I've never been one to play the typical shooters, Zelda type games, etc. I strictly own mx and supercross games with a few car games mixed in on ps4. That being said I've always wanted to play mx simulator and mx bikes but have never owned a pc that could run them.
I want to build a pc that will play mx sim, mx bikes , assetto corsa, and dirt rally 2 without going overkill but at the same time I don't want to sacrifice quality to save a dime. I also want to be able use my oculus quest 2 to try these games in vr using the pc. Can anyone recommend a good pc, or the parts needed to build one myself?
I just started college for cybersecurity and am taking Comp Tia A+, so starting to learn the hardware side but have no idea what is needed for gaming.
Thanks Kyle
https://pcpartpicker.com/ They have step by step builds with everything you need for your budget.
YouTube is your friend. Tons of build videos.
What's your budget?
My 2 cents...
As I'm sure you're aware VR generally takes some real horsepower otherwise it can be a pretty unpleasant experience. I've built a few over the yrs but am by no means an expert. Once out the loop and in need of a new PC (usually when the GPU is being significantly held back by the CPU and there's no upgrade path forward) I personally go looking at components on pcgamer and start researching from there. For instance: GPU: https://www.pcgamer.com/the-best-graphics-cards/ , CPU: https://www.pcgamer.com/best-cpu-for-gaming/ Just so you have an idea of what to search for from a baseline, what's current etc.
My last couple have been AMD based, the previous being an AM4 5600x CPU, 16gb ddr 4 ram, which is still a decent workhorse and probably more than enough for most - tbh I would've kept it but ended up giving it to my dad when his own PC gave up the ghost...
My current one is from AMD latest gen socket; AM5 7600x, with the newer ddr5 ram (completely unnecessary).
GPU side I'm running a 3060 ti.
With the exception of ray tracing, this set-up allows me to run pretty much everything very high etc at 1080p/1440p with a fairly stable 60 fps. RT is resource heavy but even on low can look amazing depending on the title. VR wise I only have an old rift but performance feels smooth, no problems with Half Life Alyx from the testing I've done. All in all a decent low to mid range system.
Most games are GPU dependent so you could go AM4 (though future proofing will be further limited) and spend more on the GPU side of things. The other major option is an intel based system.
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
I'd like to stay around 1500 but would go 2K if necessary.
I'm assuming this would be overkill, but it's what I came up with.
I am putting PSU at the top as it is one of the most overlooked but critical parts of a system. Many other components will come and go throughout the life of a PSU.... IF you choose wisely.
Power Supply - DO NOT SKIMP HERE. HARD pass on GameMax PSUs!!!!!!!!! Checkout PSU cultist for a good PSU reference. All Gamemax are F tier replace immediately - https://cultists.network/140/psu-tier-list/ Run from any article, person, video that recommends GameMax!!!
Crappy PSUs can kill systems!!
This is the heart of a system. CPU and GPUs are becoming MUCH more power hungry. There is nothing quite as frustrating as wanting to upgrade your GPU and having to rewire the entire system when you have to upgrade your Power Supply. I would look at 1200 watts or more honestly. Buy once cry once. I am partial to EVGA, Corsair and Thermaltake but there are many other great manufacturers out their. Don't get to wrapped up in efficiency. 80 PLUS Gold or better is good enough for me but you do you.
CPU - 5900x is an awesome processor. I have it in one of our rigs. It's great if you are utilizing it for multithreaded apps, rendering, encoding etc... There are much better options at the same price or less for gaming which won't typically benefit more cores past say 4-8(8-16 hyperthreaded) - MAKE SURE you pick the right RAM/MB/CPU combination. AMD vs Intel, DDR4 vs DDR5 etc.
Examples - Intel Core i5-13600K or AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-core. Both of those processors are better suited for gaming, typically.
Video Card(GPU) - Prioritize GPU over CPU. Most games are very heavily GPU limited when you get into higher resolutions, VR etc. AMD is best bang for the buck for sure. If you want more performance NVidia is the ticket, especially when playing games that use "newer" tech like ray tracing.
Value per FPS = AMD, but it's getting closer with price drops
Performance, features, better drivers(AMD has gotten better) = Nvidia
RAM - Not familiar with Teamgroup. DDR4 works just fine. DDR5 is more future proof. I am a G.Skill guy. Lots of good RAM. Get something reputable with decent timings and you should be good. I will say it again, MAKE SURE you pick the right RAM/MB/CPU combination. AMD vs Intel, DDR4 vs DDR5 etc.
Hard Drive - That's a big no for me dawg. SSD is where it's at unless you are storing lots of data at rest. Even then they can be less reliable as there are moving parts. That 5400RPM drive would be horrible for load times in games. If you are just storing word docs, pdfs etc... It would be workable. I say skip it.
SSD - I would put money towards standard 2.5" internal SSD drives. M.2 drives are faster but it has been proven by many that humans cannot reliably perceive the difference.
Example - SAMSUNG 870 QVO SATA III SSD 2TB 2.5"
Motherboard - I have the MSI Meg X570 Unify Motherboard for my 5900x. Great board. MSI, ASUS, Gigabyte and others make good MBs. I will say it again, MAKE SURE you pick the right RAM/MB/CPU combination. AMD vs Intel, DDR4 vs DDR5 etc.
Cases - Checkout Gamers Nexus on youtube. He has the best case tests I have ever seen. All price ranges - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL5uttjPWZE Pick your look and make sure it fits all components. Size matters here.
Things you may have missed
CPU Cooling - Air Vs Liquid
Air - Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE is awesome. Especially for the price. Noctua NH-D15 is still king of hill as far as I know. It cools better than many AIO coolers
Liquid/AIO - We are entering the rabbit hole.
Case Cooling - Noctua fans all day long. Get the correct size.
Do you already have peripherals? Mouse, Keyboard, Monitor etc.
What about Windows? If you want some features, for instance bitlocker, you will need to purchase a license.
LAST - watch some good videos on building a PC. Pauls Hardware, Linus Tech Tips, Gamers Nexus and many others. There are little details that matter. If you have 4 RAM slots and are installing 2 sticks it matters which slots you use. How you apply thermal paste to the CPU matters. So on and so forth. ALSO Read the F'ing Mother Board manual.
Some recommended Youtube Channels:
https://www.youtube.com/@paulshardware - Great place to start if new to building PCs.
https://www.youtube.com/@Jayztwocents
https://www.youtube.com/@GamersNexus - Very detailed product reviews.
https://www.youtube.com/@HardwareCanucks
https://www.youtube.com/@LinusTechTips - FYI LTT makes a hell of a nice screwdriver!!
I got my son a prebuilt CyberPowerPC. It has AMD and GEForce stuff in it(no idea what’s what, I just saw the names inside by all the cool lights). The following Christmas he got an HP Reverb VR and he says it runs the VR fine. He’s more in tune with that stuff than me and I’d hear about it if it was lagging or acting buggy. I’m more of a plug and play console dude. However if there’s MX VR games I might have to “ground” him from it.
Be careful with PC parts picker. Decent tool overall but doesn't take into account critical information. For instance, physical size of components.
Do not, and i repeat do not get a spinning HDD… theyre so slow..
You could take the build and get the SSD (solid state drive) and be lightyears faster.. just use the M2 for everything unless you need more space.
another note, that Ram is suspect. Stick to big dawg name brands for ram.
lastly the power supply, id recommend: seasonic
for quality and reliability.
i will build you an alternative pc..
I can tell you clearly know what you're doing when it comes to PC's. Thank you so much for the detailed post, I'm having to google terms you mentioned as I'm still so new to this world, I don't yet speak the language thoroughly. I found a pc/sim setup close to me on fb marketplace and am going to go look at it. May buy that and upgrade what's needed to save some $. What are your thoughts on this build?
Just like holyroller1, I really appreciate your feedback and expertise. A friend told me I should buy a used unit to save $ findout what I do and don't like about then either upgrade that or then do a full build. He thinks to try a build at my current knowledge of pc's would be ill fated. I'm going to save both these builds and reference them on userbenchmark when I pull the trigger!
Just a bit of advice. If you want to learn the game, you have to play.
I have been where you are. I didn't know what I was doing. Ignorance is not a bad thing. It just means you don't know what you don't know. If you want to learn, don't buy a prebuilt. PERIOD!! If you want to just play games and have a relatively trouble free experience, use resources like pcpartpicker or buy a prebuilt.
I was building PCs back in the day when you had to manually configure interrupt requests(IRQs).I have been there, done that.
Will you make mistakes? Yes!! You will learn more from your mistakes and understand your mistakes if you put in the work.
It's like anything else. Someone can tell you how to ride a motorcycle, riding one is a completely different beast.
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