10 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Designing a Gaming PC

[mhonor]

44 minutes ago, Dark_Fuzzy said:

I'd say the overclocking one is pushing it a bit. A thousand dollar gaming pc should be able to overlcock,gpu overclocking should be possible even on a $500 build. Mine totals out to about $800 with an overclocked cpu and gpu so specify a bit more on that one.

And i would take a good cooler over an ssd any day,a quiet pc compared to alittle faster load times is a pretty easy choice for me.

Especially when you have coolers like the cryorig h7 and 212 evo for $30.

I totally agree with this. Does anyone else?

A $1000 budget will get you a very capable gaming PC with an i5-6600K or 4690K. The cost of a K series CPU is like $20-30 more than its nearest non-K model, and a hyper 212 or Cryorig also $30.

A lot of people seem to think you need to spend $200+ on some ridiculous Z170 board that has a ton of features the average gamer will never use. There are lots of quality Z170 and Z97 boards out there in the $115-150 price range. Just browse the forums and you will see countless people happily using older gen CPUs because of the ability to overclock.

[Trik'Stari]

#1 should be:

 

Going cheap to meet a budget, instead of waiting and increasing the size of that budget. By going as cheap as possible (I would say, below $700) they are ensuring they will have a less than minimal experience, depending on what kind of gamer they are. If you're just looking to play your typical MMO, at whatever graphics settings and you don't care, then yes, going cheap can work.

 

If you want to start getting into modding games, and want the best possible performance in those games, you need to wait, save your money, get a strong GPU and decent CPU (I would say an I5, minimum, but that's just me).

 

There's also something to be said for Longevity. Sure, there is no such thing as "future proofing". But there is such a thing as longevity. If you go out and get a dual core CPU for a gaming rig, right now, you are handicapping yourself unless the motherboard can also accept quad core or better, systems. There are already a few titles that won't run on dual core cpu's, and that number is only going to increase with things like VR just around the corner.

 

The only other real mistake is not getting a Seasonic PSU. You can talk bad about brand loyalty, and 99% of the time that's true, but Seasonic deserves loyalty. A 7 year warranty? Most manufacturers use Seasonic internals in their own case? I think that speaks for itself.

[Dash Lambda]

3 hours ago, turkey3_scratch said:

End of SSD discussion; it is subjective, and I'm bored of talking about it. You guys can continue talking about it, but I've said all I need to about it, and don't like repeating myself.

It always bothers me when people take the easy way out rather than coming to a conclusion...

[turkey3_scratch]

Just now, mhonor said:

I totally agree with this. Does anyone else?

A $1000 budget will get you a very capable gaming PC with an i5-6600K or 4690K. The cost of a K series CPU is like $20-30 more than its nearest non-K model, and a hyper 212 or Cryorig also $30.

A lot of people seem to think you need to spend $200+ on some ridiculous Z170 board that has a ton of features the average user will never use. There are lots of quality Z170 and Z97 boards out there in the $115-150 price range. Just browse the forums and you will see countless people happily using older gen CPUs because of the ability to overclock.

If you're budget is $1000, I don't think there is a 980Ti in there. A 980Ti paired with an I5-6500 gives better performance than a 980 paired with a 6600K overclocked.

[Trik'Stari]

Just now, turkey3_scratch said:

If you're budget is $1000, I don't think there is a 980Ti in there. A 980Ti paired with an I5-6500 gives better performance than a 980 paired with a 6600K overclocked.

As long as you aren't going with an I3, or an AMD FX-6300 potato, you're fine as far as most games.

 

Star Citizen? Get a decent GPU, and put ALL of your money into CPU. Star Citizen is currently the titan of CPU-bound games. Going from a 4690k to a 4790k makes the difference in getting to 60fps average, regardless of your GPU.

[turkey3_scratch]

3 minutes ago, Trik'Stari said:

#1 should be:

 

Going cheap to meet a budget, instead of waiting and increasing the size of that budget. By going as cheap as possible (I would say, below $700) they are ensuring they will have a less than minimal experience, depending on what kind of gamer they are. If you're just looking to play your typical MMO, at whatever graphics settings and you don't care, then yes, going cheap can work.

 

If you want to start getting into modding games, and want the best possible performance in those games, you need to wait, save your money, get a strong GPU and decent CPU (I would say an I5, minimum, but that's just me).

 

There's also something to be said for Longevity. Sure, there is no such thing as "future proofing". But there is such a thing as longevity. If you go out and get a dual core CPU for a gaming rig, right now, you are handicapping yourself unless the motherboard can also accept quad core or better, systems. There are already a few titles that won't run on dual core cpu's, and that number is only going to increase with things like VR just around the corner.

 

The only other real mistake is not getting a Seasonic PSU. You can talk bad about brand loyalty, and 99% of the time that's true, but Seasonic deserves loyalty. A 7 year warranty? Most manufacturers use Seasonic internals in their own case? I think that speaks for itself.

Seasonic only is a bit strict. What about all the great Delta units out there, or Superflower units.

[mhonor]

1 minute ago, turkey3_scratch said:

If you're budget is $1000, I don't think there is a 980Ti in there. A 980Ti paired with an I5-6500 gives better performance than a 980 paired with a 6600K overclocked.

Def true, but at a $1000 budget no one is getting a 980 or 980ti, so this seems irrelevant.

[LordHood77]

8 minutes ago, AshleyAshes said:

You guys talk as if it was somehow impossible to operate computer before the advent of solid state storage.

Not the point I was trying to make.

[turkey3_scratch]

Just now, mhonor said:

Def true, but at a $1000 budget no one is getting a 980 or 980ti, so this seems irrelevant.

I could easily fit a 980 in a $1000 budget. Not a 980Ti, but a 980 for sure with an I5-6600, gigabyte GA-H110M-A, S12ii, some $40 case, and 8GB or even 16GB of memory.

[Trik'Stari]

Just now, turkey3_scratch said:

Seasonic only is a bit strict. What about all the great Delta units out there, or Superflower units.

7. Year. Warranty.

 

Need I say more? Their PSU's, in all likelihood, will outlast your entire rig.

 

I really don't understand why someone would pick something else.

[Dash Lambda]

3 hours ago, turkey3_scratch said:

If you're budget is $1000, I don't think there is a 980Ti in there. A 980Ti paired with an I5-6500 gives better performance than a 980 paired with a 6600K overclocked.

This is definitely not a build I would ever recommend to anyone in any situation, but...

There could be...

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bRFk4D

[LordHood77]

Just now, turkey3_scratch said:

I could easily fit a 980 in a $1000 budget. Not a 980Ti, but a 980 for sure with an I5-6600, gigabyte GA-H110M-A, S12ii, some $40 case, and 8GB or even 16GB of memory.

I don't think so. No without making every other part of the kit cheap as crap and unreliable.

[Trik'Stari]

Just now, LordHood77 said:

I don't think so. No without making every other part of the kit cheap as crap and unreliable.

Reliability and upgrade-ability > performance right freaking now

[LordHood77]

1 minute ago, Dash Lambda said:

This is definitely not a build I would ever recommend to anyone in any situation, but...

There could be...

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bRFk4D

Not picking apart, but at least sky lake i5's have no stock cooler, but idk about i3's

[turkey3_scratch]

Here, $1000 build with a GTX 980, an EVGA G2, and I even threw in an SSD (you guys will be thrilled).

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Lhjxyc
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Lhjxyc/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($199.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($49.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($39.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($86.75 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Twin Frozr Video Card  ($459.99 @ B&H) 
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($73.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1010.47
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-06 21:58 EST-0500

[LordHood77]

Just now, Trik'Stari said:

Reliability and upgrade-ability > performance right freaking now

Always. That's the reason why I bit the bullet and went from Bronze to Gold certified PSU.

[AshleyAshes]

Another possible idea for The Workbench: "When it comes to gaming or general PC usage, how fast a CPU do you REALLY need?" and see the same selection of GPUs benched with a range of CPUs.  I'm of the opinion that you can get the job done nicely with ANY modern intel quad core.  Frankly, I'm convinced that even the remarkable i5 2500K at stock speeds could still nearly toe to toe with the current offerings when it comes to gaming or general PC usage.

[Dash Lambda]

3 hours ago, LordHood77 said:

Not picking apart, but at least sky lake i5's have no stock cooler, but idk about i3's

That's just the K-series.

I made sure I had everything necessary in that list, didn't make sure it was the best you could make though (that's the point).

[turkey3_scratch]

1 minute ago, LordHood77 said:

Always. That's the reason why I bit the bullet and went from Bronze to Gold certified PSU.

How does that make your computer any more reliable? That just means you'll save money on the electricity bill, strictly speaking. I can think of countless Bronze units that are more reliable than tons of Gold units.

[mhonor]

Just now, LordHood77 said:

I don't think so. No without making every other part of the kit cheap as crap and unreliable.

Ya why would anyone want to drop $1000 for a PC with crap case and PSU? This sort of penny pinching just to get one high-end component doesn't make any sense. When you're spending that kind of money you should get a balanced build with components that you are happy with. Graphics cards go out of date in a couple short years, but your CPU can and should last you for a long time.

[turkey3_scratch]

This is not a crap PSU:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LYLTXL
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LYLTXL/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($199.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($49.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($39.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Twin Frozr Video Card  ($459.99 @ B&H) 
Case: Corsair SPEC-02 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($73.98 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($87.95 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1006.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-06 22:02 EST-0500

 

This one has Windows.

[LordHood77]

2 minutes ago, Dash Lambda said:

That's just the K-series.

I made sure I had everything necessary in that list, didn't make sure it was the best you could make though (that's the point).

Oh okay. 

[Dash Lambda]

3 hours ago, turkey3_scratch said:

How does that make your computer any more reliable? That just means you'll save money on the electricity bill, strictly speaking. I can think of countless Bronze units that are more reliable than tons of Gold units.

Typically, gold certified units are of a higher quality. It's not because of their gold certification, but rather the certification is a result of the quality.

[Trik'Stari]

2 minutes ago, LordHood77 said:

Always. That's the reason why I bit the bullet and went from Bronze to Gold certified PSU.

Same. I was using a bronze. Didn't really need the 750w Seasonic 80+gold.

 

But I figured "well, it will last a fuck load longer than this shitty AMD APU I have".

[turkey3_scratch]

1 minute ago, Dash Lambda said:

Typically, gold certified units are of a higher quality. It's not because of their gold certification, but rather the certification is a result of the quality.

Yes, I know that, but not always the case, so it was more of a warning to him and others to be cautious more than anything. Look at the NEX 650G