A PC Build that can handle Max graphics?

[Squal_FFVIII]

This game can be weird at times. I heard from people with high end pc's say that the game stutters like crazy or has "weapon switch lag" (ive gotten this before with a GTX670 O.O which is still a decent card by todays standards).

But of course everyone has a different opinion on "smooth" gameplay. To me perfectly buttery smooth gameplay is 60 solid fps, no stutter, no framerate drops/no weapon switch lag/stutter etc etc.

My GTX670 runs this game decently IMO. It does not meet the perfect buttery smooth gameplay that I get in other games.

So take that into account. I say this game is weird because, I can run Skyrim with 7gigs worth of mods including HD 2K textures/lighting mods/(and many more graphical enhancement mods) AAx4 AFx16 and Super sample AAx2 at a rock solid 60fps most of the time. It's almost perfectly buttery smooth. Yet pso2 pales in comparison in graphics quality and runs worse

That said i've also heard from people with GTX 460's running the game perfectly smooth sooo weird!

[Dephinix]

It will always vary like that, sadly.

[SHiFT-Di3S3L]

i5 680 - oc @ 4.18GHz
8GB RAM - oc @ 160 Mhz
EVGA Nvidia GTX 560 Ti

This setup will be ok for max in-game settings, smooth 60fps, in an unpopulated block.

At the time of the build, my pc cost me somewhere around $2000. Of course, by today's standards this stuff is obsolete, but I get by.

That said, if you can get a GTX 760Ti for cheap today, you will be fine graphically. Set a minimum of 8GB RAM. Going 16GB is up to you, but I don't think you'll see that much in performance gain. Today's Intel cores are not bad, even without an oc. I can't speak for AMD chips, as I've never built a system based on one. When you do decide, make sure to get a good motherboard. A few months ago, I was eyeing Asus' Z97-A board, I thought it seemed kinda decent at $150. Then my timing belt needed replacement. T^T

[Dephinix]

Still using an old i7 920 @ 2.67GHz with an old EVGA GTX 275 here. The game really doesn't ask for too much to be ran on max.

[Squal_FFVIII]

I'm actually hoping to upgrade to a GTX 980 sometime soon, but I need to save more money ._.

[Aquanos]

so my budget got moved to 600 - 700 but everyone's worried about how long it will last vs buying a pre-build one with a warranty

[Aeris]

Prebuild gives you 1 year warranty unless you pay for extending it, computer parts by custom build ranges from 2 years to up to 10 years with the exception of system ram which is lifetime depending on the parts themselves, there is some parts like the XFX graphic cards that give lifetime warranty and thats mostly all i know for now.

[Dephinix]

Pre-built as in pick up at a crap retail store, or a business that sells you custom PCs without you doing the work? Pre-builts are pretty lame PC wise.
Usually more expensive as well in the higher range of 800+. Below that you can find cheaper, but with obviously cheaper crap. Warranty is also
funny to try to deal with. Especially with HP or Dell, lol.

[musicmf]

so my budget got moved to 600 - 700 but everyone's worried about how long it will last vs buying a pre-build one with a warranty

Beyond fcking up royally (bending/snapping off any pins/connectors, shorting the motherboard by not grounding yourself while building the PC), there isn't anything different about a pre built and custom built, durability wise.
And btw, building is pretty much "Insert X part into Y slot on the motherboard" It's not as complicated as people who haven't built a computer believe.

What is different about a custom built computer is;
- Warranty, as stated by Aeris.
- Labor, since you have to spend 20~ minutes putting it together
- Parts, you can choose brands and such instead of being stuck with whatever inferior product is in a prebuilt. (Say, if you didn't like PNY ram, or Seagate HDDs. Or you preferred GIGABYTE motherboards)

- Parts, this lets you pay for performance, instead of paying for a name.
Often times, budget PCs tout high numbers for number of Cores, HDD space, and RAM. It let's average consumers (like my cousin a month ago), see a computer and go "Wow, 6 cores; 3TB space, and 8GB RAM!" and wow them.
Unfortunately, that's all they are getting. The power supply is often bare minimum, so you can't add in any parts. The video card is non-existent, so you'll work with integrated graphics. There might be no more available RAM slots. The case might have only 2 HDD docks. Etc etc.
Then there are the "Gaming PCs" that actually have decent parts in them. The only problem is, that you could probably build the PC yourself for 20~40% off the price at least. More if you wait for sales.

Actually, the more that I think about it. While the durability of the PC may not be different... The knowledge of building your PC could help out in case there are problems.
You'll know where everything in your computer is, so if you have to upgrade or fix (or research) something you'll be more confident around the parts.

I've upgraded the computer I'm using right now so many times, and I've never had a hardware issue with it in 5+ years.

[thehondachef]

I'll vouch for what musicmf said. Especially the part about being confident in your knowledge of the parts you use. Prebuilt systems commonly use parts that are semi-proprietary, or have no good documentation. Customization and repair are usually more difficult because of this.

I'll throw this in, if you're going to shop around for your parts: https://pcpartpicker.com/
Whether you're trying to decide on a part, or just trying to find the best price for a specific one, that's a good resource.