, or that I need one PC part over the other, or..any number of contradictions. 

 

Several things I need to know, would you mind to have mouse's, keyboards, headsets, monitor, the ability to overclock your cpu, a windows 7 os or other microsoft os's?

Edited March 26, 2014 by Nuke87654

[jackleapp81 456]

Several things I need to know, would you mind to have mouse's, keyboards, headsets, monitor, the ability to overclock your cpu, a windows 7 os or other microsoft os's?

Mouses, keyboards, headsets, and monitors are not important to me. Well, they are, but what I mean is, I already have some inexpensive tech like that which I can hook up to my new PC until I scrounge up enough money to invest in higher quality monitors, keyboards, etc..

 

I wouldn't mind being able to overclock the PC, but if it drove up the price significantly for the abilty to do so, I wouldn't be as interested. I'd like to have a rig that could handle most games on max settings, and if I need overclocking to be able to that, I guess I'd be willing to invest if it saved me some money in the long run.

 

I'd prefer to have Windows 7 over 8, but...would it be possble to get an earlier OS, and then buy a newer version later? Do they cost a lot individually? Would it save me a bunch of money if I didn't have the newest OS?

Edited March 26, 2014 by jackleapp81

[SomeReallyRandomGuy 137]

 

 

I'd prefer to have Windows 7 over 8, but...would it be possble to get an earlier OS, and then buy it later? How much do they cost individually? And could I upgrade the OS at some point?

 

 

You can always upgrade from Windows 7.

I'm using Windows 8.1 & I love it though, especially over windows 7 (Have it on both my other laptops, vista on my other desktop).

 

Windows 8 Standard can be bought for around £70 on amazon.

[Nuke87654 1,849]

Alright, here's a list for a rig under $1000 for you @jackleapp81 that I found.

 

-AMD R270X graphics card

-AMD FX-8350

-WD 1TB blue oem hard drive

-Windows 7 Professional SP1

-ASUS M5A97

-Noctua NH-L9a 92mm SSO2 CPU Cooler

-Roswill Capstone 550w Gold certified (Not Modular though)

-Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste

-Samsung Black Sata DVD drive

-G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB

-Cooler Master HAF 912 Blue Edition Mid Tower

 

Also here's a bit of something that may help you out. Newegg has a preferred account that allows you to be able to pay off your computer in 12 months with no interest through monthly payments. If you wish, you can try to see if you get that preferred account from Newegg, especially if it may help you out with your budget better.

[jackleapp81 456]

Alright, here's a list for a rig under $1000 for you @jackleapp81 that I found.

 

-AMD R270X graphics card

-AMD FX-8350

-WD 1TB blue oem hard drive

-Windows 7 Professional SP1

-ASUS M5A97

-Noctua NH-L9a 92mm SSO2 CPU Cooler

-Roswill Capstone 550w Gold certified (Not Modular though)

-Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste

-Samsung Black Sata DVD drive

-G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB

-Cooler Master HAF 912 Blue Edition Mid Tower

 

Also here's a bit of something that may help you out. Newegg has a preferred account that allows you to be able to pay off your computer in 12 months with no interest through monthly payments. If you wish, you can try to see if you get that preferred account from Newegg, especially if it may help you out with your budget better.

Thank you so much! I will use this as a guide, and I might look into that payment plan as well.

[The Mane-iac 1,648]

Alright, here's a list for a rig under $1000 for you @jackleapp81 that I found.

 

-AMD R270X graphics card

-AMD FX-8350

-WD 1TB blue oem hard drive

-Windows 7 Professional SP1

-ASUS M5A97

-Noctua NH-L9a 92mm SSO2 CPU Cooler

-Roswill Capstone 550w Gold certified (Not Modular though)

-Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste

-Samsung Black Sata DVD drive

-G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB

-Cooler Master HAF 912 Blue Edition Mid Tower

 

Also here's a bit of something that may help you out. Newegg has a preferred account that allows you to be able to pay off your computer in 12 months with no interest through monthly payments. If you wish, you can try to see if you get that preferred account from Newegg, especially if it may help you out with your budget better.

 

I took a look at that and wondered why the price seemed high for those specs, then I saw Windows 7 sitting in the list. I was just kind of stumped since just last year I built a top end Intel/nVidia rig for only $200 more than that. But I didn't buy Windows, or a cooler for that matter.

 

That'll be a nice rig, the FX is a nice cpu. I'd change a few things due to personal preferences, but it'll be able to play for awhile. Not sure if that PSU is up to it though, minimum for that system is estimated at 530, recommended is 584 with degradation. I'd grab a 600 to play safe, higher if you plan to add another card later on or anything.

Edited March 26, 2014 by The Mane-iac

[Flutter's lover <3 8,205]

My current rig I paid $800 for.  That was 5 years ago.

 

 

It's got a Cooler Master HAF 922 case, AMD Phenom II Hexacore CPU 1055T, ATI 6770 HD graphics card, a Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H Motherboard, Corsair 650CX PSU, RipJaw gaming memory, Western Digital HDD,

 

 

Here's some techy spec screenshots I took.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jackleapp81 456]

My current rig I paid $800 for.  That was 5 years ago.

Does it still run games well? Can you download newer and/or bigger games like Battlefield 4, DMC, Titanfall, The Witcher 2, Skyrim, and they'll run decently?

[Winterbass 763]

My current set-up is:

 

Motherboard: Asrock z77 extreme4

GPU: EVGA GTX 670 FTW

CPU: i5 quad-core processor running overclocked on 3.7ghz

RAM: 8 gb Corsair Vengeance

Fan: Cooler Master Hyper 612 S

Power supply: Corsair tx750

HDD: 2 TB Barracuda Seagate 

Case; Cooler Master Storm Enforces

 

All that for 750 euros, if you know where to look of course. Plays everything just fine, although has a few problems with AA at 16x, but I don't see any difference between 8x and 16x, plus I don't care.

[Flutter's lover <3 8,205]

Does it still run games well? Can you download newer and/or bigger games like Battlefield 4, DMC, Titanfall, The Witcher 2, Skyrim, and they'll run decently?

 

Oh yea no problem, I actually just installed Skyrim, It auto set it at high. I can also play Far Cry 3 on Ultra settings,  I also played the Titanfall Beta with zero issues.

 

I've also run Fallout 3 at max settings, Borderlands 2, as well as Battlefield 3 at high.

[jackleapp81 456]

Oh yea no problem, I actually just installed Skyrim, It auto set it at high. I can also play Far Cry 3 on Ultra settings,  I also played the Titanfall Beta with zero issues.

 

I've also run Fallout 3 at max settings, Borderlands 2, as well as Battlefield 3 at high.

Holy sh*t, that's incredible. Makes me feel better about ordering a new computer now, since it sounds like it could last me quite awhile if I buy the right parts for it.

[Flutter's lover <3 8,205]

Holy sh*t, that's incredible. Makes me feel better about ordering a new computer now, since it sounds like it could last me quite awhile if I buy the right parts for it.

 

Definitely. When I was building my PC I wanted it to be futureproof.

 

You can get a lot of PC for under a grand.

[long gone 8,929]

For any console gamers looking to get into PC gaming on the cheap, here's a pretty good build kit for $250.

 

Doesn't include a GPU, but just save up for a GTX 760 or an R9 270X (around $250 for either GPU) and get a proper PSU (the Corsair CX 430 is $40 on Newegg right now) and you're good to go. Just $540 for a decent gaming rig. Or if those are too expensive for you, the GTX 750 Ti ($160) or R7 265 (also $160) are your friends. So if you go for that that would be $450 for a gaming PC, less than an Xbox One but much more capable. As for a hard drive, it's $70 for a 500GB hard drive, which is a modest amount of space, and that can always be upgraded later if you need the extra storage, so all in all that's $520 for a GTX 750 Ti/R7 265 build or $610 for a GTX 760/R9 270X build. Not bad.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Daring

[The Mane-iac 1,648]

For any console gamers looking to get into PC gaming on the cheap, here's a pretty good build kit for $250.

 

Doesn't include a GPU, but just save up for a GTX 760 or an R9 270X (around $250 for either GPU) and get a proper PSU (the Corsair CX 430 is $40 on Newegg right now) and you're good to go. Just $540 for a decent gaming rig. Or if those are too expensive for you, the GTX 750 Ti ($160) or R7 265 (also $160) are your friends. So if you go for that that would be $450 for a gaming PC, less than an Xbox One but much more capable. As for a hard drive, it's $70 for a 500GB hard drive, which is a modest amount of space, and that can always be upgraded later if you need the extra storage, so all in all that's $520 for a GTX 750 Ti/R7 265 build or $610 for a GTX 760/R9 270X build. Not bad.

 

Why would you buy a 430w PSU to replace a 550w that's included with the barebones? Also no need to drop in card specs to go cheaper, currently the Radeon 7870 is on sale for $199. Considering the 270 and 270X are just rebadged 7850 and 7870, there's no real performance loss. Or the R9 270 is only $180 which is actually $10 cheaper then the 7850 it replaces, only $10 more then the R7 256, and the performance isn't really any worse then the 270X. Where as the 750Ti and R7 265 are a step or two down. Also a 500gb can be had for $55 or a 1tb for $60 ($71 and $80 if you want WD Blacks). You also have to toss in Windows ($120) and a DVD drive ($20).

 

So going with specs from what I've listed (barebones, R9 270, 1tb hdd, Windows, DVD)  that's $750 ($800 if you want to bump the PSU to 600). That's really not that great when right now on all the sites like ibuypower or cyberpowerpc, for the same price range you can get a bunch of upgrades including 16gb ram, 2tb hdd, and other stuff.

[long gone 8,929]

Why would you buy a 430w PSU to replace a 550w that's included with the barebones? Also no need to drop in card specs to go cheaper, currently the Radeon 7870 is on sale for $199. Considering the 270 and 270X are just rebadged 7850 and 7870, there's no real performance loss. Or the R9 270 is only $180 which is actually $10 cheaper then the 7850 it replaces, only $10 more then the R7 256, and the performance isn't really any worse then the 270X. Where as the 750Ti and R7 265 are a step or two down. Also a 500gb can be had for $55 or a 1tb for $60 ($71 and $80 if you want WD Blacks). You also have to toss in Windows ($120) and a DVD drive ($20).

 

So going with specs from what I've listed (barebones, R9 270, 1tb hdd, Windows, DVD)  that's $750 ($800 if you want to bump the PSU to 600). That's really not that great when right now on all the sites like ibuypower or cyberpowerpc, for the same price range you can get a bunch of upgrades including 16gb ram, 2tb hdd, and other stuff.

I don't exactly trust PSUs built into cases. Who knows if they are really all that reliable or not.

[Blaze Bronson 343]

Your gaming experience is almost exclusively dependent on your graphics card.

 

Graphics card: as high as possible, try R9 280x.

CPU: all you need is enough processing power, AMD fx-6350 migh be a choice. All i5 are more than enough.

RAM: 4GB is enough, but 8GB is so cheap anyways. Go for anything 8GB 1600hz.

Motherboard: if you don't want to overclock, all you have to do is find the cheapest which still got the ports you need.

 

My rig. Runs all I want it to. If anyone could tell me how much this would cost in dollar, that would be great. I don't use dollar 

Total price + upgrade, translated from Norwegian currency, is 1800$

 

 

The first 4 lines is things I have upgraded

GPU: R9 280x
CPU: i5-4670k
RAM: Corsair 8GB DDR3 1600MHz
MoBo: Gigabyte Ga-Z87X-D3H

 

These I brought from my old PC

Cabinet: Cooler Master CM 690 2 black

CD-rom: Sony Optiarc AD-5260s

HD: Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB
PSU: Corsair TX650W

 

Edited March 27, 2014 by Blaze Bronson

[Crazy Misty 653]

 

• i7-3770 (Non-K, sadly.  ) @3.40 GHz
• 10 Gb DDR3 (2*4 and 1*2)
• 1 TB HDD for all my files, and one 120 GB SSD for my OS.
• A GeForce GT640 (Going to upgrade this when the GeForce 800 series comes out. )
• Windows 8.1 Pro (Want to dualboot eOS but I can't get it to install for some reason.)

It works alright, I guess...

I don't game very much anyways. 

(I wish I had a second screen though. That would make browsing so much easier! )

 

 

Wooah what the hell is up with your CPU to GPU ratio? That GPU is complete shit compared to your CPU!

 

You should really have something in the GTX 7 series if you got an i7, did you build your computer or did you buy it?

[Milk Wave 454]

Just because this thread is a little old, i'm going to be bumping it a bit with my custom PC.

 

Case: Sentey Optimus GS-6000 Mid tower

Processor: AMD Athlon x4 740 @ 3.2 ghz

Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty a88x Killer

Graphics card: Gigabyte Windforce R7 260x 2GB overclocked to 1225 mhz

RAM: 8GB DDR3 2133 Team Zeus Yellow, running @ 1866 currently

PSU: Corsair CX 600, 600 watt power supply

HDD: WD Blue 500GB 7200RPM

 

:3

 

Planning to upgrade.

 

CPU: AMD Athlon x4 760k overclocked to 4.5 ghz from original 3.8

Cooling: Silverstone Argon AR02 CPU cooler (( may change ))

GPU: R7 260x 2GB Crossfire, basically a second card :3

 

Here's what the computer looks like now. (( first picture is old, and the GPU was moved to the upper PCI-E 3.0 slot ))

Edited May 3, 2014 by Milk Wave

[hawkflame 3,310]

HP G62 notebook PC with 3 GB of RAM and 320 GB hard drive, 2.4GHz VISION Technology processor.  OS:  Windows 7 64 bit. 

 

An unimpressive POS, but decent for the price I got it for 4 years ago.