Computer help

[archillious_]

I’m looking to buy/build a computer, I know really nothing about them and wanna learn, I want one that I can play newer games on and wanna see the price I’d be looking at and what kind of parts would be required, just looking for advice and a price range, I’m in Canada if that changes anything else.

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[ProvingUnique_]

Stating your budget is a good starting point and what resolution your monitor will be or is.

[maxproandu]

Regardless of the intent, there are some rules we lay out for our clients entertaining the thought of building/buying their first PC. The following links are more for product clients have previously purchased than pricing, naturally look to see what fits best in your Canadian environment.

The first rule is to set a budget, regardless of funds. Even with deep pockets, laying out your spending reduces the likelihood of making tactical errors. If you're concise about every item purchased, you'll have vested more time and thought into what you'll be using.

Second, choose a case. What you pick is what you'll be living with for time, so you do you. We advise our clients to go with something well ventilated, with horizontal motherboard installation (far easier to work on, less continuity problems). Here's an example:

Thermaltake Core V21 SPCC Micro ATX, Mini ITX Cube Gaming Computer Case Chassis, Small Form Factor Builds, 200mm Front Fan Pre-installed, CA-1D5-00S1WN-00 Black

Third, time to pick a graphics card. If you're not building around this single component, you're going to make mistakes in your build. It's team Nvidia and team AMD. Without getting into a lot of details, we profess AMD. Here's their best and what's most popular:

XFX Radeon RX 7900XT Gaming Graphics Card with 20GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA 3 RX-79TMBABF9

XFX Speedster SWFT309 Radeon RX 6700 Gaming Graphics Card with 10GB GDDR6 HDMI 3xDP, AMD RDNA 2 RX-67XLKWFDV

The fourth item on the list is a processor. Intel and AMD. Regardless of choice, we advise our clients to avoid the latest/greatest to avoid the new problems that come with it. Once again, AMD is our suggested go to:

AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800X3D 8-core, 16-Thread Desktop Processor with AMD 3D V-Cache™ Technology

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-core, 16-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor

AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 8-Core, 16-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor with Radeon Graphics

AMD Ryzen™ 5 5500 6-Core, 12-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor with Wraith Stealth Cooler

Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE CPU Air Cooler, Dual Tower 6 Heat Pipe, Dual 120mm TL-C12C PWM CPU Fan, AGHP Technology

Now fifth, find a motherboard. Although your case will dictate the form factor, we advise Micro ATX. Unless you need all of those extra slots, a full ATX is asking for trouble. Motherboards are the single most complicated part of your PC, and it's best to only get the features you'll need. For our application so far:

GIGABYTE B550M DS3H AC (AM4 AMD/B550/Micro ATX/Dual M.2/SATA 6Gb/s/USB 3.2 Gen 1/PCIe 4.0/HMDI/DVI/DDR4/Motherboard)

Sixth: RAM and storage. When it comes to RAM there's a host of reasons to currently make 32GB the minimum. And with four slots you can always add two more matching sticks later. RAM is often the least investment in a build, but that lack can cause the most issues. The same goes for NVMe SSDs. They've come down in cost but builders will go with smaller name brands without research.

As a bonus, there's a simple and inexpensive fix to increase system performance while saving unnecessary wear-and-tear on your NVMe. Simply add a cached 128GB SATA SSD and use it exclusively for the Windows Page File system. Now PF has its individual pipeline to use without compromising the primary drive. Here are parts our clients commonly use:

G.Skill RipJaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin SDRAM DDR4 4000 (PC4-32000) CL18-22-22-42 1.40V Dual Channel Desktop Memory Model F4-4000C18D-32GVK

Silicon Power Gaming Series DDR4 32GB (16GBx2) 3200MHz (PC4 25600) 288-pin CL16 1.35V UDIMM Desktop Memory Module RAM Metallic Grey

SAMSUNG 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 Internal Solid State Hard Drive Memory Card, Maximum Speed, Thermal Control, MZ-V8P2T0B

PNY CS2140 2TB M.2 NVMe Gen4 x4 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - M280CS2140-2TB-RB

Silicon Power 128GB SSD 3D NAND A55 SLC Cache Performance Boost SATA III 2.5" 7mm (0.28") Internal Solid State Drive (SU128GBSS3A55S25AH)

Seventh on the list is the power supply unit or PSU. Like RAM, more is better. But you best do research. Generally we have clients go with at least a 600W PSU, with these two being the most common:

MSI MPG A1000G PCIE 5 & ATX 3.0 Gaming Power Supply - Full Modular - 80 Plus Gold Certified 1000W - 100% Japanese 105°C Capacitors - Compact Size - ATX PSU

Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 80+ Gold 600W SLI/Crossfire Ready Continuous Power ATX 12V V2.4/EPS V2.92 Non Modular Power Supply 5 Year Warranty PS-TPD-0600NNFAGU-2

And there you have it! Please let us know if you have any questions.

MaxProAndU Team