DIY Gaming PC

[Mac'nCheese]

I was interested in building a gaming PC with my son. Can anyone point me in the right direction for this? A kit with everything we need would be best but a good site and recommendation on what we need would be fine too. I know nothing about today's PCs hardware so any advice on processors/RAM/graphic, audio cards/etc would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[MacAlien]

I’ve heard https://www.tonymacx86.com/ is a good place to help I’ve heard.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

I’ve heard https://www.tonymacx86.com/ is a good place to help I’ve heard.

That looks like mac only.... I'll keep clicking....

 

[c0ppo]

Here you go:

You have a lot of those tutorials on youtube. It's quite easy actually. Hard part is choosing the right components.
I would advise you to use some PC forum where a lot of enthusiasts will help you out. If your son is playing something like CS GO, Minecraft, etc., there is no need in paying for latest i9 CPU and 1080Ti. But if he wants to play latest AAA titles with 4K resolution, well then you're gonna have to pay up.

Just read some threads online, do some googling and watch some youtube videos. After you get the basics (which are quite easy actually), you're gonna be fine, and I do believe it's gonna be fun.

Or if you aren't into any of that, just purchase some pre built PC from Amazon or ebay.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

Here you go:

You have a lot of those tutorials on youtube. It's quite easy actually. Hard part is choosing the right components.
I would advise you to use some PC forum where a lot of enthusiasts will help you out. If your son is playing something like CS GO, Minecraft, etc., there is no need in paying for latest i9 CPU and 1080Ti. But if he wants to play latest AAA titles with 4K resolution, well then you're gonna have to pay up.

Just read some threads online, do some googling and watch some youtube videos. After you get the basics (which are quite easy actually), you're gonna be fine, and I do believe it's gonna be fun.

Or if you aren't into any of that, just purchase some pre built PC from Amazon or ebay.

No, that's exactly what we want to do. Build it together. I just want advice on the components. I am looking and posted the same question on a lot of other web sites. I need basic info, too, how do you install an os on computers without drives, why do all the lists of components not have modems or whatever to connect to the net on them, etc.

 

[c0ppo]

Well, it depends on your budget. CPU for example isn't as important as GPU in gaming rigs. I would say go for AMD Ryzen + Nvidia for GPU. But then again, I'm not an expert in this field anymore. 10 years ago I would know everything about every new model of cpu/gpu, but not anymore.

But for basic stuff, don't go for cheap motherboard and PSU. It's easier to build in a big tower. Nvidia is a must for gaming rig. 16GB of ram is maybe even a overkill, but will get the job done for sure. If you have the budget, go for a monitor that supports gysnc.

If you need bluetooth, wi-fi, etc., those are easily added, and those are not your main concern at the moment. Just make sure you pick the right GPU, motherboard and CPU. After that you're basically set, just build on that.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

Well, it depends on your budget. CPU for example isn't as important as GPU in gaming rigs. I would say go for AMD Ryzen + Nvidia for GPU. But then again, I'm not an expert in this field anymore. 10 years ago I would know everything about every new model of cpu/gpu, but not anymore.

But for basic stuff, don't go for cheap motherboard and PSU. It's easier to build in a big tower. Nvidia is a must for gaming rig. 16GB of ram is maybe even a overkill, but will get the job done for sure. If you have the budget, go for a monitor that supports gysnc.

If you need bluetooth, wi-fi, etc., those are easily added, and those are not your main concern at the moment. Just make sure you pick the right GPU, motherboard and CPU. After that you're basically set, just build on that.

So two more questions please. 1. How do you install a windows os on a new machine without an optical disc 2 is a WiFi card all I need to get on internet nowadays? Last time I built one you needed a modem. ACtually, the computer will go right next to our fios modem, wouldn't plugging it directly into the modem make it faster for online gaming. I would need a network or ethernet card, right?

 

[SDColorado]

Your motherboard, such as this Gigabyte X470 AORUS will likely have the LAN/WiFi built onto the board. The info you are looking for will be under the Network specs.

This components list will build you a pretty good machine.

 

[Rockadile]

So two more questions please. 1. How do you install a windows os on a new machine without an optical disc 2 is a WiFi card all I need to get on internet nowadays? Last time I built one you needed a modem. ACtually, the computer will go right next to our fios modem, wouldn't plugging it directly into the modem make it faster for online gaming. I would need a network or ethernet card, right?

You use a USB thumbstick to install the OS. Just need ethernet cable from motherboard port to modem.

First steps:
- Max budget
- List of games you're wanting to play
- Graphic setting you want to play at
- Computer setup with a lot of flair or a sleeper look

 

[Mac'nCheese]

You use a USB thumbstick to install the OS. Just need ethernet cable from motherboard port to modem.

First steps:
- Max budget
- List of games you're wanting to play
- Graphic setting you want to play at
- Computer setup with a lot of flair or a sleeper look

Thank you. So I will google a lot of stuff but one quick question, When the computer is built, do I just stick in the USB with windows install on it, and the computer will automatically check the drive and start the install?

 

[Rockadile]

Thank you. So I will google a lot of stuff but one quick question, When the computer is built, do I just stick in the USB with windows install on it, and the computer will automatically check the drive and start the install?

Yes, you can buy one from Microsoft (they should have the latest thumbdrive version compared to other retailers) or use your own thumbstick by downloading the OS installer from Microsoft website. New computer will boot and check available USB port or disc drive.

 

[Dharumanyo]

Thank you. So I will google a lot of stuff but one quick question, When the computer is built, do I just stick in the USB with windows install on it, and the computer will automatically check the drive and start the install?

If you have another PC with Windows you can download the Microsoft USB/DVD creation tool, which will select your flash drive and write the disc image to it and make it bootable. If not you can use dd in Mac OS or GNU/Linux to write the disc image, which you can download from Microsoft's website, to the flash drive.

To give you an idea of components, I have an MSI Z370 Gaming Plus motherboard, an Intel i5-8400 CPU, an Nvidia GTX-1060 6GB graphics card, 16GB of RAM, 550W power supply, and a 2TB HDD. I can play most games at high settings and get 60fps or more, though my monitor is only 60Hz.
Excluding some other costs, like monitors, operating system, optical drives, additional storage, coolers/fans and such this could be had for around $900 USD. Make sure you use pcpartpicker to check the compatibility of your parts and see what kind of power supply you need.

When you're putting everything together just make sure you read the manuals for all of your components thoroughly. It will guide you on how to install all of your components. Windows 10 should automatically find drivers for you for things like ethernet, but you should install the video drivers from Nvidia's website for your graphics card if you go with Nvidia, but the same applies with AMD. You may also want to update your BIOS to the latest version.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

The you all for the advice. We ordered the parts for a basic gaming computer and can always upgrade next year if it isn’t enough for him.

 

[cube]

If the idea is to learn to build, the cheapest one for casual gaming will be around $180. Something a bit better for casual gaming with decent components will be around $250. [Hardware]

This does not include peripherals.

The second one would be enough for adding a $120 graphics card later.

 

[cube]

It would be a better deal to build a gaming PC around an old Xeon and used DDR3, but I would prefer a new branded motherboard, which could be difficult to obtain at a good price.