Right now I'm looking at $1,000 for this computer, and I'd prefer to go as cheap as possible.
Main components:

-Processor: Intel Core i5-2500k
-8 GB DDR3-1600 Corsair RAM (could have went 4 GB, but did 8 to be safe)
-Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti - 1GB - EVGA Superclocked - Core: 981MHz - Single Card
-700 Watt Power Supply (no major brand)
-750 GB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Audio
Zeno Pro Gaming Network Card

My problems are that I'm too busy to game a lot nowadays, and the only games I'm really interested in are Skyrim and Diablo 3 as well as some older games that are PC-Only. I'd prefer to play most games on my 360 since all of my friends use consoles. Also, this is going to double as a family PC and who knows what kind of crap they'll download onto it. To be fair, the $1,000 did come from all my family contributing toward it.

I'm considering a less expensive graphics card and 4gb of ram instead of 8, which should significantly decrease the total cost. I figure these are easy enough to upgrade on my own down the road if I choose to. The problem is I don't know if I could max out Skyrim with these downgrades

You haven't mentioned a monitor in this list, I take it you intend to play using a TV screen? What resolution does that screen support?

Well u dont need that big of a harddrive

well u dont need a harddrive that big

Forego food and utilities instead. That way you can upgrade to a solid state drive.

You don't need the sound card nor the network card really. (unless you really, truly need them) Take the money you save on those and put it towards a better graphics card. 560ti or a 570.


And this is a prebuilt isn't it? May be I'm just out of date on hardware prices but I can't fathom how all of that (sans the sound and network cards) can get close to $1000.

lol. saving money is the issue, but that doesn't mean I'd be nearly homeless for buying a computer. but now you've piqued my interest over what the difference is between a hdd and a ssd.

Stick with 8GB of RAM. It's dirt cheap.

What's your motherboard?

Get an un-overclocked card if you can and if it saves you money. You can overclock it yourself.


Agreed. If he's building this himself, he's getting ripped off.

With those specs there's a good chance your machine will be sitting round waiting for the graphics card. I'd say, lose the sound card, 4GB of RAM and the gaming network card, and beef up the graphics card a notch or two.

An SSD will make your PC start faster, and all desktop work (copying, installing, browsing) will be more responsive. It'll make level loading faster in games, but won't touch framerates.

Oh, and it's very bad value for money. Don't get me wrong, I adore my SSd, but if you're cutting costs an SSD is not the way to go. Get a good fast regular drive, you'll spend less and get way, way more capacity.

i'd reccomend keeping your 8GB RAM. same goes for the processor and graphics card.

the hard drive does look a little oversized if you really don't plan on gaming much, or using the PC a lot in general. and tbh, external drives are cheap enough these days that you could pick one up when space becomes an issue.

as for a network gaming card, i don't see the point myself. cheap works too. the only feature i've heard of on those cards that might be nice for gaming is prioritising game related packets, but tbh unless you're planning on using the machine for multiple things simultaneously that isn't needed imho.

sound - up to you if you need that card, or if a cheaper card can do (if there is a cheaper one.) it'll affect your quality a little, but i don't expect that skyrim will require a top-notch sound card.

I have a 23'' LCD widescreen monitor

Really? Seriously, unless he's doing video editing or running a zillion background applications, will 8GB really help? Remember, Skyrim is hardly going to use tons of memory, seeing as it's a cross-platform game. I've got 4GB in my machine, and I don't think it's ever been all used.

If the ram is decently priced why not get it. It can't hurt to have more.

Yes, the machine is pre-built. My harddrive is a Gigabyte GA-P67A-D3-B3. Also, I've heard great things about using a sound card in regards to sound quality but if it isn't that big of a deal I'll get rid of it and upgrade the graphics card to a GTX 560 Ti

I was actually considering downgrading the graphics card as I figured the one I chose was more than enough. Maybe not. Also, if I could get away with 4GB without effecting gaming quality I would be pretty happy (saves me $54)

On-board motherboard sound is more than adequate for gaming. You only need soundcards if you're a serious-face audiophile and have the equipment to actually make that card matter. Like, really good high-end speakers and what not.

And I'd suggest building your own computer. It isn't hard and you'll save more money that you can put towards performance or something else you might like.

while it's usually with a couple of browsers open, and a few things that load in the taskbar automatically as well, my machine's started to struggle with LotRO. which is over 4 years old. i specifically get messages about memory usage, not graphics or processor, and it usually results in a force crash. not every time, but it's there. that game is a messy piece of programming, of course, which doesn't help.

skyrim will be optimised on PC, at least graphically (already confirmed that consoles won't have high-res textures.) i'd also expect it to be more intensive than a 4-year-old game in the first place

how much it will help is another matter, of course. memory is one of the main bottlenecks though, and if there's a chance his family will run things in the background, then may as well pre-empt problems now and make sure it's enough from the get-go.

Ouch. Yes, downgrade. Better yet, don't get any RAM if you can. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145324 and plug it in. RAM is the easiest thing to install yourself.

the big question is: how literate are your family?

will they download whatever, and worry about it after the fact?

will there be emoticon packs, google and other toolbars, and everything they want?

if the answer to those is yes or maybe... stick with the 8GB.



same goes for yourself btw - do you know enough to kill non-essential processes that might interfere, with memory usage?

if the answer to that is no... definitely stick to 8GB

Stick with 8GB, it feels great to have that kind of slack. I have 6GB, and I find it hard to run SCII, Minecraft Server, and the vent server sometimes, so 8GB would help out.
I don't know why you want the sound or network cards. If sound is really that much a priority sure, But if you don't have those fancy-schmancy surround sound speakers/headphones there's no point rly.

RAM is cheap, so buy while it still is (go for 8 Gb)
Video cards are pretty expensive, and with the advancement of games they will only get more expensive. Build the rest of your computer and buy the video card last so as to save money. Video card prices usually get a lot cheaper in October.
I did not see a motherboard in your list. You need one that can use your processor, not just any one will do. Also, some video cards will not fit in certain motherboards. The same applies for RAM.
You may be able to go from a 700w to a 500w power supply, but don't go down to much.
You also need a large enough case with a cooling system.
A sound card is not that important, of everything listed there, get rid of that.
The network card is not that important unless you are playing MMOs or constantly using internet-based games.
Monitor? Keyboard? Mouse? Speakers? Other accessories?
Get a smaller hard drive, and get a portable hard drive later on for your family if they run out of room.

You are spending $1000 for that? I just made a quick Newegg build for the same parts (except a quality 650W Corsair PSU, could even cut that down a bit, 1TB Caviar Black) and it came out to about $889.91. I would cut the addon NIC and the sound card. Unless you have a high end sound system or good headphones you really wont notice a big difference.

-edit- I game on 4GB of RAM, but I plan on upgrading to 8 or 16GB soon, but for video editing. 4GB is fine for just games though.

A large hard drive is always nice to have, I wouldn't go any lower than what you have.

8gb of RAM is not necessary.

You should check if your motherboard has integrated network or sound, if it has, you can skip buying separate cards for those.

The only reason you should even CONSIDER having more than 4Gb of RAM is if you have the 64 bit version of windows. otherwise, you're just paying money for a useless piece of silicon.

Ditch the network card and sound card. The only reason anyone would want a sound card is for musicians recording music.

Now if you really wanted to save money, building the computer yourself would save you about $100 or more depending on if you're good at shopping for parts. If you don't overclock, then you might also be able to save money getting an i5 2400 instead of an i5 2500

If you're trying to save money and your family doesn't desperately need a new computer right away, wait a few months before you get it. Chances are the price will drop even in those few months. In addition, perhaps by that time the minimum and recommended specs to run the game will be out by then, so you'll be able to customize it and cut back on more of what you don't actually need.