Gaming Computer for DS (age 16)

[Paperclipp]

Not sure where to post this for traffic but DS has been wanting a gaming computer for years & as GCSEs are nearly over so I am going to relent...he's had about 3 days off revising since December and I want to reward the effort.

I have NO IDEA what to buy. I know he wants a tower rather than a laptop
It does not need to be top of the range but then not entry level either
Any advice most welcome. Other than look at what John Lewis have I don't know where to start..many brands I've never heard of and I know nothing about specs

I have an update on my quest & thought I'd post it here for anyone in my position in the future.

After reading all the advice posted here I popped into our local computer repair shop (Computer Angels in Fulham, London) who have repaired various laptops for me over the years to ask for their advice as they all game themselves. Turns out that although they don't market themselves as custom builders of gaming set ups they do of course offer that service.
I was in there for an hour because quite frankly they are fantastic to chat to and I feel super informed now on the downside of RGB lights, the importance of having a good fan as well as the processor & SSD components (get me with all the lingo!)

They did me a shopping list of components on a website called Scan who deliver next day and then they charge a fee to build it... £246 incl VAT in case anyone is interested. I know some may argue my son could do it himself with a few videos but quite frankly I am happy to pay that having had all their expertise and knowing they are a five minute walk away for support should he need it. Plus they are a much loved local business.

Here's the spec in case it's of interest...I upgraded on the fan as his room is like an oven in summer and they also wanted to future proof it & apparently this fan will last
I feel quite excited now as I feel a bit more informed & okay about spending so much money during the COL crisis. This have been promised for 5 years and he's had about 3 days off GCSE revision since before Christmas!
Thanks everyone for the advice - I felt a bit lost when I posted.

Other things they told me were

• go for fans not water cooling systems which they said break all the time (they had a pile of 4 broken ones behind the desk)
• RGB lights are a total waste of budget (son is sooo keen though)
• Tower over laptop every time
• Mechanical Keyboards (nice and clicky) are best

Probably not what you want to hear but my dp is adamant that for a proper gaming setup you need to “build your own” pc to get it to be sufficiently powerful
he has “built” his own and DS’s and done the same for a few friends’ sons

I can’t help specifically but there will be someone local to you who does this

If you want your son to love you without wanky RGB lights on his computer - buy him some strips to go around his desk area? Either the LED light strips or I have these https://uk.govee.com/products/govee-glide-hexa-light-panels?QUANTITY=10+PACK which you can set to all sorts of disgustingly garish patterns and are very very "gamer den" if you set them to that kind of display.

(Mine are set to make me look less terribly washed out on Teams calls because I'm an old fart)
Then add in all the RGB shite for accessories - before I switched to a laptop I had a Logitech G910 keyboard which you could make strobe rainbow lights like the Blackpool Illuminations if required.

In terms of gaming machines - my current one is a Predator which I paid just over £2k for - and it's great for what I use it for, apart from the world's most embarrassing start up sound until I disabled it (best described as a hoover jumping to hyperspace)! Finding a gaming laptop that doesn't look like one of Kryten from Red Dwarf's spare heads is always a battle.

It is 'build your own'...we've picked all the components. I'm just paying somone else to physically put it all together and install all the drives and provide ongoing in person support. It will be a much higher spec than something off the shelf for that price

@Paperclipp great in that case.

Your post made me laugh out loud
and those hexagonal panels are just the ticket - thanks so much

I am so pleased you sorted it out @Paperclipp , that was exactly our experience, really helpful and great support.

the first gaming computer we bought for DS1 was a laptop online and it really wasn't great. Almost impossible to get problems sorted and no cheaper than the custom built one

Thanks, I'm sure you're right ... but DS is only 14 and if he had a tower in his bedroom, he'd be on it half the night, every night. If I'm honest, I don't really want a machine with top-end performance, because it'll just make gaming all the more fun & appealing to him, and he already spends so much time on it that it's edging out other activities.

I feel like the bad guy for insisting on a laptop which we both know will be sub-standard, but it's the only way I can keep any sort of limit on his gaming hours at all. When he's finished his GCSEs, maybe then he can build his own and it'll be awesome.

Thank you! So is an Intel i7 powerful enough for the CPU? My old (non-gaming) Dell laptop had an i7 and it was struggling to run some of the games he plays. I was wondering about an i9. He tells me the Ryzen 7 is even better than the Intel chips.

You could tie yourself in knots trying to spec a PC. The spec you've chosen is very good. At the basest level I'd be looking at 2TB SSD, 32 GB RAM, 12 GB graphics card - all of which you've got. CPU is more difficult but some Ryzen 7 chips will outperform i5 and i7 chips. No need to go to i9. I tend to use www.cpubenchmark.net/singleCompare.php?redirect to compare chips, but the Ryzen will do what you need.

If you set up parental controls it is possible to limit time, microsoft family lets you limit screen time (works like x box) and also lets you restrict and monitor browsing habits etc