I don't know anything about gaming. The last time I regularly played video games was on my Atari. Yes, a million years ago.

  1. Basic question: I'd like to get into gaming. What's better a console or a gaming PC? My PC is super old so I have to buy a new PC anyway.

  2. I'm considering buying a renewed PC from Amazon. From what little I know - it seems like a good deal. If I buy something like a renewed Dell XPS 8940 for - I dunno up to $1,500 is that good enough for gaming? I'd prefer a boring PC case.

  3. What's the minimum I'd need to spend to get a gaming PC that plays most games?

  4. What are common mistakes people make when buying a gaming PC?

  5. Can most games be torrented?

  6. What's easier to torrent? Games for consoles or PC games? Ideally torrents will be my gaming store.

I'm giving myself until the end of the month to buy a new PC. So it's time for me to decide.

Amazon example...

Dell XPS 8940 Tower Desktop PC)

There are two PC setups on the page. Both are $1,000. Here are the specs for one of them.

[Edit: It's missing a useful graphics cad. I know I'll need the best graphics card possible because without that I'm buying a brand new car with a puny, nearly useless engine.]

  • 10th Gen Octa-core Intel i7-10700 2.9GHz Processor

  • 32GB DDR4 Memory

  • 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD +1TB SATA 7200 RPM HDD

  • DVD-RW Drive

  • Windows 10 w/ Accessories (Renewed)

Edit

I'm not interested in building one. I'd screw something up. It's just the way I am.

  • doublepepperoni [none/use name]
    ·
    1 year ago

    There's also the option of having a computer preassembled from off the shelf parts as opposed to a package deal by a big name like Dell. Many computer retailers offer different tiers of builds that they will send you already assembled. You'd get something better suited for gaming that way, though that space also has some less than honest players in it.

    • InevitableSwing [none/use name]
      ·
      1 year ago

      There’s also the option of having a computer preassembled from off the shelf parts as opposed to a package deal by a big name like Dell.

      That might be best for me.

      What would be some good sites or good info? I didn't look into that because I'm ignorant of everything and I didn't want to get scammed.

        • Lovely_sombrero [he/him]
          ·
          1 year ago

          You can get the parts that you want from PC Parts Picker and the guys at Microcenter will build it for you for like ~$50. A very good solution, you can get what you want and you don't have to build it yourself if you don't want to.

      • doublepepperoni [none/use name]
        ·
        1 year ago

        I would just begin by looking for an established PC parts retailer with a good reputation. Also, as for your question about monitors, that comes down to what resolution you're targeting which is also tied to what kind of graphics card you'll want. 4k 60+ FPS is very demanding, but if you're happy with a lower resolution, you can get by with a much cheaper card and monitor