Gaming PC - Total War, Dawn of War 3, etc

*cracks knuckles* you've come to the right place!

As an avid pc gamer and builder of several rigs over the last 10 years, I can tell you that it really is a thing and not just kool-aid. While I also game on my 3DS and xbox, there is a bonus to having a custom built gaming rig that no other console can touch - you have the control over what it can do. You can plug and play different parts to make it yours, rather than being stuck with whatever Microsoft or Sony decided goes into it. That is a very useful power to have, and generally means that PC rigs will be more powerful, have faster frame rates, and have better visuals than anything a console can touch.

Building your own is definitely the route to go - the parts themselves bought whole sale are actually pretty inexpensive, its the labor that goes into building them, and shipping them, that you end up paying for with companies that will build them for you. You can cut the cost of the build almost in half by just buying the parts yourself, and they go together VERY easily, its basically lego. All you need are the parts, and a phillips head screw driver. Literally that's it - if you can build warhammer, or do anything musical, you can build a PC. Also any of us can probably find the time to help you, and walk you through it, over some beerskis.

On to your questions:

1. If you absolutely are going to buy one from a company that pre-makes "custom" PCs, CyberPower or iBuyPower are decently priced - I'd stay away from Alienware (you pay for the brand, not the quality) and the usual Dell HP and Microsoft computers etc.

2. GPU = graphics processor. Basically, your video card. This is basically the difference between your mom's HP desktop and a gaming rig - buying a used game rig and updating the GPU will do on a budget, but really to get the most of your machine you'll also want the right (and updated) CPU, Motherboard, RAM, and cooling system. Also, you have to make sure that your motherboard/CPU and power source will work with the GPU in question.

3. Every computer has a video card - but a graphics card is specifically designed to take over for the stock video cards from the motherboard and process the video/images for...well, everything. Its basically just a powerful add-on to your motherboard to process the video/graphics on all of your media; they are bulkier and more powerful and require more power from your power source, but are also more efficient and can process more data faster.

If you're interested, I'd be happy to list out the things you'll need to make your own gaming rig, and I'm also happy to offer suggestions for parts that will be inexpensive but give you some longevity for your gaming. In my experience, a decent build with future proofing in the right places (RAM, Power source, CPU) can simply be updated once every 4-5 years with a new GPU and be good to go. I built my 2nd gaming PC back in 2009, updated the GPU and operating system in 2013, and updated the RAM in 2015, and it runs total war, skyrim special edition, shadows of mordor, just cause 3, farcry 4, all at max settings and close to 60 fps.

Also, snarky as they may be, PCmasterRace on reddit has a solid guide for a mid-range PC that can run games better than an Xbox 1 or PS4, and updates it regularly with new parts to keep it current. The first part of the guide is more of a circle jerk about "why PC is better and how to feel superior about your ability to play more games faster etc", so you can probably skip it:

www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/wiki/guide

Awesome, thanks. Yes, everyone who is knowledgable about the subject says to build one - you get better parts and it's cheaper. But that's not just time, it's knowledge that I don't have. If it's going to save me hundreds of dollars, I might find a way to muddle through it.

I decided then I'm not going to buy a crappy PC and try to insert a GPU, that sounds like the worst idea possible . More than likely, I'd buy a lower end pre-built Gaming PC, that already has a Nvidea or Radeon (sp?) GPU, 8-16gb RAM and an intel i5 to i7 chip (these are three things I've picked up on) and then I think maybe replace parts out of it if they needed to be replaced/upgraded. That's a hell of a lot less daunting than trying to build one from scratch. 

If I did somehow go piece by piece route, would it look like this:
1) Intel i5 to i7 "Processor" = ?$
2) 8GB-16GB RAM = ?$
3) High End Nvidea GPU = ?$
4) MotherBoard/CPU = ?$
5) Case?
6) Fan/Cooling Device

Besides monitors, keyboards etc, is anything missing from this list?

For a price gauge, I can get the Lenovo Y700 for like $700 new (GF discount) or the HP Omen for around the same price. They are their lower end models but I think they have the i5, 16gb and a decent GPU. Now I know these aren't top of the line machines, but that's a pretty low price tag and if I can play my warhamz on them, they'd probably win out. If I built a computer, could it even touch that price range?

Yeah right now a 10 series graphics card performance is well worth the cost of going with an older generation card imo

That's amazing dude. Thank you. How much more is the i7 than the i5 and is it worth it / does it make a difference?

Tim, I cross checked this list with some other opinions who said it looked fantastic except for the Video Card - that I too should get at least a 1060 if not a 1070. When I go to "switch card" it obviously shows me tons of options. Some of which say 1050, 1060, 1070 but most of which don't - they have other numbers and codes on them. 

Basically, is there a good 1070 card you would suggest replacing the parts list you gave me with? Or 1060?

I live by a place called PC Mart, it's like Micro Center. I'm wondering if I bring them the parts sheet from NewEgg like you have, if they'll match it.