My son is bugging me to do a gaming rig build a PC project with him. I am cool on the PC build but not confident from the gaming angle. He seems to feel most of what he play will be via Steam downloads. I assume as you are downloading the game actually you still need max space and firepower in the box. Is that not correct? Is this more of a streamlined service that you can get away with less PC power/speed?

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Elections have consequences.

Hmm.. lots to address from your post. I'll touch on what I can, and be simple.

1) Steam is the number one method for playing PC games. Not only can you buy most all games through the service, but usually at significantly discounted prices. It also keeps all the games in one spot. It is the crown jewel of PC gaming. It is a positive in every way.

2) Regardless of buying the game through Steam, or buying it at a brick and mortar store or through Amazon for a physical copy, many games require Steam. A lot of people who buy boxed games don't even install it using the included DVD Rom, but instead just use the included code in the box, enter it into Steam, and download the game through Steam. Steam is just super simple.

3) Whether a game is downloaded digitally or purchased in the store, it requires the same hard drive space, and the same PC specifications. No data is read off of discs during gameplay anymore. The speed of reading data from discs is extremely slow, and even console games require installation of the game data.

4) The game itself determines the quality of gaming PC required (or, rather, desired.) Even low-end gaming rigs can play most games, but graphical quality and speed of loading suffers. Every game comes with a set of minimum PC requirements, and a set of recommended PC requirements. They are simply guidelines, but usually fairly accurate.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Thanks. Just trying to prioritize our $$. RAm, HDD or SSD etc. Of course you can go nuts with a graphics card and so on. Looking at a barebones with an I5 and starting there.

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Elections have consequences.

SSD is a waste if you want to focus on a lower tier PC. Go with 7200 rpm HDD. 1TB.

CPU and RAM are both as important as the GPU. Motherboard also more important than you'd think.

I could throw a build together for your consumption.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

128GB SSD for operating system and a 1TB HDD for game installs. minimum.

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

extremely true. especially with gaming. and not all gaming motherboards are good ones. some "regular" ones are good gaming boards. do your research. newegg reviews are valuable.

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

It sounds like pittmike isn't going all out. A 128GB SSD is an expense that doesn't make sense.

I've never had an SSD. I have to wait 30 more seconds to boot up my PC once every few days. Not the end of the world.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

No that SSD that big is huge. The transfer time I can see so maybe smaller. I get motherboards, bus speeds etc. Wasn't sure how much graphic card is overkill for instance.

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Elections have consequences.

Give you credit, dont know what I would do as a parent these days. I played a lot of video games as a kid, but I also played basketball, baseball and football with my friends.

I continue to be told kids cant make their own plans these days because times are different and you need to know where they are all the time.

Can stop at my nephews house and see 3 kids that will play Madden from 3:30 PM until 8 PM and I am not sure if any of them will have a developed muscle within the next 20 years.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

I don't mind doing this for the boy. Three sport HS athlete and varsity tailback (not starter but for clarity) as a freshman. He can use a little down time.

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Elections have consequences.

Always exceptions, its still damn addicting, personally speaking.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Go last gen on the tech and you'll save some money.

I got you at $780 with some pretty decent stuff, sans a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Rebates bring it down a bit but I didn't do the math. Windows would need to be factored in. Add ~$100 for that.

Cart Item List:
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EVGA 02G-P4-3753-KR G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 750 Ti Superclocked 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Video Card
EVGA G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 750 Ti Superclocked 02G-P4-3753-KR Video Card
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Corsair Carbide Series 200R Black Steel / Plastic compact ATX Mid Tower Case
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CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9B
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EVGA 120-G1-0650-XR 650W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Power Supply
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Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
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ASUS Z87-PRO LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
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Cooler Master Hyper T2 - Compact CPU Cooler with Dual Looped Direct Contact Heatpipes
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$16.99

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NVIDIA $150 In-Game currency for Strife, War Thunder, and Infinite Crisis
NVIDIA $150 In-Game currency for Strife, War Thunder, and Infinite Crisis
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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Thx

_________________
Elections have consequences.