Purchasing a gaming desktop (prefer $800 or less)

[devcat]

So, I've been playing WoW for over 10 years and I've never had the luxury of playing it on a nice gaming desktop. It's always been on a laptop, a MacBook, or a shoddy desktop. I'm super excited that I'm going to be able to purchase one myself. It will be primarily for playing WoW, but also some Overwatch and a few other games (Monster Hunter World, PUB). I will also be using it for my college homework.

With that said, I'd like to be able to at least play WoW at 40+ FPS at high/ultra settings. I would love to be able to play Overwatch with good FPS too. But, this is primarily going to be for WoW and homework. I am able to spend about max $800 and if I could spend a bit less that'd be great, but I understand that's not usually feasible.

I am not really interested in building my own PC. I have some experience but I am just too worried things would go wrong and it would just be a big hassle for me. Thus, I am primarily interested in buying a pre-built PC.

If you have any suggestions for any desktops in my range that'd be great. I am not super knowledgeable about specs and hardware but I am learning.

Thanks!

[Chickat]

You are not going to find anything prebuilt that good. If you are willing to buy one and put a gpu in,maybe.

- - - Updated - - -

Best option imo is to buy something like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073YHNPC6..._t1_B071DM6TWM

And then buy monitor plus video card.

[Laqweeta]

With any prebuilt you’re going to pay a premium.

I ordered a PC from a much less known website, Ibuypower and Cyberpower have let money and following go to their head and produce much lower quality products as a result to meet demand.

The place I ordered from is FX Custom PC. They even threw in a free 1070 for me instead of a garbage AMD 580

1070
I5 7600K
256 GB SSD
16GB LPX ram @ 2400MHZ
2 TB HDD
Spec Alpha grey case
Water cooled
Super OC service for $50

$1899. Pcpartpicker has it around $1400. It’s not cheap shipping 34 pounds, so you figure an additional $500 for shipping and labor.
Overall I’m very pleased c:

[Pickynerd]

I don't know what country you're in, but sometimes amazon run a deal with cyberpower that sells a decent gaming pc for cost which is great for people who don't want anything to do with building.

https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-...JMR8W4WXS3T5F6

[Bryntrollian]

Something like this could suffice, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077S27YLP...oding=UTF8&me= right?

- - - Updated - - -

I don't know what country you're in, but sometimes amazon run a deal with cyberpower that sells a decent gaming pc for cost which is great for people who don't want anything to do with building.

https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-...JMR8W4WXS3T5F6

Hmm, that is actually a decent suggestion and a little better than the one I linked.

[Lathais]

Your best bet if you don't want to build yourself is still to buy the components yourself and find someone to put it together for you. If you do not know someone who will do it for a 6-pack of beer or something then you can usually find a local shop who will put it all together for a reasonable fee. Doing it this way, you still save money over a pre-built and you know you are getting good quality parts that match.

The biggest issue I have with pre-builts is that far too often they'll get a good deal on something like motherboards or PSUs for buying in bulk, so that's what they sell you, even if it is not really the best for your needs. It's what they have the highest profit margin on, so that's what they push.

[Pickynerd]

Your best bet if you don't want to build yourself is still to buy the components yourself and find someone to put it together for you. If you do not know someone who will do it for a 6-pack of beer or something then you can usually find a local shop who will put it all together for a reasonable fee. Doing it this way, you still save money over a pre-built and you know you are getting good quality parts that match.

The biggest issue I have with pre-builts is that far too often they'll get a good deal on something like motherboards or PSUs for buying in bulk, so that's what they sell you, even if it is not really the best for your needs. It's what they have the highest profit margin on, so that's what they push.

Problem with this, is that it is still a hassle to some people, they just want it, even if it costs a tad more for a little less.

I bought something like what I linked for my mother, all she does is her cooking recipes on it, doesn't even have the internet... She loves it! Point is, people want something better than what they had, and not have to dick around with specifics.

What you said goes in one ear, and out the other for like 90% of the population.

[Lathais]

Problem with this, is that it is still a hassle to some people, they just want it, even if it costs a tad more for a little less.

I bought something like what I linked for my mother, all she does is her cooking recipes on it, doesn't even have the internet... She loves it! Point is, people want something better than what they had, and not have to dick around with specifics.

What you said goes in one ear, and out the other for like 90% of the population.

For something like what your Mom is doing, I would totally recommend a pre-built. On those cheap office grade systems that are really just for running Word and checking e-mails, it's really hard to beat a Dell nowadays. Once gaming comes in to the picture though it changes things drastically. Sure, you can still buy a pre-built, but when you get a lopsided system(Strong GPU/Weak CPU or vice-versa) with a cheap motherboard or PSU that's gonna die just after the warranty, don't say you weren't warned.

I could really care less if they follow the advice or not, but I am not going to recommend a pre-built for gaming. Period.

[Notdev]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-Pavili...s-10/803136621

HP with an i5-7400, 8GB of ram, 1TB HDD, and a 3GB GTX 1060. $499 on the website, but it's actually $399 in most stores. Check nearby stores with https://brickseek.com/walmart-invent...?sku=803136621 and put in your zip code. 60% of my nearby walmarts have it in stock for $399.

- - - Updated - - -

For something like what your Mom is doing, I would totally recommend a pre-built. On those cheap office grade systems that are really just for running Word and checking e-mails, it's really hard to beat a Dell nowadays. Once gaming comes in to the picture though it changes things drastically. Sure, you can still buy a pre-built, but when you get a lopsided system(Strong GPU/Weak CPU or vice-versa) with a cheap motherboard or PSU that's gonna die just after the warranty, don't say you weren't warned.

I could really care less if they follow the advice or not, but I am not going to recommend a pre-built for gaming. Period.

There are rare cases, like the one I linked, where you just can't do better by building your own unless you get lucky with extreme sales. I have been building and selling PCs as a side job/hobby for a couple years, and occasionally I find a prebuilt PC deal that can't be beat.

Last year I found an i7-7700k/r9 390x/256gb ssd/16gb ram PC for $500. Another time I found a i5-6600k/gtx 1060 6gb/8gb ram PC for $400. Both were from fry's. More recently, I found a PC from Newegg that had an i7-7700/1080ti/16gb ram/512gb nvme ssd for $1300. I also know that I missed sales for ryzen/high end nvidia gpu PCs that were going for significantly lower prices than the sum of their components on newegg.

Its rare but it happens. Most of the time on inventory clearing sales. But I wouldn't say never. Deals like the HP from walmart are widely in stock and have been on sale for a while. It can't be beat for $400, and probably not even $500-$600 if you include the cost of windows/wifi/optical drives.

- - - Updated - - -

Something like this could suffice, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077S27YLP...oding=UTF8&me= right?

- - - Updated - - -



Hmm, that is actually a decent suggestion and a little better than the one I linked.

The HP you linked is $499 from walmart, and most walmart stores actually have it for $399 in store.

- - - Updated - - -

With any prebuilt you’re going to pay a premium.

I ordered a PC from a much less known website, Ibuypower and Cyberpower have let money and following go to their head and produce much lower quality products as a result to meet demand.

The place I ordered from is FX Custom PC. They even threw in a free 1070 for me instead of a garbage AMD 580

1070
I5 7600K
256 GB SSD
16GB LPX ram @ 2400MHZ
2 TB HDD
Spec Alpha grey case
Water cooled
Super OC service for $50

$1899. Pcpartpicker has it around $1400. It’s not cheap shipping 34 pounds, so you figure an additional $500 for shipping and labor.
Overall I’m very pleased c:

I'm sorry but you were robbed. I hope you're talking CAD at least. Micro Center sells a PC with the same GPU, CPU, faster RAM, and a bigger SSD for $1000 commonly. They also have solid tech support and warranty, and you can get a better warranty for little more. If you are happy with it more power to you, but your post just doesn't do much for the OP IMO. With that price tag, an i7 and 1080ti should have been the target.

[Blackmist]

Personally if I were building I'd go for something a bit like this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($199.89 @ B&H)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial - 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($87.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($139.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB GAMING Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill - SRM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($19.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair - VS 400W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $832.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-12-19 11:56 EST-0500

There may be savings to be made on parts of that, or places to spend an extra few bucks to get something better. But the combo of i5-8400 and GTX 1060 is pretty good, and will serve for many years of gaming.

If you wait a month or so (like I am), the cheaper motherboards should be out for that i5-8400, so you should be able to get the build under $800.

[Laqweeta]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-Pavili...s-10/803136621

HP with an i5-7400, 8GB of ram, 1TB HDD, and a 3GB GTX 1060. $499 on the website, but it's actually $399 in most stores. Check nearby stores with https://brickseek.com/walmart-invent...?sku=803136621 and put in your zip code. 60% of my nearby walmarts have it in stock for $399.

- - - Updated - - -



There are rare cases, like the one I linked, where you just can't do better by building your own unless you get lucky with extreme sales. I have been building and selling PCs as a side job/hobby for a couple years, and occasionally I find a prebuilt PC deal that can't be beat.

Last year I found an i7-7700k/r9 390x/256gb ssd/16gb ram PC for $500. Another time I found a i5-6600k/gtx 1060 6gb/8gb ram PC for $400. Both were from fry's. More recently, I found a PC from Newegg that had an i7-7700/1080ti/16gb ram/512gb nvme ssd for $1300. I also know that I missed sales for ryzen/high end nvidia gpu PCs that were going for significantly lower prices than the sum of their components on newegg.

Its rare but it happens. Most of the time on inventory clearing sales. But I wouldn't say never. Deals like the HP from walmart are widely in stock and have been on sale for a while. It can't be beat for $400, and probably not even $500-$600 if you include the cost of windows/wifi/optical drives.

- - - Updated - - -



The HP you linked is $499 from walmart, and most walmart stores actually have it for $399 in store.

- - - Updated - - -



I'm sorry but you were robbed. I hope you're talking CAD at least. Micro Center sells a PC with the same GPU, CPU, faster RAM, and a bigger SSD for $1000 commonly. They also have solid tech support and warranty, and you can get a better warranty for little more. If you are happy with it more power to you, but your post just doesn't do much for the OP IMO. With that price tag, an i7 and 1080ti should have been the target.

I forgot to leave out that I also have this PC financed through Klarna, instead of spending $1899 outright, I only have to pay $116 per month. That's probably the only reason I could care less about the price tag.