Gaming PC Walkthrough Build

[remington50]

Ok. So after writing my first post here a little too sloppy and poorly worded I am going to reboot my question and see if I can make it a little simpler to help a noob out.

If you were going to build a gaming PC on a budget, piece by piece, for the living room, where would you start? What is the first piece of hardware you start researching? So what I'm looking for is not so much "buy THIS intel part," but more

1) find the right processor. What works for you?
2) find the right motherboard for that processor.
3) Etc

So where do you start with your research for a gaming PC and what should the last steps be?

 

[Jeff G]

First, decide if you want current gen hardware or last gen to save a little.
Second, decide Intel vs AMD.
Third, will you overclock?

I would start with those questions, then look at a cpu and motherboard that fits those answers. GPU, PSU, Case, Ram, etc is pretty universal to any build as long as you spec them to your setup (ddr3 vs ddr4, psu power, etc).

 

[Tír na nÓg]

I have 2 in the living room (see pics), they both do the "living room job", but on differnt levels.

You said you want to game@1080p on a big screen?

See my post in your previous thread.

If you want to game, AMD is out of the game until Zen launches.

1)6600k, 6700k, 5820k (broadwell-e processors clock like ****e).
2)Unlocked CPU? Get the MoBo that supports the CPU fa;ily with overclocking capabilities and which have the bfeatures you need (Z170 for 6600k/6700k and X99 for 5820k.
3)1060 and RX 480 are the cards to go for 1080p

Then, make the math for PSU, cooling, overclock or not...

 

[bob4933]

Your monitor choice largely dictates your parts and selections.


If you're trying to game on a 4k monitor, your needs are different than gaming on a 1080p tv.



From there, your quality requirements needs to be addressed. Are you looking for 100+Fps at ultra quality? Are you content with medium quality at 60fps?


Are you looking for basically a plug n play experience?


And after you decide all that, then we get to factor in budget.

If you're on a REALLY tight budget, and looking for "living room gaming", then a PC isn't your best choice. A console is more than likely the best route for you to take.


That said, if you're not keeping up with the tech, you are largely at the mercy of recommendations of others.

- In general, an i5 is always your best choice for gaming. Powerful enough for all games at any settings, cheaper than the i7 counterpart for minimal gains.
- buying the "best" hardware is typically a fools errand; more for the enthusiast than the average consumer. Everyone wants the best, but an i5 and a 1060 is quite a decent gaming machine @ 1080p.


The right motherboard is usually dicated by budget than any other means. You should get the best* motherboard you can get that fits in your budget ( to a point). Why? Upgrade path as well as reliability. Buying a 40$ B series motherboard will "work", but you are severely limited by I/O, overclocking capabilitries, upgrade paths, pcie, sata, etc. Buying a 400$ top of the line motherboard is also probably not the best choice for most persons. There is a point of diminishing returns around the 150$ mark with most motherboard markets. Looking for long term, reliable solution with overclocking headroom is typically what we suggest around here.





TL;DR

Step 1) do your research
Step 2) ask questions
Step 3) select parts
Step 4) confirm selections with more experienced persons***, and accept the feedback given. Sometimes people like to spend your money for you, so you also need to take recommendations with a grain of salt.
Step 5) repeat 1-4 until youre ready to make a purchase


*** be wary of where you get your advice. Reddit, linustechtips forum, youtube, etc are generally TERRIBLE places to get solid information. i.e. Me -> "No tim, you really dont need a 1200 watt psu any more" Tim -> "But EVGA says I need 500w per card..." Dave -> "Yeah man, he needs the 1200w for upgradeability. What if he wants to sli his gpu" *Sigh*...