Gaming Computer?

[Suzanimal]

My son turns 15 next week and has been asking for a gaming computer for years. I usually give him a big box of money for his birthday but this year I'm thinking about surprising him with a computer. His is about dead, so I figured I'd go all out. He really only plays a few games on Steam (Prison Architect and Team Fortress 2) and Minecraft. I poked around Best Buy and the prices are all over the place, I'm just really confused.

If you had around $700.00 to spend on a gaming computer what would you buy? Would you buy a brand name from Best Buy or go somewhere (like a Mom & Pop place) and have it custom built?

[Cabal]

You're probably not going to find a new pre-built gaming PC for $700.00. I'd suggest building it yourself (it really isn't that difficult), as you can probably get decent hardware without having to drop too much cash. Building your own also allows you more freedom to choose specific components and setups, and allows you to maintain/upgrade it over time more efficiently, providing you take care of it, without having to buy a brand new PC every few years.

You can find deals on sites like newegg.com sometimes, too, which help you cut costs further.

[Suzanimal]

You're probably not going to find a new pre-built gaming PC for $700.00. I'd suggest building it yourself (it really isn't that difficult), as you can probably get decent hardware without having to drop too much cash. Building your own also allows you more freedom to choose specific components and setups, and allows you to maintain/upgrade it over time more efficiently, providing you take care of it, without having to buy a brand new PC every few years.

You can find deals on sites like newegg.com sometimes, too, which help you cut costs further.

Thanks for the advice (and the vote of confidence) Cabal but you have overestimated my abilities, I can barely put together a Lego set and I've had years of practice. I picked the $700. range because the gaming computers at Best Buy range from 550-1000 and figured that was a mid level. Hmmm, maybe I'll just give him the box full of money.

[VIDEODROME]

I would avoid Best Buy and look around at local computer shops. You might be surprised and find a small business that knows computers well and can help you out.

Customization might not be necessary depending on what they have. It's gaming so just ask if it has a good graphics card.

You might also look up the games he likes and go to the websites of Minecraft and Team Fortress 2 to look up the system requirements. That would help you shop for computers with the right Specs.

Otherwise, I'd look into whether or not to get Windows 8 or look for a machine with Windows 7.

[Original_Intent]

Newegg is good - even if you don't want to build, they usually have some pre-built at a good price. I have heard that TigerDirect.com is comparable, I have only ever used Newegg.

Another possibility is if you know at all what you are looking for is classifieds. We have online classifieds that last year my 16 yr. old found a very solid gaming pc for $350. With $700 I bet I could find one that was pretty high end.

I've never bought ibuypower, but this seems pretty good in your price range. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227536

[juleswin]

Personally, I would do everything in my power to dissuade from getting a gaming rig. How about buying him a gun? or a stripper? or alcohol? but seriously, videos games that are out now are super addictive. There are whole communities, grinding to do, raids upon raids upon raids to attend and this just adding to communication overload teenagers are dealing with now.

It starts with some innocuous game and before you know it, he starts playing some life sinking MMO. Hes just 15, I say u promise him a car if he agrees not to ask for a gaming rig ever again and just stick with the regular non gaming computer for now.

[Zippyjuan]

X Box would be cheaper or a PS 4.

[axiomata]

Buy the parts and have your son build it. I think I built my first gaming PC at just over 15. Ask around a tech/gaming forum, give them your budget, tell em your story and I'm sure they will tell you exactly what you need. I would help but I'm out of the loop as to what hardware is current.

[VIDEODROME]

I really think some people just don't have the time to learn a new skill and build a computer. There are only so many things people can take on as DIY projects.



Otherwise... my 2 Cents is that after buying the new machine, give Linux a try on the old machine.

[Suzanimal]

I would avoid Best Buy and look around at local computer shops. You might be surprised and find a small business that knows computers well and can help you out.

Customization might not be necessary depending on what they have. It's gaming so just ask if it has a good graphics card.

You might also look up the games he likes and go to the websites of Minecraft and Team Fortress 2 to look up the system requirements. That would help you shop for computers with the right Specs.

Otherwise, I'd look into whether or not to get Windows 8 or look for a machine with Windows 7.

Newegg is good - even if you don't want to build, they usually have some pre-built at a good price. I have heard that TigerDirect.com is comparable, I have only ever used Newegg.

Another possibility is if you know at all what you are looking for is classifieds. We have online classifieds that last year my 16 yr. old found a very solid gaming pc for $350. With $700 I bet I could find one that was pretty high end.

I've never bought ibuypower, but this seems pretty good in your price range. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227536

Thanks for the advice, I'll look into those options. I don't think the games he wants to play need a hardcore computer, he used to play Minecraft on his broke ass computer but they did an update and now it doesn't work. Prison Architect and TF2 have never worked well on it, they lag so bad it's pointless. I think I'm going to print the out the specs for the games (per VIDEODROME) and check out the Newegg, Tiger Direct and local shops. Thank you all for the good advice.

Personally, I would do everything in my power to dissuade from getting a gaming rig. How about buying him a gun? or a stripper? or alcohol? but seriously, videos games that are out now are super addictive. There are whole communities, grinding to do, raids upon raids upon raids to attend and this just adding to communication overload teenagers are dealing with now.

It starts with some innocuous game and before you know it, he starts playing some life sinking MMO. Hes just 15, I say u promise him a car if he agrees not to ask for a gaming rig ever again and just stick with the regular non gaming computer for now.

He's got guns and thinks alcohol is nasty, he would probably love a stripper but that ain't gonna happen on my watch . I get what you're saying and I would agree with you if he were really sucked into that kind of stuff but he only wants to play on it when the weather's bad or in the evening (he rarely watches TV). He doesn't have (or want) a phone, Ipod/mp3 or dsi - he has a Kindle (he reads on) and he shares an XBOX with his brother but he doesn't seem too interested in it, he only plays it when his brother begs him or one of his friends calls him to get on and play. I don't even get why he wants it but he does and since he rarely ever asks for anything (except money) I want to give it to him. If Minecraft still worked on the one he's got I wouldn't even bother because one game is really enough for him and I know that's his favorite.

[KCIndy]

My son turns 15 next week and has been asking for a gaming computer for years. I usually give him a big box of money for his birthday but this year I'm thinking about surprising him with a computer. His is about dead, so I figured I'd go all out. He really only plays a few games on Steam (Prison Architect and Team Fortress 2) and Minecraft. I poked around Best Buy and the prices are all over the place, I'm just really confused.

If you had around $700.00 to spend on a gaming computer what would you buy? Would you buy a brand name from Best Buy or go somewhere (like a Mom & Pop place) and have it custom built?

A few questions?

First, how much does your son know about computers? If he's a "computer nerd" he's likely to have is own idea of what a dream setup would be. I'm not saying you have to ask him and ruin the surprise, but it might be something to consider. And if he's good at tinkering, he might be able to build himself a great system by you giving him $700 in credit at NewEgg.com - it would be better than anything you're likely to find at Best Buy.

Are you planning on buying an entire new system, including monitor? If your son already has a good monitor, you can skip that and put all your purchasing money into the "box" itself.

If you don't mind buying refurbished, you can pick up some sweet deals at Dell Factory Outlet:
http://www.dell.com/us/dfh/p/?dgc=IR...28&lid=4691846
These are machines that are either returns, reworks, or orders that got cancelled after they were built. They're all re-worked until they're like new and sold with a "like-new" warranty, but are sold at heavy discount.

Also... Do you know if your son wants a desktop machine, or would he rather have a notebook? Or even a tablet? Notebooks are generally not as powerful as desktop systems, but if your son's desktop is pretty old your son might be able to pick up a notebook that's got more horsepower than his old desktop, with the added advantage of portability. A tablet (Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, etc) is not a gaming machine, but I know a lot of kids these days find them to be really handy at school.

Best of luck with the decision!

[Suzanimal]

Buy the parts and have your son build it. I think I built my first gaming PC at just over 15. Ask around a tech/gaming forum, give them your budget, tell em your story and I'm sure they will tell you exactly what you need. I would help but I'm out of the loop as to what hardware is current.

I really think some people just don't have the time to learn a new skill and build a computer. There are only so many things people can take on as DIY projects.



Otherwise... my 2 Cents is that after buying the new machine, give Linux a try on the old machine.

That's actually a very good idea. I'm not really brave enough to do a first build with expensive parts but I would defiantly be okay with messing around with the old broke ass machine. Maybe I'll buy him a book about how to build computers.

[fisharmor]

I would second the Craigslist recommendation.
A guy named Gordon Moore wrote a paper in 1965 stating that every 18 months the number of transistors in integrated circuits would double.
It has been dead-on true for nearly 50 years now.

What that means is that in 18 months you'll be able to buy whatever brand new whiz-bang computer you buy for about half of what you pay for it today.

It simply doesn't make sense to me to go all-out.
But if you go to CL, what you're going to find is that there are plenty of 34 year old corpulent virgins with translucent skin and more money than sense, who are perfectly willing to blow $1200 a year on their gaming rigs, provided they get $800 for their current rig. But the only reason they're upgrading is so that they can see beads of sweat roll off their character's forehead. Literally. At this point, that's what they're spending money on.

But people who make games know that they can't make any money just selling games to those who are willing to spend $2000 on a machine to play games just so they can see beads of sweat on a dude's forehead. So game companies give the player the ability to turn that nonsense off. It's been that way for over a decade now. Older hardware? Reduce the display settings.

The latest hardware does absolutely nothing to enhance gameplay... it's all just frosting.

[2young2vote]

You will not find a good gaming computer in a brick and mortar store for a reasonable price. I know- I've looked.

You can either go to a computer store (one that is dedicated to repairing and selling computers) and ask them to build you a computer for around $700 that plays the games you mentioned, or you can purchase one of the ones below, both of which will be good computers and are slightly over your price point. They both say they come with gaming Keyboard and Mouse.

This computer will run all the games you mentioned, plus more: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229541

This one is cheaper and has the same video card, but a slightly worse processor (processors won't have much impact as the video card on gaming performance for the games you mentioned). It will still play all the games you mentioned: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227536

Newegg is a very trusted website. They are like Amazon except only for electronics.

[Kotin]

eBay has good custom-made computers for gaming that are much cheaper, just make sure they come with everything you need.


I build my own which is the most cost-effective and really the quality is better too.. It's not difficult if your interested.

[Zippyjuan]

One thing to keep in mind- a gaming computer today might not be able to play the latest games (without a video card update) in only a couple of years. (It will still be able to play older ones).

[Suzanimal]

A few questions?

First, how much does your son know about computers? If he's a "computer nerd" he's likely to have is own idea of what a dream setup would be. I'm not saying you have to ask him and ruin the surprise, but it might be something to consider. And if he's good at tinkering, he might be able to build himself a great system by you giving him $700 in credit at NewEgg.com - it would be better than anything you're likely to find at Best Buy.

Are you planning on buying an entire new system, including monitor? If your son already has a good monitor, you can skip that and put all your purchasing money into the "box" itself.

If you don't mind buying refurbished, you can pick up some sweet deals at Dell Factory Outlet:
http://www.dell.com/us/dfh/p/?dgc=IR...28&lid=4691846
These are machines that are either returns, reworks, or orders that got cancelled after they were built. They're all re-worked until they're like new and sold with a "like-new" warranty, but are sold at heavy discount.

Also... Do you know if your son wants a desktop machine, or would he rather have a notebook? Or even a tablet? Notebooks are generally not as powerful as desktop systems, but if your son's desktop is pretty old your son might be able to pick up a notebook that's got more horsepower than his old desktop, with the added advantage of portability. A tablet (Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, etc) is not a gaming machine, but I know a lot of kids these days find them to be really handy at school.

Best of luck with the decision!

He just got a new monitor and keyboard(my Mom bought him a fancy one for Christmas-he picked it out). He likes desktops and I think he knows what he wants but he would be suspicious if I asked because I've been poo-pooing the idea of buying one for years. Too many choices, this is harder than I thought. Just giving him a how to book and a box of money is starting to look like a better idea.

[Suzanimal]

Thank you all, excellent advice.

I'm really starting to lean towards a book and money now.

[olehounddog]

Call Michael Main @ MPPC. He can build a gaming machine to suit your needs. The ones on his website are built to run triple screens.

http://www.mainperformancepc.com/

I think Alienware has a gaming machine for around 700

[KCIndy]

Just giving him a how to book and a box of money is starting to look like a better idea.

Hey, that's the great thing about cash: It's always the right color, it's always the right size, it never matters if there are duplicates, and no one ever, ever EVER wants to take it back for a return!

[Carson]

I was going to suggest you look at some of the best gaming computers out there right now and then figure out what is in them and build one yourself.


My first link for a Google search of 10 best gaming computers had one for $700.00. Weird.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2393552,00.asp


I also noticed they didn't have Alienware on the list.

Then I looked at Alienware's webpage and they have build your own starting at $699.00. Probably not the place you want to go to buy but to see what you can do yourself.

http://www.alienware.com/Landings/desktops.aspx


If you put one together your going to have to pick some items yourself.

case
mother board
processor
power supply
video card
memory
drives
operating system

I can't think of much else. You need stuff compatible with each other. That's why you check out what is out there. The stuff should then snap together. Maybe easier than Lego. Sort of. But educational.

Anyway if you, your son, or husband did get into it, you could start out small but buy components with room to upgrade later.

P.S. I wouldn't spend any money on a book for building one. I would strongly suggest you have a computer with an Internet connection before you start. Someone out there has had every problem you'll come up against and the answers will be just a Google away.

[FindLiberty]

DIY construct very good idea. Info and good tips are available...

So much fun to play, makes it the perfect time waster.

It may promote fast typing, new age communication sills and teamwork.
Or have negative influence on everything and result in nightmare personality.

Addiction is very bad, and very likely!

Fun, fun, fun.

[juleswin]

I have been thinking, since he most likely wouldn't be on playing hours on end, maybe you can just get him a regular PC with the best graphic card or whatever is best for the games he plays and the latest Pentium processor. Those are really the 2 things that is essential for a gaming computer. Memory is not really that important since just about every PC on bestbuy website has 1T plus of memory capacity.

You don't really need the funny looking frames or the extra fans if he is planning to be a casual gamer. In fact, the lack of extra fans and ventilation will act as a trigger switch off if he decides he wants to abuse it . And all that should cost you more than $700 from bestbuy

[RPfan1992]

I was going to suggest you look at some of the best gaming computers out there right now and then figure out what is in them and build one yourself.


My first link for a Google search of 10 best gaming computers had one for $700.00. Weird.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2393552,00.asp


I also noticed they didn't have Alienware on the list.

Then I looked at Alienware's webpage and they have build your own starting at $699.00. Probably not the place you want to go to buy but to see what you can do yourself.

http://www.alienware.com/Landings/desktops.aspx


If you put one together your going to have to pick some items yourself.

case
mother board
processor
power supply
video card
memory
drives
operating system

I can't think of much else. You need stuff compatible with each other. That's why you check out what is out there. The stuff should then snap together. Maybe easier than Lego. Sort of. But educational.

Anyway if you, your son, or husband did get into it, you could start out small but buy components with room to upgrade later.

P.S. I wouldn't spend any money on a book for building one. I would strongly suggest you have a computer with an Internet connection before you start. Someone out there has had every problem you'll come up against and the answers will be just a Google away.

PCpartpicker.com is a good site that lets you know if the parts are compatible with each other. Its also good if you are on a budget. I think Overstock.com also has some pre built gaming computers in the 700 - 1000 $ range

[Original_Intent]

I have been thinking, since he most likely wouldn't be on playing hours on end, maybe you can just get him a regular PC with the best graphic card or whatever is best for the games he plays and the latest Pentium processor. Those are really the 2 things that is essential for a gaming computer. Memory is not really that important since just about every PC on bestbuy website has 1T plus of memory capacity.

You don't really need the funny looking frames or the extra fans if he is planning to be a casual gamer. In fact, the lack of extra fans and ventilation will act as a trigger switch off if he decides he wants to abuse it . And all that should cost you more than $700 from bestbuy

Regarding the underlined, obviously the 1 TB or more is regarding the hard drive, not memory. I use 6 GB of RAM and I tend to have a few things open at once (several browser tabs, game, and maybe something else. Really if he isn't doing anything other than a single game and nothing else open at the time 6 GB or fewer is fine. If he has a lot of things open at once, then more RAM. Just don't get HDD capacity and RAM mixed up.

Speaking of hard drive, my next computer will have a solid state drive. I've heard a ton of good about them, and for a gaming machine, the smaller size (typically ~200 GB) is fine as opposed to the terabyte drives that I haven't even scratched the surface of filling up.

SSDs are essentially a big flash drive, no moving parts, loads fast and pretty much lasts forever.

[jdmyprez_deo_vindice]

Just avoid anything from Alienware... We have one and it has been nothing but trouble and the fans tear up quick. If you do get one just make sure you get the extended warranty because you will need it many times.

[phill4paul]

I'm looking for a new laptop myself for gaming. I really wish someone could come out with a build your own, DIY, laptop construct. Seems the market would be on this. Then again I haven't googled so it is possible that there is a way. My 8400 card is getting archaic and only goes low res on most new games.

[dannno]

You will not find a good gaming computer in a brick and mortar store for a reasonable price. I know- I've looked.

You can either go to a computer store (one that is dedicated to repairing and selling computers) and ask them to build you a computer for around $700 that plays the games you mentioned, or you can purchase one of the ones below, both of which will be good computers and are slightly over your price point. They both say they come with gaming Keyboard and Mouse.

This computer will run all the games you mentioned, plus more: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883229541

This one is cheaper and has the same video card, but a slightly worse processor (processors won't have much impact as the video card on gaming performance for the games you mentioned). It will still play all the games you mentioned: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227536

Newegg is a very trusted website. They are like Amazon except only for electronics.

I'll bet he'd be pretty stoked if you got him that... I don't know much about that brand but I would get that before anything they have at bestbuy.

[ClydeCoulter]

The one that @Danno made large in the above post, comes with Battlefield 4, which means it must be able to run it effectively, and that means it might run of the most games that are getting ready to come out (which have some pretty high expectations for hardware).

[rpfocus]

Personally, I would do everything in my power to dissuade from getting a gaming rig. How about buying him a gun? or a stripper? or alcohol? but seriously, videos games that are out now are super addictive. There are whole communities, grinding to do, raids upon raids upon raids to attend and this just adding to communication overload teenagers are dealing with now.

It starts with some innocuous game and before you know it, he starts playing some life sinking MMO. Hes just 15, I say u promise him a car if he agrees not to ask for a gaming rig ever again and just stick with the regular non gaming computer for now.

Bwahaha! Juleswin is right though. Get him a gaming rig, and if he gets into MMO's the next time you see him he'll have a full beard.