As a beginner, should I build a budget or powerful PC?
Posted by ComputerFloorBoy@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 12 comments
I recently have become interested in PC building and I am confused on how much I should spend on a PC. I want to build a decent gaming PC so I can emulate older consoles as well as play AAA games. How much should I aim to spend on a pc so I don’t pay more than I need to, but also so my PC lasts a good amount of time?
chapaholla@reddit
$850 is minimum for a decent experience on a newer generation platform. Anything below that would be on an older generation of hardware that would work fine and save you money, but have overall less performance and practically no upgradability.
I recommend $1000 to start off with your first build. If you want to splurge and have something with higher end parts, you only really need about $1500 to get that done. $1500 will get you a really nice, powerful, long lasting PC.
For example:
PCPartPicker Part List
a_rogue_planet@reddit
I think you should do more research and better define exactly what you want. I built a machine for the first time in about 20 years recently, and it'll basically play any game I want, but it's not optimized to play games. It's mainly a pixel crunching machine to run RAWTherapee, Gimp, Topaz, and the like. I picked hardware to do that job. As far as games, pick hardware that meets your demands for fps and quality. It's basically that simple.
One_Foundation_8663@reddit
a 9800x3d and a 5070ti is the limit IMO anything beyond you’re just rich and/or hardcore gamer etc
WATAMURA@reddit
Building a PC is basically the same regardless of if you are building a budget PC or a powerful PC. The same parts are involved and picking your parts will have the same learning curve.
It's more about budget...
Though, building a budget PC, when you know nothing about parts, is probably higher risk. Meaning if you just get the known good new parts and pay MRSP, you will run less of a chance of issue or bad used parts.
Get good midrange parts that you can get a good 5-10 years of use. Get the most bang for your buck. You pay for what you get. Quality over quantity... etc.
Define your budget. Start with the GPU... Do you have or want to spend $2,300 or even $1,600 just for the GPU? Figure out the right GPU for the games and resolution you want to play and build around that. The GPU is usually about 1/3 the total cost of a balanced PC. So for a $2,000 Build, the GPU would be about $700.
Captn_Clutch@reddit
Everyone can advise on what they personally would do, but your most exact answer is going to be to think of the newest and prettiest AAA titles you're interested in, and look up some benchmarks on various hardware. People have made YouTube videos testing practically every hardware combo and game known to man, and that will show you what kind of performance (fps, resolution, settings) you will get to a high degree of accuracy. Cpu and gpu are what you're looking to compare here, motherboard and ram will be determined by what cpu you go for due to needing to buy a board with the correct socket.
ecktt@reddit
Pick a budget you are comfortable with, subtract 200 to cater for over runs and work backwards.
Since you want to do console emulation, you are already going to use an AMD CPU for it's AVX512.
I'd target 1400USD for everything.
Naerven@reddit
Set a budget that you can afford. Build something within that budget.
SeaGroup3418@reddit
Most logical decision is to Google GPU comparisons for different games you’re interested in playing and at what resolution and then take it from there. Build your rig around it.
thellama11@reddit
Do you consider yourself a sub or a dom?
fearnotbaby@reddit
You can build a 1440p capable pc for like sub 1300 usd. Personally I would start off there and then after awhile of use look to upgrade to what you would feel like you would need.
Competitive-Pop2492@reddit
1-1.5k is the goal for a good pc.
Sleepykitti@reddit
I mean, it comes down to how much you want to spend, if you're willing to buy used parts or even a used build, etc
Generally buying new parts I think you should try to throw at least a grand at it
Used you can do pretty well for like 600