Any PC Gamers on here? Can you help me out please?

[Annoy]

My ds is 11 and has only ever owned a Nintendo Switch. We’ve said to him that he can get a more advanced gaming device before he starts high school.

He’s decided on a gaming pc purely for the fact that it would go in his room. If he was to have say an Xbox it would live in the lounge as he doesn’t have a TV in his room.

I also like the idea of a pc as we don’t have a laptop so he can do his school work on it when he starts high school.

Anyway, we don’t know where to start! Except our budget is £600 for the tower. But looking online I don’t know if it’s worth it getting one at this price? Or whether I should persuade him to get a console?

At the moment he is obsessed with Fortnite. But he’s11. So I’d like some longevity in it and guessing he’ll be in to more advanced games when he’s say 15. I’n hoping it would last him until at least this age.

Please help with with what I should be looking for, any specific brands/set ups etc?

Thanks!

[Annoy]

@NuniaBeeswax

"What do you mean about fortnite *@Nomnomarrgh*? I haven’t seen any negative effects in my ds and unsure how it could get worse?"

By MN standards letting your child play Fortnite is the equivalent of spoonfeeding them heroin.

Oh! Haha!

[Annoy]

Thanks @bumblingbovine49 navigating pre teens/teens is tough and I haven’t got a clue! 🙈

He’s never had tech in his room, doesn’t yet own a phone and is very active in sports on the weekends and during lighter evenings. But I know a lot of his friends have consoles/tvs/pcs in their rooms. Including my nephews, who are also active on balance.

I have a7 the old too and they’re both to different things but like to use the telly at the same time after school so this is why both

Dc don’t want a console connected to the telly as they both feel that they won’t get their time. Plus I don’t want the arguments 🙈

[DangerMouse17]

"What do you mean about fortnite @Nomnomarrgh? I haven’t seen any negative effects in my ds and unsure how it could get worse?"

I find most people who trot out this rubbish have never actually even played fortnite

[Annoy]

@DangerMouse17

"What do you mean about fortnite *@Nomnomarrgh*? I haven’t seen any negative effects in my ds and unsure how it could get worse?"

I find most people who trot out this rubbish have never actually even played fortnite

I have played it @DangerMouse17

[DangerMouse17]

The comment wasn't directed at you @Annoy, it was to the poster who moaned about it and described the game as negative and bad for children.

Sorry for any confusion

I play the game every week with my ds and love it!

[Annoy]

Thanks @DangerMouse17 I don’t play it as much. But do enjoy it when I do. My ds is more in to roblox atm

[Muchtoomuchtodo]

We got ds1 one for Christmas from here

WiFi slows it down things so he prefers to have it wired into our internet hub.

[Student133]

The issue with the computer you looked at off Amazon is that the cpu was released 8 years ago, and though it will be okay with fortnite, it's going to really struggle with games coming out in the next few years, so I would avoid it, as it will make the pc largely unusable in a year or two. The gpu is perfectly acceptable as a starting point. In terms of brands, they are different to the regular hp etc, who dont really exist too much in this market and as such there is a wide variety. If I may put forward a suggestion, perhaps have a look at gaming laptops, I dont know if your son has a laptop currently, but if he doesn't you could kill two birds with one stone, if this is something you are interested in.

[Student133]

This is around £100 more, but this will last your son for years, has 1000GB more storage, and a much better processor, so if I him, save up a little more to get immensely better value.

[Annoy]

@Student133

This is around £100 more, but this will last your son for years, has 1000GB more storage, and a much better processor, so if I him, save up a little more to get immensely better value.

Thanks @Student133 that does look much better. I did read just after my last post about the intel i7 being old. I’ve been looking at the Ryzen life you said but I think they’re out of our price range.

I like the one you’ve recommended. Thank you

[Student133]

Very happy to help 😊 there is currently massive supply issues with ryzen chips internationally, so once this is resolved, they will be cheaper than Intel and provide better bang for buck, so just keep am eye out. But yeah, overall that one is a pretty good sweet spot.

[user1471565182]

I dont think its a terrible idea getting kids into PC gaming, it lead my brother into all sorts of avenues up to the point he was getting paid a decent amount at 15 to make websites and code stuff for people.

[Annoy]

@user1471565182

I dont think its a terrible idea getting kids into PC gaming, it lead my brother into all sorts of avenues up to the point he was getting paid a decent amount at 15 to make websites and code stuff for people.

Yeah, the more I’ve looked in to it, and from what @Student133 has said on here. I reckon my ds would enjoy building one eventually. He’s already going on about PC stuff he knew nothing about a week a ago!

[user1471565182]

In fact I'll try ask him about that 2nd PC that student posted and what he thinks if hes around

[user1471565182]

yeah they can have a really impressive brain for picking up things like this at that age, wish I could get mine back for learning languages and stuff.

[OogieBoogiePlant]

@Annoy

OP, I saw you mentioned you were counting on wifi for the pc to connect to the Internet?

I don't know if things have improved the last few years but desktops aren't the best in connecting through wi-fi.

My husband is a gamer and after lots of research he got the same brand pc as Student133 recommended. (Cyberpower). The thing is the model he has doesn't connect well to wi-fi. Super fast when connected through a cable but on wi-fi it takes ages to open a google page. He bought it a few years ago so things might have improved by now in newer models.

Just keep that in mind and see if connecting through a cable is an option in case the pc won't connect through wi-fi.

[Student133]

For wifi just get a USB adapter from Amazon they cost £5. Definitely agree that it's a good age, even if he isnt interested in tinkering and stuff like that, tech literacy is never a bad thing.

[Annoy]

His pc has arrived! It looks really smart 😀

Thanks for your help!

[YerWanIsGettinNotions]

Oh good I'm glad you're pleased with it. Did you go with @Student133's suggestion in the end?

(I'm sorry I've only seen this now, DH and I built ourselves new PCs before Christmas and it was even easier this time around than the last time we did it, about 6 years ago! It looks like a complicated machine but there's really only about half a dozen pieces and they all click/screw in easily enough, if you can handle IKEA flatpack furniture you can definitely build a pc!)

Anyway it is probably a good decision to get one, and by the time DS needs an upgrade next he can install it himself and probably pay for it himself too.

[Annoy]

@YerWanIsGettinNotions

Oh good I'm glad you're pleased with it. Did you go with *@Student133*'s suggestion in the end?

(I'm sorry I've only seen this now, DH and I built ourselves new PCs before Christmas and it was even easier this time around than the last time we did it, about 6 years ago! It looks like a complicated machine but there's really only about half a dozen pieces and they all click/screw in easily enough, if you can handle IKEA flatpack furniture you can definitely build a pc!)

Anyway it is probably a good decision to get one, and by the time DS needs an upgrade next he can install it himself and probably pay for it himself too.

Oh he paid for most of this himself too 😀... He’s saved money randomly for 3yrs with no purchase in mind until recently. I put £50 towards it.

Yeah, the cyberpower pc. So far so good, but need to extend an Ethernet cable to his room as the WiFi is slow.

[Student133]

Really glad to hear we were of help! Remember that a few years down the line he can easily upgrade the graphics card, just look on YouTube for any pc related stuff.

[Annoy]

Thanks @Student133 Ive lost him to it now 🤣

[Student133]

Ahahah well as someone who spent probably too much time playing games looking back on it, hasn't done me any harm in the long run! Bonus of a PC is you can set time limits on it etc, so if he does get a bit carried away (which he will!) Just have a YouTube and see what works best for you 😊

[oreliebumby11]

I honestly don't see any problems in his passion for Fortnite. I mean, it's an incredibly popular game amongst children, and not only children actually. I mean, I also used to play it together with my son. It's a great game that could actually help our kids improve their creativity and their reaction as well, which is a truly great thing. Besides that, my son now wants to be a game developer to create a proper competitor to Fortnite. However, sometimes he messes up so much with my computer that I have to use raid data recovery so I can recover some data.

[oreliebumby11]

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