Computers & Networking

[jbeckerman]

I am trying to buy a computer. The basis of this computer is to game, but I still want it to be able to perform normal tasks. I would like it to be able to run games of the level of Skyrim. My price range is up to $700 not including the screen. Any help would be awesome.

[deusexmachina Valued Contributor]

It's hard to find a gaming desktop under $700 unless you add parts in yourself. Usually "gaming" desktops that are marketed and sold as gaming desktops are closer to $1,000.
Your best bet might be to get a cheaper desktop for $500ish and then add a nice video card and power supply afterwards. You're probably looking at roughly $190 for a video card and $70 for a power supply if you do the installation yourself.  This will get you a good gaming desktop without paying a ton for the LEDs and brand names that go into a gaming computer.

[Jimmienomam]

If you have any computer knowledge at all I would say build it.

If you can read up and understand how to build it. Also if you can read/understand troubleshooting documents then it's a no-brainier to build it.

You do take a small risk on messing up the computer parts, but as long as you are careful and ground yourself before working on it you should be fine.

The worst part is DLing/installing drivers and making sure everything is working properly (which windows 7 has made a lot easier then previous iterations).

Computers I build for gaming cost $800-$1000 and would cost $1,500-$2,000 retail. But that is also waiting on good sales.

You can get a good gaming computer for $600 if you watch sales and give it a month or so.

[AaronE]

Josh,

What games do you want to be able to play? That'll determine what kind of specs the machine will need to have and then how much it'll cost.

[jbeckerman]

As previously mentioned the level of games I would like to use are of the Skyrim level. I might be able to go up to the $800 level, but would it be better to just save up and be able to purchase the $1000 computer?

[jbeckerman]

Where would I look for this $600 computer?

[AaronE]

I was hoping for more than just the one game as an example of what you'd want to play.

Something like this looks like it'd have enough horse power processor and GPU wise to exceed the recommended specs for Skyrim and doesn't break the bank.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Lenovo+-+IdeaCentre+Desktop+-+12GB+Memory+-+1.5TB+Hard+Drive/4272305.p?i...

Intel i5 processor, 12GB DDR3 RAM, ATI Radeon HD 6450 GPU for $700.

[jbeckerman]

Thank Man! Some other games that I might play are Civilization, Minecraft, maybe Sims. Can't really think of any others right now... but I'm sure there will be more. 

[Jimmienomam]

I meant $600 gaming comp if you build it yourself

[jbeckerman]

Another question. Would this computer have a good enough video card to handle those games?