For years, I've been a console gamer. I was always intimidated by PC gaming – it seemed complicated and expensive. But after hearing so many good things about it, I decided to take the plunge and try it out.

I have to say, I'm completely blown away. The graphics are amazing, the gameplay is smooth, and the possibilities are endless. I never realized how much I was missing out on until now.

At first, I was a bit overwhelmed by all the options. There are so many different games to choose from, and the controls are a bit different from what I'm used to. But once I got the hang of it, I was hooked.

One of the things I love about PC gaming is the community. I've joined a few forums and groups, and everyone has been so welcoming and helpful. It's great to be part of such a passionate and supportive community.

I never thought I'd say this, but I think I might be a PC gamer for life now. If you're on the fence about trying it out, I highly recommend it. You won't regret it!

And what components should it have if I want to play apex, GTA V/IV, sims, Mario, Minecraft, Skyrim, legends of Zelda, thrillville, and possibly more games?

I’m also a cs student and would want to use it to practice programming and possibly music production.

Super conflicted between msi, asus, hp, or Alienware.

I’m definitely going for RTX graphic card because of the ray tracing. I looked into 3060 but I don’t know if that’s too much? Especially for a beginner? I looked into a ram no less than 16GB, intelcore cpu. Conflicted if I should go for air or liquid cooling. But I heard air cooling is safer and more convenient for a beginner.

Any help appreciated. Also if there’s anything you want to add about the components I listed and if there’s anything better I want to hear it. Have no problem receiving different ideas that could be better than the ones I stated.

So I don’t know if I’m allowed to ask a question like this on here or in the simple questions thread because I didn’t get a response on the simple questions thread, so If it’s not allowed let me know.

Anyways, I’ve been researching for the best quality pre-builds I can find, and I’m seeing that two of the most talked about pre-built pcs are the ABS Cyclone Aqua and pretty much any of the CyberPower PCs. Although every one I’ve heard of has mixed reviews(obviously) so I don’t know if those two I mentioned are even actually good. And btw, I am indeed dead set on getting a Pre-Built, so I won’t be changing my mind. Anyways, if anyone has an opinion on what some of the top brands for Pre-Built PCs are PLEASE let me know.

P.S. feel free to list any PC that you feel is good quality with good customer service, my budget is flexible.

I got an Xbox earlier in the year, and now I want to dip my toe into PC Gaming with an UltraWide monitor. I am stuck between 2 PCs that are or will be on sale for Black Friday. They are basically the same configuration, except for the CPU. I would like something that’s not going to have to be upgraded for a while. Thoughts on which CPU is better or do you have a suggestion for a better alternative.

Costco currently $1699.99, will be $1299.99 staring 11/28

iBUYPOWER SlateMesh 8 Gaming Desktop - 14th Gen Intel Core i9-14900F - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super - Windows 11 - 32GB RAM - 2TB SSD

https://www.costco.com/ibuypower-slatemesh-8-gaming-desktop---14th-gen-intel-core-i9-14900f---nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-super---windows-11---32gb-ram---2tb-ssd.product.4000291940.html

Best Buy currently $1429.99

CyberPowerPC - Gamer Supreme Gaming Desktop - AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D - 32GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12GB - 2TB SSD

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-supreme-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-7-7800x3d-32gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-super-12gb-2tb-ssd-white/6575113.p?sb_share_source=PDP&skuId=6575113

UPDATE I had originally bought the one from Costco last week and it was good, but not great in some games. Star Wars Jedi Survivor was really bad on the Epic graphics setting. It would skip, freeze, and dropped frames. I had to put it on Medium graphics to get it to work well, and even then I had some random issues. I picked up the one from Best Buy this afternoon based on everyone’s feedback. For one, all the updates installed without issue (it took me 4 hours of troubleshooting to get the one from Costco updated properly). I tested the one from Best Buy with Star Wars Jedi Survivor on Epic graphics settings on that game played smooth with no issues. It plays better and looks better. Thank you all so much for your input.

Hi, I'm looking for a gaming PC tower and my budget is between $1500 and $1600. Can you please share your recommendations? Thanks

I’ve enabled parametric filters and choices for some sections. A quick note on the motherboard: make sure you get one with solid VRMs. It should be able to handle a potential future 170W+ CPU with 12+ cores(11700x3d or whatever they call it) without breaking a sweat. I'm avoiding asrock for the time being due to high instances of X3Ds burning with no resolution.

For CPUs, the Ryzen 5 9600X / 7600 / 7600X are excellent AM5 starters. They give you a cheap, powerful entry point now while leaving the door open for an eventual upgrade to something like the 11700X3D or 11800X3D. Just don’t miss out on deals like the 5700X3D at $140,that’s the kind of value that disappears fast(just look at the number of people asking if they should get a $250 5700x3d or upgrade to AM5 rn). On the flip side, overspending on a 7800X3D or 9800X3D doesn’t make sense for most people. Modern demanding titles are still GPU-bound, especially once you crank up ray tracing and upscaling. The only exception is if you can snag a heavily discounted 7800X3D at Microcenter, but that doesn’t apply to most.

The Thermalright Royal Pretor is currently one of the best air coolers on the market, and for $45 it’s basically a no brainer. It’s a solid step up from the Phantom Spirit in performance.

On the GPU front, the RX 9070 16GB at $600 is fantastic value. With a little undervolting/overclocking, it can perform close to a 9070XT. If you can stretch your budget, the 5070 Ti is another stellar option at MSRP. DLSS, path-tracing performance, and Frame Generation are often underrated, especially combined with Reflex 2, which massively reduces latency. Just make sure your native framerate sits at 45 FPS or higher before enabling Frame Gen, and you’ll be golden.

For storage, a 2TB Gen4/Gen5 NVMe SSD is the sweet spot. Game load times aren’t sensitive to NVMe speeds, and the handful of DirectStorage titles out there barely show a difference between Gen3 and Gen4 anyway. Grab whichever is the best deal.

Cases are down to personal preference. I’ve picked airflow-focused and well-priced options, but MATX is also a fantastic choice if you want to keep things compact. The Dan A3 didn’t make it into this list, but it’s still one of my personal favorites.

Power supplies are simple: grab an 850W 80+ Gold ATX 3.1 unit with at least a 10-year warranty, Tier B+ or higher. The 750W variants are often just $10-$15 cheaper, so it’s worth stepping up to 850W for peace of mind.

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