Where to start with gaming PC ?

[byeo]

Afternoon,

I'm looking to get in to PC gaming as I'm wanting to get Flight Simulator (amongst a couple of other games). I really don't know where to start regarding buying a gaming pc and I'm wanting some guidance. I'm just looking for pointers, what's worth looking at and what I should keep clear of.

For starters I've no idea how to build a pc so would much prefer to buy one which is built for me, I understand this costs more but I'm prepared to take the hit.

Performance wise, I've no idea what I need, as long as it plays FS smoothly, short load times etc...

I'll need everything, monitor, keyboard, mouse etc...

Budget wise I'd like to spend around 1k but can go over if needed, again, I don't know what's good and what's not so need you're help. I really don't know what other information you need at this point.

Cheers.

 

[ExRayTed]

You should be looking at the fastest Intel CPU you can afford and pair that with at least 8gb of RAM. As FSX is a 32bit program it won't take advantage of more than 4gb. It is also heavily CPU bound so a quick CPU is a must. As far as the GPU goes, a GTX970 would be a good choice and ensure you get a SSD of at least 250gb capacity as the game will load a lot quicker and your system will be 'snappier' overall.

Don't discount building it yourself - it isn't difficult, you'll learn a lot while doing it and you have us all at your disposal for help and advice

 

[David Bisset]

I'd not start with the CPU but with GPU as it's normally the biggest ticket item and also the biggest factor in games performance. Pick an overall budget, take about 40% of that and look at GPU options. Find a value for money option around that price and build from there - after getting a GPU idea I'd look for cheap options for mobo, RAM, decent PSU then see what CPU you can afford. Then consider if you'd like to swap stuff around e.g better mobo etc, flashy lights on RAM, whatever floats your boat.

Any way you do it it'll be an iterative process, where you need to consider what tradeoffs you need to make for your budget. Don't get too stuck on your first pick of any component as it'll probably change along the way.

Or, pick a budget, post in here and wait for stulid to come up with a build

Edit: Forgot about peripherals. Maybe start with them as they'll be what you see & touch every day and e.g the resolution of monitor kinda sets the requirements for the graphics card and so on.

 

[harvey.l12]

I know that i always look at what CPU i'm wanting first, and what power i can get for my money. Then i will look at a motherboard that's ha the chipset of the CPU. I always look for Intel in my builds. Sometimes they have good bundles of MOBO's and CPU's. Then i will look at graphic cards, RAM, and all the other stuff. Work out power usage and looks at the PSU