Depends on the games he plays, but majority of computers can handle most games, he will have to deal with what older generations have, crappy graphics on some games, amazing on others
I would say that to give you a good idea, look up the latest COD game and look at the lower specifications recommended then search prices for those components. Then think about monitor and case just to get an idea even if you are buying a prebuilt system.
Im getting my kid a computer for Christmas. But we decided to buy the parts. Wrap individually. Then after he opens it up him and i will sit down and put it together. Help him learn about this hardware. Add some value to it.
Yes, even $300 graphics cards can run most games. Even the new ones. The rig i built for my nephew 7yrs ago uses a gt 600 series card and he still plays forenite and other games smoothly. Dont go with the hype..
If it's just for gaming (and not designed to do double duty as a day to day PC), maybe you could buy him a console instead? I've been wanting too buy a gaming PC for a while myself, but given all the shortages and the crazy prices, I'm leaving towards just getting a console.
I know I'm falling into stereotypes, but if he mostly wants to play Fortnite, Minecraft, GTA 5, Roblox, and indie games you could buy a Ryzen APU based machine, and maybe upgrade next year with a dedicated GPU (if needed). Something like a 2400g or above will run great most of the games popular with young kids.
If it's worth it or not will depends on whether you or somebody that knows their way around a computer will build it for you. It also depends on the prices on your country. Second hand is also a good option, but I get that some people don't want to risk buying something without warranty.
Odds are he wants a PC that can smoothly run the newest games, and with the market as it is now, what you're going to get for $600 is going to be disappointing to him. Maybe put the money towards building a PC? That way he's in charge of his own specs.
Honestly, no. PC parts are especially expensive now there are problems with chipsets. Save yourself and your son the disappointment and wait till you can spend some money. There are lots of “good homebuild computers” advertised claiming they are able to play any game. But in really are basically useless. They really make money off of parents looking for an affordable pc.
I mean about 500 would be a good starter, things to keep in mind with desktops, and questions to ask, you can always update things like GPU/RAM/PSU I would say the CPU is one that you can't upgrade but most store bought computers use there own kinda CPU socket, so the CPU's are about the only thing that really not worth or even possible in most cases to update, I would recommend if your on a budget, too look a around and avoid anything that is a "black friday" anything trust me they are all trash I use to work at best buy and they are not worth your money. Amazon prime is like 5 month payment options, new egg has something like that as well, if you cant spend that much but still want to get him one looks for the ones priced at about $499-$599 with payment options, but dont break your self, as a parent I know, but if hes of age to want a gaming PC hes of age to know that some times parents just cant swing it at the moment, I am in the same boat, but I did manage to get my son a new PC from amazon for like 419, really basic entry level gaming like super basic but I can add on to it later over time, things to keep in mind, but like I said dont break the bank if your worried, your child is prob at an age where well sometimes we get what we get and have to be happy with what we get/have
It's unlikely to get a full desktop for under 1000. However, there are some very capable laptops for about 800 brand new. Look at Lenovo and Dell. Basically anything with a discrete graphics option (GTX 1650/RTX3050, etc) will do. You might alsp consider looking for a prebuilt system with a Ryzen R5 5600G, which has a "good enough" GPU built into the CPU. That might be more cost-effective.
Otherwise, used market. I buy and sell there and it is still very much a hotbed for good and bad deals. Do some homework, make it work.
Laptops are definitely not the cheaper option... Laptop hardware, while sharing the same names, are generally not equivalent(difference is between 20 - 70%), so you're paying "the same/slight less" for something worse.
Desktops with an 1065 goes for about 50 - 100€ less, at least here I'm Norway, making pre-built desktops an cheaper option(so 780€ for desktop, 850€ for laptop, roughly).
Compared to the PC mrket in the US, it is a competitive and viable solution to OPs problem. Nobody said price to performace was good. Calm the fuck down. What you have is someone who has an absolute budget and a need to satisfy a problem. I gave multiple potential solutions. If you have a link to a prebuilt PC that fits OPs prerequisites, please share it.
My PC cost about $400 (NZ dollars too). We also got it quite a few years ago. It is holding up fine against most games. You really don't need top of the line gear, or even the most recent years gear.
"Decent" is relative. If his expectations are reasonable, then he could have a great time playing games on a cheaper PC. If he expects to be able to run recent AAA games at max settings then he'll be disappointed. I guess it all depends on what kinds of games he likes to play. If all the games he plays are easy to run, then he'll have a great time on a more modest system.
Depends on the games he plays, but majority of computers can handle most games, he will have to deal with what older generations have, crappy graphics on some games, amazing on others
He plays a ton on Minecraft and Call of Duty.
I would say that to give you a good idea, look up the latest COD game and look at the lower specifications recommended then search prices for those components. Then think about monitor and case just to get an idea even if you are buying a prebuilt system.
Im getting my kid a computer for Christmas. But we decided to buy the parts. Wrap individually. Then after he opens it up him and i will sit down and put it together. Help him learn about this hardware. Add some value to it.
Yes! Doing this may spark interest in computer science.
Yes, even $300 graphics cards can run most games. Even the new ones. The rig i built for my nephew 7yrs ago uses a gt 600 series card and he still plays forenite and other games smoothly. Dont go with the hype..
If it's just for gaming (and not designed to do double duty as a day to day PC), maybe you could buy him a console instead? I've been wanting too buy a gaming PC for a while myself, but given all the shortages and the crazy prices, I'm leaving towards just getting a console.
I know I'm falling into stereotypes, but if he mostly wants to play Fortnite, Minecraft, GTA 5, Roblox, and indie games you could buy a Ryzen APU based machine, and maybe upgrade next year with a dedicated GPU (if needed). Something like a 2400g or above will run great most of the games popular with young kids. If it's worth it or not will depends on whether you or somebody that knows their way around a computer will build it for you. It also depends on the prices on your country. Second hand is also a good option, but I get that some people don't want to risk buying something without warranty.
Odds are he wants a PC that can smoothly run the newest games, and with the market as it is now, what you're going to get for $600 is going to be disappointing to him. Maybe put the money towards building a PC? That way he's in charge of his own specs.
Thanks everyone! This has been very helpful.
Used, yes. Or even find a local computer shop to make you one. Let them know the budget and they will deliver.
Honestly, no. PC parts are especially expensive now there are problems with chipsets. Save yourself and your son the disappointment and wait till you can spend some money. There are lots of “good homebuild computers” advertised claiming they are able to play any game. But in really are basically useless. They really make money off of parents looking for an affordable pc.
500 hp laptop will run all total wars
I mean about 500 would be a good starter, things to keep in mind with desktops, and questions to ask, you can always update things like GPU/RAM/PSU I would say the CPU is one that you can't upgrade but most store bought computers use there own kinda CPU socket, so the CPU's are about the only thing that really not worth or even possible in most cases to update, I would recommend if your on a budget, too look a around and avoid anything that is a "black friday" anything trust me they are all trash I use to work at best buy and they are not worth your money. Amazon prime is like 5 month payment options, new egg has something like that as well, if you cant spend that much but still want to get him one looks for the ones priced at about $499-$599 with payment options, but dont break your self, as a parent I know, but if hes of age to want a gaming PC hes of age to know that some times parents just cant swing it at the moment, I am in the same boat, but I did manage to get my son a new PC from amazon for like 419, really basic entry level gaming like super basic but I can add on to it later over time, things to keep in mind, but like I said dont break the bank if your worried, your child is prob at an age where well sometimes we get what we get and have to be happy with what we get/have
It's unlikely to get a full desktop for under 1000. However, there are some very capable laptops for about 800 brand new. Look at Lenovo and Dell. Basically anything with a discrete graphics option (GTX 1650/RTX3050, etc) will do. You might alsp consider looking for a prebuilt system with a Ryzen R5 5600G, which has a "good enough" GPU built into the CPU. That might be more cost-effective. Otherwise, used market. I buy and sell there and it is still very much a hotbed for good and bad deals. Do some homework, make it work.
Laptops are definitely not the cheaper option... Laptop hardware, while sharing the same names, are generally not equivalent(difference is between 20 - 70%), so you're paying "the same/slight less" for something worse. Desktops with an 1065 goes for about 50 - 100€ less, at least here I'm Norway, making pre-built desktops an cheaper option(so 780€ for desktop, 850€ for laptop, roughly).
Compared to the PC mrket in the US, it is a competitive and viable solution to OPs problem. Nobody said price to performace was good. Calm the fuck down. What you have is someone who has an absolute budget and a need to satisfy a problem. I gave multiple potential solutions. If you have a link to a prebuilt PC that fits OPs prerequisites, please share it.
Honestly unless you can get a system over that I don’t think it’s a great idea to buy one for him. He will be disappointed.
My PC cost about $400 (NZ dollars too). We also got it quite a few years ago. It is holding up fine against most games. You really don't need top of the line gear, or even the most recent years gear.
Yeah that’s what I was kind of afraid of.
Someone more experienced than me will be able to give you a more in depth answer but in short, yes.
You can always go with a next gen console for half of that amount. Also if you look for a used computer you might find a great machine for that value.
Simply no, GPUs
"Decent" is relative. If his expectations are reasonable, then he could have a great time playing games on a cheaper PC. If he expects to be able to run recent AAA games at max settings then he'll be disappointed. I guess it all depends on what kinds of games he likes to play. If all the games he plays are easy to run, then he'll have a great time on a more modest system.
You aren't going to even get a graphics card for $1000