New "gaming on tv" setup- "baby's first pc" edition
November 1, 2015 5:34 PM   Subscribe

I want to play Skyrim on my TV as cheaply and efficiently as possible... Deets inside

I'd love to run steam on my new tv- but how? I don't really know anything about PCs, besides that I should get one and a Steam account. I mostly want to play Skyrim and some other RPG things, and I'm a pretty light gamer. My goal is to get a PC for less than a PS3 + games, which would probably run around like $300-400. Is this possible? Thanks for your help.. My inexperience in newer PC setups and stuff is preventing me from doing a lot of research on my own.
posted by Kestrelxo to Computers & Internet (8 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Are you looking to put a PC together or buy a preassembled one?
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 5:57 PM on November 1, 2015


Response by poster: Buy a preassembled one
posted by Kestrelxo at 5:59 PM on November 1, 2015


Best answer: In terms of buying a preassembled one, the cheapest sensible option would be the Alienware Alpha, but these start at $499. They also don't have replaceable video cards IIRC, so I'm not wild about that.

Under that budget and I think it's more reasonable to buy a console.
posted by selfnoise at 6:13 PM on November 1, 2015


As a general rule you will not get a decent pre-assembled gaming PC for under the price of a previous-generation console, so if you only want to play Skyrim and older RPGs then you should go down the refurb XBox 360 / PS3 route.
posted by Xany at 6:16 PM on November 1, 2015


Perhaps a Steam Machine?
posted by mfu at 6:19 PM on November 1, 2015


Agreed with above. It will be hard to get a preassembled computer at that price that's good for gaming.

If you are open to building your own(really not hard) here's a thread of a bunch of cheap builds that supposedly run skyrim well at reddit: Link

In terms of playing on your TV, you'll just need an HDMI out, plus you'll probably want to get a XBox 360 controller plus an adapter for PC like this
posted by mosschief at 6:20 PM on November 1, 2015


Response by poster: I think all the games I never played on PS3 will keep me busy until I learn more about building a PC-- Thanks all
posted by Kestrelxo at 7:50 PM on November 1, 2015


I picked up a used PS3 (120GB) last year, around Xmas, with 10 games and an extra controller for $150 on craislist. There are deals to be found. The used games rack at Gamestop is your new best friend (Skyrim currently ~$20...fallout3/New Vegas both ~$5). I gave up on computer gaming years ago...always so much dicking around just trying to get the game to work in the first place that by the time it does work your suspension of disbelief is totally blown, IMO.
posted by sexyrobot at 10:24 PM on November 1, 2015


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