How much does a general set of peripherals cost?

[Quartz]

The system unit is the core of your PC and sure you've managed to build a half-way decent basic one for £600

Spoiler: build

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Gigabyte B550M DS3H (AMD AM4) B550 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-5BR-GI) = £89.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 5500 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3D3-AM) = £99.95
• 1 x Lexar Hades 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C18 3600MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit (SKU: MY-019-LE) = £37.99
• 1 x Seasonic G12-GC-650 650W 80+ Gold Power Supply (SKU: CA-07M-SS) = £69.95
• 1 x Crucial P3 1TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 NVMe Solid State Drive (SKU: HD-077-CR) = £36.94
• 1 x PowerColor Radeon RX 6600 Fighter 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GX-1AD-PC) = £200.00
• 1 x Kolink Citadel Mesh Micro-ATX Case - Black (SKU: CA-051-KK) = £52.99

Total: £595.80 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

​

(I'd bust the budget and buy a better motherboard.)

but there's all the other bits to consider: gaming monitor, keyboard, mouse, webcam, headset, speakers / sound bar, gaming device (pad or joystick), external HDD for backup, maybe a USB hub, cables, and I'm sure I've forgotten a thing or two. How much should you budget for all that?

No luxury stuff, just the basics - you can spend four figures on just a monitor.

 

[Tetras]

How much should you budget for all that?

Yikes, I mostly picked the cheaper stuff and it is still a lot.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Cooler Master 27" GA271 2560x1440 VA 100Hz A-Sync Widescreen Gaming Monitor (SKU: MO-007-CM) = £139.99
• 1 x WD Elements Portable 2.0TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive (WDBU6Y0020BBK) (SKU: HD-424-WD) = £67.99
• 1 x MSI VIGOR GK30 COMBO RGB MEMchanical Gaming Keyboard + Clutch GM11 Gaming Mouse (S11-04UK601-CLA) (SKU: KB-16Y-MS) = £59.99
• 1 x MSI Force GC30 Wireless / Wired Game Controller ( S10-43G0030-EC4) (SKU: GC-00C-MS) = £37.99
• 1 x ASUS 1080p C3 Webcam with Microphone (90YH0340-B2UA00) (SKU: WC-019-AS) = £49.99
• 1 x Edifier M1360 2.1 Speaker System (SKU: SP-045-ER) = £24.95
• 1 x Sennheiser PC 3 CHAT Lightweight Analogue Stereo Headset for VoIP and Multimedia, 2x3.5mm (504195) (SKU: SP-077-SN) = £14.99

Total: £407.88 (includes delivery: £11.98)​

My main PC comes to £300:
- Monitor: £135
- Webcam: £40
- Mouse: £30
- Keyboard: £20? (idk because it is too old)
- External HDD: £50
- Speakers: £20
- Headphones: £5
- (no controllers)

So, I guess you'd need at least £200.

 

[Quartz]

Yikes, I mostly picked the cheaper stuff and it is still a lot.

Still, it means a complete gaming setup for £1000. A console for £500 vs a complete PC setup for £1000 is still a hard choice if you have the money.

@Gibbo, with Christmas coming up perhaps this is something you might consider for bundles at various levels (say budget, standard, premium) to make things easier for prospective purchasers?

 

[dave28]

all depends on the quality, you can spend four figure sums easily

or there are budget options to suit everyone, or like me i buy them used mostly

 

[Quartz]

all depends on the quality, you can spend four figure sums easily

Indeed; I have. I spent £600 on cables alone, you may recall. I was totting it up and that prompted the question.

 

[HangTime]

So I think monitor is too big a component to bundle with the rest of them, I mean the price will vary a LOT depending on what you are looking for:

• Some people want high refresh gaming monitors
• Some people want large 4k screens
• Some people want multiple screens
• etc

I'd argue the cost of a monitor will vary at least as much as a case (which isn't really a core component, but isn't counted as a peripheral) for most people. I know you've kind of addressed this by saying "no luxury stuff" but for me personally I wouldn't buy a decent system and then hook it up to a crap monitor. The most expensive PC item I own is a monitor, it costs more than all the other peripherals combined which is why I'm advocating splitting it out.

That said, I'd say £250 should get a you a basic monitor, keyboard, mouse and headphones. Speakers, webcam, controller, external HDD I would view more as optional extras that most don't need.

 

[darkblade]

If you're on a budget, consider getting a monitor 2nd hand. They are often far cheaper.

 

[Noughtboy]

I think in many cases the monitor (well resolution and frames anyway) dictate other parts of the build so in reality has a lot on bearing on the cost of the main parts.

The peripherals for me get lumped into the "what do I have left" category. These are the easiest to upgrade at a later date and rather a budget gets spent on the hardware stuff. Personal view. You can choose to disagree.

Not suggesting someone has to shop at a pound store but to me peripherals just need to be good enough.

 

[Haggisman]

Still, it means a complete gaming setup for £1000. A console for £500 vs a complete PC setup for £1000 is still a hard choice if you have the money.

Or... plug the PC into the TV like you would a console?

The TV isn't free, so it's not exactly fair to compare a PC including a display, speakers & headset vs a console which comes with none of those.

A webcam isn't exactly a necessity for a gaming PC either unless you want to be a Youtuber.

Mouse, keyboard, controller, ~£100

 

[Quartz]

Speakers, webcam, controller, external HDD I would view more as optional extras that most don't need.

I disagree: a webcam is necessary for video chat. Games are often designed around controllers. And an external HDD for backup is critical to safeguard your data.

vs a console which comes with none of those.

True but you still need them to enjoy gaming on a PC and using it for non-gaming stuff.

 

[HangTime]

If you are using your desktop PC for video chat then sure you might need a webcam, but I've never done that. Game controller, sure if you want to play certain types of games on PC. A lot of people that do that probably have a console with a PC compatible controller anyway, so don't necessarily need to buy another one. External HDD just seems like a outdated solution to backup these days rather than being critical, as it doesn't protect that well against physical dangers (fire/flood/theft etc).

I'm not saying these aren't peripherals people want, maybe even need in some cases, but I wouldn't consider them as something you need to budget for on a basic setup.

 

[Deibu]

As someone else has mentioned a monitor can often dictate the rest of the build and is as important as the system, particularly if gaming or used for work etc.

Other stuff can be all means be basic and upgraded when you fancy something new or have a bigger budget. For example I went for a cheap mouse, keyboard and speakers to begin with but have since bought upgraded items second hand and my originals are just spare.

 

[Ch3m1c4L]

You can't add on £400 of stuff to the "pc" then say a console is better value as you don't need the extras.
As mentioned, TV isn't free, and can be used for a pc too. If you're just using the pc for gaming on the TV instead of a console, £10 mouse n keyboard, plus a gamepad. Done.

External hdd specifically for backup , only needed if youre storing critical data, which means you're getting more uses out of the pc and as such should be a separated cost compared to a gaming console.
Same with webcam, most people use a phone for video chat.
Speakers/headphones you need for game console just as much as pc.

So really, you only need to spend more on the pc experience if you want to enable more use cases than simply playing games with a controller.