Computer to Play FPS Games

[Honey Nut]

So I've been playing mostly Tf2 on my Macbook Air for the past 4-5 years, and the quality of frames and resolution has been on the decline since the start. I'm now playing Tf2 at 30-40 frames on the lowest settings possible, which means it's time for a new computer! If any of you have a computer you think is best for playing Tf2 or any FPS game, please let me know!

P.S. To the people that really know computers: Is a Macbook Air decent for gaming, or any Apple computer?

[Arya]

Apple are a terrible choice for gaming, for a couple of major reasons. Apple are generally bad value-for-money compared to PC. And they're harder to fix, harder to upgrade, and suffer from compatibility problems with almost anything. Including many of the games you'd want to play.

The main thing you need to understand about PC, is that PC is modular. Instead of buying "a computer" you're buying a constellation of parts, all of which can be swapped and changed like gear in an RPG. And that's both the biggest advantage PC has, and the reason it's so bamboozling for newcomers.

As a PC ages, you can replace obsolete or broken parts for much less than the cost of a new machine. You can also reconfigure it if you need to, and have access to performance parts Apple users can only dream of.

The only hard part is learning how to configure a build. And that's something you only have to learn once. PC gamers generally buy a PC as parts and built it themselves - I don't recommend you start with that. Instead I'd recommend watching some Youtube videos for beginners, and then buying from NZXT's BLD service. BLD will make a PC to your specs, and it's good value for money. They're pretty-much the best PC you can get at the moment.

You *can* buy complete builds from the likes of Walmart, but they're awful value for money and often use substandard parts. A recent review of a Walmart PC by Gamer's Nexus found an almost dangerously bad Power Supply that risks catching fire. Commisioning really is the way to go.

[Honey Nut]

Postat inițial de Wolfey:

Apple are a terrible choice for gaming, for a couple of major reasons. Apple are generally bad value-for-money compared to PC. And they're harder to fix, harder to upgrade, and suffer from compatibility problems with almost anything. Including many of the games you'd want to play.

The main thing you need to understand about PC, is that PC is modular. Instead of buying "a computer" you're buying a constellation of parts, all of which can be swapped and changed like gear in an RPG. And that's both the biggest advantage PC has, and the reason it's so bamboozling for newcomers.

As a PC ages, you can replace obsolete or broken parts for much less than the cost of a new machine. You can also reconfigure it if you need to, and have access to performance parts Apple users can only dream of.

The only hard part is learning how to configure a build. And that's something you only have to learn once. PC gamers generally buy a PC as parts and built it themselves - I don't recommend you start with that. Instead I'd recommend watching some Youtube videos for beginners, and then buying from NZXT's BLD service. BLD will make a PC to your specs, and it's good value for money. They're pretty-much the best PC you can get at the moment.

You *can* buy complete builds from the likes of Walmart, but they're awful value for money and often use substandard parts. A recent review of a Walmart PC by Gamer's Nexus found an almost dangerously bad Power Supply that risks catching fire. Commisioning really is the way to go.

Thanks for the help

[[wan-clan.org] Gordy Freeman]

Yeah, NZXT case with a good quality ASRock or Gigabyte motherboard is the best starting point for most people.

Add in a good Seasonic PSU and the rest...

Only a handful of Apple models are good for gaming, namely the high end iMac 🖥 Pro and the 15 inch CTO MacBook 💻 Pro with a Vega 20 graphics chip.

If you’re he’ll bent on not using Windows then consider a Hackintosh Computer, as you already have a license for macOS.

[Arya]

Postat inițial de WAN Gordy Freeman:

Yeah, NZXT case with a good quality ASRock or Gigabyte motherboard is the best starting point for most people.

Add in a good Seasonic PSU and the rest...

Aren't Asrock infamous for their PCI-E slots literally falling off?

[[wan-clan.org] Gordy Freeman]

Postat inițial de Wolfey:

Postat inițial de WAN Gordy Freeman:

Yeah, NZXT case with a good quality ASRock or Gigabyte motherboard is the best starting point for most people.

Add in a good Seasonic PSU and the rest...

Aren't Asrock infamous for their PCI-E slots literally falling off?

Nope... they reinforce their PCIe slots.

[Arya]

Postat inițial de WAN Gordy Freeman:

Nope... they reinforce their PCIe slots.

I've always been warned away from them. By Tacoshy, even by my local PC parts store. The only time I've had a store clerk talk me out of a purchase was when I went to buy an Asrock board a couple of years ago.

[r.linder]

The best way to get a good gaming PC is to build one yourself, even if its your first time.

This build[ca.pcpartpicker.com] is still cheaper than an Apple PC, but would look better and completely demolish it.

[Arya]

Postat inițial de Escorve:

The best way to get a good gaming PC is to build one yourself, even if its your first time.

This build[ca.pcpartpicker.com] is still cheaper than an Apple PC, but would look better and completely demolish it.

A Ryzen build would offer better performance for your dollar, especially if you deleted the Windows licence and re-invested the $180 in a better CPU.

[xrodney]

I would not go bellow 650W psu, 550w might not be enough if he decide to upgrade later on.
Also would maybe rather consider RX 580/590 over GTX 1060, Its faster, cheaper and can use freesync.

[InfinityJosh]

Budget?

For FPS games like TF2, CS:GO, DOOM 4 or Overwatch a $500 PC will be enough for 1080p ultra 60 fps.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cWWMKB

[Arya]

Postat inițial de Infinity Josh:

Budget?

For FPS games like TF2, CS:GO, DOOM 4 or Overwatch a $500 PC will be enough for 1080p ultra 60 fps.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cWWMKB

Doom 4, Ultra, for $500? I can't see that happening, not with the economy or the parts market as they are. You'd be lucky to have an APU for that budget, and an APU won't handle Doom 4 at Ultra. It'll barely handle it at Ultra-Low.

[InfinityJosh]

Postat inițial de Wolfey:

Postat inițial de Infinity Josh:

Budget?

For FPS games like TF2, CS:GO, DOOM 4 or Overwatch a $500 PC will be enough for 1080p ultra 60 fps.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cWWMKB

Doom 4, Ultra, for $500? I can't see that happening, not with the economy or the parts market as they are. You'd be lucky to have an APU for that budget, and an APU won't handle Doom 4 at Ultra. It'll barely handle it at Ultra-Low.

100% sure of what I'm saying.
A RX 570 4GB can run that game ultra always 80+ fps.

[Wichtelman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl6zx8JECCs

that would be around 200$ system and now imagine any upgrade from here...

[r.linder]

Postat inițial de Wolfey:

Postat inițial de Escorve:

The best way to get a good gaming PC is to build one yourself, even if its your first time.

This build[ca.pcpartpicker.com] is still cheaper than an Apple PC, but would look better and completely demolish it.

A Ryzen build would offer better performance for your dollar, especially if you deleted the Windows licence and re-invested the $180 in a better CPU.

Ryzen isn't always better, it depends on what kind of user you are. If you're just wanting to play some games and nothing else, you're better off going on the Intel side because their better CPUs like the i5-8600K blow AMD equivalents out of the park for slightly more cost. Ryzen more or less appeals to people who actually need that multi-core performance. (AMD enthusiasts, streamers, content creators, etc.)

The pricing would actually come to be about the same when you consider the cost of a B450 board that matches the one in the i5 build, the extra cost of faster RAM required, with everything else being identical to the i5 system I linked.

The i5-8400 still outperforms the R5 2600 in real-world gaming applications when the latter isn't overclocked, and that's the only achilles heel with the i5-8400.
If they decided to get an i5-8600K, it would be considerably better for gaming alone than the Ryzen 5 lineup and the cost difference would still be around 50 or so USD, and that's with the 14nm shortage.