Build or buy?

[thestone_table]

Is it better to build or buy a low to mid-range gaming PC? I would like to be able to play Civ 4 and 5, Sims 3 (with most expansions), Skyrim and AOE4 when it comes out. It will also be running Photoshop CS6 and Blender. I'm not a serious gamer, I only play occasionally, so I don't want to blow tons of money on the computer. Any advice?

 

[aehri]

What’s your budget?

 

[thestone_table]

What’s your budget?

Not more than $1000 CAD

 

[Hellfire13]

Building will be way cheaper. Ryzen platform would be more suitable for your workload.
If you can mention your budget and location, we can suggest you the most suitable parts.

Something like this should be preety good...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($229.71 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($89.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($103.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($85.75 @ shopRBC)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB WINDFORCE OC 6G Video Card ($367.98 @ Amazon Canada)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox MB600L ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.95 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.50 @ Vuugo)
Total: $1045.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-11 14:07 EDT-0400

 

[thestone_table]

Building will be way cheaper. Ryzen platform would be more suitable for your workload.
If you can mention your budget and location, we can suggest you the most suitable parts.

Something like this should be preety good...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($229.71 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($89.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($103.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($85.75 @ shopRBC)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB WINDFORCE OC 6G Video Card ($367.98 @ Amazon Canada)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox MB600L ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.95 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.50 @ Vuugo)
Total: $1045.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-11 14:07 EDT-0400

Thanks for your help!