I've never built a PC before, and despite spending many hours trying to wrap my head around the many well-written but ultimately too complex for a complete newb guides, I am going to need help with figuring this out. Anyways, here's that template:
Approximate Purchase Date: whenever I get this all sorted out, hopefully within a week or two
Budget Range: $600-$800
System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, video streaming, web surfing, sparse bit of game design, desktop publishing
Are you buying a monitor: No
Do you need to buy OS: Yes
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: amazon.com
Location: Wisconsin, USA... the closest larger town is Appleton, though I would much prefer to purchase online.
Parts Preferences: none, as long as they work and don't have a reputation for breaking or being highly annoying in some way
Overclocking: highly doubtful
SLI or Crossfire: I think this means if I mean to use more than one graphics card; I only mean to use one.
Your Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050, though I hope to upgrade to 1920x1080 (1080p) soon.
Now that that's out of the way, the most intensive game I intend to play is Skyrim. I hoped to play it in 1080p (eventually, at least), on ultra settings at 60fps with HD (2k/4k, if possible) texture pack/ ENB mods. I managed to find some other people with the same goal on this site, and from responses to them, I gathered that the following hardware might be good:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor, which can be gotten for ~$182 on amazon here.
Video Card: AMD Radeon R9 280, which can be gotten for ~$193 on amazon here.
I chose that CPU since it was the most common response for a CPU in the google results I received. The graphics card I chose because many people have stated that Skyrim is very VRAM-hungry, and can use up to 3GB of it, which is what that video card has, I think.
Anyways, my main concern is that I'm overkilling it with those choices, and am spending much more than I need to or that they're incompatible or will cause bottle-necking. Many responses said to get a Nvidia GeForce 750ti, which is cheaper but only has 2GB of VRAM. If I'm not wasting my money, and the AMD card will have better performance, then the $50 or so price difference isn't enough to make me want to downgrade. If the CPU isn't overkill, and there is a significantly better (as in, I might actually notice a difference in use) one for like $10 more or something, please tell me.
I also have no idea if they're even compatible with eachother or how to choose a motherboard based on those choices. Additionally, I have no idea what to get for a power supply. I read something about online calculators and allowing extra wattage for wear and upgrades, but it's way over my head.
As for a case, I would prefer something that looks normal and isn't full of flashy lights and other useless junk. I would also like the power button to be on the front so that it is less likely to be pressed accidentally. I would choose one myself, but I am concerned I will end up choosing something with poor airflow and cable management.
For RAM, I figured I would just get the standard 8 GB, but I saw someone say that getting two 4GB sticks was better due to being able to take advantage of "dual-channel mode". If this is true, what companies are good for RAM?
For storage, I figured just a standard 1 TB hard-drive would be enough, though I have no idea how RPM affects a hard-drive, and I don't know what companies sell quality ones.
Apart from Skyrim, I play some online and offline Source engine games, Crusader Kings 2, and the occasional game of Civilization V. I doubt that running the source engine games will be a problem, though maybe some networking concerns could arise from the online ones.
Sorry for the wall of text; thanks to anyone who reads or helps.
Approximate Purchase Date: whenever I get this all sorted out, hopefully within a week or two
Budget Range: $600-$800
System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, video streaming, web surfing, sparse bit of game design, desktop publishing
Are you buying a monitor: No
Do you need to buy OS: Yes
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: amazon.com
Location: Wisconsin, USA... the closest larger town is Appleton, though I would much prefer to purchase online.
Parts Preferences: none, as long as they work and don't have a reputation for breaking or being highly annoying in some way
Overclocking: highly doubtful
SLI or Crossfire: I think this means if I mean to use more than one graphics card; I only mean to use one.
Your Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050, though I hope to upgrade to 1920x1080 (1080p) soon.
Now that that's out of the way, the most intensive game I intend to play is Skyrim. I hoped to play it in 1080p (eventually, at least), on ultra settings at 60fps with HD (2k/4k, if possible) texture pack/ ENB mods. I managed to find some other people with the same goal on this site, and from responses to them, I gathered that the following hardware might be good:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor, which can be gotten for ~$182 on amazon here.
Video Card: AMD Radeon R9 280, which can be gotten for ~$193 on amazon here.
I chose that CPU since it was the most common response for a CPU in the google results I received. The graphics card I chose because many people have stated that Skyrim is very VRAM-hungry, and can use up to 3GB of it, which is what that video card has, I think.
Anyways, my main concern is that I'm overkilling it with those choices, and am spending much more than I need to or that they're incompatible or will cause bottle-necking. Many responses said to get a Nvidia GeForce 750ti, which is cheaper but only has 2GB of VRAM. If I'm not wasting my money, and the AMD card will have better performance, then the $50 or so price difference isn't enough to make me want to downgrade. If the CPU isn't overkill, and there is a significantly better (as in, I might actually notice a difference in use) one for like $10 more or something, please tell me.
I also have no idea if they're even compatible with eachother or how to choose a motherboard based on those choices. Additionally, I have no idea what to get for a power supply. I read something about online calculators and allowing extra wattage for wear and upgrades, but it's way over my head.
As for a case, I would prefer something that looks normal and isn't full of flashy lights and other useless junk. I would also like the power button to be on the front so that it is less likely to be pressed accidentally. I would choose one myself, but I am concerned I will end up choosing something with poor airflow and cable management.
For RAM, I figured I would just get the standard 8 GB, but I saw someone say that getting two 4GB sticks was better due to being able to take advantage of "dual-channel mode". If this is true, what companies are good for RAM?
For storage, I figured just a standard 1 TB hard-drive would be enough, though I have no idea how RPM affects a hard-drive, and I don't know what companies sell quality ones.
Apart from Skyrim, I play some online and offline Source engine games, Crusader Kings 2, and the occasional game of Civilization V. I doubt that running the source engine games will be a problem, though maybe some networking concerns could arise from the online ones.
Sorry for the wall of text; thanks to anyone who reads or helps.
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