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Original poster

Gaming pc help ???

30 replies

Generalpost · 21/11/2021 13:44

Hi my son wants a gaming pc for Xmas. I don't know anything about them at all . But I need to get it as cheap as possible . But I'm thinking if it's to cheap it might not play the games he wants it to . Any advice would be great. I have shown a pic of the one my son is thinking about. I'm not sure about what he has chosen in the drop down ?

Gaming pc help ???
OP posts:
MatildaIThink · 21/11/2021 13:47

That will really struggle to play anything modern.

What kind of games does he want to play and how old is he?

The reality is for a reasonable gaming PC you are looking at £1k+ (my husband builds his own, and sometimes for other people and I have just asked him), unless there is a specific reason it needs to be gaming on PC, or you have a lot of money to burn then you are far better of going with a console (PS5 or XBox Series X / Series S).

Original poster
Generalpost · 21/11/2021 13:55

He has a ps5 already. He's 15 soon. He's got his Heart set on a gaming pc. He's a bit naggy because he thinks I don't know what I'm talking about. Which I don't. But I do know you can't just go buy any old gaming pc and that you have to have certain graphics/memory/ram etc .

OP posts:
c3pu · 21/11/2021 13:56

Unfortunately, for a gaming PC that will play modern games you need to be spending a lot more than £250.

A 2nd gen i5 CPU, 8gb of RAM and GT710 gfx card will probably be ok for games from around 2010-2015 (that cpu was released in 2009).

MatildaIThink · 21/11/2021 13:58

@Generalpost

He has a ps5 already. He's 15 soon. He's got his Heart set on a gaming pc. He's a bit naggy because he thinks I don't know what I'm talking about. Which I don't. But I do know you can't just go buy any old gaming pc and that you have to have certain graphics/memory/ram etc .
You need to find out what he intends to play, but expect to spend around £1k for an entry level option without a monitor that will be OK for two years, £1,500-2,000 for something a bit better and easily over £3,000 for anything really good that will play at higher settings and/or be good for 3-4 years.
Original poster
Generalpost · 21/11/2021 14:03

Thank you for your help. I think I some how need to talk him out of it Sad

OP posts:
Clymene · 21/11/2021 14:05

He must know how much they cost then? My nearly 15 year old knows it's too much for an Xmas present

TacoTues · 21/11/2021 14:09

Where do you live?

If Hampshire. A friend of mine builds them. Saved us a lot on ours. He told me which components to buy and we had them delivered to his house then we picked up the PC.

Paid around £600 for £1000+ of PC.

Morgan12 · 21/11/2021 14:11

I got one from acpcs. They do really good deals. I emailed them a list of games I needed to work and got one for £670. I'd been quoted £1200 for the same build elsewhere.

Original poster
Generalpost · 21/11/2021 14:12

@Clymene

He must know how much they cost then? My nearly 15 year old knows it's too much for an Xmas present
Well he thinks they are are about 300
OP posts:
MatildaIThink · 21/11/2021 14:15

It is far from a cheap hobby and in reality for children consoles make far more sense, both in terms of cost and longevity. PC gaming is the performance end of the gaming market, as he already has a PS5 there seems little point paying 2-3+ times what that cost to play games that will look no better with that level of kit.

MatildaIThink · 21/11/2021 14:15

Well he thinks they are are about 300
Does he, or is he just trying his luck?

Clymene · 21/11/2021 14:20

If that's true, he needs to look at the minimum spec for what he wants to play. Just the processor for a good gaming PC is about £3-400

titchy · 21/11/2021 14:22

Given the spec of the one he wants he doesn't know anything about gaming pcs either!

If he doesn't already have a laptop and would use one for school/college I'd be tempted to get him the one he wants. But it's not a gaming spec pc!

Original poster
Generalpost · 21/11/2021 14:22

@MatildaIThink

Well he thinks they are are about 300 Does he, or is he just trying his luck?
No I don't think he does know
OP posts:
ElephantOfRisk · 21/11/2021 14:23

Can only echo all of the above. My DS built his own at age 13 - 8 years ago and it cost more than that then and without the monitor. He's added to it, rebuilt it several times since and recently built a new one for DS2 which would have cost about £1200 but he got all the bits for under £800. If he can build it himself or you know someone who can then you can get more bang for your buck.

Your DS has options, he can sell his console and anything else and pay for the bulk with you contributing what you would normally spend for Christmas and/or save if he doesn't have enough.

he needs to be very wary of getting ripped off. I don't know where that image is from that you posted. I'm presuming 2nd hand or dodgy as it also seems to come with 2 monitors?

Original poster
Generalpost · 21/11/2021 14:25

@titchy

Given the spec of the one he wants he doesn't know anything about gaming pcs either!

If he doesn't already have a laptop and would use one for school/college I'd be tempted to get him the one he wants. But it's not a gaming spec pc!

No your right. But he knows everything because he's a teenager Hmm it is a bit of a pain though when they advice as a pc gaming when really it's not. He just going to have to think of something else.
OP posts:
Original poster
Generalpost · 21/11/2021 14:28

@ElephantOfRisk

Can only echo all of the above. My DS built his own at age 13 - 8 years ago and it cost more than that then and without the monitor. He's added to it, rebuilt it several times since and recently built a new one for DS2 which would have cost about £1200 but he got all the bits for under £800. If he can build it himself or you know someone who can then you can get more bang for your buck.

Your DS has options, he can sell his console and anything else and pay for the bulk with you contributing what you would normally spend for Christmas and/or save if he doesn't have enough.

he needs to be very wary of getting ripped off. I don't know where that image is from that you posted. I'm presuming 2nd hand or dodgy as it also seems to come with 2 monitors?

It's on ebay . The fact is he does not have the money . Neither do I. Even selling his ps5 won't even bring him half the money.
OP posts:
ElephantOfRisk · 21/11/2021 14:32

Is he trying to give you suggestions for Christmas and came up with this as an idea?

Ds1 has an expensive gaming PC and peripherals, but he doesn't use gaming consoles at all so has prioritised his PC when it came to birthdays and Christmases. So he has at times just had money or specific pieces he wanted.

DS2 has always done a bit of both. Bought himself a 2nd hand gaming PC with his savings that he did a couple of upgrades to but then saved for this new one. He hasn't gone for a PS5 this time as he's happy with his older console for now.

It's maybe something your DS could aspire to and ask for token gifts and money to save for a PC?

TractorAndHeadphones · 21/11/2021 14:34

Why does your son want a gaming PC? Do all his friends have one?
You might not be able to afford a gaming PC now but if he researches and asks around he might be able to build one for less than that.
People who are into these things are always looking for upgrades and may have spare parts lying around that they might sell him for less. Of course depends on the market demands (e.g. even a 2-3 year old GPU went for crazy amounts a few months ago thanks to the Covid caused shortage).

ElephantOfRisk · 21/11/2021 14:34

If he and you don't have the money then I think buying the one suggested would be throwing money away tbh. It wont do what he probably wants and won't really have a resale value and it will take him further from getting something decent in the future (if he still wants).

itiswhatitisandalwayswillbe · 21/11/2021 14:38

I wouldn't bother buying a pc if you don't have a couple of grand to throw at it.
My daughter builds them and mine cost £3000 but it's amazing and my only hobby so I could afford to throw money at it.

TractorAndHeadphones · 21/11/2021 14:40

Also OP as pp have said beware of cheap gaming PC's. These are a trap for the unwary as many are only 'gaming' because the have the basic components (e.g. a GPU) but you can't run anything within the past 2 years on them with reasonable quality.

It takes a lot of Googling, research each part and spec etc it's not something you can buy off the shelf without much thought like a tablet.

I used to use DP's gaming PC and wanted my own so have done quite a bit of research over the past few months. It's a minefield. £700 for the games I wanted to play and prices much higher with the shortages.

The cheap ones are ok if you really want something as a starter and just switch parts out as you can afford them. but if your DP wants it because his friends have high-end PC's he might not be able to play the same games as them anyway.

TractorAndHeadphones · 21/11/2021 14:40

*DS! not DP

JurgensCakeBaby · 21/11/2021 14:45

I can only repeat what everyone else has said, that won't work as a gaming PC. DH built his last one is quite easy (I did all the software and peripheral install) , but that was about ten years ago and after various upgrades it hit it's shelf life. He was going to build again but got a really good deal on one from of all places ALDI, a very reputable German brand gaming PC with excellent spec for the price but it was still almost £1200

Roselilly36 · 21/11/2021 14:50

My DS had his gaming PC custom built by a company called PC Specialist, he has had his 4 years, I think if was around £1200, but his was high spec at the time. Remember you will need a gaming monitor too.