PC gaming noob who does not want to build his own PC

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I'm looking for something I can just "buy" in the $700 range that would be able to play modern PC games on max settings


is that at all possible?

not really - max settings require huge sums

Not sure about the graphics card since it's integrated. The graphics card (GPU) can have a great effect on gaming performance and they can be quite expensive; heck, my GPU is the most expensive part in my pc.

Matching the specs with Farcry 3's requirements: The CPU can handle it but for hi-performance, it calls for an i7 processor. The rest seems fine but consider saving up for a true gaming GPU.

If you want to check the requirements for FC3: http://www.game-debate.com/games/index.php?g_id=883&game=Far%20Cry%203 and scroll down.

I chose to cross check with FC3 because it's one of the most resource intense game IMO.

Otherwise, how do you feel about console gaming?

I agree with the integrated graphics problem - but otherwise its a nice PC. Perhaps it has a slot to get a compatible card later?

Do you really need MAX settings? This machine may do max settings on some older titles but you need a fancy card for graphics...........

This is just a link to indicate UK prices of the cards not a tip as I dont game anymore.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-GeForc ... 72&sr=1-22

console gaming is much cheaper. It seems £1000 every two years to keep reasonably up to date with it.

ebay?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GAMING-PC-INTEL ... 27ceedb042

That computer's processor and ram (if you get the 8gb version) is sufficient to play games on at least high (I have almost the same processor and 8gigs of ram) the problem is, you'd absolutely have to buy a new graphics card to run games at even low-medium. With a new graphics card, you'd also need a new power supply because stock power supplies typically aren't rated to power the computer plus a higher-end graphics card (which is what you'd need to play games maxed out). Replacing the power supply and slotting in a new graphics card is very easy work once you've done the proper research on installation and it's nowhere near as complex or annoying as building a computer from scratch. This is what I'd recommend; purchase any computer with at least a quad core, 3.0ghz processor and 8 gigs of ram, go to Newegg.com and buy a new power supply; something like: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139028 Usually, 500 watts is enough for most <$300 graphics cards but I'd definitely play it safe and go 600 watts because it gives you room to upgrade eventually and the price difference is minimal. Lastly, buy a graphics card from Newegg. The only way to absolutely crank up games like Far Cry 3 and other Dx11 graphical features, is to really splurge here - somewhere in the $400 or more range but I'm able to run games like Crysis 2, Skyrim, Battlefield 3, Far Cry 3, Borderlands 2 and Dirt 2 at high (even maxed out in Skyrim) at 1920x1200 pixels with a ~$150 Radeon 6870. This card will get you to medium-high on most games, unless you're running a lower resolution than me, in which case it'll probably run most games at high; especially games like WoW and Knights of the Old Republic: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814202011 If your budget is higher, perhaps the Radeon 7850 would be more suitable as it's certainly a more powerful card.

To buy a 'gaming' computer that already includes a powerful GPU and power supply will likely set you back much more than the combined price and installation effort of this build.

My pc is just over 3 years old. Nothing has been replaced so it's still the same as when I got it. Only game that has given it the slightest bit of trouble performance wise is Farcry 3, so it could probably play any game at ultra settings. If I where to take all the money I spent on it, I could buy 4 PlayStation 3 consoles plus have change left. The reason I got into pc gaming was I could fix hardware failures myself, as apposed to taking my console to a repair shop.

If you want to be a gamer but you're not that into computers, I'd suggest going console. With consoles, the games have to conform to the hardware, which means the game will work nearly always. With computers, it's the other way around; you might end up having to buy a piece of new hardware to run your new game; and if the hardware isn't the problem, your operating system might have a problem like a library or something is missing or a driver is incompatible; then you have to spend a few hours trying to fix that.

I suggest checking out Tigerdirect. The prices of their prebuilt gaming PC's are probably the best you can get. You may have to shovel an extra hundred or maybe a little more in for a gaming desktop that can run most games well on high-ultra settings. Sometimes they even sell refurbished PC's that normally would cost hundreds of dollars more, but since it was returned, and repaired, it now costs a lot less. Got to be quick though, they sell out fast.

I second tiger direct. The main thing is for you to have a good power and video card.

From the hp site you can get one for a little more than that that can run pretty much any game at max settings. I posted a link below, if you customize it with a better graphics card/power supply it will be good enough for essentially anything (I think that the 2GB HD7770 is good). And of course, if you want to play on lower settings you could get something a bit less expensive.

I also was looking to get a computer recently but 99% of the advice was "build your own!". I don't even know what the inside of a computer looks like, I'm hardly going to waste that kind of money when I have no clue what on earth I'm doing lol. After doing a lot of research the hp site seemed to be the best by far for pre-built computers, in terms of price and customization. A lot of other sites were either way too expensive, or had far more bad reviews than I'd be comfortable with.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopp ... anchor-top

You should look for a "barebones" system that just gives you a basic PC setup and saves you having to assemble it all together in the case. So all you have to do is slot into the PCI-E a graphics card n stuff like that

The advantage of building it yourself from scratch is you can choose the components that make up the computer. Certain makes of components can be a better quality (and value for £££) then others. And if you get a decent graphics card it's going to be wasted on a cheap PSU and motherboard that can't fully take advantage of its potential.

It's really not hard to do you just need to know how to use a screw driver and have some common sense.

You should consider companies that build custom PC's. I was in the same predicament, little money but i wanted a PC that did the job well. I payed about 540 euro + 60 euro assembly costs for my PC, they let me pick out EVERY single part of the PC and then they would build it. I can now run the latest games with great quality, perhaps not the best but the difference is small. I have noticed it's really difficult to find a reasonable PC that is in 1 package.

And the big advantage you have with self assembled PC's is that you can always upgrade it to make it last a few more years.

You have to start somewhere. I would strongly advise you to look into building your own. Believe me, it's easier than you think. There are numerous free resources that can walk you through the process. It's a great money saver and a great learning experience. If you are looking to get into PC gaming, I think it would be dumb not to build your own machine. It's the only true way of making your machine future proof since you are picking every component.

As far as I know HP computers are very well known for overheating.

Some thoughts:

1. My parents got two bare-bones systems from Tiger Direct. They were basically parts bundles that were discounted off the price of buying them à la carte. They still had to build the computer from them. Nonetheless, those types of bundles are good places to start if you don't know about parts.
2. Compared to even 5-6 years ago it is so much easier to build a PC on your own nowadays. In the past, the process was the same, but I remember having lots more compatibility problems in the early 2000's between different pieces of hardware and peripherals. We used to have a Western Digital IDE drive where the jumper pins had to be in some unintuitive location ("cable select", I recall, as opposed to primary master). We also had a couple motherboards where they wouldn't accept an Nvidia card but accepted an ATI card. The new hard drives are SATA drives, which you plug in... and they work. The only tool you'll need is a screwdriver, really. Everything is essentially "plug and play" now.
3. $700 won't play modern games on max. At that price you're still making some heavy compromises, mostly in the video card realm. The top cards go for over 500 bucks, and to power and cool those systems you need to make some big investments in the PSU (power supply) and the cooling system. I have a computer that was $700 of parts at time of purchase, in early 2012, and there were some games made in 2010 it couldn't handle at max.

If you go the route of researching parts, I suggest the following sites:
-- http://www.pcpartpicker.com. You won't learn much about parts here, but you can compare prices across many retailers.
-- http://www.tomshardware.com. They do really nice roundups of parts each month. Since people are talking video cards, check out this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gam ... ,3107.html