How much time, energy and money is needed for building a Gaming PC?

I have been a console gamer and I am thinking about building a gaming PC. I dont have much knowledge about computers at all and I am wondering how much time and energy would I need to learn everything I need to know and build a PC. Also how much would it cost if I dont have anything (no monitor, keyboard, mouse)?

Monitor - $150 for a 23" 1080P

OS - $100 i'm guessing

keyboard / mouse /speakers - $50

one kick ass PC - $600

yeah, about $900, give or take.

Time? My first time took me about 1-2 hours, following the Gamespot guide (it's stickied in this forum). This was from unpackaging to seeing the desktop screen. Oh yeah, this included cable management too. So if you're not a neat freak like I am, I'd say about 1 hour.

Energy? Uh, your back will probably hurt from bending over, kneeling, squatting so much. Mine did...

I would plan on spending at least $900 to $1000 including operating system, monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse, etc.. For that kind of money you can have a kick-ass system that will last for a couple of years of playing games on pretty high settings.

Putting it all together isn't all that hard if you're decent with your hands. I've done a ton of builds, some much more challenging than others. I've found that the things that take the longest are the stupid details. If you just put it all together like it should go, I'd say maybe 2 hours max for your first build. If something goes wrong, you could spend more time troubleshooting. Generally speaking you can tell how everything should go together when you get all the parts. All you really have to do is put the parts together and pop in the Windows install disk, then follow the directions. Then you get online and update the driver software for your various components and you're good to go. It's a very rewarding experience.

It's a pretty hectic thing if you dont know much about computers and all. I would recommend you to order it from some custom building site if it's your first time because unless you actually have a passion to learn it, it's going to become very annoying for you.

Once you have your first gaming PC then slowly learn stuff like the next time you upgrade a component do it yourself, you will slowly get comfortable with handling computer hardware and you might be able to do your next build all by yourself.

People will quote me and say that it's as "easy as lego" but it really isnt for a typical console gamer. As the above user said there are far too many details involved and trouble shooting can take you days if you are unlucky.

It's a pretty hectic thing if you dont know much about computers and all. I would recommend you to order it from some custom building site if it's your first time because unless you actually have a passion to learn it, it's going to become very annoying for you.

Once you have your first gaming PC then slowly learn stuff like the next time you upgrade a component do it yourself, you will slowly get comfortable with handling computer hardware and you might be able to do your next build all by yourself.

People will quote me and say that it's as "easy as lego" but it really isnt for a typical console gamer. As the above user said there are far too many details involved and trouble shooting can take you days if you are unlucky.

Gambler_3

Ya choosing the right things as a noob also takes alot of time especially if you are on a limited budget choosing the right combination can be so confusing even for people who know their stuff.

Can you snap together legos? Congratulations, you can build a PC.

Now you just need about $1000, and an hour to put it together and install the OS.

Can you snap together legos? Congratulations, you can build a PC.

Now you just need about $1000, and an hour to put it together and install the OS.

cmdrmonkey45

Just look at the stickied thread, ask us questions along the way, and it should be cake.

About 1k, but read up on everything before you build it. I made a few mistakes during my build that cost me some money.

If you do it right, its as easy as pie.