Help ! Gaming Computers ?

My general advice: Buy from one of the smaller builders such as PC Specialist, Chillblast, or Scan. They assemble their PCs from standard components and they usually offer better value than the big names (Acer, Dell, HP, etc.), as well as offering much better customisation which is good if you're shopping with DS.

Enthusiasts like to build but it's harder than it looks, and very possible to get it wrong.

You should be aiming for a well-balanced system. The website below has some example builds. Don't expect to get exactly the same but it gives you an idea of what kind of things to look for.

www.logicalincrements.com/

Price-wise, probably £500 for a decent budget gaming PC. If you shop around you might find a worthwhile one for closer to £400.

Buy one that can upgraded. Key questions are the graphics card, processor and ram. There's lots of independent shops that will custom build it then upgrade in the future as needs change, a local place is likely to be best, look on google - they tend to be be owned by people who really know their stuff and you can give them a budget to work to (you can reuse an existing monitor remember or buy from amazon etc as that's the one bit they can't usually beat prices on). It's helpful to tell the shop which games they are into as it's gives an idea of minimum spec

For a 12 year old I wouldn't go gaming PC.

If you're after security and control of screen time an Xbox One or a PS4 is a much more sensible option

The most important part is to make sure the housing is suitable to hold upgraded parts.

From what I remember for my DC it was having a top spec fan and a top spec graphics card that was the most important after the housing.

Thank you @celtiethree ,I will look at them .

I am starting to think that way @Floralnomad ,he'd probably get a better set up that way as he's got his own savings he could add to what I've saved.

He is a child who is happy with what he has & never really asks for anything so Birthday/Christmas become really difficult ,people tend to give him money.

@IWouldPreferNotTo we are on a budget but I have been saving & putting money away .
We don't have anything for gaming ,just iPad & Xbox1.

He's 12 so I guess would need quite a basic set up for now with good security that could be added to?
He's being assessed for ASD & spends a good bit of time online ,it's helped him a lot .

I have my DD's MacBook that he would love to have but it's got a lot of stuff on it that I don't want to lose.
I'm guessing that the MacBook wouldn't be suitable for gaming anyway.

I know you want it to be a surprise but half the fun for these type of geeks is the choosing it / building it . Our ds has a gaming computer and he spent ages investigating what he needed / wanted and comparing models before deciding so personally I’d set him a budget and let him crack on with it . I think ds eventually settled on one that was around 2k .

How old is he?

You could buy him the parts so he can put together himself?

Gaming PC's can cost anywhere from £500 up to a few thousand.

Also ,great you said about uni work as he will be able to use it for school work

A lot will depend on your budget but you can go on line to somewhere like this:

www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/category/gaming-pcs/

Email or call them for advice we’ve used them and they were v helpful.

I've built a few and also buy computers for my company so can help.

What sort of budget do you have? Do you currently own a computer so already have a monitor, keyboard etc.

Thanks Trendy , I will look at that site ,does it tell you exactly what you need for a set up ?
I'm so wary to spend a lot and get it wrong .

I'd like to surprise him as he definitely won't expect one but maybe I'd be better going through it with him .

Try a website like PC Specialist. You can build your own depending on what you need, or they have forums where you can ask for suggestions. I got a really good PC from there for uni (computer based course, uses a lot of demanding programs) for £700.