I think this is the right place for a thread like this, if its not,Im sorry, a mod can move it.

Let me start off by saying this. I am a 360 noob. I play on the 360 because its simple. I dont know a darn thing about computers(which is probly why the one I have right now is such a PoS, I got it in 05, and its bad). I dont know what a graphics card is, I dont know how I would install/mess around with files and such things, truly, I am a noob.

Well, I want to upgrade to PC. Ive played bethesda games since oblivion on my 360, and I've been content and happy, they have been very fun. BUT, I have allways felt my game lacking in the sence that I cant mod it. I mean realy(and this is from the perspective of a 360 noob), I could spend for ever n you tube, looking at the mods people have made for Oblvion, FO3/NV, and even with out the creation kit, some cool mods for skyrim have all ready rolled out.

But as I said, Im a noob. Where the hell do I start?

-How much would a good computer for this kind of thing cost?Where would I get it?
-In addition to the computer itself, what do I need to get along with it?
-How often do I need to update/upgrade the thing?What kind of mantinence does it take?
-How does steam work? Ive heard good/bad about it.
-lol,what els do I need to know?Is it realy as complicated as I think it is, or am I just used to computers being crappy because of mine, and theres not as much to them?

I want to be able to mod both fallouts, and skyrim, and I want it to be able to run smooth with mods installed,but still look good.I know there's gaming computers(I think the term is "Rig", correct me if Im wrong), that are ment for this sort of thing, like that alien ware stuff. But its all kind of expensive.Im not on that big of a budget.

I know what you're thinking, and you are right.Im a noob.Any help you can give will help a lot. I hope this thread helps other noobs like me on consoles who are wondering the same things.

Try the PC hardware forum. http://www.gamesas.com/forum/180-pc/

More specifically, this thread. http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1335088-unofficial-will-my-pc-run-skyrim-thread-57-w-hardware-guide/

Reserving this post for advice (typing it up now)

Thanks for the quick reply's yall. Im reading through those other threads right now.Complicated stuff, but Im going to learn all of it eventualy. Thanks, cant wait to hear more. Im excited about this.

1. It really depends on what you want, and how much you need to get. Do you already have a monitor, keyboard/mouse or a way to get Windows 7? If no, then you'll probably need $150-$200 for a monitor, $30 for a keyboard+mouse, and $100 for Windows 7. If you have all of those, then you should ask yourself what you want your budget to be. Do you just want to get a PC on the cheap that can play games like Skyrim smoothly but at low settings, and not really have much future-proofing? Or do you want to be able to max skyrim out in high resolutions?

On a really tight budget (without stuff like a monitor, etc) you could easily get a PC that costs $400-$500 and will play Skyrim very well. Perhaps not on max settings, but well enough to be visually appealing and enjoyable. If you want to max Skyrim out, you could easily make one in the $600-$700 range. This will also run any other game you throw at it for quite a while. You don't really need to go further than that unless you really want to blow a lot of money on the latest and greatest hardware. A brand new $600-$700 computer will remain current for several years, with the only thing you'll maybe want to upgrade between now and then would be a more up to date video card (though if you get a half-decent one now it'll last a lot longer).

2. Other than Windows 7 64bit (if you don't already have it), a monitor, keyboard+mouse, etc then nothing. If you have a DVD drive, etc from your old computer you can totally just use them in your new one so you don't have to buy another

3. They take almost zero maintenance. You might want to clean dust out of it every now and then, especailly if you get spotty performance and you notice a program like HWMonitor stating that your temps are a little hot. How often you upgrade depends entirely on what you get to start with, how spend-happy you are, and how much you want from you computer. If you're felixble with your performance and don't mind running games several years down the line on slightly lower settings, you probably won't have to upgrade in 5 or so years before something becomes really outdated. And if you need to upgrade, it's usually very easy for the most important stuff - just need to swap out the CPU or the GPU instead of getting a whole new computer. This only time this doesn't apply is if you are just simply running on a really outdated processor type, in which case you wouldn't be able to really upgrade as a newer processor type would require a newer motherboard. In which case you'd swap out your motherboard too. This isn't a huge deal to do, and motherboard swaps are very infrequent upgrades. I'm still running off a QX6850 processor from 4-5 years ago and I can still max games out (granted it was top of the line when it was released, but hey - I won it for free! ). If I wanted to upgrade to a newer processor though within the next few years I'd have to get a new motherboard, since the QX6850 uses an outdated chipset.

4. Steam is one of the best things to happen to PC gaming in a long time. The only people who are annoyed by it being required to play games like Skyrim and Deus Ex, are the type that have never used it before and just don't want to deal with such a change. Steam is owned by Valve Corporation, who are the creators of the Half-Life game franchise, one of the leading companies on supporting pro-PC games development, they heavily supporting indie games, and digital distribution (in 10 or so years, almost EVEYRTHING will be digital distribution based). Digital Distribution basically means you pay for a game, then download it straight to your computer. That's what Steam (mostly) does - it's a platform for Digital Distribution. Why this is so good other than the fact that it means all your games and your steam community friends (aka the social aspects of Steam) are all centralized onto one place. It's also great because Digitial Distribution has two huges lead over traditional purchasing of games. You can preload almost all games before release date, so the moment it hits midnight on release you can play. It's also great because PC games are INSANELY cheap thanks to Steam. They are the only people who actually have a person hired for them, who design and prototype experiemnetal sales. For example, this past xmas Skyrim went on sale for 33% off on Steam, a game that was just barely over a month old. They sale giant catalogs of games during these sales (i.e. like getting every THQ game ever released for $70), they freuqnetly have insane deals such as buying Batman Arkham Asylum for $2.50, they do stuff like "Free Weekends" where you can play thier promotional game for free on a weekend, etc. Games on PC are insanely affordable and cheap thanks to Steam.

5. It's really not that complicated! PC gaming is great because in the long run it's much cheaper than console gaming. No expensive periphrials, you can pretty much click a button and instant-have any game of your choice, games are insanely cheap through Steam, PC's can be used for anything (not just games), etc.

The hardest part about getting a PC is figuring out what all the things do in your PC so you know how to buy smart. Upgrading your memory, installing a video card, install a CPU are all LITERALLY "plug it in, you're good to go". I kid you not, it's harder to build a dining table from Ikea than it is to build a PC. The only time you'll ever need a screwdriver is when you install a motherboard into your case.

Here's an EXCELLENT resource that goes over everything about PC building, what the parts do, and every page has animations to show how it goes in:

http://www.pcityourself.com/

As for prebuilts? I would avoid. I STRONGLY suggest building your own PC. It isn't that hard, and there's only 1 or 2 things you have to take precations for. The problem with prebuilts are that they are massively overpriced, it's impossible to find a good one from a local store that is worth your time for video gaming (and online ones cost extremely high shipping costs), and often they add a bunch of [censored] to your computer that either slows it down, or does nothing. Such as, many pre-built computers will come with 16GB of RAM (a MASSIVE waste, you don't need more than 4GB on the standard end, 8GB on the "serious workhorse" end) and then totally skimp on the video card (the most important part for video games) because "16GB of RAM" sells better than "XXXX Video Card" despite being labeled as a gaming PC.

Anyways, hope that helped give insight into PC's

Welcome to the joy that is PC gaming, and mods.

Some general advice below. I'm sure some other people will give you detailed hardware advice.


Typically a proper rig that stomps anything you throw at it should set you back about 800 euro's/dolars. Depending on where you're from. Hardware prices vary.

It's more efficient to put together a DIY rig. OEM manufacturers (like aliemware) are usually very overpriced. Most PC hardware shops/webshops have an option to assemble a rig with hardware you select, for a small fee.

And even better, if you look around you're bound to know someone, a friend or family member, who has experience in assembling PC's who could do it for you. Make sure you spectate as that friend or family member puts it together, the time after that you're likely to be able to do it yourself. It really is as simple as putting together lego's. (the hardest part is choosing the right part, just like with lego's as well.)

You forgot to mention what hardware you have right now. It may be very possible to build a decent gaming rig from what you already have, upgrading it where needed.


A mouse + keyboard that is ergonomic for you. Decent headphones and/or a decent set of 5.1 PC speakers. A proper "gaming" monitor.

Also, same as above, what do you already have?


Not often at all. With time the settings you're able to play at will lower for many games. But your need to upgrade is mostly up to personal preference, how much graphics really matter to you.

Besides that, the consoles pretty much stopped the constant need to upgrade. It isn't nearly as fast progressing as it used to be. Most games are designed to run on archaic console hardware. Once Sony and/or Microsoft decide to upgrade their consoles you'll want to upgrade for sure, but until then the basic requirements for most games are practically static.


Steam is many things. Some love the services Steam has to offer, others dislike it.

With Steam you can buy your games online. It has nice discounts and it's store has a huge assortment. It offers automated updates to the latest patch version of your games, which is both a good thing and a bad thing, particularly for modders.

Besides the games you buy off Steam itself, more and more PC games that you buy retail have Steam integration. It requires online activation (with the drawback that your games will be inaccessible if Steam ever goes offline or if Steam decides to cease support), but after that your retail games can be played offline.


There's nothing complicated about PC gaming. Just go with it and educate yourself a little. Everyone started just as much as a noob as anyone else. Even the guys who build their own rigs, like myself.

Thank you Korjax!! Im going to look into every thing you said, and learn more about pc's.

So I should build my own? That seems a lot less expensive than some of those gaming computers that are prebuilt.Im going to lookinto that. If I have any questions,would you mind a PM every once in a while? Im a big noob, so its going to be a project to learn/figure this stuff out, but it sounds like it will be worth it.

Thanks again. If any one els has anything to add, thanks as well.

I don't mind, feel free to PM and I can answer questions

A lot of information is really easy to find, i.e. simply Google searching "best PC builds for under $600-$700" or so can yeild many other forums who have people on them all the time asking similar questions. Same thing for seeing how good a single part is (i.e. wondering how good an Intel i5 processor is compaired to an AMD FX one), just search for "game benchmarks". They literally have entire websites dedicated to pitting the latest and greatest (and many times, not so great!) PC hardware out there in real world game tests so you can see how "good" something is and what to expect, compaired to other stuff on the market.

Cow500, KorJax gave you every advice I would have, so nothing else to say here, but if you ever need help and he's not around, feel free to PM me.
PS: Always, always! get advice for what you're going to do. Back in time when i was new to the PC scene in 2003-2004, I made a lot of mistakes that I realized time after that, when I had the proper knowledge, so becareful with what you buy and always get advice, there's always people ready to give it and a lot of good info on the web. Good luck with the build.

Building a pc yourself is something many do, but if you're a "complete noob" then it might not be just as easy as people say. And if the thing don't work, did you do something wrong, or is a piece of hardware broken? Troubleshooting a rig is not easy. You can as an alternative, look at gaming machines on Ibuypower and cyberpower, this might cost you a little more, but they do make regular gaming machines, and the premium of buying assembled is not as big as it once was. And if it don't work you can send it back.

http://www.ibuypower.com/

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

It really is as easy as people say though.

The hardest part is installing the case front panel wires correctly into the motherboard, because they are very tiny and have to go in a specific arrangement otherwise (worst case scenario) you PC just doesn't turn on properly untill you fix it. The cables from the PSU are easy but it can be a little tricky plugging them into certain spots on the motherboard.

Everything else is cake. Plus its very rewarding!

Agreed.


Agreed.

Strange how that worked out.

Thanks every one for the reply/help. Due to lack of funds, it will probly be a few months before Ill be able to buy any thing, so in between now and then, Im just going to learn as much about this stuff as I can.Again, thank yall for the help!