Help with purchasing

[Confused mama]

Hi everyone

I am looking to buy my child a gaming pc fir Christmas. I have done my best to research but tbh im finding it very confusing and am worried about getting something that is not fit for purpose.

My child loves fortnite and minecraft mainly but will definitely expand gaming once they have a pc.

They will also want to stream and possibly be able to connect VR.

can anyone advise me on the best pc to buy or what specs are best?

My budget can go up to about £1200

Thank you

 

[Probably_Human]

VR by it self is very expensive you are talking about another $300 +investment for the VR headset and a card to support it will cost $500

Both Fortnite and Minecraft on the otherhand have pretty low requirements.

The Problem here is you didn't say you want a Laptop or a Desktop.
Desktop again has additional fees for Keyboard + Mouse + Webcam + Mic + Headset + Monitor.

 

[Confused mama]

So sorry desktop. Just the unit I'm looking around for atm.

 

[Probably_Human]

Something like this is a good option

CyberPowerPC | Shop Custom & Prebuilt Gaming PC Desktops

Shop CyberPowerPC for the best gaming PCs, customized to perfection. Build your dream gaming desktop with the best gaming components for unmatched performance.

www.cyberpowerpc.com

Should come to around £900
That should give enough to also buy a VR set ontop of it.

 

[Oussebon]

can anyone advise me on the best pc to buy or what specs are best?

I strongly suggest not buying yet, but leaving it until October/November. New CPUs and GPUs are coming out, so the level of performance you can get for the money is going to look quite difference by then.

Should come to around £900

I'm not sure if you're from the US but in case you are and aren't super familiar with tech pricing in the UK, prices for consumers here always include VAT, and tech is more expensive here too. As a very rough rule of thumb, $1 = £1 as far as tech pricing goes. Even though the actual exchange rates are something like £1 = $1.3.

A very loosely similar build (they don't have that one in the UK) costs ~£1200.

And no, it's not a good option for £1200 for the uses list above.

You can find some better deals than Cyberpower's nect day system page though, at least.

@Confused mama £1200 is a solid budget. I'd suggest waiting for November. AMD are showing their new CPUs on 8th October, and new graphics cards at the end of October. Nvidia are also likely to release another graphics card or two around then or in November in response to AMD's launch. Once the frenzy has settled a bit you should be able to get better hardware for the price.

 

[Zoid]

@Confused mama first of all I think it's great that you are keen on getting the best PC you can for your child! I'm sure they are about to have a Christmas to remember!

I think it's a good idea to start researching now, but I agree with @Oussebon that you should wait to actually make your final decision and purchase until late November / early December. Even if you don't buy a desktop that includes any of the new hardware being released this fall, it will still shake up pricing of existing stock. Am I correct in assuming that this budget includes a monitor, keyboard, and mouse (not just the desktop tower itself)?

In the meantime, a word of caution to anyone new to the PC gaming world - there is a LOT of misleading information out there on PC gaming hardware. It sounds like you've already got your head in the right place by researching multiple sources, Keep it up! We are always happy to help here.

Another thing I'll just float out there: would your child enjoy building their own PC? I don't know how old they are, but if they're old enough to be interested in that sort of thing then it could be a very fun and rewarding experience for them, and potentially a good bonding experience with a parent or sibling who helps them. It can seem intimidating, but with patience and the support of great online communities like this one it's very doable!