Whats the best way to go for a gaming pc desktop or laptop

[relic]

Hi guys I have finally decided to go big and get a pc that runs most modern games so I thought I would come to you guys cause im sure many of you know a lot of info im asking for any info would be a big help thx regards relic =)

No1 - Should I buy a desktop or a laptop for gaming which would you recommend even so I know desktops are more powerful don't get me wrong.

No2 - Which type of desktop pc would you recommend for playing a lot of modern games with mainly steam. or other recommends such as ps2 and ps3 or other more modern gaming.

No3 - Am I better off building a custom made desktop or buying a brand new one and getting the guys that work at a shop to put it together for me.

No4 - Am I best to buy it through online or at an actual store.

No5 - if not from all of the above would you guys have recommends for gaming pc parts. or top items to put inside a custom built desktop -

2 really awesome desktops I have found so far

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Intel-Core-i7-3770-Gaming-PC-120GB-SSD-3TB-HDD-32GB-RAM-Quad-Desktop-Computer-/330832166284?pt=AU_comp_dekstop&hash=item4d07223d8c

http://www.austin.net.au/desktops-pcs/extreme-gaming-computers/asus-rog-g30ab-au002s-gaming-desktop-4th-gen.html

or of coarse a alienware laptop a smaller one or a bigger one or maybe a razor

http://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers/alienware/14-14-inch-notebook-sku-419100/

http://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers/alienware/17-laptop-sku-419108/

http://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers/dell/alienware-18-sku-419112/

http://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers/razer-blade/17-inch-blade-pro-sku-419147/

[Polemicist]

Good old Perth. Dude. Get the specs you want in a PC. Determine your maximum budget. Walk into a few computer stores and tell them those details and ask what is possible and for your budget what is the best things to upgrade.

Desktop or Laptop is your choice. Laptop is not upgradeable. Desktop is. Most of the Alienware laptops are just desktops crammed into a laptop case and tend to get hot so can never be used "on your lap" so basically they are just a more portable version of a desktop.

linustechtips.com

Some people like this guy. His YouTube stuff is kinda good.

My opinion. Go desktop. If I need portable gaming I can just use the Internet.

[Drnick]

1) Desktop, without a doubt

2) A Mid sized Tower, lots off cooling

3) You are always better off building your own PC

4) Buy all the parts online, pick a reputable dealer with good warranty (I get most of my parts from Ebuyer but it doesn't look like they have an Australian shop)

5) This is going to be affected by your Budget, I recently built the following for just under £850, ($1600 Aus) Intel 4770K (Quad core 3.5, Overclockable to 4.x) 16GB Corsair Overclockable ram, 120GB SSD (500Write 520Read) 2GB 7870 (Sapphire Overclockable) Asus z87 Board. 2TB WD HDD - Blueray/DVD Combo & Coolermaster case with 700W psu. Running at stock it's played everything I could throw at it, and looking at benchmarks The only way of improving would have been to massively increase the budget.

[jvlk]

Drnick gave some good advise, building your own pc is always going to be cheaper and with better parts than a pre-build pc.

Also the hardware he listed is going to play every game you throw at it atm @ full 1080.

If your budget would allow it, I would get a amd R290 graphics card which is currently the best bang for your buck atm.

[relic]

Thx for the feedback my friends I knew I could rely on you guys ok yes I agree desktop is more powerful then laptop. And 2 Im better off building a custom but then again im thinking ill pay someone to put it together from the shops after I grab the parts for it cause if anything goes wrong its apprantley there responsible if it breaks down where if you build your own then its on your hands. Once again guys you been a big help especially you drnick I might even copy simlar on what you said.

Ps I thought amd wernt as good as NVidia

[dark13]

Gaming=Desktop

I'd say:

Cpu: core i5 4670k. Cheaper than a 4770k and same performance in most cases. If you want to keep your rig as long as you can the 8 thread of a 4770k would be better (only 30% faster while heavily multithreading BUT next gen games may have problem running on 4 threads just like some current gen games DOES have problems running on 2 threads)

Vga: The best "bang for bucks" is probably 290X. Faster than a 780TI in many games and a LOT cheaper. Nvidia does have better driver support and some added eye candy but a gtx 780 costs the same and is slower. A GTX 760 is really good gear in terms of price/performance but it will not run "ultra" settings at 60 fps with some games.

Motherboard: z87 with decent overclock capabilities (mostly for dolphin, windows games still runs fine at stock with a single gpu and 1920*1080 ). A GOOD aftermarket heatsink is needed with haswell (intel 4xxx), they get REALLY HOT while overvolting Vcore.

PSU: A GOOD psu is needed for gaming. You don't need crazy wattage with a single gpu BUT stable voltages are mandatory.

Custom builds are cheaper but not THAT cheaper like in the old days. But with a custom build at the same price you'll get a BETTER psu, a motherboard with overclock capabilities and a slightly better vga.

[gigapig]

Hey Relic.

Can you do that in Aus, buy the parts from somewhere then take them somewhere else to have it built?

If your going to run any emulation go with nVidia, as I've said before Taito Type X doesn't work so well with AMD.

Dark13 is right about the Geforce 760 and a good overclocker if your into that. I've just bought an MSI 770 Lighting, it's awesome.

I've never bought a PC off the shelf, always built my own, but if your not confident, get one pre built.

[gigapig]

Hey Relic.

Can you do that in Aus, buy the parts from somewhere then take them somewhere else to have it built?

If your going to run any emulation go with nVidia, as I've said before Taito Type X doesn't work so well with AMD.

Dark13 is right about the Geforce 760 and a good overclocker if your into that. I've just bought an MSI 770 Lighting, it's awesome.

I've never bought a PC off the shelf, always built my own, but if your not confident, get one pre built.

[relic]

no worries guys thats why im asking for oppinions

just list best of computer parts i can get and ill take it from there your all a big help

[gigapig]

Intel i5 4670k

I have a Asrock Fatality Pro mobo, but get one to fit your budget.

Msi geforce 760 Gaming or Hawk

120gb SSD for the OS

120gb -250gb for Hyperspin if you intend to have it.

3 TB hard drive for games

8 gb of Ram

600 to 800 watt power supply. Get a branded one don't buy cheap. If the cheap one explodes it can take the other components with it.

[relic]

ok great much appreciated giga

a ? about ram tho do you guys think it would be best to have 32gig 16gig or just 8gig does it really matter

and of coarse i plan to go with nvidia video card as well as intel processor

[dark13]

8GB is enough for now. The only reason to buy 16gb is the actual price of ddr3 modules. In future they will probably costs more and "good" modules will be hard to trace down.

[sandman7793]

Get to building relic

[gigapig]

Again agree with dark13. No reason to have any more than 8gb for a gaming rig. Put the money towards storage, a bigger SSD, a decent keyboard or mouse.

[relic]

guys i have some bad news every peice for a pc adds up alot like 300 500 or even 600 to 800 in aus dollars where it seems cheaper for america so i figure im best buying a prebuilt pc anyway like the one i saw on ebay cause even if i built my own it would cost around a grand

[gigapig]

The one you pointed out from ebay does not include the operating system and the graphics card they are offering is very basic and won't run games with all the shiney on.

Bringing that up to spec and adding the OS will add a few hundred dollars.

Edit. I would steer well clear of the one on Ebay.

They are offering some very basic parts for AUS $1200 so they can make a tidy profit.

You don't need that i7, my i5 is faster and overclocks to 4.2Ghz no problem.

Even the upgrade path they offer on the graphics card is terrible (640) and its a last generation card.

If I lived near by Relic, I would gladly build one for you.

[gigapig]

The system from Austin you point out, is the better machine. I've just converted the price to pounds which £970 and thats around the same price here, maybe £100 less if you built it yourself give or take.

[Polemicist]

msy.com.au

Take a look. One of the better priced locals. Multiple stores in Aus but probably none in Perth. Unfortunately everything is expensive in Perth. Building your own is a little cheaper but in most cases the people putting your PC together charge only about $50 for a basic PC and under $100 for a Build and Burn In. A complete PC including DVD drive couple of HD's and basic fan setup takes on average 15 minutes to put together. We used to have races during big rollouts and had times around the 5 minute mark for base model PC's.

Doing a build with water cooling takes freaking four times longer so obviously it costs a bit more. So the more PC's the guys build the more money the place makes.

Build the PC yourself. It really isn't hard. And if you need it you can find YouTube clips to help you.

MSY has some pretty sweet little PC builds that might interest you and the prices are very nice.

[Sir Cyrano]

Desktop is better for run High final games. Laptop is for work or study or surf the internet, not to play

[Polemicist]

Actually I find gaming laptops awesome but you have to replace them once a year. So only for the man with disposable cash.

[relic]

Behold my pro Dream Gaming Machine Listing

1 - 32 gig ram

2 - usb 3.0

3 - 128 gig or 256 solid state 3x -

4 - 4gb dedicated graphics

5 - nvidia video card havent decided yet latest one -

6 - 2 dvd rom drives and 1 blue ray -

7 - 800 w power supply -

8 - intel i7 - 4th gen -

9 - geforce gtx 770 - or n770 lightning - or hawk

10 - fatality z77 pro - or rz87 -

11 - 3 - 500 gig hardrives or - 750 gigs maybe 7 hardrives -

12 - a gaming keyboard - and mouse -

13 - 2 big hdmi monitors - maybe samsung

[sandman7793]

You forgot the full system water cooling from frozen cpu for that 120c rig you just built. By the way full system cooling for a rig like that is $1000

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[THK]

I'm saving up for a game/work pc

i7 4770k

Noctua NH-D14

Asus Republic Of Gamers Maximus VI Hero

32GB G.Skill TridentX F3-2400C10Q-32GTX

AMD R9 290(X) aftermarket cooler

250gb Samsung 840 EVO SSD (OS drive)

Bunch of 500gb-4tb HDD's

Seasonic 750+ Gold/Platinum

Fractal Design Define R4 Pearl Black

23" 1080p TFT gaming monitor + 2x 17" 1024x768 monitors on the side

Steelseries Apex

CM Storm Havoc

Wacom Bamboo

Next up, saving for Digital Pen Display (Cintiq or equivalent)

Then eventually IPS 1440+ monitor

[Polemicist]

Go nuts

[relic]

im thinking i might get 7x internal 3tb hardrives

guys note i havent built it yet this is just a listing of an example i might go for which i made up on my own but with alot of help from my freinds from hyperspin

price listing - for each item

Brand-New-Seagate-4TB-3-5-HDD - 160$ x 7 or 200 odd

Gigabyte-Z87-Motherboard-Intel-Quad-Core-i5-CPU-8GB-Ram-Budget-Combo-Upgrade-Kit - 629$

Intel-Quad-Core-4th-Gen-Haswell-i7-4770-LGA1150-CPU-Processor-3-4GHz-Max-3-9GHz- 374$

or 4th-Gen-Intel-Core-i7-4770K-3-5Ghz-3-9Ghz-Haswll-Quad-Core-LGA1150-PC-Box-CPU - 429$

TEAM-Xtreem-16GB-DDR3-1600Mhz-Memory-Gaming-12800-HeatSink-RAM-2x-8GB-Desktop-PC - 200$

ASUS-Nvidia-Geforce-GTX770-GTX-770-OC-2GB-2-GB-GDDR5-PCIe-DP-Gaming-Video-Card- - 800$

Corsair-GS800-80-PLUS-Bronze-Certified-Power-Supply-LED-Quiet-Gaming-ATX-PSU- - $169.95

or CASECOM-800W-BRONZE-80-ATX-POWER-SUPPLY-TWIN-36A-12V-RAILS-140MM-SILENT-RED-FAN- - $89.50

Z87-PRO3-Asrock-Motherboard-Skt-1150-Asrock- - $223.65

Brand-NEW-Samsung-256GB-SSD-840-Series-Pro-SATA-2-5-Solid-State-Drive-Laptop- - $261.50 3x

or Asus-Z87-PLUS-Desktop-Motherboard-Intel-Z87-Express-C - $269