Help! Console gamer trying to convert to PC gaming!

TheSplitz15

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As the title suggests, i've basically been a console gamer my entire life. The last time I did PC gaming I completely incinerated the inside of my macbook pro. Now i'm looking to go a little more all out and get a high end gaming PC. Before anyone makes the suggestion, I AM NOT interested in building my own, i'm way too new to this and have little patience. Also i'm interested in OC'ing the CPU and GPU, which I wouldn't attempt myself. My budget is 4 thousand and I'm considering buying from DigitalStorm. MY GOAL: To play most games at ultra settings with FPS between 30-60 (preferably closer to 60fps). One last thing, I want a PC solely for gaming, I am not interested in any video or sound editing, I am not using it for any business. With those details out of the way here's some questions.

1.) What graphics card would be sufficient to achieve my goal? I'm leaning towards the Nvidia gtx 780 ti EVGA superclocked ACX cooler edition.
A.) Would SLI dual Nvidia gtx 780 ti EVGA superclocked ACX cooler edition be overkill?

2.) Which system memory should I use without it being overkill?
3.) Will any motherboard do, or is there a certain one you need if you're going for a high end gaming pc?

4.) I want to hook my PC to my really nice smart tv. I've been told its as simple as using an HDMI cable. Is it really that simple?

5.) What the heck is a RAID card? Does it have any concern regarding gaming.
6.) Wi-Fi or ethernet? if Wi-Fi is the Linksys WRT1900AC good? If ethernet, are there better ethernet cables?

7.) Probably a stupid question but is PC gaming really worth it? no PC fanboyism, if you're a serious gamer like myself, will PC gaming really blow me away, compared to an xbox 360 or a PS4?

8.) How much will a high end gaming PC run up the energy bill in my house?
9.) Should I wait for the steam machines as they're probably more user-friendly for a console gamer who is intimidated by the tech of PC gaming?

10.) This isn't really a question but if you have any suggestions on a superb build that fits my goal and is under 4 thousand please feel free to share.

Thanks for any help with any of these questions. Sorry if these questions are answered in other threads.
 
1.) What graphics card would be sufficient to achieve my goal? I'm leaning towards the Nvidia gtx 780 ti EVGA superclocked ACX cooler edition. A 780Ti would get you to 60fps on every game out.
A.) Would SLI dual Nvidia gtx 780 ti EVGA superclocked ACX cooler edition be overkill? Yes, it would. Save your money and just uprgrade from the 780ti in 3-4 years when it won't do 60fps on everything anymore.

2.) Which system memory should I use without it being overkill? Considering your budget, you would be fine with 16GB, it's overkill for now, but you will grow into it.

3.) Will any motherboard do, or is there a certain one you need if you're going for a high end gaming pc? If it is going to be overclocked, you should get a Z87 board if going intel.

4.) I want to hook my PC to my really nice smart tv. I've been told its as simple as using an HDMI cable. Is it really that simple? Yes, it is.

5.) What the heck is a RAID card? Does it have any concern regarding gaming. No, you won't need one unless you are running a bunch of hard drives (3 or more).
6.) Wi-Fi or ethernet? if Wi-Fi is the Linksys WRT1900AC good? If ethernet, are there better ethernet cables? Ethernet will be faster since it's a direct connection. But for Wifi, that linksys if great, but you will need a wireless card in your PC. Here is the one I have: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=33-704-133&IsVirtualParent=1

7.) Probably a stupid question but is PC gaming really worth it? no PC fanboyism, if you're a serious gamer like myself, will PC gaming really blow me away, compared to an xbox 360 or a PS4? Yes. Graphically, a PC game on medium settings is equivelent to a PS4. So on ultra, it really does look alot better. And of course, FPS games with a keyboard and mouse are a much better experience.

8.) How much will a high end gaming PC run up the energy bill in my house? Depends on your video cards and overclocking really. Run 4 780Ti's in SLI and you will notice. I didn't notice any bump with my system though.

9.) Should I wait for the steam machines as they're probably more user-friendly for a console gamer who is intimidated by the tech of PC gaming? I wouldn't. A full on PC with windows is just so much more flexible than a steam box and you will enjoy all of the little things such as minimizing a game to open a web browser and look up a guide for the game you are playing.

10.) This isn't really a question but if you have any suggestions on a superb build that fits my goal and is under 4 thousand please feel free to share. You can easily build a super high end system for way less than 4 grand. 2 grand will get you a system that will eat the most demanding games for lunch.


 
It's actually REALLY easy to build a computer, and it will save you alot of money. You should only need to spend around $1.5k on a computer system, anymore is just you trying to compensate for something. Just watch these 3 videos, it's REALLY THAT SIMPLE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxaVBsXEiok
They may be a couple years out of date on the parts they use, but putting a PC together hasn't actually changed since the start of the millennium, and the core concepts on what you want out of your parts hasn't changed either.
 

TheSplitz15

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Thanks for the answers! And James Mason I haven't totally ruled out building my own so thanks for the yt links. Although I will say the Aventum 2 (the lowest level 1 option) on digitalstorm has really caught my eye. It's 4,349 (349 hundred over my budget but I'm probably going with only 1 Nvidia gtx 780 ti EVGA superclocked ACX cooler edition, so that'll shave off a lot. If anyone has any further suggestions regarding PC gaming or the Aventum 2 please feel free to let me know. Thanks!
 
G

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1. You can't go wrong with GTX 780TI, but if you wish to save some money go with Radeon R9 290, It's a lot cheaper and almost as good. It will allow you to play almost every game at ultra and 60 fps. Comparison: =on&prod[6784]=on&prod[6783]=on]http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/charts/2014-vga-charts/compare,3596.html?prod[6793]=on&prod[6784]=on&prod[6783]=on
A.) Yeah, It's way more than enough.
2. Get 2x4GB (Not single 8Gb) and if you need it upgrade in the future to 16 gb, recommended brands: Kingston, Corsair, Goodram (they are not well known but they make good and reliable RAM's).
3. Yep, you need a good board, ASUS ROG series are one of the best.
4. Just make sure your graphics card has HDMI port.
5. RAID won't improve performance in games, if you want to know more here's an article: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/259807-32-raid
6. There won't be a gigantic difference but ethernet is a bit faster, don't get any extra ethernet cable (if there are any) there will be no visible difference.
7. Yeah, visuals will be better and if ypu get a decent PC you can emulate both PS4 anb XBOX One.
8. Not a lot unless you go with a total overkill, get a good PSU (Corsair, BeQuiet) that is rated 80+ to lower the consumption.
9. I wouldn't do this, I wish Valve the best with their project but honestly I think that Steam machines will be a fail.
10. Look at this website: http://www.originpc.com/ these guys make very good custom PCs, they aren't cheap but you will fit within the budget. They'll aslo OC GPU and CPU for you.
P.S.
If you are serious gamer I'd recomend you to get a gaming mouse and mouse pad. Probably best gaming mouse right now is Roccat Kone Pure, or mouse pad I'd go with Steelseries Qck, they're affordable and have aazing quality. Here's a article about gaming mice: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-gaming-mouse/ . Gaming keyboards are also important but they will have much less impact than gaming mouse so don't pay too much, I'm using Razer Arctosa (discontinued, unfortunately) and I'm very happy with it. You may also want good headphones, generally copanies specialized in gaming such as Razer or Roccat make bad headphone for big price, here are some good ones: HMC-631 - amazing quality for the price, Sennheiser PC 330 - awesome and not that pricey, Sennheiser PC 360 - bank breakers, but worth the price.
Best of luck with your PC.
 


That one is.... pretty insane retarded overkill for "converting from console to pc gaming." That's a "I've been pc gaming for a decade and now I'm going thru a mid-life pc gaming crisis and I need to show off my huge e-peen."

I think you should save yourself a lot of money and go with something like this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G43 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($125.81 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital VelociRaptor 450GB 3.5" 10000RPM Internal Hard Drive ($90.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital VelociRaptor 450GB 3.5" 10000RPM Internal Hard Drive ($90.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card ($379.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($145.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($287.58 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder 2013 Wired Optical Mouse ($51.99 @ Amazon)
Headphones: Corsair Vengeance 1500 v2 7.1 Channel Headset ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1983.26
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-20 21:27 EDT-0400)
 

TheSplitz15

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lol that's probably my biggest problem with pc's, i get a little OCD about this kinda stuff, I wanna go all out. I'm definitely toning it down and looking at a cheaper set. I'm still looking at digitalstorm but i'm looking at their cheaper sets and toning down the graphics card too. My friend said he has a Nvidia GT 650M and runs most things on max settings. If he's not exaggerating than yea the 780ti that I wanted to go with is probably way overkill especially for my first PC. Thanks for this build James, It's zoning in on a build more suitable for me. i'll keep this thread open if anyone has anymore suggestions or comments. Converting from a lifelong console gamer to a pc gamer takes a bit of time, but i'm getting there.
 
These days, you really don't need to SLI high end cards to max out; my 770 TI (factory OC'd) can basically max everything under the sun. CPU wise, the 4770k is king, though the 4670k is just fine if you want to save a few bucks. Really don't need more then 8GB RAM at this point either.

Aside from that, the rest is just preference, but I'd build the system something like this:
CPU: 4670k/4770k
Mobo: Z87 (Your preference)
GPU: 770 GTX or higher (280x, 780 Ti, etc)
RAM: 8GB (2x4GB; your brand preference)

Rest is just pudding.
 

TheSplitz15

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Thanks! I've been doing a ton of research. I came across elitegamingcomputers.com....really dumbs down pc gaming and explains it out. If all I need to spend is between 1-2 thousand for a high end pc that can run ultra settings with superb fps, i'm fine. I'll have to build it myself but I have friends and some family friends that can help me out. As long as elitegamingcomputers.com is a site to be trusted then i'm all good.

Thanks for all the help guys, and waking me up to that fact that building a pc is so much cheaper and you can even get better results.
 

alex01230

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1.) 780 Ti is a bit overkill itself right now, but if you want it then that is great! If you want to save a bit for games go for the GTX 760(or higher) or the R9 290(X version if you want, just higher clock speeds)
A.) Yes it is a bit overkill

2.)8GB is good enough, I would try to go for 1866 speeds. 16GB is as far as I would go and I would stick with 2 4GB models and then 2 8GB models for 16GB.
3.)I am not familiar with this, but as far as I know they just have to e compatible with your parts.

4.)Yes.

5.)No, I am not too familiar with this either but I think it has something to do with combining hard drives with other hard drives exactly alike to increase speeds (not concerning gaming)
6.)Ethernet if you can, but installing a Wireless Internal or External Card is good too since you don't have to be near your router/modem/ whatever you use. I don't know of that specific model.

7.) Oh yeah, it will really blow you away. All the options to configure, all the things you can finally do that was unavailable on console, it really gives you a new feeling of freedom.

8.) How much will a high end gaming PC run up the energy bill in my house? As much wattage the PSU is. Try to get at least 100 more Watts higher than what your build can take so you have room for improvement.
9.) If you want. It is just for games as far as I know and it doesn't matter if you choose something else over it or not.

10.)youtube Austin Evans 2500 or 3000 :D you might want to change some parts around though.
 

TheSplitz15

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Yea for some reason I'm just drawn to the 780ti, it just HAS to happen lol...Thanks for the answers, especially 7...thats probably the biggest question...is it all really worth it..is PC gaming really worth it...So when I hear people say yes it helps confirm it for me. The last thing I wanna do is get a nice high end pc and say.."ehh it looks a little bit better than an xbox 360"..I mean for a couple thousand or so i'm willing to spend I want to be blown away.
 

TheSplitz15

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Thanks for all the help to the people on this forum that kept urging me to build my own. I've ordered the parts via amazon and they're going to arrive soon. Plus my dad's friend is going to help me build it considering it's my first gaming rig. It's funny how at first I was so adamant about buying a prebuilt. Not only is building my own cheaper, it's going to give me more respect about pc gaming because I'm actually putting it together myself, plus more rewarding too. Thanks again guys!