getting back into PC gaming

arcon33 · 26 Dec 2014 at 23:27

2-3 years after losing interest in PC gaming I'm getting the bug back

I'm seriously considering building a gaming rig but I feel so out of touch with everything, things seem like they have progressed so much I'm trying to get my head around it all again. On the cpu front we have 2 new products from Intel coming in 2015 which brings the same old question: wait for the new stuff or go with what's available now, also is this mantle API making any real difference in gaming?

Cat_J · 27 Dec 2014 at 00:14

To be honest on the CPU front I'm still running a i7 2600K and no games that I'm running at the moment (Far Cry 4/AC Unity/Many RTSs) really make it break a sweat. If you're looking to build a new PC I would put more focus on GPU power, an i5 would be plenty if it meant you could have a significant GPU upgrade.

silvagti · 27 Dec 2014 at 00:26

Right now the bang-per-buck option is probably to go for a CPU like a Intel Core i5-4690K (£150-ish) and pair it with a Geforce GTX 970 (£250-ish) video card.

I'd aim for something like that and build the rest of the system around it if your budget will allow. CPU performance hasn't really moved forward much over the last 3-4 years so if you already have a PC you could probably get decent performance by simply upgrading the video card.

Doomedspeed · 27 Dec 2014 at 00:28

I doubt we'll see much of an improvement from Broadwell (intels mainstream 2015 release) so that won't really be worth the wait..

GPU's are steaming forward, though Mantle is making very little difference yet.

As GPU's go the GTX 970 is the best Price vs performance cardcurrentlyout there.

Cat_J · 27 Dec 2014 at 01:14

Also you can always pick up another 970 cheap later on if you need a performance boost.

arcon33 · 27 Dec 2014 at 02:01

Thanks for the replies, I've been swatting up on everything while the misses catches up on the soaps, I don't need a keyboard/mouse, optical drive or monitor (although I will splash out further down the line on a new one) and I can take the decent ssd drive I put in my ps4 out and put the stock drive back in (no major difference anyway) and use that for OS & games plus I have a 3tb hdd for storage so I reckon I could build a half decent system without selling a kidney!
One thing I have noticed is there are a load more quality smaller cases available now, I'm liking the look of the Corsair ones, namely the Obsidian 250D, 350D and the Graphite 380T. Expect another spec me thread soon!