gaming PC.

My niece have messaged me about a gaming machine for her son for christmas, he is only 13, and she doesn't want to spend a load just in case he loses interest, around the £400 to £500 mark, the lower end if possible. I am not a gamer and since I have had the Mac I have really lost track of what is available, prices and that sort of thing.
What video card should they be looking at minimum?

i know £400 is not a lot for a gaming machine these days, but as I said he is only 13.

she did find the one in the link below, but I have never heard of Bedrock computers, and it don't look good value for money. The 1050TI is an old card and was mid-range then.,

https://bedrock-computers.co.uk/product/ddr4-i7-gami...

Grateful for any advice. I suppose i could make one, but is it really any cheaper these days, taking in the cost of buying windows as well?

I suppose i could make one, but is it really any cheaper these days, taking in the cost of buying windows as well?

Unless you are building a bespoke, high end, system its usually cheaper to buy pre-built - or grab an old gamer box from someone who has to have the latest and best.
Your biggest ssue, in any case, will be manging expectations.

Of course, if he is just gaming then an XBox or PS5 would be a better bet for the money.

Cost of buying windows? not much at all, if you know where to look. The souks of Tortuga have what you need for the asking

Edited by Sponge35 (Wed 04-Oct-23 09:47:03)

In reply to a post by Sponge35:

I suppose i could make one, but is it really any cheaper these days, taking in the cost of buying windows as well?

Unless you are building a bespoke, high end, system its usually cheaper to buy pre-built - or grab an old gamer box from someone who has to have the latest and best.
Your biggest ssue, in any case, will be manging expectations.

Of course, if he is just gaming then an XBox or PS5 would be a better bet for the money.

Cost of buying windows? not much at all, if you know where to look. The souks of Tortuga have what you need for the asking

thanks for the reply, I did think there would be more replies, maybe not so many games players on here.

He has a switch, but wants a gaming PC for some reason. I know there are ways of getting Windows cheaply, I done it for my brother.

As I said above, I am out of touch, my PC is ok for the games I play, but it would struggle on some of the newer ones. I had a look at some of the computer retailers I use and the prices are stupid for gaming machines, way above what my Neice wants to pay, Maybe get something with a mid range GPU and then if he wants something better later on, it can be upgraded.
I will have a look around again later.

thanks again.

Worth considering which games are most likely to be played and their checking their recommended specs. Current AAA titles are going to require a much better GPU if they want decent frame rates. I don't play that many games and tend to use laptops so afraid I am not much help in specifics these days.

In reply to a post by ian72:

Worth considering which games are most likely to be played and their checking their recommended specs. Current AAA titles are going to require a much better GPU if they want decent frame rates. I don't play that many games and tend to use laptops so afraid I am not much help in specifics these days.

That is the point, I will have to ask my niece. you are the same as me, I don't many games, the most I play is left for dead and worms i do play few others but not many, that is why i am not updating my PC unless i really have to.


Thanks

In reply to a post by zyborg47:

That is the point, I will have to ask my niece. you are the same as me, I don't many games, the most I play is left for dead and worms i do play few others but not many, that is why i am not updating my PC unless i really have to.

PCPro magazine generally has both PC Specialist and Chillblast in their list of gaming/custom PC providers. Worth a look at the websites, but I think prices are higher than your budget.

In reply to a post by jchamier:

I think prices are higher than your budget.

When I saw the budget I thought the same, although its a lot of money it isn't for a gaming PC as a half decent general use PC is likely to cost more than the current budget.

I did similar for my ten year old granddaughter back in May. I picked up a used i7 which had 8gb ram and W10 pro for £140, new case £45, 1TB SSD £45 and a used GTX 660 for £25.

To her it looked brand new and is a nippy machine which will handle all her online home work, most games although you may need to drop the graphics setting to medium for new games and social media.

In reply to a post by neo_wales:

I picked up a used i7 which had 8gb ram and W10 pro for £140, new case £45, 1TB SSD £45 and a used GTX 660 for £25.

Nice

In reply to a post by jchamier:

PCPro magazine generally has both PC Specialist and Chillblast in their list of gaming/custom PC providers. Worth a look at the websites, but I think prices are higher than your budget.

I can understand why she doesn't want to go crazy on price as it will be a lot of money if he gets bored with it. Not my budget, my nieces budget. That one I linked too looks a bit old graphic card wise.

Prices have certainly gone up.