WTB - Gaming PC

FUNDAD

Big Trouble in Little China
Apr 6, 2005
2,694
430
Any of you guys on here build computers?? I used to but have not for a long long time. My son is begging and begging and praying with more begging for a gaming pc for Christmas. A couple of his buddies each have one so I guess that’s where its stemming from.

He wants to play Fortnite. He’s addicted to the damn game. Actually all three of my boys are. The one wanting the gaming pc is 11 yrs old 12 in March.

Not wanting a laptop because I would like him to have this for a long time. May get into building and modifying and upgrading so being able to use the same tower is important.

Not sure what you guys suggest or have or can build me for sub $1K. Doesn’t have to be Alienware super top of the line shit. If it can run the fuck out of Fortnite and do word processing......I’m pretty good with that.

Let me know,

Matt
 

Gamble

TCG Elite Member
May 23, 2015
1,935
736
Debating on selling mine I built. I just keep going back to my laptop for some reason
AMD Ryzen 7 1700 8 core, 3.0ghz
Water cooled
Full size case
Gigabyte motherboard
16gb DDR4
500gb m.2
2 mechanical 1tb sata drives
AMD Radeon vega rx64 video card
Wireless network card
cd/dvd drive
 

Ron Vogel

TCG Elite Member
Jul 12, 2007
5,173
4,268
Aurora
Real Name
Ron Vogel
Find an off lease I7 machine with 8 gig of ram, add another 8. Drop in a gtx1080 off of craigslist. Go to monoprice and get a refurbished 34” ultra wide. Should come in under a grand.

I got my I7 machine for $180 shipped. $30 for the extra ram, $100 for a better mobo. $80 for a gtx1050. $100 for a evo850 500gig, and $230 for the 34” ultra wide. Put it into a $20 clearance case.

The 1050 would probably not be that great for gaming, so the 1080 would be the big spend.
Don’t bother with the Radeon video cards. Really power hungry and run hot.

When I built mine last year, the tipping point for price was the 3770 (cpu/mobo). I got a board that allows a software OC of 4.3ghz. Very stable. I would suggest a water cooler if you go that route. The unlocked 3770k is still crazy expensive for a budget build.

I built a I5 machine for my kid for dirt, and he’s happy with it. My I7 is loads faster though and I’d recommend it over the i5.
 

FUNDAD

Big Trouble in Little China
Apr 6, 2005
2,694
430
Because he is a young kid who wants to join the pc master race and beat on dumb console noobs ;) :trump:

LOL

He has been buying a couple things I think in order to guilt us into getting the pc. He bought a nice keyboard and mouse. Just got a 29” LG ultrawide monitor. Hooked up our Xbox one to it and it looks awesome.

Just need a slightly bad ass tower that has room to grow. I think he wants something he can put music on, word and excel and power point for school. And of course to play fortnite in HIS room and not have to share the Xbox.
 

FUNDAD

Big Trouble in Little China
Apr 6, 2005
2,694
430
I really appreciate you guys helping me out on this. I never posted about my son when it happened but last year on 12/18, a week before Christmas at 10yrs old he was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes. Totally changed our word. He is doing great and I mean great. Still plays all his sports, got straight A’s all four quarters last year and plans to do it again. Just have to manage his blood sugar and take shots of insulin for every meal.

So.....As we approach the one year “anniversary” of his diagnosis, nothin would make me happier than to give him a nice gaming PC that has room to grow. Lord knows he deserves it.
 

Fish

From the quiet street
TCG Premium
Aug 3, 2007
40,517
7,871
Hanover Park
Real Name
Fish
The best bang for your buck is a Ryzen build. I did a Ryzen 5 2600+Mobo+16 gigs of ram for about $430ish IIRC? Too bad thats my server setup. :roflpicard:

My gaming PC is an i5 6500 that I actually spent more on and it plays PUBG around 90ish FPS with a 1070 card. I imagine it does Fortnite just as well if not better, but newer chips are coming out and are cheaper thanks to Ryzen.

I would keep an eye out on buildapcsales on Reddit. They are fast at posting links for deals for everything.

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/
 

Thirdgen89GTA

Aka "That Focus RS Guy"
TCG Premium
Sep 19, 2010
19,295
15,653
Rockford
Real Name
Bill
So go with an AMD based computer versus Intel?

Very broad generalization below.

The AMD processors tend to produce more heat. The Thermal Design Power or (TDP) is listed in wattage. The higher the wattage, the more power it uses, and the more heat the chip produces.

Example. You have two chips, both chips produce the exact same FPS in games.

Chip 1 has a TDP of 95 watts, and costs $120. Chip 2 has a TDP of 135 watts, and costs $90.

Both chips give you the exact same gaming experience, but one is $30 cheaper and produces more heat. The increased heat is a problem only if the case doesn't have enough airflow to exhaust waste heat.

You will want an aftermarket cooler anyways. The stock OEM coolers for both Intel and AMD are particularly noisy when you approach sustained high CPU loads. The fans are audible and distracting. I'm a fan of air cooling over All In One (AIO) water coolers.

I could hear the OEM cooler on my Media Server from my couch. As soon as a movie was spun up, it would kick the fan into high speed. With the new Noctua silent air cooler its dead silent.
 

Knowklew

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Aug 5, 2014
1,900
103
Very broad generalization below.

The AMD processors tend to produce more heat. The Thermal Design Power or (TDP) is listed in wattage. The higher the wattage, the more power it uses, and the more heat the chip produces.

Example. You have two chips, both chips produce the exact same FPS in games.

Chip 1 has a TDP of 95 watts, and costs $120. Chip 2 has a TDP of 135 watts, and costs $90.

Both chips give you the exact same gaming experience, but one is $30 cheaper and produces more heat. The increased heat is a problem only if the case doesn't have enough airflow to exhaust waste heat.

You will want an aftermarket cooler anyways. The stock OEM coolers for both Intel and AMD are particularly noisy when you approach sustained high CPU loads. The fans are audible and distracting. I'm a fan of air cooling over All In One (AIO) water coolers.

I could hear the OEM cooler on my Media Server from my couch. As soon as a movie was spun up, it would kick the fan into high speed. With the new Noctua silent air cooler its dead silent.

What he said. I am planning on a new rig at tax return time.
 

wombat

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Sep 29, 2007
14,097
2,964
WI
Sub 1k for a fortnite machine (with room to grow) goes a looooongg way. If I remember, I'll try to put a few builds together Monday or so when I'm home.
Any of you guys on here build computers?? I used to but have not for a long long time. My son is begging and begging and praying with more begging for a gaming pc for Christmas. A couple of his buddies each have one so I guess that’s where its stemming from.

He wants to play Fortnite. He’s addicted to the damn game. Actually all three of my boys are. The one wanting the gaming pc is 11 yrs old 12 in March.

Not wanting a laptop because I would like him to have this for a long time. May get into building and modifying and upgrading so being able to use the same tower is important.

Not sure what you guys suggest or have or can build me for sub $1K. Doesn’t have to be Alienware super top of the line shit. If it can run the fuck out of Fortnite and do word processing......I’m pretty good with that.

Let me know,

Matt
 

wombat

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Sep 29, 2007
14,097
2,964
WI
Have been running 2 of them so far for 8? Years now. My main machine is a year old, running solid, my one that it replaced still has the aio water cooler in it and it's rock solid after 8 or so years.
I know the AIO water coolers are all the rage, but I still dont fully trust them. I have used the trusty Hyper 212 EVO for both of my recent builds and love it.
 

Lord Tin Foilhat

TCG Conspiracy Lead Investigator
TCG Premium
Jul 8, 2007
60,686
56,744
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I know the AIO water coolers are all the rage, but I still dont fully trust them. I have used the trusty Hyper 212 EVO for both of my recent builds and love it.
Dude get on that wagon. Ive had the corsair h100i for over 3-4 years now..gone through 2 processors. Super reliable and amazing cooling. Zerrrrooo leaks. Highly recommend it. Eventually ill get another for my server (although the upgraded cpu fan does well...but water cooling is better.)

Before the AIO i had a dedicated cpu water system on the top of the pc...fucking tank...leaked after a year....never again.
 

Lord Tin Foilhat

TCG Conspiracy Lead Investigator
TCG Premium
Jul 8, 2007
60,686
56,744
Privy Chamber
Very broad generalization below.

The AMD processors tend to produce more heat. The Thermal Design Power or (TDP) is listed in wattage. The higher the wattage, the more power it uses, and the more heat the chip produces.

Example. You have two chips, both chips produce the exact same FPS in games.

Chip 1 has a TDP of 95 watts, and costs $120. Chip 2 has a TDP of 135 watts, and costs $90.

Both chips give you the exact same gaming experience, but one is $30 cheaper and produces more heat. The increased heat is a problem only if the case doesn't have enough airflow to exhaust waste heat.

You will want an aftermarket cooler anyways. The stock OEM coolers for both Intel and AMD are particularly noisy when you approach sustained high CPU loads. The fans are audible and distracting. I'm a fan of air cooling over All In One (AIO) water coolers.

I could hear the OEM cooler on my Media Server from my couch. As soon as a movie was spun up, it would kick the fan into high speed. With the new Noctua silent air cooler its dead silent.
Nobody cares about 40w...its cents per month for an average user...and the cpu savings usually outweighs the power savings. Even running 24/7...it would take a year to equal 42$ in savings...

Now if it was 400w.. that's a different story.
 

Fish

From the quiet street
TCG Premium
Aug 3, 2007
40,517
7,871
Hanover Park
Real Name
Fish
The Ryzen 5 2600 AND Ryzen 7 2700 both have a TDP of 65. The 2700X is 105. The i7 9700K is 95. Its also almost twice as expensive as the 2700X. When I bought the Ryzen 5 2600 it was $160.

The i5 9600K is also 95 FWIW.

If I build another system, it will be an updated gaming PC and Ill try an AIO. I dont want to use one for my server though. Not yet at least.
 

Ron Vogel

TCG Elite Member
Jul 12, 2007
5,173
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Aurora
Real Name
Ron Vogel
I don't have any experience with the new AMD's. I work with a guy that's a hardcore gamer and he built a no holds barred machine with AMD...and a few months after switched everything out to Intel. I guess the AMD was a letdown for some reason...don't know specifically why though. I did have AMD builds in the past...but with the Phenom stuff. It was really buggy for me with the audio production I do.

Also...the AIO stuff is way better than air cooled offerings. I got a 120mm size on clearance at Fry's a few years ago and I've swapped it into a few different builds. Solid as a rock and quiet. I saw an ad for newegg that had a 240mm for under $50 for black friday.
 
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