Building a Gaming PC / Getting into PC Gaming

[Microcosm]

I've decided I want to build a gaming PC. I'm 14 so I don't have that much money. Right now I have about $300 but I'm willing to save for maybe a year or so by then I might have about $600-$800. I know close to nothing about building a good gaming PC. I have a very limited tech knowledge. For the past 2-3 years I've been playing casually on and off with PC gaming but I think if I had a really good PC I'd like it a lot more. Anyways right now I have a pretty good laptop that can run CS:GO perfectly. So I'm thinking I'll be okay with this for now, but I plan on getting into games that require more like Battlefield 4(on decently high graphics). Anyways I need advice on two things:
- I mainly need advice on how I would go about building a PC, recommended parts, etc.
- I also need advice on maybe how I would find people to play with? Like how can I begin to fit into the gaming community on PC. Like finding friends online that play specific games like BF4 or something.

Thanks. Also when you respond, please quote this post so that it will show up in my notifications when you respond. Your advice is appreciated.

[Abyssal Echo]

I'm not much help because I don't have a lot of tech knowledge but, I know CharlieHorse built his own computer and it's working great. You might want to talk to Clockwork too he's done a lot with computers and is getting ready to build his own. Hope this helps ya.

[Kacey]

I've decided I want to build a gaming PC. I'm 14 so I don't have that much money. Right now I have about $300 but I'm willing to save for maybe a year or so by then I might have about $600-$800. I know close to nothing about building a good gaming PC. I have a very limited tech knowledge. For the past 2-3 years I've been playing casually on and off with PC gaming but I think if I had a really good PC I'd like it a lot more. Anyways right now I have a pretty good laptop that can run CS:GO perfectly. So I'm thinking I'll be okay with this for now, but I plan on getting into games that require more like Battlefield 4(on decently high graphics). Anyways I need advice on two things:
- I mainly need advice on how I would go about building a PC, recommended parts, etc.
- I also need advice on maybe how I would find people to play with? Like how can I begin to fit into the gaming community on PC. Like finding friends online that play specific games like BF4 or something.

Thanks. Also when you respond, please quote this post so that it will show up in my notifications when you respond. Your advice is appreciated.

To get reccomendations, there is a neat little subreddit dedicated to that.
As for finding friends, just play online a bunch.

[Silicate Wielder]

I've decided I want to build a gaming PC. I'm 14 so I don't have that much money. Right now I have about $300 but I'm willing to save for maybe a year or so by then I might have about $600-$800. I know close to nothing about building a good gaming PC. I have a very limited tech knowledge. For the past 2-3 years I've been playing casually on and off with PC gaming but I think if I had a really good PC I'd like it a lot more. Anyways right now I have a pretty good laptop that can run CS:GO perfectly. So I'm thinking I'll be okay with this for now, but I plan on getting into games that require more like Battlefield 4(on decently high graphics). Anyways I need advice on two things:
- I mainly need advice on how I would go about building a PC, recommended parts, etc.
- I also need advice on maybe how I would find people to play with? Like how can I begin to fit into the gaming community on PC. Like finding friends online that play specific games like BF4 or something.

Thanks. Also when you respond, please quote this post so that it will show up in my notifications when you respond. Your advice is appreciated.

Okay, so about $400-$600 but you can go to $800? I found a list on PC part picker and created two variants of it, I prefer having two fans just to keep it cool. They're in the $450 to $500 price range, you can remove the fans if you want, and you can easily find a different case that you like more using the site these lists are hosted on.

$477.99: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/PCclockWork/saved/nCbdnQ
$496.43: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/PCclockWork/saved/Yhyypg

Hope this helps, either build should work just fine on about any game out there, albeit you may have to turn down your settings to get a smooth/stable frame rate. You can also include a monitor if you don't already have one or want a new one.

s for your computer building knowledge, i suggest checking YouTube for guides on building a PC.

[Microcosm]

Okay, so about $400-$600 but you can go to $800? I found a list on PC part picker and created two variants of it, I prefer having two fans just to keep it cool. They're in the $450 to $500 price range, you can remove the fans if you want, and you can easily find a different case that you like more using the site these lists are hosted on.

$477.99: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/PCclockWork/saved/nCbdnQ
$496.43: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/PCclockWork/saved/Yhyypg

Hope this helps, either build should work just fine on about any game out there, albeit you may have to turn down your settings to get a smooth/stable frame rate. You can also include a monitor if you don't already have one or want a new one.

s for your computer building knowledge, i suggest checking YouTube for guides on building a PC.

Thanks, Clockwork! This really helped a lot. I will definitely look into these builds.

[Uranus]

Good luck in your project!!!

[Body odah Man]

Good luck!

[Sugaree]

I've decided I want to build a gaming PC. I'm 14 so I don't have that much money. Right now I have about $300 but I'm willing to save for maybe a year or so by then I might have about $600-$800. I know close to nothing about building a good gaming PC. I have a very limited tech knowledge. For the past 2-3 years I've been playing casually on and off with PC gaming but I think if I had a really good PC I'd like it a lot more. Anyways right now I have a pretty good laptop that can run CS:GO perfectly. So I'm thinking I'll be okay with this for now, but I plan on getting into games that require more like Battlefield 4(on decently high graphics). Anyways I need advice on two things:
- I mainly need advice on how I would go about building a PC, recommended parts, etc.
- I also need advice on maybe how I would find people to play with? Like how can I begin to fit into the gaming community on PC. Like finding friends online that play specific games like BF4 or something.

Thanks. Also when you respond, please quote this post so that it will show up in my notifications when you respond. Your advice is appreciated.

Building on a sub-$1000 budget is pretty difficult. My advice is to save your video card of choice for last. Now, that doesn't mean go all out on your processor, mobo, RAM, and everything else. You can make a decent and highly upgradeable system without really spending too much.

For processors, you're limited who you can choose from. AMD's FX line of processors offer really great out-of-the-box speed and are cheaper, but Intel also has its new processor architecture coming later this year (possibly). If you're going to go the Intel route, the i7 4770k is basically all you need. The current architecture is going to go down in price soon, so those 4770k models with that arch structure are going to go quick. If you're going AMD, the FX-8230 is great. Just don't stick with stock coolers. If you're going to be gaming and want the best performance while still taking everything as far as you can, then an aftermarket cooler is an essential. The Cooler Master Hyper EVO 212 is a cheap and surprisingly efficient option. You can also go for water cooling, but expect to pay more for that.

Motherboards are tricky. Since both AMD and Intel have their own socket designs, you're stuck with that specific socket and have to go with a compatible motherboard. AMD uses A3+ and Intel, I believe, still uses LGA 2011. Motherboards can be made to look flashy and cool, but the best brands to stick with, in my experience, are MSI and Asus.

RAM, again, is tricky. My recommendation is to stick with DDR3 at 1866 Mhz. Anything above 1866 Mhz, right now, is worthless because you can't take full advantage of it. Recommended brands would be G.Skill and Corsair.

Storage is perhaps the most crucial part of PC building. Now you have one of three options:

1. Mechanical storage
2. Hybrid storage
3. Flash storage

Mechanical storage is your best bet. Hybrid storage is still relatively new, and flash storage is actually not that bad. However, since you're on a budget, going with a 1 TB mechanical drive like a Western Digital Caviar Black would fit your needs just fine. If you want, you could get a small solid state drive, but those drives are more for people who wants their software and applications to start faster than they normally would. My recommendation is if you're going to get an SSD, put your OS on there. That way you can boot up Windows or Linux or whatever you run quickly and get to what you want.

Moving on to video cards. Well, again, you're stuck with who makes the chipset of the card: NVidia or AMD. Being a big open source and free software kind of guy, I appreciate AMD cards and hardware more than NVidia because I can actually see what they include in their drivers and change it if possible. That being said, AMD lacks a lot of features that NVidia has (namely PhysX, which is NVidia exclusive and does make a difference in how realistic motions are in-game). However, AMD also offers cheaper cards with similar or better specs than NVidia cards. Like most other things, the manufacturer of the card itself does matter. MSI and Gigabyte are VERY good AMD makers (even though they make both chipsets). For NVidia, EVGA and MSI are pretty good, but I don't have much experience with MSI on their NVidia cards.

When looking for a case, prioritize. Depending on the size of motherboard you're getting (which, in this case, would be ATX), you need to get the proper case. Cooler Master and Corsair make good, low profile, low noise cases. What you want in a case is air flow and upgrade ability. Most ATX sized cases are just fine on the upgrade scale. Again, Cooler Master and Corsair make wonderfully cooled cases with great stock fans in them.

When it comes to keyboards, mice, speakers, networking cards...that's up to you. I suspect that you'll need a wireless connector, and I would recommend that you get an INTERNAL PCIe card. Don't go for the USB dongles, they're absolutely useless and will not get you proper speeds.

Finally, don't fall for any of the "GAMING" bullshit. I can't tell you how many motherboards, RAM sticks, and a myriad of other things that I've seen with "GAMING EDITION" plastered on and they run the exact same as the next product with no improvement. That's not saying to not buy them, but just be aware that, 9 times out of 10, it's a gimmick to get you to spend a lot more money than you really need to spend.

[phuckphace]

I splurged a bit when I built my PC, but it has aged pretty well over the last ~4 years.

CPU: I personally prefer Intel, although AMD's newest line is a lot better than the slow mediocre crap they used to turn out, which is the main reason I went with an i7-2600K at the time. i7s are generally a waste of money if you only plan to game, so an i5 would be ideal for you.

Cooler: I have the Noctua NH-D14 (http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NH-D14-Heatpipe-Bearing-Cooler/dp/B002VKVZ1A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421222706&sr=8-1&keywords=Noctua+NH-d14). best cooler I've ever used, but I would strongly recommend against getting one unless you're going to seriously overclock. otherwise, the Coolermaster Hyper 212 works great.

liquid cooling is a waste of money, avoid it.


Power supply: don't ever cheap out on a PSU no matter how tight your budget is. avoid any and all off-brands or PSUs priced so low it's too good to be true. cheap PSUs like to explode and fry all your components. Go with something like this (http://www.amazon.com/Seasonic-M12II-750-Bronze-Modular-Supply/dp/B00607JN1E/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1421222958&sr=8-11&keywords=seasonic+PSU) (Corsair is good too, in fact most Corsair PSUs are rebranded Seasonics.) whatever you do, make sure it's modular (detachable power cables) and don't ever buy a Rosewill.

Memory: I have 16GB of G.Skill 1600, but I use a lot of virtual machines and RAMdisks. if you're just going to game, 8GB is plenty.

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blacks are the best platter drives. if you want an SSD, get a small one like this (http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-Inch-adapter-Internal-CT120M500SSD1/dp/B00BQ4F9ZA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1421223297&sr=8-3&keywords=crucial+M5+ssd) to run Windows and software, and use the platter drive for games and storage.

Video: Asus and EVGA make good cards, from both GPU vendors. I won't comment on NVIDIA vs. AMD, but you should definitely pay attention to the cooler the card comes with. look for a high-quality cooler like this one (http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-R9270X-DC2T-2GD5-Graphics-Cards/dp/B00FW4A5YU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1421223599&sr=8-2&keywords=directCU+video+card) and avoid crappy reference coolers like this one (http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperClocked-DisplayPort-Graphics-02G-P4-2682-KR/dp/B007KC1R9E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1421223676&sr=8-3&keywords=NVIDIA+680) (very poor cooling performance and loud as fuck.)

I'll be back to add more if I think of anything.

Finally, don't fall for any of the "GAMING" bullshit. I can't tell you how many motherboards, RAM sticks, and a myriad of other things that I've seen with "GAMING EDITION" plastered on and they run the exact same as the next product with no improvement. That's not saying to not buy them, but just be aware that, 9 times out of 10, it's a gimmick to get you to spend a lot more money than you really need to spend.

couldn't agree more.

[DoodleSnap]

If you are planning on building the PC in a couple of years, research the specs then, as parts and system requirements in games move on every year.. As for now, I would just watch a few build-log/guide videos, and learn about what each basic component in a PC does. Have a look at Fast as Possible, Tech Quickie, and LinusTechTips on Youtube.