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Need help with my Transition to pc gaming

T

TheJetPlane

Junior Member
Hi guys, im looking to switch from console to pc but have no knowledge on what is required. i see alot of people making "gaming pc" for under $350, but i dont know how reliable that would be for games like BF4 and DayZ.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
-pure gaming. Ex. BF4 & DayZ
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
-my budget is $350
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
-US
4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.
We can't be expected to scour the internet on your behalf, chasing down deals in your specific country... Again, help us, help YOU.
-N/A
5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
-AMD
6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
-None
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
-no overclocking
8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
-not really sure.
9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
-when i have everything ready.

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
 
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Do you already have a monitor you'll be using with this PC?

If you're starting completely from scratch you'll need to double your budget. Do you have access to a Microcenter nearby?
 
Resolution is usually specified how many pixels "long", i.e 1600 and how many pixels "wide", i.e 900. You multiply the numbers together to get the total amount of pixels that need to be drawn.

Lower resolutions tax the GPU less. Of course, the tradeoff is less detail at those lower resolutions.
 
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i have absolutely no components for this pc. i can double my budget but it will just add time to when i can actually purchase the parts. Like i said i have little to no experience with building my own pc, but i am computer savvy.

If by a microcenter you mean something like a local radioshack then yes.
 
Torn Mind said:
http://www.microcenter.com/

Micro Center sells certain CPUs at discounted prices. Those who are fortunate to be near one can benefit from those cheaper prices.
Click to expand...

I actually might have a store nearby like that. Ill go check it out tomorrow. Im aware this is going to consume a lot of my time and money but im very eager to switch to pc. do you think it would be worth it? because console has ps4 coming out soon that is said to be pretty close to the pc gaming experience along the lines of the 64 player servers and such.
 
In my opinion, a gaming rig should be able to at least run heavy-duty games at medium settings (1080p), while still maintaining a good frame rate. Including the OS, the minimum budget should be around $450.
 
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I personally am not really a gamer. I've only played and finished one actual PC game in my life (The Witcher, which is old), so I can't really say if its worth it to sell your console and your entire collection. The rest of my gaming experience has been with playing really old console games on emulators or playing SNES games. 😀 I'll let the more experienced gamers do the talking.
 
ha yeah i play pokemon on emulators to pass time during travel but i appreciate your inputs and if you have anymore suggestions on my build. please man i am all eyes
 
Since you have nothing, which means you would need operating system, keyboard, mouse, monitor and speakers/headset, I'm not sure this is worth it. I don't think doubling your budget is enough when you take all that into account, honestly. I think you're looking at $800 as the bare minimum if you want to get a really satisfying experience, preferably $1000.

Now, if you're willing to turn all the settings way down it's doable I suppose, but honestly what's the point? Why spend all that money for something that's not really an upgrade over consoles, unless you're really sold on playing the types of games that are just better on the PC from an interface/control standpoint like FPSs.
 
DSF said:
Since you have nothing, which means you would need operating system, keyboard, mouse, monitor and speakers/headset, I'm not sure this is worth it. I don't think doubling your budget is enough when you take all that into account, honestly. I think you're looking at $800 as the bare minimum if you want to get a really satisfying experience, preferably $1000.

Now, if you're willing to turn all the settings way down it's doable I suppose, but honestly what's the point? Why spend all that money for something that's not really an upgrade over consoles, unless you're really sold on playing the types of games that are just better on the PC from an interface/control standpoint like FPSs.
Click to expand...

The PC is a much more flexible platform. You can play older games, mmos, strategy games, indie games, etc. That are not available on consoles. There is also a wide variety of cheap games on steam.

However, a PS4 might not be a bad choice at around 400.00. If you are going to be building a gaming PC, I would advise putting together a decent system on the level of an i3 or FX 6300 with a HD 7770 or 650ti.

Other posters can price out a system better than I, but for sure 350.00 is way low, especially if you need the OS. I would think you are looking at the 700 to 800 dollar range.
 
Console gaming isn't bad either. PC gaming just gives you more freedom (but at a nasty price!) I think you should just stick to console gaming for now.
 
I have a question. Is he missing out on much if he gets a 1600x900 monitor instead of a 1920x1080 monitor so he can fit in a weaker GPU without losing frames per second?
 
Torn Mind said:
I have a question. Is he missing out on much if he gets a 1600x900 monitor instead of a 1920x1080 monitor so he can fit in a weaker GPU without losing frames per second?
Click to expand...

No, I think that's fine. I still play on 1680x1050 and have no complaints. However, frozentundra brought up a good point. Maybe we should back up a step and see what kind of games the OP actually wants to play.
 
At the top he says DayZ and BF4...

If OP has a TV, maybe that could avoid the price of a monitor?

You can put SOMETHING together for <~$350...but it probably isn't gonna be pretty.
 
Oh right, he did mention that, which was why I made the original comment about $800-1000. I just don't think $350 is even going to be worth the attempt.
 
The rig in my sig with the Celeron G550 would come close to $350 with Windows installed (I haven't gotten around to that), and I used Ebay for a couple things like the hard drive and a TV tuner(not listed). No room for even a 7750. He would have to buy used.
 
DSF said:
No, I think that's fine. I still play on 1680x1050 and have no complaints. However, frozentundra brought up a good point. Maybe we should back up a step and see what kind of games the OP actually wants to play.
Click to expand...

I gamed for several years at 1440 x 900 and it was decent, but I recently went to 1080 and much prefer it. Thing is, I don't think there are a lot of 1680 x 1050 monitors available. 1080p seems pretty much the baseline for monitors now. Maybe a cheap used monitor???

If he uses a TV it would probably have to be 1080 or 768, don't think there is anything in between.
 
$350 really becomes $250 when you consider that the OP needs a Windows license. The least expensive GPU that could play new releases reasonably well at something other than all low is a 7770, which is normally $90, but there is a nice deal on a PowerColor one for $70

Celeron G1610 $50
MSI B85M-P33 $65
G.Skill DDR3 1600 4GB $34
PowerColor 7770 $69 AR AP
WD Blue 500GB $60
Corsair CX430 $45
Cooler Master Elite 431 $35 AR
Windows 7 $100
Total: $458 AR AP

So that's $100 over your budget before monitor, keyboard, and mouse. I'm just not sure that it's possible to build a gaming PC (i.e. a PC with a respectable GPU) for under $350 including OS and peripherals.
 
So in the end, OP has to either add 100 bucks to his budget, or buy the PS4 instead. I think he should just stick to consoles, as even 450 dollar builds, like mfenn's, won't have much power and won't be future-proof
 
RayTheKing said:
So in the end, OP has to either add 100 bucks to his budget, or buy the PS4 instead. I think he should just stick to consoles, as even 450 dollar builds, like mfenn's, won't have much power and won't be future-proof
Click to expand...
mfenn's build has PLENTY of power and has an upgrade path.

I would not get a console when PC games are CHEAPER and get more support than a console.
 
T_Yamamoto said:
mfenn's build has PLENTY of power and has an upgrade path.

I would not get a console when PC games are CHEAPER and get more support than a console.
Click to expand...

Most modern PCs are upgradable. I also don't agree with you on the power. HD 7770 is decent (would get it over a GTX 650 anyday), but with the current and upcoming games that hunger for so much GPU power, I doubt that it has "PLENTY of power". But, I've heard that the CPU isn't too shabby for 50 bucks 😀

PS: It completely depends on what games (and how many) OP plays to decide whether PC is a better choice over the PS4...
 
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