Need Recommendations for New PC

Added you on steam to speed up the whole process, because I need some quick feedback from your side.

SSD -> Expensive but quite fast
HDD -> Cheap but relatively slower

For this I'd recommend getting an SSD with enough storage for programs, etc. and get an external HDD with 3.0 USB (if your Motherboard allows this) and it'll be quite fast and it's way cheaper to get storage.

For RAM I'd say go for 8-16 GB, no less. Grab something in the middle price range, I hear it got expensive as hell since 2016.

As for graphics cards, at the moment, I'd recommend getting Nvidia, they didn't get that much pricier (contrary to AMD). An Nvidia GTX 1050 goes for around $150 USD, and it's enough to play any game, most of them at least on high depending on the resolution. If you have the money go for a 1080, but that'll be quite the expensive treat. So I'd recommend again, going for something on the middle range, as low budget will only get you to upgrading again in 2-3 years max.

You should upgrade your Motherboard and PSU as well. Motherboard will let you have USB 3.0 ports and many other things, depending on which one you buy, although I'm no expert in the department. You'll need to upgrade your PSU as well if you upgrade everything else, power requirement will go up. Probably, something around the 600 Watts mark should be enough if you go for a middle range upgrade in general. (There's a calculator at outervision.com, although you need to know the components first).

As a side note, from what I've seen and comparing prices from 2-3 years ago to now, AMD Graphics Cards got expensive, but the processors didn't. Intel processors got really expensive as well. Nvidia Graphics Cards didn't get that much of a price hike. Just some info you should take into account when buying right now.

Happy upgrading! :)

hey Lon

1) You should definitely get an SSD on your machine. I have a 256 GB SSD and it starts up really quickly. But if you want to game a lot I think that might not be enough space (I have to every so often delete some games I no longer play). One popular solution to this problem that many computers have now is half SSD and half hard drive. That is, they have a small SSD that just makes the computer boot up really quickly (like 128 or 256 GB) and they store all hard documents, downloads, pictures, etc. on a hard drive that's usually 1000 GB big.
2) I use 8 gigabytes of ram and am sufficient. Really don't see a need to go over this
3) If you want to play games you should get a graphics card. im running intel graphics so i cant help with you.
4) dont know

1)SSD for OS and you programs 250-500GB should be good, I have a Samsung 250GB. HDD for storage and games libraries (steam, gog, uplay, origins, etc) 2-3tb should be enough.
2) I recommend 16GB of ram. If you can't get that much, you can always get 8 now and 8 more later.

It depends on what you want to do with it and how much are you willing to spend.. but 2 cents, are SSD is a must, 8GB RAM is pretty suficient (I think) Graphics card it depends on what games you want to play (the heavier they are more expensive it will be) Processor get an i5 or i7 if you want to work with something like sony vegas etc.. Get a good motherboard so that it will be easier to upgrade other parts of the PC as the motherboard won't become obsolute .. that's about it, also a power supply should be bought according to the computer you buy

EDIT: Like MyNameIsMud, SSD can be used to only store OS and programs you use daily and one or two games, the rest you can buy an HDD drive that its far less expensive and there you can store all the other things you have (For example I have 120gb SSD and 1Tb HDD)

1) SSDs are obligatory, especially with the new M.2 and NVMe standards; they are cheap, and reduce any loading time by a lot.
2) 8GB is enough most of the time, but 16GB is ideal.
3) With a GTX 1060 or an RX 570 you can run the majority of modern games @1080p60, with games like Rise of TR, TW3 or ME Catalyst pushing the cards to their limits (you will need some overclock to get a stable 50-60fps); upper models are more future-proof, obviously, while lower are still still worth buying, offering an amazing cost per frame efficiency.
4) Yes, a good PSU is obligatory if you want to keep you build safe, I suggest you some trusted threads over the Interweb for reference on Tom's and LTT; the motherboard is defined by your CPU of choice, usually 100 to 150€/$ are enough to get a good product.

Since you made this type of thread I suppose you have a limited budget to spend: how much is it? Also, what system do you have right now? Having a 5yo PC doesn't mean it's worthless. If at the time you got a decent CPU, Mobo and RAM you just need to get a fresh GPU and an SSD, which you can reuse for example the next year or two when you'll new CPU, Mobo and RAM. As for getting a future-upgrade-proof system, AMD Ryzen is the best choice, but CPU sockets will eventually change (AMD says they will use the AM4 until 2020 at least) and so do RAMs (DDR5 here it comes).

1) The ideal would be to get a ssd and a hdd. You could go for a 128gb ssd if you're really tight on budget, and a 1tb hdd or bigger if you want.
2) 8gb RAM is the minimum these days. I'd recommend going for 16gb to be safe from ram hungry games.
3) GTX 1060 is the king right now. Go for the 1070 or 1080 if you have better budget.
4) I mean, it would probably be nice to get a new mobo, from what you said. You'll probably want to update your cpu, too. So keep in mind what cpu you want to go for before deciding on a mobo.

before we can answer all these questions 100% you should tell us (and set your self) a price.
it's not open end but most of the time in hardware you get more for more.

To your questions

1. def. ssd. now it depends on your budget and how much space you need. I throw all hdds out of my system because I didn't need them any more

2. at least 8gb of ram, speed depends on your cpu (ryzen loves fast ram). 16gb would be better but price for ram is waaay to high atm. brand doesn't matter. mostly same chips.

3. normaly I would say AMD but there is no good product available so depends on budget 1060, 1070 or 1080. don't buy a 1070ti

4. it sounds like you also need a new cpu. if only gaming go with an i5 or i7. If you also stream, compiling or just lot of multitasking go with ryzen 1700)
   psu... go with a brand. Corsair is good atm

would be good to know what you have atm

Good middle of the road build:

CPU: i5-8600K
RAM: 16GB
GPU: Geforce 1060 (6GB version) or 1070
Storage: 500GB SSD (Mechanical drives are useful for data storage, but if loading time matters to you an SSD is a must)

Watch the youtube videos on PC building tutorials like linus tech tips and jay2cents. There's a few tips/dumb mistakes to look out for, like buying a motherboard that doesn't support overclocking and spending unnecessarily on components that do.

https://pcpartpicker.com/

So now to the questions:
1) Hard Drive(s) - Should I go SSD? Capacity?
Yes, SSD for the OS and frequently used games, absolutely. I recommend 500GB as a minimum, and 1TB as the recommended. I say this because my 500GB drive is full just from my frequently played games, and game sizes keeps increasing. New games are clocking in at 60-80GB each, and I expect that number to rise.

2) Amount and type of memory?
16 GB recommended (2x8GB). If you like to have lots of browser tabs open at once, you may even want to go up to 32GB (2x16GB). I have 16GB and I still have to close out of Chrome and every other app when I play Forza Horizon 3 because FH3 will use 13+ GB of RAM by itself.
The type of memory depends on your motherboard. For speed, get 3200MHz+ if you can, it helps remove RAM speed as a bottle neck which improves frame times to make games smoother. It's worth the extra money to remove RAM speed as a bottleneck.

3) I'm sure this one will cause a little debate, but Graphics Card?
You should have a graphics card, there's no debate on that. As for the card, it depends on your budget, target resolution, framerate and settings, and available prices. For 1080p @ 60 fps, I recommend RX580 8GB / GTX 1060 6GB. For 1440p @ 60 or 1080p @ 120+ I recommend GTX 1070 or Vega 56. For 4K or 1440p @ 120+ there's GTX 1080 and 1080Ti. GPU prices are greatly inflated at present, which makes expensive cards like the 1080 seem much better values as everything in the mid-range is pushed towards the high end prices.

4) Guess I should throw in Motherboard and Power supply? yes/no?
You still need to have them. I don't know what you have now, but I love ASUS for motherboards and Seasonic for power supplies. They're more expensive, but both brands have been rock solid for me across many years and many computers.

Wow, I didn’t expect this many responses already. Heading to bed so I will try to answer your questions tomorrow. Thank you all for taking the time to help. And if anything else pops in your head, please share.

you're getting a lot of good responses here but I suggest heading over to https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/, they have a whole community dedicated to exactly this. I would pick a few parts ahead of time and ask for suggestions that way your build is complete; they have a step by step guide on asking for help on their submit help/build ready button page.
I see another user has recommended https://pcpartpicker.com/, which is great for finding and organizing your parts in one cohesive site and can find the same part for different prices at different retailers.

Edit: Head on over to reddit after you have a basic idea of what you want in your PC

What specs are your current system. A 5 year old system with a current gen. GPU (and maybe a little overclock) should be capable of playing most current games at 1080p. I was using a first gen Intel i5 overclocked to 3.8GHz with a GTX 970 until a little over a year ago and it could run GTA V on max settings at 1080p.

Not for games, but be careful (to all)
Meltdown https://meltdownattack.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meltdown_(security_vulnerability) broken link without last bracket :(
Spectre (1+2) https://googleprojectzero.blogspot.ru/2018/01/reading-privileged-memory-with-side.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectre_(security_vulnerability) broken link without last bracket :(

Not going to read all the responses, but the biggest impact you can make is with an SSD. You can clone your current HDD operating system over to it and put some games on there and notice instant improvement, even in your current older machine.

Be advised: I do not recommend purchasing a GPU (video card) at this moment. They are all about 15-35% higher priced because of the cryptocurrency craze.

So you know the case and processor you want...or will those be follow-up questions? LOL
Plenty of good info here already, so I'll just leave it at that, good luck! ;)

You should really state your budget as that's the main factor in every PC build, whether it's 200$ or unlimited. Also the use case is definitely important to know.

1. SSD is a must. I'd say that 250GB should be your target, however if that's not possible go for the 120GB ones. In no case should you buy the 60GB ones, they are a waste of money. You can additionally get an HDD of whatever capacity satisfies your needs. Anything from Samsung, OCZ, Corsair, Kingston or Sanddisk (for the SSDs) and WD, Seagate or Toshiba (for the HDDs) should be okay. There obviously are differences between them (memory controllers, speed etc) but they are all the same more or less (when on the same price range). The HDDs are practically the same as far as mainstream use goes.
2. The type of the RAM depends on your motherboard. All of the modern motherboards use DDR4 RAM. Each motherboard supports up to a certain speed of memory (out of the box). For example, if you buy 3000 MHz ones and your motherboard only supports up to 2666, it will automatically downclock it to the maximum supported speed. However, you can overclock the RAM speed to get past that max frequency of the motherboard and reach your RAM's maximum speed, as long as the motherboard is capable of doing so. I would suggest that you take a look on the Memory Support list of the motherboard you are about to buy. As for the capacity, I think that 16GB would be the best case scenario. However, the prices have spiked in the recent years and that may not be affordable for you. Nonetheless, don't get anything lower than 8GB and if your motherboard will only have 2 slots, buy 8GB as 1 stick and get another one down the road.
3. This part is indeed debatable and you'll see many different opinions. Technically, everything is an option yet you've got to find the one that suits you the best. The essential part in buying a GPU is determining what resolution, refresh rate and graphics you wanna play your games on. Do you intend to game on a 4K monitor on ultra graphics? The 1080Ti is a one way road, I'd even suggest waiting for the next Gen in this case. Do you wanna play on 1080p, 144FPS on ultra? 1070 or 1070Ti would be a good option. Generally speaking, the more you can pay for your GPU the better performance you'll get. There is no way for a 150$ card to outperform a 250$ one (as long as they are of the same generation).
4. If you intend to upgrade your motherboard, you'll have to upgrade your CPU as well. Your 5 years old CPU is definitely not supported by the newer motherboards, as those are created with the current Gens of CPUs in mind. The vast majority of the times, CPU and motherboard are being upgraded as a combo. Getting a new PSU wouldn't hurt, especially if your old one is of lower wattage and quality. PSUs degrade as all hardware does and maybe even at a faster pace than the rest. If you currently can't get a new one, use your old one for the time being and upgrade it as soon as you'll be able to. As long as you output of your PSU is enough for the hardware you are about to buy.

I'd say that you first specify your exact budget (or price range for the total cost), so that then we can give you more specified suggestions as what would fit you best.

I hope I've been of help.

1. Yes. 120 GB is enough for system, but not for games. Few games actually require an SSD install to shave off considerable loading times, but it is a small edge if you buy a large one enough to have some games on it.
2. If you buy a new PC, you will surely need DDR4 RAM. At least 2666 MHz is advised, at least 16 GB is needed for a gaming PC.
3. If you want to keep it only for 1-2 years, then Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti or 1060. If you want it to last a good while, then AMD RX 580 or Vega 56.
4. Motherboards are usually okay no matter what you get, as long as it has an actual brand. Power supply should be a good one though. 500 W is more than enough for any modern desktop home computer, but even 420 W is plenty. As for pointers, brands like EVGA or Corsair offer quite a few good-grade PSUs for a nice price point.

As others have said, you'd really need to know your budget, even if it's very approximate (I don't set myself a very specific budget either, I just aim for the currently "mainstream" i7 or equivalent and low high-end GPU and make sure no part is insanely overpriced compared to the others. It also really depends on what you want to do with it.

For instance, my current setup is i7-6700k, GTX 1060, SSD 500 GB + 1 TB (yes, double SSD, both rather cheap and not super fast but I think it's a lot better than having one small super fast SSD + 1 HDD), 32 GB RAM, 330W PSU (it's a laptop so PSUs aren't quite big... and that's enough anyway).

• The CPU was the current "mainstream" i7, if I were to pick today, I'd probably go for an i7-8700k or some Ryzen equivalent (check some relevant benchmarks, eg an x264 or better x265 benchmark, or whatever you usually do and is CPU-limited)
• The GPU was the brand new "mainstream" low high-end / high mid-end GPU, and I believe it still is. Checking the benchmarks yourself is the best way to make sure you pick the right one. I usually have a look at a few on Techpowerup, they (all?) have some great summary at the end, like this (and a few pages more afterwards): https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/GTX_1070_Ti_FTW2/28.html
• The SSD was because I really don't want to have an HDD anymore. 1.5 TB totally may be too much for your use (I also use it to store a bunch of video files) so you may want to go for just a single 1TB SSD. SanDisk have pretty cheap and good enough SSDs. Samsung has a nice OS optimization tool.
• The RAM was in order to be future-proof (it's a laptop and 2 RAM slots are very hard to reach under the keyboard, so I stuffed them right at the start), 16 GB should be enough (dependent on your use though), just make sure you anticipate an upgrade to 32 (either leave some free slots, or be willing to resell your sticks later)

As for MOBO, in my laptop I couldn't choose, but in my desktop I usually pick the cheapest one where I can stuff 4 RAM sticks. My latest one was €60-ish and still allows to tweak CPU voltage (no OCing though, but it's for an i5-6600, which is not OC-enabled as far as I know)

As for PSU, it depends on your parts. Just make sure you pick one of good quality (and good efficiency) but not excessively powerful. Basically, estimate your full load consumption with TDP CPU + TDP GPU + a little margin (let's say 10%) + 20-ish W for little stuff (MOBO, SSDs, RAM), then multiply by 2 (the target is using your PSU at 50%, which yields the best efficiency). 400-ish W should be about right, I usually pick Corsair ones, but again reading a few reviews is a good idea :) I haven't bought a PSU in a while, as my latest desktop used a Corsair PSU I bought 5 years before: good PSUs are worth getting because you'll probably get to reuse them, if you feel like it ;)

How much money do you want to spend?
Which country?
What do you want to do with it? Video capturing and editing too?
It's like someone asking which car to get ;)

You haven't said what you have now, so it's hard to know if simple upgrades could solve your problems. A 5+ year old PC, assuming it was decent for its time, should be capable of playing most games at decent frame rates with some upgrades, so until I get more info I'll assume that's the case, and would recommend that you upgrade your existing PC.

It would also help if you'd say what games you want to play apart from Skyrim. Skyrim isn't that resource heavy in current terms, unless you play the Special Edition.

Should you go SSD?

An SSD should help with loading times (although they are affected by other things too). It's pretty much a must have item these days.

240GB SSD's are reasonably inexpensive these days, and you may even be able to make do with a 120GB one. If you have one or two games you play regularly, you can make do with a small SSD and install these particular games on it. Steam allows installing different games to different drives, and moving games to another drive, so it's simple to just add a drive and use it this way. It's better for everyday use to have the system drive be an SSD, but that's more work.

I've also read that an SSHD (hard drive with an internal small SSD cache) can be good enough if you're playing games one at a time (or long sessions with a lot of reloading). Wouldn't necessarily recommend one, but it's an option if you want a lot of space for games but still get better performance than a regular drive.

Graphics card

The main problem with graphics cards these days is terribly inflated prices due to cryptocurrency mining. This makes it rather hard to recommend one. IMO it's a matter of setting a budget, searching stores for cards that sell at okay prices, and choosing the best card that fits the budget. If you find some cards and can list them, I and others will tell you what we think is best.

RAM

It can be a bottleneck if you don't have enough. Anything below 8GB will be cause quite a slowdown for modern gaming. 16GB is better, but the difference isn't huge. Anything over 16GB is overkill.

RAM is quite expensive these days (though not as expensive as a decent GPU). It's another reason I'd suggest upgrading a PC rather than buying a new one.

1) Hard Drive(s) - Should I go SSD? Capacity?.

YES, 240GB or up, smaller size are not much cheaper (GB/$). always get HDD for storage

2) Amount and type of memory?

8GB is minimum for multi tasking, but gaming will vary

3) I'm sure this one will cause a little debate, but Graphics Card?

depends on your screen resolution, and how high GFX do you demand
1060GTX and RX570 are good for 1080p on high

4) Guess I should throw in Motherboard and Power supply? yes/no?

also depends on what you have, no need to change MoBo if you keep the same CPU/RAM.
Power supply can live long, i had the same PSU through 3 different systems(9 years). just make sure it will be enough for the Graphics Card (GPU)

My suggestion is don't build a PC right now. Not unless you cannot wait or you have tons of money to spend on overpriced parts. Thanks to phone manufacturers and crypto miners, the price of RAM and GPUs are insanely inflated.
The video card inflation isn't too bad, it's the RAM situation that I say this for. I see above somebody saying 16GB of RAM is overkill, it's not; it's the bare minimum of a new PC. I wouldn't even say 32GB is overkill, that's a good future proof. The problem there is if you want to buy 32GB of DDR4 it is going to cost you about $500!
Luckily many analysts are predicting memory production overtake demand towards the end of this year through mid-2019. Once that happens you can expect to get that same 32GB of RAM for less than $100 instead of $500.

If you do chose to wait, you'll likely be able to build a nice Coffee Lake computer with a 1080, lots of RAM, a nice SSD for your OS and games, and huge HDD for everything else. All for a MUCH more reasonable price. Especially considering components like the CPU and the video card will likely have gone down in price.

Of course it's easy for me to tell you to wait, I can still play many games at 4k with my build. Looking at your specs, I'd say get another 4GB of RAM assuming your Mobo has space (make sure it's the same type of RAM). This might not worth doing though, if your RAM is too obsolete it may be more expensive than newer stuff because nobody makes it anymore.
If your Mobo supports SATA 3 I would get an SSD, it will provide the biggest and most noticeable performance increase. If you don't have SATA 3 don't get an SSD, it will be bottle necked.
Lastly, get yourself a cheap video card to tide you over. Anything from a 760 to a 970. You may even be able to get something like a 1060 for a similar cost.