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New PC Recommendations

Hi, I hope someone will be able to help me. I am considering buying a new computer as the one I have at the moment isn't good for gaming. I would like it to be able to run Sims 3, Sims 4, Skyrim, ESO and Warframe if possible, so if someone is willing to recommend something to me that could do that decently, I would really appreciate it. My computer knowledge isn't the best, so I don't know what I should be looking for. Is there anything on this site https://www.takealot.com/ that would be good? I don't have much to spend but I would like it to last me a long time and to be upgrade-able so I won't have to buy another one anytime soon. I'd rather wait to save up more and be able to buy something decent, however it doesn't have to be the best of the best or anything, just good enough.

Thank you in advance

Comments

  • LibertyTheFreeLibertyTheFree Posts: 234 Member
    Well, first thing first, do you often have to move your PC around?

    That being said, would you take a laptop or a desktop?
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  • LizzyBalletLizzyBallet Posts: 3,085 Member
    Well, first thing first, do you often have to move your PC around?

    That being said, would you take a laptop or a desktop?

    I'd prefer a desktop because I think you get better specs for the same price and I can upgrade parts as necessary. Gaming laptops are so expensive. And if I need something portable I still have my current laptop to use for that.
  • LibertyTheFreeLibertyTheFree Posts: 234 Member
    I cfeel you. I chose desktop for almost exact same reason xD. I'm not proficient with pick PC specs business either, but I figured I might be able help, more or less.

    Judging by the list of games you mentioned (though I don't know what that "ESO" game is?) , they won't take much of a cutting-edge gaming PC.
    That'd bring up the question: Are you sure that's all the games you are going to play? Most post-2015 games have rather high system requirements so if you go with a PC that merely runs mentioned games decently then you might find if struggling to keep things going when you starting to acquire new games. Just saying.

    Now, let's say you want to run those games on highest graphics settings and at 60FPS, my own PC spec can handle that fine, which uses Intel Core i7-7700 CPU and a GTX1070 graphics card along with 16 GB RAM. Unless someone really like to have sims living in 1+ million homes, then you would need better memories/RAM.

    You can try finding a pre-built PC with similar specs to that or try find the parts you need and build a custom one for your own (like what simmers do, right?), and be sure to search for appropriate motherboards, hard drives, chassis and cooling systems etc. Black Fridays seem to be the cheapest times to get them, but I'm unsure whether TakeALot have such sales(is it South African or something?) ?
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  • LibertyTheFreeLibertyTheFree Posts: 234 Member
    I can feel you* sry
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  • LizzyBalletLizzyBallet Posts: 3,085 Member
    ESO is Elder Scrolls Online, sorry I should have typed the full name. For the moment those are the only games, but that might change as new things are released.

    I would like to be able to run the games at the highest settings if it isn't too expensive and I understand what you mean about the newer games having higher requirements.

    Yes Takealot is South African, I live in South Africa :) I'm pretty sure they have had black Friday sales before, I'll keep that in mind. I'd love to build my own PC but I don't think I have the knowledge necessary for that, I'd be scared of messing it up somehow. :D
  • LibertyTheFreeLibertyTheFree Posts: 234 Member
    I should have realized that though :P I did play Fallout 4 which I think uses the same engine (Gamebryo) as TES 4 so do some other Bethesda releases these years.

    I browsed through Amazon to find some price tags for those components, here's a brief list
    For Graphic Cards
    -I'll be going through NVIDIA cards, if you prefer AMD ones you can search for their equivalents. Price tags stripped from NVIDIA's official site, so use them for reference only.
    -GTX 1060 is a decent choice these years for budget gaming PCs. That's USD$300.
    -RTX 2060 for $50 more, it's faster and as a 20series card, it supports latest graphics techs which the games we mentioned don't actually support. And that's 350 bucks.
    -GTX 1660 and 1660 Ti (I recommend 1660 Ti better), a result of price war on budget graphic cards btween NVIDIA and AMD. GTX 1660 Ti is fater than aforementioned cards. Quite cheap for a price of $280. I'm unsure of the downsides though. You might want to google that.
    -GTX 1070 and RTX 2070 for $330 and $530 respectively, they are less ''budget'' compared to 60s, much like toilets with caps, ahem, excuse me. But they can surely help with getting higher graphics settings.
    -If you want to go extra miles, go with 2080 Ti. $1300 from what I saw. I actually planend to get one like this myself.
    -There are other options like GTX 1080 Ti and RTX 2080, but these aren't optimal choices so I skipped them, should be interested in them, the Internet can help.

    For CPUs
    -You can pick between either Intel or AMD for that, I personally uses Intel. I dunno much about these things.
    -I recommend something at least i7-7700, such as 8700, which is around $300.
    -There are versions with a K, like 8700K, which provides better clock speed, especially if you go for overclocking. They'll cost $60 more though, but can worth the risk, right?

    For RAM(Memory)
    -2x8GB sticks or a single 16GB. Much like difference between single and double channels, 2 sticks theorectically runs smoother - Be sure to take them in the exact same model though.
    -I recommend 2400MHz DDR4 RAMs,even though 3000MHz is better but rather unnecessary.

    For Motherboard
    -Double check to ensure every other parts you pick fits it.

    Do notice that pre-built PCs often have warranties while custom builds may not.
    And if anyone do happen to find out something wrong with my statements, point it out for me. :)
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  • LizzyBalletLizzyBallet Posts: 3,085 Member
    Thank you so much, I think I will have to wait until I can afford it but I will refer back to this thread. You've given me a lot of helpful information (especially about the graphics cards) , thank you so much <3
  • puzzlezaddictpuzzlezaddict Posts: 1,877 Member
    edited March 2019
    @LizzyBallet When you're ready to buy, you can always ask for help picking out a computer. Just list your budget, as well as any other features you need, including any games you might want to run in the future, with or without needing a later upgrade.

    For what it's worth, the site you linked looks to be a bit overpriced, and its selection less than impressive. Plus, many of the models wouldn't be upgradable, or else would require a higher investment to do so, i.e. a new power supply and motherboard instead of just a new graphics card or more RAM. So you might be better off ordering a custom build and adding more parts as you can afford them. For example, you could get a small SSD just for Windows, plus a larger, cheaper mechanical drive, and then buy a larger SSD for faster gaming later.

    I don't know anything about buying in South Africa, but google turned up a couple of sites that look promising. You might check out the companies, and read some reviews, to see if they offer what you want.

    https://www.wootware.co.za/pcs-and-laptops/custom-pc-s
    https://www.evetech.co.za/

    P.S. Just for reference, you could run all the games you listed on high settings with an Nvidia 1060 6 GB. You might want something a bit better for futureproofing, but it's also fairly easy to leave room in a custom build to add a stronger card later.
  • LizzyBalletLizzyBallet Posts: 3,085 Member
    @LizzyBallet When you're ready to buy, you can always ask for help picking out a computer. Just list your budget, as well as any other features you need, including any games you might want to run in the future, with or without needing a later upgrade.

    For what it's worth, the site you linked looks to be a bit overpriced, and its selection less than impressive. Plus, many of the models wouldn't be upgradable, or else would require a higher investment to do so, i.e. a new power supply and motherboard instead of just a new graphics card or more RAM. So you might be better off ordering a custom build and adding more parts as you can afford them. For example, you could get a small SSD just for Windows, plus a larger, cheaper mechanical drive, and then buy a larger SSD for faster gaming later.

    I don't know anything about buying in South Africa, but google turned up a couple of sites that look promising. You might check out the companies, and read some reviews, to see if they offer what you want.

    https://www.wootware.co.za/pcs-and-laptops/custom-pc-s
    https://www.evetech.co.za/

    P.S. Just for reference, you could run all the games you listed on high settings with an Nvidia 1060 6 GB. You might want something a bit better for futureproofing, but it's also fairly easy to leave room in a custom build to add a stronger card later.

    Thank you so much, a friend of mine has used evetech before, so that one might be worth a try, I don't know anything about wootware, but I'll check it out. Thanks!
  • LibertyTheFreeLibertyTheFree Posts: 234 Member
    @puzzlezaddict 's post just reminded me of that picking quality hard drives, power supply and cooling fans will worth in the time to come.

    Once my SSD corrupted and the computer won't even start up so I had to reinstall the entire OS, at least I backed up most of the important files and most other things are on the HDD/Mechanical Drive. So beware of the reliability issues if you feel like you are gonna lay on it for a long period of time.

    On the other hand, SSD makes things much faster to read/load, so it's recommended to install your OS on it (as puzzleaddict suggested), plus some hard drive heavy games, such as The Sims 4 to me. I would recommend a 256GB SSD, or 128GB if you are not so bothered by loading times, along with a 1TB (should cost less than an 128GB SSD) or larger HDD, that's completely dependent on your needs.
    (you may also consider using HHD, or Hybrid Drives, which bears traits from both SSD and HDD, though I don't really know the downsides to it except it's more expensive than HDD)

    Power supplies is the key to keep your PC running, because it won't run without power, right? I would recommend a 500W distributer at minimum, and keep it's power larger than the required amount by your PC (again, dependent on how much will your PC use) for a gaming PC and make sure it's stable and safe. Power surges and loss won't do any good.

    I constantly had trouble with cooling fans because they'd quit working normally after a while and make lots of weird rackets while spinnin' then I noted that choosing a fine cooling system can be a quality of life improvement unless I'm (already) deaf. Remember to have auxiliary fans too, just in case one stops working, or provide discharge to additional heat.

    PS. Check to see if whoever or whatever you find help and/or supplies from is reliable (it's an option to visit stores and ask their employees), and it's usually a good idea to ask your own friends for help, or at least someone you trust.
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  • LizzyBalletLizzyBallet Posts: 3,085 Member
    @puzzlezaddict 's post just reminded me of that picking quality hard drives, power supply and cooling fans will worth in the time to come.

    Once my SSD corrupted and the computer won't even start up so I had to reinstall the entire OS, at least I backed up most of the important files and most other things are on the HDD/Mechanical Drive. So beware of the reliability issues if you feel like you are gonna lay on it for a long period of time.

    On the other hand, SSD makes things much faster to read/load, so it's recommended to install your OS on it (as puzzleaddict suggested), plus some hard drive heavy games, such as The Sims 4 to me. I would recommend a 256GB SSD, or 128GB if you are not so bothered by loading times, along with a 1TB (should cost less than an 128GB SSD) or larger HDD, that's completely dependent on your needs.
    (you may also consider using HHD, or Hybrid Drives, which bears traits from both SSD and HDD, though I don't really know the downsides to it except it's more expensive than HDD)

    Power supplies is the key to keep your PC running, because it won't run without power, right? I would recommend a 500W distributer at minimum, and keep it's power larger than the required amount by your PC (again, dependent on how much will your PC use) for a gaming PC and make sure it's stable and safe. Power surges and loss won't do any good.

    I constantly had trouble with cooling fans because they'd quit working normally after a while and make lots of weird rackets while spinnin' then I noted that choosing a fine cooling system can be a quality of life improvement unless I'm (already) deaf. Remember to have auxiliary fans too, just in case one stops working, or provide discharge to additional heat.

    PS. Check to see if whoever or whatever you find help and/or supplies from is reliable (it's an option to visit stores and ask their employees), and it's usually a good idea to ask your own friends for help, or at least someone you trust.

    Thank you for the advice :)
  • LibertyTheFreeLibertyTheFree Posts: 234 Member
    edited April 2019
    Thank you for the advice :)

    I'm quite happy to help with this. Scourging the internet for information has also gave myself a few notes on building my next PC. Plus I can recall some I missed while typing here. It's the best when both can benifit from this, isn't it :)

    PS. The Sims 3 Technical Discussion doesn't seem to be the best place to ask for this sort of info since it doesn't really have to do with the game itself. It's rather Off-Topic imo. But then, it doesn't matter.
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  • SimplyJenSimplyJen Posts: 14,823 Member
    edited April 2019
    Off Topic Chat, you'll find a lot of people saying "Buy the cheapest computer you can find." It's better to post in the tech section. People here know what to recommend.

    I also want to add that if the OP thinks it's going to take them a year or more, It's wise to come back and ask when the time comes. Hardware is constantly changing. What's on the market today will be left over stock later on.
    i7-13700K • 16GB • RTX 4070
    S3 simblr: http://simplysimming.tumblr.com/
    S4 simblr: http://simlogic.tumblr.com/
  • LizzyBalletLizzyBallet Posts: 3,085 Member
    Thank you both, I'll keep what you've said in mind when the time comes. I appreciate the help <3
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