Best PC build for gaming and live streaming?

And honestly, if I can manage to tuck away about $167 from my paycheck every month, I’ll start putting it aside. If things go according to plan, I might have enough saved up by mid-next year to build a decent gaming rig, maybe even one featuring an Intelov processor.
I'd be thrilled if I could at least run GTA V on low settings. Otherwise, I’m going to lose my mind. I waited over a year just for the game to finally hit PC, and now I feel like I'm stuck waiting another full year just to put together a computer capable of actually playing it.

Just because you "have" to shell out cash to cover someone else's debt? Eh...

It’s just frustrating because I don't feel like I have the freedom to spend my own money how I see fit. I keep hearing all this advice about saving every penny and being frugal, blah blah blah, but then suddenly when my dad needs something, the rules change. Honestly, I know what I'm going to do. Since he paid for the laptop, I'll basically treat it like a loan and pay him back $1500 so I can officially own it. But I'm not selling it; I'm keeping it. That way, I can quietly save up, grab some parts, and upgrade my rig piece by piece. No one will even notice, and I'll finally have a setup I actually control. I'm leaning towards that last configuration we discussed—I don't think I'll need anything beefier, even if there's only a $333 difference. The only catch is I might have to swap out the case to get better cooling.

Honestly, it feels kind of ridiculous having to hide how you spend your money on the things you actually want.
I work too, and I don't have anyone breathing down my neck about my bills—though, obviously, I set aside a chunk of my paycheck for the essentials first.

What’s your current rig looking like?

That second option crimsonstag84 posted.
I might try to talk them down on the price, too. Honestly, my main goal right now is just being able to get GTA V running, even if I have to stick to medium settings.
It feels like the XFX R7 260 x 2GB paired with an Intel Pentium G3580 and 6GB of RAM should be enough for decent gameplay. If I go that route, I’d probably just toss in a 120GB SSD to keep things snappy.

I guess the G3258 just doesn't stand a chance against an FX 6300 / FX 8300 when you're running the most demanding games.

A few newer titles are just a total bust on the G3258 because of those limited cores, and if you're looking to do any video editing, trying to upload to YouTube with only 2 cores is going to be a nightmare.

crimsonstag84 said:The G3258 just won't hold its own against an FX 6300/FX 8300 when you're running the heavy hitters.

Hey, I was browsing around online and it looked like the G3258 would actually pair pretty well with that Sapphire R9 280 3GB card you mentioned in your other build...

But what do you think about that other setup if I played it a bit leaner? Like, if I just grabbed 4GB of RAM to start with and paired it with an XFX R7 260 x 2GB, would that be enough to run something like Far Cry on low to medium settings? Since GTA isn't even out yet, we can't really tell how well optimized it’s going to be.

I'm thinking it might be smarter to invest in a better CPU and motherboard right away. Upgrading a GPU down the road is pretty straightforward, but everything else takes more work.

Exactly, just dump your money into a solid processor and a decent motherboard first. You can always upgrade the rest later on easy...

Anthony Hayes82 said:Do you think if I went with that other setup—maybe just starting with 4GB of RAM and an XFX R7 260 x 2GB—it would be enough to run something like Far Cry on low to medium settings? Since GTA V isn't even out yet, we can't really guess how well it's actually optimized.

Honestly, the R7 260 x is plenty even for higher settings than low-medium. I’m running a GXT560TI with 1GB right now and I play on Ultra, though I don't keep things like Antialiasing MSAA or all that other junk turned on. The FPS stays smooth enough to actually enjoy it without constant lag.

But honestly? You might want to hold off on picking a GPU. It doesn't make much sense to grab an R7 now only to realize you need something beefier in a few months. Unless, of course, your only goal here is specifically getting through GTA V.

At this point, nothing else really matters to me except GTA. I know for a fact I'll be sinking countless hours into it for well over a year.

I played San Andreas for at least six years, just bit by bit whenever I could. So, I’m not sweating it—I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting plenty of use out of the PS5 for several years to come.

Singleplayer for six years? I have things written down right here—I put in 47 hours just to finish one, and maybe 20 hours for Vice City. As I get older, I just don't find myself interested in those kinds of games anymore.

Yeah, those were the golden years of free roaming. With San Andreas, it wasn't even an issue because everyone could find something fun to do in the world, even if they weren't touching the main campaign at all.

I didn't find those extra activities particularly engaging, even though they accounted for a good chunk of those 47 hours—you know, just driving around aimlessly, messing about, collecting loot, buying properties, or customizing your character. To me, the actual missions are where the real substance lies. That said, it's precisely that freedom to wander without a strict agenda that makes the game such a massive hit; it attracts a huge crowd of casual players who aren't traditional gamers, people who might only touch this title once in a blue moon and nothing else.

It’s all just a matter of taste, really. Some people just want to blast through the main campaign, while others—like me—prefer just wandering around in free roam.
With GTA V, I know for a fact I won't be rushing to finish the story anytime soon; I'll probably just spend all my time exploring the open world.

There’s already another thread dedicated solely to GTA. 😉
This space is strictly for talking about what kind of build you could put together—maybe for me, maybe for someone else—just to get this specific game running. Right now, my first priority is just waiting for the release so I can see if I can actually pull off smooth gameplay on low settings.
Honestly, if I managed to play Watch Dogs despite how poorly optimized it was, maybe Rockstar Games will actually show us some mercy and deliver a well-optimized title this time.

If it doesn't run, I'll have to figure out how to scrape enough cash together for a new rig without my parents finding out. I'm praying to Bog that since the weather is getting nicer, they'll be out of the house more often so I can sneakily receive deliveries without getting caught.

Anthony Hayes82 said:We already have another thread just for GTA. 😉

This specific thread is just about finding a decent setup for this game—something I might build, or maybe someone else wants to put together to actually get it running. For now, my main plan is just waiting for the release so I can see if I can scrape by playing everything on low settings.
I mean, if I managed to play Watch Dogs, which was an absolute mess optimization-wise, then maybe Rockstar Games will actually show us some mercy and deliver something that runs smoothly.

If I can't even get it to run, I’ll have to figure out how to squirrel away enough cash for a new rig without my parents catching on. I'm praying to Bog that since the weather is getting nicer, they'll be out of the house more often so I can sneakily receive deliveries.

Doesn't matter. Gaming isn't a forbidden topic on a hardware forum.

Look, if you could handle Watch Dogs, which was unoptimized garbage, you'll definitely be fine with GTA 5. It's way less demanding on the system. Plus, I think I read somewhere that Rockstar Games really stepped up their optimization this time, so it should run well on a wide range of hardware.
For GTA 5, you're looking at an i5 processor around 3.2GHz and roughly 2GB of VRAM. If I remember correctly, Watch Dogs needed an i7 and 3 or even 4GB of VRAM just to breathe.

Honestly, I’m not too worried about the processor. With a Mobile I5 3230 m 2.6, you could probably run things decently well on medium settings.
The real bottleneck is that HD 7670 m 2 graphics card; if I look at the specs, it feels like it's actually sitting well below the minimum requirements.

On the flip side, I’ve seen people claiming they can run Far Cry on hardware like that, but I take those claims with a grain of salt. Either they're faking it, or they manage to get it running only to have the whole thing thermal throttle after 10 or 15 minutes. In a setup like that, I know the CPU can easily hit 90 degrees while the GPU climbs to 75 or higher, which is basically a danger zone for any laptop.

I’ve always been pretty obsessive about monitoring my temps. My rig has never really pushed past 80 degrees, except for a few brief spikes during intense scenes in games like WD, Batman Arkham Origins Titanfall, or BF4...

I wouldn't say your graphics card is underpowered, especially since the recommended specs call for an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670. But honestly, since your CPU is a bit on the weaker side, you should probably be able to run everything on medium settings without much trouble.
Like I mentioned before, if you were able to handle running Battlefield, there’s really no reason to stress about GTA5. The smoothness and the actual hardware requirements are worlds apart between those two.

Anyway, April Fools' Day is creeping up on us. You might want to stay on your toes—I wouldn't be surprised at all if Elvis Presley pulled another prank on us regarding game delays.