PC Need advise for pc please

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Darkrift25

New member
Hey everyone so i have decided to jump on the pc wagon and finally get it. My wife and i are die hard 7 days to die fans for years on console and we are both going to get pcs to get going. This is really the only game that we will be getting and playing for the most part. I know there are a lot of people on here with pc knowledge to be able to steer us in the right direction. We really have no idea how to build one so we are most likely going to go in to a local store/online and purchase our setups. From what i have found im looking to around just for the tower plug and play im guessing both computers to run on good graphics (we are not really needing ultra settings im guessing?) I estimate roughly 3-5k for both? If you guys could post sites/links to what would be a good idea that would be amazing. Like i said we are not looking to play more than 7 days to die and like games. Thank you so much in advance have a great day!

 
Hello and welcome to the PC Master Race! (Note: I am a Console Heathen under cover up here, please don't tell anyone.)

I think SylenThunder is going to be one of your best sources of info; hopefully he chimes in here.

Edit - spoilerizing relatively unhelpful information from my original post.

For my part, my main PC (custom built a few years back) is an Intel Core i-7 37xx @3.4GHz, 32GB RAM, and a 4GB NVidia graphics card probably about 2018-era. Not a screamer in any way. The game runs just fine on that PC (not ultra settings though) including hosting a 2-player dedicated server on it at the same time.

And but so, if you're looking at current PCs I think similar specs with a newer CPU and newer graphics card are going to do you fine. I think any current Intel Core i5 or i7 CPU is going to be fine, 8GB RAM should be fine (but were it me I'd get 16GB; ram is cheap), and an NVidia card with at least 4GB (6GB better, 8GB awesome) on-board dedicated memory. Avoid any system that uses "shared" memory or "integrated" graphics. An SSD is great for fast boot, but the game runs just fine from a spinny disk.

Just as an example, Dell has specials going on older Alienware Aurora systems (note: I have never owned an Alienware PC and have no particular opinion about them positive or negative).

Intel Core i7-9700

16GB DDR4 RAM

NVidia GTX1660 6GB video card

512GiB SSD

$1,232

A PC with those specs should be plenty for 7D2D and any other modern game. For what it's worth, a "Dell Gaming PC" with very similar specs (smaller SSD, but 1TB HD included, 1660Ti graphics) is only $1012.

If you want to save budget, you could look for deals with Core i5 or older Core i7-7xxx or i7-8xxx CPUs and NVidia cards a year or two behind the New Hotness.

Monitors are where the price really gets variable. Basic 27" flat monitor or 49" ultra-high aspect HDR monstrosity?

 
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Yeah, that Alienware system is a good deal, though I would get a larger hard drive for it. 512GB is just barely enough to hold two major games now. I'd recommend a minimum of 1TB, and possibly a second drive. 16GB RAM is your bottom. Don't go below that. And honestly, you're kicking yourself in the ass if you go below 6GB in VRAM. More and more you're going to find that 4GB VRAM isn't going to cut it, and you don't want the system to be obsolete less than a year after purchase.

The only issues I have with Dell Alienware is their lack of any kind of support, and that they load the system with unnecessary bloatware. (Seriously, Dell support is one of the absolute worst in the industry. Worse than HP even.)

If you're getting a laptop, stay away from the i7-6400, 7700, and 8700 variants. There are probably more, but the experience I've had with these show that they perform extremely poorly under high CPU load.

If I were going to just buy a pre-built system, this one is along the lines of what I would get.

https://www.amazon.com/CyberpowerPC-Supreme-i7-9700K-GeForce-SLC8260A2/dp/B07VFFCQ6L

i7-9700K 3.6GHz

16GB DDR4

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8GB

1TB PCI-E NVMe SSD

Price: $1359.99

Not only is it a good base system, but it's also easily up-gradable and will last a long time. It would even overclock pretty easily.

 
Stay away from Alienware or you will regret it trust me. They have the worst customer service on the planet. Avoid future problems by going with anyone but Alienware/Dell. I strongely, with all my heart advise not to every waste money on alienware due to how they treat there customers when they have any issues! I have a hatred for that company that runs deep. I had to drag them to court and get my lawyers involved in order to force them to make things right. Thats all the advice I have. :/

 
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Look for a motherboard that have 4 memory slots. Currently I'm playing with the darkness falls mod and it chews up on my 16GB memory like it's the most natural thing in the world.

More memory slots = more option for cheap upgrade.

 
Glad people with Alienware experience chimed in; I've always built my own systems so I really know nothing about them. Were they any good before Dell bought them out?

I chuckle at a clear door, LED-bedazzled, liquid-cooled rig called a "good base system". We console heathens are not srs about our PCs, I think. Piano black case and no LEDs please! :-)

/liquid cooling is pretty cool tho

 
Glad people with Alienware experience chimed in; I've always built my own systems so I really know nothing about them. Were they any good before Dell bought them out?<snip>
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Yeah they were a solid company before dell got involved, from what I was told at least. The first time in my life I decided to buy a computer instead of building one and it ended in a lot of frustration....in the end though They lost so lol.... All they had to do is speak to me with respect and dignity and I never would have taken action against them. I would have cut my losses and gone and replaced the part myself. Dell....lol....what a joke they are..

 
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I think SylenThunder is going to be one of your best sources of info; hopefully he chimes in here.
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What am I, chop liver? :p

I understand you want a pre-build and listed a budget though I have no idea what currency you have so I'll keep the info general.

AMD Ryzen builds are much cheaper than Intel and directly competes with their top of the line CPUs in every way... so if you can find something Ryzen based, you're off to a good start (Ryzen 5 2600x or 3600 recommended for most gamers). Anything beyond RTX 2060 / GTX 1660 series escalates the price substantially without much difference in FPS for this particular game (although I do still recommend the RTX 2070 Super if your budget allows for it). Try to avoid AMD graphics cards as they're more pain in the butt than they're worth right now. 16GB of ram is minimum these days (and for most ppl, really all you need for the next 3+ years). SSD / HDD sizes depend on individuals, but it's good to have both, so you can put your games and OS on the SSD and pretty much everything else on the HDD. Also, never buy a pre-build based on overall looks... instead, focus that attention to airflow since cases these days all have terrible airflow which would greatly throttle performance once hot inside.

Intel fanboys will continue to recommend them to ppl, but Youtube tech channels know better... and so do I.

JayzTwoCents

 
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What am I, chop liver? :p
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Well, based on your support for AMD, it is an open question, innit? ;-)

I keed I keed. ST is just the one that's always going on and on about CPU this and memory that and GPU on this other thing. OMG he was merciless towards us Xbox players.

But you seem nice. Bummer about the AMD thing though. I'M KIDDING.

Here's a specific example at Amazon that seems to fit the bill for a Ryzen starter kit. I know nothing about Centarus as a system builder.

 
I just wanted to throw in a link on top of those Fox provided.

Linus Tech Tips Forums. https://linustechtips.com/main/ Great place for tech/computer illiterate people that are looking for advice about buying/building a computer or anything tech related. One of the best and most helpful communities out there.

 
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I just wanted to throw in a link on top of those Fox provided.
Linus Tech Tips Forums. https://linustechtips.com/main/ Great place for tech/computer illiterate people looking for help. One of the best and most helpful communities out there.
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Agreed. That community is the reason I finally bought my very first smart phone (which to this day still hasn't officially released to any other country other than India as far as I'm aware... Samsung M30s)... amazing phone at an amazing price. I never would have known the existence of that phone without their help.

 
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I just wanted to throw in a link on top of those Fox provided.
Linus Tech Tips Forums. https://linustechtips.com/main/ Great place for tech/computer illiterate people looking for help. One of the best and most helpful communities out there. when looking for advice about buying/building a computer.
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Specifically for OP, this thread about gaming laptops in the $1000-2000 range might be interesting to follow. If a laptop is an option for them.

 
Intel fanboys will continue to recommend them to ppl, but Youtube tech channels know better... and so do I.
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I did try, but all the top listings were Intel

The only issue I have with AMD atm is the fact that most AMD pre-built systems are shipping with ♥♥♥♥ty RAM frequencies. I can't even tell you the number of people who I've been helping optimize their systems that had to go into the UEFI and set the RAM to something other than the lowest possible speed.

My next personal build is totally going to be AMD.

 
Wife and I were in the same boat. We each got an Acer nitro 5 laptops with the Nvidia cards, and the ssd drive, 879 each or so at Best Buy. Plays the game just fine.

 
I did try, but all the top listings were Intel
The only issue I have with AMD atm is the fact that most AMD pre-built systems are shipping with ♥♥♥♥ty RAM frequencies. I can't even tell you the number of people who I've been helping optimize their systems that had to go into the UEFI and set the RAM to something other than the lowest possible speed.

My next personal build is totally going to be AMD.
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Ya, I can agree with ram default settings being occasionally annoying, but if you use ram that is within the QVL of the motherboard, then it should default to the right speeds. Out of 4 Ryzen systems I built recently, 3 out of 4 defaulted correctly to the right speeds, the other one was cuz the ram was on sale and the client was on a very tight budget, so I had to manually set it. And I had to show him how to do it too cuz there's always that possibility of the bios resetting to defaults again which of course resets the ram speeds to lowest.

 
Specifically for OP, this thread about gaming laptops in the $1000-2000 range might be interesting to follow. If a laptop is an option for them.
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A laptop is always a compromise between mobility, power and price. You need to pay twice as much to get the same performance as a normal PC. A laptop can't ever be as good in dissipating the heat as a normal PC. So the laptops needs expensive hi-tech cooling to even get into a good performance range needed for current games. Either the CPU throttles down often or is a less powerful variant from the start.

If you don't need/want the mobility, don't buy a laptop for gaming.

 
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A laptop is always a compromise between mobility, power and price. You need to pay double the money to get the same performance as a normal PC. A laptop can't ever be as good in dissipating the heat as a normal PC. So the laptops needs expensive hi-tech cooling to even get into a performance range needed for current games. Either the CPU throttles down often or is a less powerful variant from the start.
If you don't need the mobility, don't buy a laptop for gaming.
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Agreed. Laptops = worst choice for gaming hardware

EDIT: worse, worst.... ahhh Don't you hate it when you think about a word to much and it no longer even sounds like a real word lol..

 
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Ok, here's two Ryzens
https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Computer-Desktop-Trace-PRO9600/dp/B07WJRGTGJ

Very similar to the first one I posted in overall specs.

And one with a cheaper GPU.

https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Computer-Desktop-ARCW-105A/dp/B07V7YQ2JS
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Great specs and decent prices... but how the hell do both those cases vent any heat at all? Our comes the drill I guess. Worst thing is these useless case designs are everywhere... nearly all of them are like this now. Do these case manufacturers not even care anymore?

 
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Great specs and decent prices... but how the hell do both those cases vent any heat at all? Our comes the drill I guess. Worst thing is these useless case designs are everywhere... nearly all of them are like this now. Do these case manufacturers not even care anymore?
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Well the first one has 120mm intake fans in the front. I'm not sure about the second one though.

 
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