PCA Forums

Hi All.
Sorry I haven't posted much anymore. Been on Facebook looking for friends and family and old flames. It took a long time but I got them all!
Any how.
I'm going be 54 shorty and hate the controls on my PS3 and would love to go back to KB and mouse.. About the only thing I play on it is Driver San Francisco and thats about it. lol! It never gets turn on..

So.. I need too ask. what is out there? I haven't checked performance of anything in years.. Ouch!

Here's a website I was looking at just lately for a custom built..

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Halloween-AMD-Special

I am not up to building a system as I am clueless on what is the latest and greatest video card out there either.
I would not mind paying $1000 to $1200 for a comp that can run GTA5 On Hi And some of those new soft physics games. ooooo.!

Any info would be great!

They do build some nice rigs on that site. Can't really go wrong with them.

Video cards are easy if you just use this "cheat sheet" & look for the most bang for your buck here:
GTX 970 is the popular one right now it seems.

Videocard Benchmarks

Nvidia GTX 970 - they are hard to find right now but very nice. They have also forced the prices lower on the Radeon and the earlier Geforce cards. Take a look at Tom's HW or a similar site.

I would stick with an Intel I5. You don't need the "K" versions unless you plan to overclock. The NVidia 970 is the best band for your buck right now. It runs slightly above my 780. They were bundling the 970 for $176 with the Intel Halloween Special when I looked. That's a really good price. For motherboards, I like ASUS or MSI. ASROCK is also supposed to be okay but I have no experience with them. I'd also go ahead and get 16 GB of RAM since it's cheap right now. Stick with 1600 RAM. There's no real benefit on spending more for higher speed ram which can be finicky. I would also get an SSD for the operating system. I also keep some of my games installed to mine. Games that are texture heavy benefit from an SSD because it reduces texture pop in. Also add a regular HD for additional storage. You'll need an 700W or above power supply. You'll need to do a bit of research here as the site doesn't tell you the amperage on the 12V rail. The Corsair have been reliable for me. Get Windows 8.1 amd follow FP's guide on how to make it act like Windows 7. The case is personal preference but I like the NZXT because they have the hard drives mounted so you don't have to disassemble half of your computer when you need to get to one. You could build it cheaper yourself but probably not my much. I'd go ahead and order one from the ibuypower site.

Check out the recommendations here. They recommend components for four systems based on your budget, if you don't mind building yourself:
http://www.pcper.com/hwlb

Agree on the Corsair PS - I have a 750 that has been a rock. My case (don't remember brand model) has two 140mm exhaust fans on top, one on the back, as well as a 140mm intake fan on the front. It also has the PS at the bottom with it's own fan. Really keeps stuff cool. I have used G Skill Ripjaws in my last two builds with no issues. Ditto for Gigabyte mobos. I have learned that it's better to spend a little extra money on the front end.

Hey Thanks a ton guys! Good info here. I just wanted to make sure I don't get way off and do something real stupid. Getting older everyday.
I'd build my own but I'd just rather... Ya know have somebody else lay on the ground and change the oil in my car and gladly pay them.

Going to go through the links provided and study up real fast.

ERR Thanks for that informative post! FP I'll check that out!

Cory & Max (my new cat) :chug

Another one to look at is this site:
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

They build and test everything. They allow you to effectively custom-build somewhat with a lot of choices without having to build yourself. They do hold deals all the time. Probably one of the better choices for custom gaming PCs that doesn't make your wallet need some tyenol.

Well, seeing as well that the new consoles are x86-based and not-backward compatible, this would be the good time to switch up. If you are worried, Windows 9 will be a free upgrade for Windows 8 users, so you won't need to keep it forever.