Do I need to build a "gaming" computer?

[Gideon]

I'm no expert, man. I'm usually on a tight budget and can actually -afford- like half of what I end up spending. So...what I'd do in your situation and what you need is either find someone who knows what they're doing to find you or build you the BEST machine they can for your price.

And I would also suggest Steam for easy/safe access to alot of games for really good prices(The summer sale is amazing) It will give you alot of reccomendations based on what you're actively playing too. It helps build your library quick, trust me.

(if it helps with comparisons I've got people playing ARK on just a $600 laptop from amazon. The graphics aren't perfect, but it still performs and looks pretty damn good)