So I think I might finally try to transition from console to PC, mainly because I want to play PC-specific games (Total War series, for example). But as someone who doesn't know a whole lot about ocmputer specs, I need help. If I want a PS4, for example, I just go buy a PS4; they all have the same specs, other than size, but that's besides the point. Point is, there's no real gear/equipment you need to make sure it has in order to play every game a PS4 supports.

PC's on the other hand... well, there's a lot of them, and I'm not entirely sure I know what to look for. Some help?

first, whats your budget?
are you looking for a laptop or desktop (for gaming, i personally suggest a desktop)?
are you going to need anything else with that given budget (a monitor, keyboard or mouse, speakers, etc..)?

now you could always buy the parts yourself for a home-built machine, you will usually get more bang for your buck that way, and if you are uncomfortable assembling it from the parts you could buy them than get a store like best buy or staples to actually assemble it from those parts, you'd still save a fair bit..
so, do you want pre-built, or are you open to the idea of self assembled?

If it is better and cheaper by doing it myself, then yeah, I can do that. I've changed RAM, power supply, and disk drives before, other things can't be to hard.

I'm sure there'll will be others more knowledgeable on specific parts. But http://www.logicalincrements.com/ has a PC Build for every budget including those rich enough for monstrous rigs and I'm talking 3000 dollars or higher. Anything from a dirt cheap rig priced at just under 200 dollars to the monster rigs I'm sure you'll find some good ideas as to what you'll want.

if your up for buying the parts separately, http://www.newegg.ca/ has always been a good site..


if you have any particular questions of a certain parts features and compatibility, I would be more than willing to answer your questions

I'm looking at getting a PC too. So first question is... how hard is it to put it together yourself?

granted, i worked in IT so its kind of second nature to me, but not terribly hard...


as long as all your parts are compatible with one another, its pretty straight forward..

RAM goes in the slot clearly shaped like a stick of RAM, you plug in your HDD (or SSD if you go that route) and the optical drive into the mobo with SATA cables (which once again, go in the only slot that fits it, the shape will make it obvious).
Power Supplies won't be to much trouble, just make sure its compatible with your other parts before ordering..
and video cards aren't that hard either, just note some video cards will take up 2 slots rather than 1..


IMHO, the only parts that may be somewhat of an issue to "hardware noobies" (No offense intended, just the word that came to mind ) would be the CPU and heat sink... the pins on processors can be bent very easily, and a single bent or broken pin can ruin the chip entirely.. so, be very careful how you treat the CPU when putting your machine together.. you will also need to apply a layer of "thermal paste" between the processor and the heat sink. you want enough on it that it will do what its meant for, but not to much as it may get on other components..
as for heat sinks, be careful when installing it.. I have seen some heat sinks that literally screw in around the CPU, and those are pretty hard to mess up. but then you get some that sort of "latch on" to a piece of plastic surround the CPU, and I have seen a few amateurs damage components trying to clasp those on by forcing it..


so its not really that hard, you just have to be careful and gentle when handling certain parts.. just make sure while ordering the parts, that they are all compatible with each other (a motherboard will only take certain types of processors or RAM, your going to want to make sure the mobo's form factor matches the case, that you have enough ports for how many Hrad drives or graphics cards you want, etc)


however, if you are picking several parts that are high in power consumption, you may want to considering installing an additional cooling system into it to prevent over heating..

For most parts, it's rather easy, just be sure to check the manual if you are unsure. The hardest I would say is that certain components can be hard to plug into, you just need to put some force on them; but certain components can be broken easily if you just force them in.

Before doing your system yourself, just watch some recent Youtube videos of people putting them, they don't have to be similar to what you are building, you will just learn things along the way.

My Significant Other and I have built or upgraded all of our computers ourselves since 2003. We have matching computers, so we buy two of everything and assemble everything twice. As funnybunny and initme have said, thanks to plug-and-play and standardization, assembling the physical pieces is (usually) pretty easy. The tedious part for me is plugging in the collection of little wires that hook up to the LED lights on the case, the ON/OFF button, the internal speaker, and whatnot.

We've done this so many times now that we've evolved a kind of miniature assembly line. We lay out the case and all of the parts on the dining room table. I assemble one computer and then she takes over and installs our software (including our games). Meanwhile I switch work stations and assemble the second computer. We can get both built and running in one afternoon.

As a matter of fact we're about to do this again. New components arrived a few days ago. We'll be upgrading our existing computers for Fallout 4 and beyond any day now.

The hardest part is installing the CPU and its heatsink. The rest is as easy as plugging in a USB. Just make sure you have all the parts.

The manual is generally few small pages for installing CPU and heatsink so it is not hard at all actually. Only you need to be a bit more careful. You can find youtube videos under 3 minutes for it.

Nvidia and Intel are killing it. By it, I mean AMD.

unless you are going to build a top of the line gaming rig, expect to upgrade every couple of years to play the newest releases. so keep that in mind when ordering parts.

make sure you get a strong power supply. some graphic cards require a lot of power.

Building a gaming PC can be difficult and stressful. There are many things that could go wrong...

But if you relax, and do it step by step, there is a good change that your conputer starts after you push the power button for the first time.

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You need to buy an anti-static strap. (for any case)

Secondly your motheboards manual is your best friend here. The most manuals are easy to understand (so very well documented) and the process looks straightforward.

You also need (for an first time build) to look at some videos, that explains the exact procedure you sholuld folilow.

So something like this: http://www.pcgamer.com/how-to-build-a-gaming-pc-a-beginners-guide/%C2%A0

The most mobos (more expensive ones), have Q-connector that lets you connect everything outside of the case.

Also consult your mobos manual for that step. !!!

Well, those games ar not very demanding.

Also you should decide if you wanna go with an AMD or Intel processor, as with an Ati or Nvidia GPU.

At the end, it depends mostly from your available budget. !!!