I understand, I guess it just depends on your level of a mechanical aptitude is. Plus for those who enjoy self-gratification in "knowing how". My first built PC was a breeze, but that is because I watched, and read many tutorials and reviewers opinions and advise. It really isn't hard at all. I can bet a majority agree with the ease of putting your own system together.(Providing they actually spent their own personal time, and enjoying being self taut) I do understand though, not everyone has the same abilities as others. Unless you know someone though, having someone put together a PC and who isn't going to screw it up and call you on the phone and say your MB is dead, because they were careless, there is a chance of that happening from delivery, but not as often and you see it posted on Newegg reviews about people RMA their products. I can bet most of that is from carelessness. Just seems like a unnecessary risk of having someone else handle your product because you couldn't sit and watch a hour or two and read some material on how to.

I read through this thread and will say one thing.

Take everything people say here with a grain of salt.. most of the tips will have you spending more money on parts that are overkill for skyrim.

Other tips may lead you to damaging your PC.. one guy said to spread the thermal paste with a razor blade while correcting someone else who said to be "generous" with thermal paste. Both of which are generally bad ideas.


Go on newegg's forums and ask there. They will give you a general idea of what to build base on your budget.
Do not buy from newegg right away, go search through amazon first. Amazon is much cheaper for the majority of parts you are looking for.

3 most important aspect of a computer for gaming:

Graphic card
Screen resolution
Cpu.

So say some one doesn't feel up to actually putting a PC together them selves. What are some sites that are good that will put the whole thing together for them at a reasonable price?

In terms of value:

Ibuypowerpc
cyberpowerpc


in terms of everything else (including being overpriced) beside value?

alienware


Please note that I don't have personal experience with any of the companies I listed. I build my own PCs however, that doesn't mean I don't take time to see which companies are trying to provide these services for the best price.

Go on the ibuypowerpc or cyberpowerpc forums and read the rant/problem section and compare it to how many people praise it.

Decide base on that.

I've checked out cyberpowerpc a few years ago and it's pretty cheap for what you get, the only downside is the reviews were extremely up and down, most people liked it and got everything problem free but a fair deal of the rest had the hassle of a lifetime :/

aaand alienware... if you have an extra grand or 2 laying around.. go for it lol


the downsides I've seen of building a computer are..
-possibility of static shock (extremely unlikely to happen without any precautions despite all the hype, near impossible with)
-finding a bad guide, all you need to do is find multiple websites that say the same thing (I had a friend who helped me, he said he learned a fair share of stuff that way)
-being really, really clumsy. To the point you step on a part or fall over, jamming the pins of a stick of ram or CPU into something :/
-time, you could get hardware that is 'dead on arival' or accidently buy a piece that isn't compatible(takes 1 google search to stop). It can stall you for a few hours finding out what the problem is and then a few days as you RMA the piece back.

Or if you just don't want to that's fair enough too, most people don't and you can see that threw the fact Best Buy still has a Geek Squad...

Correct, everyone is going to give you "their" versions of doing things correctly. Gather your information from various sources. People seem to take things lacking any sense of forethought, so just think about what they are implying before making assumptions and taking it "literal".

I don't see the stress in building your own PC, outside of making a decision on what exactly to buy or not. I can't stand pre-builts. First and only I ever bought was a Gateway back in 97 (worst move I ever made). Been building my own since. There is a bit of stress when picking parts and such. I try to buy with future proofing at least 1-2 years ahead.

making a computer is really easy,I have to say dummy proof too!

I also recommend doing some research and building your own computer.

I tried and was worried at first, because I don't think I'm very good at building things (though I have some knowledge of computers). But surprisingly I've been able to build several computers, some even liquid cooled.

It can be fun and you can learn in the processes. Also you can pick higher quality components than a pre-built computer, and you might save additional money by being more comfortable in upgrading yourself.

I recommend some research on www.newegg.com

(EDIT: I just built my own "uber" computer for Skyrim and other games)

Actually. I would say not dummy proof. I work for a photography lab.. where many personal are cross trained in other areas. I myself and lab tech and well maintain a network (i get buy on my knowledge). We had a new employee start, said was PC proficient and we asked him to put together another lab PC. Lets just say, 6 hrs later of fixing pins on a 6 core is very very annoying.


*Though, if you know what you are doing.. you can be handy in your community with family and friends in fixing PC issues or doing upgrades for. (I make a bit of extra spending cash doing this often.)

well.. your on public opinion forums and talking about something that isn't an opinion.. so you are going to get people who have that feeling their random near baseless opinions are cool enough that they deserve to be facts so will just ramble 'em off as such...


lol, ya if you rush it you will be clumsy and something is bound to happen... if you actively try to be careful and take your time to double check what you are doing (something anyone making a computer for their first time would do) stuff like that has an extremely small chance of happening

Wait for Ivy Bridge

My current system, sans video card is 2 years old going on 3. Case and power supply bout 5 years old now. So I am watching an waiting for next tech that comes out.

Everyone is right, just build it yourself. A couple of months ago, I made a similar thread to this one, and everyone just sang "BUILD IT YOURSELF!". I saved up the money, watched tutorials, and built my own damn computer! It was a great learning experience, plus it was satisfying.

And you know what I did with my new badass computer? Watched a catoon about ponies. : /

Ivy bridge really wont be that better on the CPU side from Sandy Bridge. Its integrated GPU will be about a 60% improvement, since its a gaming PC, the OP will want to use a dedicated card.

Also, since Ivy Bridge is using socket 1155, it can always be upgraded later on from a current SandyBridge part. Besides, an i5 2500k will be more than enough for any game out there.

Also I agree with building it yourself.

Would this MAX Skyrim smoothly?
Also would the CHEAP version MAX Skyrim

It isn't bad for the most part, but I'd go with a different power supply. But do you need everything in there? Monitor, KB, mouse, headset?

How about operating system?

Can list you parts to get within the US with your $1K budget. That list is for UK prices and is well over your budget

Also will this be better than the PC gamer expensive suggestion

And to guy above. Thanks

You're getting broken suggestions here. If you want a full system with part layout within your budget, should answer the question I had for you above. That list of parts is fine with higher quality components, but it will probably end up costing just as much with other necessary parts that are missing.

You have about $1K to spend...what you need outside of the tower? Monitor, KB, mouse, headset? Operating system?

And if you're in Finland, you need to say so. The newegg links are worthless to you if you're there...they won't ship to you.

Answer those and we'll go from there.

Need a site that delivers to Finland, The currency is EURO €, all i need besides the tower is a good monitor and Windows 7 is the preferred system.

Just under 1000€

CASE: http://shop.mikromafia.fi/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=27655&osCsid=j4sihhb8ev5kdgns7k8spcebd4
CPU: http://shop.mikromafia.fi/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=81669&osCsid=j4sihhb8ev5kdgns7k8spcebd4
MOBO: http://shop.mikromafia.fi/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=81732&osCsid=j4sihhb8ev5kdgns7k8spcebd4
RAM: http://shop.mikromafia.fi/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=93255&osCsid=j4sihhb8ev5kdgns7k8spcebd4
HDD: http://shop.mikromafia.fi/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=93513&osCsid=j4sihhb8ev5kdgns7k8spcebd4
PSU: http://shop.mikromafia.fi/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=90175&osCsid=j4sihhb8ev5kdgns7k8spcebd4
GPU: http://shop.mikromafia.fi/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=90035&osCsid=j4sihhb8ev5kdgns7k8spcebd4
DVD: http://shop.mikromafia.fi/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=40957&osCsid=j4sihhb8ev5kdgns7k8spcebd4
OS: http://shop.mikromafia.fi/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=83121&osCsid=j4sihhb8ev5kdgns7k8spcebd4
LCD: http://shop.mikromafia.fi/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=89186&osCsid=j4sihhb8ev5kdgns7k8spcebd4

as most ppl here are suggesting that you should build your own pc, which is fine but just keep in mind:

your motherboard and the rams you buy must be compatible. fx having a PCI motherboard doesnt mean that u can buy AGP rams. etc...
your CPU needs to match your motherboard in terms of wires and placing. get a proper CPU for a matching motherboard. ofc im not taling about the same coloring on them but about their sockets in which you insert ther CPU cab or what ever its called
go for Sata harddrives, they are much faster than ATA. unless there are newer versions keep those in mind.
*rumors* direct X 12 is supposed to be new and drasticly changed from all the other direct X's... despite being a software, just ask around so that u dont end up with a pc which cant run most games after 2012 since thats when its due to release.. still a rumor as i havent gotten any confirmation.. anyone knows about this?

anyway, good luck and remeber to check prices and matching otherwise ull end up spending money on an item which wont fit into your pc.