Gaming PC advice

Status
Not open for further replies.

clearM

New member
My 12 year old son wants a gaming PC and has been saving all year. I want to make sure that we get one that he can use for homework etc too, not just gaming. Ideally I would just like to buy off the shelf as I have no experience in buying this kind of thing. Budget is around £800 ( keyboard, mouse and screen we will buy separately)
Simple suggestions please?
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
What's the budget for the mouse, keyboard and screen? I know you're buying separately and possibly elsewhere, but it helps make sure the spec of the PC matches the spec of the other bits you're likely to buy.
 

clearM

New member
He has chosen Corsair gaming K55 keyboard, Logitech proteus spectrum mouse. He has asked for a DDR5 VR gaming PC but it’s more than we wanted to pay so wondering if there is something similar and less expensive. I’m also not sure he knows enough about it to choose himself but I might be wrong!
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Sorry, but what about the monitor? What monitor is being used, or how much is available to be spent on the monitor?

Pairing the monitor and the graphics card from the PC appropriately is one of the most important things when getting a gaming PC. :)
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
To suggest a spec in the meantime:

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)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 580 - HDMI, 3 x DP - DX® 12
---Up to 2 Games FREE w/ select RADEON RX GPUs!
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
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/Thunderbolt 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
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 6 to 8 working days
Quantity
1

Price £810.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-pc/7BA3vCq4QC/

Should be capable of running most modern games somewhere from high-ultra, and support a range of future upgrades.

I think that's about the cheapest you can go for components without shooting yourself in the foot in terms of future upgrades / performance / features. e.g. you could get a 450W PSU but it might limit future GPU upgrade options and only saves a few quid. You could get a cheaper case, but it will affect cooling performance and limit upgrade options.

The RX 580 graphics card offers very solid gaming performance and comes with a choice of free games as well, so is very good value right now versus its competitor, the Nvidia GTX 1060.

The RX 580 has Freesync, and will pair well with a monitor that also supports freesync (though obviously can be used with any monitor / TV).
 

clearM

New member
Thank you.
For the monitor we were going to buy this once we had chosen the PC, which would you recommend? The one he was looking at I think was around £200 and quite large
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
£200 is a decent budget. For that I would suggest a monitor with a spec of 1080p, 144hz, and freesync. At this price range these will usually be about 24", which is often considered to be a sweet spot for 1080p resolution.

Freesync is a technology that works with AMD graphics cards like the RX 580 in the build above to synchronise a monitor's refresh rate with the graphics card framerate, which helps eliminate stutter and tearing. Which is what you get when running a monitor with a fixed refresh rate and the PC isn't able to output a consistent framerate.

There are quite a few 1080p 144hz freesync monitors out there but to take an example from PCS's offerings: AOC G2590PX (£210).

£200 does cover other options.

There are 1440p 60/75hz monitors, but an RX 580 might not be best suited to the higher resolution.

There are 1080p 60/75hz 27" monitors for ~£200, but in terms of features I can't say these are good value versus a 24/25" 144hz freesync monitor. The larger a screen, the more 'stretched' the pixel density can become, if one is sensitive to these things.

And the higher refresh rate of 144hz monitors can lead to a much smoother gaming experience, and can give a competitive edge in multiplayer.
 

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
Locking due to spam bots repeatedly necroing the topic. If the OP wants to discuss further they are very welcome to start a new topic of course :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top