Time to build a PC for vidya games

I mostly play old games, but I'd like to start getting into newer ones.  Starfield definitely, maybe the Horizon series.  I like open world games.

Anyone have recommendations on where to look for a build?

Are you looking for parts recommendations to assemble it yourself, or a pre-built machine?

What's your budget?
 

Assemble myself unless there is a stupidly good deal out there, I think.

Budget is a good question.  I haven't built a computer since.... 2002?  I haven't paid attention to anything with the market.  So, no clue.  Was going to buy a bit at a time, so I can afford to splurge since I'm spreading it out.  At the same time, I'm going to be fixing up Rosie and other stuff.
I don't know

Check here. 

https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/

Mr_Asa said:

Assemble myself unless there is a stupidly good deal out there, I think.

Budget is a good question.  I haven't built a computer since.... 2002?  I haven't paid attention to anything with the market.  So, no clue.  Was going to buy a bit at a time, so I can afford to splurge since I'm spreading it out.  At the same time, I'm going to be fixing up Rosie and other stuff.
I don't know

I built my first PC since Y2K a few years ago -- a few things have changed.  You don't need a floppy drive any more. :)  You don't need a hard drive either, you want an NVME SSD.  You do need to pay attention to CPU coolers, this is not just a 2 inch fan bolted to a $5 heat sink like it used to be.  All the gaming-oriented stuff has stupid RGB LEDs on it, but the fit and finish on your average CPU case is WAY better than it used to be.

Budget is going to determine a lot.  $1K, $2K, $3K?  Your taste in games matters too -- are you going to play AAA shooters ($$$) or indie RPGs and roguelikes?

Thank you so much for the link.

PcPartPicker is a great resource.

Since you're the DIY type, check if you have a MicroCenter nearby, they often offer stupid cheap deals on motherboard/cpu/ram combos.

Also be aware that building it yourself isn't the surefire route to savings that it used to be. Sometimes the preassembled stuff ends up being cheaper, particularly when GPU prices spike.

Also throw a hail Mary at Costco/Sams, if you're a member. They almost always have a gaming PC or laptop available, but it depends on what specs you're looking for.

My first iRacing rig I built in 2014, I built myself. Don't remember the cost, because I just upgraded the CPU and GPU in an existing machine. 

My current sim rig, I purchased a pre-built in 2021 in the May/June time frame. That was during the ridiculous GPU shortage, so going pre-built was a better deal. I don't remember the exact specs beyond it has an Nvidida 3080 8gb GPU. It has no problem pushing 3 1440p monitors in iRacing at 100fps during a race. 

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

Mr_Asa said:

Assemble myself unless there is a stupidly good deal out there, I think.

Budget is a good question.  I haven't built a computer since.... 2002?  I haven't paid attention to anything with the market.  So, no clue.  Was going to buy a bit at a time, so I can afford to splurge since I'm spreading it out.  At the same time, I'm going to be fixing up Rosie and other stuff.
I don't know

I built my first PC since Y2K a few years ago -- a few things have changed.  You don't need a floppy drive any more. :)  You don't need a hard drive either, you want an NVME SSD.  You do need to pay attention to CPU coolers, this is not just a 2 inch fan bolted to a $5 heat sink like it used to be.  All the gaming-oriented stuff has stupid RGB LEDs on it, but the fit and finish on your average CPU case is WAY better than it used to be.

Budget is going to determine a lot.  $1K, $2K, $3K?  Your taste in games matters too -- are you going to play AAA shooters ($$$) or indie RPGs and roguelikes?

I'm not going to say that budget is no issue, but I'm more concerned with making sure it can do what I want it to do, if that makes sense?  Based on some Parts Picker looking, tentative $2k, but that's flexible

Pretty much all AAA games, very randomly I'll find an indie I like.

I'll also be doing light CAD work and random photo editing.

Don't forget to factor in a decent monitor too. Your slick GPU is meaningless on a potato monitor. 

Widescreens are rad, and getting downright cheap, but also consider that most "older" games don't natively support widescreen resolutions. Fallout 4 was released in 2015 and is just getting a patch to support widescreens today. 

With a good widescreen, you can play your game in a window and have another window with GRM open off to the side.

In terms of the PC itself, I build every one of my PCs until the most recent one. I found an Acer tower on sale for less than I could buy the individual components and decided to go with that. It works well enough.