Hello, this will be the first time that I will be posting on this website. I apologize in advance if I write things with incorrect terms or have misconceptions about certain products or practices.
The purpose of my post is to decide whether to buy computer parts to build a desktop or to buy a pre-built desktop. I've ruled out laptops due to already having one and wanting to spend the money on a good system that can't be plucked out of a bag. Currently the conflict I'm having is surrounded by these categories: upgradability, cost, performance, and warranty. I understand that when considering both options that these have a major role to play in my decision.
I know to a degree that I would like and intel build using a gtx gpu. the reason for this is that I understand Intel's products much better than AMD's. However if anyone can send me videos or links that will educate me on AMD I will gladly consider it. This may sound ambitious but I want a system that will be able to do 4k HDR graphics for movies, if it can do it for games then that will be a bonus. Also having the option to get into VR in the future is something that I would like but is not necessary. In all honesty even though I've spent 6 months of research in my spare time I'm still not sure what the requirements will be for the computer.
In terms of upgradability I do wish to have this feature yet I fear that a majority of pre-built pcs warranty would be void if I replaced parts. Considering the price inflation for GPU's today it would be nice to buy a decent one soon and upgrade to a stellar one in the future. The cost is another thing that really concerns me. I currently make minimum wage (14$/h) in Ontario Canada. To give you an idea I make just under $2000 in a month at full time while going to school full time. $2000 Canadian is just under $1500 American, So to get an overkill system that is 4 grand in the US is about three months of straight earnings. So I'm looking to get my moneys worth.
In terms of performance the most I will probably put it through currently is games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider, overhaul and 4k mods on Fallout 4 and Skyrim, Halo: Wars 2/Infinity/collection. The main reason I'm looking into the desktop is actually to play Halo Infinity and the Master Chief collection at better condition than the One X can perform. Basically I want to take advantage of the quality and colours that new triple A titles can dish out now.
In terms of warranty my main concern is once again upgradability and more importantly overclocking. I know that overclocking reduces the estimated life of the hardware of a pc, and sometimes the warranty can become void due to that. Also whenever I watch videos on overclocking it sounds like I'm watching a video in a foreign language. In all honesty I'm utterly intimidated at the notion of overclocking without an experts supervision. I can be enticed to overclock my future system if my warranty will still cover it if I do overclock it. Water cooling also sounds awesome because it can be effective and silent, but the risk of damaging the hardware scares me greatly so I think I will stick to fans as a side note.
I understand that there is approximately over twenty things that I asked in this post but any tips even on a single thing will be greatly appreciated. I understand that my knowledge is very limited and that may be frustrating to the experienced people on this website so I apologize for any annoyance I may have caused. Thank anyone who has read through this for listening to my issue and I wish you all a good day.
TLDR; Beginner doesn't know what type or how to get a proper desktop and is asking for help.
