First Time PC Builder - Need As Much Help As Possible

DRGStudios · May 2021

Hey Everyone,

Hope you're all well and okay during these trying times.

I've been using my old computer to build Unity 2D games and its on its last legs - but want to move into creating 3D Unity Based Games and need help building a computer that can basically be an entire studio in one machine, dedicated to just games and all necessary assets etc.

I've always done prebuilt, but a friend of my recommended that I build my own pc, but despite pretending to understand this stuff, I never know what's actually worth it vs. what's just overkill.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

TSTDavey · May 2021

Hello @Coteot and thanks for posting on the Microcenter Community Forum. It depends on the parts you want and the costs that you are comfortable investing into a pre-build or custom pc.

For 3d gaming you'll need a good CPU (AMD or Intel), 16 gigs of RAM or more if you want and a reasonable graphic card (ex., GTX 1660, gTX 1080). If you really want to expand your graphics go for a RTX 3000 series card (ex., RTX 3070, 3080, etc.).

Nowadays graphic cards are hard to come by and some GPUs are priced at a premium because there's not enough to meet the demand. So you may end up paying more for your GPU if you choose to go with a custom build PC and its parts.

But you may still come out cheaper with your custom build PC over pre-built PC. There are some pre-built PCs that come with RTX 3060 or 1660s and 16 gigs of ram that will run you for $1,200 to $1,600.

A custom build may run you $1,000 to $1,300 assuming you can get a hold of the Graphic Card you want.

It really boils down to cost. 16 gigs and a good graphic wouldn't be overkill. Now if you go with 32 or 64 gigs, that might be overkill.

Below is a link on PC parts for 3d gaming computers BTW.

https://www.pcgamer.com/game-development-pc/#:~:text=3D%20game%20development&text=A%20quad%2Dcore%202.5GHZ,higher%20and%20recommended%20by%20Epic.