Hey, PC gaming isn't so complicated or expensive

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Good luck with the build, its addicting

 

[RavenSEAL]

Good luck with the build, its addicting

LOL

 

[Davidh373]

Cyberpower isn't bad. I'd say $693 is pretty good I guess. Overpaying by about $100 though I'd say. For the parts they'll put in it anyway...

 

[Powermoloch]

My gaming rig is built by cyberpower...I already figure out the parts i needed, plus it cost the same as if I bought from newegg (last year of course, replaced 5770 CF w/ 6850 later).

 

[Zap]

I just wanna be able to play most games at 720p @ 60fps on high settings; why do I have to be a rocket scientist and spend 2000$ just to get this done?

You're trying too hard. Easy way is to buy a cheap tower computer and toss in a low-mid range graphics card. Done! Instant 720p capabilities!

 

[jlee]

What I can get an AMD quad + GTX 460 EVGA and all the other necessary components for 693..

Prices from newegg unless otherwise specified. I didn't hunt for deals, either:

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor ASUS M4A79XTD EVO ATX AMD Motherboard
$229 combo deal

4x1Gb DDR3
$33 (slickdeals.net front page)

COOLER MASTER GX Series RS650-ACAAE3-US 650W ATX12V v2.31 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
$60

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$62

LITE-ON Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Disc Combo Model iHES208-08 LightScribe Support
$54

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$90

Win7 HP OEM
$100

total $628 with OS and blu-ray...what are the rest of the specs on what you found?

Edit: dammit, I guess I missed the second half of the thread.

 

[Davidh373]

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$90

This is the only real problem I have with that build, you can save $20 with a standard 3GB/S Samsung F3 1TB off newegg, or $30 on Amazon.

COOLER MASTER GX Series RS650-ACAAE3-US 650W ATX12V v2.31 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
$60

This seems to be a minor issue. I'd recommend an Antec or Seasonic.

4x1Gb DDR3
$33 (slickdeals.net front page)

I realize that's a good deal for 4GB, but it would be much better to go with 2 x 2GB for $10, or you can also get 8GB in the 2 x 4GB config pretty cheap.

 

[jlee]

This is the only real problem I have with that build, you can save $20 with a standard 3GB/S Samsung F3 1TB off newegg, or $30 on Amazon.



This seems to be a minor issue. I'd recommend an Antec or Seasonic.



I realize that's a good deal for 4GB, but it would be much better to go with 2 x 2GB for $10, or you can also get 8GB in the 2 x 4GB config pretty cheap.

*cough*

I didn't hunt for deals, either

My point is you can easily throw together a system for less than the quoted price -- had I spent some time looking around, I'm sure I could've knocked a lot off the overall cost. I'm a bit of a slickdeals whore and I don't even remember how many $10-4Gb DDR2 packages, free-after-rebate cases, or all the other cheap stuff I've aquired in years gone by.

 

[blotto]

ugh my heads gonna ecplode, pc gaming is such a hassle; youd think some pc company wouldve figured it out by now and offer decent pcs @ a good price but nooooooooo, you have to spend a bajillion dollars and do it yourself! im about to say fudge it and buy a 3DS when it comes out or maybe an arcade stick for SSF4 or maybe some decent audio equipment so i can vibe to some good music; you know a hobby that doesnt cost thousands to get into and hundreds to upgrade every 2 years! PC Gamers wonder why PC gaming is dying, WELL THIS IS WHY: ITS A FRUSTRATING COMPLICATED HASSLE!

Wow, you want a hobby that doesn't cost thousands of dollars so you think of audio gear? Look at audio gear in the same light as PCs:

Cheap Stereo system with CD Player = Compaq/HP big box $399 systems
Home Theater in a box = Pre-built "Gaming" systems with low end videocards
Decent receiver with decent speakers = Home Built system with good parts
Mid-End system ($2000+) = High end gaming PC with all the bells (SSD, Dual GPU, high end CPU)
High end audio system ($5k and up) = No comparable. I doubt you could spend $10k on a PC but you could easily spend that on a single high end audio component (Speaker, Pre/Pro, Amp)

Any hobby will have entry level gear and sky's the limit. PC gaming just happens to fall into the mid-range segment of computing. That's the price to pay for higher res and AA and generally better experience over the consoles. The other benefit is that the higher cost of admission tends to keep more of the retarded 13 year olds on XBLive rather than screaming "N!$%$r, F$%^&" at me while playing BFBC2 or COD.

 

[mvbighead]

ugh my heads gonna ecplode, pc gaming is such a hassle; youd think some pc company wouldve figured it out by now and offer decent pcs @ a good price but nooooooooo, you have to spend a bajillion dollars and do it yourself! im about to say fudge it and buy a 3DS when it comes out or maybe an arcade stick for SSF4 or maybe some decent audio equipment so i can vibe to some good music; you know a hobby that doesnt cost thousands to get into and hundreds to upgrade every 2 years! PC Gamers wonder why PC gaming is dying, WELL THIS IS WHY: ITS A FRUSTRATING COMPLICATED HASSLE!

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-570/pd?oc=dddobh1&model_id=inspiron-570

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-527-_-Product

Not exactly complicated. Could probably do much better building for less, but this'll come with everything you'll need to get going, and all you have to do is drop a video card in the box.

399+130 = 530, and easy as pie. (KB, Mouse, Winders, etc. all included)

 

[BoomerD]

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-570/pd?oc=dddobh1&model_id=inspiron-570

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-527-_-Product

Not exactly complicated. Could probably do much better building for less, but this'll come with everything you'll need to get going, and all you have to do is drop a video card in the box.

399+130 = 530, and easy as pie. (KB, Mouse, Winders, etc. all included)

You do realize that the Dell you linked to has integrated graphics...and so, probably no PCI-e slot to add a good video card.
That's VERY common with Dell and some of the other "Computer in a box" manufacturers...use a motherboard that doesn't allow for expansion.
My wife has had two Dells over the past several years built that way. They just don't have any "upgrade potential."

 

[Fhistleb]

Honestly, go with these guys and the custom built (as in yourself) machine.

 

[Patrickz0rs]

gtfo the pc gaming community will eat noobs like you alive.

 

[Davidh373]

This thread is troll. It has to be. I mean, building a computer isn't rocket science. Anyone can do it, and we've obviously told the OP he doesn't need a $2k budget, even for a prebuilt. He calls $600 with OS expensive when he can also do many things else besides game with it. Homework, watch movies, watch Blu Ray, game, listen to his music, browse the web, watch TV on the web (family is considering Hulu+ instead of the cable bill now, would save OP ~$50 per month I bet). Imagine if one were to buy devices separately to do these things. How ridiculously expensive would that be? Prolly cost over $2k... which is about 4x what the OP has to spend to get one box that does it all.

lets see

Roku Box - $60

decent stereo home theater - ~$500

720p TV - ~$350 (on a good day)

homework/ web (Netbook/ top) - $400

PS3 - $400

Total: $1710

Total OP would spend on a computer with the same functionality: $700

So expensive to go with the computer instead right?... gosh... so stupid to pay an extra $300 over the PS3/ Xbox to gain the versatility/ future expandability of a PC plus all these multimedia features... yeah....

 

[Fhistleb]

He could just be special

 

[zerogear]

So much whining :] Just let the op get his pre-build.

 

[endlessmike133]

Honestly, go with these guys and the custom built (as in yourself) machine.

Do you know any good guides on building PCs?

 

[BoomerD]

Do you know any good guides on building PCs?

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=62434

http://computershopper.com/videos/help-how-to-videos/how-to-build-a-fast-pc-for-under-1-000


This really isn't very difficult...but you DO have to pay attention to the details.

 

[dac7nco]

Do you know any good guides on building PCs?

Us. Holy shit.

 

[Davidh373]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yer955E7T6w&feature=fvst

That is a pretty nice video. Obviously your parts will vary, and he made some brand choices I wouldn't have, and 950W PSU to power a 400W machine isn't my style. As far as the actual building of the machine it is a great video.

 

[HeXen]

oh i get it. a tightwad.....well shouldn't we be recommending Ebay?
Tons of good working parts, prebuilds for cheaper than retail.
My friend once got a used Alienware for $200 plus shipping. bit older but still plays all games dx9 level at 720p just fine.

 

[Fhistleb]

Us. Holy shit.

I saw that and just gave up on him.

 

[mfenn]

ugh my heads gonna ecplode, pc gaming is such a hassle; youd think some pc company wouldve figured it out by now and offer decent pcs @ a good price but nooooooooo, you have to spend a bajillion dollars and do it yourself! im about to say fudge it and buy a 3DS when it comes out or maybe an arcade stick for SSF4 or maybe some decent audio equipment so i can vibe to some good music; you know a hobby that doesnt cost thousands to get into and hundreds to upgrade every 2 years! PC Gamers wonder why PC gaming is dying, WELL THIS IS WHY: ITS A FRUSTRATING COMPLICATED HASSLE!

OP, you're right. It is too much of a hassle. You might as well just give up and buy a 3DS.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Do you know any good guides on building PCs?

noob

 

[Davidh373]

OP, you're right. It is too much of a hassle. You might as well just give up and buy a 3DS.

lol...

another example OP I equate to PC ownership.

3DS - $299.99

after NDSi XL - $200

After NDSi - $180

after NDS Lite - $250

after NDS - $250

They come out with a new DS every year, but do you need to buy it? No. It's just like a computer. Do you need to upgrade it every 2 years? No. With your resolution you're covered with the 460 1GB for at least 2 years unless some kind of tech tornado hits. Normally every new generation of tech in any part of a computer is just a modest improvement. You probably get 5% performance increase with every new launch of say graphics cards. I have admittedly bought a new card once every 2 years, but once it was because I got a new computer (my first custom build), the second was because I doubled the resolution of my monitors, and the third is going to be for my new gaming rig. Once I get the next card I'm pretty sure I'll be good for some time.

Now I personally like to buy new hardware often, but I also have quite a few computers. Once I get additional RAM, and an SSD for my workstation I'm pretty much set for a while. If I have extra money around I may buy an 8GB kit and an SSD for my gaming station. My point is I'm happy with performance now, but I like to upgrade. I CHOOSE to upgrade. One does not NEED to upgrade every two years, but CHOOSES.