Help me build a PC (desktop, laptop,work, or performance).

[KitsuneRae]

I've been looking at building a PC online throughout the day and I don't know all the components I need to build a PC I want.

This is a list of things I want it to do:
-Run Adobe Products: Illustrastor, Photoshop, etc.(My laptop is lagging with it)
-350GB or 500GB Hard Drive
-4GB RAM
-Intel Core i5 or higher
-Works with my wacom intous small pen and touch tablet
-Play games like maybe skyrim or something of that nature


Budget: $300-$400

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Feb 28, 2015 19:28:28 GMT -5 KitsuneRae said:

I've been looking at building a PC online throughout the day and I don't know all the components I need to build a PC I want.

This is a list of things I want it to do:
-Run Adobe Products: Illustrastor, Photoshop, etc.(My laptop is lagging with it)
-350GB or 500GB Hard Drive
-4GB RAM
-Intel Core i5 or higher
-Works with my wacom intous small pen and touch tablet
-Play games like maybe skyrim or something of that nature


Budget: $300-$400

So you want to build a desktop from scratch instead of a laptop?

Do you have any desktop parts now?

[KitsuneRae]

Feb 28, 2015 19:47:56 GMT -5 The Big Daddy C-Master said:

Feb 28, 2015 19:28:28 GMT -5 KitsuneRae said:

I've been looking at building a PC online throughout the day and I don't know all the components I need to build a PC I want.

This is a list of things I want it to do:
-Run Adobe Products: Illustrastor, Photoshop, etc.(My laptop is lagging with it)
-350GB or 500GB Hard Drive
-4GB RAM
-Intel Core i5 or higher
-Works with my wacom intous small pen and touch tablet
-Play games like maybe skyrim or something of that nature


Budget: $300-$400

So you want to build a desktop from scratch instead of a laptop?

Do you have any desktop parts now?

Yes from scratch and No that's why I need help with it

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Feb 28, 2015 19:53:01 GMT -5 KitsuneRae said:

Feb 28, 2015 19:47:56 GMT -5 The Big Daddy C-Master said:

So you want to build a desktop from scratch instead of a laptop?

Do you have any desktop parts now?

Yes from scratch and No that's why I need help with it

Ok, I wasn't sure if maybe you had an old case or keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor? Every little bit helps.

I think it'll come down to the graphics card in this case but you should be able to find something.

[KitsuneRae]

Feb 28, 2015 21:00:25 GMT -5 The Big Daddy C-Master said:

Feb 28, 2015 19:53:01 GMT -5 KitsuneRae said:

Yes from scratch and No that's why I need help with it

Ok, I wasn't sure if maybe you had an old case or keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor? Every little bit helps.

I think it'll come down to the graphics card in this case but you should be able to find something.

It helped a a little bit

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Feb 28, 2015 21:20:53 GMT -5 KitsuneRae said:

Feb 28, 2015 21:00:25 GMT -5 The Big Daddy C-Master said:

Ok, I wasn't sure if maybe you had an old case or keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor? Every little bit helps.

I think it'll come down to the graphics card in this case but you should be able to find something.

It helped a a little bit

teksyndicate.com/videos/kill-your-console-build-400-gaming-pc-2014-0

Those are some more options.

Are you going to have a friend build it for you?

[KitsuneRae]

Feb 28, 2015 21:42:55 GMT -5 The Big Daddy C-Master said:

Feb 28, 2015 21:20:53 GMT -5 KitsuneRae said:

It helped a a little bit

teksyndicate.com/videos/kill-your-console-build-400-gaming-pc-2014-0

Those are some more options.

Are you going to have a friend build it for you?

Yeah my brother

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Feb 28, 2015 21:46:26 GMT -5 KitsuneRae said:

Feb 28, 2015 21:42:55 GMT -5 The Big Daddy C-Master said:

teksyndicate.com/videos/kill-your-console-build-400-gaming-pc-2014-0

Those are some more options.

Are you going to have a friend build it for you?

Yeah my brother

Does he have any old parts you can use? That way you can mitigate your costs as much as possible.

[KitsuneRae]

Feb 28, 2015 21:54:41 GMT -5 The Big Daddy C-Master said:

Feb 28, 2015 21:46:26 GMT -5 KitsuneRae said:

Yeah my brother

Does he have any old parts you can use? That way you can mitigate your costs as much as possible.

Hmm I can see if he does

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Let me know.

[magicattack]

The biggest question is; do you live near a Microcenter?

While that build is ok, you certainly could do much better.

One thing I would do is to go cheaper on the case and go bigger on the hard drive or a better graphics card. I know that Fractal sponsored the build so while Logan had to use that case, it is an easy place to save $30 and put it towards more important hardware.

Logan's build uses 8gb of ram, you mentioned that you only needed 4gb. I would go with 8gb myself, but if you chose to save $30 you could do it on the ram.


It is entirely up to you though. An i5 is basically impossible at this price point unless you either-

1. go used and even then it will be using probably 2nd generation not current. 2500k is still a great CPU, but buying used is meh.


2. go with the Pentium anniversary edition and upgrade later. Decent choice but probably not the best for a first time builder. It would save money on the cooler though and that could go to upgrading something else.

So AMD is probably your best choice for the budget.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Mar 1, 2015 11:31:53 GMT -5 magicattack said:

The biggest question is; do you live near a Microcenter?

While that build is ok, you certainly could do much better.

One thing I would do is to go cheaper on the case and go bigger on the hard drive or a better graphics card. I know that Fractal sponsored the build so while Logan had to use that case, it is an easy place to save $30 and put it towards more important hardware.

Logan's build uses 8gb of ram, you mentioned that you only needed 4gb. I would go with 8gb myself, but if you chose to save $30 you could do it on the ram.


It is entirely up to you though. An i5 is basically impossible at this price point unless you either-

1. go used and even then it will be using probably 2nd generation not current. 2500k is still a great CPU, but buying used is meh.


2. go with the Pentium anniversary edition and upgrade later. Decent choice but probably not the best for a first time builder. It would save money on the cooler though and that could go to upgrading something else.

So AMD is probably your best choice for the budget.

Yea that video was just a place to get started with.

AMD is going to be cheaper for sure, Nvidia is going to be a bit more expensive, but you'll get to have something that can be a tad easier to run and troubleshoot (AMD is great, but people have incompatibility issues with certain games.

I'm not sure if she has any spare keyboards/monitors/etc lying around. The two largest expenses along with the monitor are the graphics and the cpu.

She could go used on ebay and get a warranty with it, or wait for a good sale.

Kitsune, I thought you were getting a used laptop? Did you decide against it? It would be a bit easier and you would be mobile.


Also do you have an operating systems?

[magicattack]

Windows 7 should be around $50 on ebay. There are free options, but that is a different animal all together.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

With her tight budget every bit counts. Some people have a disc lying around which would help in her case.

Well hopefully she has a spare tower or monitor.

Also Tiger Direct is very good for this stuff. It's basically the same thing as Microcenter if you're closer to it. I built my last PC using parts from that place.

[magicattack]

Tigerdirect sometimes has nice combos. I have never been to a store though since none are close.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Mar 1, 2015 17:24:52 GMT -5 magicattack said:

Tigerdirect sometimes has nice combos. I have never been to a store though since none are close.

It's closer to me than Microcenter. I prefer online though. I find the best deals more often without the hassle. Easier to price check as well. That said in her case she might want to go to a store so they can give feedback.

There's also Fry's.

[magicattack]

Mar 1, 2015 18:05:00 GMT -5 The Big Daddy C-Master said:

Mar 1, 2015 17:24:52 GMT -5 magicattack said:

Tigerdirect sometimes has nice combos. I have never been to a store though since none are close.

It's closer to me than Microcenter. I prefer online though. I find the best deals more often without the hassle. Easier to price check as well. That said in her case she might want to go to a store so they can give feedback.

There's also Fry's.

Are there 1 or 2 Microcenters near Atlanta? Do you have a Fry's as well?


That would be nice to have that many choices. If I lived closer to either Microcenter, I would get a tax number and just resell the combos.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Mar 2, 2015 7:48:59 GMT -5 magicattack said:

Mar 1, 2015 18:05:00 GMT -5 The Big Daddy C-Master said:

It's closer to me than Microcenter. I prefer online though. I find the best deals more often without the hassle. Easier to price check as well. That said in her case she might want to go to a store so they can give feedback.

There's also Fry's.

Are there 1 or 2 Microcenters near Atlanta? Do you have a Fry's as well?


That would be nice to have that many choices. If I lived closer to either Microcenter, I would get a tax number and just resell the combos.

There are two of them. One in Marietta and one around Duluth.

Tiger Direct is up in Jefferson which is farther north.

Fry's is in Duluth, Alpharetta, and Milton.

They're spaced out a bit. I think I'll go online from now on in most cases. I have 2 pc's so I can wait. Got a ticket going there black Friday (holiday ticket grab) and the prices weren't even lower than usual outside of doorbusters, which is how they get you.

[magicattack]

There is no shortage of computer stores near you.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Mar 2, 2015 12:17:58 GMT -5 magicattack said:

There is no shortage of computer stores near you.

I wouldn't call them "near" lol, even the closest is over 20 miles away. The rest are 30,40, and even more miles away. One more reason I prefer ordering.

[JACK-2]

PC Master race.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Mar 2, 2015 14:04:19 GMT -5 JACK-2 said:

PC Master race.

I'm starting to think consoles are better. No reason to get a PC except for things that don't matter.

[Maulen]

Mar 2, 2015 15:17:01 GMT -5 The Big Daddy C-Master said:

Mar 2, 2015 14:04:19 GMT -5 JACK-2 said:

PC Master race.

I'm starting to think consoles are better. No reason to get a PC except for things that don't matter.

I would chose PC because it can do other stuff than gaming. but I'd love to own new gen console, I just don't have money for it. I want to collect every good console starting from Nes.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

I was being sarcastic. I'm all PC now. I can play all of my old favorites on my PC, Laptop, or PSP, hence why I got rid of everything: It was collecting dust.

[JACK-2]

Yeah, most consoles are like PC anyway with the peripheral content: DVD player, Internet, and Netflix. Plus the hardrive space management which PC does better. Only Consoles I buy are Nintendo's.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Mar 4, 2015 8:46:23 GMT -5 JACK-2 said:

Yeah, most consoles are like PC anyway with the peripheral content: DVD player, Internet, and Netflix. Plus the hardrive space management which PC does better. Only Consoles I buy are Nintendo's.

The Nintendo games I want to play are older and I can do that on PC. I've just cut them out completely and I'm getting my other friend to do the same since he hates PS3 gaming.

[magicattack]

I basically have everything up to and including PS2 and Wii, in one form or another.

A lot of foreign systems as well like the Sharp X68000. Which was similar to the Amiga 500 or Atari ST, but the graphics were better on the Sharp.

Its interesting to see how video games have evolved over the years.


As far as this generation of gaming goes, it will take an exclusive that I can't live without playing to get me to buy a PS4 or Xbox1.

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Mar 4, 2015 14:39:30 GMT -5 magicattack said:

I basically have everything up to and including PS2 and Wii, in one form or another.

A lot of foreign systems as well like the Sharp X68000. Which was similar to the Amiga 500 or Atari ST, but the graphics were better on the Sharp.

Its interesting to see how video games have evolved over the years.


As far as this generation of gaming goes, it will take an exclusive that I can't live without playing to get me to buy a PS4 or Xbox1.

Yea I stopped at PS3, I had most everything up to PS2. Exclusives are the only reason to own a console (although a PC has exclusives) but I just don't need to get a console to play a single game and then have it collect dust. The older stuff is better for me as I find most stuff to be watered and dumbed down sadly (same with movies, shows, music, etc).

[magicattack]

I don't know if she is still looking, but she isn't going to do much better than this.
m.tigerdirect.com/deals?SRCCODE=WEBLETBP045&cm_mmc=Email-_-LyrisWeblet-_-WEBLETBP045-_-welcome&cm_lm=%25%25emailaddr%25%25

[The Big Daddy C-Master]

Mar 13, 2015 14:19:21 GMT -5 magicattack said:

I don't know if she is still looking, but she isn't going to do much better than this.
m.tigerdirect.com/deals?SRCCODE=WEBLETBP045&cm_mmc=Email-_-LyrisWeblet-_-WEBLETBP045-_-welcome&cm_lm=%25%25emailaddr%25%25

Excellent find! That's a sweet deal!