Hey, I am new to game design and need help trying to figure out what type of computer would be best for me to use. desktop or laptop, what brand, RAM, CPU, GPU…
Anything that can help me out will be helpful, I am planning on running UE4, Photoshop, and a couple other programs for 3D modeling and Gaming.
Hi there, welcome to the forums! 
Here are the official recommendations from the FAQ:
The brands you choose are totally up to you, but I usually go with ASUS for motherboard, ASUS video card (I use a GTX 980 from Nvidia, but an AMD card will work just as well), Intel CPU, and Corsair or Kingston RAM.
To run multiple programs at once you will want to get 16gb of RAM. 8gb will work for a couple of programs open at once, but 16gb or more is recommended.
A lot of this depends on your budget and what kind of games you’re looking to make.
I would always recommend a desktop though.
So yes, what is your budget?
Make sure to take a look at this thread: https://forums.unrealengine/showthread.php?20643-Official-Hardware-Performance-Survey There you can find some good setups + how they run the UE4
I don’t really have a limited budget, so the price doesn’t matter to me
thanks for this information, it will really come in handy
Go with 32gb ram, clock speed is a lot less relevant than people thing, just make sure to get CAS latency 9 or bellow, that’s what really makes a difference. I always go with Corsair or Kingston for ram. A Decent graphics card like GTX 970 or 980 (both will handle UE great and you won’t really see much of a benefit in UE with 980 unless you plan on developing games that completely require a card like that. I usually go with Asus but the Gigabyte G1 version have steadily outperformed Asus’ Strix version in the latest cards so I went with Gigabyte this time.
For a CPU go with Intel 4930K or 5930K depending on which socket you want. I’ve heard they use the 4930k at Epic and I use it as well, works great and compile shaders very fast compared to my old quad core i7.
A fairly big SSD is important, 250-500gb, I would suggest Samsung (go with their EVO versions, pro is a waste of money), otherwise Corsair or Intel. OS takes tons of space (~30gb for 64 bit win 7 and ~20 for 64bit Win 8.1), then you’ll get filled up with appdata, also lots of softwares (zbrush for example) won’t let you choose which drive to store temp files on, so having a small C: drive is awful. I use one 500gb Samsung Evo 850 and one 250gb Samsung Evo 840 at the moment.
Then just plonk in a strong enough PSU, I’d say go with 800w so you have room for two GPU if you want to go SLi some day. I prefer Corsair’s PSUs.
Lastly, just fine a motherboard that supports the socket you went with and have room for however many RAM modules you choose. I usually go with ASUS and then find a case that can fit your monster hardware, I like Corsair’s cases.
Might want to pick up a regular harddrive for storage as well, go with Western Digital or Seagate.
This is of course over the top and not at all what’s required, but if you have a big budget to spend, it will definitely be worth it and will perform great in both game development and playing games.
Here is Epic’s workstation specs:
https://wiki.unrealengine/Recommended_Hardware#Building_a_Computer_for_Development
If you are considering building a powerful machine for UE4 development for around $2500, here is a spec we recommend:
Intel Core i7 4930K processor
Intel X79 chipset motherboard
32GB RAM
1TB SSD
Nvidia GTX 770 video card
Of course, now you would get a 980 or Titan X.
Oooh if only I could have gone with Jezcentral’s specs, then my computer would really be computing at warp speed!
My setup runs Unreal just fine though, here’s my specs:
8GB RAM
AMD FX-8350 CPU (default speed, not overclocked)
1TB Western Digital HDD Blue (very fast for a non-SSD)
Radeon R9 280x GPU 3GB VRAM (handles everything I’ve thrown at it so far)
Although Intel and Nvidia are the generally preferred brands, I’ve not had any troubles with AMD. They use a little more juice but not much. Literally will only cost you a few extra pennies a month (and if you’re like me, you shut your computer off when not in use anyway).
I’ve seen a difference of over 100 watts at full load. That won’t be pennies!
A machine with an AMD 290 at full load runs at 92 degrees celsius at 371 watts.
A machine with an Nvidia 970 at full load runs at 72 degrees celsius at 244 watts.
://www.pcworld/article/2837828/graphics-card-slugfest-amd-and-nvidias-most-powerful-gaming-hardware-compared.html
Even a relatively sympathetic review (not biased, just using the AMD-friendly Crysis 3) has the difference as AMD 290: 94 degrees Celsius at 381 watts versus Nvidia 970: 63 degrees Celsius at 300 watts.
://www.anandtech/bench/product/1068?vs=1355
That’s a lot of heat and a lot of extra power.
I can’t talk about the AMD 8350 CPU, though, but that IS very cheap.
I feel like the 5930K might not be worth it over the 5820K (I’m actually surprised the 5930K is getting recommendations, I’d be interested to hear why =]).
Just another $200 to put towards that Titan/980/390X.
so building my own would be better than buying one,
Oh, yes.
Building one teaches you a lot, in itself. It is also good training in how to upgrade in future.
Of course, some people prefer getting someone else to do all that messy stuff, and you could get a better warranty, depending on the retailer. I’m a self-builder. (It is also easier to smuggle a PC past my wife piece-by-piece, rather than pre-assembled, in one of those huge boxes. 
)
Building your own or getting someone to build it for you (every PC parts shop I’ve ever been to does this for free) will always be better then buying from Dell/Alienware etc. (Mainly cheaper).
I’ve always found it pretty fun to build it yourself but I can understand when people just want someone more experienced to do it.
Im using an older 2010 era laptop with an i5, SSD, and a Radeon 6370. Mobile development works well enough.
Definitely. Building your own PC is quite the achievement, and can be quite an enlightening (and frustrating!) experience. It is well worth the effort!
The 8350 I have is definitely a bit of a juice hog, but because I don’t have it overclocked and shut my PC down anytime I’m leaving the house (which is everyday in some capacity), that’s why it only costs an extra few pennies a month. My computer is maybe, at the most, on for about 4 hours a day. I use my phone for casual web browsing and listening to music and even to stream Netflix when I’m by myself, my computer is really only used for development and playing games.
However, if you do have extra money, do go with Intel. Energy efficiency is quite important these days, AMD say they’re working on more energy efficient CPUs but it could be a while before we see those. You really can’t beat the price of the 8350 though, it’s quite a capable CPU.
ok, thanks for all the info, but im not much of a hardware type of guy (i am more of a game artist), anybody recommend a website or something where i can get one built
Indeed. That would pay for quite a few energy bills!
Perhaps in 24/7 use I can see that power use being a thorn.
The “100 extra watts” example was just for the AMD GPU. The CPU would use even more power. But like I said, it’s only a matter if you are the one paying the electricity bill.
However, I can’t deny that the 8350 is so cheap, that the difference in price would probably pay for it.