Help me build a PC?

[Fearlus Bun]

Hey guys, I'm looking to buy a really nice desktop computer for gaming intensive purposes. I want the best bang for my buck and I want it to run virtually any game on ultra settings very smoothly.
In saying that, I know I'm going to be spending a little bit, my price range is around 1200. But if you are experienced and can guarantee me the best even though its out of my price range, Ill look into it.
Ive heard building your own pc is cheaper and better than buying a pre built or all-in-one. So i need help. I want to play games such as Crysis 3, Battlefield, Bioshock, Minecraft, etc. I've never built one before so I would probably take the parts I order and just take them to my local computer shop and have them build it for me, but I need you guys help picking the parts out.
I want it to run very fast, run smooth with no choppiness, prefer to have windows 7, 1 TB of storage is fine. So I would really appreciate some help from experienced people that know quite a bit about computers. Thanks in advance!

 

[biohazard]

I'm waiting for a server white list and bored so i'll help. First stay the hell away from all-in-ones as far as gaming goes the price to performance ratio sucks. Two the "gaming" systems the big oems sell are ether cpu heavy with low end gpus and crappy power supplies or cpu heavy with good graphics and hugely over priced alienware comes to mind for the later. IF you decide to go for a pre build system your best bet is one of the online boutique system builders. I suggest ibuypower you have enough of a budget to get a nice mid ranged machine from them. Its not a premium product like a falcon northwest or a velocity micro system but they don't gouge you ether. For price comparison purposes you can get a Chimera from ibuy power with a i5 and Radeon 7870 for $1080 they have some special offers going on right now that upgrade you to a closed loop water cooling system and a 2tb hard drive for the price of the 1tb drive and there stock cooling system. Now here is the DIY build I came up with http://pcpartpicker.com/p/O70h its $802.43 thats after $35 worth of mail in rebates mind you. That list of parts is just a starting point you may want to change some things. I went for a smalled micro atx build and the chimera is a larger atx mid tower. I cheaped out on the case the fractal 1000 is ok but you might want to spend a more for usb 3.0 and better cooling. The Chimera has a slightly faster cpu but the 7870xt in my suggested build is quite a bit faster then its 7870. The 7870xt is tahiti based and should really be called a 7930 performance is very very close to a non GHz edition 7950. You have money left over in your budget and you could get a GTX 670 or a 7970 but unless you have 3 1080 monitors or a 2560x1440 monitor your buying performance that you won't use. I have suggestions as for what to do with that extra $400 but I need to get some sleep before I get incoherent.

P.S. Check out http://www.tomshardware.com/ and specifiably the 2013 first quarter system builder marathon

 

[Promasterpig]

It depends where you are in the world. The UK is a little harder and you should order from places like DinoPc , Amazon etc. Take a day or two watching tutorials on youtube. I personally prefer Intel Processors over AMD, However AMD is more BANG for your buck. You don't need a 6-8 core Processor, 4 Core is anough unless you are doing videos and rendering. I also prefer NVIDIA cards to AMD, But either will work, I currently use a 550 TI but am looking to upgrade. A 660 TI or something around that would work great. Motherboard wise, I reccomend getting one with two PCI (16x I think) slots, Then if you want another card to run in SLI or whatever you can. For your pricepoint I'd go with 8GB of ram, However 4GB would be sufficient. Case wise, It doesn't have to be glorious, Just get a clean basic case with good airflow and a few extra fans. PSU 500 watt should be okay with one card but if you want two at a later date I'd go higher. I wouldn't bother with a SSD, Fast but expensive. Depending on whether your storing large files like video and if you have the money, Two HDD's would be nice But not nessasary. 1TB drives are becoming cheaper and cheaper and are great. I have a 500GB HDD with about 200GB left.

Building a PC Sounds hard but really isn't. Static electricity is strange, It only ever effects a few people, But if you feel more comfortable get a antistatic wristband or ground yourself first. Again, what you get is up to you. Only you know what you want. It took me around 3 Months to decide all my parts. Learning to build it is the easy part. Its all just plug and play.

 

[Jadedcat]

Moved to tech chat

 

[Fearlus Bun]

I really appreciate all the feedback from you guys its helping a ton. Unfortunately I will have to wait about 7 to 8 months before I seriously start my PC search because rent just got a little higher where I live. So that involves having to save a little less and spend a little more lol but I will gladly keep accepting suggestions thank you all very much.

 

[MadDogTen]

I really appreciate all the feedback from you guys its helping a ton. Unfortunately I will have to wait about 7 to 8 months before I seriously start my PC search because rent just got a little higher where I live. So that involves having to save a little less and spend a little more lol but I will gladly keep accepting suggestions thank you all very much.

I would just like to note, Next time it could be useful to post your current setup, So we know if anything is salvageable. Also, If you're planning to get a new Monitor, Keyboard, Speakers/Headset, Mouse, etc, and if its included in that cost. Also, If you already own Windows 7, or needs to be added to the build too.

Plus, If we knew your current setup, You could buy parts at a time, and save the rest that aren't 100% needed for another time.

This is up to you, But an idea where you live (At least the state), and shops around you could be useful (if you don't want to give your location). Then we could get an idea of what the prices would be for where you live. Plus if you could/want to buy refurbished parts (If the store sales them).

One last note, There is a difference between Smooth, and Running the game at max settings smoothly. We could give you a build that will runs smoothly in most games, Maybe not at the Max settings, and put the extra money somewhere else, Or put more of the money into CPU/GPU to get them at Max settings.

As I said, this is just to note for when you are ready to start building it.

 

[Fearlus Bun]

I would just like to note, Next time it could be useful to post your current setup, So we know if anything is salvageable. Also, If you're planning to get a new Monitor, Keyboard, Speakers/Headset, Mouse, etc, and if its included in that cost. Also, If you already own Windows 7, or needs to be added to the build too.

Plus, If we knew your current setup, You could buy parts at a time, and save the rest that aren't 100% needed for another time.

This is up to you, But an idea where you live (At least the state), and shops around you could be useful (if you don't want to give your location). Then we could get an idea of what the prices would be for where you live. Plus if you could/want to buy refurbished parts (If the store sales them).

One last note, There is a difference between Smooth, and Running the game at max settings smoothly. We could give you a build that will runs smoothly in most games, Maybe not at the Max settings, and put the extra money somewhere else, Or put more of the money into CPU/GPU to get them at Max settings.

As I said, this is just to note for when you are ready to start building it.

I currently have a laptop lol so there's not too much adding onto it and I want it to just browse mainly when I travel and the Desktop at home for recording and serious gaming. So I would like a whole new PC.

 

[Booker The Geek]

Message me when you are about a week or two away from being able to plop down the $$$$. I build gaming computers as part of my business. What part of the world do you live in?

 

[Cieronph]

I built a pc with a similar price bracket to you and this is what i came up with give or take:

Intel i7 3770k (i stream, if you dont then get the i5)
Geforce GTX 660ti (good graphics card runs well)
120gb ssd (mainly for os and a few games you play often)
1tb hhd (main storage)
Sharkoon t9 gaming case (mid tower, great cheap starting case with alot of useful features)
Corsair 650w gold power supply (Get the modular one)
ASUS 98b7 motherboard
My system has a custom loop in it from a previous build however you really dont need one & with your budget you can afford to get a all in one loop anyway
Monitor/s are personal preference
mouse keyboard etc are the same.
Also if your not next to your router I would suggest going with power-line ethernet rather than wireless adapter for about the same price you get almost double your internet speed.