I am looking for some help and advice. I have always been a console gamer using PlayStation and Nintendo systems; however, over the past year i have been considering getting a gaming PC. I have been conflicted some due to the cost and whether I would stick with it. I can afford one, My biggest concert is that I spend a few thousand dollars, and then don't use it that much.

The main reasons I am considering one.

• More game options. Especially, now that MS has bought Bethesda and other studios.
• Better graphics
• Sometimes inventory management in some games seem easier on PC than consoles. In some games it annoys me a lot, and then it causes me to move onto other games. Like POE and Baldur's Gate 3.
• I would like to try some MMO's and other games that would be easier to play on PC than console.
• I'd have something other than an iPad.

As I stated, the only reason is whether I will get my money out of it. I do like being able to just chill on the couch in my living room (no kids, SO, or roommates) with my 65 inch Sony QD-OLED and surround sound system. The computer would go in my home office where I work most days. I really don't want to spend that much time in that one room for work and relaxation. However, it may be worth it.

The only other concern I have is that I have never played any games with a mouse and keyboard. The last time I had a desktop was when I was finishing up college and a few years after. That has been about 25 yrs ago, and I only used it for school work and surfing the web.

Even if I decide to go with a PC, then there is the issue of getting one. I thought about getting a pre-build from StarForge Systems. However, I could save some money building my own. I did build a few systems during a part time job I had in college. That was 25 yrs or so ago. Also, I didn't pick the parts or setup the BIOS or anything more than putting the parts into the case. That is the easy part out of all of this.

I know I want to be able to play games in 4K, but I don't need a RTX 4090. For work at home I have a Samsung monitor model LU32R590CWNXZA and very cheap secondary monitor. I don't how good the Samsung is compared to others. I got it free through a free rewards system at work. Maybe get a better one than that, and use the Samsung as a secondary. The mouse and keyboard are as cheap as you can get. The laptop I use for work is the one the job provides.

Any advice or help would be appreciated. Anything else I should be considering?

I don't have the depth of expertise on parts others here can give you (I typically use https://pcpartpicker.com/ and https://www.tomshardware.com/ to do the heavy lifting there), but for something that may help alleviate some of your concerns: PCs will take gamepads (Playstation or Xbox) and graphics cards these days have HDMI connectors that you can plug directly into your TV. So there are a lot of ways that you can have your cake and eat it too when it comes to choosing a gaming PC over a console. I personally have a wired 360 controller that I still use for many games, particularly third person games or anything that has vehicles.

For consideration:

You can cast your Xbox games to your PC. Have done this many times and it's beneficial if you share your console with the primary tv in the house. You can turn on Xbox in the background and your other half can still watch tv while you cast game to your pc.

Most pc games have controller option. KBM is really only a thing for hard core strategy or point and click games at this point.

Just get a gaming laptop and connect via HDMI to your TV, then use an xbox or PS controller to play.

Overtime, a tower is the best bang for your buck, but maybe start with a mid-range laptop before going all out?

Xbox series X is the easiest path, especially if you prefer console gaming.

Even if I didn't game I couldn't imagine going through life without a full PC with keyboard and mouse. Just buy one. Use it for gaming and everything else...you'll find a use for it.

DallasTeleAg said:

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Just get a gaming laptop and connect via HDMI to your TV, then use an xbox or PS controller to play.

Overtime, a tower is the best bang for your buck, but maybe start with a mid-range laptop before going all out?

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Also a good idea and I'm a dumbass for not having done this myself. I'm at the point where I need to upgrade my Xbox One because the new games won't play on it. Was about to pull trigger on Xbox Series X when I don't need to...

I have an Alienware gaming laptop I no longer really use with much more recent components that could simply replace my Xbox One and should get me by another two years or so.

Depending on how you game, PC can be cheap. The upfront costs can be big but then you upgrade here and there. The components that stay with you the longest are the power supply, monitor, mouse, speakers, keyboard, case, and hard drives. I only do 1080p gaming so I'm using a second hand NVIDIA 1080. Within 10 years I upgraded the motherboard, processor, and graphics card. Added a nvme SSD. 4K and ray tracing aren't a big deal to me, it's just being able to play the games. Also Xbox requires all its new games to be on the SSD in which I run out of space. Their proprietary SSD is expensive. PS5 allows NVME but most games released still work on HDD on PC. Slow loading times but I don't care.

Online Game stores are competitive so you get better deals than the walled gardens. Theres no online gaming subscription. Your games last decades and now go anywhere with pc handhelds.

I've had a lot of different consoles, but strongly prefer PC gaming. As others have stated, you can still use a controller on PC for most games.

I bought an ibuypower PC that was on sale at BestBuy and used it until my kid needed (wanted) a decent PC. I passed mine on to them and built my own.

The ibuypower PC was really well priced for the specs at the time and still has plenty of life left in the original components (bought it about 4 years ago).

Thanks for the advice. I have decided that I am going to take the plunge in building my own. Here is the list I made on PC Part Picker:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/qW2q7R

If anyone has any thoughts on this please let me know. I am also thinking about going with the 4080 super instead since those are going to start at $1000 next week. I could save the $800 there. Any thoughts? I do really like great graphics.

Nice. You are very good. If you need help, just ask for it.

I would go with the AMD 7800x3d/deepcool ak620 cooler. Same to slightly better performance vs the 14900k and you save about $250. Stick with the 4090 though. Buy once cry once.

I have my parts all ordered. When it comes to buying Windows i have seen some sites that sell keys. I am guessing those are shady and scams. Is there anything out there legit besides buying at full retail price?

I believe you can buy it for like $10 on Microsoft's website if you use your own USB drive.

I have my PC connected to my big TV and just have mouse/keyboard or PS4 controller or steering wheel setup depending on what I'm playing. Lately has been mostly Project Cars 2 and Assassin's Creed Odyssey. I bought my last few computers through ibuypower.com and have no complaints at all with the quality and cost.

The biggest plus for PC gaming is getting to modify games and having a tons of flexibility with your set and modification.

During machine building and even after completing, there may be moments of frustration with configuring everything and configuring every game that you don't have on consoles. Every PC Gamer has been there. Once, I forgot to wire in the power switch from the case to the Mobo and spent like an hour wondering what the problem was and re-seated everything.

So reach out here or other places on the net, PC gamers are really good at walking you through optimal configs/setups/mods etc.

It is worth it.

If you're willing to drive to a microcenter, the bundle below is a phenomenal deal for $500. Not the best motherboard or ram, but it wouldn't bottleneck a 30 or 40 series GPU for a long time. AM5 has a decent upgrade path too since AMD is committed to support it for at least one more processor gen.

https://www.microcenter.com/product/5006641/amd-ryzen-7-7800x3d,-gigabyte-b650-gaming-x-ax-v2,-gskill-flare-x5-series-32gb-ddr5-6000-kit,-computer-build-bundle

So I put everything together, and the power supply won't turn on at all. I have tried different electrical sockets that i know work. I have tried a different power cable that i know works. I checked multiple times that i had the switch to on. A friend told me there should be a light on the PSU that lights up when it is plugged in and turned on. There is no light, there is no humming, no sound at all.

The PSU is : MSI A1000G PCIE5 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

Besides being a bad PSU, is there anything else that could be causing this to happen. If one of the cables isn't fully inserted will that cause it to not turn on for some safety reason? I probably should have tested it before i hooked everything up.

Any thoughts?

jfc that's a beast of a machine. Did you go with the 4090 or step it down a notch? Make sure you have some good case fans and planned airflow for the 14900k It's supposed to be a pretty hot CPU.

• When you plug the AC plug into the back of the PSU, do any lights on the motherboard come on briefly or is it completely dark? My Corsair power supply doesn't have any lights that I can see, so a dark PSU doesn't necessarily mean it's bad.
• Do you have the 24 pin (side) and both 8 pin (top) power connectors plugged into the motherboard?
• Double check the case button connectors. They can be easy to unplug or put in the wrong spot. If in doubt, carefully bridge the PS switch + and - with a screwdriver to jump the PC to eliminate bad wiring as a problem. Good videos on youtube if you search for it.
• After those basics, I would start removing things from the motherboard, starting with the GPU and all of it's power connectors to see if you can get anything on the motherboard to light up.
• If after all of that you still don't hear a click when you plug in the PSU, it may be DoA. Return it while you can and get a new one from this list https://cultists.network/140/psu-tier-list/

Microsoft is going third party so I think your game choices will be adequately met with just a PS5

That seems the most reasonable choice at this point