To not let DD use her savings on a gaming computer?

[edole]

DD has saved over the years from birthdays and christmases and also from grandparent money when she goes and sees them. She enjoys THREE just 3 computer games and she now wants a gaming computer. The one she wants is 2 grand she has about £1500 in the bank and as her birthday is 2 weeks before Christmas she will get around £500 for them both combined (in total from everyone). So she wants it then.

I have so far said absolutely not, it's far far too much and it's better to save it for maybe a car when she's old enough to learn to drive. AIBU

Huge congrats to your daughter for showing such discipline and dedication. You would be hugely unreasonable to block her on this. The world of gaming doesn't have enough girls, and there are great career trajectories for her - I don't mean in professional gaming, but in all that surrounding opportunities (development etc).

I would be all for it. There are far worse things that are marketed at young girls to fritter their money away on - you should be proud.

She should absolutely be allowed to spend her savings on whatever she wants. But nothing should stop you offering sage advice. And the correct advice here is that 2K is too much to spend. Those saying that buying a cheap computer is a false economy are right if talking about a £200 PC, but PC components are an area where the value for money at the top end is awful. As you go up the price curve, small amounts of extra money buy you a lot at first, but you quickly reach the point where an extra 10% performance doubles the price, and the highest spec components are firmly targeted at those with more money than sense. You should be able to build an excellent PC for £1200 or so.

A gaming computer can be used for anything high spec and would be essential if she wanted a serious career in IT.

Speaking as someone with a serious career in IT, this is rubbish. Gaming and video are basically the only things that require high spec, and are irrelevant to careers other than in those specific niches. I'm involved in recruitment, and neither know nor care what PC candidates have at home - I like to see some hobby involvement in what they do, but it can be done on any PC.

No the op said her DD wanted to do computer science at Dundee university, not some mickey mouse gaming degree at a pollywolly

The op also said her daughter wants to focus on games development. Why go to one university when the better one is 5mins away?

Abertay is where people go if they want to do games development. Anywhere else isn't as good.

But it's totally just a mickey mouse degree. The people who make Minecraft know nothing and work with abertay because they are idiots. Unlike you the oh so knowledgeable one.

If @edole thinks saving for a car is a much better thing for her dd to do, she could console herself with the fact that her dd has already proved that she is GOOD at saving money - £1500 saved by age 14 is pretty damn good - so should have no trouble saving the same, or more, before she is old enough to take her driving test.

Expecting her dd to wait another 3 years to enjoy the fruits of her saving is utterly unrealistic.

^ If OP thinks that saving for a car/driving lessons at her daughter's age is such a sound investment, she can do it for her herself.