Buying a good computer?

[IAdum 0]

Okay, I'm really wanting to play DayZ but at the minute don't have a good enough PC so I'm going to buy a new one, anyone know a good PC for around £1000?

I was thinking of an Apple iMac but I'm not really into computer mechanics etc..

[jurrasstoil (DayZ) 12]

Do you need everything, ie. a monitor, keyboard, mouse, sound as well?

A PC you have build your own or with your own components at least will net you a lot more power than buying an imac for the same money.

Edited August 31, 2012 by jurrasstoil

[SentientRobot 16]

First off, you want an Apple product... No.

For £1000 you can get a fairly decent computer, nothing too astounding but nothing terrible.

Mainly you want to look at Processor Power, RAM, and the graphics card.

You need to compare which is better where, and see what would be better overall for your experience.

[Knight2000 (DayZ) 35]

Building your own computer will always yield better results in terms of power and cost. If you dont know how to and dont know anybody that can give you a hand do some research on how to do it, there is tons of information on the net. Most people here will recommend you building a system with an I5 or an I7 processor with 6gb of ram and a Nvidia Gtx 560Ti, that setup will pretty much be a good start point to look to. If you can afford a higher tier video card by all means then like a Gtx 600 series.

Sorry if im being biased on the components but i'm an intel/nvidia kind of guy. You can always research Amd cpu/Ati video card combos too.

I hope this gives a little bit of insight.

Edited August 31, 2012 by Knight2000

[Mentize 21]

If you want to PM me i'll help you look around for parts or a pre-built computer if you don't want to build it.

Have recently built my own computer for around £1100 / $1750, have a decent knowledge of current-generation parts.

[Edit]

For my £1100ish budget i built the following pc, and im running DayZ with no lag maxed out on every setting (haven't checked FPS yet)

NZXT Phantom 410 Enthusiast Case

Intel i5 3570k @ 4.40GHz offset (Max temp 76celius under 100% load)

8GB RAM @ 2133Mhz 11-11-11-30

Corsair H60 CPU Heatsink

MSI Radeon HD 7850 @ 1000Mhz Core

Asus z77 Sabertooth Motherboard

60GB OCZ 3 Agility -Boot Drive

230GB HDD -Storage Drive

750W Corsair AX series PSU

Edited August 31, 2012 by Mentize

[willem1337 0]

Dont forget the ssd. It might be expensive in comparation to a hdd(storage wise) but the speed makes up for it. just get a good ssd in combination with a hdd

[decoman 45]

If building a computer, don't rush it. Read alot of reviews and try to understand why the various parts fit together (motherboard vs cabinet, cpu vs motherboard)

You will need:

Computer case, spacious, ok looks, has relevant features

Mainboard, form factor and features are important, must fit with the choice of cpu

Cpu, should be any modern quad core cpu

Cpu cooler/heatsink (how about a passive cooler?)

RAM sticks (probably cheap, important to get the correct ones) 8GB at least, 16 and 32 GB might not be a bad idea if it is cheap.

SSD drive (something from Intel)

HDD drive for storage

Power supply (something ok, read reviews)

Graphics card, preferably not the cheap budget option, something inbetween the best and the budget option. (I just ordered the Sapphire radeon 7950, 11196-01-40G, not 00 nor 02)

24" computer screen, with ok colors (read reviews beforehand)

Things to consider:

Computer fans inside a cabinet will make noise (air being moved), and you have the opportunity for making it pretty quiet, but some experience is required.

Be careful and don't break the components when fitting it all together.

OEM windows 7 is cheaper than regular versions, can't be transferred to other mainboards again.

Alot of graphics cards have non stock fans which should be good, for lower noise and improved cooling.

Have people review your shopping list/setup before buying anything.

Edited September 1, 2012 by Treehugger