Do I need to build a "gaming" computer?

[SilverBullet]

As much as the spec here listed future proofs Cobalt if he wants to play more powerful games in the future he really needs to decide if he really needs that specification with the rig that you've listed above otherwise it could land him with an expensive rig that he's not taking advantage of. Realistically if he were to build a machine for only the purposes that he has stated in the first post then he can save by going with a spec that is lower then the one you've listed and still have the power to run the style of games he wants without taking a hit in performance since those games aren't massively specked in terms of the PCs that can be built today. My 6 year old machine can run all of those games without a hitch and it was never a powerhouse when it was built.

I didnt say what I posted was right for him, I said its what I would do if I were him and tried to paint a picture of why above that. Personally I like to do something once and do it right from the start. I hate being in the position of "will my psu support that additional wattage? Can I add that other HDD to my case?" I prefer to simply say "I want this" and do it. But again this is only MY opinion as I was trying to give the OP an idea and possibly merrit more expense in the begging possibly saving him time in the end. But yea as stated, he could probably run his games on an APU, AMD's A10 is on sale right now on Newegg.

I actually seen this post last night but said nothing because I was unsure if OP wanted my opinion because im a computer science major with a degree in cyber crime. Everything I do screams for a good pc, im very opinionated on what I use and for me when it comes to a PC cost is not an issue as I see it as a tool that runs me free phone, free TV, aids me in research and work, cuts my work time, is a source of entertainment, can run a security system soo its like a no brainer for me to spend ample on a pc that does ANYTHING I want it too . Then got poked by Axle and thought maybe I should at least show OP a door he may not have seen before ^_^.

I suppose its like being in a zoo, and asking a group of people what the best animal is. Then you have that crazy cat person in the group haha, aaanyway ill leave this alone, whats above is simply my opinion, sorry if it didn't help you Cobalt.

[Gideon]

It really depends on what types of games you're going to be interested in playing and what your budget is. I had mine built for me so that it would handle "most" games but isn't nearly as powerful as some.

Right now my big obsessions are Civilization V, ARK Survival Evolved, and Orcs Must Die Unchained and mine handles all these without a problem(but with less fantastic graphics than an actual gaming computer) My computer cost about 1500 to build, so that might give you an indication of what a "decent" machine will cost you without going over the top with all the bells and whistles.

[Cobalt]

Okay so, wow, I wasn't expecting this many replies. Maybe two at the most. I love this community. <3

I've been really busy these past few days so I was strapped for time when I did my intro post (really I wanted to post it like a week ago but wasn't sure how to word it). And I'm strapped again so I'll make a quick reply. Tomorrow my schedule gets better so I can reply more thoroughly then but for now...

Here's a quick list of what I want to play:
The Sims
The Sims 2
Tycoon games (Rollercoaster, Zoo)
Civilization games (V is the most recent I think?)
Sim City (not really sure what's most recent here, I just remember one of them having a HUGE public outcry recently for some reason, so, probably want to avoid that one)
Joe Danger
Bastion
Limbo
Mark of the Ninja
Duke Nukem 3D
Ultra Street Fighter IV

Some of those games are old (I mean Duke freaking Nukem 3D. That was big in like, the 1600s.) Some of those I wanted to get on the Xbox 360 Live Arcade (where that applied, of course) but when I realized how much cheaper they were on PC well, that kind of kicked off this whole PC Gaming thing, which reminded me of PC only games that I liked for years but could never play.

From what I know of what I want to play, Street Fighter looks to be the most graphically intense game. I don't know if I'll ever get Street Fighter V (so far it looks trash so, if I were to say today it would be no) but it would be nice to have the option someday.

It would be kind of important to me to be able to run things in max settings but again, I'm not going to be getting the latest greatest games, so the Sims 2 in max settings is probably not the same as something like The Witcher III in max settings.

As for a budget, well, I don't really know. I'll have some money coming to me over the next few months but I'm not sure how much of that I really want to invest in a PC. I know it's not worth even trying for less than 600 (in most cases) but going over 1000 is probably out of the question for now. I'm open to upgrading parts here and there in the future but again, dropping it all in one go is not an option. A sweet spot would be somewhere around 700-750 (give or take 50 bucks if it would really make a huge difference) but if I can go lower I'd be more than happy.

Anyway, thanks again for all the replies. I'll distribute my "Thanks" buttons tomorrow and respond more in depth where it was needed.
Also to Silver, I didn't mind your post at all. I thought it helpful.

[InbetweenDreams]

I for one agree with [MENTION=19807]SilverBullet[/MENTION] about power supplies. If it is heavy enough to cause a concision you're good. All that stuff about efficiency is accurate as well. Generally speaking it is always better to go a bit higher on a power supply because if something "pops" it could take along the rest of your hardware.

Now on to hardware. All the games you mentioned will run on modest hardware, except Street Fighter V, that one is probably a bit of a hoss...probably need something like a Core i7 variant and a GTX970 for a video card. (I'm generally supportive of Intel and nVidia).

Next question is what do you currently have? It might be a simple matter of adding some RAM and a newer video card to an existing system to be able to play the games you're wanting to play with good performance.

You can build a gaming computer for $600 but it won't be one that will be "future proof." Just a rough estimate in cost can figure about $1500 (cost will vary in the end) to build a good gaming computer that you will be able to use for years. My system is about 5 years old but since it wasn't a "gaming rig" the video card is pretty well out of date. However, I could easily pop in a GTX 980 and be off and running on most all games and have good performance. So while it doesn't have the latest core i7 can still do pretty much what I need.
[MENTION=22914]Cobalt[/MENTION] do you currently have a desktop PC? You might be able to upgrade that and slowly migrate to newer hardware. That would be the most efficient way but if you're not one to tinker then that might not be the best option.

[rich4421972]

Laptops tend to be more difficult to build because their parts are so small.
It largely depends on the company you wish to do business with AMD systems require a number of components that a re specifically compatible. I recommend the Radeon A8 graphics card. It is affordable and very good. I also recommend at least 8 GB of memory.
Three fans (cooling devices):

1) CPU fan
2) Power supply fan
3) heat sink or graphics card fan (absolutely necessary for a "gaming computer" if you want speed).

Most computer sellers (Dell, Lenovo, ASUS, Acer and etc) carry low-cost gaming -capable computers. They are usually clearly marked and set aside on their websites.

Hint: a fast gaming computer may be a little pricey but expect it to be quite usable for 10+ years. I'm a fan of the Lenovo thinkpads. You might shop around, though.
I hope you find a good one.

[InbetweenDreams]

10 years is a bit atypical, but I wouldn't say it is totally out of the winder saying that. I have an old computer I built back in 2008 that has the Core2 Extreme QX9650 which at the time was a $1200 CPU -- I won it at the Intel Channel Conference when they still did them down in Atlanta... It is about the same speed of a Core i5-ish but they've added a couple new instructions and changes in architecture but here next week it will be an 8 year old computer that will be capable of 4k (2160p) resolution.

Gaming laptops are a waste of money...I knew a guy who has a Toshiba Qosmio, it was nice but the laptop was ultra thick, the power pack was the size of a tablet and was just impractical, not to mention the $2500 price tag. I mean for all the hassle I would just build a mini tower and throw it in a suitcase - it would be about as much trouble. Plus the looming risk of cracking a screen or having it stolen. I mean it's like having a Corvette sitting out in the street unlocked with the keys in it.

However, that's not the typical gaming rig at all...Most folks aren't going to drop $3,000 on a system. I have had a few bumps with that computer, replaced the motherboard at 6 months, power supply at 5 years and has seen many different drives and the case is pretty much rubbish. Even the CoolerMaster Haf case I have in my new computer has seen better days, mainly that the wheels broke and fell off. They're good cases but nothing lasts forever.

That being said considering the OP I would say it would most likely come down to either adding a video card or a budget gaming system. The problem I have with Alienware is they make it difficult to customize the system, you can't just get the budget model and max out the video card with them, which is the clear advantage of just building it yourself...but you need to know what hardware to get and be able to assemble it yourself, load the OS and the whole works. What would seem to be a breeze for me might be a daunting task for someone else.

Not to digress but my "dream machine" would consist of using a server board with dual high end Xeon CPU's, 64 GB of RAM, using enterprise SSD's with a dedicated RAID controller...I like the idea of having an array of 8 disks in something like RAID 0+1. 3-4 Video cards... I priced such a system out not to long ago, talking $4,000~ depending on what CPU I get. Intel does have the 24-core Xeon, so I could have 48 cores (96 logical cores). But I don't think that would do much good unless I was doing folding but GPU folding would still be faster, so 16-24 cores would be more than sufficient. I probably would just go with a 4U server case with high velocity fans. I mean at that point who cares about noise.

Anyway, not trying to start a debate as there are many opinions...nVidia, Intel, AMD, ATI...Mac, Windows...Lunix...Cryix...PowerPC lol

[Cobalt]

So currently I have a laptop, which isn't really suited for games (integrated graphics card, etc.). I haven't had a desktop PC for a while. While there is one in the house, it's definitely not a game PC. It's mostly used for the business and other type things. My partner does video editing on a separate computer but I don't really want to go into that one, it's his and I don't want to mess with it.

Truthfully, I don't think I don't have real desire to play Street Fighter V. I considered it but I don't think I'm all that impressed enough to invest money into a system to play it. Street Fighter IV however, yes. I have it for consoles but I always wanted to mess around with the PC mods/skins.

I'm against considering a gaming laptop, mostly because I've never read any good news about them. I'm leaning more towards building a PC but I'm not totally sure just yet. Building wouldn't really be out of the question ability wise, money would just be the issue. My partner is an engineer, so electronics and components are second nature to him. If I got stuck with something, he could figure it out I'm sure. I did tinker around with a desktop PC I had years ago, so I was/am a little familiar with swapping parts out as well.

[rich4421972]

10 years is a bit atypical, but I wouldn't say it is totally out of the winder saying that.

I wanted to clarify that I have had several of the IBM Thinkpads, Thinkcentres and ideacentres (from IBM/Lenovo) that have lasted more than ten years with gentle usage (no overclocking and liberal usage of cooling fans and stuff). But that's just me (and one particular brand). I have gotten the same longevity from many different brands as well. Generally longer usage when I build the thing myself.

[InbetweenDreams]

I wanted to clarify that I have had several of the IBM Thinkpads, Thinkcentres and ideacentres (from IBM/Lenovo) that have lasted more than ten years with gentle usage (no overclocking and liberal usage of cooling fans and stuff). But that's just me (and one particular brand). I have gotten the same longevity from many different brands as well. Generally longer usage when I build the thing myself.

Are we talking lasting a long time or usability? Both ways building a computer tends to yield better results. My parents had a gateway from 2002 the machine lasted for about 13 years before hardware went...the original hard disk is still good and has over 64,000 hours. So the hardware can easily last a long time. OTOH I have a laptop which is 10 years old and has an old Celeron, so slow I have to RDP into my server at home to use it.

[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)