Building PC advice

[Wyngaard]

I've been in the reserves for the unit since the start of January and don't believe how much I miss at after the withdrawels. Needless to say it's been long enough and I'm ready to put the money down for a new gaming PC. Only problem is I know little about this process and am trying to learn as much as I can. The sites giving me info on what is good can vary so much it can all be very confusing. So who better to ask about a good gaming computer than the men and women in the unit. Basically anything on what video cards and parts to buy is helpful. I have a budget of 1500 with my tax returns if that gives a sufficient window. Any input is much appreciated.

[SSG (Ret) Street]

This is what I use to build my PC's gives you a link to where to buy stuff and how much it is, as well as different price points.
http://kbmod.com/2016/01/pc-build-guide-january-2016/

[SGT (Ret) Padgett]

what do you have now?

[Bingham]

Rough build http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fLFY4D what i recommend

[CPT (Ret) Clark]

I watched youtube videos to learn about building my pc last year.

It was actually very easy and I will never buy a premade desktop again.

[Wyngaard]

Right now I have a Dell Inspiron 15 3000 laptop with intel i3 core that could run some games well but running things like our OPS it was barely making it through.

[CPT (Ret) Clark]

This is the guy I watched to learn how to do everything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zOYdNEHDQo

[CPT (Ret) Whitby]

If you need help installing components, LinusTechTips is the place to go. Guy just has a Library of content around building PC's

[CPT (Ret) Richardson]

For ARMA, get an intel processor, not an AMD.

[Bingham]

For ARMA, get an intel processor, not an AMD.

+1

[Leeds]

I got a Geforce GTX 960 with an i5-4590. It runs everything we do great, 40-60 pretty strong, dependant on what's going on, but doesn't really drop noticeably during those extreme engagements.

Get a better processor (i7 variant) if you can afford it. And make sure to get a decent processor heat sink (cpu cooler) 30$ or more.
Work around these specs and you'll be pretty happy. I run everything on high-ultra no problems.

I've heard bad things about the 980ti.

[Reese]

I have built a i7 6700k and a i5 6600k, testing both with a MSI GTX970 gaming GPU. i5 gave a much higher FPS on ultra settings. Arma is a strange duck and is all about the single core processor speed. An Arma specific build, will most likely not be you best all around gaming machine. You may want to try and duplicate a machine that someone has and proven to run the game well. Also changing the graphics settings, type of monitor etc dramitcally effects the performance so you need to know exactly what setup people have before you trust their advice.

[SSG (Ret) Donohoe]

This is my exact build              http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fvHQTW

It is only my second ever build, I learned off youtube, it is basically electronic lego and very easy to do.

[Leeds]

Yea it is definitely pretty easy what with YouTube and the manuals that come with it. The hardest part I found was actually committing to getting the shit.

Definitely take advantage of sales, especially if you're getting an SSD, (although just a hard drive will work just fine).

Additionally, just like a couple of guys posted their builds from pcpartpicker. If you feel like putting something together different than what guys have posted (for cost reasons, etc). Make sure you just go onto that website to ascertain the compatability of the components together. Parts websites won't tell you if it will work with other brands of components, etc. So just make sure you do yourself the favour.

[CPT (Ret) Richardson]

I don't see any case fans in most of the linked builds, so whatever case you get, make sure it either comes with fans pre-installed, or purchase fans to install into your case. You'll have to look at your case specs to see which fans to get.