Claytonic

Thanks for all the replies! Just a few questions: Is Quad core plenty? How much of a gain is the 6-core option? Is a single 8GB ram plenty? My game recommends 8GB alone, so if I want to record, should I get another 8GB? To lower costs, could I use my existing HDD with Windows and add an SSD or additional HDD later on?

So I want to get into PC gaming. I've spent at least six months building up a Steam wishlist of games before deciding I want to make the purchase too. Looking at the recommended specs on the Steam pages, I think the most spec demanding game I want to play is GRIP: Recommended: OS: Windows 7 64bit or Newer Processor: 3.0 GHz+ Dual core Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: Nvidia 970 or Radeon 380 DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 4 GB available space I also saw this prebuilt on Amazon but thought it was too expensive: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQTQMMJ/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I2TM6YXZ3OTAXK&colid=6O9LB34EHXGX What I want is a PC that can play games like GRIP and be able to record them. I figure I should meet the recommended specs for the game and then go a little higher so I can record while playing. I was wondering if it would be possible to build my own PC for cheaper than the Amazon example (I don't care about the aesthetics). I also think I can reuse my hard drive and dvd drive in my old PC (Optiplex 745). I also have a VX238 LCD monitor (1080p) I want to play on. If there is any other information I should share, let me know. If my dreams are too unrealistic, let me know. Thanks for reading this.

Okay, I'm considering an upgrade to save money for a new build in the future. I found this graphics card is compatible with my PC. I am confused about the differences between the 1 GB and 2 GB versions and between the regular and lo-profile versions. is there a reason the regular 2GB model is 3X the price of the others? http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Mini-HDMI-Graphics-02G-P3-2617-KR/dp/B0083YIGXI/ref=cm_cr_dp_asin_lnk

@Made In Canada I just updated my first post with my RAM being 4 1GB cards. I'm now thinking I should just save up to buy a new, better PC. Just in case, can anyone else recommend the parts list by @herman mcpootis? Will this setup be able to do everything I asked for? BTW, I see a lot of $300 and $400 "gaming PC builds" on YouTube. What would I be sacrificing for a setup at that price?

Are those other games you listed also playing off your hard drive? If so, maybe there's just a problem with your Metroid Trilogy game? I'd try redownloading the game. I use a 500 GB hard drive to play some of my games (including Metroid Prime Trilogy) and I've never had that problem before. If you can't play any games from your hard drive, then maybe something has gone wrong with it. In that case, try using another hard drive or just moving the game to the WiiU internal memory if you can.

Budget & Location: I live in the US. If I can just replace parts, then I'd spend around $200, but if I'm buying a new pc then I'd pay around $500. I'm flexible on the price at this point, like +/- $200, but I don't want to spend $1000. I'm curious to hear from you what my budget should be based on my given product requirements below, so please tell me if I'm being unrealistic. Aim: I want to be able to record and stream gaming, and do some editing (not a priority). I don't know which of these is heavier, but I want to be able to play "modern" PC games and to emulate Wii games. It will also be used for regular work related purposes such as web browsing and document processing. Considering how recording and streaming take more power than just playing a game, I'm not going to be streaming Fallout4, but I'd like to be able to at least play something like it (also let me know if my expectations are super low). Monitors: I am currently working with 2 monitors and I'd like to keep it that way. Though they are currently not HD compatible and may need to be upgraded. Peripherals: I can keep my mouse, keyboard, and speakers. Monitors may need to be replaced if buying a new rig. Why am I upgrading? Sometimes when watching a video or something, the screen will freeze, it won't react to any of my inputs, my monitors will go black, then the sound will cut out and the power is still "on." After manually powering it down and turning it back on I can go back to whatever I was doing and it will be fine. I figure either my video card or my power supply is gonna give out on me permanently if I keep this up. So I'm not sure if I can just replace my gpu or psu and fix the problem or if I'd be better off getting a whole new rig. Simply replacing parts would need to be cheap, but I can see spending more if it means getting a new pc. Also, I have lag when trying to play some fb games, so I know my pc is weak sauce. I've never played any "modern" games on PC. I've mostly been on home consoles, now thinking of making the switch. I've put my current system information into my profile, but I'll put it here as well: CPU Intel Pentium D CPU 3.40GHz RAM 4.0 GB DDR (4 x 1GB) GPU NVIDIA Quadro NVS 290 Case DELL OPTIPLEX 745 Storage 1TB Displays ViewSonic VA2026w & HP L1940T LCD That's all I know anyway. If I need to open my computer and tell you my PSU, let me know. Need any other information, let me know. Additional questions: If I buy a new PC, can I reuse my hard drive? Should I have any fear of it not lasting? Can I reuse my DVD drive (are they all compatible with all cases and stuff?)

Thanks!

So, I just joined because I'm looking for buying advise. Where would be the best place to post all the details of my question? (Upgrading versus all new buy, with what should I get for such and such purposes)

If you're not downloading games, you won't need an external hard drive. The 32Gb will be plenty for save data and dlc (I assume you'll get Smash Bros). But if you decide you do want to download a bunch of games later, just know that you need to use a y-cable on your USB hard drive to power it from two of the USB ports on the WiiU, as using the standard single cable will not work. I'm using a Western Digital 500GB Passport this way. The SanDisk Ultra Fit 128GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive shown in the link above looks interesting, but if it works I guess it's worth it for being a much cheaper option.