Building a PC Beginner Looking for Help

[cbeeth18]

Hello! My name is CJ and I am brand new to this forum and basically the world of building a good PC. I know how to put a PC together, but picking out and buying is completely different. So, I've come to the internet for help 🙂 For me I want to stay around the $600 - $700 price range now, but I also want it to be upgradable later. I will mainly use it for games and just general PC stuff. I basically just have a few questions. Also, I don't really need parts just some tips or insight rather than a list. Thanks!

1) Is building a $600 - $700 Gaming pc worth it? (With accessories in that price)

2) Can I upgrade from a $600 - $700 pc when the times comes?

3) What parts should I worry about most in a gaming PC?

4) What parts are upgradable vs not

Also, general insight is always helpful and appreciated (Don't go cheap on this, this doesn't really matter etc.)

Anyways, thanks again so much!

 

[lehtv]

1) An OS license eats $100 off of that (unless you can find a Win7/8.1 license for cheap elsewhere). A monitor, a mouse and a keyboard are about $200, maybe $150 at best. This leaves you $400-450 for the PC itself. This is just barely enough to build a full fledged gaming PC - see Attention Low-End Gaming System Builders... I would recommend either saving up a couple hundred $ more, or buying used parts.

2) Yes, this is what custom PC building is all about 🙂

3) Gaming performance depends mainly on the graphics card, and on the CPU insofar as it's not too slow for whichever graphics card you have. Upgrading a PC for the purpose of increasing framerates basically means upgrading the graphics card, and making sure your CPU is fast enough for the new graphics card. The worst case scenario is this: you buy a new GPU, and need a new CPU, but the new CPU needs a new motherboard and RAM. Everything else should be reusable. It's also likely that you'll find a used i5 or i7 compatible with your current motherboard, so you may also be able to reuse the motherboard and RAM.

4) Everything is upgradeable, though some upgrades may require upgrading other parts as well. As hinted above, a processor upgrade may require a new motherboard. Also, a graphics card upgrade may require a new power supply if the current one isn't big enough. Overall it's a good idea to pick parts that have a low chance of being incompatible with future upgrades. ATX case so you don't only limit yourself to microATX boards, power supply with a bit of headroom etc.

 

[mfenn]

1) An OS license eats $100 off of that (unless you can find a Win7/8.1 license for cheap elsewhere). A monitor, a mouse and a keyboard are about $200, maybe $150 at best. This leaves you $400-450 for the PC itself. This is just barely enough to build a full fledged gaming PC - see Attention Low-End Gaming System Builders... I would recommend either saving up a couple hundred $ more, or buying used parts.

2) Yes, this is what custom PC building is all about 🙂

3) Gaming performance depends mainly on the graphics card, and on the CPU insofar as it's not too slow for whichever graphics card you have. Upgrading a PC for the purpose of increasing framerates basically means upgrading the graphics card, and making sure your CPU is fast enough for the new graphics card. The worst case scenario is this: you buy a new GPU, and need a new CPU, but the new CPU needs a new motherboard and RAM. Everything else should be reusable. It's also likely that you'll find a used i5 or i7 compatible with your current motherboard, so you may also be able to reuse the motherboard and RAM.

4) Everything is upgradeable, though some upgrades may require upgrading other parts as well. As hinted above, a processor upgrade may require a new motherboard. Also, a graphics card upgrade may require a new power supply if the current one isn't big enough. Overall it's a good idea to pick parts that have a low chance of being incompatible with future upgrades. ATX case so you don't only limit yourself to microATX boards, power supply with a bit of headroom etc.

:thumbsup: Great overview!