Gaming Performance

For the longest time I’ve wanted to start understand what does what so instead of buying a new 1200-1600$ desktop ever couple years I can instead upgrade the one I have.

If anyone is willing to take the time I would like to know what would be a decent gaming desktop to start with capable of running games like Second Life or Skyrim on full graphics without issues.

I would also like to know what components besides the graphics card determines how well a desktop can run a game.

 

First, you need to establish a budget. Are you saying $1600 is your tops? You can do a lot with that.

What are you bringing to the table? That is, do you already have a keyboard, mouse, speakers and/or monitor? Or must the budget cover those too.

If you want to build a computer you plan to "evolve" over the coming years, you must start with a quality case. A good mid-tower case will support full sized ATX motherboards, but also smaller µATX boards. A good case will also provide lots of cooling options, and have removable, washable air filters. A good case can be carried over through many builds for years to come.

As of late, I really like Fractal Design cases. They have great, but not flashy or fadish designs, great flexibility, solid and "true" construction, and great cooling options with great quality fans included. By "true", I mean precisely 90° bends in the sheet metals to ensure all four feet sit perfectly flat, panel fit properly, and everything mounts without undue stress on any mounting points.

Beyond that, the choice of graphics is obvious when it comes to many games. I say "many" because many games are more CPU intensive than GPU. Buy at least 8GB of RAM - though these days, I generally recommend 16GB for the best future proofing. It is generally best to buy all the RAM initially instead of planning to add more later. This ensures better compatibility.

When researching, look at the motherboard's QVLs on the motherboard's webpage. These are "qualified vendors lists" for CPUs and RAM the motherboard makers have certified are compatible with that specific board. You must buy a listed CPU to ensure compatibility. However, there are too many RAM makers and RAM models for motherboard makers to test them all. So you don't have to buy listed RAM but you should buy RAM with the same specs as listed RAM to ensure compatibility.

A SSD based system will provide the best over all performance and because there are no moving parts, have a longer life-expectancy than hard drives. Yes, they cost more up front - but consume less power and generate less heat and of course, offer better performance and NOT just boot and load times. Spread the costs over the coming years and the they are well worth it.

While a "gaming" motherboard does improve performance, you don't have to blow the budget on the motherboard. A decent mid-level board will do just fine. I prefer Gigabyte and ASUS but there are other quality board makers.

Last but certainly not the least important, do NOT try to trim the budget with a cheap power supply. Get a quality supply from a reputable maker - at least 80 PLUS Bronze, I recommend Gold. Wait to select your supply until after you have selected all your other components, then determine your power needs and select your supply. The only PSU calculator I use and recommend is the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator to determine your minimum and recommended power supply unit (PSU) requirements. I recommend setting Computer Utilization to 16 hours per day and CPU Utilization to 100%. These steps adjust for capacitor aging and ensure the supply has adequate head room for stress free (and perhaps quieter) operation. These steps also add a little buffer for unplanned future upgrades or added hardware demands.

Note that all PSU calculators pad the results a little to avoid recommending an underpowered supply. But, by far, the eXtreme Outer Vision PSU calculator is the most accurate because it is so flexible with so many input and utilization options. Plus (and this may be the most important factor) they have a group of researchers on staff constantly researching components for us.