THE GENERAL SYSTEM FAQ (OR, THE QUESTIONS YOU'RE GOING TO ASK SO READ THIS)
Updated 1/20/2014

Question List (scroll down for answers)
1. Are prebuilt systems any good?
2. What's the best way to future-proof my system?
3. How many cores should I get?
4. Intel or AMD?
5. What socket types are there?
6. What's up with Intel's different chips/board models?
7. Should I overclock?
8. ATI or Nvidia?
9. What brand video card should I buy?
10. Should I crossfire/SLI?
11. Can I use a v3/2/1 PCIe card in a v3/2/1 PCIe slot?
12. How much RAM do I need?
13. How much wattage does my PSU need?
14. What kind of motherboard should I get?
15. Do I need a sound card?
16. Do I need aftermarket cooling?
17. Should I get a Solid State Drive?
18. What kind of case should I get? Should I get a full tower?
19. What monitor should I get?
20. Is Win 8 worth upgrading to?
21. What kind of gamepad should I get?

1. Are there any good prebuilt systems?
If you'll only be using office apps and web browsing, prebuilt systems are cheaper than building yourself. The more powerful you want your system, the more advantageous it becomes to build your own.
If you want a pre-built office box, stay with big name companies like Dell, HP. If you want a prebuilt gaming system (which we don't recommend) Falcon Northwest and Origin PC are good choices. Smaller vendors will cut corners on important hardware, overcharge, or both. The Dell Outlet or Lenovo Outlet has particularly good deals on lower-end hardware.
If you're on a tiny budget but still want to game, a Dell Outlet Inspiron + Radeon 7750 is your best bet. It won't win awards but you'll be able to game at an acceptable framerate.


2. What's the best way to future-proof my system/make it run top end games for 5 years?
YOU CANNOT FUTURE-PROOF! Buy parts with the best price-to-performance value for your money now, and save the rest. Anything you buy today will be outclassed by what's available in 2-3 years, regardless of if you spent $1000 or $4000.
For example, if someone tried to future-proof a gaming system three years ago, they would have gotten an i7 2770, 16G DDR3, a GTX580, a 256G SSD, and paid ~$2500 for all of it. Today, a $1000 system picked from this guide would perform as well or better.
A $900-1200 system (excluding monitor/OS) can run current games with high settings at 1920x1200. If your system costs more than that, you're probably overspending.


3. How many cores? 4/8/more?
Quad core is the best general choice. Anything more than 4 cores adds no performance in gaming/general desktop work - those extra cores are only beneficial in heavy multimedia or scientific applications.
Note that while the new consoles are 8 core, that doesn't mean you'll need an 8 core system for PC gaming anytime soon.


4. AMD or Intel?
Intel Haswell (4000 series) chips are the best choice unless you have a very niche need. AMD chips have higher power usage and are still beaten soundly in single-thread performance.


5. What motherboard socket do I need?
Intel socket 1150 (H81, B85,Z87) is the only type that works with 4000 series chips.


6. What CPU/Motherboard models should I get?
Intel "K" and "non-K" chips are essentially identical with one difference: K chips can overclock and non-K chips cannot. Z87 board allow overclocking, while H85 and B85 boards do not. B85 boards have slightly fewer bells and whistles while still being fine for the average user.

In summary:
- Best performance without overclock: H81/B85 + i5 4570.
- Best performance with overclock: Z87 + i5 4670K.
- Cheap but functional Intel setup: B85 + i3 4130.


7. Should I overclock?
Haswell doesn't overclock as well as previous Intel chips, so we don't recommend an overclocking setup by default. If you want to get large O/Cs, you need to look at $80+ solutions like Noctura high-end air coolers or watercooling. The guide-recommended Hyper 212 is alright for mild OC and/or noise reduction.


8. AMD or Nvidia Video Cards?
Both companies have great cards available. ATI wins on price in the lower end gaming segments. Nvidia is currently the default choice for mid-high, because idiot bitcoin/altcoin miners are paying over MSRP for AMD cards to mine their lolbertarian dementia money.


9. What brand should I buy once I've decided on a video card?
Specific models of video card (Geforce GTX760, Radeon 7950, etc) are performance identical between brands. Lower tier vendors are more likely to cut corners that affect reliability.
For AMD cards, we recommend Asus, and Sapphire. For Nvidia, we recommend Asus, EVGA, MSI, and Zotac.
From there, criteria are based on price and warranty, which varies between brands. Other less important differences are type of cooling, factory overclocking, and bundled games.


10. Should I SLI/Crossfire?
Very few people more than a single card. A $250-$300 card will handle everything at 1920x1200 and below. Dual card solutions cost more, run hotter, and suffer from minor to major performance issues, depending on the game.
SLI is useful in certain circumstances, like tri-monitor gaming, 3D gaming, or resolutions higher than 1200p.


11. Can I use a video card whose PCIe spec is higher than my motherboard?
PCIe versions are all fully compatible in all directions, so you can use any card in any board.



12. How much RAM do I need? What speed, timings, brand?
8 Gigs of DDR3 1600 (1.5v or lower) is the current sweet spot - anything higher offers no benefit for gaming/general desktop. If you're doing professional grade A/V or scientific work, DDR1866 can net you up to 4% better performance in select tasks. Avoid ram with giant heatsinks/fins - they don't help and can get in the way of other parts.


13. How much wattage does my PSU need? Can I use my old one?
Wattage is not the most important choice when buying a PSU. The power supply is the only part of your system that can destroy everything else in your computer, so buy a well-constructed unit from a reliable brand. Also, any PSU, even a good brand, should be replaced after ~ 5 years.

We recommend:
- Corsair (except CX/Builder Series models)
- Seasonic
- Antec (Earthwatt series)
- XFX

These companies currently offer quality units. Other brands may cut corners or give deceptive wattage/amperage ratings. There are other good brands, but it's impossible to keep a comprehensive list. Below are general wattage guidelines. These recommendations only care about your video card - everything else in your system uses very little power and it doesn't vary much between PCs.

- Onboard video/no PCIe power plug on the video card: 300w
- 1 PCIe power plug on the card (GTX560, Radeon 7770): 400w
- 2 PCIe power plugs on card(GTX760, Radeon 7950): 500w


14. What model/size motherboard should I get?
The Quick Pick boards are solid boards with everything an average user needs. You shouldn't spend more than what those boards cost unless you need specific ports, features, or SLI/CrossFire support. MicroATX boards are as full-featured as full ATX boards, and mATX is now preferable to get a smaller system footprint.


15. What sound card should I buy? Should I use my old one?
Onboard sound is now very good, and you'll be perfectly happy with it. Discrete audio cards are reserved for people doing audio production work, high end audio setups, or high end headphones (like Sennheisers). If you do have one of these needs, we recommend an Asus Xonar DGX for headphones, and going to A/V Arena and/or Creative Convention for audiophile advice.


16. How much cooling do I need (ie heatsinks, watercoolers, case fans)?
Stock cooling is fine for general use. Aftermarket cooling is for overclocking or noise reduction. Modern heatpipe-heatsinks offer great performance while being cheaper and easier to install. Watercooling is best reserved for :2f2f: overclocking and very small builds with no room for heatsinks.
For cases, airflow and cooling is not a big deal; any modern case with front and rear 120mm fans will be fine even with overclocking and a powerful GPU. Thread regular Agreed has created a very detailed guide to case fans if you're wanting more details.


17. Should I get a Solid State Drive (SSD)?
Absolutely. We recommend a 120G drive at minimum, or 240+ if your budget will allow it. The default choice right now is the Samsung Evo series. If you want something else we HIGHLY recommend you visit the SSD Thread, as there are a lot of sub-par drives out there now.


18. What kind of case should I get? Do I need a full tower?
You do not need a full-tower case. Modern mid-tower cases can fit a large heatsink, dual video cards, 4+ hard drives, fans, and still have room for cable routing.
While almost any case will work, a well made case will make building and maintaining your system much easier. "Airflow" is not an issue - 2 120mm fans are plenty, and more fans will be noisier and possibly even detrimental to cooling.

Look for:
Tool-less drive mounting
Removable dust filters
Cable routing
Noise reduction paneling

Avoid:
Full-tower sizes
4+ fans pre-installed
Bundled PSUs

The Quick Pick has some best-in-class cases.


20. What monitor should I get?
There are hundreds of available monitors, and a good one can last you ten years. There are two main display types: IPS and TN. IPS is far better than TN, and is affordable even on a budget. Some of the best-in-class IPS screens are the Dell Ultrasharp line. TN should be reserved for people who must have 120Hz screens.
Additionally, screens commonly come in 16:9 aspect ratio, which is fine, but many people swear by (more expensive) 16:10 screens.

You can read more in the Monitor and Display Megathread.


19. Is Windows 8 worth upgrading to? 32 or 64 bit?
If you're buying a new OS, get Win 8.1 64-bit. It's MS's newest OS and will get the lion's share of MS's attention for patches/security updates. If you can't stand the new start screen you can get Win-7 style replacements (like Classic Shell) for free.
If you have an existing Win 7 license you don't really need to upgrade, anything before that we'd recommend you replace/upgrade.


21. What kind of gamepad should I get?
Microsoft Xbox 360 controller. It works out of the box with Vista and up, and is the default gamepad on most PC games. Wired is cheapest but you can buy a pack with an official MS wireless adapter as well (avoid knockoff units).