Gaming Computers

[Well Played]

Hello, am looking for some help with "gaming" computers because honestly am not really sure what this means... My pre-teen son is really into gaming and we are considering upgrading his computer for Christmas (he currently has an older iMac; however complains to us constantly that it's not an official gaming computer, too slow, etc.). Here are my questions:

 

1) What is a good brand?

 

2) What features/criteria are must-haves to make it a gaming computer?

 

3) Are there special gaming monitors also, or will any monitor do? He already has a gaming keyboard and mouse, or so I'm told!

 

4) What should we expect for a price point in this arena? Again, he is still fairly young so we're not looking for the Cadillac but something that is definitely gaming specific and won't break the bank. Is this even doable for, say, $1500 or under?

 

Thank You!

[cdnglf]

Hello, am looking for some help with "gaming" computers because honestly am not really sure what this means... My pre-teen son is really into gaming and we are considering upgrading his computer for Christmas (he currently has an older iMac; however complains to us constantly that it's not an official gaming computer, too slow, etc.). Here are my questions:

 

1) What is a good brand?

 

2) What features/criteria are must-haves to make it a gaming computer?

 

3) Are there special gaming monitors also, or will any monitor do? He already has a gaming keyboard and mouse, or so I'm told!

 

4) What should we expect for a price point in this arena? Again, he is still fairly young so we're not looking for the Cadillac but something that is definitely gaming specific and won't break the bank. Is this even doable for, say, $1500 or under?

 

Thank You!

 

 

You probably _don't_ want a Mac for gaming.

Alienware (now a division of Dell) is a good place to start looking.

[Well Played]

Hello, am looking for some help with "gaming" computers because honestly am not really sure what this means... My pre-teen son is really into gaming and we are considering upgrading his computer for Christmas (he currently has an older iMac; however complains to us constantly that it's not an official gaming computer, too slow, etc.). Here are my questions:

 

1) What is a good brand?

 

2) What features/criteria are must-haves to make it a gaming computer?

 

3) Are there special gaming monitors also, or will any monitor do? He already has a gaming keyboard and mouse, or so I'm told!

 

4) What should we expect for a price point in this arena? Again, he is still fairly young so we're not looking for the Cadillac but something that is definitely gaming specific and won't break the bank. Is this even doable for, say, $1500 or under?

 

Thank You!

 

 

You probably _don't_ want a Mac for gaming.

Alienware (now a division of Dell) is a good place to start looking.

 

Thank you, that’s helpful.

[JerseyBoy]

For $1500 you can get a screaming system that will not only play the latest games, but will likely do so for at least 2-3 years.

 

Checklist:

Latest generation i7 Intel Processor

12GB of RAM

Dedicated GPU with 4-8GB RAM

Unless you're looking for incredible sound, the basic sound card will do

 

I would highly recommend getting an SSD Hard Drive but those are expensive. They are MUCH faster than the standard Hard Disk Drives, but again, they come at a cost. You can get a 1TB regular hard drive for relatively inexpensive but a 256GB SSD will cost you about double.

 

You do have a few off the shelf options for you. Alienware is a decent brand owned by Dell and aimed at the "gamer" market.

 

The other option is go to Newegg.com and look there.

 

If you want to get fancy, look around your area and find someone who custom builds PCs. They can answer a lot of your questions and you will likely get something better for less,

 

I'm a hardcore Mac guy, but I agree that strictly for gaming, Macs are not the way to go.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

[JerseyBoy]

https://www.newegg.com/Gaming-Desktops/PromotionStore/ID-2125620

 

http://www.dell.com/en-us/gaming/alienware-desktops

 

Note: Many of these DO NOT come with a Monitor which could add $200-300 to the price tag.

[LouieLouie]

Find a custom PC builder in your area or someone you know to build you a PC. You will get a lot more bang for your buck than going to a retailer.

 

I agree with what's already been posted,

intel chip

16GB RAM

4GB video card (GPU)

256GB SSD with a 1T HDD.

I would wait on the monitor until your son has a better idea as to what he wants and what game he is using it for. Some monitors have amazing refresh rates and are super expensive, but if he doesn't need it, he might be able to use a tv as a monitor because those are much cheaper.

[Well Played]

Very helpful. Thank you, both!

[Cajunmike]

My son recently bought a gaming laptop from ASuS their ROG (republic of gamers) line. He knows about this stuff ill ask him what the things are to look for. You can probably get a Better bang in a desktop but he's able to tote his around the house and to friends. Certainly need to have top notch video card latest gen Nvidia series would probably be optimal.

[new2g0lf]

You might want to take a look at ibuypower.com, they specialize in gaming computers and you can customize everything to fit your needs and budget. I bought one for my son 2 years ago and one for myself last year, though I use mine for video editing and image processing.

 

Games require a lot of processing power, memory and graphics processing power. The ibuypower site offers a list of games and recommended PC configurations so if you know what games your son wants to play you can use them to figure out a configuration.

 

If he's going to run Windows 10 you want at least;

16GB of RAM

Intel Core i5 7600 or even better an i7 7700 processor.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 video card though 1080 is even better

You definitely want an SSD hard drive. You can get a smaller one for OS (256GB) and a standard 1TB hard rive for video, music, pictures, etc.

Power supply should be at least 700 watts (especially if you go with the 1080 video card)

Stick with ASUS ASRock or MSI motherboards.

[halliedog]

Try Pricewatch.com. They scour the web for the best prices on PCs and electronics.

 

I you (or your son), are the least bit handy, you can get the best bang for your buck buying a "bare-bones" system (case, motherboard, CPU) and then adding the other desired components (RAM, HDD, Graphics Card, Operating System, etc...). As someone else said, don't skimp on power supply, and also make sure the system has more than adequate cooling (CPU cooling, fans, etc....).

 

It is very rewarding to put one together yourself, and could be a great father/son experience. Usually will end up with better components, and exactly what you are wanting, at less cost - I've built my last 3 systems doing this and will likely never buy an "off the shelf" PC again. Another benefit of buying components separately and DIY'ing is warranty. If you buy a name brand pre-assembled unit from a retailer you likely get a 1 year warranty on everything, while if you buy a your parts separately you will in most cases get a much longer warranty from the company who builds that particular component (ex. might get 3 years on HDD warrantied by Seagate, 2 years on RAM warrantied by Corsair, 2 years on Graphics card warrantied by NVidia)? Those are just numbers I pulled out of the air, but I do know component manufacturers warranty their consumer products longer than what you'll usually get from buying pre-assembled unit off the shelf from say Dell, HP, Acer, etc...

[new2g0lf]

Try Pricewatch.com. They scour the web for the best prices on PCs and electronics.

 

I you (or your son), are the least bit handy, you can get the best bang for your buck buying a "bare-bones" system (case, motherboard, CPU) and then adding the other desired components (RAM, HDD, Graphics Card, Operating System, etc...). As someone else said, don't skimp on power supply, and also make sure the system has more than adequate cooling (CPU cooling, fans, etc....).

 

It is very rewarding to put one together yourself, and could be a great father/son experience. Usually will end up with better components, and exactly what you are wanting, at less cost - I've built my last 3 systems doing this and will likely never buy an "off the shelf" PC again. Another benefit of buying components separately and DIY'ing is warranty. If you buy a name brand pre-assembled unit from a retailer you likely get a 1 year warranty on everything, while if you buy a your parts separately you will in most cases get a much longer warranty from the company who builds that particular component (ex. might get 3 years on HDD warrantied by Seagate, 2 years on RAM warrantied by Corsair, 2 years on Graphics card warrantied by NVidia)? Those are just numbers I pulled out of the air, but I do know component manufacturers warranty their consumer products longer than what you'll usually get from buying pre-assembled unit off the shelf from say Dell, HP, Acer, etc...

 

Building your own PC can be fun and a good bonding exercise but if you're not technically inclined or computer savvy it can also be a daunting task.

 

With regards to the warranty, buying a bundled system does not change the warranty on the individual components. While the PC builder may only offer a 1 year total system warranty your power supply, hard drive, video card, mother board are all still covered by the manufacturers warranty.

 

Companies like ibuypower or alienware use brand components in their PC's so their warranties remain intact. My cousin had his Corsair power supply fail in his 3 year old bundled PC, the PC was out of warranty but I contacted Corsair and they replaced it for free and I installed it for him.

[Well Played]

All very helpful. Thank you!

[huskydawg]

I like pcpartpicker.com. They have a lot of suggested premade builds and sometimes have videos attached showing how to build them.

 

https://pcpartpicker...x-960-gaming-pc

 

This is my build, from back in 2015, it's a bit outdated as the coupon is long expired, and the package actually went up in price. You can find a better build at the current price listed and it looks like the motherboard is out of stock as well, which when included would bump the price up even higher when included.

 

Video of the actual building from parts:

 

 

If you can be that smooth and are the slightest bit handy in putting things together, I would go with a good premade build from that website. I know that video is 11 minutes long, but it took me about 4 hours to build because it was my first time and I was a bit nervous. Hardest part was to align the motherboard with the back of the case, but otherwise the build was really easy. Works great, although one USB port is dead for some reason, not a huge deal to me. I can run most games at 60 fps, which is adequate.

 

As far as parts go, get a computer with a solid state hard drive for fast loadup times, and if you want you can get a normal spinning hard drive as a backup. One other thing not on the video, if your chip is overclockable it should come with some thermal paste which you would need to apply before installing (look for another video to show how.)

 

TL,DR - Watch the video, and decide if you can or want to build a computer by yourself. Look for a more recent premade build on PCpartpicker that's highly rated and hopefully has a video or stream archive attached. Put it together and enjoy!

[halliedog]

Try Pricewatch.com. They scour the web for the best prices on PCs and electronics.

 

I you (or your son), are the least bit handy, you can get the best bang for your buck buying a "bare-bones" system (case, motherboard, CPU) and then adding the other desired components (RAM, HDD, Graphics Card, Operating System, etc...). As someone else said, don't skimp on power supply, and also make sure the system has more than adequate cooling (CPU cooling, fans, etc....).

 

It is very rewarding to put one together yourself, and could be a great father/son experience. Usually will end up with better components, and exactly what you are wanting, at less cost - I've built my last 3 systems doing this and will likely never buy an "off the shelf" PC again. Another benefit of buying components separately and DIY'ing is warranty. If you buy a name brand pre-assembled unit from a retailer you likely get a 1 year warranty on everything, while if you buy a your parts separately you will in most cases get a much longer warranty from the company who builds that particular component (ex. might get 3 years on HDD warrantied by Seagate, 2 years on RAM warrantied by Corsair, 2 years on Graphics card warrantied by NVidia)? Those are just numbers I pulled out of the air, but I do know component manufacturers warranty their consumer products longer than what you'll usually get from buying pre-assembled unit off the shelf from say Dell, HP, Acer, etc...

 

Building your own PC can be fun and a good bonding exercise but if you're not technically inclined or computer savvy it can also be a daunting task.

 

With regards to the warranty, buying a bundled system does not change the warranty on the individual components. While the PC builder may only offer a 1 year total system warranty your power supply, hard drive, video card, mother board are all still covered by the manufacturers warranty.

 

Companies like ibuypower or alienware use brand components in their PC's so their warranties remain intact. My cousin had his Corsair power supply fail in his 3 year old bundled PC, the PC was out of warranty but I contacted Corsair and they replaced it for free and I installed it for him.

 

http://deals.dell.co...oductdetail/nvy

 

This is just one example I am giving, but have heard it holds true? Not trying to start an argument or get into a pissing contest, just wanted to make OP aware there are other options rather than buying off the shelf that might save some coin and be a fun process with his son. I find the above listed deal to be way to suck you in, so you always buy Dells after that ?

 

And I agree, you do have to be more than a "little handy", but as long as you still have internet access while building, there are plenty of you-tubes and online instructions, so if you have some patience and reading comprehension you really don't have to be too technically inclined. The way they "key" all the connectors these days it's not like you can really plug something in wrong to the point where it will "ruin" the part, it just won't work and you have to back track to find your error.

[new2g0lf]

Try Pricewatch.com. They scour the web for the best prices on PCs and electronics.

 

I you (or your son), are the least bit handy, you can get the best bang for your buck buying a "bare-bones" system (case, motherboard, CPU) and then adding the other desired components (RAM, HDD, Graphics Card, Operating System, etc...). As someone else said, don't skimp on power supply, and also make sure the system has more than adequate cooling (CPU cooling, fans, etc....).

 

It is very rewarding to put one together yourself, and could be a great father/son experience. Usually will end up with better components, and exactly what you are wanting, at less cost - I've built my last 3 systems doing this and will likely never buy an "off the shelf" PC again. Another benefit of buying components separately and DIY'ing is warranty. If you buy a name brand pre-assembled unit from a retailer you likely get a 1 year warranty on everything, while if you buy a your parts separately you will in most cases get a much longer warranty from the company who builds that particular component (ex. might get 3 years on HDD warrantied by Seagate, 2 years on RAM warrantied by Corsair, 2 years on Graphics card warrantied by NVidia)? Those are just numbers I pulled out of the air, but I do know component manufacturers warranty their consumer products longer than what you'll usually get from buying pre-assembled unit off the shelf from say Dell, HP, Acer, etc...

 

Building your own PC can be fun and a good bonding exercise but if you're not technically inclined or computer savvy it can also be a daunting task.

 

With regards to the warranty, buying a bundled system does not change the warranty on the individual components. While the PC builder may only offer a 1 year total system warranty your power supply, hard drive, video card, mother board are all still covered by the manufacturers warranty.

 

Companies like ibuypower or alienware use brand components in their PC's so their warranties remain intact. My cousin had his Corsair power supply fail in his 3 year old bundled PC, the PC was out of warranty but I contacted Corsair and they replaced it for free and I installed it for him.

 

http://deals.dell.co...oductdetail/nvy

 

This is just one example I am giving, but have heard it holds true? Not trying to start an argument or get into a pissing contest, just wanted to make OP aware there are other options rather than buying off the shelf that might save some coin and be a fun process with his son. I find the above listed deal to be way to suck you in, so you always buy Dells after that ?

 

And I agree, you do have to be more than a "little handy", but as long as you still have internet access while building, there are plenty of you-tubes and online instructions, so if you have some patience and reading comprehension you really don't have to be too technically inclined. The way they "key" all the connectors these days it's not like you can really plug something in wrong to the point where it will "ruin" the part, it just won't work and you have to back track to find your error.

 

I was not trying to argue either, building a PC is fun and rewarding I just wanted to point out there can be come gotcha's though your suggestion of buying one with motherboard and processor already installed minimizes them. I'm not a big fan of AMD for gaming PC's, it's a personal preference, but I prefer Intel processors and NVIDIA graphics cards.

[huskydawg]

Didn't AMD use to have a reputation of overheating? I never used one nor have I kept up to date whether or not they fixed their problems.

[halliedog]

Didn't AMD use to have a reputation of overheating? I never used one nor have I kept up to date whether or not they fixed their problems.

 

I've had nothing but AMDs in my home builds, and nothing but Intels in my "work" pcs, and have not ever had an overheating issue with either, although I'm not using these as "gamer PCs and don't really have to a need to overclock (although I did overclock on this PC I'm typing on now just because the software was included with either the CPU or MB and I figured why not push it to the limit then back down just a little :)!

[new2g0lf]

Didn't AMD use to have a reputation of overheating? I never used one nor have I kept up to date whether or not they fixed their problems.

 

AMD didn't have the cooling systems Intel did so when they were overclocked they were more susceptible to overheating. In terms of processing power, Intel has traditionally outperformed AMD which is why AMD is used mostly in value based systems and the top performing systems use Intel.

[JerseyBoy]

Building a PC for the absolute newbie can be a frustrating endeavor. If the OP is up for the challenge, go for it!

 

It sounds like he just wants to get a good gaming rig for his son, though. Pre-Built or having someone else with expertise build it is the way to go.

[halliedog]

Building a PC for the absolute newbie can be a frustrating endeavor. If the OP is up for the challenge, go for it!

 

It sounds like he just wants to get a good gaming rig for his son, though. Pre-Built or having someone else with expertise build it is the way to go.

 

Absolutely agree, but he also mentioned he didn't want to spend any more than necessary. If you don't have the time/patience for a build, by all means go for the pre-built model. And it can be/and often is frustrating, but once you push through that you are very aware of what your system is capable of.

 

Maybe see if you can pay someone to build this one, and watch/learn as they build it out?

[JerseyBoy]

This is a very good value!

 

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-desktop-computers/new-xps-tower-special-edition/spd/xps-8930-se-desktop/ddcwvmax001h?selectionState=eyJGUHJpY2UiOjEzOTkuOTksIk9DIjoiZGRjd3ZtYXgwMDFoIiwiUXR5IjoxLCJNb2RzIjpbeyJJZCI6MTQ2LCJPcHRzIjpbeyJJZCI6IjdQN05ZWCIsIlByaWNlIjoyMDAuMH1dfSx7IklkIjo2LCJPcHRzIjpbeyJJZCI6IkdUMTA3MCIsIlByaWNlIjo0NTAuMH1dfSx7IklkIjo3NDksIk9wdHMiOlt7IklkIjoiQ0k3U01MIn1dfV19&prg=1&VEN1=12578053-7060520-c88bff65-837c-4680-a676-0d70061c7090&AID=7060520&dgc=CJ&DGSeg=DHS&c=us&s=dhs&cid=198375&lid=45846&acd=12309198375458460&VEN3=115204031765030280

[Reb58]

Any brand.

 

Large video card memory, 2 gb (with a quality vid card, separate, from motherboard, with dedicates memory)

 

16 or more RAM

 

1 terabyte of storage could be a larger stainless steel drive

 

Expect about $3000, though you could scrimp down a bit on the hard drive and memory to get in $2k range

[halliedog]

Any brand.

 

Large video card memory, 2 gb (with a quality vid card, separate, from motherboard, with dedicates memory)

 

16 or more RAM

 

1 terabyte of storage could be a larger stainless steel drive

 

Expect about $3000, though you could scrimp down a bit on the hard drive and memory to get in $2k range

 

Really? I would think $3000 would get you about the best, top of the line, prebuilt gamer from Alienware or whatever the top of the line gaming PC manufacturer is now? Am i that far out of touch with reality?

[new2g0lf]

Any brand.

 

Large video card memory, 2 gb (with a quality vid card, separate, from motherboard, with dedicates memory)

 

16 or more RAM

 

1 terabyte of storage could be a larger stainless steel drive

 

Expect about $3000, though you could scrimp down a bit on the hard drive and memory to get in $2k range

 

Really? I would think $3000 would get you about the best, top of the line, prebuilt gamer from Alienware or whatever the top of the line gaming PC manufacturer is now? Am i that far out of touch with reality?

I wouldn't get Alienware, but you're correct that it's going to get you top of the line components and performance. You can go nuts with gaming computers, multiple $1000 graphics cards running SLI bridge and the newest Intel processors, 2GB SSD drives, best motherboard and case but $3000 is upper end and will play every game out today at their rated frame rates.

[JerseyBoy]

$3K will get you the top of the line, liquid cooled blah, blah, blah. It'll still be obsolete within 2-3 years.

 

Dropping that kind of coin on a Gaming PC is madness. Unless you have to have the top of line, best of the best. Which you really don't need to enjoy PC Gaming. Those $3K rigs are for the guys who love to post their GPU Benchmark scores and 100 FPS refresh rates on the PC Mag Forums.

 

Dedicated GPU with only 2G RAM are going away. FAST. That is slow now.

[RedSon]

I was looking for information about these so-called "gaming computers" and found this thread. Is the information from this thread still relevant? My kiddo wants to play Overwatch, and he told me that it requires gaming PC. He also wants Overwatch boost so he won't waste his time for leveling his character up. He wants high ranking right away. And so now I'm looking for way to buy a good gaming computer for him and save some money at the same time. Because I'm not a millionaire.