Inexpensive gaming computer?

[EnterNicknameHere]

Hi, my DS almost 13 loves playing Flight Simulator X on the PC, he wants to be a pilot when he is older, totally obsessed with all things aviation. The game was a bit slow on our standard PC and the PC has now packed in. So I thought I would get him a gaming computer for christmas by going halts with his DF. But I don't know where to start! I have found one on amazon for £469 but I have no idea if it will be any good, it's called Vibox ultra package 11a.

Does anyone have any experience of this model or any other gaming PCs? Some of the ones I've seen are so expensive!

Just checked - I did spec 4GB ram plus you get another 2gb on the dedicated graphics card - that's giving you 6 overall which should be plenty - the game is only asking for 256mb.

to add RAM, you basically just plug the extra stick into the relevant slot - it's a more complex job on a laptop but easy peasy on a desk top.

I also randomly selected the case etc but play about yourself and see what you like - it wont let you check out if what you have spec'd isn't all compatible.

I'll go and have a try now, I just added screen and keyboard plus more memory and it was still under budget. Great! Looks much better than that amazon one too!

i'm wondering if what you have come up is different to mine as I'd already added a screen. keyboard and mouse and extra graphics and upgraded the PSU etc - very strange.

this is what i spec'd

www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quote-save/

There was no monitor or keyboard etc on that first link, it came to £320 including VAT. When I add screen etc it comes to around £450 which is great seeing as it includes an operating system. What was the price that you made it up to?

That second link just takes me to build my own PC.

The graphics that came up I that link said integrated AMD Radeon 8000.

I wonder if the link has taken me to the start page without any of the changes. Very strange but no wonder it was so cheap!

Think it had saved in my cookies (or whatever it is) but not in the link address. Don't get me wrong, the original spec in the link is more than suitable for the game your son is currently playing and loads more besides, but if he starts to get more into it and as tech moves on quickly too, I was trying to max out the spec on a similar budget to your Amazon link. you could scale back what I've put in to something closer to the original one from Amazon, but bear in mind that that one had no Operating system and that is £80 ish.

Case
PCS DOMINATOR 6806B BLACK CASE

Processor (CPU)
AMD A6-6400K Dual Core APU (4.1GHz) & Radeon™ HD 8470D Graphics

Motherboard
ASUS® A58M-E FM2+ (M-ATX, DDR3, USB 2.0, 3Gb/s)

Memory (RAM)
4GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ R7 250 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11

1st Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY

Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER

Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)

Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE

Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

Monitor
AOC 18.5" WIDESCREEN LED TFT - 1366 x 768, 5MS, D-Sub, DVI-D (£69)

Keyboard & Mouse
CM Storm Devastator Keyboard and Mouse (£29)

Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Quantity 1

Quote Value: £531.00

That's great, thanks! I think I'll go with that.

Thank so much for your help, I haven't the faintest idea about things like this, I only use an Ipad and that obviously didn't need any tech knowledge

and

There is a pc specialist £50 off code which is still valid but I can't find my flyer. They were giving the flyers out at insomnia gaming festival. I reckon if you asked on a gaming forum like av forum someone would tell you the code.

Ooh thankyou for that info vivaLeBeaver I'll go and investigate that now!

No problem as I say, I'm not an expert, just another Mum struggling to make sure that we don't waste money and learning as I go along.

It's a few years ago now, but we got DS an Alienware gaming computer. He loved it and used it for years.

If it's just games that he's interested in, he might be better off with a console.

It's Flight simulator x that he loves, and it's pc only unfortunately.

He can also use the PC for homework, he also likes googling random facts about different passenger planes and the airport timetables strangely

Oh I just realised that Alienware is a console! Never heard of them, I presumed by console you meant xbox

alienware are Dell gaming style pc/laptops. even in the outlet they are out of your budget. They are "just" in my son's budget for a refurbished but he is getting a better and more individual spec doing it himself.

I'm a bit of a Dell fan too but he is not being persuaded.

Just had a look, they are eye watering key expensive! I'll stick with the one I had decided on!