New build under $1,250?

Dammit, looks like I'm headed out to the mall right when I was actually hoping to stay put. What a joke. Honestly though, I don't mind it too much; that's why they all start hopping around like rabbits in Battlefield.

I even went as far as thinking that certain bots within the game—you know, the artificial intelligence—were actually running on some incredibly complex lines of code.

Spammer's starting up again 🤣

Honestly, I feel like if you actually have skill, it won't matter if you're rocking gear from $10 or $100. Sure, some features might give you a tiny edge, but let's be real—fancy peripherals aren't going to turn a total newbie into a pro overnight.

Honestly, you don't see every decent gamer rocking a keyboard like this these days since they’re pretty pricey. Usually, you only run into them being used by hardcore gamers who are also running top-tier, high-end rigs.
The way people are jumping around like crazy in Battlefield during MP is just a whole different beast—it's basically crawling with hackers, total noobs, and crews running all sorts of bots. Most of the time it's aimbots, though I know the Admin has definitely flagged plenty of multi-hacking cases before.

So yeah, those in-game bots are definitely acting pretty mindless.

It's the same deal as with a steering wheel 😬

Maybe it helps you out by half a second when it comes to consistency—especially if you're switching over from some heavy-duty setup that costs $400—but honestly, it’s nothing special. At the end of the day, 95% of the skill is just you.

Anyway, this is turning into one of those chat topics that gets everyone banned 🤣

Looks like fosna is moving this over to the hardware chat 😁

haha you guys decide, but regarding the case being too narrow... it would be great if it had more vents and some lighting, or at least felt high-quality. As for the monitor, I'd probably go with an Acer 23 IPS...

You're putting "only" 8GB of RAM in a $1,500 rig?

Honestly, I think 16GB should be the absolute baseline. 😉

Chris Robinson25 said:You're putting "only" 8GB of RAM into a $1,500 rig?

I would suggest 16GB should be the baseline. 😉

And what exactly would be the reasoning for that???? Just one reason if you actually have one??? Please???🙂🤣

mellowtiger83 said:So, what’s the reasoning here? Just one reason if you’ve got it? Please?🙂🤣

Honestly, I think it’d be smarter to grab a slightly weaker GPU and dump that extra cash into more RAM instead. In my experience, bumping up your memory usually gives you a better bang for your buck than chasing a top-tier graphics card. If I were building this, I’d go with a 1-2GB card paired with 16GB of RAM. To me, pairing a 3GB card with only 8GB of RAM feels like a total April Fools' joke. No offense intended, but that's just how I see it. 🙂

What does system RAM have to do with video memory? Honestly, nothing at all.
What's even the point of having extra VRAM for gaming? I don't see much use for it.

Your theory doesn't really hold up; you'd only need more than 8GB if you're doing heavy multitasking with stuff like photo editing, video production, or running virtual machines.

fadedorca66 said:What does RAM have to do with video memory? Absolutely nothing.

So, isn't that basically a "benchmark" for how much kick a GPU actually has?

fadedorca66 said:What's even the point of having extra RAM for gaming? Honestly, none.

You sure about that? 🙂

Take an average game. First, try running it with solid graphics and a little RAM. Then, swap things around—lower the graphics but bump up the RAM. You’ll see a massive difference. Trust me, I've run those numbers more times than I can count.

EDIT:

I’m only saying this because I honestly think 8GB is going to be the bare minimum in about a year and a half. Just look at how 4GB is basically the floor everywhere right now. If you grab 16GB, you'll be set for a long time.

I can't tell if you're just bored and looking for a fight or what? 😁

@Chris Robinson25/">@@Chris Robinson25

It is one thing when you are dealing with insufficient RAM, causing the system to swap to the hard drive and everything just falls apart—constant lag, endless waiting, the whole ordeal.

Eight gigabytes is overkill; the system will absolutely never need to touch virtual memory.
Four gigabytes is more than sufficient for ninety percent of current tasks. Eight gigs serves as a little insurance policy for the future, whereas sixteen is simply a waste of money and an exercise in futility that will never see actual use.

Those who actually require that much memory aren't gamers. That level of usage is reserved for specialized video editing software or extreme multitasking, things a standard user will never encounter.

In short, eight gigabytes is overkill and should carry you through the next two or three years. For anything today, four is plenty.

@mellowtiger83/">@@mellowtiger83: thanks for clearing that up. 🙂

@Larry Ortiz5/">@@Larry Ortiz5: look... I'm not bored, and I'm definitely not looking for a fight. I just think sometimes it's worth pointing out a different perspective.

I think 8GB is the sweet spot these days, and I feel like mellowtiger83 is just being a bit unlucky here..
Games like Watch Dogs and COD Ghosts really need more than 4GB of RAM, so please don't try telling me that 4GB will still be enough for these titles in 2015.

If you're planning on editing massive video files or something along those lines—well, you're definitely going to need a massive amount of RAM 🙂

Alexander Moore67 said:I think 8GB is the sweet spot for now, and Mario is being a bit too optimistic here..
Games like Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty need more than 4GB of RAM, so don't try telling me 4GB will still be plenty by 2015.

Fine then, just go buy 16GB of RAM and throw $200 out the window. Let two-thirds of it sit there unused for the next three or four years.

Meanwhile, we'll tell everyone else to stick with 8GB so they can actually use what they have... maybe not all 8, but at least some of it...

A few years ago, everyone was preaching about 4GB being enough, and look where we are now—that's basically the standard for an average gaming or daily driver PC. (And that’s not even counting workstations used for rendering or heavy-duty video/audio editing and 3D modeling).

Chris Robinson25 said:Wait, isn't that basically a benchmark for GPU power?

Only noobs 😬 think that way.

You could have a garbage GPU with 2GB or even 4GB of VRAM—like an old GT 630—and a more expensive card like a GTX 260X with only 1GB of VRAM would absolutely demolish it for breakfast because it's several times more powerful.

Regarding system memory: 4GB is still plenty to get most games running; you only really need more for a select few titles (and that number will only grow over time).
8GB is the sweet spot for future-proofing and serves as the baseline for a decent mid-range rig today, whereas 16GB is total overkill for pure gaming.

At the end of the day, we’re splitting hairs here. RAM is the easiest component to upgrade later. If you sink that extra cash into an unnecessary 8GB kit (roughly $550-$200), you'd be much better off putting that money toward raw performance in your CPU or GPU.

briskmason6 said:Haha, just give me a break! But seriously, let’s address this issue regarding the cramped case... It would be ideal if it featured more ventilation and some RGB lighting, or at least decent build quality. As for the monitor, I’d probably go with a Dell XPS 13 IPS...

This one will definitely fit your GPU. You could even squeeze in a liquid cooling setup with a large radiator here; it features sound dampening, excellent airflow, and the build quality is top-notch.

- http://www.newegg.com/p/product-details/example-case-link

Keith Wright2 said:This case will fit your graphics card perfectly (it'll house the GPU and even a liquid cooling system with a large radiator; plus, it features sound dampening, excellent airflow, and high-end build quality)

- http://www.newegg.com/p/details/product-link-placeholder

Honestly, the only drawback is that it lacks dedicated cutouts for water cooling tubing.

+ He wants all that RGB lighting, but this model is strictly minimalist—no LEDs here, though it does have a side window.