PC gaming setup advice

Bodhisattva

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I started working on the man cave unpacking all my collectibles this weekend. (Not really a cave, I guess, since there are no basements anywhere to be found. This is on the second floor. Elevated man cave? Anyway ...) The furniture and tv are set up for the tv/movie area. The Alabama collectibles are next and hope to have them on walls/shelves by next weekend.

In one area, I want to have a PC for gaming. Any recommendations on the type of computer, desk, etc?
 

crimsonaudio

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Furniture, I'm not your guy. My only knowledge of furniture is studio stuff, which will be ridiculously more expensive than you want to spend.

Gaming computer - that's easy-ish. What kind of gaming do you need to build this for? Knowing what types of things you play helps determine how much horsepower you need. Also need to know what kind of budget you're considering - I build both my own DAW (workstations) as well as gaming rigs for my kiddos - you can build an absolute BEAST of a rig for under $2k.
 

Bodhisattva

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I have some streamer friends who could help but, while I would absolutely love to get into gaming, I can't make time for it. I'm too disorganized, haha.
Any advice is appreciated. I'm in recon mode right now. It's been years since I've played to any extent, and that was when I had a few PS2 games. My knowledge base is very dated. lol
 

Bodhisattva

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Furniture, I'm not your guy. My only knowledge of furniture is studio stuff, which will be ridiculously more expensive than you want to spend.

Gaming computer - that's easy-ish. What kind of gaming do you need to build this for? Knowing what types of things you play helps determine how much horsepower you need. Also need to know what kind of budget you're considering - I build both my own DAW (workstations) as well as gaming rigs for my kiddos - you can build an absolute BEAST of a rig for under $2k.
I've been checking out some gamers on youtube just to see what's out there that I might like. I like strategy and survival games that involve both combat and city (or castle or base) building. A mix of military and economic strategy in various genres. I'm looking at things ranging from Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord to State of Decay 2. I'm also intrigued by games like Assassin's Creed and Red Dead Redemption. As far as budget, whatever it costs to have a nice system that can accommodate the memory and speed requirements of games for the forseeable future. It's funny you mention a $2k budget. Without any market research to back it up yet, I had mentally penciled in that figure. Any suggestions you have are much appreciated.
 

BamaNation

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I started working on the man cave unpacking all my collectibles this weekend. (Not really a cave, I guess, since there are no basements anywhere to be found. This is on the second floor. Elevated man cave? Anyway ...) The furniture and tv are set up for the tv/movie area. The Alabama collectibles are next and hope to have them on walls/shelves by next weekend.

In one area, I want to have a PC for gaming. Any recommendations on the type of computer, desk, etc?

"Sky parlor"
 
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crimsonaudio

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Nice, looks like you'll need a good system as some of your games really do need a lot of processing power (both CPU and GPU) to effectively render the games at high levels.

At one time I would spend hours / days comparing specs and checking for compatibilities, but a few years ago I discovered https://pcpartpicker.com/ - I've built the last few machines with that and it's saved a ton of time.

As for specs, the latest gaming rig I built uses a relatively humble CPU ( i5 6-Core) with 32 GB of memory and a 3060ti GPU/card - my oldest, an avid gamer who plays very graphically complex games LOVES it. It runs everything he loves at the highest settings, even with more than one output connected.

At that point, it's just a matter of how many yers it will be before the rig can no longer run the games at a satisfactory level. Unlike autos, where I pay more for something I know will last, in computers I stick to name-brand parts but don't try to stay on/near the bleeding edge - it typically costs a lot more for very little actual benefit, and within a couple of years even the hottest rig today will be long in the tooth. The world of computing power is constantly changing, more power for less money.
 

gvilleBAMA

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I've been checking out some gamers on youtube just to see what's out there that I might like. I like strategy and survival games that involve both combat and city (or castle or base) building. A mix of military and economic strategy in various genres. I'm looking at things ranging from Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord to State of Decay 2. I'm also intrigued by games like Assassin's Creed and Red Dead Redemption. As far as budget, whatever it costs to have a nice system that can accommodate the memory and speed requirements of games for the forseeable future. It's funny you mention a $2k budget. Without any market research to back it up yet, I had mentally penciled in that figure. Any suggestions you have are much appreciated.
At what resolution do you want to game? 1080p (HD), 2k, or 4k? This will quickly change the GPU needs which will in turn change the power consumption needs.

Also, are you wanting to build the pc yourself or buy one from a builder?
 

Bodhisattva

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Crimsonaudio, thanks for the link. I'll try to dig into it this weekend.

GvilleBAMA, good question about the resolution. Short answer is I'm not sure yet. I haven't done any gaming in many years and never had a PC dedicated to it.

I'm starting from pretty much zero. Trying to understand what specs are needed to fully enjoy the experience, yet my frame of reference is many generations of technology behind.

Anyone have any thoughts on Alienware? One suggestion I received is an Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R14 Gaming Desktop. Starting prices is about $1500 and, of course, has all sorts of add-ons, large and small. The end price is not that big a deal. I don't want to pay more that I have to, but I'm willing to pay what it takes to "do it right." I noticed this setup uses AMD processors instead of Intel. Is one preferred over another? Does it matter?

Appreciate the advice.
 
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gvilleBAMA

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Mar 13, 2006
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Crimsonaudio, thanks for the link. I'll try to dig into it this weekend.

GvilleBAMA, good question about the resolution. Short answer is I'm not sure yet. I haven't done any gaming in many years and never had a PC dedicated to it.

I'm starting from pretty much zero. Trying to understand what specs are needed to fully enjoy the experience, yet my frame of reference is many generations of technology behind.

Anyone have any thoughts on Alienware? One suggestion I received is an Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R14 Gaming Desktop. Starting prices is about $1500 and, of course, has all sorts of add-ons, large and small. The end price is not that big a deal. I don't want to pay more that I have to, but I'm willing to pay what it takes to "do it right." I noticed this setup uses AMD processors instead of Intel. Is one preferred over another? Does it matter?

Appreciate the advice.
The only mainstream pc maker i might consider is HP, the rest, including alienware (dell) have stared using a lot proprietary parts once again. Look into buildredux or nzxt for a custom build if you don't want to do it yourself. There are others, but i know both of these companies do a decent job.
 
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