New pc advice needed

[ET2SN]

Originally Posted by John Pancoast

Laptop preferred. I know; but I like the flexibility it provides.
But desktop advice would be appreciated too. OS ability to run DosBox is must.

Game interests: SH series, especially 3. Maybe get back into racing/flight sims too.

The good news is the old game has changed a bit.
You don't need a ton of boutique hardware to get good frame rates and smooth gaming.

The bad news is that you're stuck buying your gear at a bad time. A lot is going to depend on what you'll be able to find.

With all of that in mind, the first thing to concentrate on is CPU CLOCK SPEED. A stock-clocked CPU running close to 4 GHz is what you're looking for. Cores really don't mean squat if you're playing games coded to run on a single core.

Here's another shocker- if you wind up going the desktop route, DON'T SWEAT THE GPU/VIDEO CARD. In most cases, in a modern rig, you don't even NEED a separate GPU to play older games. If anything, match your GPU to your monitor.

All of that gives you some power when it comes to buying a new rig.
Check the on-line stores (AMZ, New Egg, etc.) to see what they have available. Look for pre-built BACK TO SCHOOL and Biz (bargain) specials. Pay attention to the CPU clock speed. You might be amazed at what's being sold as a bargain rig.

As an example, I bought a "bare bones" pre-built desktop almost five years ago. The CPU is an i3 stock clocked at 3.95 GHz. My video card is an ultra cheap ($40) fanless unit that I bought because it gave better display options.
All I've done to this rig is throw an additional 8 Gigs of RAM at it and change the CPU battery.

I play games like Dangerous Waters and Flight Sim 2002 and 2004. On FS, I have the games set to run at 60Hz and they do just fine.

[John Pancoast]

Thanks all ! I should add, I have no interest in building my own anymore.
So a pre-built would be the ticket.

[ET2SN]

Well, like I mentioned earlier, if you go with the desktop option start with the monitor and then build your system based on that.

Do you need a six foot wide screen if you're only sitting 2 1/2 feet away from it? Are you stuck between deciding on an 8K or a 4K monitor when all you really need is 1920X1080 ?

Is VR in your future or do you get dizzy easily?

Your monitor drives what kind of GPU you'll need which will also drive your choice in a power supply and also what kind of mother board you'll need while also driving the type of case you'll need to keep everything cool and quiet. See how fast it can spiral out of control?

[John Pancoast]

Sounds good, thanks. What about these 2 into 1 pcs; worth considering or stay away from ?

[John Pancoast]

Oops; instead of 2 in 1 I meant the All in One desktops.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Blackswan40

so i went to a small local computer shop in Sildon five miles up the road and i picked the parts

"Attention Shildon computer Shoppers we've a blue light special on isle 6! " But I'll certainly run the components list: Ryzen 3800x
Steel lelgend B450 M/B
ADATA XPG RAM 4X 8GIG

M2 SAT 1TB
CORSAIR 1TB HD
ANTEC 240 MM WATER COOLER

ASRock Radeon RX 6800 XT Taichi X 16GB OC GPU
XPG Battle cruiser case.
3 fans at the front 2 fans in the roof
1 fan at the rear
3 fans on GPU past my computer shop guy to see what he'll charge me!

[ET2SN]

Originally Posted by John Pancoast

Oops; instead of 2 in 1 I meant the All in One desktops.

It depends on what they bundle into the box.

Again, start with the monitor. Is it what you need vs what you'd want?
You'll be staring at the monitor whenever the system is on, so think this through. There are all sorts of combo deals out there, just realize that if you go the desktop route you can always upgrade your pieces later on. If they gave you a crappy keyboard or mouse, just buy some better stuff to replace them.

Next, find a CPU that clocks somewhere between 3.5 to 4.5 GHz. Your CPU is the core to playing smooth games.

One thing I skipped over, your OS. If you can swing it ( there isn't a huge difference in price) go with a 64 bit OS (usually Win10) instead of a 32 bit OS.
If you play memory intensive games (flight sims) you'll appreciate that extra breathing room.

All-in-ones used to have issues with pre-loaded bloatware. All sorts of crap you didn't want. Either get ready to spend a night deleting all the hoo-hah or keep looking. On my "budget/school" PC, it didn't have any bloatware installed. I guess the reason was that if it was bought for a work environment, either you or the IT guy would be loading software, anyway. Or it was for school/college which required their own special programs.

Anyway, check prices and availability. At the end of the day, you'll be one who has to live with what you bought.

One last thing to not worry about, your hard drive and/or SSD. Hard drives are cheap, super cheap now-a-days. A 1 TB (Terabyte) hard drive will set you back to the tune of..........30 dollars!

Do you need a terabyte of storage? Who knows, who cares, its dirt cheap.