Total n00b, help needed!

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Hi, well, where to start?? Haha...
Well, long time console gamer here looking to get into PC gaming! I've been interested in having a dabble with PC for a little while but to be perfectly honest, I was quite content gaming away in my little console bubble. It's only been as of recent with this whole 4k console stuff, that has kind of given me a kick up the backside to take a little more control over my personal gaming experiences.

I'm looking to build. I would like to learn a new skill and get hands on with all the tech myself. I haven't really set aside a budget yet as I'm not there yet, if that makes sense? I would like to read and learn a lot more about the process, components and just generally how things all work together. Any reading material/recommendactions would be absolutely awesome!

On the whole, I find this all very exciting as I love learning and I feel it would be an awesome accomplishment to game on something that I have personally built! I plan on keeping my ps4 as I do love my trophy hunting and some of the exclusives coming up look ace!

I'm considering just buying a cheap second hand desktop in the mean time, just to strip it down and rebuild it a few times to get an idea of the task at hand!

Any advice on where to start, what to read, videos to watch etc... would be greatly appreciated!
 
Soldato
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There is a lot of info out there, but you might want to start following some youtube channels like Linus Techtips and OC3D to start getting a feel for what components do and what's important in a build.

Generally speaking, the heart of any build is the CPU and motherboard, with gamers relying heavily on powerful graphics cards to enable the highest quality settings and resolutions in games (4k is extremely demanding). One thing you might not be excited about, but should be, is the improvement in loading times you can get from a standard 7200RPM hard drive or even a solid state drive (much much faster). Say goodbye to endless loading screens.

It can all be a bit daunting at first (I started here in very much the same boat years ago), but stick around and ask questions and you'll be building your first gaming pc in no time.
 
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Welcome to the PC master race (Most of us say that as a joke btw. We're not b@stards)

Anyways, there are videos on youtube that explain all the basic components of a PC. If you want to learn how to build one, Carey Holzman has a youtube channel (called Carey Holzman) where he has built like 200 computers with every possible configuration and his videos are very helpful.

While it is nice to know as much as possible and it can be fun to learn these things, you don't actually need to KNOW anything to build a computer. You just need to know how to put the parts together and how to operate a screwdriver. Where knowledge really comes in handy is when it comes to troubleshooting issues (I'm not saying you will have any but they do happen). But then, hey, that's what forums are for.

I don't think it's necessary for you to buy an old junker desktop to practice on. Building a computer just isn't that complicated. Once you get good at it you can bang out a build in 20 minutes flat.

To get you started, why don't you give us a rough estimate of how much you want to spend, what grade of parts you want for peripherals in particular, and what games and resolution you plan to play at. For example:

"I want to play Battlefield 1, Witcher 3, and Gears of War 4 for now, and be able to play future AAA games for at least 2 years without upgrading". Also important is what resolution you want to play at and what quality peripherals do you want.

Want to play at 1080P (Average max home console resolution for PS4/XB1 though 4K upscaling exists now)? Those monitors are cheap and the graphics cards to run games at 1080P are cheap these days as well.

Want to play at 1440P? (Roughly 2X the pixels of 1080P) then you will need a mid range to high end graphics card.

Want to play at 4K (4X the pixels of 1080P)? Then you will need 1 or 2 highest end graphics cards depending on what games you want to play.

Also important to consider is the quality of peripherals you want to get. Are you ok with 20 pound logitech speakers? Or do you want to spend 800 pounds on a pair of KEF X300As? Are you ok with a 25 pound keyboard and mouse bundle? Or do you want a 90 pound mouse and a 140 pound keyboard? Etc etc.

Having a basic budget will help us guide you along your way.

By the way if you decide that you don't want to build this yourself and you'd rather have someone else take care of everything, OCUK (this website) has a service where you send them some money and a list of parts and they assemble the parts and install windows and drivers. All you have to do is turn the machine on and you are running.
 
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@Devrij Ah, definitely! Loading times can be a pain in the *** on some games. Also, very reassuring to know that you started here in a similar position too!

@mistersprinkles I think realistically, I will set a budget between 6-800 pounds, then upgrade as and when I can.

Games and performance, I'd like to play all the latest games really, especially Battlefield 1 & overwatch for my multiplayer fix... I would be very happy with 1080p 60fps as a minimum, 1440p 60 would be totally awesome! Frame rate is a higher priority to me than resolution (1080 minimum though would be nice).

Peripherals, well, haven't got a Scrooby doo as to what's good or not. Never played with a mouse and keyboard (which I'm actually really looking forward to tbh, especially for overwatch!). So general suggestions that fit within my budget would be greatly appreciated. Again, I can always upgrade down the line.

As for welcoming me to the master race, haha... Thank you very much, good sir. I totally get that it's banter, but, if I manage to build me a decent rig I shall happily throw that joke around myself (I'm not a b@stard myself either btw).
 
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Soldato
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1080p is probably the best bet for you to keep your budget in check at the moment, and it'll give you a great upgrade path for the future too. Cheaper monitor, cheaper graphics card and a better experience right now without breaking the bank.

As far as peripherals go, deciding on a mouse usually comes down to how it fits in your hand, as well as features like extra buttons (having extra thumb buttons is essential for things like push to talk comms).keyboards it is down to membrane (cheap) or mechanical (more reliable and nicer feel with different switch types to suit you). It'll take you a while to get good with a mouse but you'll never be able to play a shooter with a pad afterwards (it's like driving a car with an etch a sketch!).

Second hand gear is a great way to get a lot of bang for buck, with the obvious caveat that you will often rely on the original purchaser for warranty help which adds an element of risk. You'll have to get posting a lot if you want to get access to the members market on here though!
 
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I put together a machine in the build configurator on OCUK.

OCUK will build you the following, with Win 10 installed, for 759.48

i5 6400
H170 board
16GB 2400Mhz DDR4
120GB Hyper X Fury SSD
1TB Seagate 1TB HDD
GTX 1060 3GB
Windows 10
Corsair 200R
EVGA 500B (bleh, change this?) PSU

Obviously if you build it yourself, it can be even cheaper. So yes the performance you are after is possible at the price you want to spend and will give you 60FPS at 1080P.

Having said that, if what you're really looking to do is get a machine in your hands that was set up right the first time that you know is going to deliver gaming goodness when you turn it on... and you want to avoid headaches, why NOT let OCUK build it??

Nobody's saying you cant pick up junk computers from the local dump and practice dis and re assembling them. If they dont turn on, who cares?

And definitely get a mouse that fits your hand right, feels like it weighs "just the right weight" to your hand when you lift it, and has at least 2 extra buttons, preferably on the side where your thumb will be, for things like melee and push-to-talk functions. Comes in handy.

And get a mouse pad. You'll get better tracking. Don't get a small mouse pad. Get a big one. I love Steelseries QCK pads they are my fav. This again comes down to personal preference. If you can, feel the mousepad surfaces before you buy. Does the texture feel right to you? Run a mouse over it. Does it feel right? There's no right or wrong answer to this. It is down to your preference. Just like some people like XB1 controllers more than PS4 controllers and vice versa, nobody is wrong, just different preferences.

If you are uncomfortable holding and using your mouse you will get owned on the virtual battlefield every single time.

BTW as a noob to KB/mouse controls, please don't be upset when you get completely destroyed in a huge way for at least 3 months while you work up your skill. Transitioning from a controller takes time.

Oh and once you're up and running, PM me so we can play Overwatch together we'll put you in my squad and I'll cover you. I'm always #1 for either damage or kills on my team at my skill level with Soldier 76 (but I suck with everyone else). I'll cover you and spam his catch phrases. "I've still got it." "I didn't start this war but I'm damn well gonna finish it"... etc.
 
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