My son wants a gaming computer for Christmas. He is taking computer classes at voc school and wants to be able to build onto w
- Thread starter No_ideas
- Start date
Solution
DarkSable
Judicious
- Sep 27, 2012
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Well, here's the question then - ssddx raised some valid concerns. Does he need a monitor and keyboard and mouse?
Is he interested in building the computer himself? (It's not that hard; legos for adults, and he'll get much more power for less money, and more reliable parts.)
What is he going to be using the computer for? Gaming, obviously, but if it's just playing World of Warcraft, then there's no reason to be spending that much money.
Also, big one, are you guys located in the US or somewhere else?
Is he interested in building the computer himself? (It's not that hard; legos for adults, and he'll get much more power for less money, and more reliable parts.)
What is he going to be using the computer for? Gaming, obviously, but if it's just playing World of Warcraft, then there's no reason to be spending that much money.
Also, big one, are you guys located in the US or somewhere else?
Yes, he needs the whole thing, right now he only has a laptop. He does want to build his own but he is just learning. (His ambition is game design)
I'm lost just talking about it but from what I understand, he wants something he can use now but has room for expansion..??
Oh, and we are in Kentucky.
DarkSable
Judicious
- Sep 27, 2012
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Alright, so here's what you want to do. Show him this post:
1) What sort of use will this computer be put to? Light gaming like world of warcraft and call of duty, heavy gaming like battlefield 4 or starcraft, streaming / editing videos, ect?
2) Go to youtube and watch a video on how to put a computer together. I like the ones by newegg and NCIX the best.
The thing is that's an awkward budget for what you're looking for. If you didn't need a monitor and everything else, you'd have enough for an incredible gaming computer that would trash everything out there. Throwing in the monitor and such, you're still going to have a good PC, but it's going to have parts in it that aren't designed for upgrading - there's no point in buying a $250 graphics card if you're going to replace it when you can.
I would consider buying a REALLY nice monitor / keyboard / mouse setup. I mean a mouse that will last forever, a mechanical keyboard (NOT a plastic piece of... stuff... labeled as a 'gaming' keyboard), and a 120Hz monitor - BenQ's by far the best out there. (Asus has 144Hz monitors, but that to me is a gimmick, as you can't hardly tell the difference and the color of BenQ's monitors is far better.) That'll cost you about $400 for the monitor, $120 for the keyboard, and $80 for the mouse.
Then you can get a computer that's designed for upgrading - an overclockable processor and motherboard, a decent power supply, and a graphics card that will play games decently but isn't a powerhouse. That way, further down the line, you can buy an aftermarket cooler and overclock the CPU, and buy a better graphics card to max out details.
1) What sort of use will this computer be put to? Light gaming like world of warcraft and call of duty, heavy gaming like battlefield 4 or starcraft, streaming / editing videos, ect?
2) Go to youtube and watch a video on how to put a computer together. I like the ones by newegg and NCIX the best.
The thing is that's an awkward budget for what you're looking for. If you didn't need a monitor and everything else, you'd have enough for an incredible gaming computer that would trash everything out there. Throwing in the monitor and such, you're still going to have a good PC, but it's going to have parts in it that aren't designed for upgrading - there's no point in buying a $250 graphics card if you're going to replace it when you can.
I would consider buying a REALLY nice monitor / keyboard / mouse setup. I mean a mouse that will last forever, a mechanical keyboard (NOT a plastic piece of... stuff... labeled as a 'gaming' keyboard), and a 120Hz monitor - BenQ's by far the best out there. (Asus has 144Hz monitors, but that to me is a gimmick, as you can't hardly tell the difference and the color of BenQ's monitors is far better.) That'll cost you about $400 for the monitor, $120 for the keyboard, and $80 for the mouse.
Then you can get a computer that's designed for upgrading - an overclockable processor and motherboard, a decent power supply, and a graphics card that will play games decently but isn't a powerhouse. That way, further down the line, you can buy an aftermarket cooler and overclock the CPU, and buy a better graphics card to max out details.
Solution
"The thing is that's an awkward budget for what you're looking for. If you didn't need a monitor and everything else, you'd have enough for an incredible gaming computer that would trash everything out there."
One last question, what would the budget for this incredible gaming computer be? Just curious.
One last question, what would the budget for this incredible gaming computer be? Just curious.
ssddx
Titan
- May 27, 2009
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@op
i dont see how it is an awkward budget at all. kind of a strange thing to say really. $1500 is enough for a complete gaming pc including monitor and peripherals. (everything you need).
now granted spending $1500 on just the computer (not counting monitor and peripherals) would get you some of the highest end components so the pc would be able to handle more however at this point in time we do not know what your sons needs are. this is why i think it is a little earlier for him to be saying the budget is awkward. until we know more we can only speculate as to what you want.
as far as what no-ideas suggested about a plastic mouse and keyboard while i do agree i think his prices are vastly inflated. you can get a good gaming mouse for $30 and a decent gaming keyboard for under $100. or you could put all of the money into the pc build and then upgrade to better peripherals later which may be a suggested option.
as far as a monitor is concerned there really is no need to go for 120hz especially if the budget is for everything. running at high framerates requires powerful hardware or for lower end hardware it requires you to drop graphical settings so that you can actually process more frames per second to make it worthwhile. this also means that the pc would need to be upgraded more often if he wishes to stay running at high quality settings. essentially going with 120hz can be a moneypit which is why i would suggest staying with 60hz. of course this is your choice.
--------------
now... what we need from you....
-your son needs to tell us what games he plans on playing and at what graphical settings he expects.
-what does your son think about 120hz and 60hz gaming?
-is your $1500 budget expandable? you asked what a high end pc like what he was talking about would cost and that really depends. if you go with cheap peripherals for now it can likely be done for about +$150 more than your budget. if you want high end peripherals too plus the monitor it can be done for about +$300 more. give or take. of course it is possible to give your son a great build at $1500 too if we make certain concessions to make it work. i know you work hard for money and i'm not trying to waste it.
-what does he think about the idea of using a cheap temporary mouse and keyboard until better ones can be bought?
-do you need speakers too?
-would you or your son be building the pc from parts? you will get more bang for your buck this way and its easy to do.
get back to us on this info.
-------------
seeing as how you arent much of a computer literate person (no offense intended) i could sit down with you or your son in a free internet chat room to explain and answer some questions if you would like. its far easier to do a q&a that way than to try and explain the world of computers in a single post here.
just let me know and i'll tell you how to do it. you might also want to list availablility (for myself i'm guessing after 4 or 5 eastern standard time today)
i dont see how it is an awkward budget at all. kind of a strange thing to say really. $1500 is enough for a complete gaming pc including monitor and peripherals. (everything you need).
now granted spending $1500 on just the computer (not counting monitor and peripherals) would get you some of the highest end components so the pc would be able to handle more however at this point in time we do not know what your sons needs are. this is why i think it is a little earlier for him to be saying the budget is awkward. until we know more we can only speculate as to what you want.
as far as what no-ideas suggested about a plastic mouse and keyboard while i do agree i think his prices are vastly inflated. you can get a good gaming mouse for $30 and a decent gaming keyboard for under $100. or you could put all of the money into the pc build and then upgrade to better peripherals later which may be a suggested option.
as far as a monitor is concerned there really is no need to go for 120hz especially if the budget is for everything. running at high framerates requires powerful hardware or for lower end hardware it requires you to drop graphical settings so that you can actually process more frames per second to make it worthwhile. this also means that the pc would need to be upgraded more often if he wishes to stay running at high quality settings. essentially going with 120hz can be a moneypit which is why i would suggest staying with 60hz. of course this is your choice.
--------------
now... what we need from you....
-your son needs to tell us what games he plans on playing and at what graphical settings he expects.
-what does your son think about 120hz and 60hz gaming?
-is your $1500 budget expandable? you asked what a high end pc like what he was talking about would cost and that really depends. if you go with cheap peripherals for now it can likely be done for about +$150 more than your budget. if you want high end peripherals too plus the monitor it can be done for about +$300 more. give or take. of course it is possible to give your son a great build at $1500 too if we make certain concessions to make it work. i know you work hard for money and i'm not trying to waste it.
-what does he think about the idea of using a cheap temporary mouse and keyboard until better ones can be bought?
-do you need speakers too?
-would you or your son be building the pc from parts? you will get more bang for your buck this way and its easy to do.
get back to us on this info.
-------------
seeing as how you arent much of a computer literate person (no offense intended) i could sit down with you or your son in a free internet chat room to explain and answer some questions if you would like. its far easier to do a q&a that way than to try and explain the world of computers in a single post here.
just let me know and i'll tell you how to do it. you might also want to list availablility (for myself i'm guessing after 4 or 5 eastern standard time today)
No offense taken, the truth is the truth. I would love for you to be able to talk with him. I haven't answered many of your questions, such as what games he plays, because I do not know. I won't get home from work until approximately 4:00 pm EST, at which time I will just turn this whole thing over to him. And yes, I could expand the budget some but I do have 3 other children to buy Christmas for as well. But this son has never asked for anything and this seems to be his big interest so I want to support it.
I appreciate all the help more than you know.
ssddx
Titan
- May 27, 2009
- 17,050
- 5
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it is now 4:25pm EST.
the room is online at
https://webchat.freenode.net/
type in your nickname (no_ideas is fine)
type in the channel as #ssddx (including the # symbol)
type the anti-bot security password thing
while i wait i might be afk for a bit here or there viewing other pages or doing some things around the house but i will be checking up to see if you join.
edit:
5:41pm est.... still here waiting for a response.
the room is online at
https://webchat.freenode.net/
type in your nickname (no_ideas is fine)
type in the channel as #ssddx (including the # symbol)
type the anti-bot security password thing
while i wait i might be afk for a bit here or there viewing other pages or doing some things around the house but i will be checking up to see if you join.
edit:
5:41pm est.... still here waiting for a response.
DarkSable
Judicious
- Sep 27, 2012
- 8,890
- 1
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Here's what I would look at. It's $15 over and doesn't have an optical drive - if you wanted to fix that, buy a Hyper 212 EVO instead of the Silver Arrow Extreme, but it would have less overclocking headroom. I also threw in a pair of computer speakers that I know from firsthand experience have actually very good sound... but if he plays online games more than single player, he might want a headset instead so he has a microphone to talk to people with. (Yapster makes a $20 headset that has great sound and a decent mic, but wears out if you fiddle with your cords like I do.)
This system can overclock out of the box, and has a decent graphics card, though not a flagship one - but he can buy a second one later and use it in Crossfire.
If he's interested, I can also put together a system that wouldn't have a cpu cooler (he'd install it later if he wanted to overclock), had a way cheaper graphics card, but had a better monitor, keyboard, and motherboard.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Silver Arrow Extreme 130.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($81.00 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($98.99 @ Mac Mall)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.65 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($307.27 @ TigerDirect)
Case: Fractal Design Define XL R2 (Black Pearl) ATX Full Tower Case ($129.98 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 850W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($163.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: BenQ GW2255 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Rapid Wired Gaming Keyboard ($64.99 @ Microcenter)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Black Edition Wired Optical Mouse ($47.99 @ B&H)
Speakers: Logitech LS21 7W 2.1ch Speakers ($20.58 @ B&H)
Total: $1515.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-06 16:25 EST-0500)
This system can overclock out of the box, and has a decent graphics card, though not a flagship one - but he can buy a second one later and use it in Crossfire.
If he's interested, I can also put together a system that wouldn't have a cpu cooler (he'd install it later if he wanted to overclock), had a way cheaper graphics card, but had a better monitor, keyboard, and motherboard.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Silver Arrow Extreme 130.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($81.00 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($98.99 @ Mac Mall)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.65 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($307.27 @ TigerDirect)
Case: Fractal Design Define XL R2 (Black Pearl) ATX Full Tower Case ($129.98 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 850W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($163.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: BenQ GW2255 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Rapid Wired Gaming Keyboard ($64.99 @ Microcenter)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Black Edition Wired Optical Mouse ($47.99 @ B&H)
Speakers: Logitech LS21 7W 2.1ch Speakers ($20.58 @ B&H)
Total: $1515.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-06 16:25 EST-0500)
DarkSable
Judicious
- Sep 27, 2012
- 8,890
- 1
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For the computer itself, it would be pretty much pegged at $1500, perhaps $1600. But then you'd have more power than you know what to do with, so you would want a high-resolution (1440p) or extremely quick (120hz) screen, and excellent peripherals... and then if you catch the audiophile bug like I did and put together a home audio system... 😛
But no, really the build I linked above is an incredible computer - if the monitor and such weren't included, the only thing I would do is go with the $500 gtx 780, rather than a Radeon 280x.
ssddx
Titan
- May 27, 2009
- 17,050
- 5
- 74,965
work in progress build.....
really need to verify some of the information with your son before we can finalize some decisions for you.
-------------------------------------------------------
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($98.99 @ Mac Mall)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($104.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($129.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell E2213H 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($150.73 @ Mwave)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Wired Laser Mouse ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Speakers: Logitech Z313 25W 2.1ch Speakers ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Other: Ducky Zero DK2108 Mechanical Keyboard Cherry MX Blue ($86.00)
Total: $1582.56
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-06 18:20 EST-0500)
really need to verify some of the information with your son before we can finalize some decisions for you.
-------------------------------------------------------
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($98.99 @ Mac Mall)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($104.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($129.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell E2213H 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($150.73 @ Mwave)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Wired Laser Mouse ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Speakers: Logitech Z313 25W 2.1ch Speakers ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Other: Ducky Zero DK2108 Mechanical Keyboard Cherry MX Blue ($86.00)
Total: $1582.56
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-06 18:20 EST-0500)
DarkSable
Judicious
- Sep 27, 2012
- 8,890
- 1
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I didn't realize you could find a Ducky that cheap - that's a great keyboard.
The only thing I would say has to be changed with ssddx's build is to avoid the gigabyte brand graphics card. I've been forced to interact with them a fair bit, and they have by far the worst customer service I've ever seen. That means even though their product is good, if you get a faulty one, you're going to go through hell trying to get it replaced, and will probably end up having it replaced with a refurbished item rather than new anyways.
Also, I'd buy a CPU cooler, even if just the Hyper 212 EVO. That gives you a little overclocking headroom, but more importantly, lets the computer run much cooler and quieter.
The only thing I would say has to be changed with ssddx's build is to avoid the gigabyte brand graphics card. I've been forced to interact with them a fair bit, and they have by far the worst customer service I've ever seen. That means even though their product is good, if you get a faulty one, you're going to go through hell trying to get it replaced, and will probably end up having it replaced with a refurbished item rather than new anyways.
Also, I'd buy a CPU cooler, even if just the Hyper 212 EVO. That gives you a little overclocking headroom, but more importantly, lets the computer run much cooler and quieter.
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