Gaming PC

[Ticker]

So, I'm not exactly a technophobe nor am I savvy as to what's good or not. My son is asking for a gaming PC for Christmas.

Like most things, I guess you can spend as much as you'd want and it depends on spec. I don't really have a budget, but I would appreciate your input or any pointers.

Thanks

[xellos99]

It does all depend on budget.

As a medium strength modern gaming PC I would recommend as a basic idea :

Nvidia 1660 Super
16GB DDR4 RAM
500GB SSD drive and 2 or 4 TB hard drive ( or less depending on budget )
amd ryzen 3600 CPU
And a motherboard that is designed for that ryzen cpu ( doesn't need to be the best, maybe throw £80 odd at it )

Of course people are going to say that is not a medium strength build and suggest a £450+ graphics card is medium but it all depends on budget.

they all go outdated and have not caught up with 4K gaming yet anyway so I don't see the point.

[sish101]

Have a look at PC Specialist.

I have no association with them, other than I've bought quite a few systems from them for friends and family. They often work out the same or cheaper than buying the components individually yourself with the reassurance that all the parts have been tested working together and a years warranty. I'd always say pay extra for an SSD above a mechanical drive.



Sent through the ether by diddling with radio waves

[Phil Lee]

Do you have any peripherals? If not don’t forget to budget for a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Do you know what games he wants to play? A flight sim requires different hardware to Rocket League for example.

[hafle]

It does all depend on budget.

As a medium strength modern gaming PC I would recommend as a basic idea :

Nvidia 1660 Super
16GB DDR4 RAM
500GB SSD drive and 2 or 4 TB hard drive ( or less depending on budget )
amd ryzen 3600 CPU
And a motherboard that is designed for that ryzen cpu ( doesn't need to be the best, maybe throw £80 odd at it )

Of course people are going to say that is not a medium strength build and suggest a £450+ graphics card is medium but it all depends on budget.

they all go outdated and have not caught up with 4K gaming yet anyway so I don't see the point.

I'd personally say that this is completely overkill for a kids gaming pc. My monitor cost considerably more than my gaming pc yet it can happily play everything on the market and look good. If they want to up the settings then they can start to put their own money in.

[thieuster]

My youngest is currently building his own, more or less with the specs mentioned above (he has a weekend job at a local phone and computer repair shop, that makes it easier). The quality and specs of the monitor (as mentioned) is very important.

On slight thing... I have confiscated his monitor for the next two weeks: trimester school exams coming up next week and the week after. Only after the exams he will be able to use his SpaceX/Nasa-like computer.

[Artistmike]

I'm another who would suggest you look at PCSpecialist, I too have had a couple of computers from them, excellent service and they have a forum where you can chat about specs if you're not sure what you need for the job.

One advantage is that they have a brilliant system for upgrades when needed too and your son will also have the support of their forum for that. One piece of advice I would give is buy a PC with the best motherboard you can to give you a certain amount of future proofing, as other components are easier to upgrade over time.

[NikGixer750]

I would get a 2nd hand PC, a lot of people get carried away with the spec and then never use the machines and 2nd hand values are very good compared to buying new. Plus people that buy gaming PC will tend to look after them better than a standard PC

[Ventura]

Would this be of any use for you?

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ccl...80-4gb-3321237