Building my first PC on a budget...need opinions.

[jdgregory84]

So, I want to build a PC that is basically a media center for my living room. I want to use it for movies, general tom-foolery, and maybe play some games. Just bought an xbone for most of my gaming needs, but I want to tap into the PC gaming world a bit, too. I don't care if it runs at a billion frames per second or isn't 4k at this point. I found this article http://pcbuildsonabudget.com/best-ga...0-dollars-2016 and I'm very early in the stage of all of it. Just bought the case from Amazon. I know y'all are about PC master-race for the most part so I figured I could get some tips on building a good (not great gaming PC) that will be awesome to have hooked up to the living room TV.

Ideally, I'll download a bunch of emulators for some classic gaming fun, while being able to play some newer games.

[HarrisonTX]

I used that site for my build and I'm incredibly pleased. My thread is just va couple down

[jdgregory84]

Good to know. I would like to do a blu-ray drive instead of a DVD drive though for movies. Do I need to get one of each or will just the blu-ray drive work for both? I assumed that all newer games were on blu-ray discs.

[CexMashean]

That article/build page bugged me.

"I mean, we’re talking MAX graphic settings on most games that are coming up. This build is worth every penny because PC gaming also comes with it’s many benefits."

"Seriously though, with the performance of it… well I had a Radeon HD 7770 with my last build and this card owns the performance of my previous card. I was able to run Skyrim at max texture settings no AA and Dragon Age: Inquisition at tweaked med-highish settings."

If you intend to play games with it, I'd budget in a gtx960 at the LEAST.

[jdgregory84]

What parts don't age poorly that I should buy first?

[HarrisonTX]

What parts don't age poorly that I should buy first?

Case, mobo, ram

[Unicorn Jeff]

Case, mobo, ram

And processor... I bought a i7, mobo, ram and ssd three years ago. Only thing I've had to upgrade was my graphics card. And the i7 will run just fine for many more years.

[big_tiger]

And processor... I bought a i7, mobo, ram and ssd three years ago. Only thing I've had to upgrade was my graphics card. And the i7 will run just fine for many more years.

I think it is actually wise to blow the budget on core items like this, and you can possibly save money. You can see the age on the top of the CPU charts.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-hierarchy,4312.html

[jdgregory84]

Got pretty much everything except the processor and graphics card. There's an option to add a 250GB SSD to the processor for like $70 extra. I've heard SSD's are the way to go. I already bought a 3TB HDD but was told to basically just use that for media storage and use the SSD for most of the computers processes.

[Tx Redneck]

If it's within your budget, you'd be a fool NOT to run an ssd.

[jdgregory84]

If it's within your budget, you'd be a fool NOT to run an ssd.

Will 250 gigs be enough to run it on? I'm probably just gonna go with Windows 7. I've heard 8 sucks, and haven't really heard anything about 10.

[CexMashean]

8.1 is fine (10 is preferred if you're going to be gaming and want DX12).

If not gaming, or only light gaming, a ssd of that size would be fine. The god damn things are so cheap now, you could easily get a 480gb at a very good price.

Bottom line: Get an ssd, don't be a dumb ass. Even if you won't be gaming with it.

[jdgregory84]

It'll be light gaming as far as new games are concerned. Thanks for the info.

[FunFordCobra]

There's a pretty big demand for gaming PCs here in Denver. I have a CL ad out for custom builds and have a 3 month waiting list right now. Prices are soo good I can pump out an Intel / 980ti rig for under 2k. I've been using the Samsung 500GB Evos and not one has failed yet. They are about 130 bucks.

[Unicorn Jeff]

There's a pretty big demand for gaming PCs here in Denver. I have a CL ad out for custom builds and have a 3 month waiting list right now. Prices are soo good I can pump out an Intel / 980ti rig for under 2k. I've been using the Samsung 500GB Evos and not one has failed yet. They are about 130 bucks.

So you're just building the computers for people?!?!?! how much are you charging?