I go to comp USA. Its right downthe road from my house and before I made the switch to a gaming laptop I built my own pc's. I would order parts froma variety of trusted places on the internet to keep costs down. But about 6 months ago I started a new career as a software consultant which has me living out of hotels alot so I traded in the desktop for a laptop and I have never been happier. Im running a G series ASUS the g74 to be exact.......itsa pretty awesome laptop with 3 gigs on the graphics card, 16gigs ram, and an i7 processor with urbo boost technology and full hd screen. Pretty cool little machine the suits my life!

What we need is your precise location and money amount you have in use, your current computer specs as much in detail as you can get ( so we know what u dont need ).

Also you should be clear on if you want a table top PC or laptop, dualscreen or some other details / hopes

Originally posted by Eluwien

What we need is your precise location and money amount you have in use, your current computer specs as much in detail as you can get ( so we know what u dont need ).

Also you should be clear on if you want a table top PC or laptop, dualscreen or some other details / hopes

^^This^^

We need more info to be able to help you.

If you do your research you can usually save a bunch of money by ordering the parts yourself.   Then just bring them to any computer repair place and they will slap it together for you.  Phone around and ask, you'll find somone who does it. 

Shouldn't be afraid to put it together yourself though. It's quite easy.  If you can put together a piece of furniture out of a box you can put together a PC.   There are a ton of step-by-step tutorials on YouTube. 

Originally posted by Tayah

Originally posted by Eluwien

What we need is your precise location and money amount you have in use, your current computer specs as much in detail as you can get ( so we know what u dont need ).

Also you should be clear on if you want a table top PC or laptop, dualscreen or some other details / hopes

^^This^^

We need more info to be able to help you.

Here is an older but valid video, it's like adult legos. Well worth it and a lot of fun.

How to build a gaming PC

Originally posted by strangepower

Here is an older but valid video, it's like adult legos. Well worth it and a lot of fun.

How to build a gaming PC

Originally posted by Belegmor

Originally posted by Tayah

Originally posted by Eluwien

What we need is your precise location and money amount you have in use, your current computer specs as much in detail as you can get ( so we know what u dont need ).

Also you should be clear on if you want a table top PC or laptop, dualscreen or some other details / hopes

^^This^^

We need more info to be able to help you.

 

Ok..thanks for all the help. I live in New York, and wouldlike the keep the total cost under $2k if possible. As for current specs, I have am Acer laptop that's about 4 years old that was purchased from Best Buy. (sorry, don't have te exact specs as I'm on vacation:)

While I can appreciate your input you some what missed the point of what was asked for.  I recommend you check out one of the MANY other threads available here in the hardware forums to get an idea of the type of information we would need to effectively help you out.  Off the bat it appears you need pretty much everything (computer/OS/monitor/mouse/keyboard) but don't worry, with a $2k budget that is all very doable and will still get your a damn good gaming machine.  Still there a number of options you should consider and those other threads should help you figure them out, then come back and ask again.

Originally posted by Belegmor

Originally posted by strangepower

Here is an older but valid video, it's like adult legos. Well worth it and a lot of fun.

How to build a gaming PC

 

Ok, so reading some posts and watching this video are telling me i might be better off trying the build, even if my tech-savyness is about -2on a 1-10 scale. If i do decide to go down this road, i think i can figure out the build specs looking at the other posts. But are there any specific tricks or certain things to be aware of if i DO decide to try my own/first build? Cheers!

It's all pretty straight forward, sorta like buying a flat pack desk. The only things i can think of offhand are; if you buy an aftermarket cooler make sure you google the installation before fitting it, some are easier to fit to the MOBO before it goes in the case but on the flip side some can block the holes for the motherboard mounts meaning you cant get in there to screw it to the case if the cooler is already fitted, especially the higher end larger coolers. You'll likely be buying an SSD, make sure you go into the BIOS before you install windows and change it to AHCI mode.

Before you buy anything make sure you post the full build so someone like Quizzical can look it over to make sure there are no incompatibilities or choices that don't make sense, if there are they will direct you to something more suitable. Better safe than sorry.

Suppose that you buy a prebuilt computer.  What would you do with it when it arrives at your house?  Would you have to hire someone to come over to your house and plug it in for you?  Or are you capable of plugging in power cords, a monitor, keyboarrd, mouse, and so forth yourself?

Also, do tell what's your budget?

EDIT: Updated a few areas that I forgot to mention, I was in hurry when I first wrote this sorry.

To get you started this is a basic list of parts you will need/want in order to build a computer.  With recommendations for you to consider.  If you choose your parts in the order which I have laid out here (storage however should come before PSU/chassis) it will be hard to go wrong as selecting parts in this order will allow you to ensure PSU and case are sufficient for everything else.

Computer Processing Unit (CPU): Intel or AMD.  If you were building a budget machine AMD would be the way to go, but with your listed budget I can only suggest Intel and more specifically their i5 series.  This will tend to run around a little over $200.  This comes with a stock CPU cooler and thermal compound, the cooler (addressed next) is usually not sufficient for most real gaming rigs but the thermal compound is generally fine unless you plan to OC and need the extra degree an aftermarket compound could provide.   Different generations have different sockets, such as LGA 1155 or 2011 for the current generation Intel Series, this is imporant to note as it must match the socket set of the motherboard.

CPU Cooler: For most gaming computer the stock coolers that come with the CPU just won't cut it.  Air cooling is what most people use and is generally all anyone needs, especially if you aren't very tech savvy.  Decent aftermarket CPU coolers can run  from $30 - $100, though the latter end of that spectrum is usually overkill for the price.

Motherboard (MB): This will be determined by your CPU.  If you decide to go Intel then I suggest a Z77 board.  There are a LOT of options here but for most users those in the $150-$200 will provide you more than enough specs.  As stated in the CPU section you will need to ensure your MB socket set matches your CPU otherwise they won't be compatible.

Random Access Memory (RAM): For a gaming system you should only need 8GB of RAM.  The current standard is DDR3 and most will recommend you don't go any higher than 1600mhz.  Prices here very a little but in most cases you should only need to spend around $40 for this.

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) or videocard: Yet another area where the options are split, this time between Nvidia or AMD.  This leaves a LOT of room to increase or decrease the overall price of your system and for gaming purposes will generally be the largest impack to performance.  For high end performance without getting into the extreme there a few options around the $400 price range that most consider the best bang for you buck (Nvidia GTX 670 or AMD HD7970).  Otherwise you have the option of spending between $130 - $600 for a single GPU.  Oh and not all GPU's are build the same so this is one you must do some research on.  You also have the option of running two GPU in conjuction (known as SLI or Xfire) but this is really only a "good" option if you can get a really great deal on two cards or the power of a single card high end card isn't good enough for you (mostly just bragging rights).  See my other post regarding multi-monitor setups (AMD tends to have better support for this).

Optical Drive: Usually a CD/DVD or in some cases Blueray player/burner that allows you to use that media.  Without one of these you will find it quite hard to do much with your system unless you are doing nothing but Cloud computing (all softward is downloaded through the internet) or you do everything via USB.

Power Supply Unit (PSU): This is what runs your system and could be considered the most important part to ensure you buy quality because a crappy PSU could cost you your entire system if something should go wrong.  That said it's also very easy to spend way beyond what you need so it's one of the items I tend to pick last in any build once I have determined my overall power consumption.  In almost all cases you can stick with 600-750 watt range PSU's which at least an 80 plus rating (bronze/silver/gold/platinum) and even with the most power hungry GPUs (these eat most of the PSU wattage) you will be ok in a single GPU setup.  Do your research, as with GPU's, not all PSU of the same wattage are build equally, and by that I mean down to the specific model, not a popular brand name (this is generally good advice for any part but specifically the PSU due to the aforementioned potential problems in choosing a poor PSU).  I'd also highly recommend a modular design for ease of use.

Chassis/Case: This one is personal preference more than anything else.  Cases span all shapes and sizes (form factors) and can go from the most basic to beyond elaborate features with specific builds in mind.  Just be sure whatever you pick all the aforementioned parts will fit without any hassle, especially the CPU Cooling/GPU/PSU.

Operating System (OS): Unless you are doing something out of the box, this will most likely be Windows, and currently Windows 7.  For almost all general uses the WIndows Home Premium is more than enough to meet their needs and the cost will run from around $90-$130 depending on which version you purchase (OEM or Retail).  The only difference is OEM doesn't offer the same support and can only be used on one system.  Retail gives full Microsoft support and allows you to transfer the OS to a "new" computer(s).

Storage:

Solid State Drive (SSD): In todays gaming computers this is generally your second best performance boost over the GPU (although the CPU does play an important role as well).  SSD's are typically refered to as the "Boot drive" because this is where you will want to install your operating system and any programs you access on a regular basis.  This is due to it's read/write speeds and how much they cut down on load times compared to traditional hard drives.  They are a lot more expensive per GB but most agree, it's well worth it.

Hard Disk Drive (HDD): This the traditional storage drive and prior to the release of SSD is where the operating system would have been installed (or will be if you don't have a SSD).  Pro's: HUGE storage capacity for very little money.  Con's: SLOW (compared to SSD) and suffers from moving disk which can increase noise levels.  Typically these are used in conjuction with a SSD as the main storage for the computer such as videos, music, or games/programs you don't play/use often enough to warrant taking up space on the SSD.

That about wraps up the basics.  With all those gathered/decided on you can begin putting together a working gaming computer.  This was only meant a beginners guide to parts, specifics can be offered/recommended by others.

A Decent PC: 8 gb ram, i5-2500 or 2500k, Geforce 560 Gt 1gb. with this hardware you can play pretty much anything out on high on 1080p and get 40-60 fps or higher depends on the game. An i7 is better IF your gonna be doing stuff like encoding videos and such, otherwise you won't really notice much of a diff between an i5 or an i7 in gaming, well other than the i7's price tag. I am gonna upgrade my i5-2500 to a i7-2600k once the price on that processor drops to something resonable.

Putting the pc together is virtually stupid-proof now a days, if a wire is not supposed to go there it just won't fit, because they are all shaped diffrently at the connector and the reciving thing. I reccomend windows 7 home edition for OS, you could go Ultimate edition but it really doesn't offer much over the home edition, well other than the fact it sucks up alot more resources for no apparent reason. If you wanna buy a prebuilt, I'd go with a gateway, mine is a gateway with the specs i mentioned in here, fully upgradable by the user with any componnent you want. Stay away from Dell and such if your smart. But yeah as someone mentioned making your own is best, only reason I got a gateway was because the pc was a gift, and the town I live in sucks balls for getting pc parts, and I lack a credit card so can't order either.

Originally posted by Belegmor
Quizz: Love your post...made me laugh at myself. No, i have enough savy (and man pride) to be able to hook everything up myself. :) From this i would gather you think that's enough to justify building my own, correct? Looks like i haveg some research to do...thanks all!!! 

Plugging something into a USB port outside of the case isn't any easier than plugging something into a SATA port inside the case.  Plugging something into an ethernet port outside the case isn't any easier than plugging something into a PCI Express slot inside the case.  Plugging something into a monitor port outside the case isn't any easier than plugging something into a memory slot inside the case.  The only steps to assembling a computer that are notably harder than plugging cords into a prebuilt are securing the motherboard (you need a screwdriver, and it can be convenient to have someone else hold it in place while you do the first few screws) and the processor heatsink.

The processor heatsink is a lot more forgiving than it might look at first.  If you have it rotated slightly, or off center slightly, that doesn't matter.  You just need to make sure it's held on securely before you power on the computer.  Incidentally, I think Intel's infernal push-pins are harder to deal with than the lever AMD uses to hold the processor heatsink in place.  Also, if you mess up the thermal paste, all that does is make the processor run a couple of degrees hotter than it would otherwise, so long as you don't either forget to use it entirely or else use so much that it squeezes out onto the motherboard.

So yes, I do think you should build your own.  If your problem is not knowing what parts to get, then you can get help with that here.  What's your budget, and what country do you live in?  (The country determines where you can buy parts.)  Also, what parts (if any) do you intend to reuse from an old computer.  It's common to reuse peripherals (motherboard, keyboard, mouse, speakers, surge protector), since those are easy to replace independent of everything else.

If I recall you said your budget is "less than $2k" which I will assume means you are willing to spend up to that amount to meet your needs but would prefer to spend if possible.  As I stated in my previous post this leaves a LOT of room to make various choices and still end up with a solid gaming machine.  One of the other options that $2k brings is Eyefinity if you are interested in it.  If you aren't sure what Eyefinity is a simple search will explain it in detail but it's basically running 3 monitors as 1.  For me it's the difference between a SSD and HDD.  If you have never experienced it personally you don't know what you are missing but once you do it's VERY hard to go back.  Just something to consider.

Dear OP

People have offered you now information about what pieces you absolutely require. There is few pointers to consider that were missing, probably because they're obvious for experienced user.

- You need "Thermal Compound". Its a paste that comes between your heat sink (fan) and CPU. It allows heat to transfer faster and easier and it makes the process of combining the two easier. Look at the link for how to do it and what to expect. Its not harder than using your daily vaseline on your personal equipment ;) It costs 5 bucks, quality/producer doesn't matter and you need half a tea spoon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7rPqCvCt0g

- You need to ensure that the power supply unit you buy has enough of the right kind of cables for the modules you are buying. Current day PSU has cables for SATA Harddrives / Optical Drives, Both AMD and Intel motherboards and for most of the grapic units. Do yourself a favor and buy Corsair or Cheiftec type PSU with minimum of 600w output. Anything less or any random model you may save 10$ but have to buy 20$ or more worth of adapters.

- You have to be absolutely certain that the motherboard you choose has the right kind of CPU slot. Intels/AMD require completely different motherboards, and each of them are built for certain type of their respectful processors. While you do the choosing make sure the motherboards has 4 slots for memory and that it supporst DDR3 up to 16000mhz. The earlier poster mentioned i5 and i7, he's right, at current games you dont see a difference that justifies 150$ price difference, but be noted that these 2 processors might not have the same processor slot, and you might not be able to upgrade from wrongly chosen i5 to i7.

- AMD Chose recently to go with processor units that combine several processing cores with graphical cores. This makes their latest models less appealing to your purposes as you do want a separate gaming purpose graphiac card and not pay for the integrated one basicalle meant for media units or laptops.

I suggest the following

Start from your processing unit. With your budget you should have no problem having a i7. It will last you longer and only increases total price for 7-10%

Start with:

Intel Core i7 LGA 2011 3,60GHz. This is not the "best" of the i7's, but with choosing this LGA2011 slot type and going for i7 model you allow yourself latest motherboard type and thus easy to upgrade future. i7's with model name starting with K are generally considered a notch better, and you might want to opt in for that or upgrade to that later.

http://ark.intel.com/products/63698/Intel-Core-i7-3820-Processor-%2810M-Cache-3_60-GHz%29?wapkw=3820

+Thermal compound + Cooler

Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 model mother board. LGA2011 Processor slot for i7, supports DDR3. Gigabyte is renowned for quality and this particular one is above average on improvement and extension. Its also pretty.

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4050#ov

A-80 series Cheiftec modifieable power unit, you dont run out of cable choises with this.

http://www.chieftec.eu/en/psus/a-80-series/ctg-650c.html

Alternatively one of these, they are tad more expensive though for only limited gain on looks, none on performance

http://www.corsair.com/en/power-supply-units/gs-series-power-supply-units.html

Kingston or Corsair produced 4gb and 1600mhz memory units, 2 is good to start with. I would suggest staying away from other producers.

Any Nvidia Geforce GTX 550 with 1gb or more built in memory. Performance gain after this generation graphic cards is minimal and does not justify the extra 100$ or more. You might see already GTX 560 on similar price range, as long as you make sure its 1gb or more, it might be a worth it.

Western Digital harddrive 1 TB. Avoid Maxtor and Samsung, they are known to be slighly less reliable, depends on model but you aint a person to do the research so just put the extra 7$ to get that WD. Also its better for performance to have several 1tb, than one 2tb, one hard drive can only read and write at one at a time.

You need an optical drive, a DVD RW costs less than 20$

Slam it all into something like this chassis, but basically any ATX will do so choose on looks.

http://www.cmstorm.com/en/products/chassis/enforcer/

For monitor I suggest no larger than 28" but 24" will do. Prefer LG, BenQ and Samsung for quality and durability. Note that with all GTX Generation g-cards you can easily have 2.

Do your own choise on mouse & keyboard. It is worth paying more for gaming mouse. I have this and I'd say its a good piece

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3777#dl

Without the monitors, kb and mouse, the price tag of this is almost exactly 1000€, 1250$ and this is in Finland, so with your taxation system it should be 10-25% less. This hould give you an idea of what you can get with your money.

With this build you'll get over 90% of max performance with ALL current games and will survive at least up to 3 years. Your first upgrade or if you feel like there is room in the budget is to add an 150gb+ SDD drive and run your operating system + games from that, while using the SATA HDD's as storage. An SDD costs 200$ and upwards

I'll let one of the other regulars chime in but I do feel compelled to mention while some of the information offered by Eluwien is technically accurate a lot of it is his personal preference.  There is nothing wrong with having a preference, we all do, but that doesn't make it factual.  While certain companies are known for producing great products in specific areas that doesn't mean all generations of said products are winners.  This is why it's important to do a little research and by a little I mean a day or so of actual web surfing.  I don't know about you but when I decide to spend a couple grand or there abouts I like to make sure what I am paying for is quality, if that means taking the time to see what both professional reviewers (meaning those with proper stress testing equipment) and actual consumers (afterall synthetic tests only go so far) think then so be it.  The amount of time/money it could save (depending on the part/company a lemon could cause some serious headaches/damage) is well worth it.  But you don't have to go it alone as like with our previous posts, people here are more than willing to help out and point you in the right direction.  Here are a few trusted sites that offer both professional reviews and forums with consumer opinions:

http://www.tomshardware.com/

http://www.anandtech.com/

http://www.legitreviews.com/

http://www.techspot.com/

http://www.overclock.net/

And the list goes on and on.

Above poster is absolutely correct and links some of the reliable sources for reviews.

I hope the additional research task does not shun you away from building your own computer. Its worth it and you learn alot and appreciate your piece way more if you build it yourself.