Help me build a gaming PC
-
@jon-nyc said in Help me build a gaming PC:
If I went pre-built, where should I shop? What should I get?
If there's a Micro Center near you, get one of theirs. Their 'Powerspec' range. I did a ton of research on pre-builts before finally buying one a couple of months ago, and theirs got the best reviews by what I considered the most knowledgeable reviewers on YouTube. They don't ship, so you have to go and pick it up. The systems aren't flashy, but they use good components, and are as good value as anywhere else. If you get a credit card with them, they'll give you 5% off up to $2K.
Then click on computers, then gaming PC's.
There's a store in Yonkers - is that reasonably close?
wrote on 1 Nov 2021, 03:08 last edited by@doctor-phibes said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@jon-nyc said in Help me build a gaming PC:
If I went pre-built, where should I shop? What should I get?
There's a store in Yonkers - is that reasonably close?
Yeah like 3 miles.
-
@doctor-phibes said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@jon-nyc said in Help me build a gaming PC:
If I went pre-built, where should I shop? What should I get?
There's a store in Yonkers - is that reasonably close?
Yeah like 3 miles.
wrote on 1 Nov 2021, 03:09 last edited by Doctor Phibes 11 Jan 2021, 03:10@jon-nyc said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@doctor-phibes said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@jon-nyc said in Help me build a gaming PC:
If I went pre-built, where should I shop? What should I get?
There's a store in Yonkers - is that reasonably close?
Yeah like 3 miles.
You should go and take a look at least. The stores are geek heaven. If you don't want one of their brands, they sell Alienware stuff as well - some reviewers give those decent ratings, some don't.
-
wrote on 1 Nov 2021, 03:26 last edited by
Bunch of pussies.
Build it!
Avoid Alienware (Dell) like the plague!
We should talk. Don't buy a pre-built. The education you and your son will get is well worth it.
-
Bunch of pussies.
Build it!
Avoid Alienware (Dell) like the plague!
We should talk. Don't buy a pre-built. The education you and your son will get is well worth it.
wrote on 1 Nov 2021, 11:17 last edited byThe concern with building your own at the moment is video card availability. Make sure you can get one at reasonable price before you spend any money on other stuff
-
wrote on 1 Nov 2021, 11:35 last edited by
Get a ....
Never mind.
What, exactly, qualifies a PC as a "gaming PC?"
Better video card?
Most processors are pretty similar, if you're up-to-date, aren't they? -
Get a ....
Never mind.
What, exactly, qualifies a PC as a "gaming PC?"
Better video card?
Most processors are pretty similar, if you're up-to-date, aren't they?wrote on 1 Nov 2021, 11:49 last edited by Doctor Phibes 11 Jan 2021, 11:49@george-k said in Help me build a gaming PC:
What, exactly, qualifies a PC as a "gaming PC?"
Better video card?Pretty much. You'd expect at least an i5 processor or AMD equivalent and 16 gig of RAM. Frequently it's marketing gimicry such as lots of LED bling and what-have-you, but really it's the GPU that's important. I guess you also want a decent number of USB ports and a motherboard that supports overclocking the processor, although I must admit I never overclock.
-
@george-k said in Help me build a gaming PC:
What, exactly, qualifies a PC as a "gaming PC?"
Better video card?Pretty much. You'd expect at least an i5 processor or AMD equivalent and 16 gig of RAM. Frequently it's marketing gimicry such as lots of LED bling and what-have-you, but really it's the GPU that's important. I guess you also want a decent number of USB ports and a motherboard that supports overclocking the processor, although I must admit I never overclock.
wrote on 1 Nov 2021, 18:47 last edited by@doctor-phibes said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@george-k said in Help me build a gaming PC:
What, exactly, qualifies a PC as a "gaming PC?"
Better video card?Pretty much. You'd expect at least an i5 processor or AMD equivalent and 16 gig of RAM. Frequently it's marketing gimicry such as lots of LED bling and what-have-you, but really it's the GPU that's important. I guess you also want a decent number of USB ports and a motherboard that supports overclocking the processor, although I must admit I never overclock.
Also, shouldn't be a mac.
-
@doctor-phibes said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@george-k said in Help me build a gaming PC:
What, exactly, qualifies a PC as a "gaming PC?"
Better video card?Pretty much. You'd expect at least an i5 processor or AMD equivalent and 16 gig of RAM. Frequently it's marketing gimicry such as lots of LED bling and what-have-you, but really it's the GPU that's important. I guess you also want a decent number of USB ports and a motherboard that supports overclocking the processor, although I must admit I never overclock.
Also, shouldn't be a mac.
wrote on 1 Nov 2021, 18:49 last edited by@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
Also, shouldn't be a mac.
I've heard the M1s are pretty good in terms of graphics.
Are online games cross-platform?
-
@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
Also, shouldn't be a mac.
I've heard the M1s are pretty good in terms of graphics.
Are online games cross-platform?
wrote on 1 Nov 2021, 18:52 last edited by@george-k said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
Also, shouldn't be a mac.
I've heard the M1s are pretty good in terms of graphics.
Are online games cross-platform?
Very many are not.
-
@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
Also, shouldn't be a mac.
I've heard the M1s are pretty good in terms of graphics.
Are online games cross-platform?
wrote on 1 Nov 2021, 19:31 last edited by@george-k said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
Also, shouldn't be a mac.
I've heard the M1s are pretty good in terms of graphics.
Are online games cross-platform?
Some are, and I assume in the near future most of them will be - due to the advent of modern JavaScript and HTML5 they'll run in your browser.
-
@george-k said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
Also, shouldn't be a mac.
I've heard the M1s are pretty good in terms of graphics.
Are online games cross-platform?
Very many are not.
wrote on 1 Nov 2021, 19:32 last edited by@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@george-k said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
Also, shouldn't be a mac.
I've heard the M1s are pretty good in terms of graphics.
Are online games cross-platform?
Very many are not.
Also, even if they're compatible, the game designers are unlikely to optimise for Apple's GPU's, and looking at them, they don't look as though the ventilation is really designed around gaming. Modern video cards often take a fair amount of cooling.
I think a better answer for gaming if you don't want a PC is probably a Playstation or Xbox.
-
@george-k said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
Also, shouldn't be a mac.
I've heard the M1s are pretty good in terms of graphics.
Are online games cross-platform?
Some are, and I assume in the near future most of them will be - due to the advent of modern JavaScript and HTML5 they'll run in your browser.
wrote on 1 Nov 2021, 20:21 last edited by@klaus said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@george-k said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
Also, shouldn't be a mac.
I've heard the M1s are pretty good in terms of graphics.
Are online games cross-platform?
Some are, and I assume in the near future most of them will be - due to the advent of modern JavaScript and HTML5 they'll run in your browser.
Jon should not buy a mac for gaming.
-
@klaus said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@george-k said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
Also, shouldn't be a mac.
I've heard the M1s are pretty good in terms of graphics.
Are online games cross-platform?
Some are, and I assume in the near future most of them will be - due to the advent of modern JavaScript and HTML5 they'll run in your browser.
Jon should not buy a mac for gaming.
wrote on 2 Nov 2021, 01:39 last edited by Doctor Phibes 11 Feb 2021, 01:40@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@klaus said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@george-k said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
Also, shouldn't be a mac.
I've heard the M1s are pretty good in terms of graphics.
Are online games cross-platform?
Some are, and I assume in the near future most of them will be - due to the advent of modern JavaScript and HTML5 they'll run in your browser.
Jon should not buy a mac for gaming.
Indeed, pay no attention to the German with his lame browser-based gaming solutions! You need, and what's more DESERVE freaking ray-tracing and DLSS.
-
@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@klaus said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@george-k said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
Also, shouldn't be a mac.
I've heard the M1s are pretty good in terms of graphics.
Are online games cross-platform?
Some are, and I assume in the near future most of them will be - due to the advent of modern JavaScript and HTML5 they'll run in your browser.
Jon should not buy a mac for gaming.
Indeed, pay no attention to the German with his lame browser-based gaming solutions! You need, and what's more DESERVE freaking ray-tracing and DLSS.
wrote on 2 Nov 2021, 11:58 last edited by@doctor-phibes said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@klaus said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@george-k said in Help me build a gaming PC:
@aqua-letifer said in Help me build a gaming PC:
Also, shouldn't be a mac.
I've heard the M1s are pretty good in terms of graphics.
Are online games cross-platform?
Some are, and I assume in the near future most of them will be - due to the advent of modern JavaScript and HTML5 they'll run in your browser.
Jon should not buy a mac for gaming.
Indeed, pay no attention to the German with his lame browser-based gaming solutions! You need, and what's more DESERVE freaking ray-tracing and DLSS.
Did you ever take a look at Google Stadia and the like? You can get all the ray-tracing and 4K resolution and whatnot, and all you need is a $5 processor that can turn a network video stream into an HDMI signal. They even have an impressive handle on the latency issue.
But in any case, there's a lot of evidence that the future of gaming is cloud-based and the clients will be lightweight JavaScript frontends.
-
wrote on 2 Nov 2021, 12:13 last edited by
@klaus said in Help me build a gaming PC:
But in any case, there's a lot of evidence that the future of gaming is cloud-based and the clients will be lightweight JavaScript frontends.
Yes because everyone knows you buy gaming gear based on where the future of the technology is probably going, not at all based on games you want to play right now.
Do you even play, Klaus? -
wrote on 2 Nov 2021, 12:28 last edited by Klaus 11 Feb 2021, 12:29
No. Whenever I try, I'm bored to death after 20 minutes. But I know the technology and have an informed opinion about the engineering and marketing considerations of game design.
I'm not talking about Jon's specific needs right now - I'm sure he'll get a good number of concrete suggestions from the usual suspects - but about the future of computer games in general.
-
wrote on 2 Nov 2021, 12:29 last edited by
@klaus said in Help me build a gaming PC:
No. Whenever I try, I'm bored to death after 20 minutes. But I know the technology and have an informed opinion about the engineering and marketing considerations of game design.
I'm not talking about Jon's specific needs right now but about the future of computer games in general.
You do you, Ax!
-
wrote on 2 Nov 2021, 12:38 last edited by jon-nyc 11 Feb 2021, 12:39
What do you guys think of this? I found a source that has an NVIDIA 3070 available.
Iy'll go over 2k, but it was a soft limit anyway.
-
No. Whenever I try, I'm bored to death after 20 minutes. But I know the technology and have an informed opinion about the engineering and marketing considerations of game design.
I'm not talking about Jon's specific needs right now - I'm sure he'll get a good number of concrete suggestions from the usual suspects - but about the future of computer games in general.
wrote on 2 Nov 2021, 12:40 last edited by@klaus said in Help me build a gaming PC:
No. Whenever I try, I'm bored to death after 20 minutes. But I know the technology and have an informed opinion about the engineering and marketing considerations of game design.
I'm not talking about Jon's specific needs right now - I'm sure he'll get a good number of concrete suggestions from the usual suspects - but about the future of computer games in general.
You might be right, but it's worth noting that the obsolescence of gaming PC's as we know them has been just around the corner for about 30 years now.
-
What do you guys think of this? I found a source that has an NVIDIA 3070 available.
Iy'll go over 2k, but it was a soft limit anyway.
wrote on 2 Nov 2021, 12:44 last edited by Doctor Phibes 11 Feb 2021, 12:48@jon-nyc said in Help me build a gaming PC:
What do you guys think of this? I found a source that has an NVIDIA 3070 available.
Iy'll go over 2k, but it was a soft limit anyway.
I'm not really an expert, but it looks alright to me. The one I bought a couple of months back is pretty similar to that, except it's an Intel i7 processor, and it runs everything I've thrown at it on full detail, except for VR, which it still runs well, just not quite at full beans. For regular stuff, it's as fast as all heck - boots in a couple of seconds.
The problem with pre-builds can be that the cooling often isn't nearly as effective as it ought to be, and they sometimes try and use sub-standard components, such as power supplies. Also, pre-installed bloatware can be excessive. The Powerspec PC's seem to have pretty good cooling, and just about zero bloatware.
