First post, looking for some serious help

[Philippe D.]

Good evening all and apologies if this is the wrong section for this question. 

My son is looking to earn some high school credits by building his own gaming computer. I am a systems analyst with lots of experience in software development, but no knowledge in hardware beyond 25 year-old tech (remember when 4gigs was way too much memory, and the regular OS install was Windows 95?). The scope of his assignment obviously doesn't include investing the years it takes to become knowledgeable in modern computer hardware. I am looking for a kind soul who will :

- point us to a purchasing list for a reasonable system capable of playing the more demanding games out there at 60fps without melting. A nice to have would include a liquid cooling component. 

- advise us as to pitfalls and gotchas along the way 

- guide us with how to set the right BIOS options during setup

 

Any and all links, quotes, content of any kind going towards those goals will be hugely appreciated and duly acknowledged on a photo-supported narrative to be posted on my son's portfolio website. 

Is there anyone out there willing to share their wisdom?

 

With hope,

 

Philippe

 

 

[zlolslavez]

Look up "The Verge build guide," and don't do anything that they do on that video. On a serious note, building a PC is fairly easy, and I would just look up a build guide on LTT and that should have almost all the information. Come back with a location/budget and possibly specific games for a specific build list recommendation. And also welcome to the forum.

[Sanibola]

Personal projects, I did mine on PC building as well, I don't know your budget but an easy way to get an extra points in your project is too try to get it as cheap as possible or make an budget killer. I spent 300 dollars on a Xeon E3 1220 and RX 480 in my build. Does R6 at 110 FPS high, Fortnite and APEX 90 ish on all ultra but shadows.

[m9x3mos]

@Philippe D. It really depends a lot on what you need it to do and the budget you have. There are a number of build guide videos from Linus that will help with the build process itself. I suggest watching those and from other reputable people. Seriously avoid the verge video.

For a solid mid-range build for under 1000 this is a nice base for consideration to start with for 1080p gaming high details.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$199.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master - MasterLiquid ML120L RGB 66.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	$55.09 @ Walmart
Motherboard	MSI - B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC ATX AM4 Motherboard	$139.99 @ B&H
Memory	Team - T-Force Vulcan 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$69.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Samsung - 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$77.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	MSI - GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB GAMING X Video Card	$309.00 @ B&H
Case	NZXT - H500 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case	$69.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Corsair - CXM 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply	$39.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$982.03
	Mail-in rebates	-$20.00
	Total	$962.03
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-24 21:26 EST-0500

 

[jmack]

Welcome to the Forums! I totally agree with Zlolslavez. I think the best thing to start with is a budget and what specific games your son is looking to play. Building a new Gaming PC's from components can range in price from $500 all the way to thousands. General rule of thumb, $500 would be low-end but useable for games at lower quality, $1000 for mid-range, $1500+ for high-end.

[Philippe D.]

Thank you so much for all the replies so far!

I have a few questions arising from reading the replies:

- Will a $1000 budget provide the 60fps for most games on high graphics settings that we are looking for? Most recent game envisioned is Anthem. Lots of Ubisoft big titles are int he mix as well. 

- What is the pro and con sheet of AMD vs Intel? m9x3mos (thank you btw!) suggested a AMD Ryzen 5. What oriented your recommendation away from an Intel?

- How should i approach the question of how many fans to get and how to mount them? I don't know what to watch for, what criteria to choose fans by, all I know is I want to make sure the unit is very well cooled as I want it to last a while. 

 

also, someone suggested a build video on LTT. I looked up on youtube and found 

 but this does not feature the liquid cooling element I was hoping for, and it dates from 2017. Another post from 2018 only talks about what spare parts to get but does not show how to assemble them. I'm sure I'm missing a lot as LTT looks nothing if not comprehensive, however I was not able to find exactly what i was after given my limited knowledge. 

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

 

Philippe