Buying a new pc for gaming

Flighty13

My son has saved up his pocket money and wants to spend it on a laptop that he can play games like overwatch (his latest fad) on, he also wants to play his Nintendo switch on the laptop screen. As far as can make out this needs a hdmi input on the laptop.

He has a budget of about €400. Is this realistic?

I know a bit about computers, but not much about gaming on them unless we are talking Duke nukem

I would be grateful for any advice and specifications I can look out for please. I would be thinking of pc world maby to get the computer.

sweetie

No budget laptop I know of will have a HDMI input, just an output. 400 won't get you much of a laptop with decent graphics card. I paid 600 recently for a Dell with a gtx1050 from Amazon wearhouse and it was reduced by 20% for a few days. Maybe second hand you might pickup a pc instead.

TerrorFirmer

For 400, no, unless you're OK with playing at 720p low settings.

For about 600 you'd get a laptop that would be pretty decent for Overwatch.

No way to use the laptop as an input either.

Sounds like a PC + Monitor w/speakers (or a TV) would be the far better solution here.

NialltheITGuy

Gamers sell thier old computers on CraigsList/ebay/DoneDeal etc.. .

The likes of CEX sell second Hand Gaming Parts like Graphics Cards and Gaming Items.

On a budget, buy a gamer built older machine any with parts from the last 3- 5 years will have enough grunt to run.

Basic Spec for Good Gaming:

Quad Core Processor (At least 3Ghz)
nVidia GTX Video Card 2 GB + (HDMI)
SSD Boot Drive (256GB Minimum)
Normal Hard Drive for Storage (1TB Minimum)
5.1 Sound (If you have 5.1 Speakers)
Monitor capable of 120Hrz Refresh (HDMI)

Once purchased, Clean the inside (Must). Youtube has many videos on this.

Digital Solitude

NialltheITGuy wrote: »

Gamers sell thier old computers on CraigsList/ebay/DoneDeal etc.. .

The likes of CEX sell second Hand Gaming Parts like Graphics Cards and Gaming Items.

On a budget, buy a gamer built older machine any with parts from the last 3- 5 years will have enough grunt to run.

Basic Spec for Good Gaming:

Quad Core Processor (At least 3Ghz)
nVidia GTX Video Card 2 GB + (HDMI)
SSD Boot Drive (256GB Minimum)
Normal Hard Drive for Storage (1TB Minimum)
5.1 Sound (If you have 5.1 Speakers)
Monitor capable of 120Hrz Refresh (HDMI)

Once purchased, Clean the inside (Must). Youtube has many videos on this.

120hz as a basic? You're joking I assume, the budget is €400, the monitor alone would burst that, or close to

Your info is a bit vague, an AMD FX4300 for example fills your spec, but isn't worth piss these days

Digital Solitude

The like of these would be a decent start I reckon

https://touch.adverts.ie/desktops/i5-4570-gaming-pc-8gb-gtx-760/15072833

This second one, I'd sell the 730 and buy a GTX950 or 1050 for €100-150 (I think), so he'd be a little over budget but it'd be a good machine for pretty much anything he wanted to play

https://touch.adverts.ie/desktops/gaming-pc/15070850

This guy also needs a GPU so would push him to about €500-550

https://touch.adverts.ie/desktops/gaming-pc-intel-8th-gen-quad-core-ddr4/15052402

The Acer Aspire 15 (I think, will double check) is the laptop I had my eye on, it's listed round €800 or so and comes with a GTX1050 GPU and an i5, so it'd be almost as good as the PCs listed if he's got his heart set on a laptop, however there's no HDMI input

Wetbench4

I think you should go the 2nd hand desktop route, some like this;

https://www.adverts.ie/desktops/i5-4570-gaming-pc-8gb-gtx-760/15072833

or this;
https://www.adverts.ie/desktops/i7-gaming-pc/15030430

Flighty13

Thank you all for the information I am very grateful. I think I am way out of my league here but I'll try and digest the information you have given me and if I may come back and ask some more questions.
Thank you again

Edit he is interested in programming and uses scratch at the moment and loves mineshaft so he is trying to combine all these aspects in one laptop in his bedroom. We are going to have to up the budget a bit I think.

Darwin

The one laptop that comes to mind with HDMI in is the Alienware M18x. I had one a few years ago and it was a great machine - there are a few for sale on ebay but you would need to double your budget. A more realistic option worth considering is a small form factor desktop.
The dell outlet currently has 2 identically spec'd Alienware alpha's for sale that would come in around €400 and you could hook it up to your TV. Link here. I believe they have a 960m inside, but good enough for overwatch at 1080p. Edit: those particular Alpha's are running SteamOS, so you would most likely need to install Windows 10 over that.

TerrorFirmer

NialltheITGuy wrote: »

Gamers sell thier old computers on CraigsList/ebay/DoneDeal etc.. .

The likes of CEX sell second Hand Gaming Parts like Graphics Cards and Gaming Items.

On a budget, buy a gamer built older machine any with parts from the last 3- 5 years will have enough grunt to run.

Basic Spec for Good Gaming:

Quad Core Processor (At least 3Ghz)
nVidia GTX Video Card 2 GB + (HDMI)
SSD Boot Drive (256GB Minimum)
Normal Hard Drive for Storage (1TB Minimum)
5.1 Sound (If you have 5.1 Speakers)
Monitor capable of 120Hrz Refresh (HDMI)

Once purchased, Clean the inside (Must). Youtube has many videos on this.

Is this a joke account?

That's about as useful as tips for buying cars: ensure it has at least 4 wheels.

NialltheITGuy

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Is this a joke account?

That's about as useful as tips for buying cars: ensure it has at least 4 wheels.

I try, €400 is not enough for a good Gaming Rig.

Dell Sell a Basic Rig in their Alienware Range Starting at about €900.

If you want Gaming Rig Advice please check out Linus Tech Tips on YouTube, they and their Channel Friends have lots of Advice and Tips for Gamers.

TerrorFirmer, It's Saturday, I'm Tired, I'm trying to help.

TerrorFirmer

Darwin wrote: »

The dell outlet currently has 2 identically spec'd Alienware alpha's for sale that would come in around €400 and you could hook it up to your TV. Link here. I believe they have a 960m inside, but good enough for overwatch at 1080p. Edit: those particular Alpha's are running SteamOS, so you would most likely need to install Windows 10 over that.

They were cool little machines in their day but I would not get one now.

It's a modified 860M used in them, and they're not modular so there's no way to upgrade the unit at all and they would struggle in most new games at anything other than low settings (though Overwatch should run well enough)

Better off buying a 2nd hand desktop or building a cheap Ryzen 2200G or 2400G based new build for the €400 mark.

I try, €400 is not enough for a good Gaming Rig.

Dell Sell a Basic Rig in their Alienware Range Starting at about €900.

It's enough to get started with a new build. Ryzen 2200G is an OK modern quad core and the integrated graphics are good for something like Overwatch, you can add a dedicated card down the line when you could afford it.

€400 would get you a 2200G based system.

Or else buy a 2nd hand one for €400 that's more powerful now.

You can also buy pre-built machines for about €600 that are reasonably good. (Ryzen 1200 + GTX1050 class). Dell themselves sell i3-8100/GTX1050 Inspiron's in pretty nice cases for €699 delivered.

Trying to help is good, but there's no point when you don't know what you're talking about and/or posting total misinformation.

NialltheITGuy

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

They were cool little machines in their day but I would not get one now.

It's a modified 860M used in them, and they're not modular so there's no way to upgrade the unit at all and they would struggle in most new games at anything other than low settings (though Overwatch should run well enough)

Better off buying a 2nd hand desktop or building a cheap Ryzen 2200G or 2400G based new build for the €400 mark.



It's enough to get started with a new build. Ryzen 2200G is an OK modern quad core and the integrated graphics are good for something like Overwatch, you can add a dedicated card down the line when you could afford it.

€400 would get you a 2200G based system.

Or else buy a 2nd hand one for €400 that's more powerful now.

You can also buy pre-built machines for about €600 that are reasonably good. (Ryzen 1200 + GTX1050 class). Dell themselves sell i3-8100/GTX1050 Inspiron's in pretty nice cases for €699 delivered.

Trying to help is good, but there's no point when you don't know what you're talking about and/or posting total misinformation.

I am glad to see you can help more than I, hope Flighty13 gets a good system for his kid.

Gaming has not been priority with my job, mostly Software Dev, Servers Admin and Network Diagnostics.

Billy86

Digital Solitude wrote: »

This second one, I'd sell the 730 and buy a GTX950 or 1050 for €100-150 (I think), so he'd be a little over budget but it'd be a good machine for pretty much anything he wanted to play

I could well be wrong, but on laptop isn't the difference from 950 to 1050 much more pronounced than on desktop?

TerrorFirmer

Billy86 wrote: »

I could well be wrong, but on laptop isn't the difference from 950 to 1050 much more pronounced than on desktop?

A laptop 1050 is a few classes above a 950m alright, but a desktop 1050 and 950 are very similar.

Wouldn't make much sense to get anything other than a new 1050 now for 115-130, people seem to still want 100 for their old 950s.

Billy86

I would also say to keep an eye for a 1050 TI if it is desktop, with a bit of luck one can be got for only €10-20 more than a 1050 and those extra 2GBs of VRAM seem to make quite a difference on some games. That said, and I haven't really looked into it, but the components market looks like it's still a disaster zone so doing so might not be as easy as usual.

For what it's worth for the OP, adverts.ie is the best place I have found for second hand GPUs - Ireland tends to be a joke for component costs (I've seen parts cheaper brand new in the UK than second hand in Ireland for example), but adverts for whatever reason tends to be very, very good for second hand GPUs even when comparing with UK, European or (since the bitcoin rush) US sites.

Digital Solitude

Billy86 wrote: »

I could well be wrong, but on laptop isn't the difference from 950 to 1050 much more pronounced than on desktop?

Yep, I was talking about the desktop cards but didn't realise 950 prices were so high

TerrorFirmer

The big problem is now because prices are so screwed, there's no value to be had anywhere except in the lower end market with the GTX1050 and GTX1050Ti.

They also make most 2nd hand cards redundant, because cards in similar performance classes (GTX950/60 compared to 1050; R9 280X to GTX1050Ti for example) actually sell for pretty much the same prices 2nd hand for reasons unknown to me.

Especially when the older cards generate higher amounts of heat, consume way more power, don't have warranty, etc.

The only 2nd hand card I see going for reasonable money versus the performance it offers is something like the GTX780 3GB which still sells for about €130-140 on adverts from what I can see and is still pretty decent.

Very much agree about Adverts though. Everything from CPU's to GPU's and full builds are cheaper there (in general) then buying from Ebay.

Flighty13

This is turning out to be much more difficult than I expected. I really appreciate all the advice.

I think I could handle building a pc which sounds like the better option from all the advice, but my knowledge is limited. I have added bits to my pc over the years, with the original cpu and motherboard still there. I added cables and a raid card to allow me to add extra drives but the specs of the pc would probably make you laugh. I would be a bit comfortable putting it together and have an old tower that I could use if I could fit all the necessary bits into it.

I installed Windows 10 on my pc which pepped it up a bit from vista, then windows 8, 8.1, which now allows me to use 32 gig sd of ready boost to give it a little boost, a wireless USB, wireless mouse, but it is still an antique and cannot run anything demanding like HD video but it is functional. I think I have only 2 gig ram but all the slots are now full.

I need to allow my son to play overwatch, minecraft and scratch and other programming stuff as he is very interested in it, and allow some leeway with what is coming down the line and maby allowing a budget of €500.

Could you please recommend a specific motherboard with enough slots and cpu power? how much ram? any specific kind of ram? a specific video card? What do I do about joysticks? Are they USB? The internal fan setup? Can I run the games software on top of windows 10?

What else am I missing? What is a boot drive mentioned above?

I think a wireless mouse and wireless keyboard will do the job so I need lots of USB ports and the hdmi in bit could be sorted out as suggested using a HD TV as the screen and sound with decent speakers, but would not be included in the €500 budget.

Flighty13

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

For about 600 you'd get a laptop that would be pretty decent for Overwatch..

Have you one in mind that you could point me towards as he loves the laptop idea and would take some convincing to spend his money in a pc esp one I would build for him.

Flighty13

Digital Solitude wrote: »

The Acer Aspire 15 (I think, will double check) is the laptop I had my eye on, it's listed round €800 or so and comes with a GTX1050 GPU and an i5, so it'd be almost as good as the PCs listed if he's got his heart set on a laptop, however there's no HDMI input

I think he is set, I will look at that one too.

TerrorFirmer

Flighty13 wrote: »

Have you one in mind that you could point me towards as he loves the laptop idea and would take some convincing to spend his money in a pc esp one I would build for him.

These are both £499 and both would run Overwatch pretty well at 1080p.

https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/NX.GDAEK.003-Acer-Aspire-F15-F5-573G_2186600.html

https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/K550IU-GO075T-ASUS-K550IU-GO075T_2108500.html

The Asus has a better screen, the Acer has a better graphics card (nothing major though).

For £599 this is a significant step up in CPU and Graphics card power

https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/NX.GP8EK.002-Acer-Aspire-7-A715-71G-53HF_2283341.html

Digital Solitude

Flighty13 wrote: »

I think he is set, I will look at that one too.

Apologies it was a Dell Inspiron 7567, however it's probably quite expensive for him


Reddit recommends the Acer Aspire 5 in the lower price range, and the Lenovo Legion Y520 after that, the Dell Inspiron would be the next jump from there.

K.O.Kiki

https://www3.lenovo.com/ie/en/desktops-and-all-in-ones/gaming/lenovo-legion-y-series-desktops/Legion-Y520-Desktop/p/99LE9Y50275
€500
Best value new desktop around right now, I'm afraid.

Taylor365

Flighty13 wrote: »

Have you one in mind that you could point me towards as he loves the laptop idea and would take some convincing to spend his money in a pc esp one I would build for him.

A choice he will regret later but hey, we all gotta learn lessons the hard way! :pac:

https://www.adverts.ie/desktops/high-end-gaming-pc-and-full-setup/15052993

Could possibly get the desktop only for 450-500.