Not a gaming rig, but I'm building a new PC/workstation that can handle some games. I mostly need rendering power, so I might go all out on the CPU. Any thoughts? Trying to keep it around 1200$. I may upgrade it later.
AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3GHz 8-Core Processor $209.99
Gigabyte - X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard $122.98
Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (1 x 16GB) DDR4-3000 Memory $160.98
Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (1 x 16GB) DDR4-3000 Memory $160.98
Samsung - 860 Evo 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive $97.99
EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB SC GAMING Video Card $278.00
Fractal Design - Meshify C Dark TG ATX Mid Tower Case $96.78
EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply $57.99
McParadigm wrote:I keep hoping this is a thread devoted to video game masterpiece Big Rigs.
Do you know Alex Navarro?
BurtReynolds wrote:Not a gaming rig, but I'm building a new PC/workstation that can handle some games. I mostly need rendering power, so I might go all out on the CPU. Any thoughts? Trying to keep it around 1200$. I may upgrade it later.
AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3GHz 8-Core Processor $209.99
Gigabyte - X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard $122.98
Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (1 x 16GB) DDR4-3000 Memory $160.98
Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (1 x 16GB) DDR4-3000 Memory $160.98
Samsung - 860 Evo 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive $97.99
EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB SC GAMING Video Card $278.00
Fractal Design - Meshify C Dark TG ATX Mid Tower Case $96.78
EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply $57.99
I need to do this soon myself. The last time we bought a computer was when the trailer for The Force Awakens was released. I remember because that was the first thing I watched to test the wireless connection.
The latest AMD procs have closed the gap with Intel for rendering in Adobe, but if the Intel proc is only $50 to $100 more, it'd be worth the investment.
run2death wrote:The latest AMD procs have closed the gap with Intel for rendering in Adobe, but if the Intel proc is only $50 to $100 more, it'd be worth the investment.
Yeah the Intel Core i7-8700K looks like the best of the best, but its about $130 more.
I've had this one about six years. Surprised it's lasted this long. I had a couple of hard drives failures but otherwise it's been a good one up until recently. It can still play games on lower settings, but Windows chugs.
1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
2. Mario Kart (Wii)
3. Half-Life 2 (PC)
4. Twisted Metal 2 (PS1)
5. NHL 95 (Sega Genesis)
6. The Oregon Trail (graphical version, 1985, Apple II)
7. Metroid: Zero Mission (GBA)
8. Missile Command (Arcade)
9. Rocket League (PS4)
10. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father (PC)
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Fri January 09, 2026 5:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
tragabigzanda wrote:
serious question from a mac user: you're looking at roughly $1100 here, plus the labor and potential S&H headaches. Why not just buy a good comp off the shelf? how much more would a comparable stock rig run you?
Maybe I've just been lucky, but I haven't had much trouble putting them together, and its kinda fun. Plus, I'm picky about what I want in them. and pre-built ones are so ugly!
The prices are a lot closer lately though. If I could find one I liked, I might get one.
Buying an off-the-shelf/prebuilt computer rarely makes sense.
For instance, companies charge $300 to "upgrade" from 16GBs to 32GBs of comparable RAM that Burt listed.
"Upgrading" to an 500GB SSD will cost you another $150.
"Upgrading" to a decent graphics card will cost you $200.
Those are basically the prices you pay for buying those components outright, so in many instances the base price is for the tower, processor, them building it and a shitty warranty.
As far as I can tell Burt ends up saving at least $600 AND that prebuilt system would have a shitty power supply and shitty, non-upgradable motherboard.
1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
2. Mario Kart (Wii)
3. Half-Life 2 (PC)
4. Twisted Metal 2 (PS1)
5. NHL 95 (Sega Genesis)
6. The Oregon Trail (graphical version, 1985, Apple II)
7. Metroid: Zero Mission (GBA)
8. Missile Command (Arcade)
9. Rocket League (PS4)
10. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father (PC)
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Fri January 09, 2026 5:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
