Getting new PC

I'll hopefully be getting a new PC soon as I no longer need the mobility of a laptop. While capable of building a computer from bits (with minimal instructions) I find myself a few years out of practice, so some opinions and/or suggestions would be appreciated. My aim is to run PA comfortably by release, without over doing it too much because my funds are limited.
(Steam games)
I have 3 configs atm, all are Windows 8.1 and standard cooling.

you should get 64 gbs of ram and 3 sli titans

Then go with "System 3". Nvidia have best OpenGL drivers on market and It's really important for PA.

Though for CPU I'll recommend you add extra money and buy something more powerful if possible.

Also get an SSD drive (Samsung or Intel - they have a good reputation of making reliable SSDs).

From what i have seen you dont want a powerful graphic card but you want a powerfull cpu for this game. I get really bad fps because my i5 760 cant keep up with the game (1 core maxed all the time). My graphic card (hd7970) barely does a thing.

xD Which would outclass even TotalBiscuit's rig.

I could up System 3 to a six core 3.5Ghz, PA being one of the few games actually being built to use multiple cores, or a six core 3.9Ghz. I tried building an i5 system, but it was nearly £200 more.

I'll have to look into the benefits of SSD more. Faster bootup times are trivial to me, I usually hit the power button then go make a cup of tea/coffee while it does it's things.

And SSD is the most bang-for-buck revolution we have had in consumer PCs in a long time.
No idea how much it'll benefit you for PA.

But for everything else? I can never go back.

We must outclass the brit

Some general thoughts from the peanut gallery:

* I would go Intel over AMD and nVidia over Radeon. Every time any game has hardware problems, it always seems like it's related to AMD and Radeon.
* An SSD really is a tremendous difference not just in boot times but in load times for everything, including games. I recommend a 240 GB SSD to run Windows and games and then a regular drive to store music, videos, documents, downloads and everything else. It's an expense but I think once you see the difference you'll never want to go back.
* For about $100 or less you can get a liquid cooler for your CPU. It really is a huge difference and really will let you safely overclock a whole lot more. I have the Corsaid H100i but there are cheaper models.
* Consider case size. The bigger the case, the easier it is to work on stuff.


For nVidia cards I recommend getting a x60 or higher. The nVidia naming scheme lately runs like this:
XY0 (e.g., 650, 780, etc)

X = model. The 700s are newer and better than the 600s
Y = make. Anything under "4" ("640") is for business use and not great for gaming. Anything over "5" is for gaming. "5" is kind of a cost compromise. Note that while a 780 is better than a 480, a 480 will be better than a 720 -- the fact that it's a newer model doesn't make up for the fact that the 720 is not meant for gaming.



Note how 650 to 660 is a pretty sizable increase.

actually from my own testing I prefer Corsair or OCZ

I'm currently testing hardware with AMD FX-8350 and really I can't notice big difference between this CPU and my i7 2600K in most of use cases. So for limited money I'll always go with AMD CPU.

Though AMD GPUs have quite bad OpenGL support usually so for video card there is no choice.

If your not spending over £1600 dont bother with Intel. I tell my customers this all the time.

I have done a few comparisons. £1600 or less you actually get more performance for your money form AMD. Above £1900 you get more performance from Intel since AMD really tops out at this price point unless your buying the extreme stuff.

In between its a little muddier

K listen to me.

Also with SXX on this one; you NEED a nvidia, and you graphic card, this time around, will have to be your most heavily invested in component for your rig, as nvidia cards with alot of graphics memory generally don't come cheap.

once you have vram, focus on the ram. as that's the next crucial element for PA. speed isn't the issue here, size is.

SSD's don't really matter, if you have the money yea sure but other than good virtual ram and better boot times, I find they don't bring much to the table.

Personally I stick with Intel but as always you'll get more bang for your buck with AMD. You can upgrade your RAM later, I recommend getting the best nvidia card you can buy, with the most VRAM. Also consider building your own PC, it's pretty simple and you'll get a better price.

I was talking to a guy at the local electronics store a couple of months back....

Currently in NZ, you basically get 10gb per $1 you spend. A 1TB internal hard drive is $100, give or take.
A 120GB SSD is $180 at the same store.

For storage, which is the primary purpose of a hard drive, you're a lot better off getting a normal hard drive, if you're going to actually store stuff.

SSD for OS and stuff like that. But harddrive if you want storage. Ideally, both.

To save on SSD cost get loads of RAM and fiber internet. Store your games in the cloud. Replace games' desktop shortcuts with a script which downloads the title to RAM-drive, if it's not already there, and launches it. Uploads settings back on exit. Use USB-key to boot your computer from, or setup network boot to be completely void of HD.

Nvidia won't support mantle which is being adopted

You know nothing about computers so why give advice on them

Adopted by whom?

To the best of my knowledge, PA will not be touching Mantle.

The main thing to remember is that NVidia high end cards are way over priced and will fall in value massively when new nvodia cards come out.