Hardcore Gaming Computer Build Help

[ShinraPurezensu]

Okay, I'm looking for some help in either buying a pre-built computer or making my own that can run the following games in as best quality as i can: Skyrim, The Sims 3, Bioshock Infinite, the new Devil may Cry, The Witcher 2, Diablo 3, Tomb Raider, Guild Wars 2, Left for Dead 2, League of Legends, and maybe Crisis 3. I won't do much else on this computer except for gaming and internet browsing. I'm a college student so I would like to not break the bank on this, but if I can get a computer that can last me a good decade or two and be upgraded to handle most of the games that will be released for a while that would be worth a little bit extra of extra cash. I've not built my own computer myself but my father has some pretty extensive knowledge and can help me with putting one together so I wouldn't mind doing so. Any help with this would be amazing! Thanks in advance!

 

[Danbuscus25]

what is your budget?

 

[numanator]

Building your own is always the best option (cost and parts wise). You can ensure that you have high quality parts in your system. What is your budget for the PC, do you need windows in the budget, do you have a parts preference (intel cpu/AMD cpu, Nvidia GPU/AMD GPU, etc.)?

 

[Danbuscus25]

yeah, do you need windows, a monitor, and/or keyboard/mouse?

 

[Guest]

if I can get a computer that can last me a good decade or two [...]

Not gonna happen. Your computer, even if you build it right now, will be only good for maybe 5 years if you go with top shelf parts. My advice: Set more realistic goals.

Good Luck.

 

[n3cw4rr10r]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3Exk9
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3Exk9/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3Exk9/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($192.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.94 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1267.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-05 17:18 EDT-0400)

No computer is going to last you a decade especially if you are gaming. Lets be realistic. I went with a nonk cpu. Also the psu is higher so you can crossfire later if need be.

 

[lowriderflow]

so you want a hardcore gaming machine on a college budget? you should elaborate what your budget actually is. To most of us, you're talking $2000 to $2500 for hardcore gaming.

you want it to last you a decade or two? lol. Have you tried to play any recent games on a Pentium 4 CPU with a 6600gt video card... that would have been top of hte line 10 years ago.

 

[ShinraPurezensu]

yeah, do you need windows, a monitor, and/or keyboard/mouse?

I don't need a monitor, keyboard, or a mouse. I will have to buy windows but I can get that on my own and don't really need to have that included in the budget. It's easy enough to install if I need.

 

[Slovinnator]

You will want to buy at least a i5 4670k CPU, a good over locking motherboard, one or two high end GPU(s) ( depending on how many monitors you will be using) a decent cooler like a cooler master hyper 212 evo, a case of your choice, an HDD or an SSD (SSDs are better) and about 16 gb of RAM. I would choose windows 7 for my OS but that is just me

 

[ShinraPurezensu]

Building your own is always the best option (cost and parts wise). You can ensure that you have high quality parts in your system. What is your budget for the PC, do you need windows in the budget, do you have a parts preference (intel cpu/AMD cpu, Nvidia GPU/AMD GPU, etc.)?

I don't really have any real preference as long as parts work and have decent support services if they have any issues.

 

[Danbuscus25]

i still dont know your budget 😛

 

[n3cw4rr10r]

Building your own is always the best option (cost and parts wise). You can ensure that you have high quality parts in your system. What is your budget for the PC, do you need windows in the budget, do you have a parts preference (intel cpu/AMD cpu, Nvidia GPU/AMD GPU, etc.)?

I don't really have any real preference as long as parts work and have decent support services if they have any issues.

No offense, but from your answers I see you are pretty clueless. What is your budget? Lets start with that.

 

[numanator]

You still haven't told us how much money you want to spend haha. Without knowing that, we can't really recommend parts. It is pointless for us to recommend a $2000 pc when you can only afford $800 or vice versa.

 

[ShinraPurezensu]

so you want a hardcore gaming machine on a college budget? you should elaborate what your budget actually is. To most of us, you're talking $2000 to $2500 for hardcore gaming.

you want it to last you a decade or two? lol. Have you tried to play any recent games on a Pentium 4 CPU with a 6600gt video card... that would have been top of hte line 10 years ago.

Yeah I realize now that I was asking for something unrealistic, my point came across though; that I would like it to last as long as possible and play the games of this age

 

[ShinraPurezensu]

so you want a hardcore gaming machine on a college budget? you should elaborate what your budget actually is. To most of us, you're talking $2000 to $2500 for hardcore gaming.

you want it to last you a decade or two? lol. Have you tried to play any recent games on a Pentium 4 CPU with a 6600gt video card... that would have been top of hte line 10 years ago.

And my budget is not that constricted. I can save money at my job to afford up to around $3000-$4000 pretty easily.

 

[Danbuscus25]

EDIT nvm.

 

[Danbuscus25]

in 1 week the new Z97 boards will come out, get one of those.

 

[ShinraPurezensu]

Building your own is always the best option (cost and parts wise). You can ensure that you have high quality parts in your system. What is your budget for the PC, do you need windows in the budget, do you have a parts preference (intel cpu/AMD cpu, Nvidia GPU/AMD GPU, etc.)?

I don't really have any real preference as long as parts work and have decent support services if they have any issues.

No offense, but from your answers I see you are pretty clueless. What is your budget? Lets start with that.

I can go anywhere up to about $4000 realistically. I haven't had any real gaming desktops and thus have no preferences or experiences with parts.

 

[numanator]

So a build like this would be really good, there are more expensive builds but there isn't really much reason to spend more than this unless you are doing something out of the ordinary:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($71.75 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth Z87 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($249.29 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Superclocked ACX Video Card ($689.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus PB278Q 27.0" Monitor ($489.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2504.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-05 17:41 EDT-0400)

 

[Danbuscus25]

i think you should wait a week and get a z97 board with a haswell-E chip, and you can upgrade to broadwell later.

 

[Immaculate]

just wait for X99.
If you absolutely just need something for college work RIGHT NOW and light gaming you could build a cheaper budget PC on Z97 chipset.
There is also different form factors and with a 3K-4K budget PCs can get really carried away as far as multi GPUs and CPU/Motherboards on a custom water loop which can be done on huge cases such as the Corsair 900D and 750D which are needed to house the radiators to cool the water that is being heated by OCd GPUs and CPU.

 

[anti-painkilla]

What monitor do you have? No point spending $3000 when running a 15" monitor.