Don't get discouraged, just be realistic. You don't have to buy everything at once also. Buy as you can, and as you find deals. The market right now just sucks for GPUs which is usually the most expensive part of the build.
You're right. I'll stick it out and watch the market.
Theolodius_Black
Whoopin suckas with a bag of oranges
Pcpartpicker.com helped me out a ton. You can see parts people used as well as the budget they had. I used this video to put everything together
Jimmy Two-Times™
Coli Mods Catch Me If U Can Forgive Me Imma Ridah™
A PC I built in 2012 with mid range parts can play every AAA in medium specs comparable to current gen PS4 Pro and Xbone.
So, what I'd suggest is maybe buying your components second hand off of ebay or a British website called CEX and you'll be able to buy what you want for $600-$800.
If I were you I'd rather not skrimp on buying the CPU, and PSU I'd try to buy new ones and get everything else second hand.
You can buy damn near anything from eBay.
Jimmy Two-Times™
Coli Mods Catch Me If U Can Forgive Me Imma Ridah™
Don't get suckered into the marketing of the processing power because current gen devs aren't even taking full advantage of it.
If you sit 2-3 metres from a 1080p-4K TV after about 10 minutes the gimmick of clearer textures wanes off and you begin to focus on the game. Just buy second hand mid-range to high mid range and you should be able to get everything at an affordable price. When looking overseas don't forget about shipping tax can be a real c*nt. Sites like ebay and Amazon cover the tax so be weary.
If you sit 2-3 metres from a 1080p-4K TV after about 10 minutes the gimmick of clearer textures wanes off and you begin to focus on the game. Just buy second hand mid-range to high mid range and you should be able to get everything at an affordable price. When looking overseas don't forget about shipping tax can be a real c*nt. Sites like ebay and Amazon cover the tax so be weary.
You guys are so helpful, thank you!
When buying second hand is there anything I should look out for? For example, when buying electronics that have been refurbished they are given letter grades based off of their new quality. Is there something like that when buying secondhand PC parts?
Jimmy Two-Times™
Coli Mods Catch Me If U Can Forgive Me Imma Ridah™
Some retailers do the grade thing but it isn't standardised. The British retailer CEX does but it is just a gimmick. When I've brought stuff from CEX Grade A-B just include the entire box it came in Grade C is without the box but both arrive in anti static bags. But that is just CEX.
The older the model number of the component the more it could of been used so the mileage could be high like a car, so just ask the buyer what they used the component for. If they say heavy gaming for 5 years then it's most likely not going to perform to the best of it's capabilities. So ask their sender's use of it and for how long they had it for could be an indication of it's wearability. Also, when you receive the item just do a benchmark test (you can download programs to do it for you at the click of a button) and compare it to one published online for the same make and model and that will tell you whether the item is good or not as soon as you buy it because the stress tests will show its wear and tear. This way it would be hard for the seller to pull the blinders over your eyes.
When buying second hand make sure you are aware of the exact model you want as people like to pass off slightly older things for another especially with GPUs since the casing is exactly the same the only difference is the model number printed on it.
Make sure or request that sender sends the item/s in an anti-static bag/envelope as the weather for example could fry the circuitry inside the component. Though this is rare it is very common and can happen especially when shipping from overseas and it has to get scanned at the airports on import and export, the post office, the delivery driver coupled with the weather like heavy rain or hot sunshine will fukk your shyt up if your not careful if the component has passed through all of that. So if it's in an anti static bag those issues for the most part will be nixed and you won't end up with a component that is dead on arrival.
The processor and the PSU are the most used components inside a PC as in the amount of work it has to do, so If I were in your shoes I'd buy the processor you want (preferably an Intel manufactured overclockable one) and a brand new PSU that hasn't been used so it's fresh. The PSU will power your PC and a good one will ensure that your components.
Try not to buy aftermarket/off brand components that have intricate uses. The only thing I'd buy are the case fans and the cables other than that I'd steer towards well known name brands.
Only buy from reputable sellers with good reviews written in proper English.
Also, when building a PC make sure you DO NOT do it on a carpet (or try not to do it on that surface), don't make a lot of movement as that creates friction and static which you don't want, and always touch something metal to discharge any static in your body so that you don't fry your equipment or give yourself an electric shock. There are anti-static wrist straps but I've never used one so I cannot attest whether they work well or not. Just make sure you touch metal every time you begin building the components together for your PC like exiting the room ect or doing something else for a few minutes then returning.
Have a good day.
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Jimmy Two-Times™
Coli Mods Catch Me If U Can Forgive Me Imma Ridah™
Also, if you are a university student universities especially in the UK (I'm not sure about the US but I'm sure they'll do the same) will help you fund purchasing or straight up give you a PC/laptop as well a lend you one for a limited time.
My old uni would subsidise the cost in the way of a non-repayable bursary of a couple hundred quid if you met certain financial circumstances something like £300-£400 quid which is a lot of money. With that and the £600 I'd saved I built my first PC in 2012. All second hand except the CPU, PSU and motherboard (I didn't wanna take chances). I can play all the AAA games today at 1080p at mid-high settings and they look just as good or better than PS4 Pro or XboneX.
You could get more if you apply for the hardship fund like living single, travel, dependants on you etc. Universities are just throwing money away in the UK lol. I think that's over £1000 here maybe more but I didn't know until I left but most if not all higher educational institutions do this.
The main thing to worry about is getting the right CPU and GPU both ones that you can overclock. I'm sure you know what overclocking is but if you didn't it's what is allowing me to play these AAA games at higher settings without buying "new" hardware that is literally only marginally faster.
I have an i5 3570K overclocked, a PSU with a high power output and an AMD GPU 7870 GU II (or some shyt it was called like lol) also overclockable.
If you search eBay every morning and night for the next two weeks before buying anything in the BUY NOW tab you'll be able to find bargains that way as the quick sales that people make just to get rid of old equipment is done on the whim most of the time so you'll be able to get good stuff that way.
Like someone else said, don't buy all of your components at once look around for deals like dedicating a week for each part and slowly get everything that you want in about a month or two you will get everything at such ridiculously cheap prices you'll laugh thinking on the amount of money you saved.
Perfectson
Banned
What type of games?
Anyone telling you , that you can't build a quality PC for 600 doesn't know what they are talking about
Someone mentioned building a PC for Back in 2012 that is playing top games, that's 100% can be done for less than 800
,I'm buikding a small form factor PC for about 530 and utilizing intels onboard graphics . This will be good enough for surfing, streaming movies, and playing most games .
Again I don't know how much of a PC gamer you are but if you're not heavy into it , save money and skip graphics card.
Intel 4600 80 bucks
Motherboard 90 bucks
Memory 2x 4gb 80 bukcs
Case 80 bucks
SSD 90 bucks
You're welcome
Jimmy Two-Times™
Coli Mods Catch Me If U Can Forgive Me Imma Ridah™
When you buy your motherboard make sure it is one that you able to overclock on.
Overclocking will future-proof your PC as all they are doing is changing the speed and rebranding the same chip which itself has been overclocked from stock. My i5 3570K hasn't choked on me yet or my GPU. When overclocking make sure you have *many silent fans inside the chassis and put your PC next to a window preferably or door so that the draft of wind that is collected there also passes through your PC and cools it down fast so no need for stupid water cooling fans.
Another thing I wouldn't skrimp on is the heatsink fan, make sure you buy a good one mine is Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU as you really cant go wrong with this brand.
Just take your time in making sure everything is compatible.
Overclocking will future-proof your PC as all they are doing is changing the speed and rebranding the same chip which itself has been overclocked from stock. My i5 3570K hasn't choked on me yet or my GPU. When overclocking make sure you have *many silent fans inside the chassis and put your PC next to a window preferably or door so that the draft of wind that is collected there also passes through your PC and cools it down fast so no need for stupid water cooling fans.
Another thing I wouldn't skrimp on is the heatsink fan, make sure you buy a good one mine is Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU as you really cant go wrong with this brand.
Just take your time in making sure everything is compatible.
Jimmy Two-Times™
Coli Mods Catch Me If U Can Forgive Me Imma Ridah™
A good silent fan is Sharkoon Silent Eagle SE. It's just a light hum which is unnoticeable.
Very helpful, thanks!
Edit:
The games I'm wanting to play are mostly Sims, Farcry, The Evil Within and Assassin's Creed.
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Jimmy Two-Times™
Coli Mods Catch Me If U Can Forgive Me Imma Ridah™
second hand mid range and you can't go wrong.