Where can I buy a great gaming PC or PC parts irl? i.e. Not online.

[sociologysoldier]

Greetings I am no computer genius, but I've been wanting to switch from console gaming to PC. The problem is I cannot buy one online and idk what to buy or where?

Let's say I have a budget of $3,500.

What do you guys reccomend?

I'd love to play games like the Witcher series, Crysis series, and Metro Last Light, but I currently only have a pretty average laptop. I'd love a gaming laptop, but I know a desktop is more affordable.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[Air]

Well, sorry to say, but online is probably your best bet. I've heard of a store called Micro Center, you could check its website[www.microcenter.com] to see if one is close to you. Best Buy can also have some parts in-store, however, the parts that they have in-store are very limited.

[sociologysoldier]

Air lähetti viestin:

Well, sorry to say, but online is probably your best bet. I've heard of a store called Micro Center, you could check its website[www.microcenter.com] to see if one is close to you. Best Buy can also have some parts in-store, however, the parts that they have in-store are very limited.

Thank you there is a Micro Center near me, but what should I look for in terms of specs? I always feel like the salesman will rip me off.

[Mindman]

you will waste more money going with a gaming laptop rather that desktop btw

but if you were to go desktop id say an i7/780TI etc with that budget

[presto668]

A good place to start is pcpartpicker.com. And you don't need $3500. If you spend more than $1000-1200 (not counting monitor) you're probably wasting your money.

[P-229Sig]

I have a 6 year old PC and it runs most games well. Video processing is key to any system.
Not the cards ram so much as its proceccor speed. So get a fast card and a good access speed harddrive even a solid state should be considere . Everything else wont matter as much. Thats my take.
Oh and make sure your powersupply is 650watt min so itcan support all your goodies.

[sociologysoldier]

Thanks for the help guys, I'm gonna try pcpartpicker.com

This might sound silly, but is there a difference between the Intel Core i7's?

Their's literally 28 different ones and I'm unsure which is better....

[sociologysoldier]

saltedweapon lähetti viestin:

I have a 6 year old PC and it runs most games well. Video processing is key to any system.
Not the cards ram so much as its proceccor speed. So get a fast card and a good access speed harddrive even a solid state should be considere . Everything else wont matter as much. Thats my take.
Oh and make sure your powersupply is 650watt min so itcan support all your goodies.

Thanks this is very helpful.

[presto668]

sociologysoldier lähetti viestin:

Thanks for the help guys, I'm gonna try pcpartpicker.com

This might sound silly, but is there a difference between the Intel Core i7's?

Their's literally 28 different ones and I'm unsure which is better....

The 'K' variations are better are overclocking (if you care about that); that's all I know for sure. Some of them use different sockets, some of them use a different fabrication technology, which affects power consumption, some of them are clocked faster or slower, etc.

[sociologysoldier]

So I seemed to have gone over budget: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/lotuswheel66/saved/87rmP6

What don't I need?

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Go here to compare Intel CPU models:
http://ark.intel.com

2nd & 3rd Gen require Socket 1155 motherboard
4th Gen require Socket 1150 motherboard

Intel CPU models starting with 39xx or 49xx are CPUs that require Socket 2011 motherboard

If you are searching online like PCPartPicker; enter "i7-4" into the search
http://pcpartpicker.com/search/?cc=us&q=i7-4
to easily find the available 4th Gen i7 CPUs, however PCPartPicker doesn't always work well in all regions so if that site alone doesn't find what you're looking for (like missing price, but U know it's available) search your local or other favorite online retailers directly from their site.

[_I_]

sociologysoldier lähetti viestin:

Thank you there is a Micro Center near me, but what should I look for in terms of specs? I always feel like the salesman will rip me off.

since you are near a microcenter, go there and talk to sales reps, give them your budget and see what they suggest for a gaming pc

[Joker]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WfpXYJ

Why can't you buy anything online? If you don't have or don't want to use a credit card then use Amazon gift cards and/or other prepaid cards.

[shiel]

Dead Pixel lähetti viestin:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WfpXYJ

Why can't you buy anything online? If you don't have or don't want to use a credit card then use Amazon gift cards and/or other prepaid cards.

+1 on this parts list. Personally I love my fractal r4 case over the one he has there but that's personal preference.

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/MHpXYJ

[sociologysoldier]

Rumpelcrutchskin lähetti viestin:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/MHpXYJ

I like that you changed the storage to a solid state drive like saltedweapon recommended.

I prefer Windows 7 to 8 for the OS though.

Dead Pixel lähetti viestin:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WfpXYJ

Why can't you buy anything online? If you don't have or don't want to use a credit card then use Amazon gift cards and/or other prepaid cards.

Honestly it's complicated, I do not want to get into it in this public setting.

I really like your list thanks, I think I might use yours with the solid state storage that Rumple picked out though.

I really appreciate the help everyone.