PC build help needed

[Auspah]

Hey all, I am about to build my first PC and I have no idea where to start/what

I need to get to get the computer to perform how I like.

I have about a £1000

budget and I want a computer which will perform most games on the top settings

and such.

Hopefully someone can give me some help, it would be much

appreciated!

 

note: I am very new to this sort of stuff so if I ask any stupid questions, I apologies in advance :).

[KenB]

Hi and welcome to ExTS

 

I am very new to this sort of stuff

You have very little knowledge of the workings of a pc [ by what you say ] and you are considering spending £1000 on a first build.

Is this wise?

 

Would you be better spending your money on a system built by a specialist company ?

 

Have you worked on a pc before ?

Have you installed an OS for instance ?

Changed a hard drive ?

Upgraded a Video Card ?

[ just trying to gauge the level of your knowledge :) )

[Auspah]

Hi and welcome to ExTS

 

 

You have very little knowledge of the workings of a pc [ by what you say ] and you are considering spending £1000 on a first build.

Is this wise?

 

Would you be better spending your money on a system built by a specialist company ?

 

Have you worked on a pc before ?

Have you installed an OS for instance ?

Changed a hard drive ?

Upgraded a Video Card ?

[ just trying to gauge the level of your knowledge :) )

 

I was directed towards building one as its the best value towards money, £1000 is my budget and my max, I don't have to spend it all.

 

No I have not done any of those things before because as I said I've never had the money to build a computer before so I have never looked into it, I've always used laptops and desk tops which have come from retailers. I want to get into to PC gaming and witht the release of BF4 soon and currently I play WoW on the lowest settings on a £300 laptop, I need a computer capable at running these game at near to max settings :)

Edited October 20, 2013 by Auspah

[KenB]

Hi - I am not a gamer and will ask one of our moderators to advise you re; hardware.

 

I have just looked up the recommended system specs for BF4

 

Recommended system requirements

 

The recommended PC system requirements for optimal visual quality and frame rates:

 

• Quad core CPU (Intel Core i5 or i7) at 3 Ghz
  
• 4 GB memory (8 GB for 64-bit operating systems)
  
• A modern DX11 graphics card with 2+ GB of video memory, GeForce 600 series or Radeon 7000 series
  
• Windows 7 64-bit operating system (Windows 8 is supported as well)
  
• 30+ GB of free harddrive space
  

Battlefield 4 is slightly optimized for AMD hardware, since the game also runs on next gen consoles, which are powered by AMD CPUs and GPUs. This means that gamers with AMD PC graphics cards might see a slight advantage. Both Nvidia and AMD offer Battlefield 4 optimized PC drivers.

 

If this is to be your main game then from the above it looks like an AMD cpu would be better than say an i5

And possibly look at AMD Graphics Card

 

There is an article on BF4 and Graphics Cards here:

click here

 

 

[Armageddon]

Hi a £1000 is a lot if you never built before I agree with KenB and try a specialist company and say spend £900 if you wanted and then spend the rest or less on a second user system and use that to learn , I don't want to put you off in fact I applaud you for wanting to learn but one connection in the wrong place or one screw etc can fry your motherboard and you'd have spent a lot on a very expensive doorstop. I started my building experience on a £50 on a xp machine i used to take to pieces and put back together change drives ram etc till I was confident.

[Auspah]

Okay I can see where your all coming from and thanks for the advice.

Does anyone know of a decent company which would build me the PC, that wouldn't completely rip me off?

[Plastic Nev]

Hi,

if you were up here in Lancashire I could certainly recommend one, however, to give you an idea of what you are looking for is first of all a local to you shop and repair specialists, most will build to order.

It needs to be a business similar to the one I know up here, firstly they have been in business since home computers first came out and are still doing good business, that is the first clue to look for, if they have been around for a long time and are still busy, they must both be good, and have a good reputation with fair charges.

They are the kind of business where you walk in and can ask a technical type to talk to you in view of asking them to build something for you.

If they are any good they will discuss your needs, and what is in their estimation good components and what sizes or types that will fulfil that.

 

By staying local, you can visit any time while it is being built, and when ready take it home, also you won't have far to go to take it back should something go wrong while under guarantee.

 

Any fly by night shop that opened last year and is full of second hand old junk, or the other way round, a window full of cheap and nasty looking computer accessories, forget them, go somewhere else. They may be OK for a cheap and cheerful new mouse, but be aware.

 

I recommend you look around locally, ask friends, family work mates or anyone else you know if they know of a good reliable place.

 

Nev.

[Vr5fx]

Hi.

 

Having a £1000 price tag doesn't mean much. I am more than happy to dig around but I would look away on building your first own for 1k.

You can get decent "pre-built" by companies, but do you need the whole setup? Like a monitor, mouse/keyboard, speakers, or a desk/chair?

If those are needed your budget for the PC has dropped by around £250.

 

Local companies are better for beginners, I do most of my buying over the internet, and has sometimes been hard work with issues.

 

 

Getting your first PC is pretty epic, but be patient and really look at the advice that you are given, rushing in can be a huge mistake, we have all done it.

 

-Vr

[Auspah]

Hi.

 

Having a £1000 price tag doesn't mean much. I am more than happy to dig around but I would look away on building your first own for 1k.

You can get decent "pre-built" by companies, but do you need the whole setup? Like a monitor, mouse/keyboard, speakers, or a desk/chair?

If those are needed your budget for the PC has dropped by around £250.

 

Local companies are better for beginners, I do most of my buying over the internet, and has sometimes been hard work with issues.

 

 

Getting your first PC is pretty epic, but be patient and really look at the advice that you are given, rushing in can be a huge mistake, we have all done it.

 

-Vr

 

I have all I need regarding Moniters etc.

Yeah getting great advice from you guys :)

[Auspah]

Hi,

if you were up here in Lancashire I could certainly recommend one, however, to give you an idea of what you are looking for is first of all a local to you shop and repair specialists, most will build to order.

It needs to be a business similar to the one I know up here, firstly they have been in business since home computers first came out and are still doing good business, that is the first clue to look for, if they have been around for a long time and are still busy, they must both be good, and have a good reputation with fair charges.

They are the kind of business where you walk in and can ask a technical type to talk to you in view of asking them to build something for you.

If they are any good they will discuss your needs, and what is in their estimation good components and what sizes or types that will fulfil that.

 

By staying local, you can visit any time while it is being built, and when ready take it home, also you won't have far to go to take it back should something go wrong while under guarantee.

 

Any fly by night shop that opened last year and is full of second hand old junk, or the other way round, a window full of cheap and nasty looking computer accessories, forget them, go somewhere else. They may be OK for a cheap and cheerful new mouse, but be aware.

 

I recommend you look around locally, ask friends, family work mates or anyone else you know if they know of a good reliable place.

 

Nev.

 

I live in Sheffield so I can do some digging around for a good store, there should be a few as it's quite a big place.

Thanks for the tips, they are much appreciated