First Gaming PC for my Son

Hello

I am looking at a gaming PC for my 13yr old son who at the moment will no doubt want to only really play Fortnite but he is showing an interest in other games so i need to make sure the PC is capable when the time arrives.

I know its a the more you pay the better the spec situation but with this been his first steps into PC gaming i don't really want to break the bank (but would also like the ability to upgrade the PC as and when the situation arises)

So can anyone help me with what i should be looking for in an entry level gaming PC?

Thanks
 

Shepard

Enthusiast
Hello,

yes, of course. The easiest way would be to look at Fortnite's requirements and crosscheck with the other games he shows interest in. Research their recommended (not minimum) requirements and build a system on the website that meets these or is slightly above it even (Depending on your budget). Then you save it as a quote and post your specs here and we'll help you check if there are ways to save money or maybe parts that are better fitting.

KR,
Shepard
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
To add to the above, and in fairly vague terms -

You'll want a fairly balanced build.
e.g. if a game recommends an i7 CPU, but after adding an i7 to the spec you only have the money left over to buy a Geforce 1030 graphics card, that's not going to be the right choice for most scenarios versus an i5 and a GTX 1060 (for example).

8gb RAM
You don't really want less for any PC, and while 16gb can be advantageous for gaming, 8gb is fine for budget/mid-range builds

Storage speed doesn't really matter
A 1TB HDD is fine. You can add an SSD in the future.

Keep in mind future upgrades
A 350W PSU is cheaper than a 550W PSU but will significantly restrict future GPU upgrade options. So getting a 350W one and then needing to replace it in a year or two costs more than just getting a 550W one and keeping it. Similarly the cheapest cases are best avoided. I think cases like the Game Max Falcon or Fractal Focus G are ideal for budget builds that keep upgrades in mind. Replacing the case involves rebuilding most of the system...

Do you need a monitor / keyboard / mouse?
What is your budget for the whole system (including PC, monitor, etc)?

Any other games your son is showing interest in?

We could then suggest some specs for you to weigh up :)
 

elhaxi

New member
The key factors to consider when buying gaming pc is its ability to upgrade so your investment last for couple of years at least. Consider system with these specs... Cpu. Intel Core i5 or i7 (7th gen or above), ram 8GB, ssd 256GB, hdd 1TB, VRAM 2GB
 

jerpers

Master
If only for Fortnite, you can get away with quite a basic system. The GPU in my second PC that my kids use failed and they are playing fortnite reasonably well on internal graphics. The quality however is low but it does still work. It may be better to prioritise the CPU on this build, get a cheaper GPU with the view to upgrade that later if he wants to play more demanding games.
 

Frank100

Rising Star
Hi,

In a recent news article in the US, more than 200 divorce applications had been received where Fortnite (specifically) had been named as the cause. He's a bit young for marriage let alone divorce but if you ever need to annoy him with 'parent stats' when he wants to do "a bit of gaming before homework" you can quote that at him.

With regards to the build I think the way forward is to post a lower, upper and preferred budget for the whole thing (including monitor, etc if you need that) and people will post their suggestions. I would be inclined towards the balanced build suggested by Oussebon.

Frank100
 
Thank you for the help so far, i have looked at the recommended requirement for Fortnite and it is:
CPU: Core i5 2.8 Ghz
CPU SPEED: Info
RAM: 8 GB
OS: Windows 7/8/10 64-bit
VIDEO CARD: Nvidia GTX 660 or AMD Radeon HD 7870 equivalent DX11 GPU

This is the system i have built so far: Looking at between £500 - £900 as a budget if i can keep it around there?

Case GAME MAX FALCON BLACK GAMING CASE (RGB LED)
Processor (CPU)Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-8500 (3.0GHz) 9MB
Cach eMother board Gigabyte Z370P D3: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB
Ready Memory (RAM)8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card 2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1050 - DVI, HDMI, DP1st
Hard Disk 2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB
CACHEDVD/BLU-RAY Drive NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550
POWER SUPPLY Power Cable1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO
(AS STANDARD)Wireless/Wired Networking 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB OptionsMIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery MediaWindows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer
Mode Browser Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days

I think i need to understand what the difference is between the Intel I5 and an AMD Ryzen 5 and do i need a better processor cooler?

The Monitor he has already but he will need a keyboard, mouse etc been a 13 year old functionality is not his priority its how it looks so i need to try and get a balance between the two.
 
This is what i have so far not sure which processor t go for the Intel or the AMD was looking to spend around £500 - £1000 if i can keep it around there?
He has a monitor but will require a key board and a mouse.

CaseGAME MAX FALCON BLACK GAMING CASE (RGB LED)
Processor (CPU)Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-8500 (3.0GHz) 9MB Cache
Motherboard Gigabyte Z370P D3: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1050 - DVI, HDMI, DP1st
Hard Disk 2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA PRO 3.5", 7200 RPM 128MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550
POWER SUPPLY Power Cable1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Approved the post now :) The mods are volunteers so it takes us a little time sometimes to see an action things

I've made some suggested alterations:


Case
GAME MAX FALCON BLACK GAMING CASE (RGB LED)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-8400 (2.8GHz) 9MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B360M-A: Micro-ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
3GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1[SUP]st[/SUP] M.2 SSD Drive
256GB INTEL® 760p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (upto 3210MB/sR | 1315MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price £878.00 including VAT and delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-home-office-pc-ii/FD448pEWZw/

The Pro HDDs are ludicrously expensive and not a good spend for gaming
You're not using any of the Z370 motherboard's features so you may as well stick to the B360 motherboards of the Home/Office Configurator.
With this budget you can afford an SSD, so I'd suggest getting one
The GTX 1060 3gb is a much more powerful card and I would suggest is worth getting as it will be some time longer before you want to replace it. Depending on the other non-fortnite games your son may wish to play?
Get a better cooler than the stock Intel one as even the next cheapest will be a lot more effective and quieter too under heavy load
The i5 8500 is £28 more and only gives you 100MHz more frequency once you account for boost clocks. Which doesn't really seem worth it.

For a keyboard and mouse set, the Cooler Master Devastator III Combo is a popular entry-level bit of kit. PCS sell it but it's listed as currently unavailable, but if you google you can find it elsewhere.

As for Intel vs AMD, both brands are suitable for gaming. Intel has the lead in performance e.g. an i5 8400 will outperform an R5 2600 for gaming insofar as there's any difference. AMD's CPUs will be better for streaming gameplay, if you think your son is likely to start broadcasting his gameplay on Twitch/Youtube etc.
 
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He may want to stream as he watches a lot of them on Youtube if that was the case would i just swap the I5 for the Ryzen 5 2600 or the 2600X would everything else be compatible ?
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Ryzen CPUs use different motherboards, so that will be different too.

Also, upgrading RAM especially with higher frequencies can be (even) more finicky on Ryzen systems than Intel (it certainly used to be anyway) so here it would probably make sense to buy 16gb of fast RAM outright. It's still within your budget, and Ryzen CPUs are also said to benefit more from faster RAM than Intel's.

And it's an investment that will last the lifetime of the system - the GPU you'll upgrade in a few years, you may well add more storage, you might potentially even upgrade the CPU if the Ryzen 3000 series lives up to some of the hype, but 16gb of 3000MHz RAM should be all the system will ever need.

The rest of the spec is basically the same. I stuck with the AMD stock cooler as it's a bit better at its job than the Intel one is, as I understand it.


Case
GAME MAX FALCON BLACK GAMING CASE (RGB LED)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.25GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B450M-A (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
3GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
1[SUP]st[/SUP] M.2 SSD Drive
256GB INTEL® 760p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (upto 3210MB/sR | 1315MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price £989.00 including VAT and delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-pc/rCnZ7W7NSn/

And I added the £5 warranty upgrade, because I'd buy it (on any system, Intel or AMD).
 
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Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
I'm not sure I follow?

Motherboards don't have their own graphics. A long while ago they used to but that's not how they're made now.

Graphics are provided by either a PCIe graphics card like an Nvidia GTX card or an AMD RX card as above or, for cheaper / non-gaming builds, by on-board graphics as part of the CPU.

Intel consumer CPUs have onboard graphics (the HEDT ones don't). AMD's 'APU' CPUs have onboard graphics, while the Ryzen CPUs like the R5 2600x don't.

If the question is "is there any advantage to a CPU having onboard graphics?" the answer is normally no, not for gamers. It doesn't improve performance (outside of a few extremely niche situations) and because you're using the graphics card the onboard graphics will sit there doing nothing, probably being disabled by default. There is an advantage to a CPU having onboard graphics in that if the PCIe graphics card (RX 580) dies, you can use the onboard graphics to keep using the PC while awaiting a new graphics card.

However, I wouldn't consider this a priority over performance. In the unlikely event your graphics card snuffs it you can buy a Geforce 710 for £20 and use that - so you have options. Whereas the R5 2600x is vastly better for streaming thanks to having twice as many 'threads' as the i5 8400.
 
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