[Technology] Gaming PC advice

Rowdey · Jul 7, 2020

I've done multiple searches for the above, but need a bit more, and hoping NSC can help..!

My 13 year old has been using a decent 2013 Macbook pro for Roblox and discord as well as school stuff, and i've been concerned that the MBP runs hot, fan whiring away too much. Pretty sure one time activity monitor showed the CPU running 120% one time too.

And he moans about it being 'laggy' etc loads too :glare:

Anyway, he needs a gaming PC.. I recall someone on here 'builds them' but his/my budget is only £600-ish really..

As i understand it, decent CPU, decent GPU, and fans are the important bits.

Not a huge fan of Amazon, but something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/ADMI-FR-1-Apex-Legends-Gaming/dp/B06XY771T3/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=AW96R1LBVOZZ&dchild=1&keywords=admi+gaming+pc&qid=1594142869&sprefix=admi%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyTFpYM1ExOUFaNEtJJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDcyNTI1MktYSzZDSU5VVTVKWCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTUwMzY1MVc3WDhQWjJXTEE0TCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Looks fairly good spec, but await others to tell me it's bag o shite.. :thumbsup:

father_and_son · Jul 7, 2020

I would say... As someone who uses Steam but doesn't push the boundaries of PC gaming (running Roblox and discord together is not a strain on resources)... Any £500 laptop will fix the lag and the overheat issues.

Given the rate of improvement in tech, anything older than 5yrs old will struggle with current demands (unless it was really expensive at the time). Don't be conned into believing you need water-cooled CPUs and solid state drives for, what is really, minimal running demands.

Fast internet, £500 laptop (personally prefer Asus) and a separate screen (24" min) and you'll have a decent set up until he starts really pushing the gaming limits (and whatever you buy now will be under-powered then anyway).

beorhthelm · Jul 7, 2020

Rowdey said:
Not a huge fan of Amazon, but something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/ADMI-FR-1-Apex-Legends-Gaming/dp/B06XY771T3/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=AW96R1LBVOZZ&dchild=1&keywords=admi+gaming+pc&qid=1594142869&sprefix=admi%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyTFpYM1ExOUFaNEtJJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDcyNTI1MktYSzZDSU5VVTVKWCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTUwMzY1MVc3WDhQWjJXTEE0TCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Looks fairly good spec, but await others to tell me it's bag o shite..

the 13yo in me say the fans look the shizzle, no matter if they are effective. for that price you'll not be getting state of the art, decent performance if you turn down some the settings. GPU is bit more important than CPU. its a very competitive market so wont matter much where you get it, specs will be roughly the same, choice of CPU/GPU combo, different case, memory. if you cant find a local/NSC source, look at Overclockers, Scan and Novatech for their budget gaming options.

Hiney · Jul 7, 2020

Speak to the good guys at Novatech. They have some brilliant 'bundles' that you can use as the basis.

Argartu · Jul 7, 2020

Roblox is a really easy game to run in terms of system requirements, a gaming PC is kind of overkill in all honesty. Looking forward what else is your kid interested in playing? If you use Fortnite as your minimum requirement then the rig you linked will hold up nicely and won't fall behind required specs for new games for a few years at least.

Prebuilt rigs will always be more expensive than getting the components and putting it together yourself, but that price is pretty respectable for what you're getting. I would be wary of the included "Wifi adapter", it's just a usb dongle and from my experience they can be pretty bad. If he's going to be on WiFi rather than using a LAN connection I'd consider getting a specific wireless card to stop the possibility of "Daaaad, the internet keeps dropping out."

Originunknown · Jul 7, 2020

Scan also do pre-built pcs if you have never built one before.

You will be able to get a decent AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (latest 3600 might be a bit too £) with 16gb RAM, reasonable SATA SSD and a low-mid tier GPU such as an Nvidia 1650 super for that price and run any game with high settings at 1080p.

Madafwo · Jul 7, 2020

Novatech, CCL and Scan are 3 companies I can personally recommend, Scan especially as I used to work for them.

I take it you don't want to do a self build?

Saunders · Jul 7, 2020

Rowdey said:
I've done multiple searches for the above, but need a bit more, and hoping NSC can help..!

My 13 year old has been using a decent 2013 Macbook pro for Roblox and discord as well as school stuff, and i've been concerned that the MBP runs hot, fan whiring away too much. Pretty sure one time activity monitor showed the CPU running 120% one time too.

And he moans about it being 'laggy' etc loads too

Anyway, he needs a gaming PC.. I recall someone on here 'builds them' but his/my budget is only £600-ish really..

As i understand it, decent CPU, decent GPU, and fans are the important bits.

Not a huge fan of Amazon, but something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/ADMI-FR-1-Apex-Legends-Gaming/dp/B06XY771T3/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=AW96R1LBVOZZ&dchild=1&keywords=admi+gaming+pc&qid=1594142869&sprefix=admi%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyTFpYM1ExOUFaNEtJJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDcyNTI1MktYSzZDSU5VVTVKWCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTUwMzY1MVc3WDhQWjJXTEE0TCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Looks fairly good spec, but await others to tell me it's bag o shite..

There are a lot of resources out there.

If you are prepared to build your own you can get some good builds cheap. For example there are some entry level builds on PC part picker here https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/guide/.

Doing it this way makes sure parts are compatible.

Reddit has a good pc builder sub https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/

Lots of advice and links to places like pcpartpicker. I havent checked but I have heard parts are more expensive than usual at the moment so if you can might be bettter to hold out for a bit.

Power supply is the most important part. A decent one will run cheaper, keep your other parts protected and well supplied for the spec. It will also make the build easier and adding more components possible and easier. Other than that for me in order motherboard, GPU (graphics card), CPU and cooling. You can spend a lot of money on shitty expensive cases so shop around there.

I havent build one for a few years now, it is getting to that time for me too.

Saunders · Jul 7, 2020

Madafwo said:
Novatech, CCL and Scan are 3 companies I can personally recommend, Scan especially as I used to work for them.

I take it you don't want to do a self build?

I can also recommend as a customer overclockers who do prebuilt and partially prebuilt ones but they can get pricey but if there is a sale on some good bargains. I have also used Novatech.

Saunders · Jul 7, 2020

Rowdey said:
Looks fairly good spec, but await others to tell me it's bag o shite..

Not a bag o shite but it is overpriced and if he needs keyboard+mouse and screen then it is also over your budget.

Rowdey · Jul 7, 2020

father_and_son said:
I would say... As someone who uses Steam but doesn't push the boundaries of PC gaming (running Roblox and discord together is not a strain on resources)... Any £500 laptop will fix the lag and the overheat issues.

Given the rate of improvement in tech, anything older than 5yrs old will struggle with current demands (unless it was really expensive at the time). Don't be conned into believing you need water-cooled CPUs and solid state drives for, what is really, minimal running demands.

Fast internet, £500 laptop (personally prefer Asus) and a separate screen (24" min) and you'll have a decent set up until he starts really pushing the gaming limits (and whatever you buy now will be under-powered then anyway).

We're a Mac based house, and Roblox seems to have form for making macs run hot.. He runs some servers on it too if that makes any difference..

Interesting about the laptop angle, no one i'd considered before.

Rowdey · Jul 7, 2020

Madafwo said:
Novatech, CCL and Scan are 3 companies I can personally recommend, Scan especially as I used to work for them.

I take it you don't want to do a self build?

Umm not done one before, but if i can take apart and rebuild a boiler, motorbike/car engines then it's doable i guess... Apple has put me off this kind of thing due to it's multitude of different leads for same purpose, requiring ANOTHER lead purchase.. :lol:

beorhthelm · Jul 7, 2020

its far easier (fewer parts) to work on a computer internals. small screwdriver, bit of care on handling components.

Mental Lental · Jul 8, 2020

Saunders said:
There are a lot of resources out there.

If you are prepared to build your own you can get some good builds cheap. For example there are some entry level builds on PC part picker here https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/guide/.

Doing it this way makes sure parts are compatible.

Reddit has a good pc builder sub https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/

Lots of advice and links to places like pcpartpicker. I havent checked but I have heard parts are more expensive than usual at the moment so if you can might be bettter to hold out for a bit.

Power supply is the most important part. A decent one will run cheaper, keep your other parts protected and well supplied for the spec. It will also make the build easier and adding more components possible and easier. Other than that for me in order motherboard, GPU (graphics card), CPU and cooling. You can spend a lot of money on shitty expensive cases so shop around there.

I havent build one for a few years now, it is getting to that time for me too.

This is the best advice so far. I built my own last summer and had a blast doing it. PC partpicker is a great tool for checking out all the bits you'll need.

Yoda · Jul 8, 2020

I'm still using an old budget gaming PC I brought over 5 years ago with a fairly cheap Gigabyte motherboard and AMD A8 series quad core CPU. What I have done though to improve my gaming performance though is made sure I have enough RAM (16GB) and a cheaper mid-range GPU (Radeon RX590). On most games I play I get around 80-100fps on max display settings. So you could go the same route I did if you're on a budget.

Madafwo · Jul 8, 2020

Rowdey said:
Umm not done one before, but if i can take apart and rebuild a boiler, motorbike/car engines then it's doable i guess... Apple has put me off this kind of thing due to it's multitude of different leads for same purpose, requiring ANOTHER lead purchase..

Ever built a lego kit? Easier than that. Trickiest part is installing the CPU but as long as you're gentle and don't force it you'll be fine.

To go full Swiss Tony, building a PC is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman.

HastingsSeagull · Jul 8, 2020

Following this thread with great interest as about £600 (ish) was my planned budget too and similar requirements. Not the latest FPS games on high settings or anything but very good for minecraft server, Civ5, FM, things like that and able to run the fanciest modern stuff on lower to middling settings hopefully. Oh and the Mrs wants to do her own basic streaming / youtube vids (so camera and mic will be future purchases for her BDay and Xmas but not included in budget).

Will probably bump this in a week or two if not still active so do let us all know if you buy something and how get on :thumbsup:

Barnet Seagull · Jul 8, 2020

I would recommend the CPU have strong single thread performance. Worth doing a comparison before you purchase

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

scamander · Jul 8, 2020

I've ordered my own pc via the options above and a few years later had the chaps at Diamond Computers upgrade it. Unsure if they are open but they are a cracking lot and a local shop as well!

Mental Lental · Jul 8, 2020

Barnet Seagull said:
I would recommend the CPU have strong single thread performance. Worth doing a comparison before you purchase

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

It's only really important for hard-core gaming at the absolute top end of performance. For literally anything else you want cores, cores, and more cores. The full CPU benchmark is better for comparing. Also if gaming is your main concern you want to funnel as much of your budget as possible into the GPU.

IMO.

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