Build me a PC : Othor Games

» Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:41 am

Whilst I initially just used the family desktop PC for the measly amount of computer usage I amounted throughout the day, I purchased a mid-range Windows 7 laptop around 2 years ago to initially just use for browsing the web, listening to some music and mainly use for my studies. However, as these two years have progressed, my computer usage has increased drastically and I am beginning to find that my laptop isn't capable of some tasks that I would very much like to perform. So, since a rearrangement of the house, I now have more personal space - enough for a full desktop PC. Whilst I could buy one, I heard that building one is much, much cheaper. Hence, I want some advice on building a PC.

The current specification of my laptop (Acer Aspire 5552):

AMD Athlon II X2 processor P320 clocked at 2.1Ghz
15.6" HD LCD with a resolution of 1366x768
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 with 256MB VRAM
4GB DDR3 Memory/RAM
500GB HDD
DVD-Super Multi DL Drive
Acer Nplify 802.11 b/g/n
6-cell Li-ion battery

Whilst it handles most of what I can throw at it, I am curious as how to much a full desktop PC would cost. I'd want one capable of running games such as Minecraft, Team Fortress 2, Diablo 3, Starcraft 2 and most modern day games. I would also like to be able to screen capture said games and be able to edit and render video fairly quickly (at the moment, rendering even just 5 minutes of HD video takes a decade). So, could anyone give me some recommended specification parts and also any rough ideas on parts?

» Thu Sep 13, 2012 3:59 am

Try http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1406651-the-community-tech-thread-no-119/, they're good at this sort of thing.

» Wed Sep 12, 2012 10:56 pm

Whilst I initially just used the family desktop PC for the measly amount of computer usage I amounted throughout the day, I purchased a mid-range Windows 7 laptop around 2 years ago to initially just use for browsing the web, listening to some music and mainly use for my studies. However, as these two years have progressed, my computer usage has increased drastically and I am beginning to find that my laptop isn't capable of some tasks that I would very much like to perform. So, since a rearrangement of the house, I now have more personal space - enough for a full desktop PC. Whilst I could buy one, I heard that building one is much, much cheaper. Hence, I want some advice on building a PC.

The current specification of my laptop (Acer Aspire 5552):

AMD Athlon II X2 processor P320 clocked at 2.1Ghz
15.6" HD LCD with a resolution of 1366x768
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 with 256MB VRAM
4GB DDR3 Memory/RAM
500GB HDD
DVD-Super Multi DL Drive
Acer Nplify 802.11 b/g/n
6-cell Li-ion battery

Whilst it handles most of what I can throw at it, I am curious as how to much a full desktop PC would cost. I'd want one capable of running games such as Minecraft, Team Fortress 2, Diablo 3, Starcraft 2 and most modern day games. I would also like to be able to screen capture said games and be able to edit and render video fairly quickly (at the moment, rendering even just 5 minutes of HD video takes a decade). So, could anyone give me some recommended specification parts and also any rough ideas on parts?

I'd be happy to help if you pm me, there are so many threads about this subject that they can start to clutter the front page.

Quick comment; While building one is generally cheaper, it can also depend on where you live. I for instance, live in Alaska and just shipping for all my pc components are around $200. I don't know what website you want to buy from or where you're getting the parts, does Newegg or Tiger Direct (reasonably priced) ship to the UK?