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Gaming Computer - Recommendations?

Orphia Nay

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Orphia Nay
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Mr Nay needs a new computer. He plays a lot of games on PC and online (World of Tanks, mostly), and he also watches a lot of videos.

What computer / specs would you recommend for a new PC*?

(Preferably no more than $1200.)


*Note, I said "PC" not "Mac". He's not a fan, so let's not go there.
 
Too many options to mention really. But I'd go with the new Intel (i5) chips plus a cost-appropriate nVidia graphics card. The rest of the options really come down to preference.

Having said that, who wants to hear about my new water-cooled system? I have a radiator baby! :D
 
Not really (I don't know what to call the i3/5/7 name tags). The new chips from Intel are the 4000 series (I got an i5 4670K for instance). There is no real need (certainly not on a $1200 budget) to choose i7 over i5. There is no advantage in gaming.
 
Sceptic-PK said:
Not really (I don't know what to call the i3/5/7 name tags). The new chips from Intel are the 4000 series (I got an i5 4670K for instance). There is no real need (certainly not on a $1200 budget) to choose i7 over i5. There is no advantage in gaming.
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Hmm, thanks. The pc he's considering has this:

Latest Intel Core i7 CPU 4770 @ 3.4GHz, 3.9GHz Max Turbo Frequency, 4th Generation "Haswell".
 
Sceptic-PK said:
Yeah, they're a great chip. But I would recommend against for gaming on a budget.

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-4770-vs-Intel-Core-i5-4670K

The main difference between the chips is i7's have hyperthreading. Which doesn't make any difference in games.
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Yup, i5 is totally fine. Look at an i7 if you plan heavy graphical editing, streaming / processing on the fly.

For a gaming comp, i5 and put the extra towards a decent GPU. The new 7xx nvidia series are out, making some nice bargains for the 6xx series. I have a 670, built my system four months ago and all good.
 
malicus said:
Yup, i5 is totally fine. Look at an i7 if you plan heavy graphical editing, streaming / processing on the fly.

For a gaming comp, i5 and put the extra towards a decent GPU. The new 7xx nvidia series are out, making some nice bargains for the 6xx series. I have a 670, built my system four months ago and all good.
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From everything I have read, I think this is exactly right: i5 + 670.

Tom's Hardware has lots of information about this subject.
 
malicus said:
Yup, i5 is totally fine. Look at an i7 if you plan heavy graphical editing, streaming / processing on the fly.

For a gaming comp, i5 and put the extra towards a decent GPU. The new 7xx nvidia series are out, making some nice bargains for the 6xx series. I have a 670, built my system four months ago and all good.
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This. I'm running an i5 2500k, most games are heavy on the RAM/GPU and less CPU dependant these days. An i5 will do more than well enough for any gaming pc - especially with a decent video card. I went from a 560ti to a 670 as well a few months ago, and I haven't run into anything I couldn't max out yet. Bioshock infinite ran like a dream and I have high hopes for Rome II :D.
 
Can he build his own machine?

If so, parts from the old one might carry over, such as the case, power supply, disk drives, peripherals, etc. There's a chance you can use the same activation code for the OS, so you won't need to rebuy that. If that's the case, $1200 will get you a kick-ass mobo, processor, and video card. I'd also consider getting a solid state drive for the OS and programs, and keeping the mechanical drive for storage and backup.
 
For almost all apps, I find the I5 the same as the I7.

Lots of wideband memory, kick-butt video card, and a big disc.

Oh, and use a system booster from a goodsized memory key if you can't get a box with at least some flash disc.
 
malicus said:
For a gaming comp, i5 and put the extra towards a decent GPU.
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Definitely this. GPU is more important than CPU for gaming these days. I'd go with a 700-series though. 600-series is over a year old now, and the 800-series has already been announced and will be available in a few months. 600 would do for now, but it will need updating, well, about a year sooner.

Also, don't bother with the water cooling option. If you're not overclocking, there's really no point.
 
Cuddles said:
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Also, don't bother with the water cooling option. If you're not overclocking, there's really no point.
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Well yes. But. If you have an i5 with an unlocked multiplier you should be overclocking, lest you miss out on some easily attained free performance. An i5(K) will hit 4.2 (easy) -4.4 (jedi chip) with a decent air cooler.

I run a generic Corsair H80i (water cooling, closed all in one loop), couldn't be simpler. 4.5 on my i5 with minimal voltage increases, temps all good. Need a quality mobo though, plenty of decently priced ones.
 
malicus said:
Well yes. But. If you have an i5 with an unlocked multiplier you should be overclocking, lest you miss out on some easily attained free performance. An i5(K) will hit 4.2 (easy) -4.4 (jedi chip) with a decent air cooler.

I run a generic Corsair H80i (water cooling, closed all in one loop), couldn't be simpler. 4.5 on my i5 with minimal voltage increases, temps all good. Need a quality mobo though, plenty of decently priced ones.
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Even if you overclock an i5, watercooling for most people is complete overkill. Any decent aftermarket sink will allow you to overclock an i5 (esp the 2xxxk series) without issues, without spending $200+ on watercooling equipment. I did watercooling in the past, and the effort is just not worth it for most people. I'm using a Scythe mugen heatsink (read: ~2lb of copper) and my 2500k is running at 4ghz with no problems. I don't really need anymore (nor did I really need to OC it), because most games are bottlenecked by GPU, not CPU.

Additionally, most gaming is GPU heavy rather than CPU, and installing GPU waterblocks for a watercooling setup is a giant pain in the a** that is well outside the range of 'normal' people's capabilities.
 
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Fishstick said:
Even if you overclock an i5, watercooling for most people is complete overkill. Any decent aftermarket sink will allow you to overclock an i5 (esp the 2xxxk series) without issues, without spending $200+ on watercooling equipment. I did watercooling in the past, and the effort is just not worth it for most people. I'm using a Scythe mugen heatsink (read: ~2lb of copper) and my 2500k is running at 4ghz with no problems. I don't really need anymore (nor did I really need to OC it), because most games are bottlenecked by GPU, not CPU.

Additionally, most gaming is GPU heavy rather than CPU, and installing GPU waterblocks for a watercooling setup is a giant pain in the a** that is well outside the range of 'normal' people's capabilities.
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Correction - my bad. It is a H60 equivalent. Cost <£50, so not much more than most high end decent air coolers. The i5s do overclock extremely easily, and heat is not too much of an issue. I only really got mine as it looked cool :)

One trap I did fall in to with my last rig (one that had a bit more involved water cooling) was I thought it would be quieter. Duh. The heat has to go somewhere, there are always fans!

Now where did I put that LN2............
 
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