Board 8 > Help my dumb ass buy a PC.

(+) Yeah! (+)

It's been over 10 years since I've gotten a PC, and I'm fairly ignorant when it comes to what's good. I'm not looking for the best of the best, but I'd like to be able to play modern games at 4k/120fps as long as the price isn't astronomical. (My budget is $1800 but I'd love to not spend that much.) I had a few questions I figured someone here could help me with.

-Is there a huge difference between Intel and AMD CPU's? AMD Ryzen all seem to be cheaper on the whole, but everything I've seen says Intel is better. I don't mind getting less than the best, I just wondered if the quality difference is as dramatic as the price. If the AMD is going to give me what I need, I'd much rather go with that.

-I think I'm going to go with a RTX 3080 which looked powerful enough for what I want, but would I be able to get similar performance out of a cheaper card? How long will this last me? (As in, how many years before this doesn't cut it anymore. I'm going to try and not wait a decade to upgrade again.)

-I've been looking mostly at pre-builds (because again, I am dumb), and I wanted to know if there were any companies/brands I should stay away from. I was looking at one pre-built from Skytech, but didn't know how reputable they are.

Thanks in advance for any help.

bryans7 posted...

-I've been looking mostly at pre-builds (because again, I am dumb)

Putting a PC together on your own isn't overly difficult if you know what to look for and what you might've forgotten to hook up (i.e. don't forget to plug the power supply into the CPU fan). If you want a pre-built, obviously stay away from Apple since you're going for a gaming machine. All companies are going to have some form of bloatware on the hard drive.

AMD is fine and has been just as reputable as Intel for a few years now.

A new graphics card (2021 or 2022 models) will probably keep you set for 5 years or so. My RTX 3060 apparently won't run Elden Ring (I don't own it yet) above the minimum settings so mine may not get as much mileage. I could not tell you about the comparisons - you may want to look at people who are paid to review those, because most ordinary PC builders don't compare GPUs and upgrade after 2 years minimum.

I am no expert but I thought I'd say my piece.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

I am no expert but I thought I'd say my piece.

Anything helps man, I really appreciate it, especially on the AMD advice.

I have an AMD and have no complaints

Lots of YouTube vids on how to build one. Its pretty fun but yeah youll need to figure out which parts you want to go with and see if they are compatible.

pcpartpicker.com

Damn you now I might just build a PC for the first time God help me.

It's not that difficult. Takes maybe an hour unless you're building something fancy

bryans7 posted...

It's been over 10 years since I've gotten a PC, and I'm fairly ignorant when it comes to what's good. I'm not looking for the best of the best, but I'd like to be able to play modern games at 4k/120fps as long as the price isn't astronomical. (My budget is $1800 but I'd love to not spend that much.) I had a few questions I figured someone here could help me with.

$1800 is very doable for 4K/120 FPS.

-Is there a huge difference between Intel and AMD CPU's? AMD Ryzen all seem to be cheaper on the whole, but everything I've seen says Intel is better. I don't mind getting less than the best, I just wondered if the quality difference is as dramatic as the price. If the AMD is going to give me what I need, I'd much rather go with that.

The only issue with AMD CPUs right now is timing. Right now, if you buy an AMD CPU, you will not be able to upgrade without also replacing the Motherboard because this generation of AMD is over. They're still incredible CPUs, just an awkward time to buy one.

-I think I'm going to go with a RTX 3080 which looked powerful enough for what I want, but would I be able to get similar performance out of a cheaper card? How long will this last me? (As in, how many years before this doesn't cut it anymore. I'm going to try and not wait a decade to upgrade again.)

RTX 3080 is probably what you'll be looking for if you want 4K + FPS on an Nvidia card. You could also consider using an AMD GPU (6800 XT will be cheaper if you don't care about Ray Tracing and DLSS) instead to achieve the same thing at a lower price.

-I've been looking mostly at pre-builds (because again, I am dumb), and I wanted to know if there were any companies/brands I should stay away from. I was looking at one pre-built from Skytech, but didn't know how reputable they are.

Prebuilts will skimp out on motherboards, RAM, and power supplies.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pfgP8r
Just a quick <$1700 build that has a couple of splurge items (5800X3D, 7000+ Read/Write SSD as boot drive) but uses an AMD GPU.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hydFmr
If you would rather have an Nvidia GPU, this one uses a 3080 12GB but it's the cheap entry level tier for something from MSI.

This is a huge help, thank you. I'm leaning towards building my own, will I need thermal paste or cables or any extra items like that?

Also one question, when looking at those pc's it has this warning:

The MSI B550-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard supports the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor with BIOS version 7C56vA9. If the motherboard is using an older BIOS version, upgrading the BIOS will be necessary to support the CPU.

Is it easy to update the BIOS, or do I have to download it from another PC and install it with a USB?

https://phynixpcs.com/

behold survivors of the Artesian Builds disaster starting their own company

My plan when it's time to upgrade is to just not do that and get a steam deck instead and use a laptop for any computing needs

Oh shit I gotta buy Windows too

bryans7 posted...

Is it easy to update the BIOS, or do I have to download it from another PC and install it with a USB?

Updating the BIOS to support that CPU is something you would be doing before putting the motherboard into the PC, it would be done via a USB.

bryans7 posted...

will I need thermal paste or cables or any extra items like that?

Thermal paste for your CPU can't hurt once it's in the socket. Some CPU fans don't come with enough of the stuff, which can cause issues like with my previous build.

Cables are often included with devices, like monitors coming with an HDMI cable. Many of them also have DP ports now as well so if you want to upgrade, you'd have to buy that. Just check "What's included" on Newegg when looking at a monitor.

A PSU comes with all the cables you'll need, and a case will be easy enough to hook up to your mobo. A mobo will include a SATA cable or two for hard drives. Everything else connects directly, including the m2 SSDs (which you'll want for a boot drive).

You may want to buy an HDD for storing your files and playing older games that are designed for those. It's cheap to get a 3TB HDD and it's very useful if you take a lot of pictures or do a lot of video editing. Save your files to it even if your program is on the boot drive.

bryans7 posted...

Oh shit I gotta buy Windows too

There are ways to get it for cheaper. But some people frown upon them. The keys are legitimate, however.

I haven't owned windows in like a decade.

Thank you guys for all your help (especially you BCT and Kenny). I decided to go with building my own, everything should be here by Monday which is perfect since I work weekends. I went over what I wanted to spend a bit but screw it, might as well treat myself. One extra thing I splurged on was some extra fans and a fan controller, some relatively cheap fans I can replace if needed later. Now I should get a new monitor too... That can wait till Black Friday sales.

Cant wait to see what you build.

Ill post my setup when I get home.

You're welcome, and glad I could be of help! Happy you found something that'll work for you, and that'll last longer and not have the bloatware or any issues. And yeah, if your current monitor is fine, you can surely wait for a sale. I have three monitors right now (I only really need two - one is just for video) and two of them are rather old. You can always use the old one as your second!

Mine's a pretty cheap build but it's only meant to last me a few years, before I upgrade.

My monitor is decent, but it's only 60hz, and with the machine I'm getting I'd like to invest in a 144hz sometime. But damn those price are still pretty damn high, I'm hoping I can score one for around $200 later this year.

dilateDChemist posted...

Ill post my setup when I get home.

Hell yeah, I want to see that. If this goes well I can already tell I'm gonna try tricking it out in the future.

Whens the next round of new video cards supposed to hit?

My rig is way out of date and I keep putting off making a new one. Though I have to admit that the Steam Deck and laptop combo sounds pretty good if those things were more easily available.

I like my room dark.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/0/9/AAd_yoAADhqV.jpg

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/1/1/AAd_yoAADhqX.jpg

Built it in 2018. Havent made any upgrades but probably should.