questions on a new computer build.

[Mu Rho Ni]

so I'm building me a PC an am wondering what the max specs would need to be and what internal workings you would  recommend . I'm going to use it for gaming web surfing and art it needs to be able to withstand running games ranging from minecraft to skyrim without crashing( correct me if I'm wrong, but  if it can handle skyrim without crashing it should be able to handle most games out there right now, right?) and I'm looking into the wacom bamboo tablet for my art I'm also looking to do this on budget so I'm looking to spend no more than $900 when its all said and done, if that's not possible then so be it but that is my goal. i already have the tower just need the internals.

[Sergalicious]

well i to plan to get a gaming computer but if you really want to game, you need one of these, its the strongest there is

its not like it cost more then the whole computer price you're thinking of or anything

but if you do want to be set for years to come on gaming specs this is for you http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130897&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Desktop+Graphics+Cards-_-N82E16814130897&gclid=CJiXibLrsrkCFWNxQgoddAUAFg

otherwise i have basically no knowlage except that about 8gb of ram is a good number

[Mylo]

well i to plan to get a gaming computer but if you really want to game, you need one of these, its the strongest there is

its not like it cost more then the whole computer price you're thinking of or anything

but if you do want to be set for years to come on gaming specs this is for you http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130897&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Desktop+Graphics+Cards-_-N82E16814130897&gclid=CJiXibLrsrkCFWNxQgoddAUAFg

otherwise i have basically no knowlage except that about 8gb of ram is a good number

That card had deoxyribonucleic acid in it...and EVGA figured out how to infuse it with a soul! It has two of the most critical components of the human being in it...for the sole purpose of enriching the experience of playing video games.

[Mu Rho Ni]

Thanks for the input  . ah yes the titan. I've been looking into that. it would run the price up more but if it's worth it it's worth it.
does anybody know of any good low end to mediocre(price wise) motherboards and sound cards?

[Ziel]

Thanks for the input  . ah yes the titan. I've been looking into that. it would run the price up more but if it's worth it it's worth it.
does anybody know of any good low end to mediocre(price wise) motherboards and sound cards?

Don't go overkill on the graphics. I'm using GeForce GTX 560Ti and it handles everything I require (mostly League of Legends, max settings, steady 60fps). Granted, that's not quite as graphically intensive as some other games, but at this point it's also a bit of an older card and still running strong. For $200-225, I'd say the GTX 660Ti is probably your best bet while keeping with a reasonable budget. Remember: a couple years down the road, if the card starts chugging, the video card is one of the easiest upgrades you can make.

Fortunately, your budget is pretty spot-on for creating a solid gaming rig. Figure around $200 for the processor, and $220 for the video card, $100-120 for a decent motherboard, and your three core components sit right around $550 of the total cost. Set of ram would be around $65, decent PSU for ~$80, hard drive for $60, optical drive for $20... that rounds up to about $800 total for main components, and gives you a budget of about $100 to find a case that suits you.

[Mu Rho Ni]

thanks for the tip. I've looked into it and it looks like that is closer to what i need nothing too big nothing too that one looks about right .

[Weisseman]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard:  Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Memory:  Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card  ($255.66 @ Newegg)
Sound Card:  Asus Xonar DSX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card  ($48.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:  Corsair Professional 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply  ($99.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive:  Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer  ($26.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $899.56
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-05 01:19 EDT-0400)

This is assuming you want a separate Soundcard and already have an OS. Since you mentioned you had a tower already I didn't include that.

[Mu Rho Ni]

yes i do want the sound card and no i do not have an OS i want to go with windows 7 but not sure on the difference between home and pro. and that was a very helpful list, thank you

[Weisseman]

If you don't know the difference then you want home   It'll do all you want and is cheaper than Pro anyway.

With an OS:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard:  Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory:  Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card  ($255.66 @ Newegg)
Sound Card:  Asus Xonar DSX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card  ($48.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:  Corsair Professional 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply  ($99.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive:  Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer  ($26.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $999.55
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-05 10:04 EDT-0400)

[Ziel]

If you don't know the difference then you want home   It'll do all you want and is cheaper than Pro anyway.

With an OS:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard:  Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory:  Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card  ($255.66 @ Newegg)
Sound Card:  Asus Xonar DSX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card  ($48.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:  Corsair Professional 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply  ($99.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive:  Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer  ($26.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $999.55
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-05 10:04 EDT-0400)

This is a pretty good list. I'll just add a few comments on it.

 - Memory goes on sale fairly often (especially at Newegg). I'd suggest looking around to see if there are any deals available that could save you money, or possibly even get you a higher capacity for the same price.  I did a budget build about 1.5 years ago now, and I happened to find a deal on a 16GB kit of RAM for $5 more than the 8GB kit I initially picked (still from a trustworthy brand).

 - You can find a pretty solid power supply for cheaper than what's listed there. $65-70 would get you a 600-650W PSU with ample current ratings for your needs. Biggest difference is that they're a tad less efficient. Here are three I found through a quick search that should work:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152041
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152046
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817822029

 - Optical drives can be had for less than the one listed above. Generally if you just check the current deals, you'll find a handful at $20, and sometimes you catch some on sale for $15 or $17.

These are really just going to be a few dollars here and there saved, but every little bit counts, right?

[Weisseman]

- Memory goes on sale fairly often (especially at Newegg). I'd suggest looking around to see if there are any deals available that could save you money, or possibly even get you a higher capacity for the same price.  I did a budget build about 1.5 years ago now, and I happened to find a deal on a 16GB kit of RAM for $5 more than the 8GB kit I initially picked (still from a trustworthy brand).

While it does go on sale be aware RAM prices are increasing. Given that there was a massive fire at a Hynix Fab yesterday RAM prices may go up even more. GDDR5 has risen a lot because of this (which in turn will raise GPU prices).

To give you an idea:
I bought 32GB's of RAM for £150 four months ago. The same product is now £210.

I keep an eye on Component prices quite a lot and I really can't understand why prices of certain parts are increasing but there we go.
I did toy over a Bronze rated PSU as an option but it's not something I'd want to skimp on regardless of the rating. Sticking with a good well known brand is key. I'd rather pay a little more for a decent PSU as it can destroy more than itself if it goes wrong (I've seen this happen as well).

[Mu Rho Ni]

OK will keep all that in mind. thanks for the input on this guys.

[FurryGayBoy]

For what you're using it for, RAM wise you don't need more than 8 gb, storage space is up to you.  Generally an i5 CPU is good enough for stuff, but if you want I dish out the extra bucks you can get an i7.  For gaming, the thing that's going to give your rig power is your GPU, so is get a decent one for that.