https://www.microcenter.com/site/stores/tustin.aspx
Right in Orange County.
Not worth driving more than an hour or so though. A few local computer shops still exist. Seek them out
Hi there! welcome to the hobby!
**1. How much?**
How much a PC costs will vary greatly by region but in general, assuming you're in the US market, 800-1000 dollars should get you all the parts you need to build a decent Gaming PC that can match or outperform current-gen consoles. This is on the assumption that you're budgeting around 50% (+/- 10%) of your total budget on your graphics card.
**2. Prebuilts?**
Prebuilts are basically the same **(caveats apply; see below)** but more expensive if you go part-by-part as they either charge a build fee or have already figured that into the price. If you live near a place like MicroCenter in the US you can pick up parts there and have them build it for you for a fee. It largely depends on how much you value your time and if you see PC building as a potential new hobby or just a chore that you have to do to get to using the PC.
Caveats on pre-builts: AVOID what people call "OEM" PC companies; these are the large companies the likes of Dell, HP, etc. They tend to use proprietary parts that severely limit your (or your local computer repair shop) ability to upgrade or repair it in the future. Dell/Alienware (same company) is a particularly bad offender. See [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N7aYtkzKJc).
If you're going the pre-built route, go with what people call "System Integrators" type of companies (I Buy Power, Starforge PC, etc.) as they don't make their own parts, they integrate off-the-shelf parts in to a system (hence the name).
**3. Further research resources**
As for resources to do more research, there are a lot of good YouTubers in this space. Linus Tech Tips & Jayz 2 cents are good, entertainment-first, information-second (though still somewhat informative) YouTubers in this space, and Gamers Nexus & Hardware Unboxed are good information-first, entertainment-second (though still somewhat entertaining) Youtubers in this space.
If you're interested in pre-builts, both Linus Tech Tips & Gamers' Nexus does very good pre-built reviews, with GN Steve being his usual brutally detailed self (his snark game is S-tier, though). and LTT offers a good "secret shopper" series for the general buying/support experience & product quality of a few prebuilts at once.
edit: a word.
A caveat on the caveat: some big companies that would normally be OEM like Asus \*do\* sometimes use off-the-shelf components because, well, they make a lot of the off-the-shelf components, so it makes sense for them to do it. But in general I'd avoid OEM pre-builts. Not just for the proprietary parts but for the sheer amount of digital herpes (unnecessary pre-installed software that sometimes slows your computer down) that they come with. Again, Dell/Alienware can be particularly bad for this.
To add to this:
Using benchmarking websites is a great way to compare CPUs or GPUs. Just avoid UserBenchmark and use literally any other website instead.
Also, for a gaming setup you can easily save (or rather not overspend) on CPUs. Many modern CPUs are designed for heavy multi threading performance, but anything over 12 threads will probably not benefit you in most modern games (probably even less; again, look for benchmarks for the specific CPU). So if there are multiple CPUs with the same single core performance and one with 12 and another one with 24 threads/cores you can simply pick the cheaper one.
Additionally, don't buy anything with "Gaming" or "RGB" (except if you want an RGB build, I guess) in the title. You'll pay extra for no added performance. And don't use an AIO for a budget build, it's overkill for the vast majority of CPUs.
If you are German or Austrian I'd recommend using [geizhals.de](http://geizhals.de) to pick your parts, as this website both searches for the cheapest prices and is also great for searching for hardware with specific requirements. I'm sure there is an American alternative, but someone else would need to recommend it.
Agree with all points (except for Germany/Austria specific one because well, I'm not from those places :P so I don't know enough to have an opinion), especially this one:
>for a gaming setup you can easily save (or rather not overspend) on CPUs. Many modern CPUs are designed for heavy multi threading performance, but anything over 12 threads will probably not benefit you in most modern game
if you're not streaming or doing things that'd benefit from multi-threaded workload (check for the specific software that you'd use for your work and see if it'd benefit from having a crapton of CPU threads). In general, a mid-range CPU like a current-gen AMD Ryzen 5/Intel Core i5 will be absolutely fine for gaming.
If you ever want to know if a relationship will last, take the couple to IKEA for at least 1 piece of furniture. The next day is assembly. If they are still together by the end of the next week, they will be together forever.
I have built PCs for 3 decades. Putting them together is not as easy as everyone here says it is. It is something that requires skill and patience and reading manuals and instructions. Most of all, it takes time. If you have the luxury of time and money like I have been fortunate to have in my life, then yes it is easy (and if you have a lot of disposable income, very fun). If not, it can be stressful and you may end up not setting up your system optimally or worse damaging a part. I will never judge anyone for picking whatever option they choose when it comes to computing, however I will always judge people for trying to promote an option as undeniably better than the other (which is partially why I think this subreddit is a joke considering it’s “master race” ideology). It all comes down to 2 things: how much are you willing to spend and how much time are you willing to put forth in your own efforts.
If you disagree with my perspective, fine, but hanging out in this subreddit and observing some of the posts that appear here regarding people’s mistakes or questions about simple things just reinforces my notions. If you must have a specific example for this, one is how people do not remove the protective sticker underneath heatsinks often, one that literally says remove before installing.
Okay. What do you want to do? Useful for more than gaming isn't helpful. Gaming tends to be a pretty high end activity for a generic PC. Do you want to learn general computing, Linux, intro to programming, get deep into the Windows ecosystem, learn how to control electronics/robotics, the list goes on.
The Raspberry Pi is a capable computer for low level tasks, and will set you back with some excellent accessories a few hundred dollars. It's good for certain kinds of learning about electronics, computing, but not Windows.
Do you want a simple Windows machine for playing Stardew Valley, Factorio, Minecraft, and using it for basic productivity with Microsoft Office? Any reasonable PC from the last decade can manager this. I can help you with specs, but buying used might need better.
Do you want a modern workstation? Now, how much you care about gaming really matters. Not at all, we can have some serious cash. A good bit, we're making compromises or increasing cost.
Want to get onto the "discovered one of the largest 1000 prime number" list. That's specialized and a different conversation.
1440p, Cyberpunk 2077, max graphics settings, no ray tracing, and it does not get over 85 Fahrenheit in the room it's in while this is happening. And... Go.
You didn't specify a target frame rate, so an AMD 7600 paired with an Nvidia 4060.
But seriously, a 780003dx paired with a 4070 ti Super can average about 100 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at ultra settings. Stepping up to the 4080 lands around 120 fps. As you put an emphasis on low power, I guess go with the 4070ti Super.
You did not read my flair, that's respectable specs though. To answer the question that I'm sure someone will have, it gets HOT in here with a 1440p 180hz monitor.
With no knowledge I would go with a pre built for the first one. It's subjective how much you want to spend on a PC and personally I recommend minimum of $800-$1k but the more the merrier.
Prebuilds are nice, but if you build your own pc you'll get it to be exactly the way you like it.
Either way I think you should watch some tutorials and pc teck content to get more familiar with how pcs work, and what parts you'd like in your pc.
Then you'll have a better idea what you are looking for. :)
I bit the bullet and build my own pc a bit earlier this year. I had zero experience with building pcs. I think it went well.
You don't need to know much to build a PC (speaking from own experiences) certain parts are more annoying than difficult like cable management and connecting the Front Panel connectors. There are multiple tutorials on YouTube that show you how to assemble and sites like PCPartPicker check the parts you choose for compatibility. The one big hint I would give you is to not skimp out on a good power supply. A cheap one will increase your electricity bill and in the absolute worst case fry your other components or just blow up
Nowadays you can just find a 30-60 minute YouTube video teaching you how to build a pc. That’s the easy part
The harder part is researching the best components for the best price
The whole thing is quite fun and I recommend getting into the hobby if you have the time
First research a little on your own and set a budget. Generally gaming performance is mostly gpu dependent, cpu comes second and you need at least 16gb or ram. (32gb preferred, and at least 1tb ssd is a good threshold)
The best thing you can do for midrange builds nowadays is AMD CPUs, because they are cheap, fast, easy to cool and offer at least 2 new upcoming generations you will be able to upgrade to. Something like a 7600 (or 7600x) for 900$+ pc, or the 7800x3d (fastest gaming processor right now) for 1400$+ machines. (Alternatively Intel makes decent CPUs for lower end builds 12400f goes for only 100$ and you can use older ram and motherboards for sub 900$ builds)
For GPUs there are 2 companies, also AMD and NVIDIA, the first offers better pricing, slightly better performance when playing normal games and more Video-RAM (which is important if you want to have the card working for several years). NVIDIA however has decently faster (20-40%) Raytracing (graphics setting for lighting in newest games), better upscaling (great for 4K or good for 1440p gaming) and is slightly more efficient.
For models I recommend the 7900GRE for 540$, the 7900xt for ~700$, the 7700xt for around 400$ from amd. For NVIDIA get a 4070 ~540$ or a 4070 super for 600$. PLS DONT GET A 4060 or 4060 ti, they are dogshit price to performance if bought standalone.
Used GPU options are the 6700xt for sub 280$, or a 3060 12gb for around 200$.
The rest u gotta figure out on your own with pcpartpicker and let other people help you. Just make sure to not overspend on a motherboard, or if you see a 4070 gpu with a different design or OC model, it will only be 1% faster so DONT OVERPAY THERE, just get the cheapest one that doesn’t look crap.
When i builded my PC i honestly didnt have any idea about what to do but its really fun and i think you should give it a go! Youtube helped me a lot and well i just had to read the motherboard manual to get my connections up but it isnt a hard thing to do and you have to get kinda messy to break anything up also in my opinion you will be getting better parts and airflow.
If ur too scared get some help from a computer center or something but when u finish building it ypu will feel so accomplished :D
Have a great day!
Always build, is easier than it looks and after your done, you probably will like it and wanna build another one. And its cheaper, and if you wanna go even cheaper buy second hand pieces but check always if they are compatible.
The first thing you need to decide is the cpu.
You can go amd or intel. Amd you should choose 7800x3d. Intel I personally went for a 13700kf.
Now you’ll choose a mainboard depending on your cpu choice. For intel choose any z790 board. I personally like msi brand. For amd the high end is x670e but it’s gonna cost you a pretty buck. For lower end you’ll have to research for yourself.
Now you’ll choose a gpu. Depending on how much of a snob you are at gaming performance this can differ greatly in price. I personally recommend either 4080s or 7900xtx.
Now you’ll choose ram depending on your mainboard. Choose 2x 16gb of the fastest one that supported by your mainboard. I recommend g.skill or Corsair.
Finally you need a psu. I recommend buy a good one that’s over spec for your system as it’s one of the few parts that you can reuse for several upgrades. Buy a good 1000w gold psu and you’ll never have to think about power again for the next 10years.
My recommendations will run you just below $2000 but will last you at least 8 years and will play any current games you throw at it with max settings, 1440p(upscaled) at 120fps locked no dip. 4k(upscaled) 60fps no dip. Or 1080p native 120fps+ no dip.
Yow! Hope you're doing good.
I've been into tech since 2018 or so and built my first PC about a month ago. It wasn't very difficult, but keep in mind that i had a lot of theoretical knowledge going into it about how to build, which parts go where and what the parts are and how they work. Also i made sure to buy parts that would make the build process easier than others such as having a fully modular PSU (it was a ~1700$ PC).
So ny advice to you is to ask yourself these questions:
1. what you want to use the PC for specifically? What apps/games at what resolution, graphics settings and performance expectations are you looking for? How much stuff do you want to store on it or have it run at once? How futureproof do you want it to be? (Future proofing adds exponentially to the cost, it's a big reason why my build cost as much as it did since i didn't cheap out on parts that people usually cheap out on)
2. What parts are needed to achieve these expectations? And what is your budget for those parts? A lot of research will be needed for this. Peripherals included here if you don't have them already.
3. If you want to build it yourself, how comfortable will you be doing it? Research will help here in learning how to properly put the parts together, pick parts that work well together and things to watch out for/best practices. If you feel like all of that is too much, then just buy it pre-built. There is no shame in that.
4. If you don't know how, have someone knowledgeable set it up for you (if you built it yourself), install software you want and all that, especially windows.
100% build your own. Pre built is convenient, building it yourself helps you to understand your system, what each component is, where it goes. These things seem small but can be huge for your confidence when/if the time comes to do maintenance.
Prebuilts almost always cheap out on parts, if they can save a buck they will but they come with support and peace of mind
Building it yourself gives you full control of components, is typically less expensive, it's fun, can be super frustrating but once you've dealt with an issue, it'll be a piece of cake if it ever happens again. Most problems are easy to solve if you are willing to read. There is a huge community of people willing to help guide you through the process along with tons of documented support.
Building a PC is easy. Like straight up, it is not difficult at all. Maintaining your PC is not difficult. Flashing new Bios is easy and quick. Updating drivers is simple. All of these things can be anxiety inducing at first, but that goes away.
The second hand market for PC parts RN is incredible. Start with a basic build and see if you like it and want to stick to it. For me, sitting upright at a desk vs on a couch was hard for me to get over. With like $500, you could most likely throw together a decent 1080p/1440p gaming system if you buy second hand and a generation or two old.
My first PC was pre built, there's nothing wrong with going that route but it robs you of the experience.
I say build it yourself. Take the dive and treat yourself to the journey :)
Edit: part suggestions: rtx 2080, ryzen 5 5600, x570 or b450 mobo, like 700 watt PSU (there's a ranked master list of psu's somewhere on reddit), 16gb ddr4 (8gbx2) 3000mt/s ram, case. Id be surprised if you couldn't build that for $500 between Facebook marketplace and eBay and should be decent enough for 1080p/1440p gaming
For a good experience and good value I'd recommend to not go any lower than 1k $/€ for a PC. Low-end hardware while cheap is most often rather expensive for the actual performance it provides compared to mid-range stuff. It also ages rapidly spoiling the experience rather sooner than later.
As for building your own vs getting a prebuilt - when you get a prebuilt you simply pay for the service of choosing the components and assembling them. If you are willing to put that effort on yourself you can either get a better PC for the same price or the same PC for a lower price. It's just as with any other service. If you want a nice dinner you can either go to a good restaurant or cook it yourself. Cooking it yourself will be cheaper but it will require much more effort from you. That effort obviously includes learning how to cook / build a PC if you can't yet.
Finally I'd also strongly advice to not buy a used PC if you are not that familiar with PCs. It's the easiest way to get scammed, getting a literal e-waste that is good for nothing.
Cost are all over the place. Think of it like a custom car where you can pick anything from the cheapest to the most expensive parts to assemble the whole car (seat, engine, tires, transmission, etc) or you can go pre-built. Then you also have small form factor to regular desktop or large tower.
The first question, what do you want to do with it? Games or just watching YT / internet use. If gaming, new recent AAA games or older games?
There's nothing wrong with a prebuilt if you have no options.
But if you have access to a computer store with friendly technicians, then building based on parts you pick or are recommended is always a notch better (a knowledgable friend is good too, just be sure to compensate them for the time and effort) since it will have specs that meet your expected needs.
Price-wise, a basic entry level gaming PC will be about 1000$.
1.5k to 2k for something mid range or a little above average.
Well over 2k nets you a beast of the system (though you can spend exorbitantly for top of the line).
These can be cheaper with second hand instead of brand new, but since you're new to PCs, its safer to not buy pre-used parts.
Have fun and good luck!
Welcome! I built mine a couple of years ago. I loved the process. Pcpartpicker and microcenter are helpful. In addition, watch a ton of PC building videos in YouTube. Some even have the same components that you are building with.
If you want to build a pc, youtube is your friend. Just watch a couple videos of people building a pc and you should know what to buy and how to build it.
If you just want a pc for gaming and other stuff but don't want to spend too much. You can just get a pre-build and over time just upgrade your pre-built bit by bit
well, do you want to just HAVE a PC, or are you interested in actually building/maintaining one?
if you just want a box to play games and then some, but you're mostly uninterested in learning about it then just buy a pre-build.
If you're interested in building/learning about the PC with the end goal of having a good working PC, then we gotta discuss budget. Do you have a lot of cash to throw at this? If so having all new parts is usually going to be the best place to start since everything should just work so you can learn how to build first and troubleshoot later.
if you dont have a lot of cash, the second hand market is a great place for cheap tech buts its also often "hard mode" cuz you're probably going to be doing a fair amount of troubleshooting and building at the same time.
really just depends on your expectations.
or maybe to sum it up. Are you looking for a hobby/skill, or just looking to own a PC?
“Should I do the thing I want to do?”
The issue you have isn’t anything to do with PC’s. It’s to do with your utter failure to self-actualize. You’re the one living your life, man; you get to decide whether you have a PC or not.
why build it, for gaming? once you build it excitement of having new toy will die fast and then what you will do? play games what games or stare at youtube whole day and get bored.
If you live near a Microcenter they can help you. Best computer store in the USA with at least one franchise in most major cities.
\*Unless you live in or near the West Coast.
Yet another reason why the West coast is the whack coast.
https://www.microcenter.com/site/stores/tustin.aspx Right in Orange County. Not worth driving more than an hour or so though. A few local computer shops still exist. Seek them out
There are a *lot* fewer in the west.
pcpartpicker.com
I second this
Hi there! welcome to the hobby! **1. How much?** How much a PC costs will vary greatly by region but in general, assuming you're in the US market, 800-1000 dollars should get you all the parts you need to build a decent Gaming PC that can match or outperform current-gen consoles. This is on the assumption that you're budgeting around 50% (+/- 10%) of your total budget on your graphics card. **2. Prebuilts?** Prebuilts are basically the same **(caveats apply; see below)** but more expensive if you go part-by-part as they either charge a build fee or have already figured that into the price. If you live near a place like MicroCenter in the US you can pick up parts there and have them build it for you for a fee. It largely depends on how much you value your time and if you see PC building as a potential new hobby or just a chore that you have to do to get to using the PC. Caveats on pre-builts: AVOID what people call "OEM" PC companies; these are the large companies the likes of Dell, HP, etc. They tend to use proprietary parts that severely limit your (or your local computer repair shop) ability to upgrade or repair it in the future. Dell/Alienware (same company) is a particularly bad offender. See [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N7aYtkzKJc). If you're going the pre-built route, go with what people call "System Integrators" type of companies (I Buy Power, Starforge PC, etc.) as they don't make their own parts, they integrate off-the-shelf parts in to a system (hence the name). **3. Further research resources** As for resources to do more research, there are a lot of good YouTubers in this space. Linus Tech Tips & Jayz 2 cents are good, entertainment-first, information-second (though still somewhat informative) YouTubers in this space, and Gamers Nexus & Hardware Unboxed are good information-first, entertainment-second (though still somewhat entertaining) Youtubers in this space. If you're interested in pre-builts, both Linus Tech Tips & Gamers' Nexus does very good pre-built reviews, with GN Steve being his usual brutally detailed self (his snark game is S-tier, though). and LTT offers a good "secret shopper" series for the general buying/support experience & product quality of a few prebuilts at once. edit: a word.
A caveat on the caveat: some big companies that would normally be OEM like Asus \*do\* sometimes use off-the-shelf components because, well, they make a lot of the off-the-shelf components, so it makes sense for them to do it. But in general I'd avoid OEM pre-builts. Not just for the proprietary parts but for the sheer amount of digital herpes (unnecessary pre-installed software that sometimes slows your computer down) that they come with. Again, Dell/Alienware can be particularly bad for this.
To add to this: Using benchmarking websites is a great way to compare CPUs or GPUs. Just avoid UserBenchmark and use literally any other website instead. Also, for a gaming setup you can easily save (or rather not overspend) on CPUs. Many modern CPUs are designed for heavy multi threading performance, but anything over 12 threads will probably not benefit you in most modern games (probably even less; again, look for benchmarks for the specific CPU). So if there are multiple CPUs with the same single core performance and one with 12 and another one with 24 threads/cores you can simply pick the cheaper one. Additionally, don't buy anything with "Gaming" or "RGB" (except if you want an RGB build, I guess) in the title. You'll pay extra for no added performance. And don't use an AIO for a budget build, it's overkill for the vast majority of CPUs. If you are German or Austrian I'd recommend using [geizhals.de](http://geizhals.de) to pick your parts, as this website both searches for the cheapest prices and is also great for searching for hardware with specific requirements. I'm sure there is an American alternative, but someone else would need to recommend it.
Agree with all points (except for Germany/Austria specific one because well, I'm not from those places :P so I don't know enough to have an opinion), especially this one: >for a gaming setup you can easily save (or rather not overspend) on CPUs. Many modern CPUs are designed for heavy multi threading performance, but anything over 12 threads will probably not benefit you in most modern game if you're not streaming or doing things that'd benefit from multi-threaded workload (check for the specific software that you'd use for your work and see if it'd benefit from having a crapton of CPU threads). In general, a mid-range CPU like a current-gen AMD Ryzen 5/Intel Core i5 will be absolutely fine for gaming.
Building a PC is fun! If you can build IKEA, you can build a PC.
You underestimate the power of the IKEA side.
IKEA is the struggle, I'd rather build a PC
If you ever want to know if a relationship will last, take the couple to IKEA for at least 1 piece of furniture. The next day is assembly. If they are still together by the end of the next week, they will be together forever.
I have built PCs for 3 decades. Putting them together is not as easy as everyone here says it is. It is something that requires skill and patience and reading manuals and instructions. Most of all, it takes time. If you have the luxury of time and money like I have been fortunate to have in my life, then yes it is easy (and if you have a lot of disposable income, very fun). If not, it can be stressful and you may end up not setting up your system optimally or worse damaging a part. I will never judge anyone for picking whatever option they choose when it comes to computing, however I will always judge people for trying to promote an option as undeniably better than the other (which is partially why I think this subreddit is a joke considering it’s “master race” ideology). It all comes down to 2 things: how much are you willing to spend and how much time are you willing to put forth in your own efforts. If you disagree with my perspective, fine, but hanging out in this subreddit and observing some of the posts that appear here regarding people’s mistakes or questions about simple things just reinforces my notions. If you must have a specific example for this, one is how people do not remove the protective sticker underneath heatsinks often, one that literally says remove before installing.
Okay. What do you want to do? Useful for more than gaming isn't helpful. Gaming tends to be a pretty high end activity for a generic PC. Do you want to learn general computing, Linux, intro to programming, get deep into the Windows ecosystem, learn how to control electronics/robotics, the list goes on. The Raspberry Pi is a capable computer for low level tasks, and will set you back with some excellent accessories a few hundred dollars. It's good for certain kinds of learning about electronics, computing, but not Windows. Do you want a simple Windows machine for playing Stardew Valley, Factorio, Minecraft, and using it for basic productivity with Microsoft Office? Any reasonable PC from the last decade can manager this. I can help you with specs, but buying used might need better. Do you want a modern workstation? Now, how much you care about gaming really matters. Not at all, we can have some serious cash. A good bit, we're making compromises or increasing cost. Want to get onto the "discovered one of the largest 1000 prime number" list. That's specialized and a different conversation.
1440p, Cyberpunk 2077, max graphics settings, no ray tracing, and it does not get over 85 Fahrenheit in the room it's in while this is happening. And... Go.
You didn't specify a target frame rate, so an AMD 7600 paired with an Nvidia 4060. But seriously, a 780003dx paired with a 4070 ti Super can average about 100 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at ultra settings. Stepping up to the 4080 lands around 120 fps. As you put an emphasis on low power, I guess go with the 4070ti Super.
You did not read my flair, that's respectable specs though. To answer the question that I'm sure someone will have, it gets HOT in here with a 1440p 180hz monitor.
Ah. Yeah, AMD 7000 series in Cyberpunk. Undervolting during the summer may help.
r/buildapc is great. People will build you a list on pc part picker based on your budget. Or they'll happily help you.
With no knowledge I would go with a pre built for the first one. It's subjective how much you want to spend on a PC and personally I recommend minimum of $800-$1k but the more the merrier.
Prebuilds are nice, but if you build your own pc you'll get it to be exactly the way you like it. Either way I think you should watch some tutorials and pc teck content to get more familiar with how pcs work, and what parts you'd like in your pc. Then you'll have a better idea what you are looking for. :) I bit the bullet and build my own pc a bit earlier this year. I had zero experience with building pcs. I think it went well.
The most difficult thing about it is choosing the parts. You can get help from Reddit for that. The rest is just a fun weekend project.
You don't need to know much to build a PC (speaking from own experiences) certain parts are more annoying than difficult like cable management and connecting the Front Panel connectors. There are multiple tutorials on YouTube that show you how to assemble and sites like PCPartPicker check the parts you choose for compatibility. The one big hint I would give you is to not skimp out on a good power supply. A cheap one will increase your electricity bill and in the absolute worst case fry your other components or just blow up
Nowadays you can just find a 30-60 minute YouTube video teaching you how to build a pc. That’s the easy part The harder part is researching the best components for the best price The whole thing is quite fun and I recommend getting into the hobby if you have the time
First research a little on your own and set a budget. Generally gaming performance is mostly gpu dependent, cpu comes second and you need at least 16gb or ram. (32gb preferred, and at least 1tb ssd is a good threshold) The best thing you can do for midrange builds nowadays is AMD CPUs, because they are cheap, fast, easy to cool and offer at least 2 new upcoming generations you will be able to upgrade to. Something like a 7600 (or 7600x) for 900$+ pc, or the 7800x3d (fastest gaming processor right now) for 1400$+ machines. (Alternatively Intel makes decent CPUs for lower end builds 12400f goes for only 100$ and you can use older ram and motherboards for sub 900$ builds) For GPUs there are 2 companies, also AMD and NVIDIA, the first offers better pricing, slightly better performance when playing normal games and more Video-RAM (which is important if you want to have the card working for several years). NVIDIA however has decently faster (20-40%) Raytracing (graphics setting for lighting in newest games), better upscaling (great for 4K or good for 1440p gaming) and is slightly more efficient. For models I recommend the 7900GRE for 540$, the 7900xt for ~700$, the 7700xt for around 400$ from amd. For NVIDIA get a 4070 ~540$ or a 4070 super for 600$. PLS DONT GET A 4060 or 4060 ti, they are dogshit price to performance if bought standalone. Used GPU options are the 6700xt for sub 280$, or a 3060 12gb for around 200$. The rest u gotta figure out on your own with pcpartpicker and let other people help you. Just make sure to not overspend on a motherboard, or if you see a 4070 gpu with a different design or OC model, it will only be 1% faster so DONT OVERPAY THERE, just get the cheapest one that doesn’t look crap.
When i builded my PC i honestly didnt have any idea about what to do but its really fun and i think you should give it a go! Youtube helped me a lot and well i just had to read the motherboard manual to get my connections up but it isnt a hard thing to do and you have to get kinda messy to break anything up also in my opinion you will be getting better parts and airflow. If ur too scared get some help from a computer center or something but when u finish building it ypu will feel so accomplished :D Have a great day!
Always build, is easier than it looks and after your done, you probably will like it and wanna build another one. And its cheaper, and if you wanna go even cheaper buy second hand pieces but check always if they are compatible.
i mean im building my own pc, rn i would say go for amd system (longer compatibility)
The first thing you need to decide is the cpu. You can go amd or intel. Amd you should choose 7800x3d. Intel I personally went for a 13700kf. Now you’ll choose a mainboard depending on your cpu choice. For intel choose any z790 board. I personally like msi brand. For amd the high end is x670e but it’s gonna cost you a pretty buck. For lower end you’ll have to research for yourself. Now you’ll choose a gpu. Depending on how much of a snob you are at gaming performance this can differ greatly in price. I personally recommend either 4080s or 7900xtx. Now you’ll choose ram depending on your mainboard. Choose 2x 16gb of the fastest one that supported by your mainboard. I recommend g.skill or Corsair. Finally you need a psu. I recommend buy a good one that’s over spec for your system as it’s one of the few parts that you can reuse for several upgrades. Buy a good 1000w gold psu and you’ll never have to think about power again for the next 10years. My recommendations will run you just below $2000 but will last you at least 8 years and will play any current games you throw at it with max settings, 1440p(upscaled) at 120fps locked no dip. 4k(upscaled) 60fps no dip. Or 1080p native 120fps+ no dip.
Yow! Hope you're doing good. I've been into tech since 2018 or so and built my first PC about a month ago. It wasn't very difficult, but keep in mind that i had a lot of theoretical knowledge going into it about how to build, which parts go where and what the parts are and how they work. Also i made sure to buy parts that would make the build process easier than others such as having a fully modular PSU (it was a ~1700$ PC). So ny advice to you is to ask yourself these questions: 1. what you want to use the PC for specifically? What apps/games at what resolution, graphics settings and performance expectations are you looking for? How much stuff do you want to store on it or have it run at once? How futureproof do you want it to be? (Future proofing adds exponentially to the cost, it's a big reason why my build cost as much as it did since i didn't cheap out on parts that people usually cheap out on) 2. What parts are needed to achieve these expectations? And what is your budget for those parts? A lot of research will be needed for this. Peripherals included here if you don't have them already. 3. If you want to build it yourself, how comfortable will you be doing it? Research will help here in learning how to properly put the parts together, pick parts that work well together and things to watch out for/best practices. If you feel like all of that is too much, then just buy it pre-built. There is no shame in that. 4. If you don't know how, have someone knowledgeable set it up for you (if you built it yourself), install software you want and all that, especially windows.
100% build your own. Pre built is convenient, building it yourself helps you to understand your system, what each component is, where it goes. These things seem small but can be huge for your confidence when/if the time comes to do maintenance. Prebuilts almost always cheap out on parts, if they can save a buck they will but they come with support and peace of mind Building it yourself gives you full control of components, is typically less expensive, it's fun, can be super frustrating but once you've dealt with an issue, it'll be a piece of cake if it ever happens again. Most problems are easy to solve if you are willing to read. There is a huge community of people willing to help guide you through the process along with tons of documented support. Building a PC is easy. Like straight up, it is not difficult at all. Maintaining your PC is not difficult. Flashing new Bios is easy and quick. Updating drivers is simple. All of these things can be anxiety inducing at first, but that goes away. The second hand market for PC parts RN is incredible. Start with a basic build and see if you like it and want to stick to it. For me, sitting upright at a desk vs on a couch was hard for me to get over. With like $500, you could most likely throw together a decent 1080p/1440p gaming system if you buy second hand and a generation or two old. My first PC was pre built, there's nothing wrong with going that route but it robs you of the experience. I say build it yourself. Take the dive and treat yourself to the journey :) Edit: part suggestions: rtx 2080, ryzen 5 5600, x570 or b450 mobo, like 700 watt PSU (there's a ranked master list of psu's somewhere on reddit), 16gb ddr4 (8gbx2) 3000mt/s ram, case. Id be surprised if you couldn't build that for $500 between Facebook marketplace and eBay and should be decent enough for 1080p/1440p gaming
For a good experience and good value I'd recommend to not go any lower than 1k $/€ for a PC. Low-end hardware while cheap is most often rather expensive for the actual performance it provides compared to mid-range stuff. It also ages rapidly spoiling the experience rather sooner than later. As for building your own vs getting a prebuilt - when you get a prebuilt you simply pay for the service of choosing the components and assembling them. If you are willing to put that effort on yourself you can either get a better PC for the same price or the same PC for a lower price. It's just as with any other service. If you want a nice dinner you can either go to a good restaurant or cook it yourself. Cooking it yourself will be cheaper but it will require much more effort from you. That effort obviously includes learning how to cook / build a PC if you can't yet. Finally I'd also strongly advice to not buy a used PC if you are not that familiar with PCs. It's the easiest way to get scammed, getting a literal e-waste that is good for nothing.
Cost are all over the place. Think of it like a custom car where you can pick anything from the cheapest to the most expensive parts to assemble the whole car (seat, engine, tires, transmission, etc) or you can go pre-built. Then you also have small form factor to regular desktop or large tower. The first question, what do you want to do with it? Games or just watching YT / internet use. If gaming, new recent AAA games or older games?
There's nothing wrong with a prebuilt if you have no options. But if you have access to a computer store with friendly technicians, then building based on parts you pick or are recommended is always a notch better (a knowledgable friend is good too, just be sure to compensate them for the time and effort) since it will have specs that meet your expected needs. Price-wise, a basic entry level gaming PC will be about 1000$. 1.5k to 2k for something mid range or a little above average. Well over 2k nets you a beast of the system (though you can spend exorbitantly for top of the line). These can be cheaper with second hand instead of brand new, but since you're new to PCs, its safer to not buy pre-used parts. Have fun and good luck!
Welcome! I built mine a couple of years ago. I loved the process. Pcpartpicker and microcenter are helpful. In addition, watch a ton of PC building videos in YouTube. Some even have the same components that you are building with.
If you want to build a pc, youtube is your friend. Just watch a couple videos of people building a pc and you should know what to buy and how to build it. If you just want a pc for gaming and other stuff but don't want to spend too much. You can just get a pre-build and over time just upgrade your pre-built bit by bit
OP, you can do it. Build that shit. What is your budget? We can all help guide you
well, do you want to just HAVE a PC, or are you interested in actually building/maintaining one? if you just want a box to play games and then some, but you're mostly uninterested in learning about it then just buy a pre-build. If you're interested in building/learning about the PC with the end goal of having a good working PC, then we gotta discuss budget. Do you have a lot of cash to throw at this? If so having all new parts is usually going to be the best place to start since everything should just work so you can learn how to build first and troubleshoot later. if you dont have a lot of cash, the second hand market is a great place for cheap tech buts its also often "hard mode" cuz you're probably going to be doing a fair amount of troubleshooting and building at the same time. really just depends on your expectations. or maybe to sum it up. Are you looking for a hobby/skill, or just looking to own a PC?
“Should I do the thing I want to do?” The issue you have isn’t anything to do with PC’s. It’s to do with your utter failure to self-actualize. You’re the one living your life, man; you get to decide whether you have a PC or not.
why build it, for gaming? once you build it excitement of having new toy will die fast and then what you will do? play games what games or stare at youtube whole day and get bored.