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Post by surreychad on Nov 30, 2020 11:44:10 GMT
Hi All,
Sorry to post this but I am struggling to find any help!
My son wants a gaming PC and has saved up to buy one but I have no idea about these things so wondering if anyone could help me choose one that is a good starter gaming PC with a budget of around £600 - £800?
They seem to start around the £350 mark but as far as I can tell these are already out of date and they could in to the £1000's which is way out of his budget.
Any help of suggestion would be really appreciated.
Cheers
Surrey
MODS, please feel free to delete post if this isn't the place, I wont be offended
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Post by bowranger on Nov 30, 2020 14:26:18 GMT
I work in games and it's a big hobby of mine, though I'm ropey on the PC building side. Lemme ask a few friends and will get back to you.
Couple of pointers/qs. Are they looking for something pre-built over component parts? The latter is a bit cheaper and more customisable, but maybe not ideal if it's a starter - it's a lot easier to build a PC than it used to be but something to bare in mind. If they're into that sort of thing, could be a nice project!
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Post by surreychad on Nov 30, 2020 16:27:51 GMT
Hi Bow.
Honestly I don't know, but guessing something prebuilt is preferred. I can build you a house but when it comes to It I can barely put a USB stick in to my laptop without losing the plo, my son is just looking at his first gaming PC and pretty sure he couldn't build it either.
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Post by Lonegunmen on Nov 30, 2020 17:13:10 GMT
I use my Dell for games. It's a lap top. 15" screen, 8 gig ram, 4 gig video card and a 520 gig solid state drive. From hitting the power button to start it and starting a game = 24 seconds max. I like to call it the Star Ship Enterprise. Being a laptop it's portable and you can still use it for proper work. I've had ASUS, HP's and a Toshiba but I have to say, having only had this Dell for 3 months, that I'm in love with it. I can play FM2020 on it no problem, Star Wars battlefront II on it, no problem (although it really makes my video card work and earn it's keep) Ace Combat 7 on it, no problem, Halo Collection, No problem. No slowing down, maxed out preferences. This unitis considered "last seasons" so to speak, it cost me $1,500 NZD = 750 Pounds.
But if you're after a desktop PC,and whether or not you are going to build it, I would recommend the follow specs to make it last at least 4 years, probably a couple more.
At least a 21 inch 4k led monitor. 16-32 gig of ddr4 ram, 1 gig solid state drive, 4 or 8 gig Nvidea video card. Those are the major components. You can never ever have enough Ram and the solid state drive gives you almost instantaneous access. Of course you have to cut your cloth to your budget. So the minimum recommendation is 8 gig of ram, 1 gig SSD and 4 gig video card. There's always the long debate on should you get and AMD computer Chip or and Intel. I've used both in the past on various machines. Pretty much the same these days, although I personally would prefer the Intel.
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Post by stylecouncillor on Nov 30, 2020 17:14:21 GMT
Surrey What age is your son ? as it would make a difference to the type of games he will play and graphic / processor demands. And are you going the pc route opposed to the laptop route ? If it is the pc route is it lock stock and barrel the full works or do you have any parts ie screens pc desk, chair etc ? Also is the pc for anything else and are you a windows/ android or Apple family. Finally assume you are not interested in Playstation or XBox which is pretty much what everyone games on.
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Post by Lonegunmen on Nov 30, 2020 17:17:54 GMT
Surrey What age is your son ? as it would make a difference to the type of games he will play and graphic / processor demands. And are you going the pc route opposed to the laptop route ? If it is the pc route is it lock stock and barrel the full works or do you have any parts ie screens pc desk, chair etc ? Also is the pc for anything else and are you a windows/ android or Apple family. Finally assume you are not interested in Playstation or XBox which is pretty much what everyone games on. I'm waiting for the X Box Series X Style. It's got a 4k Bluray player in it and will take over the show from my normal Bluray player in the cabinet. Just need them to come on the market down here. Still stuck in Preorders. It's got a larger SSD in it too.
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Post by Ashdown_Ranger on Nov 30, 2020 18:54:54 GMT
Used to write games and graphics software reviews for various magazines - still play quite a few games too Some simple pointers... The BEST gaming experience will be on dedicated games consoles like the new XBox and Playstation. Choice of games at the moment will be limited though as they're so new - I'm not sure about their backward compatibility (ie, the ability to play games released for the previous generation consoles). Hardware cheaper to buy than a gaming PC, but games generally more expensive. PCs - VAST selection of games available for Windows machines. Regarding the hardware - of course, you can use it as a home computer as well as a games machine. Things that make for a great games machine are: Memory (RAM) - the more the better. Graphics/video card - get one with a dedicated graphics board with its own fast processor and lots of its own dedicated video RAM. This will give you full 3D graphics, shading, fast frame-rates etc. On no account get a computer with 'onboard' or 'shared' graphics capability - ie, where a part of system memory is allocated to graphics. Hard drive - get a decent size drive - often used as a 'scratch-drive' by software to speed up processing. Hard drive - if affordable, get an SSD (solid state drive) rather than a traditional 'spinning' hard drive (HDD) - they're MUCH faster in terms of handling processor requests, and are increasingly affordable. Processor - get the quickest you can afford - Intel i7 I think at the moment. i5 will probably do, but I wouldn't touch an i3 for gaming. Apple Macs - lovely machines and highly capable in handling games (if bearing all of the above in mind). But typically 25% (or above) more expensive than their Windows equivalents - and a VERY much more limited selection of games available on Mac. You don't say what the budget has to cover - for a PC 'box' (ie, no keyboard, monitor etc) I think you could get a reasonably specced games PC for £800 - though you could quite easily spend two or even three times that! That said, a £350 laptop WILL play a lot of games, but if your son is after the new blockbuster releases, he'll be throwing it out the window in frustration in a couple of months... A quick look at Dell's 'Alienware' gaming machine show well specced matching at £899, minus 15% Cyber Monday discount, so just about you budget. www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/cty/pdp/spd/alienware-aurora-r11-desktop - but I notice it has an i3 processor. An i5 processor adds £70ish, but with the discount still comes in around budget... John Lewis could be worth a look, I would hesitate to buy from PC World/Currys... Good luck! EDIT: This Acer might be worth a look at £799 www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-N50-610-i7-10700-Wireless-Keyboard/dp/B088V3SVKH/ref=pd_lpo_147_t_1/258-8528132-3473364?
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Post by surreychad on Dec 1, 2020 7:34:15 GMT
Surrey What age is your son ? as it would make a difference to the type of games he will play and graphic / processor demands. And are you going the pc route opposed to the laptop route ? If it is the pc route is it lock stock and barrel the full works or do you have any parts ie screens pc desk, chair etc ? Also is the pc for anything else and are you a windows/ android or Apple family. Finally assume you are not interested in Playstation or XBox which is pretty much what everyone games on. Hi Syle, He's 14. Its Fifia, fornight and those sort of games he plays. He has an xbox but most of his mates have moved to PC's hence wanting one.
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Post by surreychad on Dec 1, 2020 7:35:18 GMT
Gents, you are all absolute stars, thank you for your help, it really is appreciated. Surrey
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Post by blatantfowl on Dec 1, 2020 8:44:43 GMT
Just a note of caution. My son built his own PC when 14/15 and I was really proud. A few years later and gaming has gripped him to the detriment of his A levels. We’re constantly playing cat and mouse.
You need to agree how much he’ll use it up front and keep the option that you’ll occasionally need to take it. Not easy when teenage social life has moved online and homework is done online.
Mark my words!
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Post by Lonegunmen on Dec 1, 2020 8:46:07 GMT
Arn't Microsft cross platforming now so that you can play FIFA on a PC v Someone on an X Box?
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Post by surreychad on Dec 1, 2020 14:14:59 GMT
Just a note of caution. My son built his own PC when 14/15 and I was really proud. A few years later and gaming has gripped him to the detriment of his A levels. We’re constantly playing cat and mouse. You need to agree how much he’ll use it up front and keep the option that you’ll occasionally need to take it. Not easy when teenage social life has moved online and homework is done online. Mark my words! I feel your pain, it feel like a constant battle to get him off the bloody thing. Luckily we use Virgin Broadband and have the app that can switch the internet off to his xbox as and when needed, its solved a few arguments over the past few months.
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