Game crashes, need new PC. Help me decide.

Hello,

A week ago, our family desktop died.  Specifically, the hard drives failed.  The computer repair store confirmed this.  It was a Dell, and quite frankly, I don't feel like throwing money into keeping the Dell "alive".

So we have a media PC that is an AMD A4-5300 3.4GHz.  It has 16 GB ram.  I transplanted my old video card (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745) into the media PC.  While this video card is not top of the line, it works just fine, and has given me years of ESO enjoyment.  However, with this AMD media PC, the ESO game crashes.  The crash occurs after I sign in, and before the character select screen appears.   I get the ESO crash reporter window that says "We're sorry. The Elder Scrolls Online has quit unexpectedly".  I reported this to ESO tech support, and for the last 7 days, we have gone back and forth on a daily basis, asking me try this, then try that.  But nothing is working.  I am convinced that it is time to look for a new computer.

I'd like to build a new computer.  I tend to build one about every 10 years.  I think its time to build a new one. I'm leaning towards getting a - bang-for-buck -  i5-7500 processor, and running it on a B250 LGA1151 motherboard. I intend to use my existing video card, and I plan on buying DDR4 ram (8Gb X 2). I was hoping for feedback if this would be a good setup for running ESO?  

I am in a position to spend around $1000, but if I can spend less then the better.  I'd like to get something that will last a long while.

Question #1:  Does anyone recommend a better setup?  Should I go with an i7 instead?    I don't seem to have much luck with AMD, so I want to stay clear of Ryzen.  I also do not wish to overclock.  A stock processor is just fine for me.

Question #2:  What case should I get?  I seriously have wasted more time this week looking at cases.  Now they seem to come with a glass door and LED lights.  I don't need fancy or beautiful.  I need a case with good airflow that functions well.  Was thinking of getting a mid sized case, and not a full tower.  I don't think I will be using any 5.25" bays.  I'm done with CD/DVD.  The case will need to support my Corsair cx750 power supply (it's one i picked up about 2 years ago when I thought my Dell's PS was failing).  This corsair 80 plus bronze is brand new.  I realize it is more watts than is needed, but I'd like to use what i have.  The case will also need to have room for 2 hard drives; a SSD and a larger hard drive.

Question #3:  Where's the best place to get Windows 10?  I'll need it on a USB drive so I can install it on a new SSD.

I appreciate any feedback.  Our family misses playing ESO. :)

PC Part Picker is my go to place for building a new computer, it takes much of the guessing out of it.

if gaming is all it is doing, then i5 is good enough and you can save $100 right there.

I like fractal design and bit fenix cases, my fractal design came with a lot of extra hardware for mounting and had excellent wire management.

I have not installed CD/DVD drives in any of our new machines, we just never use it and if we need it, then we have an external laying around.

Which fractal design case did you choose?  Does it come with fans, or did you buy them separate?

I was planning to build a PC like you earlier this year, planned my build on PC-part-picker website for some time, but end up getting a 17 inch gaming laptop.  It is about 50% more expensive than a desktop with similarly spec, but more convenient to move around the house from time to time or even bring it out to play at coffee shop etc.

I know how to build a computer and pick the parts, it is just that there is always the possibility of some parts have issues and you end up spend a lot of time tinkering.  

If I have a budget of $1000 for a gaming laptop, this is probably what I will get:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-Legion-Y520-15-6-Full-HD-High-Performance-Gaming-Business-Laptop-Intel-i7-Quad-Core-8GB-RAM-1TB-HDD-15-6-inch-FHD-1920-x-1080-GeForce-GTX-1050/678304543?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=1324&adid=22222222222000000000&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=o&wl2=c&wl3=10352200394&wl4=kwd-1103028060075&wl12=678304543_10000001323&wl14=lenovo%20y520&veh=sem

http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/define-series/define-r5-black

it comes with two 140mm fans

Solo:

May I ask which gaming laptop you went with?   I did not even consider going with a gaming laptop.  I might be able to increase my budget.

Can you plug your laptop into multiple monitors?  Do you need/have a docking station?

No doubt, in my mind; build your own. I just finished up with one. My one mistake was thinking that I could stay within my budget. SSD's, M3's and video card put me over the top. But running any game from an SSD is much better than a hard drive. Ending up with a rig that suits all your needs is well worth the stretch. The I-5 is a good choice. Search on the internet for a deal on Windows 10, there are quite a few places that sell it with a guarantee. I bought my copy for $25.00. You download it to a flash drive and you will always have it for a fresh install if you need. Good luck, and use the grounding strap!!

Maxina,

I am interested in knowing what components you went with. (Chip, Motherboard, Ram, SSD, video card, case).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

I've quickly selected some parts for illustration:

• CPU: if you don't plan on overclocking your system, don't select one that ends with k 'eg i5-7600k' you pay extra for unlocked CPU's
• CPU Cooler: old style mechanical works just perfectly and can be easier to fit into any enclosure
• Motherboard: for a overclocking CPU go with a Z270 chipset, else H270 since you won't be needing the overclocking features
• Memory: Standard DDR4 speed is 2133MHz, if you don't plan on overclocking your memory, don't waste money on higher speed they all run the same until told otherwise.  8Gb is enough for gaming.
• Storage: SSD for main drive and don't get cheap with a small drive, you will regret it later when you run out.
• Video Card: Do you need a GTX 1080 or ti, maybe not, my wife runs a 1070 and it works like a charm in any mmo.  I have a 1080ti and love it, let your budget and ability to find deals set how much you can get.  Also keep in mind that in game performance can have as little as 2% or less between the top cards.  I normally just do a google search "GTX 1080 vs ti" and UserBenchmarks has good comparisons.

Hi Garyc,

I bought an Alienware 17 with the spec listed at the end of this post.  Went with Alienware since other gaming laptops in similar price range don't have the GTX1080 video card, they all use GTX1070 (such as gaming laptops from Lenovo, Asus, MSI, etc).  It is a bit pricy I would say.

You can connect to two monitors as I researched, but I haven't tried.  If you use a thunderbolt dock then you can connect to 3 monitors, but I haven't tried that myself either.

My current use case is sitting with my kids around a big table to watch them do home work while I sneak in a little intermittent solo (pun intended) ESO exploring :) in between taking care of bills, reply to emails, etc.  If I use a gaming desktop it will be all too obvious that I am playing game cough cough, also there is no enough room in our study area for that, I have to go to my computer desk and can't be together with the kids.

So far I am happy with the 17 inches screen.

Curious what you end up with.

My computer I put together late last year cost me $2,430 with a new router and new MS Office 2016.  Which apparently was above your price range so I never posted my specs.  This excluded any monitors since I had 4 already so my new one took three and the old one kept one.  Granted, the video card was $649.99 without the tax so that was 25% of the cost right there.

I can update this post with the components I end up with.

So far I've purchased the following:

Case:  Corsair 200r.  Comes with 2 fans. Bought a 3rd fan for airflow.  I wasn't interested in a windowed case, or LED lights.  Just wanted a no frills ATX case.

PSU:  EVGA 500w 80+ bronze.  (I realized my corsair 750w was overkill).  I could have gone with a 450w, and have been just fine.

CPU:  I7-7700.

Motherboard:  Gigabyte B250-HD3

RAM:  Corsair DDR4 2400

Storage:  Samsung 960 PRO NVME 500GB drive. 

Videocard:  Using existing videocard.  It's old, but it works:  Nvidia GTX 750.   I can always replace it down the road

OS:  Windows 10 home (USB)

This will be my first computer where I dont have a CD or DVD drive.  

Just put it together today, and am currently waiting for ESO to download.  Might have to wait until tomorrow to play ESO.  Currently at 2%.  Windows installed really quick from USB to NVME drive.    ESO download is at 2%, and this took longer than the entire windows installation and patch.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions.  Appreciate it.