What gaming PC should I buy?

So I'm thinking of getting a new PC, never had a gaming PC, but I want a decent one that will last a few years. I am not likely going to build one, but what should I get, or look for?

How deep are your pockets ?

Start by thinking about what kind of display you want.

1080p is the lowest priced computer build

4k is in the middle

VR needs a computer that will leave burn marks in your checking account

Here is my system

1080p monitor

GTX1070

1Tb Samsung SSD

32 Gb DDR 3200 ram

I7 7700 4.2 Ghz cpu that is water cooled

Computer doesn't break into a sweat running my SP missions locked at 60 fps but would NOT run VR very well at all.

Start by thinking about what kind of display you want.

1080p is the lowest priced computer build

4k is in the middle

VR needs a computer that will leave burn marks in your checking account

 

 

Here is my system

1080p monitor

GTX1070

1Tb Samsung SSD

32 Gb DDR 3200 ram

I7 7700 4.2 Ghz cpu that is water cooled

 

 

Computer doesn't break into a sweat running my SP missions locked at 60 fps but would NOT run VR very well at all.

Same setup virtually as mine and i run VR?

Same setup virtually as mine and i run VR?

Cool... If you have PG map could you make a fast low run over the commuter rail in downtown Dubai between the buildings and let me know what fps you're getting? I'm interested in VR but retirement has put a permanent strain on my computer budget. Maybe if I skipped medicinal bourbon for a while I could get Oculus Rift instead. :D

Well no matter where i fly i usually get locked 45fps. Sometimes may drop slightly but not a lot.

Cool... If you have PG map could you make a fast low run over the commuter rail in downtown Dubai between the buildings and let me know what fps you're getting? I'm interested in VR but retirement has put a permanent strain on my computer budget. Maybe if I skipped medicinal bourbon for a while I could get Oculus Rift instead. :D

That particular test would try a 1080ti and a 5ghz cpu :P

But we do have several 1070 users on here who are quite happy in VR .

Thanks for the feedback guys. Please consider my misapprehension about 1070 and VR corrected. The Dubai commuter line test is how I judge graphics settings. If fps drops below 60 the click gets unclicked.

Back to the OP...

You want a system that will maintain a framerate that matches your display - in my case 60Hz. When it drops too low or pauses or crashes that's less than optimal. An SSD is almost a requirement - hard disks are just too slow and they have the problem of being kept busy by the OS. My DCSW folder size is 134Gb but allow as much free space as you can afford. People here like to argue about SATA vs NVMe - either is orders of magnitude faster than HD. Don't know what your budget is but get the best video card you can afford. We are in competition with bitcoin miners for video cards and they buy all the good ones. Another controversy is the whether you need 16 or 32Gb of ram - I'll leave that discussion to the folks that like to argue. There was a problem with PG and ram usage back in August (now fixed) that I solved by getting 32Gb - 16Gb is ok now unless you like insane SP missions or really busy MP missions. You can add more ram later if you see problems - just leave some slots open.

Spend a while reading this forum before buying anything - it will save you money in the long run.

My God, I'm turning into Polonius

See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,

Nor any unproportioned thought his act.

Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.

Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,

Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;

But do not dull thy palm with entertainment

Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade. Beware

Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,

Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.

Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;

Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,

But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;

For the apparel oft proclaims the man,

And they in France of the best rank and station

Are of a most select and generous chief in that.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be;

For loan oft loses both itself and friend,

And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

This above all: to thine ownself be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!

I felt the same way the first time I tried DCS in VR.

My God, I'm turning into Polonius

 

 

 

See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,

Nor any unproportioned thought his act.

 

Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.

Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,

Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;

But do not dull thy palm with entertainment

Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade. Beware

Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,

Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.

Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;

Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,

 

But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;

 

 

 

 

For the apparel oft proclaims the man,

And they in France of the best rank and station

Are of a most select and generous chief in that.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be;

For loan oft loses both itself and friend,

And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

This above all: to thine ownself be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

 

Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!

I felt the same way the first time I tried DCS in VR.

1080Ti $1500 Oculus $400

Is VR worth it?

What gaming PC should I buy?

1080Ti $1500 Oculus $400

Is VR worth it?

for half that, yes. definitely.

for the full price? probably not.

1080Ti $1500 Oculus $400

Is VR worth it?

Bun, where are you located? It hasn't been $1,500 USD in a *LONG* time.

Bun, where are you located? It hasn't been $1,500 USD in a *LONG* time.

Washington state, about 100 miles from anywhere...

Was looking at Asus Rog Strix $1390 + tax = $1487 on Newegg

I can get it down to $964 + tax if I go Gigabyte - not a fan though

Asus or EVGA would be ok

Figure I'll pick it up end of 2019 after a couple of real world things - wood chipper and a stump grinder

Retirement is nice but it does put you on a budget

that's the price of some third party retailer and you could get a ROG STRIX 2080Ti for $1339 and it is a better card.. Ebay had a few reasonable prices on "new" 1080Ti's. I always make sure I click the "Sold by: Newegg" checkbox at the top of the list to avoid 3rd party sellers or what i call "Hardware scalpers". A) when it comes to computer hardware 3rd parties like to really jack up the price and create artificial demand by buying up all the stock at MRSP. B) some manufacturer's warranties only apply to the purchaser from an authorized retailer.. i.e. warranty is only for the 3rd party seller who probably bought it from newegg and relisted it on their marketplace.

Asus ROG strix GPU's are ime the biggest target of scalpers so you have to keep an eye out for stock notifications from authorized vendors and be ready to click "ok" on the checkout page within 15 seconds but.. they can be had at msrp if you watch them like a hawk. EVGA FTW 3 2080Ti comes with a 1755 boost clock out of the box for that kind of money. Which should translate to about 2020-2070mhz when gaming if you aren't worried about how the RGB lighting syncs with say an Asus motherboard. For $1250 I was able to reach FTW 3 speeds with the EVGA XC Ultra and a bios update provided by evga by overclocking. Although YMMV i may have gotten lucky in the silicon lottery there. I'm only OC'ing because why turn down free performance even if it's just a little bit? THe FTW 3 should be able to OC even higher, with a 150% power target slider, lots of power phases and probably their highest selection of GPU wafers. But in all actuallity - +100mhz on the core clock really isn't going to be a huge difference in performance. So don't feel pressed to buy these top of the line models imo.

Some companies come with a transferable warranty...look into it. 1080Ti on ebay for $800 new with a valid warranty might be ok. Used prices get less expensive, $550-$650 but still kind of over MRSP and again - might come without any kind of warranty. The only reason to buy a 1080Ti right now is to save a significant amount of money over the 20 series, and having the extra memory bandwidth that you would get over a 2080 which is about $800+ and slightly less memory bandwidth. If you're willing to shell out that kind of money for a gpu get a 2080Ti or whatever outperforms it if anything in 2019/2020

But.. I wouldn't expect to see 1080Ti's come back in stock at authorized retailers like newegg/best buy. They aren't being made anymore.

that's the price of some third party retailer and you could get a ROG STRIX 2080Ti for $1339 and it is a better card.

Thanks for the info... Still a year out from shopping and the video card market will change by then. Scalpers weren't a thing the last time I built a computer.

Hi to all....do not forget lots of RAM is a must and your monitor pixel resolution determines your Graphics Card.

Thanks for the info... Still a year out from shopping and the video card market will change by then. Scalpers weren't a thing the last time I built a computer.

Ah OK. then you have time to shop around. Just do *NOT* pay the price you listed for the 1080Ti :thumbup:

Trained in Ft. Lewis. So I get the "100 miles from anywhere" :D

New 1080 Ti's are pretty much out of stock at all the major retailers except scalpers as previously mentioned. Scalpers and middlemen were the main drivers of the absurd prices we saw earlier in the year. Thousands of those cards just sat in boxes during the mining craze. Classic rent seeking behavior.

Best prices on 1080 Ti were right after the prelaunch of RTX. After the launch and benchmarks the prices went back up LOL. There seemed to be a temporary glut of 1000 series cards that major retailers had stashed for Black Friday, those are gone now.

2080 Ti still from a few retailers at close to MSRP, plus scalpers.

Still some decent used Ti but overall the new 1000 series supplies are going pretty quick. Seen some 1070's at fire sale prices from various major retailers and Ebay sellers but they went quick. Prices pretty much stabilized now.

Overall it was a buyers market over the weekend with some of the best GPU prices to date. Keep an eye out for sales over the next couple days. People have been getting some steals but you have to be quick.

As per my opinion, it totally depends on your budget and what kind of game you like. Keep your overall budget in mind as you select components. Work within your budget and get a system with compatible components for the best gaming experience.

:megalol: