Help to choose a Gaming PC!

[Relentless]

You need to get a computer custom built, or buy one second hand from someone like you, who loved playing games all day.
I was kind of interested in your options, but you didn't post them.
Check the Castanet Classifieds, Computers section....there are some good deals to be had.

[cliffdiving]

Talk to Zane at National Computer Resource 102-1980 Cooper Rd
778-738-1484
He'll hook you up!

[Partmanpartfish]

You might want to join the forums at NCIX.com for advice. Lots of us got our starts there building our own PCs.

[Woodenhead]

listen to Partmanpartfish and ignore ultraviolent

[LoneWolf_53]

What I note is that your request isn't very specific and a little too general.

For one thing what you require is tied to what types of games you play and what your expectations are.

$1000 for a gaming rig is not much in the grand scheme of things, given a body could blow half of it on just a half decent video card(s).

I'd for sure be building my own, but depending on specifically what your goal is you may have to get creative in acquiring components.

Gamers can give you excellent advice provided you give them enough details.

Joining a forum as suggested is a very good idea. You could possibly get lucky and come to know someone with extremely deep pockets who has to always be first to have the latest and greatest, so unloads perfectly good hardware for far far less than what it would cost to buy brand new.

Just something to think about.

[Dizzy1]

I would think that you'd have to do some upgrades if you're planning on keeping it for 4-5 years and still want it to perform when newer games come out.

I have no experience with gaming PCs but honestly, I don't think $1000 is going to get you much - but I could be wrong on that.

[Woodenhead]

Oh yeah, I forgot to add:

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/

Use it. Amazing site to help you along with your computer build. It's great for checking compatibility and compiling parts lists; from there you can research and whittle things down to what you want, specifically. One can even set up email alerts for price drops and all that.

Anyway, it's a godsend for novice and pro builders alike. :]

[Hassel99]

You might want to join the forums at NCIX.com for advice. Lots of us got our starts their building our own PCs.

This,


don't skimp on ram, the most expensive part should be your video card. 4 years is my normal cycle.

[LoneWolf_53]

I have no experience with gaming PCs but honestly, I don't think $1000 is going to get you much - but I could be wrong on that.

Gaming is such a general term really, as those into that come in all sorts. Some are quite content to play older games that are much easier in the hardware requirement department, whilst others always have to be able to play the latest and greatest games with settings at full max.

The latter type can easily spend that $1000 just on graphics cards given that many run two or three of them.

It all boils down to which camp the OP belongs to. To be somewhat future proof a body has to pretty much purchase higher end hardware which will evaporate that $1000 much quicker. Case in point I've been eyeing an X58 motherboard which is approx 5yrs since release, and they still sell for upwards of $350 used. A person can find a board for $100 but in the end you get what you pay for.

I built a number of computers for myself five years back, and I'm not a gamer, so my graphics cards choice would be viewed as substandard by a gamer, yet all my other components like case, motherboard, power supply, RAM, HSF, etc. are all top end and my builds all ran around $1,500. They're all still going strong and can keep up with anything other than graphic cards released since then, but people could go out and purchase a whole computer for $400 at the time.

[Jlabute]

I would start by deciding which games you'll play and find out if there are any minimum system requirements. Another aspect of the perception of performance is the screen resolution. Do you want to drive an UHD or just HD or less resolution of monitor. Will you also play back blu-Ray discs, etc. The computer won't be only for games will it?

You will pay more $ if you build your own machine, but, you will get the best of parts you can afford and want rather than trying to find out what is stuffed inside some cheaper acer computer for example. If you care about it at all. I build my own so I know what every part is and where every cable goes, and you have control over the software install. It's actually quite easy to build your own. Don't let specs worry you too much. A fast internet service is just as important if games are online. A thousand dollar video card might seem useless with slow internet.

A new generation skylake Intel, i3 or i5 will keep you under $1000. A good quality graphics card with two DVI outputs perhaps? Maybe one day you'll consider two monitors. I'd spend maybe $250+ on the video card.

Zane is a great guy. Supporting Kelowna economy is awesome and he tries to give good prices. I've bought some items from them. NCIX has good prices from time to time and if you select a batch of parts they will give you a discount if you ask them. My only heartache with NCIX is once they listed the HP Prime calculator for $111 (way below street cost) which I ordered, and they gave me the run-around, and asked me for an extra $50 because they weren't making any money on it. I told them to honor their website price and they did. Took Three weeks to get it. Calculator after a week went below $100. That was an exceptional transaction in which they tried to get away with something. Usually the sales people there are fairly knowledgable. You can also buy barebones systems from them.

There is a big difference from a Chinese made case and power supply which can be had for $30, and just a good quality power supply that you can pick up for > $60. Some cases in themselves can be > $100. Same goes for motherboards etc.I think $1000 would get you a good performing machine whether built by you or bought. Good for a starter gaming system. If you buy a system off a shelf you may not know what is in it.

[Scadam]

Hi everyone. I am looking to buy my first gaming PC because i spend most of my time on the computer playing games with friends. I want to spend about 1000$ for a PC but only if it will last me at least 4 to 5 years if i keep up with dusting the inside every 6 months and so forth. So with my research i have come up with two computers i think would be the most bang for the buck and was curious if i could have some opinions on which one would be better. I also would like to know if you think the computer will lat 4 to 5 years and still run games smoothly on high graphics. Thanks in advance for the help. Here are the two options I've been researching.

You forgot to post the two options, so I can't give an opinion on those. $1,000 would be an entry-level gaming PC, normally I aim for $1500 for midrange, which lasts 3-5 years. It's not so much about physical maintenance of a computer, although that's good of course, but what makes a computer obsolete (for gaming) is newer games requiring more resources. The hardware is always improving by leaps and bounds, so game developers leverage that for the best looking games they can. Often even a new game will run respectably well on an older PC, just at lower settings. Warcraft and League for example are very good at staying relevant on older or non-"gaming" PCs. The gameplay works but you get less eye candy.

$1,000 is fine for a first PC as long as you don't expect it to play the latest shooters at highest settings. And off the shelf PCs can be just fine, if you do some research. All it takes is a super-cheap power supply, known problematic motherboard, skimping on the RAM, etc... for an otherwise good PC to be flakey or disproportionately slow due to one component causing a bottleneck. Reputable reviewers should know what to look for.

Building your own could save you 100-200 and ensure you avoid the cheapest of the cheap components, but you have to know what you're doing. There is a market for competently built off the shelf gaming PCs, but you'd need to provide more detail if you want specific opinions here.

[Poindexter]

My advice, buy woodenhead's old PC.

But seriously, if you're not extremely competitive about gaming buy a used one off someone who is. I was a bad counter strike player for a while and baught a PC off an addicted gamer for a fraction of what it'd cost even to build. Bonus is it's all set up and mine happened to come with over 30,000 songs which didn't hurt.

[Relentless]

listen to Partmanpartfish and ignore ultraviolent

Very good tip!
Personally, I like my idea's way better!

[Symbonite]

In the grand scheme of things...this is pretty cheap...and you can play your mahjong and email on it....

http://www.maximumpc.com/dream-machine-2/