Gaming Computer Question
10 years ago
Once You Go Blue...
I'm gonna say this right now: I don't know anything about computers. At all. You toss out processors and RAM and I have no clue what you're talking about.
So maybe 2 or 3 years ago when I first started to game on the computer as opposed to consoles, I got an Alienware M14x laptop. It did well but recently things have seemed a bit slow. I'm not sure if its the computer not being string enough or if I need to put something else in it or whatever.
Lets use Killing Floor 2 as an example. I have no clue if my computer meets its standards, but I'm guessing no. Question is, does this mean I need a whole new computer or can I buy a new part to make it work better?
Also if it comes to a new computer, what should I look into? Definitely a desktop this time.
So maybe 2 or 3 years ago when I first started to game on the computer as opposed to consoles, I got an Alienware M14x laptop. It did well but recently things have seemed a bit slow. I'm not sure if its the computer not being string enough or if I need to put something else in it or whatever.
Lets use Killing Floor 2 as an example. I have no clue if my computer meets its standards, but I'm guessing no. Question is, does this mean I need a whole new computer or can I buy a new part to make it work better?
Also if it comes to a new computer, what should I look into? Definitely a desktop this time.
Everything you need to know about making your own gaming pc ^^. Even if you're not making one, you can be a good judge of full packages when you get them.
I built my own computer recently and I knew nothing up until the build. Youtube is your friend for building PCs. A lot of helpful tutorials on there.
As far as my pc goes these are the specs.
Asus LE R2.0 M5A97 model motherboard.
AMD FX-6300 Black Edition CPU at 3.5ghz
An EVGA GTX 750ti Superclocked edition graphics card.
2x4 gig Corsair Vengeance ram at 1600mhz each
Corsair CX750m Power Supply (750 watts)
Finally 2 1TB Western Digital Blue Edition hard drives but any HDD will work.
The build cost me a total of $630 but I probably could have saved $100 more if I had used PC Part Picker to help out. It runs most games at Very High 1080p at 60FPS and above.
But I can understand if you don't want to look at them all. Do look at a few shopping lists though for parts and decide what's right for yourself. It is intimidating at first but it's not overly complicated to build. Like if you can build a lego set you can build a PC.
Desktop is the way to go for gaming. That laptop you have might handle some games if it has something other than Intel HD whatever they stick in. Does it say nVidia on a sticker on the laptop?
http://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/wiki/builds This is a good guide to get an idea of price. What is important is a budget to set. You really need to have a budget or an idea of what you are wanting to spend.
Send me a note or IM if you like to chat more about it. Much to learn, young padawan.
my build:
RAM: GEIL Evo Legera 2x4GB ~66€
CPU(Processor): Amd Fx 8320e (the one with a lower heat exhaust) ~ 120€
Graphicscard(GPU): Radeon R9 280 ~153€ (on a special offer, I was kind of hunting such prices back then)
Power supply: XFX pro core 550 watts ~ 50€
I use FullHD
These are the most essential pieces, anything else is more or less not boosting your speed, except maybe the cooler.
you can get a decent pc with 500€ upwards, maybe a bit below. but at a point it gets into the budget class.
I bought my pieces on mindfactory. not sure, if it has an american version of the site, since it is a german company.
An acquaintance was building a system fpr 1500€ (without mouse/keyboard etc.), which is a bit overdone in my opinion.
Capable graphicscards start at Gtx 760 on the Nvidia-site (Graphicscard-manufacturer) or Amd Radeon R9 270 (Graphicscard and CPU-manufacturer)
A CPU is a central processing unit (main calculations) and kind of the hearth of your pc. its placed in the mainboard which is pretty much the body of your pc, beeing the central for interactions between pieces.
the GPU(graphicscard) is the graphic processing unit (calculations on the graphical output). the RAM is a storage-room for tossing around the calculations which were done and act as a kind of a storage.
(ps: I was like you before I built up my pc since I lost the overview about all the new stuff)
"R9 280" is the model-name of a graphicscard, so is "gtx 760"
over the years and when they create more efficient models, they often chance the name of a current series.
the current series on the AMD-site(graphicscard manufacturer) is: R9 *number* which starts with R9 250 and going up to R9 290x2 (or soemthing like that)
R9 250, R9 260, R9 270, 9 280,.... and products between like R9 270x
very good cards start at R9 270x upwards
On the NVIDIA-Site: "Gtx" is the Brandname, then theres the number: Gtx 760, Gtx 770, Gtx 770 Ti, Gtx 970,.... or products of an other series: Gtx Titan
very good cards start at Gtx 760
Resolution: FullHD means 1080 pixels (in the width of your monitor) times 1960 pixels (height). whether it be a tiny display or a big plasmatv, the resolution indicates the amount of pixels.
With an increased amount of pixels you will see the pattern less, and things like "stairs" that are the consequence of a low amount of pixels. but with more pixels you also have
more pixels that need to be calculated by your graphicscard(GPU), meaning that is needs to be more efficient to give you a nice speed.
FullHD = 1080*1960, WQHD, UltraHD(4k)
Framerate: This means the amount of pics (all of the pixels at once) you get on your monitor per second. that means its a frequenz (pics/s) -> unit is Herz(Hz) or simply just frames-per-second
-> fps
with 30 calculated pics and upwards you get a decent amount of pics which does not look like it if its jerking.
Working Storage(RAM): not much to say, most games need 4GB (Gigabyte, means 1000 MegaBytes, means 1000 Bytes, means 8 Bits)
4GB means you can have 4GB amount of Datas beeing storaged in your RAM for tossing and calculations reasons.
8GB is a good value and will carry you through every game! (plus RAM is cheap)
theres a list of fps with certain graphicscards in FullHD(1080*1920)
Also if you want a better brand, go for Origin, Sager or so on. Cheaper and better than alienware. Premade MSI and Asus laptops are more reasonably priced but unless you know what to look for it's difficult to pick one out. If you want help with that lemme know.
Also if you want me to help any further, just toss me a note with your skype in it. I'll talk you through specs, what you need to do what with, etc.
Keep in mind that normally most new games recommend the newest OS, yet that has nothing to do with performance. If a game says you don't meet the recommended specs but you check that all is fine except for the OS, then you are perfectly fine unless your OS is as old as Windows 98 or such.
Another thing about gaming laptops is that yours may be burning out. They usually have pretty short lifespans, 1-2 years.
As for getting another PC, the cheapest thing you can do is order all the parts separately and build it yourself. It's not as hard as it's put out to be, it's basically just putting together a puzzle and not letting the motherboard touch the ground. To find parts that are compatible with each other AND gives the best deal by comparing multiple different stores, go to https://pcpartpicker.com/ and start selecting parts. Use the recommended specs or a few steps above of the games you're wanting to play, and then alter it according to the price. Also keep in mind that Best Buy will match some competitor's prices.
Like your game, killing floor 2, you want a pc rig to play it well without issue.
Or base it where if will games based one about out be release
So if you are going for a new desktop, what is your budget?
What's you're OS?
What's the name of the CPU? This is sometimes called actual words like; Pentium, Celeron. It can be other simple things like; i3, i5, i7. Or it can be crazy like this; AMD C60-APU W/ Integrated Raedon Graphics. If don't know I'd be happy to show you how to find out or work my best w/out that info.
What's the RAM? This isn't too hard to find, as long as your computer came with any of those stickers stuck to them, showing off screen size/resolution/CPU/RAM/Hard drive capacity/etc. If you're not sure then I'd be happy to help you find out. If you can't then I'll probably looks around to find a close guess of what you have.
Next is a really simple question. How much space of your hard drive is being used? How much space does your hard drive have?
This will help a lot but don't try and deleting a bunch of things. If your computer is just plane outdated then there's no use in removing stuff from it. I'd want to see the other stuff before recommending cleaning it up.
Has it been near any sort of subwoofer or extremely large speakers for very extended periods of time? I'm not sure if this actually has too much of an effect on laptops but my Acer Aspire1one has been sitting by my TV's sub for a year now and it has gotten quite slow. Normal speakers, like a TV's sound bar are fine.
How often is it plugged in? Not many Pro Gaming computers are effected by long periods of being on AC power, if I understand right that this is a laptop that we are talking about. But I have seen a 7 year old desktop, turned off maybe twice, die for the same similar reson.
Also, is it turned off when not in use? Pro Gaming computers are designed to compensate for extremely long periods of activity but all computers degrade over time.
What power plan are you using? If this is a laptop computer we're talking about. There is usually a HUGE difference in performance between power plans, the one I'm using now will blue screen me if I switch to Power Saver when I play a certain game.
Lastly, and I know that this is pretty obvious, have you games been getting better and better graphics wise as well? An old Laptop PC of mine ended up no longer supporting Minecraft, lol, after an update. Also, are you being forced to use the lowest settings, a lot of times extreme cases are overlooked. If you're forced to cut down to poop on quality, just to retain some playability, a lot of times it means it's a lot worse than you thought.
Also, is your desktop slow? Internet responsiveness, setting aside your internet connection? Normal things like typing on notepad lagging? This could be a sign to just up and get a new one.
I'd love to help, really. But my personal experience is solving problems that I know a TON about. Such as that Acer I spoke about. Got it from a friend, so infected and slow, that I was probably the only one that could bring it back up to speed. However I knew a lot about her habits and the things that were already going wrong. I'm asking a lot but It'd be hard for me to help otherwise.
If it's too much then, please, don't take it as rude if you tell me that. I understand that I'm asking a TON!
D'love to help! ^_^
lol