I am getting enquiries almost every day about Gaming PCs for presents, and a lot of parents admit they don’t really know what they are looking for, so to try and help I’ve put together a simple guide to steer you in the right direction.
If you are looking on eBay, Facebook or local adverts for PCs these questions will help stop you from getting ripped off.
What’s New?
Things have also changed a lot in PCs over the last few years with massive jumps in performance, hardware that used to be regarded as the bottom of the range, now surpasses the top end from just a few years ago, for example:
- New i3 processors like the i3 12100 are as fast as the high-end i7 9700 from just a few years ago!
- A bottom-of-the-range RTX 3050 Graphics card is on par with a GTX 1070 when playing the latest games!
- Hard drives are almost pointless now, a 1TB SSD drive is 5 times faster or more and costs under £50
So be careful not to fall for an old i7 from years ago and “top-end graphics” that turn out to be next to useless by current standards.
QUESTIONS TO ASK :
- Does it have a dedicated graphics card? and how much memory it has – if it’s less than 2 GB RAM on the graphics card– walk away, this is a 2Gb Graphics card and a low-end PC – about £250 when available. Watch | Facebook
- System RAM – you really want at least 8GB RAM to be able to run Windows comfortably and most games will need 8Gb or more, however, system RAM is an easy upgrade, but not particularly Cheap – getting a £150 Budget PC with then needing £40 to make it to 16 Gb RAM is not ideal!
- Can you show me a video of it running a relevant game or benchmark? or a machine of the same specifications
- Does it have an SSD – this is vital and makes the difference between turning on in 20 seconds or 5 minutes, and makes even an older machine feel snappy and usable.
- Is it upgradeable?
- Can I see a photo of the inside? some used machines are so dirty and dusty that they are just waiting to fail through overheating problems, if they won’t show you a picture…..ask yourself what they are hiding.
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST? If we are talking about children under 14 (ish) they are going to want to play games like Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite etc. The first painful truth is that you really can’t do that on a machine for under £300
SHOULD I BUY A BRAND NAME? You will see machines advertised, particularly on eBay made by Dell, HP, Lenovo and other big names, unfortunately, the reality is that whilst these all make good machines, the ones you will see for under £500 are likely to be repurposed, older business machines or low spec home computers that not only won’t play games, they probably can be upgraded to any significant degree to be able to either.
NEW PC, GAMING SPECIAL, ULTRA FAST these and similar labels on old machines are painfully common, if it’s under £400 it isn’t new, they have put it in a new case and normally with the lowest possible quality of components.
DO I NEED A MONITOR? Most good gaming PCs will be perfectly happy on an HD TV, using an HDMI cable like a PlayStation or Xbox
HOW MUCH SHOULD I SPEND ON A PC?
For a gaming PC, you are really looking at 5 levels of pricing and ability
Under £200 – Old, used business machines that may be capable of browsing the internet and the simplest of games, best avoided as you are asking for problems or disappointed kids
£200 – £350 Capable machines that can be upgraded over time with newer components and can grow for the next year or 2
£350 – £500 Machines that should be able to run almost all the latest games, in medium to high settings
£500 plus– very good used machine or new machines, both will run for years with upgrade potential to last for a good few years
£650 upwards is a new machine, with all the bells and whistles you could ask for.
We can put together machines in all of these price ranges, show you them working and get them delivered nationwide for under £20 – so get in touch and let us put together a machine that will really do what you need, for a price you can afford and have the kids smiling.
So how do you buy a PC from us?
- We discuss what you need and put together an honest quote, not one that’s going to over-inflate the requirements and add hundreds of pounds, or one that’s going to sell you any old machine that will be a disappointment and leave you having to resell or upgrade straight away.
- You read our testimonials and make sure you are comfortable with who we are and how we work.
- You pay a deposit of 20% with the order, by bank transfer or PayPal – that does incur a few charges though.
- The PC is built, and you are kept informed as it comes together and shown videos of it working etc.
- How Long does it take – Typically a week to deliver a machine built to your requirements.
- The courier is booked for delivery if needed, and you get the tracking number, or we arrange for collection if you are local – at this point, the remaining amount is paid.
- The machines have a warranty – depending on the cost and I am also available for remote assistance after purchase to help with any issues and advice – terms and conditions/warranty info
