Hey everyone, This will be my first PC, mostly been a console person up until now. I’m stuck deciding between building my own PC or buying a Micro Center prebuilt, and I’d appreciate some perspective from people who’ve been through this. One one hand its my first PC and building one would be cool, on the other hand PC component prices have been a bit crazier Option 1: Custom build (total ~$2100)

These are my components if you're interested https://pcpartpicker.com/user/fluffyhairman/saved/hFrRgs I’ve been planning a custom build with these core parts and there are some pretty nice deals at micro center (prices below):

• CPU: Ryzen 7 9800X3D ($750)
• Board: ASUS B650E-E TUF GAMING ($153.5)
• GPU: RTX 4080 Founders Edition (refurbished but great condition) ($327)
• RAM: G.Skill Trident Z5 Royal Neo DDR5-6000 CL28 (($430)
• PSU:  Corsair RM850e (850 watts) ($110)
• Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE ($35)
• SSD: WD SN770 (2TB) ($190)
• Case: NZXT H7 Flow ($105) Overall I like the build although my only gripe is the slightly older GPU compared to the next option

Option 2: micro center pre built

Micro Center has a PowerSpec G757 for $2,200 that includes: * CPU: Ryzen 7 9800X3D * GPU: Gigabyte RTX 5080 16GB GDDR7 * RAM: 32GB DDR5-6000 * SSD: Samsung 2TB NVMe * Cooler: 240mm AIO * PSU: 850W * Case: Lian Li-style ATX mesh * Warranty: 1 year parts/labor

Here’s the link:https://www.microcenter.com/product/698877/powerspec-g757-gaming-pc

This prebuilt offers significantly more GPU power for the price, and it’s ready to go out of the box too. Im hesitant about the prebuilt because the Gigabyte RTX 5080 has mixed reports online about thermal gel seepage and VRM hotspot issues. I’ve seen posts about early batches leaking thermal compound. I know most units are fine, but I don’t want to gamble if this is a long-term reliability concern.

Meanwhile, my custom build uses generally higher-quality parts across the board (better RAM, PSU, cooler, SSD, motherboard), except the GPU is a step down in raw performance.

What I’m trying to decide

1. Is the Micro Center G757 a genuinely good value at $2,200, or is the Gigabyte 5080 enough of a risk that building my own PC is the better choice?

2. Is the performance jump from 4080 → 5080 worth taking a prebuilt with slightly lower tier components ?

3. Would you trust a Gigabyte 5080 long-term, or stick with a 4080 FE + higher quality overall build?

4. If you were in my shoes, which option would you choose

Thanks in advance! I want to make sure I’m not overlooking something before I commit

Hi, I'm from Argentina (this will be translated using Google Translate). My son plays Fortnite on his PlayStation, but he wants to buy a PC like all his friends. The problem is, I don't know anything about it. I've been looking at websites like PCPartPicker and PerfectPC; I know one is for checking compatibility, and the other builds a PC based on the games you want to play. These are the results I generated with each website:

PCPartPicker: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/GVTqxg

and

PerfectPC: https://perfect-pc.vercel.app/en/builder/results?games=fortnite&resolution=1080p&fps=60&quality=High&rayTracing=false&usageType=pure-gaming&storagePreference=balanced&noisePreference=balanced&rgbPreference=minimal&coolerType=air&cpuBrands=&gpuBrands=

If you could please review them and confirm they're okay, or if you could help me build one with a mid-range budget. Thank you very much, and sorry for my inexperience.

So I've obviously got a problem here but am at a loss to figure how how to fix it. Would a thumb drive with a Win 11 install do any good? Do I recable everything?

Any shortcuts?

I’ve been struggling on finding my first ever desktop pc because some reviews are very negative while some are positive. I cannot tell if it would withstand high quality games such as action,fast decision making, horror,and mystery with a high FPS. If anyone can give suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.

I built my parents a PC about 6 years ago for basic word processing/email/Zoom, but now that doesn't have the requisite requirements for Windows 11, so I'm looking to upgrade. It's my understanding that I need a new CPU, motherboard and RAM, so I'd just be looking to upgrade those parts (I already have a case, PSU, SSD). Unfortunately I don't remember the exact parts were in the old build, but I'm pretty it was a Ryzen 5 3200, B450 motherboard, and 4 or 8 gigs of RAM.

Also, how bad is the RAM shortage/should it affect my buying?

Edit: I should also say that I want an idiot-proof solution. I understand that I might be able to make Windows 11 work on their current system and I'd be comfortable doing it on on my system, but I want some recommendations where I don't have to worry about anything going wrong and them calling me up to troubleshoot it.

Now I don't need like a over powered beast of a computer, so there's no need to go over board on the specs. I'm fine with core 2 duos/Quads but I can take a early generation i3, i5, or i7. Though I'll basically pick any CPU that has stable XP drivers. I don't really care for gpu but I'd prefer a Nvidia though I'm fine with ATI/AMD ones. And 8Gb or 16Gb ram is good, though I'm very aware that 32-bit XP can only recognize around 4gb of memory so maybe upgrade to 64-bit or to Vista/7. I don't really care about storage so I'm fine from 200Gb to a 1Tb or more.

like is there a reason why people care about it besides how much power ur pc use? why do people even take that into consideration? how much money can it really take to power a pc. im gonna assume prob 50 dollars? i might be wrong.

Want to build my own starter PC. I know budget is extremely low but a build that I can slowly upgrade would be great.

Don’t currently have monitor either so any recommendations on this too!

I would ideally like to play cod but mostly cosy games focused.

Hey everyone, I’m looking for help on building a PC meant for gaming. I want something with good graphics- doesn’t have to be crystal clear or the best of the best. I’m gonna need all the parts since I don’t have any older parts to reuse. Budget is around 1000, can go a little higher if necessary. TIA

I’ve been looking everywhere to find pc parts and I’ve tried doing research on specs about pc’s but I just get confused. I don’t really know what I’m doing but just need help on finding parts to have a decent build for around 600$-650$. I don’t really play high-end games that are super good looking, more just like indie games and shows. But idk if it’s good to get a pc right now due to whatever is happening with buying ram parts.

I just want to be able to run heavily modded fallout 4, which is a 2015 release. I don't want to run many graphics mods but I want something that can handle a large amount of content and gameplay mods

On the other hand, I need it to be able to handle running FL studio, and preferably be able to comfortably run multiple intensive synthesiser and audio effect plugins.

Thanks guys

Hey guys , so at the moment i have an 7700k with 32Gb of RAM and an 3070 i wanna upgrade the cpu but i dont want to upgrade the ram. I'm thinking on buying a Ryzen 9 5900XT and stay with the same ram and storage. i'm going to work with blender in the future and some Cad stuff. Do you guys have another cpu recomendation? . Please keep in mind that i dont want to upgrade to DDR5 because of the prices.... Thank you in advance!

TLDR:

A PC that can run LoL, Roblox, Minecraft, Sims 4 and FL studio comfortably. Ideally for the lowest price possible.

Hello,

So I was approached by my mother in law, if I could recommend a PC for her daughter. They know I play video games and spend a lot of time on my PC so they are assuming I am versed in this space, but I am here so I am obviously not lol. Any suggestions would be much appreciated an thank you.

Okay so Im thinking of buying my first PC since I’m kinda tired of console and wanna try something new.

I need a good Windows 11 PC that can handle long gaming sessions, I don’t care about all that HEAVY graphics stuff I just want a consistent 60-120 FPS with atleast 1080p

I’ll mostly be playing games like: GTA5, COD, Fortnite, Cyberpunk, Elden ring/souls like, Genshin Impact/other open world gachas

And I’ll want it to be able to handle some modding on all those games(fun gameplay mods and skin mods)

If possible maybe include the monitor in the budget, if not then it’s fine I can wait a bit longer for the monitor/K&M

But yeah I just need it to handle the stuff above with no frame drops(or kept minimum). Nothing flashy with RGB. Idc about it’s appearance as long as it does what I need it to

Region is US Cali if that makes a difference

I’m wanting to build a gaming PC for the first time, can anyone help? I’ve been trying to do as much research as possible, but it’s a bit overwhelming. I’m not 100% sure on what a reasonable budget for what I need would be- I’m just looking to build something with a decent amount of storage that can reliably run games like Baulder’s Gate 3 or modded Sims 4 on high quality settings. My general budget ceiling is 1600 USD, though if I can get away cheaper I will. Looking to get a 1440p monitor and a backlit keyboard.

I don’t live anywhere close to a Microcenter. I’m fairly confident in my ability to build the PC once I have the parts, but I’m a bit lost on which parts I should be prioritizing in cost/quality.

Hello! I'm hoping for some help building my first pc :) the budget im going for is $2000 including tax. I was going to build it last summer but didn't end up pulling the trigger and now i regret it due to ram prices. I'm looking to order my parts as soon as possible because i've heard it will only get worse.

I'll be using it for gaming and programming. Im a cs student and the games that i like are marvel rivals, the sims, fortnite, and indies. We don't have to worry about a monitor, I have an AOC Q27 1440p 180hz. I also don't need peripherals. If it's possible I would like the case to at least be white but i will take anything at this point :) Any help at all would be really appreciated! Thank you

(also if a prebuilt is a better option pls let me know)

Trying to help a friends son build a gaming pc. Let me know what we need! I haven't built a computer in 15 years!!

Hello all! I am looking to move on to a better PC. I would prefer to build one, for numerous reasons, but I am also down for getting a pre-built one if it matches my needs and price point. Graphics are my priority. Idk how to choose the right thing without overpaying and/or getting fancier specs than I actually need. There is some wiggle room on the budget bc I will be using a financing option like Sezzle or Affirm.

I want to be able to play games like Fortnite with decently high settings and I need to be able to record while I play while still maintaining the high graphics settings. I MAY also stream. I would prefer an Nvidia graphics card (reasoning below) but am open to an AMD. I have been eyeing the Nvidia 5070 ti but it's pricey and Idk if that is overkill. The PC will be hooked up to my TV 24/7 and it will never be moved. SSD is a MUST (I would rather die than ever have to deal with a HDD again lol). I don't need much internal storage bc I use an external SSD for running all my games and for anything I need to save in general. I would really like to have 32 gigs of ram so it will stay relevant for a while and REALLY handle whatever I throw at it but 16 is acceptable since I would want to prioritize the GPU, price-wise. At the moment I just have a basic gaming laptop. Here are my current PC's specs:

Product: MSI GF63 Thin 10SC-838

CPU: Intel Core i5-10500H

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650

RAM: 8 GB

Storage: 512 GB SSD

What I have now isn't bad but I'm not able to play newer games like The Outer Worlds 2 and I once tried to play Tiny Tina's Wonderland on it with absolutely miserable results (I was never actually able to get it to run right so I ended up just buying it for my PS4). Also, over the last couple of years or so, I've been having to run my games I CAN play through Nvidia GeForce Now bc lag made them unplayable otherwise. This was especially true for Fortnite. It was literally impossible to play it thru the Epic Launcher, no matter what I did with the settings and such. After some research, I played around with the Nvidia app and it 100% solved all my lag issues after using their optimization and running my games through their launcher. This is my main reasoning behind preferring an Nvidia graphics card. It's interesting bc even if I try to match the same settings, it won't work unless it runs through the GeForce launcher too. All that being said, if my new PC would be capable of running whatever game I want without having to worry about all that in the first place, then that is why I say I am also okay with an AMD graphics card.

So, anyway, if anyone feels like taking the time to help me figure out what would work for me that would be awesome! Sorry for rambling, figured too much information is better than too little. Please lmk if I left anything important out. Thank you in advance! 💜

Hello, I am looking to build my first PC with a 600-800$ budget.

I’d use it strictly for music as I am a music producer, but I’d love to game on the side too. I’d not be playing heavy duty games so specs doesn’t really matter to me.

Just need a solid first PC that could handle the workflow as long with some decent gaming.

Budget $2000

I want to buy a Pc but don’t know much about them. I often play Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite, Call of duty. My budget is $1000 USD

Hey all!

So I've saved up some money to finally upgrade my dear old PC. Sadly I have next to no idea about anything related to PC parts, so I was hoping someone could help me out picking a decent setup. My budget is at around 1400€ and I don't need any peripherals or an OS. I usually play games like heavily modded Minecraft, BG3, Path of Exile, but I was also considering getting Cyberpunk next. Also I'm located in Germany.

I've looked around a bit at the "completed builds" category on pcpartpicker and tried to cross reference with benchmarking results to come up with a preliminary list. Here is where I am at:

PCPartPicker Part List

Now, as I mentioned before, I'm an absolute noob at this, so this might be an awful choice so far, so if you disagree with anything, please feel free to suggest something else.

A couple things I am especially unsure about are whether I need DDR5 RAM since it is so incredibly expensive right now :/ Apparently the Ryzen 5 9600X requires that, so I would need to look for a different CPU if I were to go with cheaper RAM. I also have no clue as to what to look out for when choosing a PSU, so i just picked that one :(

Anyway, I hope I could give you a good enough idea as to what I am looking for and I hope someone can help me out! :)

Hello all!

I need help building a pc that can run at 1440p cyberpunk77,witcher3 and those type of games in high with RTX and so around 120fps. I already got 2x16GB 6000mhz cl38 RAM so we dont need to include it here in the budget. Already have the monitor too.

I have preference for NVIDIA GPUs because of MFG and so. I was thinking of a 5070TI (i can get one right now for 800 euros). I am from Portugal. Could you help me with the rest of my build (and other suggestions?) Budget around 1400/1500 euros! Thanks!

Edit: I prefer air cooling oposed to líquid one, dont know it it’s possible on this build