Need Help with switch to pc master race

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Don't know if this is the right thread so sorry in advance. I'm 15 and would really like to switch to pc gaming. My parents do not want me building a pc because of possible issues I could have. AKA being my own tech support. They want me to buy a custom pc. What company should I go with.(Cyberpowerpc, etc.)? I want to spend $1,000 to $1,200. If you could recommend a site and components that would be great. My parents offered to pay the price difference if I found all the parts and figured out what the price would be if I built it. So a parts list would be great. 

-Thanks

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Although I'm not sure about your main question I have to say that building my PC a year ago was one of the best decisions ive ever made. I was 15 at the time and at the time was very strongly considering having one custom made, but I took the risk and succeeded. If you are stuck on something, you can come here and ask about it or, if worst comes to worst, so into a shop to ask questions, although there is probably someone in your school or life that knows something about computers. I have four friends who have build their PCs and they are all enjoying them and we ask each other for help sometimes. Before you are going to have one made, make sure you know that you don't know anyone with experience because chances are you do and they would love to help you make the switch.

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And do you have any brand preferences? I could put together a build if i knew if you liked AMD over Intel, Nvidia over AMD?

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I built my first PC when I was 16, and I had to fund the entire thing myself (with mah job) because my parents, like yours, didn't think it was a good idea. Well, I really proved them wrong, hahaha! It was a great experience, but I'll admit that it wasn't super easy. 

In terms of where to buy prebuilt systems from, you could try NCIX if you're in Canada. I don't have a ton of experience with prebuilts since no one I know has bought prebuilt before, but I dunno... Linus (from LinusTechTips) seems to support NCIX systems.

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@_Phillip

Thanks for the response I don't really have any brand preferences. I just really want a good price to performance. I would prefer to build a pc but its mainly my parents that don't want me to. If I convince my parents to let me build a pc what a happens if something's stops working within a year do most companies have fairly good warranties? Thanks for all your help. 

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@unholymist

Thought about that because I'm subscribed to him. But I'm in the U.S. I guess I'll try and see if my parents will let me build a pc. 

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I bought mine from cyberpower a few years ago..If you go this route research all the parts you are putting in the system..If you want to see my old build it is on my profile page..Also when you are picking a case check to see what fans are included if you are not wanting to pay for extra fans..The reason I picked the case I picked was because it came with 5 fans that are still running..Keep in mind if you plan on expanding or upgraded your system it is always easier if you already have a power supply that is ready for it, more power can be better..

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Building a pc isn't difficult, you could encounter some problems during or after you have completed your build which can be easily solved with a easy google search, looking around in forums, there are great people with experience on this forum who will help you with pinpoint problems. The only question is are you willing to learn and gain valuable experience which will set you on a lifelong path or even career options (like Wendell and other users here). If you get a PC, you will have to be your own tek support. If you want a failsafe plug and play box then stick with console. But since you have already chosen, just go ahead and look at various build videos on TekSyndicate, Linustech and other youtube channels. Gather as much information as you can before you order parts.

Then you can go to the next step, deciding parts suitable for your needs and to get MOST performance out of the budget by building a balanced rig. cheers :3

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Wow thanks for all the help. What would you recommend for playing games like BF4 or Crysis. I really just want something that could run on high or medium settings with decent FPS. 

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This is when you try to break their fears with some logic, by asking them(something along these lines) should I learn how to change a tire or wait and have someone else do it on the side of the road, should I not know how to change my own oil, or air filter in a car when I have one..I am hoping that they do do at least one of these if not it can be a mute point..Or be like you maybe impeding my choice at future career in computers by not allowing me to do this..

Or just make a declaration I WILL NOT FAIL IN THIS TASK I AM SMART ENOUNGH TO ASK FOR HELP WHEN I NEED IT..and I will if I do..

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This would play 95% of today's games at highest settings on 1080P. 120GB SSD, Windows, and a 23 inch 1080P monitor included around your budget of 1200 bucks. You can tweak it according to your needs.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2mzxe

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Looks like a good build is there any advantage to an AMD 8320 over the CPU you picked? 

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Yeah it's like 220 times better cause it's got a bigger number, no? :)

Actually, you want to save as much money as possible for the graphics card for a gaming build. What abaxxa recommended is rock solid. If you have the money to spare, get the fx 8320/8350, if not, fx 6300 is just as good for games to this date.

You could get a better monitor and save money by getting windows 7 or 8 for "free".

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In gaming the 8320 has no advantage over the 6300. However, the 8320 has 8 cores opposed to the 6300's 6 so it'll do better in more heavily multithreaded tasks or if you're doing other tasks simultaneously like streaming.

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The only thing I would recommend to change for this build would be to go with a decent 990 chipset motherboard with better VRM setup to allow for furture upgrade to the FX-8320/8350.

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There are some games that do and can make use of more than 6 cores, like BF4. And there will be more going forward. I think it's wise for anyone looking to get into serious PC gaming if you're going with the AMD FX platform to plan ahead and make sure you can upgrade to the 8 core without having to buy another motherboard. 

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If I were to get a better motherboard than abaxxa said to get what whould you guys recommend?

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Or, TropiKo, one could just get linux and be done with windows for good. 

Sure, gaming on linux still has a long way to go, but now it's really starting to build up momentum. 

For OP, the best recommendation I could give would be as someone else mentioned: Balance.

Don't buy superduper graphics if the rest doesn't match up. For instance buying a great CPU and graphics will still be slow if you have shitty ram, a poor mobo and a slow HDD.

I'd rather go for maybe a tad weaker graphics card, shift the budget over at things that are bad and cheap in order to get those items up to a better standard. (PSU, cooling, ram, a decent and future-proof mobo)

Maybe go for a gtx 760, which is -ok- alone, then add another one later when you have the money for it. Then you have two cards for the price of one gtx 780 and are performing better than said card. Waiting with that 2nd gtx 760 will net you a rig costing just as much in the total run, but you'll be able to spend more money on other parts before getting the final build. (If the budget is restricted.)  

I may be repeating myself, but I'd rather have a great build and a bit weaker graphics card, knowing that I can add another one when I have the cash to spend and still pay less than for instance a 780, than to have a 780 but having to go through the hassle of redoing my whole build because I chose a shitty CPU or mobo.

I suppose AM3+ is decent, the 28nm FX processors aren't coming to us in 2014, so unless you want to go with the (Intel) 1150 socket then AM3+ is probably better imo (albeit a dying socket). I'm unsure if the new FX processors will use FM2+, but pretty sure it's not AM3+. 

The closest alternative performance wise would be the i5 4670k, more expensive but a mobo on that socket will carry on to the new broadwell-CPU's. 

 

The only reason I wrote all of that is because I am in the same situation myself, dunno which of those to get for a brand spanking new build. I hope it's somewhat helpful though.

 

I have two rough ideas for mATX builds:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2mYJ9 - AM3+ based with a 760. (Choose case wisely and you can fit two of them in there eventually)

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2mYWl - 1150 based with a 760, tried to use roughly the same components. The difference is the gryphon which costs 3 times the mobo on the other build. (Because it's a damned solid mobo compatible with the new broadwell cpu's, a worthy investment.) Still not a huge difference in price though. I think you'll get the noctua in there with two cards, but I originally had a smaller case and planned it with a single gpu in mind. (r9 290(maybe X))

 

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The build I recommended will give you solid performance across the board. The only thing missing is upgradeability, meaning that if you want to upgrade to an 8 core CPU the mobo probably cannot handle it. And I mean probably because many people have put 8350 on a 970 board without problems. For strictly gaming and light video editing, the 6 core is plenty powerful.

Also, you won't be able to add another GPU because the mobo only supports 1XPCIe 16 and 1XPCIe 4. BUt with that 280x on 1080P, you won't need to upgrade. 

If you really want to get a better motherboard I suggest the Asus M5A99fx PRO 2.0. You can replace the cpu with a fx 8350 in the future if you want, and also it will support Crossfire but you will also need a more powerful PSU.

But I suggest you Don't go after specs and power that you don't need, you will be happy and save yourself a lot of money because PC parts are expensive.

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I would strongly advise against using that cheap 760 chipset motherboard with an 8350. You need at least a good quality 970 chipset board and even then, many people have been running into problem with the power delivery for the 8-core FX CPU's. 

You're willing to spend $160 on an Intel motherboard but only $65 for the more power-hungry AMD 8350? That makes no sense. If you have room in your budget, you should at least go with a decent 990 chipset AMD board.  

Also, you don't need a super expensive motherboard. The performance difference between say a $60 H81 board and $250 Z87 board running the same CPU (stock clocks), GPU, Ram, and storage device is little to none. The main difference in motherboard pricing is in the given set of features, I/O and quality of the components.

Component selection should be based on what the main use of the system will be, your budget and plan for upgrades.