I find myself in need of a good (but not top of the line I think) Gaming PC. I want to be able to run Bioshock Infinite and stream movies for example.
I know a little about computers but really haven’t built one in more than 10 years so I’m guessing that’s not a good option for me.
The off-the –shelf ones though seem to either be not all that great or crazy expensive.
Am I better off going to someplace like Micro Center and having them spec and build one for me?
If I were you, I’d ask myself:
[ul]
[li]How soon do I want it?[/li][li]How much do I want to learn from the experience?[/li][li]Am I comfortable with installing an operating system and tons of drivers on a machine?[/li][li]Do I have the patience to troubleshoot a machine that isn’t behaving and search the internet for solutions?[/li][li]Am I okay with ordering a bunch of different parts online from different retailers?[/li][/ul]
Building a gaming computer can take a lot of time because there are many different little choices that go into one.
You can get a sense of that from here. This is a site that lets you see what other people are building, how much their builds cost, and the main reason why they are building them. Then other people critique each build. Lots of current builds are to play Bioshock and Crysis 3.
The site has just about every possible component that’s out there and a cost from different resellers.
The building process is fun and you will learn a ton from your first one, but it’s frustrating when you can’t figure out why your machine won’t boot or why you don’t have sound.
OK - so it sounds like my original assumption was correct - building one just isn’t a good option for me.
Given that, should I go off the shelf or look for a local place to build one for me?
I’d say made to order is the way to go, especially if you want a gaming laptop (though it doesn’t sound like that’s what you have in mind). For a desktop, building your own is ideal, but if you haven’t done it in a while, it will involve a lot of research to get it right on the first try.
In your place, I’d do some preliminary research–starting with bleach’s link–to get an idea of what you’ll need, then start checking local and online sources for custom desktop PCs. If you’ve got a general idea of the level of components you’ll need, you’ve got a better shot of catching them when they try to BS or upsell you. Don’t let them push glitz at you either–fancy cables and case mods aren’t going to make Bioshock run any faster. I’d also stay away from Windows 8, and not just because I personally loathe it–it’s making game makers unhappy, some of them very vocally so.
I disagree that building one isn’t for you. But don’t take my word for it. Watch this video:
http://pcpartpicker.com/blog/budget-gaming-build-core-i3-2120-radeon-hd-7750
If you can do that, you can build your own - you just need advice on what to get. Especially for a gaming PC you will save big bucks building your own, because most off the shelf gaming computers either give you a really weak graphics card for the money, or overspec you on everything else to get a decent card.
Answer these questions and I will spec out a basic build for you
- What is the primary purpose of the system ? Secondary things you want to do ? Anything taxing like gaming, editing videos, photoshop ?
- Do you need an OS ? Keyboard/Mouse/Monitor/Speakers ?
- Do you have any parts laying around you want to re-use ? Edit to add, if you do, specs- like monitor resolution and size, hard drive size, etc
- What is your budget ? Is there a microcenter nearby ? (Microcenter has insane below cost deals on processors and sometimes processor/motherboard bundles).
There are 3-4 dopers happily chugging along on rigs built by my shop
PM me what you are looking for and I will get you a quote and doper names for referrals if desired.
I built mine and while it was perhaps an experience worth having, I don’t know that it was anything worth bullying someone else into doing (like I see on a regular basis on gaming/tech forums). If you don’t feel like it or would rather have someone else on the hook for providing a “turn-key” product tested and under a single warranty I would go with one of the “We’ll build it for you” outfits. You can still get heaps of advice on components and the flexibility to create the system best for you without the worries or hassles of accidentally bending motherboard pins or troubleshooting why nothing happened when you hit the power button.
I wouldn’t recommend buying an off the shelf prebuilt model just because it’s so rare to see one that couldn’t have been done better to suit your needs.
Just a bump to say I haven’t abandoned this thread - I’ve just been really busy at work. I’m gonna check out those links as soon as I can get some free time and drachillix, you and I may very well be having a little talk 
Several reputable blogs, such as Ars Technica and MaximumPC, provide yearly or seasonal build guides with high/mid/low tiers, and detailed parts lists along with an explanation of the thought processes behind the selections. These are great resources that cut down on much of the confusion and clutter associated with picking out modern PC components, and in general you can’t go wrong with any of their builds.
Some will also provide separate coverage specifically for gaming and HTPC needs.
Building one is easy if it goes well. The problem is what to do if it doesn’t work. Unless you narrow down the problem to a specific part (or a compatibility problem between 2 specific parts), you can’t return it or even call tech support. And if you just buy one set of parts, you can’t start replacing parts to narrow down the problem.
And that’s not even touching the RMA hassles when dealing with online outfits. I love joints like Newegg or Tiger Direct but, when your power supply is a dud and you need to request an RMA number, go to the parcel shipping place and wait another 10+ days before you get a new unit to try again… well, sometimes you miss being able to stop into a store that’s 15 minutes away and walk out with what you need.
And warranty flexibility. We just swapped out a video card for a different model when it turned out the card/drivers had a known issue with a customers favorite game when he ordered a gaming system from us.