Should I (A 14 year old) get into PC gaming?

[rednal16]

So I'm in 8th grade, and console gaming has gotten boring this year to me. I started in sixth grade and thought it was my favorite thing ever and I would never stop playing. It seems I only play on it when my friends come over, but when they're not I'm usually on my families computer. I had my bar mitzvah in seventh grade and I've been working for my dad for a while and I have roughly $5000-$6000 saved up. I want to know how quickly PC gaming gets boring and if a fourteen year old like me should get into it. I posted a thread last night asking people about my gaming rig, but now my mind suddenly wanted to know this answer. I'm willing to spend around 1000 on the tower itself, though I'm fine going a bit over. If I should buy the computer, I would want to build it, I know it would cost around the same if I were to buy it pre-built, but I think it would be an awesome experience building it. If you didn't see the specs, here they are:

Case: http://bit.ly/h62cS5

RAM: http://bit.ly/HRxhWW

Processor: http://bit.ly/h6dxCY

CPU fan: http://bit.ly/IeMPUN

Motherboard, $50 because of a sale going on at the store with the purchase of the i5 2500K : http://bit.ly/GCkvGS

Video Card should I get this or the GTX 560 ti? GTX 480: http://bit.ly/IjZEZw GTX 560 Ti: http://bit.ly/IqxzTc

HDD: http://bit.ly/Hnvgfb

SDD (OS): http://bit.ly/oZNNmv

PSU: http://bit.ly/HoisLt

DVD Burner: http://bit.ly/I4FTsZ

Speakers: http://bit.ly/d7XqiY

I would like it if you chose the parts from microcenter.com but I'm open to NewEgg.com
I would be using this computer for gaming, editing video with Sony Vegas, schoolwork, surfing the web and watching movies.
I need help with finding a good but cheap monitor, keyboard, and mouse (mouse and preferably gaming, would like it off of NewEgg)
How is it? Should I get into PC Gaming?
Can you also tell me what overclocking is and the pros and cons of it? All answers/suggestions are appreciated!!!!

 

[kelthic]

the games that arent on pc is becaude they suck

i suppose that's a matter of opinion lol. Truth of the matter is that consoles are cheaper and because of that the market is larger for them (more customers because more people can afford them). i can say though that 95% of the people i know who gamed on consoles when they were younger have since switched to PC. I think PC is generally a more mature platform for gamers.

 

[rednal16]

Well... I'm 14 (by the way, how'd you get that much money from a Bar Mitzvah! 😱 Yes, I had mine a year ago, too). I haven't played on consoles much, and I'm in the process of building a gaming computer. My build is over here, if you want to see: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/341836-31-still-replies-final-build

Ignore the PSU, GPU, and motherboard. Other than that, it would still apply to you. The Fractal R3 is to make it quiet.

With PC gaming, here's what I've got. PC gaming is way more versatile (I'm not going to mention mouse-and-keyboard gaming. You can connect a controller). You have a large community of mods. Also, you don't have to pay for an Xbox live feature (it's called the "internet" 😉 ). The graphics are superior. There are way more free games available to PCs. The problem is... PCs are expensive. Usually, you'll build a nice PC and upgrade parts (generally the GPU. Sometimes the CPU) as you go along.

Referring to your build, I'd suggest looking at mine (I've done quite a bit of research). I'd suggest an MSI Twin Frozr II OC 7850 2GB GPU at the least, possibly upgrading to a 7870. I don't know when you're buying, so you could wait for an Ivy Bridge processor that's coming out April 29th. Then, get the i5-2500k equivalent, the i5-3750k. Get an Extreme4 ASRock Z77 motherboard (that's available on newegg as of a few hours ago... exciting for us techies 😉 ).Since you're going from console gaming, you'll want it quiet, which is why I'd recommend something like a Fractal R3 or a Corsair 550D. If you don't care about quietness, get a Corsair 500R. (Those are cases). Get 8GB of DDR3-1600 RAM at a CAS latency of 9. A CPU cooler like the Hyper 212+ or the Hyper 212 Evo. Also, for your hard drive, get a 7200rpm. An SSD is optional (maybe a 64GB one for your operating system and a few games). I think that covers it. Good luck!

Your suggestions helped a lot and I do think I should be in your budget range since I'm just starting. Also, can you answers these questions:
What power supply do you suggest?
When do you think the video card you suggested will be back in stock?
What mouse, keyboard, and monitor do you suggest?
Since I don't plan to purchase anything today, what are some other quiet cases that are some what cheap?
Also, after I factored everything in (the monitor, hdd, sdd, mouse and keyboard) i'm getting $1280 is that about right? Is it too much?

 

[azeem40]

The Radeon 7870 is already in stock.
PSU: Any good quality unit from XFX or Seasonic.

 

[Markusx64]

i suppose that's a matter of opinion lol. Truth of the matter is that consoles are cheaper and because of that the market is larger for them (more customers because more people can afford them). i can say though that 95% of the people i know who gamed on consoles when they were younger have since switched to PC. I think PC is generally a more mature platform for gamers.

indeed

 

[ddan49]

Your suggestions helped a lot and I do think I should be in your budget range since I'm just starting. Also, can you answers these questions:
What power supply do you suggest?
When do you think the video card you suggested will be back in stock?
What mouse, keyboard, and monitor do you suggest?
Since I don't plan to purchase anything today, what are some other quiet cases that are some what cheap?
Also, after I factored everything in (the monitor, hdd, sdd, mouse and keyboard) i'm getting $1280 is that about right? Is it too much?

1) I'd suggest this one (that was suggested to me. Although you might want a better, gold rated modular one. It's up to you. Modular means some cables detach, which makes it a little neater... but Google it. There's some controversy):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020&Tpk=tx%20650w
2) I have no idea. It IS on NCIX for about $10 more:
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=69585&vpn=R7850%20Twin%20Frozr%202GD5%2FOC&manufacture=MSI%2FMicroStar
3) Don't ask me. I'm on a Logitech K120 keyboard with a Logitech M510 mouse and a 1680x1050 HP f2105 5-year-old monitor. Despite what people will tell you, you don't need a premium keyboard/mouse. I consider my mouse a gaming mouse because it has TWO programmable buttons (that I use for page forward and page back in web browsing). I still do well in video games.
4) I can only really recommend the "silent" cases. "Silent" cases are covered with sound-deadening foam, so they sometimes have airflow problems (the Fractal R3 is still great with airflow, though). If you don't need it, get something like a HAF or a Corsair case (Corsair 500R is nice, if pricey). Quiet cases are:
Antec P280
Fractal Define R3
Corsair 550D
There's also another one that ends in H2 (can't remember :/ ), but it's bad. Stay away.
5) $1280 isn't too much because you've got a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and other stuff. Make sure you have speakers/headphones, by the way! I've got my HDD as well, so overall my build should be about $300 less. Which is about right (you will have better parts). If you have both an SSD and an HDD, then that will also boost the price. $1500 is generally an average higher end gaming computer, and $1000 is an average mid-level. You're right in between, which is nice. You've maxed out everything except for the GPU, which is where that extra $200 would go for the high-end (going higher with CPU/Mobo/Case, etc. isn't worth it).

Hope I helped! Also, remember that you don't have wifi/bluetooth connectivity by default, so if you want to connect (for desktops, ethernet is better, but I dunno... 😉 ) to those services, you'll need to buy a wifi card or a bluetooth card. Ethernet is available by default, though.

 

[rockstone1]

Absolutely, you should get into PC gaming!

When I was 14 (only four years ago, I'm a senior now), I built my first gaming PC (before this, I had a Dell long past it's prime I saved up for, and before that, I had a Pentium 3 I still have in my room)

With $5,000, you can have a machine that lasts you till your doctorate. (the machine I got my 8th grade year was really, really cheap, it wasn't till 9th grade I was able to afford a really awesome machine).

 

[Lieutenant Awesome]

You'd love Los Santos Role Play, trust me. It's like grand theft auto san andreas but every player is real, and better yet they actually act like real people, not just run around shooting people for no reason. You can pretty much create your own character and do whatever you want, you could join a street gang, a mafia, become a cop, or maybe even just be a civilian and become a fireman or a lawyer or something in the government. If you've got big ambitions, you could even try to run for mayor of the city.

http://forum.ls-rp.com/

Read about it there. To get it all you need is GTA SA on the PC which is about £6.99 on amazon. Then you just download the patch and the multiplayer for free, and join Los Santos Role Play. I can help you get it if you like. Best thing about it is, because it's all real it has a continuous story so it never gets boring. Even if you haven't joined anything yet and you're walking around the city on your own there's still plenty of things you can do.

Oh, and it's got an incredibly well establish mod community, in fact there are many different ones. If you want to mod your game, I can help you make your game look as god quality as GTA IV in no time/

 

[Scarci5]

Ok So I Know A lot of People Have Mentioned This But Ill Just Sum It Up For You

PC Gaming Would Deffiently Beniffet Because.......

:Online is Free
:Games are Cheaper
:Mods, Many Mods to Keep You Interested
😛lenty of Games Including Classics if Your Interested in Them
😛lus a Computer will Work for Gaming and Homework ect, (Multipurpose)

From Scarci5