I know there have been a thousand of these, but it's just too much to keep track of. Plus, nobody else is really in a similar boat as me.
Anywho, I'm hoping to build a PC this summer with a budget of $1000-$1200. I'm going to be using this purely for gaming, and I have ZERO parts. I'm hoping to build something that I won't be outdated for at least a couple of years. Also I have a few questions.
1.A buddy of mine swears by AMD and makes fun of people who "overpay" for intel CPU's. Is there a quality difference between the two?
2.Is now even a good time to be building a PC? Like is there about to be a serious jump in technology that would make building one a fools errand?
3. Like I said, I have no parts that I can use, so I'll be buying everything? Could I just use y'alls smarts to find me all the best parts?
4.Sorry for adding to the number of these kinds of posts. Your help is greatly appreciated. If I've forgotten any key information, just yell at me and I'll let you know. THANK YOU
I have a macbook, so it would be used for gaming and media storage. All of my music and videos would be on the hard drive on the computer I'm going to build because 60 gigs really isnt cutting it on my macbook air.
I'm in america (NC to be exact), and I'm really ok with buying the stuff from anywhere that's reputable and cheap.
Would have been nice to get an SSD in there and prolly could if we dropped the GPU down to something like a GTX-560 or HD6870. Considering your Air has an SSD in it I don't know how you'd feel going back to a mechanical HDD as your main drive then again it might be fine for you. A HD6870/GTX-560 (non-Ti model) will still run most games fine at 1920x1080 without issues, you'd just need to turn down some of the eyecandy. Things like AA should be off anyway since the screen size is so small considering the resolution meaning pixel pitch is smaller. If it were me I'd go for the HD6870 and throw in a SanDisk Extreme 120GB SSD for $125 but that's just me.
You can also always go with the above build and buy an SSD later and install it, it would be a hassle since you'll need to format and reinstall everything but it's a cheaper option than getting lower spec GPU then buying a higher specced one later.
EDIT: Another option is to get a 30-60GB SSD and use it as cache for the HDD using Intel Smart Response.
Thanks a bunch, I really appreciate it. Just a few more questions.
How much of a difference is there between the GPUs you listed? If I go for the 6870 or the GTX 560 will I be replacing it soon? If I go for the higher end 7850 how long could I use that card and expect good results?
Also, what's the difference between intel and AMD? Like my buddy seems pretty knowledgable, and he's the only one I know to recommend AMD. Does the cheaper price mean lower quality?
Lastly, if I got the exact build you listed, what would I need to replace first and when would I need to do it?
Anywho, thank you so much, I really appreciate all the help!
As you can see despite being $10 more it's actually slower in pretty much every test they do.
If you got a GTX-560/HD6870 replacing them will depend on the setttings you will be happy playing games at so it's hard to say. In games the HD7850 is probably on average around 20% faster in games meaning at the same settings and resolution you can expect a notable but not huge increase in performance. Either way you're probably best off going for the HD7850 and purchasing the SSD later.
No problems, sorry for all the spelling mistakes. Was making those posts at 3am after a long Diablo 3 session so was pretty wasted. New keyboard too so getting used to it since it's rather different from my last keyboard.
I know there have been a thousand of these, but it's just too much to keep track of. Plus, nobody else is really in a similar boat as me.
Anywho, I'm hoping to build a PC this summer with a budget of $1000-$1200. I'm going to be using this purely for gaming, and I have ZERO parts. I'm hoping to build something that I won't be outdated for at least a couple of years. Also I have a few questions.
1.A buddy of mine swears by AMD and makes fun of people who "overpay" for intel CPU's. Is there a quality difference between the two?
2.Is now even a good time to be building a PC? Like is there about to be a serious jump in technology that would make building one a fools errand?
3. Like I said, I have no parts that I can use, so I'll be buying everything? Could I just use y'alls smarts to find me all the best parts?
4.Sorry for adding to the number of these kinds of posts. Your help is greatly appreciated. If I've forgotten any key information, just yell at me and I'll let you know. THANK YOU
Is the PC going to be for gaming or just general usage? Where are you located? Do you have preference for a store you would like to purchase from?
I have a macbook, so it would be used for gaming and media storage. All of my music and videos would be on the hard drive on the computer I'm going to build because 60 gigs really isnt cutting it on my macbook air.
I'm in america (NC to be exact), and I'm really ok with buying the stuff from anywhere that's reputable and cheap.
$1179.00 (parts and prices from Newegg)
Would have been nice to get an SSD in there and prolly could if we dropped the GPU down to something like a GTX-560 or HD6870. Considering your Air has an SSD in it I don't know how you'd feel going back to a mechanical HDD as your main drive then again it might be fine for you. A HD6870/GTX-560 (non-Ti model) will still run most games fine at 1920x1080 without issues, you'd just need to turn down some of the eyecandy. Things like AA should be off anyway since the screen size is so small considering the resolution meaning pixel pitch is smaller. If it were me I'd go for the HD6870 and throw in a SanDisk Extreme 120GB SSD for $125 but that's just me.
You can also always go with the above build and buy an SSD later and install it, it would be a hassle since you'll need to format and reinstall everything but it's a cheaper option than getting lower spec GPU then buying a higher specced one later.
EDIT: Another option is to get a 30-60GB SSD and use it as cache for the HDD using Intel Smart Response.
Comparison between the AMD FX-8150 8-Core Processor ($199.99) and the Intel Core i5 2400 Quad Core Processor ($189.99).
As you can see despite being $10 more it's actually slower in pretty much every test they do.
If you got a GTX-560/HD6870 replacing them will depend on the setttings you will be happy playing games at so it's hard to say. In games the HD7850 is probably on average around 20% faster in games meaning at the same settings and resolution you can expect a notable but not huge increase in performance. Either way you're probably best off going for the HD7850 and purchasing the SSD later.
i must say sir, you have been incredibly helpful. thank you so much
No problems, sorry for all the spelling mistakes. Was making those posts at 3am after a long Diablo 3 session so was pretty wasted. New keyboard too so getting used to it since it's rather different from my last keyboard.