Kazapsky 
Five scoops of ice cream
Sooooo ... I need some advice on a new gaming rig.
**The problem:**
Much as I love my old Windows 7 box, fact of the matter is it's dying. Time to bite the bullet and learn to put up with Windows 11. Sticking point is, the nearest place that sells gaming-grade hardware is a 2-hour drive, so I *really* need to get this right the first time, and make whatever I buy last.
Oh, and there's the slight issue that processor/graphics card specs are baffling to me. Like they're not even actual specs, they're alphanumeric designations for a component model and you're supposed to be psychic and know which models are newer/more powerful. A hardware guru I am not.
**What I'm looking for:**
Honestly Final Fantasy 14 is the only "new" game that interests me. Of course, that's an MMO, so requirement creep is practically inevitable. So basically, I need something that runs FF14 smoothly (like moderate graphics settings or better) with room to spare for, er, "future-proofing", if that makes any sense.
I guess the point of this post is to hopefully get some concrete, layman-friendly examples of "good, better, best" when it comes to which combinations of parts make the shiny stuff happen on the screen. Something I can refer to when I'm in the store and need to know what letter/number combo refers to which weight class of hardware.
**The problem:**
Much as I love my old Windows 7 box, fact of the matter is it's dying. Time to bite the bullet and learn to put up with Windows 11. Sticking point is, the nearest place that sells gaming-grade hardware is a 2-hour drive, so I *really* need to get this right the first time, and make whatever I buy last.
Oh, and there's the slight issue that processor/graphics card specs are baffling to me. Like they're not even actual specs, they're alphanumeric designations for a component model and you're supposed to be psychic and know which models are newer/more powerful. A hardware guru I am not.
**What I'm looking for:**
Honestly Final Fantasy 14 is the only "new" game that interests me. Of course, that's an MMO, so requirement creep is practically inevitable. So basically, I need something that runs FF14 smoothly (like moderate graphics settings or better) with room to spare for, er, "future-proofing", if that makes any sense.
I guess the point of this post is to hopefully get some concrete, layman-friendly examples of "good, better, best" when it comes to which combinations of parts make the shiny stuff happen on the screen. Something I can refer to when I'm in the store and need to know what letter/number combo refers to which weight class of hardware.