PC Building begginger needs help!

LeeMaher92

Hello everyone, I only recently decided that I wanted to build my own gaming computer. I plan to play games such as Civilization, Total War, The Sims, Gta and Skyrim but also want to be able to play the newest games with ease. So what kind of specs should I be looking for, how much would a pc like this cost and what would be a good starting pc which would be fully customisable and upgradable? Any help is much appreciated, thank you!

Gumbi

LeeMaher92 wrote: »

Hello everyone, I only recently decided that I wanted to build my own gaming computer. I plan to play games such as Civilization, Total War, The Sims, Gta and Skyrim but also want to be able to play the newest games with ease. So what kind of specs should I be looking for, how much would a pc like this cost and what would be a good starting pc which would be fully customisable and upgradable? Any help is much appreciated, thank you!

It depends on what settings you wish to play on, resolution, etc.

You could spend 600 euro, or 1200 euro. It all depends.

As fr as cutomisability, a good CPU, case and power supply will last you ~5 years. (depending, again, on your tolerance for settings, budget, etc.).

Best thing o do is to give us your budget, the resolution you wish to play at, whether you have any previous components you can use (DVD drive, windows licences, etc.).

LeeMaher92

Well im starting completely from scratch and this will be my first attempt at building a gaming computer so I will need to buy everything! I'd like to able to play on medium to high quality settings and would also like very good graphics! I have no set price range, for now I am just trying to find out roughly how much a system like this would cost?

BloodBath

Begginger? Is that a beginner-ginger?

Fill this in.

1. What is your budget? [€xxx]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming/Video editing/3D Modelling/HTPC/Internet] (If gaming include which games)

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes/No]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Hard drive/DVD Drive/Case/PSU/etc.] (If possible state brand and model of the parts to ensure compatibility)

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes/No]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [1920x1080/1440x900/etc.] [Yes/No]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No]

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser]

9. When are you purchasing? [In x days]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [South Dublin City/Cork City/Kerry/etc.]

LeeMaher92

BloodBath wrote: »

Begginger? Is that a beginner-ginger?
Hahaha no, thats just terrible spelling on my part man !

Fill this in.

1. What is your budget? [€500-€900]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming, Internet, list of games: Skyrim, Gta, Total War, Civilization, Sims, Football Manager, I also plan to mod on Skyrim/ Gta]

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [no]

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [24']

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future?

6. Do you need any of these ? [I need all peripherals]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No]

8. How can you pay? [Laser]

9. When are you purchasing? [not sure]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [Dublin but should be ok doing it myself]

LeeMaher92

Also I dont know what overclocking is and I need all peripherals

BloodBath

At the upper end of your budget. I went with the fx6300 cpu originally but if you aren't overclocking then there's no point. The games you listed are pretty cpu intensive and the i5 at stock speeds would probably still outperform an overclocked fx 6300 in those games.

Item|Price
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC Windforce 2X, 2GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort|€174.14
8GB-Kit A-DATA XPG G Series PC1600 CL9|€60.59
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€57.04
Cooler Master Force 500 Midi-Tower - schwarz, ohne Netzteil|€36.52
2 x ARCTIC COOLING ARCTIC F12|€6.32
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€46.52
LiteOn iHAS124-04 schwarz SATA|€16.56
LG 22EA53VQ-P|€125.83
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€85.73
ASUS PCE-N15|€14.90
Sharkoon Drakonia Gaming Laser Mouse|€24.26
Sharkoon Fire Glider Gaming Mat|€6.99
Intel Core i5-3330 Box, LGA1155|€154.98
ASRock B75 Pro3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€66.14
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€895.51

LeeMaher92

Sounds great! Would all of that hardware let me play those games on high settings no problem?

BloodBath

Yes you should be able to use high to max settings in most games. Really gpu intensive titles like metro or crysis 3 would need a few settings turned down but would still be med-high settings depending on what frame rate you want.

LeeMaher92

Brilliant! Can you recommend any keyboards? And is everything else i need on that list or do I need to buy any additional hardware, software or wiring?

BloodBath

You will have to get a keyboard elsewhere as the German layout is different. Any cheap keyboard will do. If you want something a bit better the Microsoft sidewinder would be a good choice.

This is a good cheap option.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sharkoon-Skiller-Keyboard/dp/B00B8UCCHA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374421570&sr=8-1&keywords=sharkoon+keyboard

I don't think you need anything else. Have you got speakers or headphones?

You could add an ssd drive in future as well.

LeeMaher92

That keyboard seems to be fine! Whats an ssd used for? And nope, could you recommend some good quality speakers?

BloodBath

A decent set of speakers or headphones will drive the price up. You could get something cheap for now if you want but I'd recommend these.

Speakers.

Headphones

An ssd is a solid state disk. It's a storage device like a hard drive but offers far faster speeds but limited storage space. It's good for your operating system and programs. It speeds up boot times a lot and loading times and just makes windows and programs installed on it a lot more responsive.

LeeMaher92

I'd prefer to spend that little bit extra for the better equipment! Hmm well I was planning to download quite a few games so I need a big hard drive, is it possible to have a hard drive and ssd at the same time?

BloodBath

Yes that's the ideal way.

A 120gb ssd would be perfect for windows, all your programs and a couple of games. You can use the hdd for other games and storage.

LeeMaher92

Could you recommend a specific one for my needs man?

BloodBath

http://www.hardwareversand.de/Solid-State-Disk/67795/Samsung+SSD+840+120GB+SATA+6Gb+s.article

You will need an additional sata cable as well.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/S-ATA/40716/LogiLink+SATA+Anschlusskabel+mit+Sicherungslasche%2C+0.5m.article

LeeMaher92

Great! Thanks a lot for all your help, all my questions are now answered!