As a first time gaming pc buyer how much should I spend?

Notafanboy786

Honorable
Nov 4, 2013
4
0
10,510
Hello. I am interested in a gaming pc. I have a few questions:
Do you think that 650 pounds is a decent price for a gaming pc?
Amd fx 8350 or i5 3570k?(Please don't only say i5, because I want to know if I should get the fx 8350 for future proofing, because of the 8 cores)
Gtx 670 or R9 280x?
Is 1tb HDD alright for the start, or a 2tb HDD?
Should I get an SSD for installing the OS, or should I just install it on a HDD?
Windows 8 or 7?
Will I be able to get at least 5 years out of my gaming pc without upgrading it for 650 pounds?

I want to play games like: Bf4, Watch dogs, Skyrim probably, COD Ghosts, many Indie games and other big and small title games. I know it's hard and long to answer my questions, but I would be very appreciative if you could answer all of them with a good reason. Thank you!
 
Solution
Generally Intel CPUs will run more efficiently, and will out perform it's AMD CPU counter-part. The saying goes, if you're on a budget, go with AMD, if you have the money, go with Intel. If you're truly that worried about future proofing, your best bet is with an i7 if you're so worried about cores. That being said, if all you plan on doing is gaming, an i5 is all you'll need.

The 280x is noticably faster than a 770. A 670 is on par (a tad better) with the 760. You're comparing two cards in different performance ranges.

SSD is always preferred if you can afford it, if you can't, go with the 1TB drive.

And if you don't plan on playing on ultra, then you can get more than 5 years out of your system.

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
You can get a rig that has everything you need to have a good gaming experience for around $1300. Anything between $1300 and $2000 will be ideal, anything over $2000 is just overkill. I personally would suggest the i5-4670K and a GTX 770, that will handle anything you can throw at it.
 

enemy1g

Honorable
Generally Intel CPUs will run more efficiently, and will out perform it's AMD CPU counter-part. The saying goes, if you're on a budget, go with AMD, if you have the money, go with Intel. If you're truly that worried about future proofing, your best bet is with an i7 if you're so worried about cores. That being said, if all you plan on doing is gaming, an i5 is all you'll need.

The 280x is noticably faster than a 770. A 670 is on par (a tad better) with the 760. You're comparing two cards in different performance ranges.

SSD is always preferred if you can afford it, if you can't, go with the 1TB drive.

And if you don't plan on playing on ultra, then you can get more than 5 years out of your system.
 
Solution

Indlen

Honorable
Feb 1, 2014
1
0
10,510
I can run any game I have tried of full graphics (planetside 2, Skyrim etc...) and it was only £500
I have an 8-core AMD pile driver CPU ,16 GB of ram a radeon 6670 and haven't played anything it cant handle.