I want to escape consoles and finally build a gaming pc but I’ve seen the prices…
Everything is really overwhelming for me and I have no clue what I should go for and everyone is giving me differing answers so I ask you.
Is building a PC ACTUALLY cheaper than buying one?
What specs would I even need? All I wanna do is play arc raiders comfortably at high settings and play heavily modded Garry’s mod.
From the advice I’ve seen on Gamer’s Nexus, it’s currently cheaper to buy pre-builts at the moment since their systems are priced from RAM they for 3-6 months ago.
As much as I hate to admit it as I don’t like Linus, LTT has some good secret shopper episodes (and so does GN to a lesser extent). Just watch the conclusion episodes where they rate how each system integrator performed. Stay away from big brands like Dell, HP, etc.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that you don’t need to water cool or add a hundred oversized fans for a computer you’re not going to overclock. So long as the graphics card has room to breathe, modern electronics are way more power efficient than older stuff and will stay plenty cool on air.
Also spend the extra money on a motherboard and power supply. Everything else is splitting hairs for fps or style. Especially ram, you don’t need crazy high numbers unless you know how to tweak the motherboard clock speed without breaking shit.
An easy way to come up with some starting places is to search for “rate my build” type communities for recent posts at around the budget you have, see how people respond with suggestions or critiques and go from there.
You don’t need to build your own, but I would at least recommend buying a pre-built that gives you the option to upgrade later on. Some pre-builts (cough cough Alienware) go out of their way to make sure their computers can’t be upgraded.
I would recommend taking a look at Starforge. I’ve been pretty impressed by their prices.
If you want Linux, you’ll definitely want AMD. Nvidia works, but AMD works better.
Also, don’t feel bad about not getting the best and most expensive model. Low-mid end is really the sweet spot for price-to-performance. And games typically play pretty well, just not on max settings. And you can always upgrade later on
I’ve never been much of a graphics person to be honest. I mainly play shooters and I would much rather have fps over graphics lmao
I will prioritize graphics for games that are less action and more story focused though because I wanna be there. I don’t mind 30 fps once in a while. (I’m currently playing through assassins creed 3 on ps5)
I’ll be sure to check them out, thanks!
If you’re not opposed to it coming with Linux, all data says that the Steam Machine is a good deal for its specs. It’ll even have the added bonus of feeling familiar while still being a PC.
If you really wanna build one yourself, you can always check Newegg for parts. I think they’re going to be having their bit Black Friday sale going on soon too.
Otherwise, shop around for pre-builts! You might be able to get some at a good price, especially if it’s a model that’s on clearance.
I was looking at the steam machine but I’ve seen prebuilts with better specs than it. It’s not the 1st option on my list but I’m keeping an eye on it!
Pcpartpicker is your friend. You can even check other builds if you’re not sure about part compatibility
and barring the occasional extremely good deal, building your own is usually much cheaper.(I stand correctd, it may be different state-side)Other than that, it all depends on how you game: if you want good fps in 1440p you’ll want one of 12gb+ GPUs, otherwise for 1080p you can get away with a nvidia 5060 / amd 9060. RAM pricing is absolutely obscene as you well know, but you can do a DDR4 build if it’s significantly cheaper than the current DDR5 in your area. Also if you do do a DDR4 build, you might go for a AMD AM4-socket cpu, since they’re easier to find.
I was in your position, and was lucky enough to have a roommate at the time who actually knew about and built his own PC. His advice to me was to buy a pre-built one if you really don’t know what you’re doing or getting into, which I didn’t. So far I’ve been using it happily almost every day for the last 6+ years, and I’ve only replaced the cooling unit in it. Though I do tend to play games that aren’t super intensive, I think the only game(s) I have/played that are are Spider-Man 2 and Jedi Survivor
The entry fee kinda hurts but ig once you buy one you don’t really replace the whole thing right?
If you get tired of a component you just replace it easily (at least I’ve been told it’s just “adult nerd Lego”
Any suggestions of where I should try shopping for one?
Can you just replace parts as you go with a PC? Yes, but not indefinitely. There will become a point where you would likely have to replace almost all of the components in a PC in order to upgrade, like when a new RAM or CPU socket type is introduced.
But that’s probably not often…
I assume at that point buying a new one is recommended.
I remember my roommate once had to upgrade his entire PC because the components weren’t compatible when he got a new motherboard. At that point it was basically just a second PC he built, using only a few parts from his old one that could work with the new stuff.
I got mine from iBuyPower, which he recommended to me. I got mine for about $2500 including the monitor, and it came in a couple weeks. It was basically just plug and play when I got it.
Interesting. Definitely don’t feel like spending 2000$ lmao.
100% just buying a new prebuilt if that happens
Have a play around on PPP. They have build guides so pick one that is close to your budget and change around some parts so you learn what’s available.
Also RandomGamingHD on YouTube is great for beginners and helping understand what’s possible.
Oh thank you! Never heard of that channel so I’ll give it a check.
