Question “Gaming” PC newbie - pre built system?

ElGeeEighty8

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Aloha,

I’m looking to get a budget PC for my 8 year old son’s birthday. I’ve not got a clue on building a PC, so would be looking at a pre-built system. I’ve seen loads of sites offering these systems, but I’ve no idea what I’m looking at. Would also need a basic monitor and keyboard mouse.

I’m not fussed on 4K gaming for him, 1080p will be fine for his needs. Would be looking at Xbox game pass to use on it, so would I need a GPU for it,nothing too fancy?

At present, he likes to play Minecraft and Roblox (so kind of feel what I’m looking at may be overkill for him). He does like to play the LEGO games. He said he would like to be able to play Fortnite (ugh!) on it. Maybe now and again, I’d like to play some games on it (although really, it will be mainly Football Manager for me).

Not fussed on RGB lighting for it.

I have also pre-ordered the Google Stadia so that will come in handy for games I hope.

I have a budget of around £450, any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
 
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Have you looked at the classifieds to see if anyone is selling a complete system secondhand. Will get a good setup for your budget.
 
Get a Xbox One X. For gaming it'll do him fine for the next few years.

However if you are looking to get him into PC's and using computers as a tool for general use (as well as gaming) you'll need to up your budget by at least £250 - £400. It's that or the second hand market and you really need to know what your doing to get a decent deal.
 
He really wants a pc. What is a decent processor and graphics card to be looking at? I should be able to stretch my budget when looking.

GPU wise, I’ve seen the Radeon RX570 and then would something using a Ryzen 3 processor be okay?
 
Get a Xbox One X. For gaming it'll do him fine for the next few years.

However if you are looking to get him into PC's and using computers as a tool for general use (as well as gaming) you'll need to up your budget by at least £250 - £400. It's that or the second hand market and you really need to know what your doing to get a decent deal.
Non sense
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 1200 3.1 GHz Quad-Core Processor (£48.57 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI B450M PRO-VDH Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£59.99 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport AT 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory (£53.90 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£29.69 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI Radeon RX 580 8 GB ARMOR OC Video Card (£168.96 @ Box Limited)
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT BF ATX Mid Tower Case (£30.46 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: EVGA 500 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply (£45.39 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £436.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-08-14 12:54 BST+0100

Obviously keyboard mouse etc isn't included. But this will play most stuff at 1080p
 
Something like this from scan is a reasonable starting point.
AMD Gaming PC with Ryzen 3 3200G

Add a SSD (256GB minimum), monitor, keyboard and mouse should bring the total cost up to about £600 - £650.
 
Non sense
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 1200 3.1 GHz Quad-Core Processor (£48.57 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI B450M PRO-VDH Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£59.99 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport AT 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory (£53.90 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£29.69 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI Radeon RX 580 8 GB ARMOR OC Video Card (£168.96 @ Box Limited)
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT BF ATX Mid Tower Case (£30.46 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: EVGA 500 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply (£45.39 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £436.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-08-14 12:54 BST+0100

Obviously keyboard mouse etc isn't included. But this will play most stuff at 1080p

Yeah I still think in Intel/Nvidia prices. :facepalm: AMD are much more cost effective. Remember he has to add Windows a monitor, keyboard and mouse. I consider a SSD a must have these days but it's doable for around £600 - £650.
 
My keyboard cost £10
My mouse £15
Windows key can be had for £15
Monitors are cheap second hand.
£500 all in
 
How are scan overall? I’ve only looked at pc gaming specialists and cyber power.

I’ve seen the attached for £572 (with a monitor) and added some rgb to it for him. Is it a good deal?

I know I can build cheaper, but I’ve not got the time at the moment with 3 kids running round the house to do. And don’t want to F it up.
 

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How are scan overall? I’ve only looked at pc gaming specialists and cyber power.

Haven't used them in a while tbh, but I personally have had few issues with them, although they do have a habit of delaying an order if one item is out of stock. Shouldn't affect your order though, unless you buy monitor, keyboard and mouse from them as well. Windows 10 comes with the system.

Many from this forum have bought pre-built systems from them. Can't say I've heard any complaints.

Members of AV Forums used to get free delivery on orders over £50 not sure if that's still the case but worth a try.
 
What sort of graphics card should I be looking at?

I seem to see the AMD RX570 is a good card. And I would couple that with a ryzen 3?
 
What sort of graphics card should I be looking at?

I seem to see the AMD RX570 is a good card. And I would couple that with a ryzen 3?

That should be fine for his needs. I can't profess to be an expert in AMD graphics cards - I've never owned one.

For Nvidia I would probably go for a GTX1660 or Ti version if you can a afford it new. However, there are loads of second hand GTX1060s (6GB version) for around £100 - £130 and GTX1070s available from about £150 if you fancy going that route.
 
That should be fine for his needs. I can't profess to be an expert in AMD graphics cards - I've never owned one.

For Nvidia I would probably go for a GTX1660 or Ti version if you can a afford it new. However, there are loads of second hand GTX1060s (6GB version) for around £100 - £130 and GTX1070s available from about £150 if you fancy going that route.

That’s great cheers. I’ll have a look for systems with those in. It seems most entry level systems are ryzen 3s. Intel’s seem a little bit pricier.

The one in the image at £420, is that good, I can’t click on it to configure it to add a ssd. It has a nvidia 1660.

Do I need an SSD? I don't think he's going to be bothered about boot up speeds etc.
 

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That’s great cheers. I’ll have a look for systems with those in. It seems most entry level systems are ryzen 3s. Intel’s seem a little bit pricier.

The one in the image at £420, is that good, I can’t click on it to configure it to add a ssd. It has a nvidia 1660.

Do I need an SSD? I don't think he's going to be bothered about boot up speeds etc.

It's not a absolute necessity, so you could start with a HDD only system and add a SSD at a later date.
 
That’s great. I may just spec one

Here’s what I’m trying to decide between,

£546 from PC Specialist
Case
PCS CYCLONE GAMING CASE (Red LED Fans)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 3 3200G Quad Core CPU with Vega Graphics (3.6GHz-4.0GHz/6MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME A320M-K: Micro-ATX, AM4, USB 3.0, 6GB/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (2 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
4GB AMD RADEON™ RX 570 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st Storage Drive
240GB ADATA SU630 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (520MB/R, 450MB/W)
2nd Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY

£536 from CCL Online
  • AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 3.6GHz Quad Core CPU
  • 2x CCL Choice 4GB (1x 4GB) 2400MHz DDR4 RAM
  • Gigabyte A320M-S2H AMD Socket AM4 Motherboard
  • Seagate BarraCuda 1TB SATA III 3.5" Hard Drive
  • Sapphire Radeon RX 570 Pulse ITX 4GB Graphics Card
  • CiT F3 Mid Tower Gaming Case
  • EVGA 500 BR 500W 80+ Bronze PSU
  • 3 Year Collect & Return warranty
  • Kingston A400 240GB 2.5" SATA III SSD
  • TP-Link TL-WN881ND 300Mbps PCI Express WiFi
  • 3x Evo Labs 120mm 1000rpm Red LED Case Fan
  • Mains Power Cable
£446 from FIERCE PC
  • GameMax Centauri Black Grey Gaming Case with Blue LED Fan
  • AMD Ryzen 3 2300X 3.5GHz (4.0GHz Turbo) Quad-Core Processor
  • Stock Cooler
  • AMD Radeon RX 570 8GB Graphics Card (Includes 3 months of Xbox Game Pass!)
  • 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 (2 x 4GB) Memory
  • 240GB Solid State Drive
  • Asus A320M-K PRIME MicroATX Motherboard
  • Fierce PC 550W Power Supply
  • ASUS PCE-N15 300Mbps Networking Card
£507 from Fierce PC
  • GameMax Centauri Black Grey Gaming Case with Blue LED Fan
  • AMD Ryzen 3 2300X 3.5GHz (4.0GHz Turbo) Quad-Core Processor
  • Stock Cooler
  • AMD Radeon RX 570 8GB Graphics Card (Includes 3 months of Xbox Game Pass!)
  • 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 (2 x 4GB) Memory
  • 240GB Solid State Drive
  • 1TB Seagate FireCuda Solid State Hybrid Drive - 5x faster than HDD
  • Asus A320M-K PRIME MicroATX Motherboard
  • Fierce PC 550W Power Supply
  • ASUS PCE-N15 300Mbps Networking Card
  • Install your own Operating System
£434 from Fierce PC
  • CiT Zoom RGB Gaming PC Case
  • AMD Ryzen 3 2300X 3.5GHz (4.0GHz Turbo) Quad-Core Processor
  • Stock Cooler
  • AMD Radeon RX 570 8GB Graphics Card (Includes 3 months of Xbox Game Pass!)
  • 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 (2 x 4GB) Memory
  • 240GB Solid State Drive
  • 1TB Seagate FireCuda Solid State Hybrid Drive - 5x faster than HDD
  • Asus A320M-K PRIME MicroATX Motherboard
  • Cooler Master CM MWE White 600W PSU
  • ASUS PCE-AC56 1300Mbps Wireless PCIe Adapter
  • Install your own Operating System




 
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I would avoid CiT cases the build quality is poor to say the least.

The one at £446 from FIERCE PC seems the best value, although there may be some questions about the PSU. Is it at least bronze 80+ rated? I'm guessing windows 10 is not included.
 
I would avoid CiT cases the build quality is poor to say the least.

The one at £446 from FIERCE PC seems the best value, although there may be some questions about the PSU. Is it at least bronze 80+ rated? I'm guessing windows 10 is not included.

Just realised, I would need to add a HDD drive to the £446 from fierce. Not sure on psu. Can’t even find it now! Would I be better spending up to a bronze rated?
 
Just realised, I would need to add a HDD drive to the £446 from fierce. Not sure on psu. Can’t even find it now! Would I be better spending up to a bronze rated?

As it powers your system, a decent PSU rated at 80+ bronze is the minimum you should consider.

Most low - mid end system builders skimp on the power supply to keep costs down. It's a false economy for the customer, because if it fails it can destroy all your systems components. 80+ Bronze certified PSUs minimize this from happening. They generally cost about £40 - £60 for a 500w PSU.

Probably best not to overthink this. You will get a 12 month warranty with a pre-built system with the option to extend at a cost. So that would take care of any issues. It's more applicable to buy higher quality components if you're building the PC yourself.
 
As it powers your system, a decent PSU rated at 80+ bronze is the minimum you should consider.

Most low - mid end system builders skimp on the power supply to keep costs down. It's a false economy for the customer, because if it fails it can destroy all your systems components. 80+ Bronze certified PSUs minimize this from happening. They generally cost about £40 - £60 for a 500w PSU.

Probably best not to overthink this. You will get a 12 month warranty with a pre-built system with the option to extend at a cost. So that would take care of any issues. It's more applicable to buy higher quality components if you're building the PC yourself.
So I want to look for a psu like that for the device? I'll see if I can spec that.
 
As it powers your system, a decent PSU rated at 80+ bronze is the minimum you should consider.

Most low - mid end system builders skimp on the power supply to keep costs down. It's a false economy for the customer, because if it fails it can destroy all your systems components. 80+ Bronze certified PSUs minimize this from happening. They generally cost about £40 - £60 for a 500w PSU.

Probably best not to overthink this. You will get a 12 month warranty with a pre-built system with the option to extend at a cost. So that would take care of any issues. It's more applicable to buy higher quality components if you're building the PC yourself.
These are the power supplies available
54A259EA-C84C-41BB-843A-D0B053DCFE4A.jpeg
 
Either of the Corsair PSUs will be fine. Obviously the RM650x is a big step up in quality and price but its Gold rated, fully modular and comes with a 7 year warranty. It'll out last the PC so is overkill unless you plan to start building your own PCs in the future, then it can be reused with no issues.

The VS is a budget PSU but better than all the others, Aerocool have a poor reputation for reliability. If you don't want to pay the extra then you'd be as well sticking with the Fierce PSU.
 
Either of the Corsair PSUs will be fine. Obviously the RM650x is a big step up in quality and price but its Gold rated, fully modular and comes with a 7 year warranty. It'll out last the PC so is overkill unless you plan to start building your own PCs in the future, then it can be reused with no issues.

The VS is a budget PSU but better than all the others, Aerocool have a poor reputation for reliability. If you don't want to pay the extra then you'd be as well sticking with the Fierce PSU.

Illl get the Corsair one. I’d rather be safe than sorry for £26
 
IMO just get some cheap PC off of classifields and then drop a new GPU in it when you have the money.

tbh for 1080p gaming with the requirements you've detialed.. you dont need anything powerful at all. im selling a 4670k/gtx 670 which will do the job. smack in an SSD.. upgrade the GPU when its bottleneckekd at 1080p or u upgrade ur monitor. will be a nice starting block. thats just an example.

would not blow £500 on a budget build personally. i think at the sub 500 price range, its better to just budget second hand. i did that when i began and i'm happy i did as i actually didn't use my old rig much at all... if i'd spent more at the time i would have been bummed out.

pc gaming, i can honestly say the gpu is probably the least important thing. kb/mouse/monitor/headphones/sound are gonna last and stay with u forever.
 

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