Opinions On PCs Needed

[JeanD]

So I'm looking for opinions pertaining to gaming PCs.

 

I'm an average person with an average income and an average knowledge of gaming pcs and would like to get the best bang for my bucks. I'm going to tell you right now, I don't like Best Buy.

 

I'm looking for opinions on brands and what you think I need to successfully run games like 7 Days to Die. Any and all helpful input is greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

[DUST2DEATH]

What is you max spend budget?

Which country do you reside in?

[Fox]

I'm the wrong person to ask when it comes to pre-built computers as I avoid them like the plague. But if you're serious about best bang per dollar and would like to build your own computer from the ground up. Let me know as it's my field of expertise.

 

The new Ryzen CPUs are amazing with this game, and so is the GTX 1060. I'm able to get a solid capped 60 fps with occasional dips due to lack of game optimizations, but it generally only happens during horde nights, and it's still very much playable and enjoyable. I play on max graphics settings. My ancient GTX 660 did fine with the game on medium settings. (GTX660 = GTX1050 more or less)

[wordwaster]

Budget constraints? Average person with average income is really vague. Average where? Global average? US average? Eu average? Asian average?

 

Huge difference. And income isn't everything. Average income with more than average expenses means you have less disposable income.

 

So...gimme a number and I'll give you advice.

 

I just spent weeks putting my new rig together, and I'm sure I could help if I knew what you were looking to spend.

[Gipothegip]

I don't blame you for disliking Best Buy, their employees know nothing more than a sales pitch (but they are usually kids making close to minimum wage, so kind of expected), and the one near where I live has terrible prices and selection. So the name is pretty damn ironic in my experience.

 

It's much better IMO to look at Newegg and Amazon, and purchase online. Yeah there's shipping to worry about, but if you're patient or have a membership (like Amazon Prime) it's inexpensive and not a hassle, I've only had bad shipping from 3rd party sellers (my mouse came in a giant bag, lol; It arrived early and the mouse was fine, but an over sized bag? SMH, might as well have used Hefty at that point).

 

---

As for hardware, recent mid range parts should be fine; bear in mind this game isn't beautifully optimized anyway. Do note this game does run better on an SSD.

 

In which case Samsung makes great SSDs if you can afford it. If not, Western Digital makes good hard drives, which are slower, but much cheaper and hold a lot of data; SSDs are kind of a luxury and there is some hype, so by no means is an SSD necessary. But they do help in this game as it loads frequently, being open world.

 

I highly recommend you don't skimp on the PSU, a cheap PSU is simply a gamble you don't need to take. This is a good list to reference, though do bear in mind it hasn't been updated since August. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html. Anything in Tier one is highly recommended, I myself use EVGA power supplies. Just get one with plenty of power (750 W is good for single card setups). 80 plus bronze at least, but I don't think anything Tier 1 isn't. 80 plus gold seems to be the sweet spot, anything higher gets pretty expensive with diminishing returns.

 

I would recommend at least 8 GB of RAM, though 12 or 16 GB is better if you can afford it. I can't really recommend anyone, though I've used G Skill and Adata without any trouble. Checking your motherboard's QVL is a good idea.

 

For the graphics card, I would recommend a GTX 1060, though if you need to save money, a GTX 1050 ti should do it (I have a GTX 950, and I do alright). I wouldn't get anything cheaper than a GTX 1050. Of course, it's best for a gaming rig to go with the best graphics card you can afford. Meaning if you can afford it, and you get a decent processor that can handle it, a 1070 or better would be great. I would recommend EVGA, they manufacture great cards IMO. I hear MSI and Asus make great cards as well.

 

As for CPU a current mid range should do, but this game is CPU intensive, so you might want a little bit better. If you go with AMD, I suggest a Ryzen 5 1600x, and I would not go with an older AMD, they were bargain bin type stuff until recently. Ryzen in general can keep up with Intel, and is a much better value. Intel tends to be a bit more expensive, but has better per core performance (but fewer cores, but this game won't utilize them anyway), if you can afford it, go with a higher end mid range (i5), or lower end high (i7).

 

For motherboards, I would recommend ASUS. Just be sure to check up on the chipset and features of any board you look at.

 

I recommend a mid tower case with good airflow; if you don't know what a good setup for airflow is, look it up, that's beyond the scope of this thread. Anyway, you'll want to looks at things like side fans, front case fans. Some cases are designed for water cooling, others just to be closed off or compact and are good for nothing. These obviously won't do for airflow.

 

---

I know that's a lot of information, but I'm not sure if you want prebuilt, or if you're willing to piece one together from scratch.

 

If you go prebuilt, the above still applies, but you may or may not have the same range of options. Either way, just make sure you get one that doesn't skimp on the PSU (they do that a lot BTW), and take advantage of any choices you get; just make sure you buy one with good parts.

 

Oh, and a nice thing about PCs, is you can upgrade them, and recycle older parts; at which point you just need to worry about compatibility to make sure you don't need to swap something else out as well (such as your PSU or Motherboard)

 

Some people think you have to throw the baby out with the bathwater (buy a whole new computer regularly), but if that were the case, I definitely couldn't afford PC gaming, not with what manufacturing pays in a right to work state anyway

[JeanD]

LOL sorry for the vague information. My budget is about $1000 or less, preferably less, and I reside in Cincinnati, Ohio. I'm just trying to get an idea of what I should be looking for.

 

Thanks guys.

[JeanD]

I don't blame you for disliking Best Buy, their employees know nothing more than a sales pitch (but they are usually kids making close to minimum wage, so kind of expected), and the one near where I live has terrible prices and selection. So the name is pretty damn ironic in my experience.

 

It's much better IMO to look at Newegg and Amazon, and purchase online. Yeah there's shipping to worry about, but if you're patient or have a membership (like Amazon Prime) it's inexpensive and not a hassle, I've only had bad shipping from 3rd party sellers (my mouse came in a giant bag, lol; It arrived early and the mouse was fine, but an over sized bag? SMH, might as well have used Hefty at that point).

 

---

As for hardware, recent mid range parts should be fine; bear in mind this game isn't beautifully optimized anyway. Do note this game does run better on an SSD.

 

In which case Samsung makes great SSDs if you can afford it. If not, Western Digital makes good hard drives, which are slower, but much cheaper and hold a lot of data; SSDs are kind of a luxury and there is some hype, so by no means is an SSD necessary. But they do help in this game as it loads frequently, being open world.

 

I highly recommend you don't skimp on the PSU, a cheap PSU is simply a gamble you don't need to take. This is a good list to reference, though do bear in mind it hasn't been updated since August. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html. Anything in Tier one is highly recommended, I myself use EVGA power supplies. Just get one with plenty of power (750 W is good for single card setups). 80 plus bronze at least, but I don't think anything Tier 1 isn't. 80 plus gold seems to be the sweet spot, anything higher gets pretty expensive with diminishing returns.

 

I would recommend at least 8 GB of RAM, though 12 or 16 GB is better if you can afford it. I can't really recommend anyone, though I've used G Skill and Adata without any trouble. Checking your motherboard's QVL is a good idea.

 

For the graphics card, I would recommend a GTX 1060, though if you need to save money, a GTX 1050 ti should do it (I have a GTX 950, and I do alright). I wouldn't get anything cheaper than a GTX 1050. Of course, it's best for a gaming rig to go with the best graphics card you can afford. Meaning if you can afford it, and you get a decent processor that can handle it, a 1070 or better would be great. I would recommend EVGA, they manufacture great cards IMO. I hear MSI and Asus make great cards as well.

 

As for CPU a current mid range should do, but this game is CPU intensive, so you might want a little bit better. If you go with AMD, I suggest a Ryzen 5 1600x, and I would not go with an older AMD, they were bargain bin type stuff until recently. Ryzen in general can keep up with Intel, and is a much better value. Intel tends to be a bit more expensive, but has better per core performance (but fewer cores, but this game won't utilize them anyway), if you can afford it, go with a higher end mid range (i5), or lower end high (i7).

 

For motherboards, I would recommend ASUS. Just be sure to check up on the chipset and features of any board you look at.

 

I recommend a mid tower case with good airflow; if you don't know what a good setup for airflow is, look it up, that's beyond the scope of this thread. Anyway, you'll want to looks at things like side fans, front case fans. Some cases are designed for water cooling, others just to be closed off or compact and are good for nothing. These obviously won't do for airflow.

 

---

I know that's a lot of information, but I'm not sure if you want prebuilt, or if you're willing to piece one together from scratch.

 

If you go prebuilt, the above still applies, but you may or may not have the same range of options. Either way, just make sure you get one that doesn't skimp on the PSU (they do that a lot BTW), and take advantage of any choices you get; just make sure you buy one with good parts.

 

Oh, and a nice thing about PCs, is you can upgrade them, and recycle older parts; at which point you just need to worry about compatibility to make sure you don't need to swap something else out as well (such as your PSU or Motherboard)

 

Some people think you have to throw the baby out with the bathwater (buy a whole new computer regularly), but if that were the case, I definitely couldn't afford PC gaming, not with what manufacturing pays in a right to work state anyway

 

Thank you for the information. This is extremely helpful. I really appreciate this and I'll be referring back to it alot. I think I will show this to a friend and we will try to build me computer, as it sounds like a better way to go then buying something pre-made. It seems like a more popular opinion anyway. Thank you.

[Gipothegip]

Thank you for the information. This is extremely helpful. I really appreciate this and I'll be referring back to it alot. I think I will show this to a friend and we will try to build me computer, as it sounds like a better way to go then buying something pre-made. It seems like a more popular opinion anyway. Thank you.

 

No problem. Just be sure to cross-reference and double check your information. I forgot to mention the #1 rule, do your research! I would assume my information is correct (don't we all want to be right? ), but I'm not infallible, and there are different opinions out there.

 

Tom's Hardware is a good place to look if you have any questions or uncertainties. Google is your friend, but it could spit out whatever from wherever, so a troll telling you to download RAM or some ♥♥♥♥ is just as legit to Google as Linus Tech Tips. It's just whatever their algorithms consider the most relevant, so be discerning.

[wordwaster]

motherboard - ASUS ROG Maximus IX Hero Z270 OR ASUS ROG STRIX Z270E GAMING OR GIGABYTE AORUS GA-Z270X-Gaming 7

 

the thing with mother boards is: they are all 'pretty much the same' in terms of performance. so get one that has all the ports you know you need and that has a look that you like.

 

 

intel i5 7600k OR i7 7700k (i7 if you do a lot of online media stuff, making vids or streaming)

 

power supply - your choice. color is going to be a factor for some people. but try to get something modular.

 

case - again, your choice. idk if you care what your computer looks like. but if you do, this is going to be a major but personal decision. (i like nzxt because they are great for hiding wires)

 

hard drive - ssd. i'd recommend seagate...but my last seagate ssd died after a year. so...i don't have a preferred brand anymore.

 

memory - gskill. if you want it to look awesome, gskill tridentz rgb. expensive. ONLY works with intel chips, does not work with ryzen. if you don't care if it is flashy...just about any ddr 4 ram is awesome. but gskill and corsair are recommended. (you need ddr 4 with any motherboard that uses the newest intel chips)

 

gpu....actually haven't looked at gpu recently. its on my list of things to do. so i really can't give you any advice on what is currently on the market. sorry. but i hit my own budget limit and decided to put off upgrading the gpu until later in the year. but the same old dynamic still holds true. nvidia vs radeon. it isn't as simple as fans of either tend to make it seem. they really are comparable in terms of cost/performance ratios. i tend to go radeon, because underdog. also i dont really care about the extra heat and power consumption that traditionally comes with them.

 

best advice i can give you on gpu is get the best one you can for your budget. (just make sure it fits in your case!

 

cpu cooling - tough one. if you aren't going to over clock, this isn't a big deal. just get a basic one. if you ARE going to overclock? coolermaster is cheap and effective. but get noctua...if you don't mind that hideous brown color. (again, make sure it fits in your case)

[DUST2DEATH]

https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Battlebox-2017-Essential

 

$895

 

i5-7400

Z270 mobo with AC wifi (optane ready)

16GB DDR4

1060 6GB

120GB SSD + 1TB HDD

 

Click spoiler for full specs.

 

 

Operating System: Windows 10 Home (64-bit Edition)

Dads and Grads Featured Promotions: None

Gaming Chassis: CyberPowerPC Kiros 650 RGB ATX Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Both Side tempered glass (Black/Orange Color)

Laser Engraving: None

Freebies: None

Lighting: None

Extra Case Fans: Default case fans

Noise Reduction Technology: None

CPU: Intel® Core™ Processor i5-7400 3.00GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1151 (Kaby Lake)

Freebies: None

Performance Tuning Protection Plan by Intel: None

Venom Boost Fast And Efficient Factory Overclocking: No Overclocking

CPU / Processor Cooling Fan: Corsair Hydro Series H60 120mm Liquid CPU Cooling System w/ Copper Cold Plate (Single Standard 120MM Fan)

Coolant for Cyberpower Xtreme Hydro Water Cooling Kits: None

Motherboard: CyberpowerPC Z270 SLI Xtreme ATX w/ RGB, AC WiFi, USB 3.1, 2 PCIe x16, 4 PCIe x1, 6 SATA3, 1 U.2, 1 M.2 SATA/PCIe [intel Optane Ready]

RAM / System Memory: 16GB (8GBx2) DDR4/2400MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)

Video Card: GeForce® GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 (Pascal)[VR Ready] (Single Card)

Sli Bridge: None

EVGA Power: None

HTC VIVE Virtual reality Headset: None

Freebies: None

Video Capture Card: None

Power Supply: 600 Watts - Standard 80 Plus Certified Power Supply - SLI/CrossFireX Ready

M.2 SSD: None

Freebies: None

INTERNAL PCI-E SSD CARD: None

Hard Drive: 120GB WD Green SSD + 1TB SATA III Hard Drive Combo (Combo Drive)

Secondary Hard Drive: None

Hard Drive Cooling Fan: None

External Storage: None

Optical Drive: None

Optical Drive 2: None

External Optical Drive: None

WiDi Router: None

Internal Wireless Network Card: None

Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

LCD Monitor: None

Cables: None

Speakers: None

Internal Network Card: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network

Keyboard: CyberpowerPC Multimedia USB Gaming Keyboard

Mouse: CyberpowerPC Standard 4000 DPI with Weight System Optical Gaming Mouse

Mouse Pad: None

Headset: None

Gaming Apparel: None

Gaming Gear: None

Fan Controller/Temperature Display: None

Internal USB Expansion Module: None

External Wireless Network Card: None

Wireless Routers/Hubs: None

Docking Station: None

Bluetooth: None

Flash Media Reader/Writer: None

Video Camera: None

Power & Surge Protection: None

USB Hub & Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports

External USB ADAPTER: None

Security Software: None

Professional Wiring: None

Ultra Care Option: None

Warranty: STANDARD WARRANTY: 1 Year Parts WARRANTY

Service: 3 Years FREE Service Plan (INCLUDES LABOR AND LIFETIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT)

Rush Service: Standard processing time: ship within 5 to 10 Business Days

 

 

[lazerblade01]

CPU - any Skylake with at least 3.5gHz core speed and an aftermarket CPU cooler / heatsink to ramp that up to 4gHz+

GPU - prefer GTX 1070, but GTX 1060 should suffice if only doing 1920x1080 and/or under 120Hz

RAM - 16GB, doesn't matter if it's DDR3 or DDR4, not much difference in game performance, seriously, just match it to the MB

MB - anything that supports the Skylake and the speed, preferably with at least 4 RAM slots, 2 PCIe slots (everything is PCIe these days), onboard audio is fine, onboard LAN and/or Wi-Fi, etc...

Case - your choice, but make sure it's large enough to get decent airflow and supports at least 4 case fans, prefer one with a bottom-mounted PSU as it pulls in cool air and won't impact the flow inside the case - less noisy typically too

PSU - DO NOT SKIMP ON THIS! get something with at least 650W, prefer 800+, with 80+ bronze+ (bronze, silver, gold), modular is your choice

SSD + 1 HDD (or SSD + 2 HDD in RAID 0) - OS on SSD for fast boot, depending on size you can also use it for gaming, though RAID 0 can provide respectable performance for gaming as well

 

This is just stuff to consider. If you're looking to buy a complete system, I'd say check on NewEgg or Amazon for complete systems within your price range, and try to pair up the specs as best you can with the suggestions others and myself have provided. You'll get far more bang for your buck building your own, but it can be intimidating the first time around. But hey, my dad, who is now in his mid 60's, has recently upgraded his own computer. Not much different than replacing a part on an engine, just less messy and less tools needed.

[JeanD]

Wow guys! Thank you for all this information. You guys are awesome, but now I have a lot more homework to do (but at least now I know where to start). I'm actually pretty fortunate because two of my best friends are computer junkies. One of them is software and one of them is hardware and they want to take me to Microcenter. I'm going to show them these posts and we're going to work something out.

 

Thanks again everyone!

[StompyNZ]

you're covered for the options, but here's a handy tool I use to check compatibility and power reqs etc:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/

[JeanD]

you're covered for the options, but here's a handy tool I use to check compatibility and power reqs etc:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/

 

Thank You StompyNZ. I checked this out and it seems very helpful, but honestly this all has my head spinning. When we go to Microcenter, I'll pull up these posts and see what the computer guys there have to say about all of it. I suppose "average" IS very subjective. Checking on all the information you guys have provided, I've learned that I don't know a GXT 1060 TI from a hole in the ground. LOL But I'm learning and I appreciate all of your input.

[wordwaster]

building a gaming pc isn't like going to walmart to buy a console. but the end result is...awesome.

 

i put off upgrading mine for months, just because i knew that i'd have to research and eventually make some tough decisions. but i use my pc every day, so its worth it.

 

there are easier routes. you can just buy a complete gaming pc. but...♥♥♥♥ that. do the work and make it yours. you'll love it all the more for it.

[Fox]

building a gaming pc isn't like going to walmart to buy a console. but the end result is...awesome.

 

i put off upgrading mine for months, just because i knew that i'd have to research and eventually make some tough decisions. but i use my pc every day, so its worth it.

 

there are easier routes. you can just buy a complete gaming pc. but...♥♥♥♥ that. do the work and make it yours. you'll love it all the more for it.

Couldn't agree more.

 

 

And lazerblade01, Ryzen isn't Skylake... step away from the dark side. I know the cookies are good, but it isn't worth it.

[DUST2DEATH]

Couldn't agree more.

 

 

And lazerblade01, Ryzen isn't Skylake... step away from the dark side. I know the cookies are good, but it isn't worth it.

 

Ryzen is dead now. Threadripper is twice the perf of ryzen with 64 PCI-e lanes. Upcoming Intel HEDT will start at 1K with only 44 PCI-e lanes.

[Ld-airgrafix]

I love how "experts" come on and say you need gtx 1060 to run 7d2d, i ran 7d2d on an intel graphics card😂😂😂

[nitnoid]

I got into a phase where I just didn't feel like building my own PC. I never had problems with an off-the-shelf generic brand PC, like eMachines. I even bought an HP and it worked great as well. I do, however, stay away from brand names like Dell, Compaq and Alienware due to price and most have proprietary hardware.

[DUST2DEATH]

I love how "experts" come on and say you need gtx 1060 to run 7d2d, i ran 7d2d on an intel graphics card😂😂😂

 

I love how pc allows everyone to play at a level they deem playable. If you like playing games on a potato, more power to you.

[Guppycur]

D, you gonna by chance convert your guis to 16? =)

[DUST2DEATH]

D, you gonna by chance convert your guis to 16? =)

 

Yes.

[wordwaster]

I definitely wouldn't call myself an "expert". Just someone that very recently went through the process.

 

Informed amateur, at best.

[lazerblade01]

I love how "experts" come on and say you need gtx 1060 to run 7d2d, i ran 7d2d on an intel graphics card

 

The 1060 isn't to play 7DTD, it's to play a wider range of games, because once you go PC, you'll never look at a console the same.

 

Plus, a decent video card will offload some of the CPU's work rendering and calculating physics.

[Gipothegip]

I love how "experts" come on and say you need gtx 1060 to run 7d2d, i ran 7d2d on an intel graphics card😂😂😂

 

I love how pc allows everyone to play at a level they deem playable. If you like playing games on a potato, more power to you.

 

Well, he did say "average" and Ohio is in the US, so I kind of assumed mid range. Plus now we know 1,000 USD his budget. A 1060 or 1050 would be in range for him.

 

Plus people have different standards / expectations, as DUST2DEATH pointed out. I've seen people with both better and worse hardware complain about how this game runs. My point being it's subjective what's acceptable, so one kind of has to guess and assume what a good level is.

 

Ryzen is dead now. Threadripper is twice the perf of ryzen with 64 PCI-e lanes. Upcoming Intel HEDT will start at 1K with only 44 PCI-e lanes.

 

But isn't Threadripper going to be massive core count, and intended for an enthusiast / professional market?

 

AMD Ryzen and Intel i7 may be dead for you, but I don't have the cash or need for a Threadripper or i9. Ryzen and the rest of Intel's Core series still fill in their niche.

 

That's kind of like saying GeForce should be dead because of Quadro. Or that only Titan's should be on the market.