New to PC gaming and could use some help.

[metanight78]

Hello. I'm looking to get into PC gaming, since the new consoles are looking dumber by the minute. I would like some advise on what would be a good set up that would last me for at least 5 years without having to upgrade any major components. I'm not going to be playing anything like Crysis so i don't need the super top of the line hardware, but i will be playing mid range requirement games like Sid Meier's Civilization 5 and Team Fortress 2.
The amount I'm willing to spend can vary, all i want is something that is reliable and will last as a pc even when the components are too outdated and it's time to get a new gaming pc.

Any help would be appreciated, as i said, I'm very new to pc gaming.

update. Here is the answers to the questions on:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121

1. I already have a work pc that is being used for everything right now.
I want to make a PC just for, and only for, gaming.

2. My price range can vary. But I'd like to spend around $1000.

3. I live in the United States, and I plan on buying my parts from online
stores such as Tigerdirect.

4. N/A

5. I have no brand preference. however 9 out of 10 of the games i have, or want, recommend Nvidia for graphics. I don't care about the brands of the other components as long as they work together.

6. This will be my first non laptop pc. So the only previous part I'm using will be my gaming mouse.

7. I'm not sure what overclocking is. I'll need to do more research.

8. Don't care what resolution it is.

9. I plan on building it starting next year when i have some more money.

X. I'll purchase what ever I need to get in terms of software.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

A good place to start is here:http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2192841
Also, you might want to re-post in the General Hardware forum.

 

[shortylickens]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6490/holiday-2012-small-form-factor-buyers-guide/4

 

[metanight78]

thank you both.
I'll repost in the general hardware forum, and read the guides. thanks.

---

I saved you the time and moved this thread for you.

We hope you enjoy yourself on our forums.

Harvey
Senior AnandTech Moderator/Administrator

 

[mfenn]

A good place to start is here:http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2192841
Also, you might want to re-post in the General Hardware forum.

:thumbsup: Thanks.

OP, in general you're not going to be able to buy a PC that will handle all the latest games for 5 years without upgrades. That's what consoles are for.

You could certainly spend $3000 trying, but you'd be getting very bad value for money. What you can do is spend a reasonable amount of money up front, say $1000, and only need to make one upgrade (GPU) in around 2-3 years.

It would also help if you updated your post with the answers to these questions.

 

[metanight78]

:thumbsup: Thanks.

OP, in general you're not going to be able to buy a PC that will handle all the latest games for 5 years without upgrades. That's what consoles are for.

You could certainly spend $3000 trying, but you'd be getting very bad value for money. What you can do is spend a reasonable amount of money up front, say $1000, and only need to make one upgrade (GPU) in around 2-3 years.

It would also help if you updated your post with the answers to these questions.

ok here's the answers to the question you led me to.

1. I already have a work pc that is being used for everything right now.
I want to make a PC just for, and only for, gaming.

2. My price range can vary. But I'd like to spend around $1000.

3. I live in the United States, and I plan on buying my parts from online
stores such as Tigerdirect.

4. N/A

5. I have no brand preference. however 9 out of 10 of the games i have, or want, recommend Nvidia for graphics. I don't care about the brands of the other components as long as they work together.

6. This will be my first non laptop pc. So the only previous part I'm using will be my gaming mouse.

7. I'm not sure what overclocking is. I'll need to do more research.

8. Don't care what resolution it is.

9. I plan on building it starting next year when i have some more money.

X. I'll purchase what ever I need to get in terms of software.

 

[Essence_of_War]

9. I plan on building it starting next year when i have some more money.

It's really hard to make hardware recommendations that far off...heck, it's hard to make hardware recommendations for someone ordering a few weeks away because deals shift, price points change, etc.

I'm sure folks here would be happy to give you an idea of what 1k might get for you now, but it would probably be much more prudent to come back on the order of a week or weeks before you'd like to order parts so that we can try to get you the best value for your money.

 

[metanight78]

Well, because I'm so new to this, I'd like some advise on just what is "good" hard ware. Even though it is a long time off before I build it Just some basic info such as. "Brand x is better than Brand Y for type Z gaming." As i said in the OP, the only thing I know for sure right now is that I want some sort of Nvidia card because so many of my games recommend that brand of GPU.

 

[frozentundra123456]

For a 1000.00 gaming rig intel is the best choice for cpu, either an i5 or i7, that would be 4670k or 4770k, along with a motherboard that allows overclocking down the road if you should so desire. I dont see any cpu coming out before the end of the year that will change that recommendation. You also will have the budget for a mid/high range gpu, but there may be new models out by then that would change the recommendation one could make now. All the other parts, as others said, it would be better to wait till closer to build time to make choices, depending on price drops, sales, etc.

1000.00 dollars is a pretty good budget though, so you should be able to put together a nice gaming rig.

Edit: Just wondering what you meant by consoles are "getting dumber". The next gen consoles are shaping up to be quite nice, especially the PS4, but a PC will allow a much wider variety of games that are not on the console, as well as access to older cheap games on Steam.

 

[mfenn]

Well, because I'm so new to this, I'd like some advise on just what is "good" hard ware. Even though it is a long time off before I build it Just some basic info such as. "Brand x is better than Brand Y for type Z gaming." As i said in the OP, the only thing I know for sure right now is that I want some sort of Nvidia card because so many of my games recommend that brand of GPU.

Don't be so sure about Nvidia. A "The Way It's Meant to Be Played" game doesn't necessarily get enough of a performance boost to make it worth it over an AMD game. Same goes for a "Gaming Evolved" game. Both AMD and Nvidia are perfectly viable options.

It all comes down to what is better price/performance when you're ready to buy. And like Essence pointed out, you're way to far from purchase to make any sort of decisions on parts.

A general sketch is:

CPU $150
Motherboard $100
RAM $60
GPU $260
HDD $60
PSU $50
Case $50
Keyboard $20
Monitor $150
Windows $100
Total: $1000

 

[Sleepingforest]

Keep in mind that deals will shift around and prices have a generally downward trend, so you'll have to do some shopping around. Generally speaking, you should be spending the most on the GPU.

Also, mfenn, I think you missed a zero there on your total .

 

[Essence_of_War]

2nd'ing the general sentiment of being flexible with your gpu choice.

Depending on when you buy, one gpu manufacturer or the other may be offering better deals for the money. For example, right now, the HD7970 and GTX770 are quite close in gaming benchmarks. But I can find a GHz 7970 for $330 shipped, AR while basically every GTX770 retails for ~$400. Even if the 770 edges out the 7970GHz in benches, I think you'd have a VERY tough time selling me on it overperforming it to the tune of +$70 of value!

 

[mfenn]

Keep in mind that deals will shift around and prices have a generally downward trend, so you'll have to do some shopping around. Generally speaking, you should be spending the most on the GPU.

Also, mfenn, I think you missed a zero there on your total .

Sorry, I was operating with T_Yamamoto math.

 

[metanight78]

First. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread.

Mfenn, thanks for your break down of around how much to spend.
Essence of War, Thank you for clearing that up about GPU's> I was under the
impression that Nvida was the best hands down, and the others weren't as good. I'll need to do some more research in that area.

And.

Edit: Just wondering what you meant by consoles are "getting dumber". The next gen consoles are shaping up to be quite nice, especially the PS4, but a PC will allow a much wider variety of games that are not on the console, as well as access to older cheap games on Steam.

I'm mostly talking about how consoles are having more and more DRC that
constricts the playing of those games. And while Steam does have DRC it's (in my opinion) less restrictive than what ps4 is doing requiring a premium account to play online multiplayer. My opinion of the Xbox One is still undecided since they keep changing their minds. It doesn't help that the games are (with exceptions) are getting more and more "by committee", and more corporate. PC games still have a larger degree of what they are willing to risk. That what I mean by consoles are getting dumber.

 

[RayTheKing]

If you don't care about the resolution, it would save you a ton if you get a 900p monitor and a HD 7870/7850.

 

[Pogolauncher]

Im building a gaming PC for around $400, it will run the games you mentioned, probably on full settings. I have it benchmarked to run Battlefield 3 on High settings without frame rate lag.

I could send you the wish list on amazon if you like.

If you are willing to spend more, you should check out 'duncan3303'(AustinEvans) on youtube, he does multiple builds, there is one for a $1000 if you want to check that out, or ones for $800 which leaves money for peripherals.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Speaking of budget gaming builds, I'm looking to build a pair of budget gaming rigs. Here's what I have thus far:

Biostar H61 mobo, new from geeks.com: $34.99 FS
Intel G1610 2.5Ghz IB dual-core CPU: $34.99 + tax Microcenter
RAM: Have some 8GB (2x4GB) Crucial Ballistix Sport somewhere, could buy 8GB DDR3-1600 at Newegg for $53.99 FS right now
HDD: Either an 80GB Intel X25-M G2 from TD for around $90 shipped, or a 120GB IDE refurb drive from Newegg that cost me $9.99 FS, along with a SATA-to-IDE adaptor from meritline for like $5.
Optical: DVD-RW, $17 at Newegg on sale, $15.99 + tax at Microcenter
Case+PSU: Xion Solaris XON-403 from geeks.com, with 450W PSU, for ~$42 shipped.
Maybe add an Antec VP-450 to power the GPU.

Newegg currently has a blower-style 7770 GE for $89.99 FS no rebate.

total is: $273, plus PSU plus GPU plus Windows 7 64-bit.

 

[mfenn]

total is: $273, plus PSU plus GPU plus Windows 7 64-bit.

So really more like $500.