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PC gaming help a Mac boy out
Jimblin
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So i didn't know if this should go here or the rig section but here it goes. I Haven't used a PC since overclocking 233 athlons was bad ass. I've come into some coin from doing mobile website conversions in my spare time and I'd like to get a PC gaming system. I've got a 5-6 grand budget what should I be looking for as far as hardware? and do the new PC's have the same kind of chipset compatibility problems of the past?
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Jimblin on
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What you should be looking for in hardware depends largely on your needs as a gamer.
-Do you have a humongous monitor with a high native res?
-Will you shit blood if you can't run the most demanding games at the very highest settings and 60+ fps?
-Do you have any any additional needs beyond gaming such as CAD or video encoding?
I'm not sure what you mean by chipset compatibility problems. These days you pick a processor or a motherboard and buy corresponding hardware. If you want to run a processor built on the AM3 chipset, you need an AM3 motherboard. Same with LGA 1366 or any other chipset.
As others have said, $5-6k is an astounding amount of money to pay for a PC. For that amount of money you could probably build a server for a small business. $1000 as the high mark would probably see you with a system that would be up to date for about 3-5 years. $1500 would last about the same amount of time for being current but for those first 2 years it will be very nice, performance-wise. Anything higher than that and you'll be paying for Monster brand anti-goblin technology with the 3 year anti-revenant warranty.
I guess he's been using Macs for too long. ;-)
Several sites regularly does articles on building a gaming machine. Here is one to start with: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/balanced-gaming-pc-overclock,2625.html
Other good sites would be anandtech.com, firingsquad.com and also www.silentpcreview.com (because a modern PC uses lots of power and therefore needs good cooling which can be LOUD!)
Other than that here are a few keywords/guide lines to look for:
- USB 3.0
- SSD drive for the operatingsystem and main programs (Best $200 you can spend on a new machine)
- AMD(ATI) graphics card is current best choice.
- 4 GB ram is fine, more is nice but makes little difference
- Overclocking can be fun and bring 30%+ in speed for little money.
- The power supply should be 750 watt (or more). Get a good silent one.
- Money seems to be a none-issue so look for 30" screens. It will make your life better. (As an alternative there is a Dell U2711 27" with almost as high res and loads of inputs even Displayport for your Mac)
- Look hard when you pick OS. There are loads of different Windows versions.
And in general, everyone above is correct: a top of the line, silly fast gaming PC will only cost you around $1500 (not counting huge multiple monitors) Head over to the thread, and check out what others have built.
What do you mean exactly by "chipset incompatibility problems", anyway? Typically, as long as your motherboard matches your CPU (it's self-apparent, especially if you do your buying online), you'll be fine. Windows 7 is pretty good about recognizing the major internals of a PC, as well, so don't sweat it.
I can see spending about $2,000 on a PC that will last you for 3-5 years, although half of that is spent on only giving you a moderate edge over a $1,000 PC. Everything else shouldn't cost more than $1,000 (monitor, chair, desk, kbam, speakers, Windows 7), and that's if you're blowing money on all sorts of fancy shit you don't really need.
You can then spend the remaining $2,000 on video games and hookers.
GT: Tanky the Tank
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Well, some TVs have network hardware built into them so they can steam content from the internet or a media server, in which case they should be able to interface directly. Otherwise, no, Windows 7 doesn't magically beam video rays to any television.
My system is a self made rig that i put together for 580 bucks. I dont have a large monitor and i sit really close to the thing, so its not a big deal on resolutions ( my native is 1440x900 ). My system at its sub 600 dollar price tag runs Crysis at max settings, at 1440x900.
For reference my monitor is a 19" 16:10 widescreen.
for 1500 dollars, you could easily put together a pc monitor combo that would be like.... amazing.
As a Mac user I have to say "you can buy two mac pros for that" but really - that was funny.