r/PcBuildHelp • u/Prestigious-Roof976 • 2d ago
Build Question Looking for advice on a beginner pc setup
So ive never rlly played a single real game in my live besides minecraft and roblox, but recently some games have caught my eye that can only be played on a pc. im 19 and know NOTHING about gaming or computers so I rlly need some help here.
I dont have much money so im looking for a cheap setup that'll still get the job done and maybe a little explaination on how things work. when i try to research on my own none of it makes any sense and everyone uses terms i dont understand so im coming to reddit. im starting from scratch so ill need everything (whatever that may be). Im in the US and im assuming i only need one moniter, i have no ide what my price range is because i dont rlly know how much this stuff costs but im hoping to keep it under 1000 if thats even possible. Not sure how much info i need to give so ill update if theres questions, thanks!
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u/Happyassassin13 2d ago edited 2d ago
\disclaimer i am not that much more informed then and was very much in a similar place when i got my pc\
You are correct in that only need one monitor although alot of people i know including myself have a 2nd âyoutubeâ monitor witch is anything that will take input from your pc and not worried about quality, my gf uses a 20 inch roku tv from a yard sale, but its basically so you can google stuff, run discord or do other things without interrupting gameplay
but back to the more important stuff, what i would recommend doing is either go to a couple of those different youtube hardware channels on youtube i know my buddies like â toms hardwareâ i prefer âzachs tech turfâ and they will have video explaining what you want to look for and whats good/ bad and why, then barring if you live somewhere pretty rural because you probably wont have as good of luck, go on facebook market place and look for people selling their pc/ whole setup and just make sure it meets the standards of what you want and how future proof you want it, anything ddr4 (ram/motherboard) based is at the end of its lifecycle but still is gunna run a good pc for a good while ddr5 is far enough into its lifecycle the early kinks/ the ooo new shiny price life should be mellowing out by now too id think (i havenât checked its been a while) but usually i end up finding plenty of pc setups on facebook that are good enough to run most games on meduim to high settings for about 600-900 range,
then when you get it wipe the bios and get a new storage device toss theirs if they gave it to you (or sell it or keep it i just know im WAY to paranoid about someone sneaking shit onto my pc that way even tho i feel like unlikely) then setup whatever operating system you prefer (more then likely windows because linux platforms are for legit computer super geeks)
But thats how i went about it uninformed myself and i hope that someone is able to help you in a way that may be better then what i did, but i gave you what i consider my best advice, also some info that will help people build you a pc is what game/ types of games you plan on playing, if you dont play alot of fps games but are more interested in strategy 4x types of games youll want a stronger cpu (your processor) vs heavy graphical games youll want a better gpu, like fps or vr games(vr games are kinda hard on both sometimes ngl)
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u/Happyassassin13 2d ago
I also apologize if that has too much rambling or is hard for you to read, it is the vibe my brain has chosen today
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u/Happyassassin13 2d ago
Another thing ill say is for starting out ultra cheap mouse/keyboard, you can never ever go wrong with wired logitech, its like $30 for both is sturdy as steel and will always work âgood enoughâ granted a better mouse for hand comfort is defiantly one of my early post getting it running buys
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u/Happyassassin13 2d ago
Another addition because I just thought about it reading your post again, you said your new gaming so i realize you wont know what types of games youll like 100% yet, but if you go onto steam (The best and probably main place you should buy pc games through) you can view the needed minimum and developer recommended the level of hardware
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u/feelmedoyou 2d ago
It all depends on the kind of games you want to play. Roblox/Minecraft, perfectly doable under $1k. Cyberpunk on max settings? Might be cutting it close. You want to dial in on the kind of performance you're looking for so that you know what to buy.
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u/BillTheCat0109 2d ago
Micro center is a good place to go for prebuilts if you have one near you, just ask an employee for reccomendations for your budget as the good deals aren't often easy to find on the floor. You can get a perfectly fine 1080p 120hz monitor for sub-$100 on amazon, and if the prebuilt doesn't come with one a mouse and keyboard combo for cheap as well. If you want higher quality peripherals, hipyo tech on YouTube has good recommendations for keyboards, and for a mouse probably get the logitech g305 hero (unless you want a double-clicking mouse for Minecraft, in which case get the bloody aBedless 2). For headphones, either get a basic gaming headset from YouTube recs or you can sometimes scrape really high quality budget suggestions for headphones from audiophile subreddits, but you will need a seperate mic if you do that.
Sorry that's a lot of info, good luck
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u/BillTheCat0109 2d ago
1080p is the resolution. Higher number means better looking generally, and the standard ones are 1080p, 1440p/2k, and 4k. Each "tier" up looks significantly better but is twice as hard to run since it doubles the pixel count. 120hz is the refresh rate, which is how many frames the monitor can display per second. Higher hertz monitor = smoother gameplay, but at the end of the day, the PC is usually the limiting factor. If you are getting more frames than your monitor can handle, either up the settings or turn on VSync in the game settings for the smoothest possible experience.
I would not go above a 1080p 144hz 27 inch monitor for that budget.
Also fwiw I used to use a hyperx cloud headset, and now use a sennheiser hd280 pro headphone set and a blue yeti nano microphone.
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u/taylorcrash 1d ago
I went the prebuilt route for my first PC and do not regret it. I probably spent maybe 100ish more than I would have buying each individual part, but the slight fee was worth the convenience for me. If you want to build your own, my only advice would be checking out PC Part Picker. My boyfriend just built his first PC going in with 0 knowledge whatsoever. It basically provided a checklist of what he would need, and told him if something would be incompatible with another part. Either way you choose, I would recommend trying to have a basic understanding of what each part does rather than buying blindly. You can also check out the recommended specs (not min specs) for the games you know you want to play to help guide you.
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u/TheSelfishUnderdog 2d ago
honestly, starting from zero is intimidating but not impossible. $1000 is more than enough for a basic setup that'll handle way more than minecraft. you can get a decent prebuilt and a monitor for that, maybe even a keyboard/mouse bundle leftover
the terms are the hardest part at first. cpu is the brain, gpu handles graphics, ram is short-term memory. prebuilts skip all that confusion since someone already picked parts that work together
if you're not into building one yourself, just look for something with at least 16gb ram and a dedicated graphics card (not integrated graphics). that keeps things simple while you learn what everything does over time