PC build thread

[jay_red]

I'm not sure why you are spending $800 on a PC instead of getting a PS4/Xbox One (or both, for the cost!) given that your build would be just about the same as what is in those systems (the PS4 has something close to a 7850, which is close to a R7 265) but for a lot more money.

Do you not have a PC currently? If you are looking for something better than a PS4/Xbox One, then you'll probably want to get something much beefier/costlier than what you've laid out here. If you want something closer to on par with those systems, you can do it much cheaper I think. Cards in that range or just a little less powerful can be found around the $100 mark and you can use a PSU for many of them that's closer to what you picked out. You could also probably grab a cheaper CPU (noise is rocking everything out right now on an i3), and get down closer to what a PS4 would cost for everything BUT the monitor, which of course would be extra. So, my advice:

-Just buy a game system

or

-Save a couple of hundred on your proposed build and still get something on par with the systems you aren't buying

or

-Spend a couple hundred more and get something more powerful than the newer consoles

I currently have a crappy laptop which struggles to run the games I like at acceptable settings.

My initial idea, as far as building a PC, was that it would be a PS4 substitute. I loved my PS3 (YLOD) and would be happy with a PS4 except.... I really like a lot of games in the non-console genres too (4X games, Grand Strategy, Minecraft w/lots of mods, etc.). Of course I am also going to want to play some of the multi-platform console-style games as well (Wolfenstein, Witcher 3, etc.).

It seemed kind of crazy to me to buy a new PC AND a PS4 since console exclusives seem to be getting more and more rare as time goes on.

What I struggle with is that I really have no idea what parts are good enough to accomplish that goal.

I don't need all the graphical bells and whistles at this point. This year's games at smooth frame rates at 1080p at acceptable settings (medium???) would be a HUGE upgrade from what I have now.

The main things that stuck out to me on the build list you had were the GPU and power supply. I would spring the extra $30 for the r9 270x, and I believe that it needs at least a 500w power supply. You could cut some cost by going with an AMD processor as well, and still get good gaming performance.

[Jmustang1968]

Oh it will work. They typically have less features and less slots. You could get a decent ATX board and not spend much more at all.

That one is made worse by being an H81 board, which is the bottom of the barrel, completely stripped down chipset variant made for budget PCs. The lack of SATA ports and such isn't due to being mATX, in that case, but due to the chipset only supporting a relative handful. They also tend to have one slot past the video card one, severely limiting expansion options if the SATA ports or something prove insufficient down the line.

I agree though, paying a little more for an H87 board (at least, if not a Z chipset board), and keeping standard ATX in scope would easily be worth it long-term.

The one he was looking actually has 2 3 gbs and 2 6 gbs SATA ports, this one has a few more features than the base ones do, but still not enough to justify not going to a full size ATX board

[isiolia]

The one he was looking actually has 2 3 gbs and 2 6 gbs SATA ports, this one has a few more features than the base ones do, but still not enough to justify not going to a full size ATX board

I made my comment based on the ASRock one he had in his build list, which yeah, has the 4 SATA ports that the H81 chipset supports. The H87 chipset supports 6 SATA ports, all 6Gb/s. It also supports more USB ports (with significantly more USB 3.0 ports), dual channel memory support, and more PCIe lanes, which usually means more slots (though they can be derpy with it, like ASRock's board with 2 PCI slots instead of more PCIe).

I agree with you in that if you're using a case that fits a standard ATX board, then you might as well use one. However, if the price is right on an mATX, then the form factor alone isn't always that big a deal. It's not like ITX, where you pay a premium for it.

My point is more the chipset. H81 boards are cheap, but, there are real limitation to the chipset compared to the H87 (or H97). There's a significant difference in features that most users have a real chance at using over the life of the machine, between that $50 board and an $80 one.

[dsheinem]

If you just want something that's roughly PS4 equivalent, you can probably do it for around $350-$400. Maybe $500 with a monitor....

If that's what you're looking for let me know and I'll try to put a build together for that range that will do what you want. You'd then have enough left over from your current budget to ALSO get a PS4, if you want.

[Jmustang1968]

Oh, I am all about not skimping on chipsets, they are important. I thought your comment was saying that board had no SATA ports heh

[marlowe221]

If you just want something that's roughly PS4 equivalent, you can probably do it for around $350-$400. Maybe $500 with a monitor....

If that's what you're looking for let me know and I'll try to put a build together for that range that will do what you want. You'd then have enough left over from your current budget to ALSO get a PS4, if you want.

That's basically what I'm looking for - a PS4-equivalent (or slightly better? Some 1080p capability would be nice) that will also play my beloved strategy games.

A little room to grow is good too; like the differences you guys were pointing out between H81 and H87 motherboards. Those differences may not matter to me right at the moment of building the PC but I'm sure I will want to add on a bit here and there as time goes on and it would be nice to have the ability to do so.

Right now I am just looking to get my foot into the door of the PC gaming world. I'm sure that once I get into it, I will eventually become more of an enthusiast if my journey in the world of acoustic guitars is any guide...

[Jmustang1968]

If you just want something that's roughly PS4 equivalent, you can probably do it for around $350-$400. Maybe $500 with a monitor....

If that's what you're looking for let me know and I'll try to put a build together for that range that will do what you want. You'd then have enough left over from your current budget to ALSO get a PS4, if you want.

That's basically what I'm looking for - a PS4-equivalent (or slightly better? Some 1080p capability would be nice) that will also play my beloved strategy games.

A little room to grow is good too; like the differences you guys were pointing out between H81 and H87 motherboards. Those differences may not matter to me right at the moment of building the PC but I'm sure I will want to add on a bit here and there as time goes on and it would be nice to have the ability to do so.

Right now I am just looking to get my foot into the door of the PC gaming world. I'm sure that once I get into it, I will eventually become more of an enthusiast if my journey in the world of acoustic guitars is any guide...

I think you were on the right path with your build. I think tack on an extra $100, if you can afford it, and you would have a decent low-mid range gaming PC

[dsheinem]

That's basically what I'm looking for - a PS4-equivalent (or slightly better? Some 1080p capability would be nice) that will also play my beloved strategy games.

A little room to grow is good too.

Here, read this: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/ ... pgrade-pc/

[marlowe221]

That's basically what I'm looking for - a PS4-equivalent (or slightly better? Some 1080p capability would be nice) that will also play my beloved strategy games.

A little room to grow is good too.

Here, read this: http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/ ... pgrade-pc/

Thanks for the link but the article seems kind of... scattered and I'm not sure what I should be taking away from it... that I should buy an i5?

I don't see how to build the tower (let's forget about the monitor and OS for now) for $350-400 like you were saying with an i5, unless I am REALLY missing something here (which is entirely possible).

I don't even see how one would do it with a FX-6300 or i3 at that price point. All I see people saying around the interwebz about the 6300 is that it runs hot and is not very powerful compared to the i3. The i3 scares me, even with HT, because it seems like the CPU world is moving (slowly) towards more cores, not less.

Am I still aiming too high hardware-wise? I was thinking a R7 265 for the GPU...

[TSTR]

CPU-wise, I would go with something way more affordable like a FX-4350 if you're just looking for current-gen console equivalency. That will save you a lot of cash that can be spent on a better PSU, cooling, or even in the GPU area if you want more beef than a PS4.

EDIT: And yeah, there's no way you're gonna build a PS4/XB1-equivalent PC from scratch for $400. You'll be doing real good to keep it under $600 just for parts.