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Good Computer for gameing?

Pikachuie

Go Seahawks!
  • 79
    Posts
    11
    Years
    I would go for the desktop if I were you.. it has a much faster processor than both the laptops and I would certainly recommend expanding its RAM up beyond the 4GB that comes with it as well, and try looking into getting an external GPU (graphics card) if you plan to game. Or if you can, try building your own machine, which might be out of your price range for, but it's better to build your own than to buy manufactured.
     
    Desktop > Laptop 1 > Laptop 2.

    The desktop is probably the most destitute thing I'd recommend for anyone. It'll certainly play games on medium with 30fps. I'd suggest maybe expanding the memory though, which is pretty cheap. A lot of people suggest building yourself, but I honestly only recommend it if your knowledge in computers is more than the average consumer.
     
    Before I even begin suggesting anything, I'd like to know what you play now and what you would like to play in the near future. Getting a system that is either not up to snuff or is overkill seems wasteful.

    Remember that even modern Intel integrated is usable for lowest settings for pretty much everything :)
     
    Well theres Minecraft,Zoo tycoon 2, Garry's mod,maybe Sims 3,and spore maybe more games later on but thats all I have that i cant really run on my old laptop.
     
    The games you play rely way more on the CPU, especially The Sims 3! You're way better off with the Asus. A Celeron or any AMD won't cut it.

    I would suggest that you find a deal for a Core i5 or better processor, especially something from the Haswell generation. Remember that even the best SLI rig won't do jack to Sims 3 if the CPU performance is poor - sure, you'll get 60 frames per second, but do you want Ultra speed that is more like 1x speed?
     
    If you're looking to just buy the computer straight up, then the desktop PC would be fine. The 2 laptops have poor graphics cards so they would not perform well when it comes to gaming performance.
    I use AMD and I haven't had problems running games with the 6 core bulldozer series along with my ATI 7700 Series GPU.
    The Desktop seems to have a reasonable ATI graphics card along with an AMD APU series processor which are meant to work in conjunction with each other when it comes to graphical processing more so than any standard CPU/RAM configuration.
    Of course I would recommend teaching yourself how to build computers so that you can always pick and chose what you want for your PC but with pre-made desktops you're not inclined with much choice. Most of the games you wish to play won't even need anything higher than a dual core CPU. I remember playing many games using just an AMD 6000+ dual core such as DOTA 2, Counter Strike, World of Tanks, Skyrim. Sure the frame rates weren't ridiculously high but the games played fine.
    Even if you wish to seek computers with an I5 CPU, most likely you'll just get crappy office PCs with integrated graphics which is not what you want or have to pay more just because you're looking for an I5 in a pre-made gaming computer.

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-...1306374703.p?id=mp1306374703&skuId=1306374703

    See the difference in price already X_X !
     
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    If you're looking to just buy the a computer straight up, then the desktop PC would be fine. The 2 laptops have poor graphics cards so they would not perform well when it comes to gaming performance.
    I use AMD and I haven't had problems running games with the 6 core bulldozer series along with my ATI 7700 Series GPU.
    The Desktop seems to have a reasonable ATI graphics card along with an AMD APU series processor which are meant to work in conjunction with each other when it comes to graphical processing more so than any standard CPU/RAM configuration.
    Of course I would recommend teaching yourself how to build computers so that you can always pick and chose what you want for your PC but with pre-made desktops you're not inclined with much choice. Most of the games you wish to play won't even need anything higher than a dual core CPU. I remember playing many games using just an AMD 6000+ dual core such as DOTA 2, Counter Strike, World of Tanks, Skyrim. Sure the frame rates weren't ridiculously high but the games played fine.
    Even if you wish to seek computers with an I5 CPU, most likely you'll just get crappy office PCs with integrated graphics which is not what you want or have to pay more just because you're looking for an I5 in a pre-made gaming computer.

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-...1306374703.p?id=mp1306374703&skuId=1306374703

    See the difference in price already X_X !

    The games you mentioned are in a different type of "resource intrusive". Some games do rely a lot more on CPU grunt than anything else.

    Yeah, a proper, pre-built i5 machine is pretty expensive when you think about it...

    It's actually kind of hard to suggest a gaming system when it's rather obvious that the games involved run fine on integrated solutions - at least modern ones.
     
    Considering that the Minimum requirements for The Sims 3 on Windows Vista are just looking for a 2.4 GHz Pentium 4 or an equivalent processor, I'd say the dual core that the AMD A6 in that desktop likely is would be adequate, but you'd need to get a dedicated video card to chance avoiding lag on anything above "low". Whichever way you go for a processor, you'll want to get a dedicated graphics card to see a marked improvement in performance because this way the video rendering and the process handling for the game aren't being done through the same processor, which can severely limit performance. For your games you listed, you should be able to find an adequate enough video card for between $50 and $100.

    What's your budget limit? To get something that will be almost guaranteed to handle The Sims 3 pretty well, we may have to go over $500.
     
    I really dont know my budget :/ My moms buying the computer, so yeah.... But if it cant run sims3 i dont care that much becuase i have it on ps3 so not much lost there but it would run all the other games with good fps or no? :$
     
    Minecraft could be problematic, but for that you can turn your settings way, way down. You'd still want a dedicated video card, simply so that the video rendering for the game isn't sharing the system's processor with the background simulation and world generation that Minecraft does in the background. Many speed issues with Minecraft can be solved by uninstalling the 32-bit version of Java that your computer will probably come with and then installing the 64-bit version in its place, at least if you have a 64-bit operating system, which the Desktop you linked to looks like it will come with.
     
    Minecraft could be problematic, but for that you can turn your settings way, way down. You'd still want a dedicated video card, simply so that the video rendering for the game isn't sharing the system's processor with the background simulation and world generation that Minecraft does in the background. Many speed issues with Minecraft can be solved by uninstalling the 32-bit version of Java that your computer will probably come with and then installing the 64-bit version in its place, at least if you have a 64-bit operating system, which the Desktop you linked to looks like it will come with.


    how much is a video card and is it hard to install?
     
    It depends on the video card you want to install.

    Anyway, a desktop system certainly will give you better bang for your buck, so to speak. If you really want to have something optimal, I'd suggest looking into AMD APU solutions and build one such system yourself, or with help.

    (A system with an A10 should play pretty much everything out there at 720p, medium settings, so long as the memory is installed in pairs (Trinity and newer APUs need all the bandwidth they can get as their GPUs don't have their own memory.) I've suggested someone else to make a gaming HTPC based on an AMD APU, and it works. Bonus: you dint have to buy a video card that way.)

    Excuse me while I build a recommended configuration for you.

    If you're able to spend for this set https://pcpartpicker.com/p/1CxyY you pretty much can run everything. ??????
     
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    Video cards will need a certain amount of power from your power supply unit in order to run them.
    Most GPUs require a minimum of 500-600 WATT with a power supply cable (if required). The adapter is usually supplied if you don't have one which is simple to install.
    They can of course vary in price depending on how powerful you want them so it's best to just shop around and spend at least $100 on a newer series GPU.
    There are many websites/videos showing you how to build computers and install new video cards on desktop PCs.
    You cannot do very much with laptops, so I would avoid a gaming laptop as they are very expensive and above your budget.
     
    Alright bro, I'll break things down for you to make it a little easier. In terms of computers for gaming, the two most important parts in the system that you will want to familiarise yourself with are the processor and graphics card.

    Processors
    Processors are the brain of the computer and what allows it to rock the tasks set by programs in the computer, including the games you wish to play. Clock speed is a good measure of how a fast a processor is - to an extent. A faster clock speed isn't always the best thing for a computer, due to heating problems that happen when the clock speed is set to high. The amount of cores is also important. For the games you require, a dual core processor with 2.0 GHz per core will more than suffice. A computer isn't a machine you should think about buying for the current times. I recommend future proofing it somewhat buy buying it with at least an Intel Core i3 dual core with a 2.5GHz or higher processor or higher. If you wanted to really get a decent processor - an Intel Core i5 quad core with 3.0GHz per core or faster would suffice. Again, it's up to what you can afford. Of course, AMD's are also a suitable alternative.

    Graphics Card
    Integrated graphics for gaming are a no-no. Even if your gaming needs don't require a dedicated graphics card, any future games you want to play will more than likely require it. Anything with 1GB or higher is fine. I recommend nVIDIA. It's worth more to spend more on your computer now and save yourself buying extra parts in order to upgrade it.

    Other points
    Unless you strictly need a laptop, get a desktop. They outclass a laptop in every way for gaming. I decided to purchase an Apple MacBook Pro because I knew I wouldn't game on my laptop. They are better value for money, easy to upgrade and cheaper price per parts (mostly) if you choose to build it yourself.

    Get at least 4GB of RAM. 8GB is preferred, but 4GB is fine if you can't afford it.

    Get a 64-Bit OS.

    Oh, and please don't rush your purchase. Make sure you get everything you need to know in check before buying. Nothing worse that buying a computer that doesn't come in handy for you.

    Feel free to leave more information (such as specific budget and other needs) so I can go into more detail for you. Also ask questions on anything you're not clear about.
     
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