Wanting a new Franken PC, what should I aim for?

[Shadowcade]

The short version: I'm looking to build a new computer for gaming and other things and need to know what I should look for.

 

Long Version:

 

My cpu and mother bother are more then likely dying on me. My machine is fairly old. I'm hoping to save up to a new franken computer but I really need to know what hardware I should aim for to keep playing games. In my current mind set. I'm hoping to know what level of stuff I would need to;

1. Play games like skyrim on the highest or next to highest graphic setting possible and maybe be able to broadcast it on twitch or record game play at the same time without a huge impact on my machine.

 

2. Be able to play my games without giving my computer a heart attack.

 

I can tell you now it's not possible with my current machine which is fine. Gives me a chance to regulate it to a work machine rather then a gaming / DvD rig.

[scrivener07]

Everything comes down to budget. Very nice hardware can be found at almost any price point. So how much do you want to spend?

[Rennn]

Skyrim isn't a very high end game, graphically.

To play Skyrim on the highest settings, you'd want a GTX 660 TI or a GTX 760. Or on AMD's end, an HD 7950.

 

To play the games that actually look good on the highest settings, like Metro Last Light, you'd need more like a GTX 680 or GTX 780.

 

If you were content with ultra settings in every game pre-2012, and turning it down to high settings in some new games, then you'd want a 2GB GTX 660 TI or a 2GB HD 7950. Personally I recommend a 660, for its slightly higher performance and superior DX11 optimization. I bought one myself, so clearly I believe it's the best choice for the money. (about $200)

 

For a CPU, make sure it has 4 cores. Most new games optimize for 4 cores and suffer greatly if you have fewer. Intel generally provides better CPUs than AMD, but both have many good, reasonably priced options.

 

Make sure you have 8GB of DDR3 RAM. 4GB is not going to be enough anymore, especially by next year.

 

Your HDD doesn't matter so much for game performance, but the most efficient cost to performance ratio would be a 1 or 2TB HDD at 7.2Ghz.

 

Finally, I recommend you get a very cool looking PC case. Cases are cheap, and you won't regret getting one that looks like it fell off an alien spaceship. ;)

[Thor.]

in High end games mainly directx 11 i can get around 120 to 150fps maxed out in games, skyrim in itself isn't all that graphically intensive. High end you would be looking at Crysis 3 for benchmarks.

 

What is your budget, we can help.

[Shadowcade]

I'm trying to establish a budget which is why I'm asking.

 

What I'm working with now is;

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor

4 GB Ram

and an NVIDIA GeForce GT520

 

Which is kind of old.... like really old.

 

I haven't even the slightest idea how far I can take my motherboard much less what kind of shape its in.

I just know it and/or the processor are craping out on me. It's gotten to the point that pretty much any game I play, even if it says I should play fine on medium level details, it horrible pushes my cpu and eventualy crashes my computer, and that includes skyrim.

 

The surest way to do is prepare to build up a new machine but I don't know how much (the range) I should gather/save/hope for in order to get a machine that can play my games without falling over like a 200 year old man.

[Thor.]

Hmmm you could go with a 8350 for almost thee same price.

 

So i am guessing under 700$ right, i can do that for you with High end parts.

 

AMD 8350 is around 200$ but worth the money, longevity..

 

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4904561&CatId=7339

 

here is a decent mobo for ya

 

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1963472&CatId=7248

 

a decent power supply for 120$, depending where you live, prices may vary.

 

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1393381&CatId=5439

 

I left the video card out, considering i have no idea what type of price range you are looking for.

 

here is some corsair ddr3, can't go wrong with corsair. again prices may vary. under 90$

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7526012&CatId=3361

Edited September 3, 2013 by Thor.