Building a PC for gaming and video editing

Giller1976

Hi All,

Looking for some advice. My 13 year old daughter is into gaming, video editing and photography and wants a PC or laptop of her own. Can anyone advise on the following:
1. PC or laptop?
2. Best brand to purchase?
3. Disk size?
4. OS?
5. Software options?
6. Advice on any extras?
7. Best place to buy, i.e. new or used?

Much obliged for your advice.

Digital Solitude

PC is a lot more powerful for less money, so I'd recommend one but she may find a laptop handier to carry around. Assuming the video editing is only low level stuff, what level is the gaming?

Are you looking to build the PC or not, I'm not sure, there's heaps of PC component brands we can advise on.

Serephucus

Copy the first post from here, and post back here with the answers. We'll be able to help you out properly then.

Xenoronin

Very much depends on your budget. Take the advice here and fill out the sticky.

If you are willing to spend around 800-1k on a laptop, that may be a good choice as she is young and portability is usually pretty important at that age. However, since she is probably going to be stuck in one place for the next 5 years, the laptop probably won't last until college (making assumptions here) where she will really need it. A desktop is probably the best choice in this case as for that 800-1k budget, you get a much much better desktop.

Or, if that price comes as a shock, the desktop can be lowered to around 600-700euro without much compromise on the performance for gaming and video editing.

Eoinmc97

A mini-ITX PC might be good for saving space, but as others said, it really depends on your budget. Also, what games does she play, and is the photo editing actually intense?
A laptop would be useful for college, depending if she actually does a course on Photography/Design but a Chromebook might even get you by if you just need a note-taker/presentation machine.

challengemaster

Eoinmc97 wrote: »

A mini-ITX PC might be good for saving space, but as others said, it really depends on your budget. Also, what games does she play, and is the photo editing actually intense?
A laptop would be useful for college, depending if she actually does a course on Photography/Design but a Chromebook might even get you by if you just need a note-taker/presentation machine.

A laptop would be useful for college, but she's 13. :pac:

Giller1976

Digital Solitude wrote: »

PC is a lot more powerful for less money, so I'd recommend one but she may find a laptop handier to carry around. Assuming the video editing is only low level stuff, what level is the gaming?

Are you looking to build the PC or not, I'm not sure, there's heaps of PC component brands we can advise on.

Thanks, think I'll go for the desktop, she doesn't need to carry it around with her.
It's all low level stuff at the moment, but she's experimenting more all the time.
I don't mind starting with a basic enough PC and adding components gradually.

Giller1976

Serephucus wrote: »

Copy the first post from, and post back here with the answers. We'll be able to help you out properly then.

1. What is your budget? None set

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming - Minecraft, FNAF, etc. Video editing for youtube and vlogs, photo editing

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? not particularly

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? no fresh build

5. Do you need a monitor? yes

5a. If yes, what size do you need. 24" - 27"

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future?

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? Keyboard, Mouse, Wireless Card (hopefully wifi ready), Speakers, Microphone, WebCam

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Yes

8. How can you pay? Visa

9. When are you purchasing? In next 6 months

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Can build myself

Giller1976

Eoinmc97 wrote: »

A mini-ITX PC might be good for saving space, but as others said, it really depends on your budget. Also, what games does she play, and is the photo editing actually intense?
A laptop would be useful for college, depending if she actually does a course on Photography/Design but a Chromebook might even get you by if you just need a note-taker/presentation machine.

Thanks but college is still 5 years away thankfully

Eoinmc97

Giller1976 wrote: »

Thanks but college is still 5 years away thankfully

No bother! Seeing as college is so far off, go desktop
Having a look at your needs, I'd say the games aren't entirely demanding so we cans start off with a modest build and add components as you said. Is space an issue? As mini-ITX boards usually come with wifi-cards pre-installed, reducing the amount of things you need to plug in.
Generally, the few things you replace are often the most innovated products, such as the CPU, GPU and Storage. Which is why I believe ITX poses the best for system builders, as few ever use more than 1 PCI-E slot when Wifi-modules are already included.

A good build to serve as a baseline:
Core i3 6100: €135 (this should do quite well, but when the next line of CPUs launch, you can jump up to a Core i5 for real Quad-Core power to allow you to play more games/edit faster)
B150 Gigabyte Phoenix AC ITX: €90 (Solid board all round)
x1 8GB DDR4 2133MHz RAM stick: €30 (This leaves 1 slot free to add another 8GB if ever needed in editing)
Mini-ITX Cases: (Pick one she likes the look of, and then check reviews. I'm currently rocking a 380T from Corsair, but it is expensive outside of sales)
Silverstone 500W SSF PSU: (Trust me, this is a life-saver) €75
Samsung 850 EVO SSD: €90 (Store the OS, games and photo software in this for AMAZING load times)
1TB HDD: €45 (Can always be added later, but this will serve for mass storage and finished projects she ever edits, like family vidoes or if she ever records gameplay)
Keyboard and Mouse: (The CoolerMaster Devastator combo is around €30)
1080p Monitor: €120
Webcam: €20
Speakers: €20
Headset with mic: €60
The build above lacks a GPU. Reason being is that whilst the GTX 950 offers solid performance for around €160, AMD's Polaris 11 should be able to top it whilst using less power, therefore, less heat and noise.

The total is around €800, mainly due to peripherals and monitor being needed, which bumps up the price.
Any questions fire away!

Giller1976

Eoinmc97 wrote: »

No bother! Seeing as college is so far off, go desktop
Having a look at your needs, I'd say the games aren't entirely demanding so we cans start off with a modest build and add components as you said. Is space an issue? As mini-ITX boards usually come with wifi-cards pre-installed, reducing the amount of things you need to plug in.
Generally, the few things you replace are often the most innovated products, such as the CPU, GPU and Storage. Which is why I believe ITX poses the best for system builders, as few ever use more than 1 PCI-E slot when Wifi-modules are already included.

A good build to serve as a baseline:
Core i3 6100: €135 (this should do quite well, but when the next line of CPUs launch, you can jump up to a Core i5 for real Quad-Core power to allow you to play more games/edit faster)
B150 Gigabyte Phoenix AC ITX: €90 (Solid board all round)
x1 8GB DDR4 2133MHz RAM stick: €30 (This leaves 1 slot free to add another 8GB if ever needed in editing)
Mini-ITX Cases: (Pick one she likes the look of, and then check reviews. I'm currently rocking a 380T from Corsair, but it is expensive outside of sales)
Silverstone 500W SSF PSU: (Trust me, this is a life-saver) €75
Samsung 850 EVO SSD: €90 (Store the OS, games and photo software in this for AMAZING load times)
1TB HDD: €45 (Can always be added later, but this will serve for mass storage and finished projects she ever edits, like family vidoes or if she ever records gameplay)
Keyboard and Mouse: (The CoolerMaster Devastator combo is around €30)
1080p Monitor: €120
Webcam: €20
Speakers: €20
Headset with mic: €60
The build above lacks a GPU. Reason being is that whilst the GTX 950 offers solid performance for around €160, AMD's Polaris 11 should be able to top it whilst using less power, therefore, less heat and noise.

The total is around €800, mainly due to peripherals and monitor being needed, which bumps up the price.
Any questions fire away!

Thanks, that's some good info to get working on