New Desktop Assembly

[Blackberry Bun]

I'm considering to buy a new desktop for myself, and I need advice on how I should specify to the shop which will assemble it. Basically, the main purpose will be for games. I'd like it to run Borderlands 2 and Skyrim smoothly on at least medium setting.

I have no idea what more to say here, so please ask me if you need more info in order to give me advice. Thanks in advance.

[RAMChYLD]

Well, the first thing I always ask is "what's your budget"?

A Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5 with GMA HD4000 graphics or AMD Trinity A10 and 4GB RAM would be good enough for the purpose, but if you have extra budget to spare, might as well go for an i7 or Phenom II x4 with a GeForce GTX650 or Radeon HD7750 graphics and 8GB of RAM.

[huckleberrypie]

I'm vouching on Dave's recommendation, too. Although at the very least you should get a mid-range discreet graphics card like a GeForce 550/GTX 650 rather than just rely on integrated video.

[cpd2009]

About AMD...they offer "APUs", CPUs with a built in GPU, usually an entry-level to mid range Radeon HD 60XX. I believe the integrated GPU in those is Crossfire-X compatible with a dedicated AMD video card. Also note that AMD offers an eight-core Bulldozer, but do you need eight-cores in a CPU?

If you are for NVIDIA cards, then Intel may be a better choice processor.

Personally, I can build my own computer system, but since I am a casual gamer and for convenience, I just go for pre-built systems. Even some pre-built systems can be upgraded to a better video card as well.