spec me gaming pc for son for xmas

hi all ,

need some help, son wants a gaming pc for xmas ive had a look on the bundle deals but am totally lost , i built a few of my own pcs about 12 years ago so am well out of date with whats what.so prebuilt as well

my budget is 1300 max

mainly for playing games and what ever else 13 year old get upto

should include operating system

24-28 monitor

gaming mouse\keyboard

1 t/b storage

thxs in advance

prebuilt

hows this, what do you think , have i gone a bit over the top with moniter?

Case BitFenix Pandora Core Micro-ATX Case - Silver Windowed
Motherboard Asus Z170M-Plus Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) DDR4 Micro ATX Motherboard
Processor Intel Core i5-6600K 3.9GHz (Skylake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail
Memory TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C16 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (TPKD48GM2400HC16DC01
CPU Cooler Alpenföhn Matterhorn Black CPU Cooler
M.2 Solid State Drive **For Operating System If Selected** Not wanted
Solid State Drive Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E250B/EU)
Mechanical Hard Drive Seagate 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST1000DM003)
Optical Drive **Please Check Chassis Support** OcUK Value Blu-ray / DVDRW combi SATA - OEM
Graphics Card *£20 CASHBACK* Asus GeForce GTX 970 DirectCU II OC Strix 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Power Supply SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black
Sound / Network Card Not wanted
USB Network Adapter Not wanted
Case Lighting Not wanted
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)
Security Software Not wanted
Keyboard CM Storm Octane Gaming Peripheral Bundle (MS35 & MB7C)
Mouse Not wanted
Monitor Samsung U28E590D 4k 28" 3840x2160 TN FREESYNC Gaming Widescreen LED Monitor - Black
Gaming Headset Not wanted
Speakers Mars Gaming MS1 2.0 Soundsystem - Black 10W RMS
Gaming Chair Not wanted

Get headphones, not speakers, for your own sanity. And you can probably skip the optical drive.

The GPU specified is a Nvidia one but the monitor is a Freesync device, not Gsync. The two do not match. And while older games will max out nicely on the 4K monitor, newer ones will not. I'd suggest a 1440p monitor or high Hz 1080p.

Nothing has really changed with building PC's if anything it's probably a bit easier and you'd get much better specs for the money.

i just need someone to spec me a monitor please, ive took the speakers off for head set which is a good idea

Case Aerocool DS200 Black Edition
Motherboard Asus Z170-K Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard
Processor Intel Core i5-6600K 3.9GHz (Skylake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail
CPU Cooler Prolimatech 68 CPU Cooler - 120mm
Memory TeamGroup Elite 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C16 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (TPKD48GM2400HC16DC01
M.2 Solid State Drive **For Operating System If Selected** Samsung SM951 256GB M.2 PCI-e Gen3 8Gbps x 4 AHCI Solid State Drive (MZHPV256HDGL-00000)
Solid State Drive 1 Not wanted
Solid State Drive 2 Not wanted
Mechanical Hard Drive 1 Seagate 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST1000DM003)
Mechanical Hard Drive 2 Not wanted
Optical Drive **Please Check Chassis Support** Not wanted
Graphics Card *£20 CASHBACK* Asus GeForce GTX 970 DirectCU II OC Strix 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Graphics Card 2 (SLI/Crossfire) Not wanted
Power Supply SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 850W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black
Sound Card Not wanted
Networking Not wanted
Case Lighting Not wanted
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)
Security Software Not wanted
Keyboard CM Storm Octane Gaming Peripheral Bundle (MS35 & MB7C)
Mouse Not wanted
Monitor Not wanted
Gaming Headset Mars Gaming MH0 Stereo Gaming Headset
Speakers Not wanted
Gaming Chair Not wanted

Having three kids myself I have to say that £1300 seems pretty expensive for a 13 year old.

The majority of gaming titles for that age group too are not going to tax such a PC, it's basically going to be running at a fraction of it's abilities.

An 850w power supply too?

My eldest lad is around the same age, and has been allowed to use the PC's around the house since three, he is not allowed to play any game titles on the PC that are below his age limit, therefor nothing he does on the main i7 system cannot be done on the old LGA 775 Q9550 system or requires anything more than the equivalent of an old 7950 GPU.

In fact his system is one of my old ones, yet I am still tempted to put together an even simpler more power efficient system just to reduce running costs.

He is interested in white windowed cases and RGB lighting, but I intend to have him rebuild such a PC with me, 13 year olds are not really that into the component kudos, just as long as it works, looks cool, and their mates like it.

Out of interest, what does your 13 year old do that requires such a PC?

hi

I have 2 sons 11 and 13 years

My 11 year old has no intrest in computers or consoles , he races motocross bikes at a pretty serious level taking us all over the uk and into europe ,which as you can imagine is not cheap. When we are not racing or practicing hes out with his friends

My 13 year old , hates motobikes , never goes out , likes his own space ,and loves gaming on consoles and pcs , and the small circle of friends he has got are the same,, so spending £1300 on a gaming pc may seem high but when i compare it to how much we spend on racing ,its peanuts,

He plays all the latest games on pc from fifa to warcraft , battlefeild , fallout , elder scrolls, and loads of other stuff usually on steam

Fair enough!

Not really sure what to say to that!

Why the 850w psu?

Why that case?

Why that cooler?

Windows 10 dvd but no optic drive?

Why only a 1tb drive considering the cost of 2tb?

Why a prebuild?

You will get much better value and more kudos with a self build. It will also mean you can spend some time building the PC with the lad.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Mid Tower Case - Gun Metal= £139.99
• 1 x SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 550W Fully Modular '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply - White= £72.95
• 1 x Asus Maximus VIII Hero Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £169.99
• 1 x Intel Core i5-6600K 3.9GHz (Skylake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - OEM= £194.99
• 1 x Noctua NH-U14S Ultra-Quiet Slim CPU Cooler with NF-A15 Fan= £62.99
• 1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-21300C16 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (CMK16GX4M2A26= £89.99
• 1 x KFA2 GeForce GTX 970 OC Silent "Infin8 Black Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **World= £289.99
• 1 x Samsung 500GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E500B/EU)= £129.95
• 1 x Seagate 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST2000DM001)= £59.99
• 1 x Microsoft Windows 10 32/64-Bit - USB Pen Drive - Retail (KW9-00017)= £89.99

Other than that, I would think the Evolution systems more interesting too. Maybe add some extra, build a £1300 PC and add an IPS monitor for around £500, I would rather suffer a little lag these days than the appaling picture quality the majority of overpriced 144hz gaming panels have.

I used to be interested in mountain bikes, still work in that industry, many parents I know supported their kids, nothing unusual to see a kid on a £6500 mtb at the races, supported by his dad as they travel europe too. Cannot imagine motor bike racing, inc support and travelling being much cheaper, not to mention the time spent as a parent with your child at such events, cannot put a price or value in that, in comparison to another child locking himself away playing games as an alternative.

As such a £1300 price tag on another kids alternative without the personal attention would seem rather cheap and flippant.

Edit. Out of interest, just how much has your sons racing equipment and bike cost? And how much is spent in the course of a year pursuing that activity including the expense of trips within europe? Maybe one of 8packs custom builds would be a fairer comparison?