Gaming PC's

[Rooter]

I know there are a few experts in this field!! (Minefield!)

Looking for some pointers, my lad who is 12 says he wants a gaming PC. Now currently, he doesn't do anything too heavy, mostly roblox, Minecraft, some scratch stuff. So entry level for sure, where the hell do I start? And of course, I am not spending silly cash! But it needs to be able to grow with him, which I assume most chassis will allow you to etc... So help please!!

 

[GB72]

I know there are a few experts in this field!! (Minefield!)

Looking for some pointers, my lad who is 12 says he wants a gaming PC. Now currently, he doesn't do anything too heavy, mostly roblox, Minecraft, some scratch stuff. So entry level for sure, where the hell do I start? And of course, I am not spending silly cash! But it needs to be able to grow with him, which I assume most chassis will allow you to etc... So help please!!

If it is purely for gaming, have you looked at a Steam Deck.

 

[Jimaroid]

If it is purely for gaming, have you looked at a Steam Deck.

I wouldn't do that, it's not a platform that will grow with him. Plus every single one of Valve's many forays into hardware has failed, they're not going to be available until Q3 2022, and that will probably slip because, sigh, supply chain and component shortages...

I'm not sure I can be much other help here to be honest, gaming pcs are a bottomless pit of hell. All you can do really is set a budget and try to get the best deal, you can spend anywhere from £400 to £4000 and more. You need to spend over £1000 to get something decent as base and that's before you add in the display, keyboard, mouse, speakers etc....

My two tips:

1. Don't do a DIY build as a first timer. Have a look at the prebuilt gaming systems that people like Scan and Novatech offer. Stay away from "big brands" like Dell, HP etc.

2. Decide a budget and a quality you're aiming for first. Display resolution is ultimately the best indicator of performance and price these days. 1080p, 1440p and 4K representing the small, medium & large budgets accordingly with pricing around £1000, £2000 and £4000 or thereabouts.

 

[DanFST]

Prebuilts are quite costly. Do you think you could build one? There's lots of guides and video's online. Would be a cool project for you to do together also.

I had never touched one before, now a fully watercooled, overclocked nerd machine.

 

[greenone]

Buy the best motherboard and processor you can within budget, ram gfx can always be upgraded later. I'd always build a pc yourself, you get a lot more for your money and it really is not difficult especially with YouTube videos etc. Also get a full size tower, mini towers can be a pita routing wiring, and cooling is more of an issue. I spent 200 quid on mine 15 years ago and have had 4 pcs in it in that time, next time it will need a respray.

 

[GreiginFife]

My advice in this space is self-build would always be my first port of call. I get where Jim is coming from in terms of there are risks involved in building but with the keyed installation standards now pretty much in everything it's not a hard thing to do, if you take your time and study what you are doing first.

But, and it's a big but. Prebuilts are attractive right now because of component costs, especially graphics cards. A Roblox/Minecraft machine is going to be more memory dependant than GPU dependant but having a decent GPU to scale and grow with his usage is a decent idea. Sadly, the chip shortage has meant GPUs with an original RRP of, say, £399 are being sold for nearer £700.
This makes self building expensive right now. Prebuilt companies like Aphasync or Nova are sitting on stockpiles of GPUs bought before the issues.

My mate asked me to build his 12 year old a machine but it was around £300 more than what Alphasync could supply for, mainly due to CPU and GPU costs.

Just not a great time for tech at the moment.

 

[DanFST]

I have an old 980Ti sitting somewhere. I'll have a dig round and see if I can find it for you. Will be more than enough power for his needs!

 

[Rooter]

Prebuilts are quite costly. Do you think you could build one? There's lots of guides and video's online. Would be a cool project for you to do together also.

I had never touched one before, now a fully watercooled, overclocked nerd machine.

I probably could build one (not prob, I know I could!) its whether its worth it cost wise etc..

 

[PhilTheFragger]

The problem with a self build is you have to ensure all the bits are compatible with each other and the PSU has the right connectors for the motherboard and enough juice for the graphics card.

I’ve used PC Specialist and apart from being quite competitive price wise, also ensure components compatibility

 

[GreiginFife]

The problem with a self build is you have to ensure all the bits are compatible with each other and the PSU has the right connectors for the motherboard and enough juice for the graphics card.

I’ve used PC Specialist and apart from being quite competitive price wise, also ensure components compatibility

Less so these days as 99% of ATX supplies will have either 8pin or 6+2 for the PSU and either 4 or 4+4 CPU connectors.

The main thing to watch for with PSUs is the continuous power on the rails and that it's not spiky. 80+ Gold is the minimum I'd use for a PSU from an A grade manufacturer like Seasonic, EVGA or Flower. Seasonic is probably the most reliable IMO. Even if the PSU has the "rated" power and all the connections it's still the one bit that I would pay the most for relatively to even the CPU and Mobo.

 

[SyR]

The problem with a self build is you have to ensure all the bits are compatible with each other and the PSU has the right connectors for the motherboard and enough juice for the graphics card.

I’ve used PC Specialist and apart from being quite competitive price wise, also ensure components compatibility

https://pcpartpicker.com/ has always served me well on that front. I'd also suggest checking for a pre-built that is roughly in your price range and then seeing what you can put together from the main suppliers using the listed specs of the pre-built. If you can't beat it or improve it, then best to buy the pre-built.

 

[VVega]

https://pcpartpicker.com/ has always served me well on that front.

There are CPUs now priced $8K?! I remember the times when the latest Pentium(tm) was about 150$. ?

Back to the OP question - where to start even for choosing the CPU family? Let alone how to make sense of GPUs that all claim to deliver “incredible” performance? And while we are at it - what version of Windows/DirectX is needed?

 

[GreiginFife]

There are CPUs now priced $8K?! I remember the times when the latest Pentium(tm) was about 150$. ?

Back to the OP question - where to start even for choosing the CPU family? Let alone how to make sense of GPUs that all claim to deliver “incredible” performance? And while we are at it - what version of Windows/DirectX is needed?

Intel still represents the best pure gaming performance with the i5 being the prime balance point. AMD has made up a lot of ground with the Zen architecture of Ryzen (I have the 3600X and it’s brilliant).

Intel’s issue is still the redundancy in sockets too quickly. Since AMD launched the AM4 socket in 2015 for the first Ryzen, Intel has gone through 3 iterations meaning any attempt to upgrade a CPU has needed a new board too.

AMD has kept to its word that the AM4 would last 4 generations.

Intel did strike back by introducing the F series CPUs that have no onboard iGPU to accompany the K series that allow overclocking and then the KF series from 9th gen onwards. Also re-instating hyper threading 5 years after ditching it after AMD started to really kick arse with multi core/multi thread CPUs.

Cost wise, AMD no longer holds the price advantage due to market forces increasing the costs overall with Jntel seemingly having better stock availability. So now is the time to go Team Blue. Once prices normalise, Team Red for value to performance and longevity.