PC options

Splattercat_83

As I am in the market for a pc, I don't know where to start. I am computer illiterate and I am trying to weigh my options. What are some things I need to look for in a system? I don't need a computer that NASA would be envious of, but I'd like to have a system that would run smoothly. I saw some pcs at walmart that were called "gaming pcs" what do you guys think about their pcs?

Sylvermynx

I wouldn't buy from any big box store (including Costco). I bought this machine from cyberpowerpc almost three years ago, and I get really good performance (if you take into account that the only "broadband" I have is satellite).

cyberpowerpc has a really awesome configurator app. And their prices (as of when I bought this box) were actually better than a lot of "prebuilt" machines at big box stores.

OFFL1MIT

My personal advice, build your own. It's super simple to build your own PC, and if part doesnt fit or you bought wrong part you can always return it (talking about ebay). all you need building your own PC it's just what each component does , you probably know this part. Then buying part u just need to know sockets that your mother board will have , this includes CPU socket and GPU socket and PSU sockets connecting to your CPU, buy good thermal paste and put just a pea size, most cpus already have pre spread on it, so u just need it slot it if that's the case. And the rest your can find doing your own research. The problem with already build ones is that you still gonna need it to upgrade it/ change some parts of it, so what's the point? Also for them to make a profit, they always put a crappy PSU even if they have good amount of watts, they always have crap capasitors that always burnaway in years time and then you have risk to burn your PC. So you will save money, and you will build a reliable PC + you will have fun while building it.

We all build PC knowing nothing, we didnt born knowing how to build PCs

kargen27

I usually build my own and last one I did I got most of what I needed watching prices on Newegg. That doesn't help you any though. Probably won't be a lot of help on final decision but you should look at the recommended system requirements for the top end games being released now and find a computer that at least matches those. When I am looking for computers for other people I look at computers that can be easily upgraded. Changing out a few parts beats getting a new computer when it is time to upgrade.

Synnastix

Look for modern-ish components, you can sometiems find whole systems someone else built cheap om craigslist or fb.

Sylvermynx

I used to build my own.... but damn.... Now I just want to get one delivered and have it work without a lot of garbage. I'm old enough now (71) that I just don't want to mess with building now.

Stovahkiin

As @Sylvermynx also mentioned, I too have a Cyberpower pc and have to say that, in my experience, they are pretty solid PCs. I’ve seen some poor reviews for certain builds of theirs, but mine so far has worked great and I’ve upgraded several parts over the years to suit my needs.

In terms of what you need for gaming in a pc, you’ll basically want one that has a reasonably strong graphics card (gpu) and CPU. There are a bunch of other specs, but those are a couple of the ones that you’ll want to focus on. How high you go depends on what you want to play. Most MMOs are pretty easy to run though if that’s what you’re primarily interested in.

As mentioned above, you totally could build your own pc (building a pc tends to be cheaper than buying one fully built). There’s a sub-Reddit called buildapc that could help answer any questions you may have about the specifics of pc parts and putting builds together.