GameDadGrant Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 Hey y’all. As the topic says, I’m looking to either build or buy a new gaming rig. I’ve never done this before, so hoping to tap into your collective knowledge. Whats a good brand to start off with? I’ve heard suggestions for something called “Skytech” and another called “Cyberpower” are these better than an HP or Alienware? Also, how much RAM should I look to get? 8 GB work well enough? Also wanna take suggestions on processors. Intel? Ryzen? Something else? The budget is also like, $700. If possible. Thanks in advance...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finaljedi Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 Price out building it yourself vs buying one prebuilt. It's not hard, the motherboard manual will tell you what to do for the most part and there are plenty of good youtube videos not made by The Verge on how to build a PC. If you live near a MicroCenter then you can get a good price on processor/motherboard combos. I'd do 16GB of RAM and I've been partial to the AMD Ryzen processors lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbsolutSurgen Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 https://pcpartpicker.com/ You'll want to start with 16 GB of RAM. https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-pc-builds,4390.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 @cusideabelincoln Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paperclyp Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 28 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said: https://pcpartpicker.com/ You'll want to start with 16 GB of RAM. https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-pc-builds,4390.html This and if you’re really serious about building one there are several board members who can give excellent advice. I built my first PC about 3-4 years ago now and it has been one of my favorite purchases ever. And it’s fun (albeit a little scary) to put it all together. The users on the PC boards were really helpful. Not sure if he’s still around but I believe @NextGen provided a lot of help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HGLatinBoy Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 never forget 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cusideabelincoln Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 Cyberpower will offer a better bang for the buck than HP or Alienate. $700 is a pretty tight budget, but doable. How long do you want this to last? Strategy can be to maximize performance now, or build something that you can dump more money into a few years from now through upgrades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 You’re so into portable gaming why not go for a laptop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 24 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said: You’re so into portable gaming why not go for a laptop? Go for a desktop then stream via the Steam iOS/Android app With your budget, AMD is the route you want to go for your CPU, GPU is probably something like a 1660 Ti, definitely 16gb of RAM. Look for a 1tb m.2 SSD that’s on sale in the $70-80 range for a boot and gaming drive, and a 2-4tb 7200rpm HDD for storage. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 7 minutes ago, Spork3245 said: Go for a desktop then stream via the Steam iOS/Android app Or just get a Stadia! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 7 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said: Or just get a Stadia! Not a PC/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 10 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said: Or just get a Stadia! Because even a shitty computer will outlast Google’s Stadia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 12 minutes ago, Spork3245 said: Not a PC/10 But you can get PC quality performance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nokt Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 1 hour ago, Keyser_Soze said: You’re so into portable gaming why not go for a laptop? Relevant subreddit https://www.reddit.com/r/LaptopDeals/ Every deal has a price range before you even click the link so you know what you price range you are looking at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 16 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said: But you can get PC quality performance! And negative latency via the game playing for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cusideabelincoln Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 Also are you going to need a monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, controllers for $700 too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbsolutSurgen Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 What style of games are you trying to play on this PC? (I am assuming you recognize that this PC will likely not compete with the PS5/Durango that are released next year.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 39 minutes ago, Spork3245 said: And negative latency via the game playing for you This is @GameDadGrant we're talking about here. He won't be able to tell. Heck he'll probably build this PC and make a thread that says, "I don't see what the big deal with PC gaming is" after struggling to run a game or something. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GameDadGrant Posted October 17, 2019 Author Share Posted October 17, 2019 Thanks for all the advise, everyone! Wow, 16GB is recommended? I was thinking 8GB would suffice...and might work better for the budget. I may opt for a pre-built one. Work has been ramping up lately and I don’t have much time to sit down and get involved with something like that. Plus I’m lazy, so there is that. Lulz. The kind of games that will likely be played on it are stuff like Minecraft and Fortnite. Maybe a few other games of that ilk. The kid is gonna be using it, not me. (So no laptop) It doesn’t have to be a powerhouse...probably looking to last 4 or 5 years. Also it will be used for homework and things like that. 53 minutes ago, cusideabelincoln said: Also are you going to need a monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, controllers for $700 too? Got a monitor, mouse and keyboard. Snap, didn’t think speakers would be separate...didn’t even think of a controller! (Isn’t KB/M superior anyway?) 13 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said: This is @GameDadGrant we're talking about here. He won't be able to tell. Heck he'll probably build this PC and make a thread that says, "I don't see what the big deal with PC gaming is" after struggling to run a game or something. Hey. Don’t tell people things that are true about me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 6 minutes ago, GameDadGrant said: Got a monitor, mouse and keyboard. Snap, didn’t think speakers would be separate...didn’t even think of a controller! (Isn’t KB/M superior anyway?) Not for a racing game or some sort of platformer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbsolutSurgen Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 26 minutes ago, GameDadGrant said: Thanks for all the advise, everyone! Wow, 16GB is recommended? I was thinking 8GB would suffice...and might work better for the budget. I may opt for a pre-built one. Work has been ramping up lately and I don’t have much time to sit down and get involved with something like that. Plus I’m lazy, so there is that. Lulz. The kind of games that will likely be played on it are stuff like Minecraft and Fortnite. Maybe a few other games of that ilk. The kid is gonna be using it, not me. (So no laptop) It doesn’t have to be a powerhouse...probably looking to last 4 or 5 years. Also it will be used for homework and things like that. Got a monitor, mouse and keyboard. Snap, didn’t think speakers would be separate...didn’t even think of a controller! (Isn’t KB/M superior anyway?) Hey. Don’t tell people things that are true about me. The price range will work great for Fortnite and Minecraft -- but keep in mind it will struggle with new AAA games at high settings (particularly when the new consoles come out) -- you may want to get a new GPU in a few years if your kid is planning on playing AAA games. Building will almost always result in a better computer for the $$$, and the building part doesn't take that long. A KB/M is better for First person games (and some third person ones). However, you want to play DMC5, Celeste, Forza, Assassin's Creed, etc. with a controller. My kids play Roblox a fair bit, and they alternate between KB/M and controller based on the game they are playing. If you have an Xbox One controller that supports Bluetooth, that will work perfectly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bacon Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 I know this is advice that gets told often around this time of year, but there are a lot of discounts and sales coming in just over a month from now. There is also nothing wrong with buying parts over the course of a few months if you aren't in a hurry. To me, $700 just doesn't seem like enough. I would personally wait until I had more, even if that takes awhile. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cusideabelincoln Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 To build your own on that budget is doable but to get the best value you'll want to check slickdeals and reddit/buildapcsales daily for super sales. Since you may be short on time Cyberpower does have good options for your budget. Also you can start out with 8gb of RAM and add more later, since system builders upcharged on RAM heavily. 8gb is fine for most games, only 2019 AAA releases need more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GameDadGrant Posted October 17, 2019 Author Share Posted October 17, 2019 2 hours ago, AbsolutSurgen said: The price range will work great for Fortnite and Minecraft -- but keep in mind it will struggle with new AAA games at high settings (particularly when the new consoles come out) -- you may want to get a new GPU in a few years if your kid is planning on playing AAA games. Building will almost always result in a better computer for the $$$, and the building part doesn't take that long. A KB/M is better for First person games (and some third person ones). However, you want to play DMC5, Celeste, Forza, Assassin's Creed, etc. with a controller. My kids play Roblox a fair bit, and they alternate between KB/M and controller based on the game they are playing. If you have an Xbox One controller that supports Bluetooth, that will work perfectly. Okay, cool. Yeah, Roblox is another game that is likely to be played. Might pick up an XBONE controller for sure, since you mention platformers are better with that. Thanks! 1 hour ago, Bacon said: I know this is advice that gets told often around this time of year, but there are a lot of discounts and sales coming in just over a month from now. There is also nothing wrong with buying parts over the course of a few months if you aren't in a hurry. To me, $700 just doesn't seem like enough. I would personally wait until I had more, even if that takes awhile. Good point...though time is of the essence since the kids' birthday is next week. May look into getting more RAM down the line, as needed. Thanks! 27 minutes ago, cusideabelincoln said: To build your own on that budget is doable but to get the best value you'll want to check slickdeals and reddit/buildapcsales daily for super sales. Since you may be short on time Cyberpower does have good options for your budget. Also you can start out with 8gb of RAM and add more later, since system builders upcharged on RAM heavily. 8gb is fine for most games, only 2019 AAA releases need more. Right on. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eggydoo Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 If the kids are just gonna play fortnite, roblox and minecraft, it should be pretty easy to stay in budget or even less as long as the PC isn't using onboard GPU. My daughter plays similar games along with Stardew Valley and Slime Rancher and I bought her a used PC with a 940, 1st gen i7, and 8gb RAM. Buy $20 knockoff xbox controller from amazon and should be good to go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cusideabelincoln Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/category/instant-ship-systems/ Any of the sub-$700 systems will get the job done, and are pretty solid values. These are the best options I could find on Newegg: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare?CompareItemList=83-102-697%2C9SIA6V6A134253%2C83-102-720%2C83-102-793%2C83-102-722 This by far offers the best gaming performance, coming in right at your budget; the video card is just leagues better than anything else: https://www.newegg.com/abs-computer-technologies-mage-e-ala107/p/N82E16883102697?Item=N82E16883102697 To build one yourself, I would keep it well under your budget while keeping your options for future upgrades: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/yFTRGc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GameDadGrant Posted October 18, 2019 Author Share Posted October 18, 2019 @cusideabelincoln Awesome, the one on Newegg looks like a slam dunk. Gonna pull the trigger on it. Thank you everyone for the help! Y'all are the best! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pikachu Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 Walmart has a good deal on a PC if anyone else is looking: CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Supreme Liquid Cool SLC9938W w/ AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6GHz, AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB, 16GB Memory, 240GB SSD, 1TB HDD, WiFi and Windows 10 Home 64 bit Gaming PC http://www.walmart.com/ip/CYBERPOWERPC-Gamer-Supreme-Liquid-Cool-SLC9938W-w-AMD-Ryzen-7-3700X-3-6GHz-AMD-Radeon-RX-580-8GB-16GB-Memory-240GB-SSD-1TB-HDD-WiFi-Windows-10-Home-6/401422314 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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