What is a good configuration for games?

[#1]

Please can anyone advise what configuration of Desktop hardware offers superior games performance, is reasonably future-proof and is driven with a Microsoft OS?
I would value details of the "critical" components.
Regards....
PS If this query should have been directed to the Gaming section, please will the Moderator kindly re-direct?

[#2]

the first question would be what budget do you have, if its big then go all out of the top of the line kit latest i7cpu and rog mobo with 16gb ddr4 ram  gtx980 12gb gpu and at least 500gb ssd with a couple of 2tb hdd's running in raid powered by something like the hx1250 psu. ram into whatever case fits your fancy and  sit back knowing you just blew the price of a small car on something that will be out of date in a few years but it will handle anything you can through at it and have the option of expanding to sli in the future for the full oculus environment.
every part you put in will have an impact on the performance though and generally the newer generation of components you use the better the in game experience will be on the high end games, but some games you could play on a much lower spec'd system and still enjoy them at full resolution without any major problems, the key things are about what you want to play, how much money you've got and what if any experience you have of system building, which all governs where you buy the parts from  and what parts you buy.
your best bet would be to look on a site like overclockers https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ use their system configurator and see what the best parts are then work backwards using review sites to et a feel for how good any part is compared to another part, for instance the PSU is more important than the case so spending more for an 80+ gold or platinum certified one is better than getting an uncertified or lesser certified one in terms of how it works and protects those components in your case

[#3]

Yes as Nantom  said the PSU is one of the most important parts to get right , also what is your Budget ?
Overclockers is a excellent place to start also try http://www.scan.co.uk/ ;

[#4]

Although its only DDR2 memory and refurbished, I got a pretty powerful machine from ebay - 2 quad core processors at 3GHz (8 processor cores in total), 16GB ram,  500GB hard drive and a graphics card with 512MB of ram too.
£300 inc delivery (also came with a keyboard, mouse and DVI to VGA adapter) none of which was even advertised in the sale. I don't do a lot of gaming BUT I'd be confident that it can handle a lot of them even though its only got DDR2 memory.
The seller I got it from was kelsus-tm and they are very helpful. For the money I literally couldn't get anything more powerful 2nd hand and if i wanted it new I'd be looking at double (if it had DDR4/5/whatever is new).

[#5]

do you mean ddr3 rather than ddr2 ?iirc 1.2ghz was the fastest clock speed you could pump the multiplier to on the ddr2 mobo's but its been almost a decade since I had one.....
4 is the newest for system ram and gddr5 for graphics is due to start being replaced by gddr6 in the next generation of cards announced for 2016 a couple of moths ago.

[#6]

Thank you very much Nanotm, rongtw and 7up.
My enquiry is on behalf of my daughter, in turn for my grandson and I realise that the issue is largely constrained by £'s.  The family are active users of tablets and laptops, however, it means they will be faced with the need for various peripherals, as well as the Tower itself..
Accordingly, I think it best if I pursue this query direct with a store and Overclockers looks like a reasonable start.  Good value as the second hand transaction appears, I do not think I should direct my daughter in that direction.
Regards and thank you all again.......Noel

[#7]

Quote from: nanotm

do you mean ddr3 rather than ddr2 ?iirc 1.2ghz was the fastest clock speed you could pump the multiplier to on the ddr2 mobo's but its been almost a decade since I had one.....

Definitely DDR2 - straight from the spec sheet:

It would have been nice if the seller had made a mistake and accidentally sold me a DDR3 machine though!

[#8]

Quote from: fotobits

Thank you very much Nanotm, rongtw and 7up. My enquiry is on behalf of my daughter, in turn for my grandson and I realise that the issue is largely constrained by £'s.  The family are active users of tablets and laptops, however, it means they will be faced with the need for various peripherals, as well as the Tower itself.. Accordingly, I think it best if I pursue this query direct with a store and Overclockers looks like a reasonable start.  Good value as the second hand transaction appears, I do not think I should direct my daughter in that direction. Regards and thank you all again.......Noel

I you haven't already bought something then this might fit the bill http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008LZJ89A/ref=gb1h_img_m-4_5847_9a7e629c?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&... and if your an amazon prime member then wait until 640pm today (27'th) for it to go on the lightening deal and get even cheaper
the pro's of getting it will be primarily its cheap and has everything you need to start with, it can be upgraded to meet evolving requirements over time without major rebuilding (high cost) and you (your daughter) will look fantastic for getting something so "hip" for the user in question

[#9]

That may be cheap Nantom , but would struggle to play and modern games with a A8 CPU with integrated GFX 

[#10]

what modern games do you think it would struggle on? nobody said it needs to play everything at 200fps with everything on ultra settings, that system will play the likes of star wars battlefront bf hard-line or Skyrim on high settings without any problems it will play things like gta5 or pgr4 if you step down to the details a notch
and if the user doesn't like the graphics output that much well they can get an birthday upgrade of a graphics card then again if the bundle is cheaper perhaps the purchaser can purchase a gpu as well and instant upgrade the pc /
its all horses for courses limited budgets get limitations, bigger budgets can get bigger performance, you start off with a mid range unit and then add on extra's as you can afford them you don't go and blow over 1k when you an get the exact same performance on slightly lower specked equipment for a fraction of the price....

[#11]

A8 cpu comes bottom of top ten  
Or you have to go to 154 on this list http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/cpu

[#12]

I built my uncle a pc based around the A10 7870k and after some testing i can honestly say i would not recommend one for gaming at all but thats just my opinion.
I just found the system slugish and the graphics performance is sub par.

[#13]

look the vibox system may not be the top of the line but it will happily play top new games a fool and his money are easily parted a wise man realises that intel owns the majority of the test companies through shell corporations and leverages its brand image through them to always come out on top, a large part of the reason it got fined by the EU courts, no matter promote the systems that cost at least double for half the processing power, its not me that's buying it

[#14]

I agree with Steveuk , there is no way i would recommend a A8 CPU for Games .
Ok i understand where nantom is coming from but the OP asked for advice ,, Unfortunately i believe Nantom is sending him the wrong way   

[#15]

nanotm does tend to get confused... he thought my processor speed was the bus speed and tried to suggest i didn't know my own memory type 
Buty for his faults, I do believe he means well.