Please help Luddite Mother!

[bryonyk]

My son wants this set up for Christmas...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B008LZHBXU/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478724853&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=gaming+pc&dpPl=1&dpID=51SOoST%2BU-L&ref=plSrch
He is a serious gamer but that's seriously expensive and having read some of your other threads not necessarily recommended.
Could someone please advise me on the best way to go? I'm a widow with a low income (and he has twin sisters!) so am trying to be fair to all and not be living on noodles for the next year!!
I know you'll ask me what my budget is... ohhh I'd have to say around 5/600. If it was worth it I could probably manage a bit more. Chicken not turkey?!
I do want it to be right and not cut too many corners as he does YouTube videos and wants the best experience.
Thank you in advance for any help!

 

[AppleGwava]

You have made the right choice.The computer he has chosen is not the best as the frame rate will drop running 3 monitors

 

[AppleGwava]

The build list we put together here will definitely not have 3 monitors.Best range i would say is around 7-800 .Could you help ask your son what games he plays?This will help us narrow down the range of components

 

[ScrewySqrl]

if you can build your own:

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor (£105.59 @ Novatech)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£39.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£22.59 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£38.33 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Mini Video Card (£114.99 @ Ebuyer)
Case: Zalman ZM-T1 PLUS MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£29.75 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX TS 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£33.54 @ Eclipse Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home Full 32/64-bit (£83.03 @ More Computers)
Monitor: Hannspree HE225DPB 21.5" Monitor (£76.99 @ Novatech)
Keyboard: Genius 31300710101 Wired Standard Keyboard (£6.58 @ Amazon UK)
Mouse: Zalman ZM-M300 Wired Optical Mouse (£7.95 @ Amazon UK)
Speakers: Edifier R19U 4W 2ch Speakers (£19.34 @ More Computers)
Total: £578.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-17 13:46 GMT+0000

only one monitor, but its under 600 pounds.

the i3-6100 is better than the AMD you were looking at before. Only 1 monitor, but the GPU included will game on that just fine. a LARGE hard drive (2TB) which is on sale right now for less than most 1 TBs

There is room for expansion: It will take next years Kaby Lake CPUs, there's space to add a second 8GB ram chip, and you have a good enough PSU to go for more powerful graphics cards in the future. The build includes a monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers and Windows 10.

PCs are not hard to build, and it can be a fun project to build together

 

[bryonyk]

I would ask your son if he thinks he is capable of building his own computer. At this price range, all prebuilts will be slow and not good enough for his purposes. If he is over 15, he may be able to pay for part of his computer, and get a much better PC for his money.
Some good websites to get started would be PCPartPicker and some homework on building computers.
Building a PC is one of the most rewarding things you can do, and its educational and fun. (Also, bragging rights!)
Good luck with everything!

Thank you for your help! He is definitely capable of building his own and has been getting advice from his IT teacher. The components that he has quoted come to around £800 which is more than I had hoped to spend. He mainly plays games like GTA, COD and Uncharted 4. He still also plays a lot of Minecraft.
I couldn't see how to answer you all at once I'm sorry, but want to say thank you so much for taking the time to reply. It really is much appreciated!

 

[xtcmax]

Totally agree on building you own rig. It is VERY easy. Just ask your son to come here and people will help him to build the cheapest and the best system for the budget available. It will not be gift wrapped, but reset assured you will save A LOT OF money.

 

[bryonyk]

His IT teacher has recommended this set up
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/GHykWX
but it's really more than I want to pay.
Can you advise on whether it's right for him please? And whether I really do need to pay that much. I'm happy to purchase from you as opposed to them. We waited until after Christmas with the hope of saving some money in the sales.
Does this include monitors? (Typically he wants two

 

[bryonyk]

I guess I can also add more monitors in the future... (any idea why he would need more than one?!!)

 

[ScrewySqrl]

with multiple monitors and a powerful enough GPU, you can have a much wider field of view:

but its really unneccesary

 

[bryonyk]

Ahhhh! I see! Thank you. Is the list of components that his IT teacher recommended much different to the list you have provided? We're more than happy to build our own. I really believe that it will be a good experience for him and he will learn a lot more than paying for an overpriced fancy set up.
To order the components that you have recommended do I just go onto your main website and put the list in there? When I showed my son he seemed very excited about the set up offered.
Are you having a sale on any of your items?
Thank you so much for your help!

 

[ScrewySqrl]

oh, I'm not selling those items.

The items are sold by various sites, like Amazon, Aria PC, and Novatech.

Prices have changed since November, so we might need to tweak the build bit.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor (£106.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Asus H110M-K Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£47.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: PNY Anarchy 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£39.55 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: ADATA Ultimate SU800 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£39.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 470 4GB Triple X Video Card (£167.20 @ Ebuyer)
Case: BitFenix Nova ATX Mid Tower Case (£26.99 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX XT 400W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£38.90 @ CCL Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home Full 32/64-bit (£83.90 @ More Computers)
Keyboard: Aula SHIHUNZAN Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Laser Mouse (£14.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £602.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-01 18:03 GMT+0000

just for comparison, the IT teacher had an AMD A10 APU *and* an R9 380X graphics card - the 380X is a generation old, and the APU's built in graphics would be ignored with the dedicated gpu, making the APU (over the Athlon X4, the same cpu without the built in gpu) a bit of a waste of money.

I went with the intel i3-6100, a newer, more powerful CPU than the AMD chip, and no liquid cooler. This does mean that this chip won't overclock. I also went with the newer AMD RX 470 GPU, similar to the 380X, but uses less power and gives a few more FPS in games.

I have a larger spinning HDD (2 TB vs 1 TB), mostly because this one is on sale, and a better quality SSD (A Data is a bit faster and more reliable than Kingston). A less expensive PSU (but still decent quality). The 80+ Bronze is slightly less power efficient (85% vs 90% at peak). this comes out to a difference of between 14 and 20W less efficient, or about 1 florescent light bulb. It would take longer than the useful lifetime of the PC to make up the cost difference between the gold and the bronze PSU

I also tossed in a keyboard and mouse and Windows, but not a DVD player - I haven't used my DVD player for anything in years now.

 

[bryonyk]

That sounds brilliant! Thank you so much!!
How much would the monitors cost?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

a 1920x1080 monitor:
https://www.cclonline.com/product/209657/VP228TE/Monitors/Asus-VP228TE-21-5-inch-Full-HD-Monitor-100M-1-200cd/m2-1920x1080-1ms-DVI-D/D-Sub/MON4065/?siteID=8BacdVP0GFs-d00aYrlPxeCktViEZZ8b2w

its 87 pounds. It includes speakers. the 470 will do single screen gaming just fine

 

[bryonyk]

Nice one. Thank you so much for your help xx

 

[bryonyk]

I've ordered everything that you recommended in the list except the memory because there wasn't one available for several months. Can you please recommend an equivalent? I don't mind if it has more memory either. Apparently (according to Connor!) the more memory the better? (Happy to be corrected lol!!)
Thank you once again for your continued help. Very excited about starting this project xxx

 

[ScrewySqrl]

order any 2-stick set of DDR4 2x4 GB (for 8 total) or 2x8GB (for 16 total). CAS 15. cheapest you can find. 2133 is the likely speed, and no matter what you get, thats the speed you'll get out of it

 

[bryonyk]

Ok great. Thank you so much xxx

 

[James Mason]

Also, just to provide some helpful resources if necessary:

Building your own computer is easy. Building it takes 2-3 hours, and installing windows takes about 30mins to 45mins, and after that downloading and installing drivers takes another 30-45 mins. After all that, have it download windows updates at night, it may take a 2-4 passes to get them all.

Building a PC:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIF43-0mDk4
Installing Windows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zAdwedmj1M

Protip for installing drivers safely, install them one at a time and restart the computer after each install to avoid breaking the OS, which can happen if you try to install them all at once.

 

[bryonyk]

Oh perfect! Thank you! That's a great help. I've just realised I haven't ordered a monitor but there was one recommended earlier so I can try for that.