So...The boy wants a gaming PC

[Retsef]

Hi Gals and Guys,

Chatting about xmas with my 13 year old and he wants a gaming PC. A long long time ago, in a galaxy similar to this one (pre children, brexit and covid), I built my own PC with a lot of help from this community.

So I would like to have your assistance again!
?
He currently has an i7 laptop that runs most things he likes to play, I am unsure of what games he would play on a gaming PC but presume that with a GPU any game is likey to be better / faster etc. We do not need any peripherals, as he already has them, just a decent rig....

Here's the rub, I'm not really willing to pay more than £650 and have the follwing questions:

Will a gaming PC really be better than his current i7 laptop?
Is the above spend reasonable to get a much better expeirance for him?
I would like the build to be upgradable, would that be a problem?

Could you lasses and lads spec me up and give some brief reasons for your choices. I would very much appreciate it and I am sure the boy would be pleased as punch if he gets a home made PC with good components.

Lastly, we do not have an OS to bolt on and wonder at that cost in addition to the build. He's a student so maybe we could get it cheap....


Thank you for any response.

Ant.

 

[Retsef]

Thanks Quartz,

He has an Xbox but is intersted in computers generally. He's doing a lot of designing on certain software for 3D printers at the moment, which I hope will be good for his future and why I think an upgrade, with him helping to build, might be good. His laptop is a Levono ideapad 520s.

You might me well be right, I am not wedded to this, and I have seen that the issues surrounding semi-conductors / chips are inflating prices at the moment, I'd still like a prospective build as long as it is not too pricey. Your feed back on the laptop would have course also be of interest.

Thanks for your response

 

[Retsef]

Thanks Cadder.

His laptop is good in general terms. Perhaps I should reframe my original questions to say, how much would it cost for a reaponable gaming laptop at today's prices. I can perhaps afford it, just trying to find out if it is worth it. Thanks for your response - you guys are awesome.

 

[Retsef]

thanks Throwaway. I kind of agree with the "your not getting it" - I am originally form Yorkshire...You know what that means? A Yorkshireman is very like a Scostman, just with all the generosity squeezed out of him.

I'd still like a spec from you guys even if we don't take it up....

 

[Retsef]

Tamzzy - without flouting the rules of the forum, where is best to browse second hand gaming systems?? If you can'r say on this platform, I understand.

 

[Retsef]

GreatAwk - thanks so much. I agree we have to think carefully whether to go for it but appreciate the input and the reasons for it. I do suppose it comes down to whether he will be happy with that kind of spec for a few years - or as others have suggested, that he should be denied an upgrade and stick to a console + his i7 laptop. It is an interesting question and my only problem is I have not, in my mind, come to a conclusion of what may be best.

Fully appeciating all your answers which are helping to coalese my final decision.

On the other hand, what do I gert him for xmas if not this. ha ha.

 

[Retsef]

socks

He'll have grown out of them between now and xmas.

Thanks guys for all your responses.

 

[Retsef]

Thanks so much Haz - If the case is garbage, I am sure that could be upgraded for not too much more cash. 13 yo boys like the bling I imagine, so making it look good on the outside is just an important as the compnents on the inside, at that age at least.

Seems to me that I will be the one getting socks.

 

[Retsef]

Has your son got any money of his own he could put towards it ?

Yes he has a load of cash in an ISA, I'm just not willing to spend it on this. Hoping he will eventually be able ot pay for a house deposit when he is in his 20's. I will pay for the PC and the buget is flexible. However, his older sister will be hacked off if he gets substantially more than her at xmas, in monetary terms. I however really like PC's so I am keen to indulge him.

I'll have to make sure she is similarly rewarded, hence the budget.

 

[Retsef]

The usual suspects...bay, gum tree, FB. Ofc you'll need to be on the watch for scams etc.
Shame you don't have members market access. Could definitely do a very reasonable gtx 1070 or even a gtx 1080 build on that kind of budget.
The best would be to nab a new 3060ti FE and build around it. Doable for £650. Ofc you'll have to be quick when stocks drop (goes within minutes).

what's members market access? I suppose a reward for being a good OC buyer?

 

[Retsef]

Yes you can easily choose any case within your budget that you like the look of.

I was just checking out the igpu performance of the AMD 5600G and its not great. It is around half the fps of a 1060 6gb and thats over 4 year old gpu. If you can pick up a second hand 1050ti/1060 or better gpu for a sensible price you can easily build a pc for your needs but getting that gpu is the problem. Only readibly available new gpu is 6600xt and thats over £400 so it eats all your budget and not an option.

This does seem to be an issue at the moment. Maybe I can build something with a reasonable "cheap" GPU for a 13 yo and then upgrade when things return to normal?

 

[Retsef]

The usual suspects...bay, gum tree, FB. Ofc you'll need to be on the watch for scams etc.
Shame you don't have members market access. Could definitely do a very reasonable gtx 1070 or even a gtx 1080 build on that kind of budget.
The best would be to nab a new 3060ti FE and build around it. Doable for £650. Ofc you'll have to be quick when stocks drop (goes within minutes).

I don't know what a 3060ti FE is. But I'm going to look it up. Many thanks.

 

[Retsef]

Unfortunately, you'll need a thousand posts to access it lol

can I just write "a" and then post on a thousand times or would they frown upon that. LOL. I don't mind.

 

[Retsef]

Ok the best thing to do is install Telegram and join FE partalert.

This will send a message to your phone when these cards come in stock. If you can get a 3060 or 3060ti for MSRP then you will get a far better gaming experience than any of the pcs suggested so far.

When they come into stock you have about 2 minutes to get a card. They are that highly sought after. Do not buy anything else until you get a GPU and once you do buy the rest.

Thans for that - I will do sign up. Jesus - the things we do for our kids.

 

[Retsef]

Can't believe it is this difficult at the moment to get a card. Taken on all your advice, which is much appreciaed and will go for it. Will report back upon success (or faliure).

To Say Again - you lot are awesome and deserve medals for helping out us mere less techy mortals. Cheers.

 

[Retsef]

So you think I should get the 10400F chip right now and then look for a GPU? Sorry to be a dunce about it..

 

[Retsef]

The suggested GPU also appears to be £600. Might be a bit beyond my original post of trying to get the boy a gaming system for sub £700. Maybe I need to look as the refurbished market eh. Or just buy him some socks.

 

[Retsef]

https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/reviews/nvidia-geforce-rtx-3060-ti-founders-edition-review
The only way to score a graphics card at MSRP at the moment, unfortunately.
What @Haz123 said.

One more post - trying to get to me 1000 posts

 

[Retsef]

So...still looking to build the boy a gaming PC. I think we can now stretch to around £550.

Sorry to ask again....Could one of you gents or ladies spec me up around that price +/- £50 to buy before xmas and allow the build to go ahead. My son and daughter would both like to build the PC, so it wuold be a family event (not sure if this is a good idea or not lol)...daughter even wants to do A level computer science next year so hopefully this would be a good learning experience. To recap, I beleive my son only needs a fairly robust computer which is future proof, with a reasonable GPU installed. He is not a hardcore gamer requiring huge fps.

Grateful for your baskets so I can decide and buy before the turkeys, fuel, chips, etc run out. Cheers guys and girls.

 

[Retsef]

Thank you whattheduck and Haz. Looks like a good compromise and will go for it. Will let you all know how the kids get on building it. Hahaha.