Help me build a computer

[Perineum Ripper]

Ok so looking around I have decided it will be cheaper to build a computer rather than buy one..plus the bonus of buying the parts over a period of time is nicer than buying everything all at once

So details are this
It will be for gaming and Internet no real work will be done on it..I play Euro Truck Sim, Cities Skylines, Out of the Park Baseball 16..I will get more games like GTA and things along those lines whenever I have a better computer and not my laptop..don't want to go over $550..I like AMD my current laptop uses it and it works great..some people don't like it..I'm not picky between it or Intel when it comes down to deciding so I can go either way..will probably stream Netflix on it as well

So what would you guys build..I have never built one before..have no idea what it takes..so any advice would be great..if you need any other details please ask

[DaveNull]

Originally Posted by kccrow

IMHO, not much sense in spending the extra money on something you won't need. For instance, you need 4GB to run a couple of items you mentioned, especially GTA6. GTA6 would run better with 8GB, but it wouldn't likely ever use much of the extra 4 GB.

Here's a great article on it: http://www.pcauthority.com.au/Featur...ally-need.aspx

In any event.... do what you want, but I wouldn't go over 16GB unless you are doing some very graphics intensive shit, editing, what Dane does, whatever. 8GB is pretty well the "norm" at this point in the game with most things needing 4GB as a baseline.

Put the money into an SSD instead of extra 8GB RAM and you'll have a much better performance boost than going with an HDD and 16GB RAM.


I game on an i5 system with 8gb ram and a radeon hd 7850 2gb vid card. its about an $850 system. I can pretty well can play anything on all of the highest level graphics with absolutely no issues whatsoever. Get 300 fps in counter-strike go.

If forced to choose (which I was with my current rig), spend more money on the SSD and plan on upgrading the RAM when you need it. If you're stuck with a platter hard drive, then definitely go with 16GB of RAM.

Not being a Windows PC person, I'm not sure what SSD options are available but you should try to find the fastest bus connection you can too. I've got the PCIe SSD in my iMac and the SATA SSD for my Mac Pro and for a lot of stuff my iMac seems faster even though it was a fraction of the cost.

Overall, if you want to spend $500-600 on web browsing and games I'd say get a PS4 and a cheap tablet, but that's not as much fun as building a PC.

[Squalor2]

Originally Posted by DaveNull

If forced to choose (which I was with my current rig), spend more money on the SSD and plan on upgrading the RAM when you need it. If you're stuck with a platter hard drive, then definitely go with 16GB of RAM.

Not being a Windows PC person, I'm not sure what SSD options are available but you should try to find the fastest bus connection you can too. I've got the PCIe SSD in my iMac and the SATA SSD for my Mac Pro and for a lot of stuff my iMac seems faster even though it was a fraction of the cost.

Overall, if you want to spend $500-600 on web browsing and games I'd say get a PS4 and a cheap tablet, but that's not as much fun as building a PC.

that is harsh Null. get a ps4 and a tablet? good god man, do you think every chicken noodle soup can is full of fabio?

[DaveNull]

Meh, what can I say. I like to sit on my couch instead of a keyboard and monitor when I'm chilling out instead of plopping down in front of a computer that looks almost identical to the one I just spent 8-10 hours in front of at work.

/filthy casual 300 light hunter blade-dancer

[Squalor2]

Originally Posted by DaveNull

Meh, what can I say. I like to sit on my couch instead of a keyboard and monitor when I'm chilling out instead of plopping down in front of a computer that looks almost identical to the one I just spent 8-10 hours in front of at work.

/filthy casual 300 light hunter blade-dancer

what can you say? understanding? its all good. can i have your casino cash?

[hometeam]

For the price of RAM, just plan on going with 8.

If it was me, there are a couple of nice builds that have been put up, but buy a used GPU. They typically are still under warranty for the second owner (depending on age) and you can get a ton more for your money.

[hometeam]

Originally Posted by DaveNull

Meh, what can I say. I like to sit on my couch instead of a keyboard and monitor when I'm chilling out instead of plopping down in front of a computer that looks almost identical to the one I just spent 8-10 hours in front of at work.

/filthy casual 300 light hunter blade-dancer

That can literally be done with this budget PC

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by mac459

I like the way this one looks

I want SSD over HDD right

SSD is a huge performance boost. I'd recommend, especially if you don't plan to store alot of shit (videos, mp3s, images). You can always add an HDD for storage later on. HGST makes a rock solid 2TB drive that's available on Newegg for $56.

Also, AMD based systems really like matched timings for some reason, so when you pick your RAM be mindful of that. There's not a huge performance gain by going with lower CAS latency, but to each their own. I recommended an 11-11-11 timing, but if you want to spend an extra $10-20, you could lower that latency down, probably to 9.

SSD & 8GB RAM is all you'll need no matter what you choose to see really nice performance. You can pair that with whatever you want. The new Skylake Intel processors have the new onboard HD 530 graphics that are actually pretty damn good and you'll pull like 27-30 fps on GTA. Obviously the APUs from AMD are going to be much better in the graphics realm though and is a big reason I'd go with them on a budget build.

If you get an extra $300 and want to go crazy, pair an Intel Core i5 with a Radeon R7 370 4GB or nVidia GeForce GTX 960 4GB and you can pretty well play any game on the planet right now on max settings.

[Perineum Ripper]

Thanks for all the help guys..I am doing some more research and may bump up the budget some just to get a little extra performance

Really do appreciate the help and advice