I want to begin PC gaming

[Brad387]

I have grown a recent affinity for PC gaming, having realised that the initially higher price for the machine is well compensated by cheaper games with more content. New releases, such as Borderlands 2, are often £10-£15 GBP cheaper on Steam than on Xbox 360 and Steam has some truly fantastic sales on. From personal experience, I have also found the PC community to be generally much nicer and, unlike Xbox 360 where a game of Call of Duty results in me listening to a small child use bluer language than a sailor because I happened to kill them, I can just enjoy playing the game at my own ability/pace. Then there is great innovative titles, such as Minecraft, that take years to arrive on consoles (if ever) and lack the great mod support. My friends are, for the majority, all PC gamers also and it would be awesome to play with them! The consoles are also all getting extremely dated on the technological side and it looks as though the next generation, which has already begun with the likes of the Nintendo Wii U, won't offer a significant improvement. Since I already use my laptop for the majority of my media consumption, I like the idea of bringing gaming into the mix as well and thus eliminating the need for multiple devices that each take up space. I think now is the perfect time to begin raising some money and planning out a gaming PC.

I want to be able to comfortable play all the latest titles on reasonable settings at a solid frame-rate. Other things I would love to be able to do is host/play at the same time on a Tekkit server with a few people and also run screen-recording software, which will finally allow me to consider starting the YouTube channel I have been planning, without games running to a crawl. Video-rendering speeds aren't too important, so long as they aren't abysmally slow (which they wouldn't be as any modern processor will far outperform my current one). Unfortunately, my laptop meets none of these requirements. Its specification is as follows:

Acer Aspire 5552

AMD Athlon II P320 Dual-Core 2.1 Ghz

4 GB DDR3 RAM

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 256 MB VRAM

1366x768 LCD Display

I don't have thousands, unfortunately to spend, and £600 GBP (including VAT and any shipping costs) is the maximum that I could possibly ever afford. The cheaper I can get this experience, the better! Since I would like to use this on my 42" Panasonic Plasma TV utilising Steam's Big Picture mode, I won't need to purchase a monitor. Though I will need a good wireless keyboard and mouse to adequately play games, so please do leave some suggestions for that. I will, naturally, need a copy of Windows 8 Professional 64-bit and it is important for that to be factored into the costs. However, I mainly need advice regarding what parts to buy and where to get them cheapest. Whilst I know quite a lot on the software side, such as how to use complex software like Photoshop or even do basic HTML coding for a website, my knowledge on which processors/graphics cards are better than each other isn't very good. Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

UPDATE:

Looking at my finances, the time it will take me to raise the necessary funds for even the most basic of gaming PCs is ridiculously long. Is there no other way I can get started? I did read somewhere that, with the right knowledge, it is possible to upgrade a laptop's CPU. My GPU is weak too, but games like Tekkit (which I really want to play) are limited by my poor CPU and not really my GPU because they aren't too graphical.

[Neowulf]

What's your minimal budget?

[Mister Anderson]

What's your minimal budget?

Let's be realistic here, it's probably whatever his mom's willing to buy for him.

[Xylord]

Let's be realistic here, it's probably whatever his mom's willing to buy for him.

Maybe, but the question here is, what exactly is this budget?

[Brad387]

Just PC gaming a on a budget. No set budget..

[Brad387]

Let's be realistic here, it's probably whatever his mom's willing to buy for him.

Wrong.

[Neowulf]

I'm not a fan of prebuilt machines. Always more expensive than DIY and chock full of preinstalled bloat.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=30000007%20600090100&IsNodeId=1&name=Full%20Solutions

Pick a price range then post links to the packages you think look reasonable. From there we can explain the pros/cons and how much bang you'll get.

Budget $150 or so to get windows, or if you can swing a student discount for win7 somewhere go with that.

To actually build it you can either do it yourself (slowly and carefully), or find a friend who is willing to do it for you (might need a bribe, beer is always good if you're both of drinking age).

[Viktor_Berg]

For the longest time, I operated on pretty outdated hardware, and only recently did I get a well-paid job, and built myself a $2000 monster rig (before you start complaining, I live in Norway, hardware is kinda expensive here). However, that was almost top-of-the-line hardware, and it is very possible to cut the price to maybe $200-300 (in US). I understand that building a PC might sound intimidating, but it really is simple. Most parts can only fit into one slot, and only in one way possible. Perhaps the most difficult part of building a PC is installing the CPU and its cooling (since you need to apply much more force to lock the CPU in than you might think, which makes people scared that they might break the motherboard).

Worst case scenario, you can just pay someone more experienced to assemble the setup for you, and it will be STILL cheaper than buying a prebuilt.

[fidchelle]

I love PC gaming! The likes of Garry's Mod, Minecraft and Torchlight are just a few examples of some truly amazing games that have either never arrived on consoles or in a limited form without the ability to install some truly amazing mods (such as Tekkit). However, I am in a bit of predicament. My laptop offers awful gaming performance and I have neither the knowledge or money to buy a gaming PC/make one from parts. Any tips as to how I can experience PC gaming on an extremely minimal budget?

AMD Athlon II P320 Dual-Core 2.1 Ghz

4 GB DDR3 RAM

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 256 MB VRAM

Please make sure you include a webcam in your final build, whatever it may be. This way you can take indecent photos of yourself for our (my) amusement.

3 Sites I like to use for parts acquisition are:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/

http://www.newegg.com/

and

https://www.google.com/

If you cant buy everything right away, make a "Wishlist" (make sure everything works with everything) and buy as you can afford.

Make sure you have a good video card, plenty of cooling (airflow is important if you want to use all your fancy strap on devices) and I always recommend maxing out the ram.

No need to thank me just send me those pics and, just let me smack you around with my genitals for a while when the builds finished >=D

[Brad387]

I have revitalised this thread with the information you have all been asking. Please refer to the now updated OP and thanks for your advice so far. I will now be going through and responding to your comments.

[Brad387]

What's your minimal budget?

My maximum budget is around £600 GBP, so I am not really sure how much that will get me once VAT is factored in. However, there is no way I can afford any more at present. As I said, cheaper is better at the moment. I can, so long as I get a motherboard that supports it and leave room to increase the power with regards to the power supply, always upgrade - right?

[Brad387]

I'm not a fan of prebuilt machines. Always more expensive than DIY and chock full of preinstalled bloat.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=30000007 600090100&IsNodeId=1&name=Full Solutions

Pick a price range then post links to the packages you think look reasonable. From there we can explain the pros/cons and how much bang you'll get.

Budget $150 or so to get windows, or if you can swing a student discount for win7 somewhere go with that.

To actually build it you can either do it yourself (slowly and carefully), or find a friend who is willing to do it for you (might need a bribe, beer is always good if you're both of drinking age).

Building it myself might prove difficult, but I have family members who know some stuff and even hiring a PC shop to build it for me looks as though it would prove cheaper than buying a pre-built machine.

[Brad387]

For the longest time, I operated on pretty outdated hardware, and only recently did I get a well-paid job, and built myself a $2000 monster rig (before you start complaining, I live in Norway, hardware is kinda expensive here). However, that was almost top-of-the-line hardware, and it is very possible to cut the price to maybe $200-300 (in US). I understand that building a PC might sound intimidating, but it really is simple. Most parts can only fit into one slot, and only in one way possible. Perhaps the most difficult part of building a PC is installing the CPU and its cooling (since you need to apply much more force to lock the CPU in than you might think, which makes people scared that they might break the motherboard).

Worst case scenario, you can just pay someone more experienced to assemble the setup for you, and it will be STILL cheaper than buying a prebuilt.

I really doubt I could build a gaming PC for around $300 USD, which is £187 GBP and actually cheaper than both the ancient Xbox 360 and PS3 over here. Remember that VAT is applied at 20% here in the UK.

[Niavmai]

http://www.computerlx.com/default.aspx

A terrible website, with some really amazing deals on pre-assemled computers. Some of them aren't logically sound though, so check http://www.logicalincrements.com/ to make sure the parts they put together make sense. This site was updated as of mid last month, so it's still really relevant.

[Brad387]

http://www.computerlx.com/default.aspx

A terrible website, with some really amazing deals on pre-assemled computers. Some of them aren't logically sound though, so check http://www.logicalincrements.com/ to make sure the parts they put together make sense. This site was updated as of mid last month, so it's still really relevant.

Sorry, but I want to build my own and not by from some shady backstreet dealer.

[Xylord]

Sorry, but I want to build my own and not by from some shady backstreet dealer.

In any case, logical increments is good to see if YOUR build make sense.

P.S. When I write in caps, I'm not angrily yelling, that's just emphasis.

[Eldmor]

I absolutely endorse NewEgg for their shipping speeds, which seem to have harnessed wormhole technology.

As for hardware, here is my recommendations for what you need for a good minimum.

• 560 series or higher Nvidia card or equivilant. This is widely considered the "entry level" for video cards in gaming rigs.
  
• Quad-core that is at least 2.5Ghz.
  
• A motherboard that is compatible with all of your parts. Get one bundled with the CPU for ensured compatibility and a discount.
  
• 8GB of DDR3 RAM; 4 sticks of 2GB is preferable but 2 sticks of 4GB will work.
  
• A monitor that supports 1920*1080.
  
• A 750W power source.
  
• If you want to spend a little more and want good load times, get a small SSD and put often-used games and software on there while dumping everything else on your HDD.
  
• Above everything else, check the reviews for products and make sure there are multiple and consistent good reviews.
  

If you can, see if you can get everything in a DIY Kit Combo. It will include the parts and just require assembly, you'll save money overall, and there is no tacked on fee like that of pre-built PCs.

[Guest Ysharma]

www.facebook.com/HecomComputers

Excellent bussiness, they do all the work for you. You get the computer, turn it on and start installing games!

[dragonshardz]

I absolutely endorse NewEgg for their shipping speeds, which seem to have harnessed wormhole technology.

As for hardware, here is my recommendations for what you need for a good minimum.

• 560 series or higher Nvidia card or equivilant. This is widely considered the "entry level" for video cards in gaming rigs.
  
• Quad-core that is at least 2.5Ghz.
  
• A motherboard that is compatible with all of your parts. Get one bundled with the CPU for ensured compatibility and a discount.
  
• 8GB of DDR3 RAM; 4 sticks of 2GB is preferable but 2 sticks of 4GB will work.
  
• A monitor that supports 1920*1080.
  
• A 750W power source.
  
• If you want to spend a little more and want good load times, get a small SSD and put often-used games and software on there while dumping everything else on your HDD.
  
• Above everything else, check the reviews for products and make sure there are multiple and consistent good reviews.
  

If you can, see if you can get everything in a DIY Kit Combo. It will include the parts and just require assembly, you'll save money overall, and there is no tacked on fee like that of pre-built PCs.

I also heartily recommend NewEgg. If you want to build your own computer rather than simply assembling it, I also heartily recommend PCPartPicker as the go-to place to build a computer fairly painlessly and get the most for your money - despite being awesome, Newegg doesn't always have the lowest prices.

E: Also, the # of sticks of RAM doesn't matter much quite as much as the amount in practice, dual-channel is in general just as good as quad-channel unless you're overclocking. Using 2 sticks of 4GB also leaves plenty of room for upgrades later on.

[Brad387]

Looking at my finances, the time it will take me to raise the necessary funds for even the most basic of gaming PCs is ridiculously long. Is there no other way I can get started? I did read somewhere that, with the right knowledge, it is possible to upgrade a laptop's CPU. My GPU is weak too, but games like Tekkit (which I really want to play) are limited by my poor CPU and not really my GPU because they aren't too graphical.

[LazDude2012]

Honestly, man,the only way to upgrade a laptop is to buy a new one. It's a complicated process, with specialised motherboards per chip, not really worth it. You'll likely end up with an expensive paperweight. My laptop is a beauty, and I got it for $400 US. About the same specs as yours, (slightly faster CPU) and dirt cheap. My advice for you is this: don't get a gaming desktop, as you can't afford one. However, you can afford a middle-of-the-line standard desktop, and then upgrade it to gaming beast specs later, piece by piece, as you get the money.

[dragonshardz]

I'll direct youto this as well, it's a fairly good launching point for a decent build.

Gaming beasts are expensive, but the build I linked provides pretty good performance as-is. If you like, give me a budget and I'll see what I can come up with on PCPartPicker.

[Eldmor]

You're going to spend A LOT more getting a new laptop than making a base-level desktop rig. Also, laptops are notorious for their un-upgradability (in-upgradability? Fuck words, it's expensive.).

[theprolo]

My laptop was less that £600, and that runs most things pretty well. I've both hosted and played a Tekkit server on it at the same time before with very little lag.

It's not exactly state-of-the-art anymore though, and it still surprises me that 6GB of RAM isn't much compared to what some people have... Nevertheless, running most games on High graphics is good enough for me.

[dragonshardz]

My laptop was less that £600, and that runs most things pretty well. I've both hosted and played a Tekkit server on it at the same time before with very little lag.

It's not exactly state-of-the-art anymore though, and it still surprises me that 6GB of RAM isn't much compared to what some people have... Nevertheless, running most games on High graphics is good enough for me.

If you want that, you'll be better off buying a desktop rather than a laptop, as the latter is very, very difficult to upgrade.