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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pming" data-source="post: 8239285" data-attributes="member: 45197">Hiya!One thing I've used as a rule of thumb: "With Computers, you get what you pay for...unless you're buying Apple products". So if you see a 2TB SSD for $100, and another for $225....the more expensive one is going to be better. Graphics card? Ok, pick a price point and buy that. A $300, versus a $750 versus a $2000 video card...the first is ok, the second is great, the last is amazing. Same thing goes with "pre-built" machines and laptops; that $800 laptop isn't as good as the $1000 laptop which isn't as good as the $1500 and not even close to touching the $2500 laptop. When you go to a computer store...actually, speaking of that... DO NOT BUY FROM A "retail chain" STORE! Unless you like to gamble. Then go for it! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> Retail chain's like Staples, Superstore, Walmart, BestBuy, etc...they buy in 'bulk' and get deals. Because they are bulk, those items (and especially pre-built machines) are built with a "get as many out the door as possible" mindset, not a "make sure it's working perfectly first" mindset. When you buy from, say, Staples, that $1100 laptop that cost $1350 at a local specialty computer store is a "gamble". The parts that went into it were grabbed, slapped into it, then packaged and sent. They MIGHT have actually turned it on to see if it started first. Maybe. They don't care if it works as listed...because it's cheaper for them to make 500 a day and get back 100 returns than it is for them to make 300 in that day and get back 3 returns.Bottom line: If you buy from a Retail Chain...you might get a deal, but you might get a HUGE headache too! Or...you could get lucky. My mother had a Staples (or Walmart?) bought laptop that worked great for over ten years! On the other hand, my father in law got a $1500 one from BestBuy (I think), and it fried it's USB connections after about a year...maybe. As for WHAT to buy...look at those games you mentioned and write down their "Minimum" and "Recommended" system requirements. Take this to a computer seller, show them the "Recommended" stats and say "I want this". See how much it costs. Then show them the minimum stats and say "Ok, that's a bit much. I NEED at least this...but closer to the first stats would be better", and let them figure it out for you.If the "minimum" is more than you want to pay...well...sucks. As I said, you get what you pay for, and if you find a $900 laptop "on sale" for $500... DON'T FALL FOR IT! You're wasting your money. You'll be buying another $500 computer in a year and a half...if you're lucky! Then another one, and another, and another, etc.  I paid a pro to build my first computer back in the mid/late 90's; it cost $6000! It was TOP of the line at the time, and stayed relevant/speedy for about 12 years, but I made it last for about 15 with a vid card upgrade. I since have built all my own computers save for a 'cheap' one I bought at Staples (a 'gaming rig' for about $1200; still works, gave it to my mother in law). I also bought a custom built "super computer" for my 3D stuff from Maingear (...ready for the cost...? Are you sitting down?... Ok, I paid just under thirty k, Canadian for it; most of that cost is a video card and the two Xeon E5 2699 v4 CPU's). So when you see "What?!? Who would pay $4000 for a computer just to play video games on?!?", well, gamer's would. My Maingear isn't for "gaming" it's for "creating all the stuff to make the games"...compared to my actual gaming rig (which is about $4000), well, the gaming rig rendered a 3d scene in 1min, 28 seconds. My Maingear 'work' rig rendered it in 8 seconds flat. As I said...you get what you pay for. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />^_^Paul L. Ming</blockquote>

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