I want a gaming computer - help me spec one?

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kabooi

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I am using an old laptop for photos, internet, editing etc and it's nearly dead. It's time to buy my first desktop, though this will be solely for gaming.

I play games such as skyrim, GTA, Fallout 3, the sims 2 with all expansion packs plus game mods and customization. I want a PC that can handle having these games (not all at once, I dont imagine) WITH downloaded content without it slowing my pc down while in game. I want fast performance and good graphics.

I played the sims 2 on my current laptop. I had a folder of mods and it eventually couldn't run it. So I'm wanting a desktop that can cope.

I know I need a good memory card, some intel thing, some power thing....gah. I'm a novice. I have a maximum budget of 900 pounds, though I will be getting it on credit. I have been looking at ukgamingcomputers as they do finance deals, or pc specialist.

http://www.ukgamingcomputers.co.uk/

Any help with specing it?

:)
 
I'll give you the spec of my current build that I use for heavy photoshopping and gaming at 1080p. I built this myself and I heavily recommend you do so too.

CPU: Intel Core i5 3570k
Mobo: Sabretooth z77
RAM: 24GB of Corsair XMS3 DDR3 @ 1600mhz
GPU: Gigabyte Radeon 7870 OC 2GB edition
SSD: Samsung 840 250GB
PSU: Corsair 700w

Some other bits too

All in all after buying all the parts individually and spending just over £700.

You do not need an i7 for gaming, it's overkill. my i5 3570k runs at 4.4ghz on air and never creeps over 38 degrees C even when I'm running skyrim at full resolution with expanded textures and ALOT of mods.

I would advise you build the computer yourself. There is literally thousands of components and tutorials available. It's a pick and mix.

I'll give you a quick list of a few minimum specifications that you should pay attention to in order for you to be able to play MOST modern games at full resolution at around 40-60fps.

CPU: Quad core, 2.5ghz minimum. Intel or AMD doesn't matter.
GPU: Any mid range card will allow full resolution gaming. nVidia benefits from Physx which is always nice.
SSD: Doesn't matter what you go for, but I would recommend one of these for games to no end. They are by far the best component for any computer, new or old. Just make sure it's big enough for your OS and your game library. BF3 for example is 20GB. If you want a HDD, avoid 5400rpm ones. They're quite slow. Stick to 7200rpm and above. Capacity is your own choice.
RAM: Surprisingly, 8GB is more than enough. 4, you might struggle but anything above 8GB will just allow the computer a bit more breathing room. Between 8 and 16GB, you'll barely notice

Skyrim on my current build is 10GB with all the mods, I can run it at 1200p (1920x1200) with high resolution textures and a whole bunch of other mods. It has never lagged even through the 100+ hours I've logged on it.

Hope this helps

Feel free to ask me any other questions you may have :)
 
If you're after an example of an extreme gaming setup. Here's mine. It will run skyrim modded to look photorealistic at 60fps constant and will also run crysis maxxed out at between 50-60fps. Here are the specs.

Cooler master cm-690 atx case.
Asus republic of gamers maximus v formula
Intel i7-3770k overclocked to 4.3 ghz
Corsair h60i hydro cooler
Sandisk 60gb SSD
seagate 1tb HDD
OCZ extreme 80+ gold modular PSU
2 gtx 680 running in SLi.
Team xtreme 16gb DDR3 ram 2133mhz

Cost to build. Roughly £1550. That's without accessories.
 
I have a gaming rig I use for playing Battlefield 3. I can run all Ultra settings, 1920x1080 at avg 100 fps with lows of 85-ish fps and peaks of 115-120-ish fps. I actually run with a few of the video settings turned down a touch and avg 115-120 fps with lows of 100 fps and peaks of 144 fps. Here's my spec:

CASE: Cooler Master HAF X Air cooled.
CPU: Intel i5 2550k @ 4.5 Ghz
GPU: EVGA GTX-670 FTW
RAM: 16GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz DDR3
HDD: 2 x OCZ 120GB Vertex 3, 4 x WD Caviar Green 2TB SATA
MOBO: ASRock Z77 Extreme4
SOUND: ASUS Xonar DG
DUAL-MONITOR: BenQ 144Hz 24" + AOC 60Hz 24"

PERIPHERALS
Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013 Keyboard
Sennheiser PC360 Headset
Razer DeathAdder 2013 Gaming Mouse
Razer Goliathus Fragged - Large Mousepad

HTH. :)

EDIT: Just to add, I have been an AMD fan for years and only switched over to Intel in Feb of this year. Previously I was running the AMD FX-8150 Bulldozer CPU and I had problems getting the high FPS in Battlefield 3. I don't know about the other latest games as I don't play them but Battlefield 3 is quite CPU intensive and my current Intel CPU is far superior to the AMD that I had. I'm afraid AMD has dropped the ball with their newer processor line in comparison to Intels offerings.
 
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