Gaming PCs

[madcow]

Hey guys.

So most of the gaming that I do is either on my laptop (which is also an apple) or my old xbox 360 (mostly for major games like dragon age/mass effect/etc).  Needless to say, the xbox 360 is dated enough and has insane load times that it needs to get replaced! I've been debating between getting one of the modern gen consoles or a desktop gaming pc.  Obviously, since this is a pc game website, most people here are going to suggest getting a desktop, so I won't bother asking that!

What I did want to ask is about advice on getting one. I've never built a pc, and all my computers have always been apples, so I'm pretty much clueless about how to go about building/pricing/speccing a pc. Any advice on this?  Additionally, how easy is it to stream the pc to a tv - sitting on a sofa to play a game is just so nice. Don't want to have to give up that option!

Thanks!

[Misery]

Well, I think alot of it is going to depend on just what you want out of it.... what kinds of games you're after on it, particularly.  If you're after alot of high-end graphics type games, that's where the whole thing can get a bit annoying, in terms of selecting parts and all of that gibberish.

I used this site to put mine together:  ibuypower.com 

Damn stupid name for a site, but they've got this nice interface thing on there (I forget just where) that goes away from all of those pre-made models, and essentially makes it easy for you to select your own parts, every single one.  It then gets custom built and sent to you.  And I'm sure there's a variety of other services out there like this one.  I found that it helped.... I'm very good with software, but utterly useless when it comes to handling hardware, so there's no way I could have actually assembled mine on my own.  It would have exploded or something.

As pricing goes, hmm....  that bit always seems hard to get a good grasp on. Typically I see prices for PCs that are anywhere from $500 to $1200, or more, depending on what the things are built out of.  Needless to say the ones on the lower range wont be nearly as good for gaming and such.  Just depends on how much you're willing to spend.

Now as for the bit with the TV, yeah, that can be done.  Mine has a video card (NVidia) that happens to have an HDMI output slot in it in addition to the usual stuffs.  I just stuck the cable into it, and the display and such is currently duplicated onto that second screen.  It was easy. 

.....though that's not actually WHY I did it, I did it because the bloody audio connection decided "HERP DERP DUHHHH" and isnt working right, so the TV (sits next to monitor, and is not the right resolution to just use AS the monitor) is now being used as the world's most idiotic speakers for the PC.  Whole setup is all sorts of stupid.  But it did duplicate the display (with the TV being a fuzzy mess since I've not set it up for that)!  Even though that's not what I needed it for.

[chemical_art]

Hooking up the pc to tv is easy. Just plug the appropriate cable from the slot in your computer with the graphics unit to the correct slot on the TV, then tell the TV to go to that video source.

As for actually making a pc...it can be done...a bit like high stakes lego building...but you need to do a ton of research. You need to understand what the different parts of the PC do. You don't need to know how they work, just what they do and which ones are compatible with each other.

It takes a lot of work but it is cheapest. Especially if you are patient and wait for sales for the parts.

You can do what Misery suggested, which guides what parts you need and builds it for you. Definitely gets pricier doing that though because you cannot take advantage of sales.

[ScrObot]

It's not really hard to build a PC, as long as your parts are compatible. The only "scary" step is seating the CPU, and it's not that bad.

There are a couple subreddits that are helpful: http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc and http://www.reddit.com/r/buildmeapc
The resources in the buildapc subreddit are really good, such as http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/wiki/beginnersguide

http://www.tomshardware.com/ also has quarterly PC builds articles (under Latest Articles, click "BUILD YOUR OWN" for the list).

[Shrugging Khan]

Half a year ago, I got a top-of-the-line gaming PC built by my little brother...mostly from parts discarded by him when he upgraded his way-over-the-top-of-the-line machine. Still cost me 300€, but it's worth way more than that!

So, while I probably can't lend out my brother to you, I do recommend asking around a bit. Maybe some people you know have quality parts lying around, maybe some have old computers with decent parts they aren't using anymore, maybe you at least find someone who can hammer all the parts you find/buy together for you.

Or you can do a lot of research and do it yourself, of course...