So, I finally have enough money to buy a good PC gaming system. I have always bought budget, or just above budget, in the past which allows for mid level graphics and gaming (at least for a year or so). However, at this point my Witcher 2 game looks like a You Tube video and I don’t even want to think about what this system will do to Skyrim. I would like something at the top end of graphics for once but I don’t want to waste money on bobbles I won’t notice. I am not really sure what I should be looking for and I thought the GWC computer techs might like to help me out. What sort of graphics card should I buy? CPU? Anything else I should be looking at? I’d love any ideas. Much thanks in advance.
just a quick note … here is the grand daddy of websites for PC component evaluation.
basic questions would be
- budget
- build versus buy
- expected length of service
Finally , if the game is ported to 1 or more consoles, you might want to look at it that way. A Console (X-Box, PS3, Wii) jacked to a big big TV might be the way to go.
Anyhow, good luck with your adventures hardware 
Cheers
Hey thanks. Not sure about the budget as this is my big gift to myself and I don’t want to cheap out. I have been saving for quite some time so hopefully I can get what I want.
Buy, not build, for sure as I don’t know enough about computers to build one.
Hope that the computer will work for as long as possible, of course. But I suppose it all depends on the march of technological advances in the gaming world. Who can tell.
I book marked the web site. I can see I will need to take quite some time researching this purchase.
I went through a similar thread a few months ago, check it out here:
http://forum.galacticwatercooler.com/showthread.php?12497-Help-Me-Build-My-New-Computer!
It is a few months out of date, but definitely worth a look.
I also liked this guide a lot, even though it is somewhat out of date:
http://www.tweakguides.com/Hardcon09_1.html
Some general questions for you to consider:
Do you plan on overclocking anything?
Do you have any old hardware you are planning on recycling?
What are the priorities for the system (price, performance, longevity, noise, space, aesthetics.)
You might want to consider building rather than buying something pre-built. It’s not really that hard. Do you have anyone who could help you with it?