• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Question Want to get back into gaming. What hardware do i need?

JEDI

JEDI

Lifer
it's been like 15 years since I gamed.
I used to play Doom, Age of Empires II, Civ III, Diablo II. (multiplayer)

what cpu do I need nowadays?
how much memory?
do I need a video card anymore since cpu's now come with a video card built in?
 
JEDI said:
what cpu do I need nowadays?
Click to expand...
Depends on your budget, what games you want to play, and at what resolutions.

how much memory?
Click to expand...
Most gamers are good with 16GB

do I need a video card anymore since cpu's now come with a video card built in?
Click to expand...
Yes. Onboard graphics are fine for casual gamers at low resolutions, but you will likely need a discrete GPU.

Here's a review of onboard graphics on a Ryzen CPU, and they are a lot better than what currently comes on Intel CPUs, but they're no match for a separate GPU.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/12425/marrying-vega-and-zen-the-amd-ryzen-5-2400g-review
 
[U]UsandThem[/U],
thx.

no idea what games I want to play but definitely multiplayer.

do games nowadays take advantage of dual monitors? (I have dual 1920x1080 monitors stacked on top of another)

right now I guess I'm looking for a budget gaming build that can handle dual monitor gaming
 
If you have 1440p or 4k monitor, discrete video card is the only way to go.

edit: oops, I didn't see your reply. You can get playable framerate from Ryzen 2400G's iGPU, but if you want a consistent 60fps@1080p with high detail, I recommend using RX580 8GB or GTX1060 6GB.
 
Last edited:
JEDI said:
no idea what games I want to play but definitely multiplayer.

do games nowadays take advantage of dual monitors? (I have dual 1920x1080 monitors stacked on top of another)

right now I guess I'm looking for a budget gaming build that can handle dual monitor gaming
Click to expand...
I sent you a PM about one of my gaming rigs that's ready to ship, but you might want more than a quad-core for multi-player. Some people go with a Ryzen 2700X or Intel 9900K for serious MP gaming. But that's $$$.

Most games won't do multi-monitor, at least, not without GPU vendor driver "help", like AMD's "Eyefinity", that makes the multi-monitor config look like a huge single display surface to the game.

I think that NVidia offers something similar, called "Surround Gaming", though not as refined.

Generally, though, you're better off with a single higher-res monitor for gaming. The secondary screen can be used for a browser, HW monitor, etc., while gaming on the primary.
 
UsandThem said:
What is your budget?
Click to expand...
no idea.

im used to $100 cpu/mobo combo deals from back in the day plus like $25 bang for the buck video card found on slick deals.
(and your article explains why there are no more sub $100 video card deals anymore.)
 
Yeah, those days are over. A CPU/motherboard/RAM combo will run you at least $350, and a GPU that will get you good frame rates on a 1080p monitor will run you another $150 and up.

Throw in the OS, case, a SSD, power supply, and hard drive, you will be over $650.

Sometimes it makes more sense to buy a prebuilt PC on sale at a place like Dell Outlet when looking at keeping the cost down. They usually have some PCs with a GPU like the RX 580 or GTX 1060 that would be good budget gaming PCs. Otherwise, if you build it yourself, it's really tough to keep the price low with the added expense of a gaming GPU.
 
JEDI said:
im used to $100 cpu/mobo combo deals from back in the day plus like $25 bang for the buck video card found on slick deals.
(and your article explains why there are no more sub $100 video card deals anymore.)
Click to expand...
Well, building new these days, you're looking at $200 minimum for a gaming-acceptable video card, and like $400 minimum for CPU/mobo/RAM, and $100-200 for case/PSU, and $200 for storage.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top