I'm thinking of getting a PC

[Hazerd]

i think its time to start a PC vs Mac war, i always enjoy those.

[J T]

[fvgazi]

I'm starting to really like where this thread is going.

[avrame]

I haven't gamed on a PC in a long time. Most of my games I still play can run on my old dell laptops with 256mbs of ram lol. With the new Starwars MMO coming out sometime I'm interested in maybe buying a PC again. I would like the PC to be able to run game graphics at a reasonably high setting. How much would a good gaming computer run now a days. What are considered good specs in a PC. What would you recommend?

Care to fill in somemore details? Desktop or Laptop? Budget? Usage aside from gaming?

Laptop route: Goto a local Bestbuy, see what they have, see what brands you like. Buy on Newegg/TigerDirect/Frys, it's always cheaper.

Desktop route (expensive): Buy everything custom that you find appealing after reading articles on Tom's Hardware.

Desktop route (cheap): Buy a starter PC from Bestbuy locally, these can go on sale rather cheap ($350-ish max), at minimum, it should have 4GB ram, dual core and a spare PCI-E slot (more than likely it is using an onboard GPU). Buy a hefty GFX card, possibly a new PSU, and throw it in the box. You have a gaming rig (did this for my wife, cost me $450-ish for a PC that is powerful enough to run Borderlands on High settings).

[Hatta]

IMO, if you've been out of PC gaming for a long time you have some catching up to do. Pick up a desktop with a C2D in it and throw in a gaming card. That should get you up to the past 2 or 3 years. By the time you're caught up, you can buy another used computer to play more recent games. Repeat as needed.

[ChooChooBot]

I haven't gamed on a PC in a long time. Most of my games I still play can run on my old dell laptops with 256mbs of ram lol. With the new Starwars MMO coming out sometime I'm interested in maybe buying a PC again. I would like the PC to be able to run game graphics at a reasonably high setting. How much would a good gaming computer run now a days. What are considered good specs in a PC. What would you recommend?

Care to fill in somemore details? Desktop or Laptop? Budget? Usage aside from gaming?

Laptop route: Goto a local Bestbuy, see what they have, see what brands you like. Buy on Newegg/TigerDirect/Frys, it's always cheaper.

Desktop route (expensive): Buy everything custom that you find appealing after reading articles on Tom's Hardware.

Desktop route (cheap): Buy a starter PC from Bestbuy locally, these can go on sale rather cheap ($350-ish max), at minimum, it should have 4GB ram, dual core and a spare PCI-E slot (more than likely it is using an onboard GPU). Buy a hefty GFX card, possibly a new PSU, and throw it in the box. You have a gaming rig (did this for my wife, cost me $450-ish for a PC that is powerful enough to run Borderlands on High settings).

I'm looking for a Desktop. The max I am willing to spend is $800 dollars. Now I want to hook it up to my Sony TV with an HDMI cable. What would I need to do this? Also I am thinking of putting a Black Magic capture card to record my 360 and PS3 at 1080p.

[MrPopo]

As long as your PC has a DVI output you can get a DVI->HDMI cable and run an audio cable between your sound card and your TV.

[isiolia]

I'm looking for a Desktop. The max I am willing to spend is $800 dollars. Now I want to hook it up to my Sony TV with an HDMI cable. What would I need to do this?

Many modern video cards have an HDMI port on them, and support audio over HDMI if you want to use it. DisplayPort, which has similar capabilities to HDMI, is also common and can be converted easily.

As mentioned, DVI can usually be converted as well - the stipulation being that it needs to be a digital signal.

You'd be hard pressed to buy a decent video card these days that couldn't hook up to HDMI directly or through a simple adapter (which it'd probably come with).

[ChooChooBot]

Many modern video cards have an HDMI port on them, and support audio over HDMI if you want to use it. DisplayPort, which has similar capabilities to HDMI, is also common and can be converted easily.

As mentioned, DVI can usually be converted as well - the stipulation being that it needs to be a digital signal.

You'd be hard pressed to buy a decent video card these days that couldn't hook up to HDMI directly or through a simple adapter (which it'd probably come with).

Ahhhh. The reason I wanted an HDMI out is I love watching hulu on my big TV. What is a good brand of PC to upgrade. You guys have been a great help with listing off good processors and video cards, but I don't know what computer would turn into a sweet gaming computer.

[BoringSupreez]

Many modern video cards have an HDMI port on them, and support audio over HDMI if you want to use it. DisplayPort, which has similar capabilities to HDMI, is also common and can be converted easily.

As mentioned, DVI can usually be converted as well - the stipulation being that it needs to be a digital signal.

You'd be hard pressed to buy a decent video card these days that couldn't hook up to HDMI directly or through a simple adapter (which it'd probably come with).

Ahhhh. The reason I wanted an HDMI out is I love watching hulu on my big TV. What is a good brand of PC to upgrade. You guys have been a great help with listing off good processors and video cards, but I don't know what computer would turn into a sweet gaming computer.

An affordable way to get a gaming PC is to buy a Compaq or HP desktop for $400-$500, then plop a $100 video card into the tower. That's what I did, although it was so long ago my machine is quite outdated.