Median System Requirements?

[LivingInThePast 364]

Hey guys...I've been meaning to build a new PC (probably going with AMD), trying to shoot for under $1000, and at the minimum play games better than my old MacBook 2010 running Windows XP. Of course, building to play legacy games isn't a winner in the long run, so I'm asking what I should shoot for in terms of graphics cards and whatnot to not only hit no more than $1000 but also play C:S without much sweat, and without cutting out all but the essential details. I'm hoping it would give me a good benchmark to shoot for, because playing C:S well is one of the things I really wanted to do with it...

[Zentro 13]

nVIDIA GTX 750 - Around $100

Intel i5 4690k - Around $200

This will run Cities Skylines smoothly, even with a high population.

[rmjohnson144 39]

Hey guys...I've been meaning to build a new PC (probably going with AMD), trying to shoot for under $1000, and at the minimum play games better than my old MacBook 2010 running Windows XP. Of course, building to play legacy games isn't a winner in the long run, so I'm asking what I should shoot for in terms of graphics cards and whatnot to not only hit no more than $1000 but also play C:S without much sweat, and without cutting out all but the essential details. I'm hoping it would give me a good benchmark to shoot for, because playing C:S well is one of the things I really wanted to do with it...

What kind of games do you play or want to play?  What other software will you run?

It really depends what you'll use your PC the most.

[Cool_Z 1,547]

nVIDIA GTX 750 - Around $100

Intel i5 4690k - Around $200

This will run Cities Skylines smoothly, even with a high population.

I know a gtx 960 is more expensive, but I would recommend it.

 

I'll also say that 8Gb of ram is needed, and more than 8 is better.

[Roadman20 601]

Agreed with what Zentro said, although if you can afford the step up to 960, that's better.

The key thing for assets and mods is having enough RAM, 8 GB is the bare minimum, with 16 GB recommended for using a lot of mods and assets.

[LivingInThePast 364]

nVIDIA GTX 750 - Around $100

Intel i5 4690k - Around $200

This will run Cities Skylines smoothly, even with a high population.

Hm, what about an AMD processor? I'm still thinking...

[rmjohnson144 39]

You could try an 8-core AMD like the FX-8320 ($120USD)  Pair it with an Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 ($120USD - $40USD rebate for $80USD total) that supports fairly good overclocking if you choose to down the road.

That should go a long way on this game.  Others are subjective.

I'd recommend the GTX 960 if nothing more than other games.  The 750 may struggle late game especially towards 25-tiles completely full.

 

I'd recommend a good power supply.  Espdcially if you want to overclock that 8-core to 4.5GHz or more.  AMD use a lot of power and it wants clean power for stability.

I prefer the:

850 Watt CORSAIR HXi HX850i CP-9020073-NA ($140USD - $20USD rebate for $120USD total)

The Corsair i series have built in sensors on the power supply with an included USB cable that connects to the motherboard USB pin headers to monitor all you your PSU stats.  It is very handy, but not essential.

 

If you overclock your CPU you'll need a good CPU cooler.  Here is the best economical air cooler.

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO ($30USD - $10USD rebate for $20USD.

 

[boformer 3,169]

Usually it's the best to buy the previous generation of gaming hardware, if you are buying single components.

That's a lot cheaper and sufficient to play all new games which will be released in the next 5 years.

If you don't want to overclock (I don't recommend it), you don't need more than 500 or 600W power supply.

I'm still using one of the first i7 processors and a 2 year old graphics card. C:SL and all other games run perfectly.