Gaming PC for my son

[TMaverick]

Hi,

I'm buying a gaming PC for my son, with a budget of ~£700. Ideally, I wanted to pay £600 but it seems at that price I would be buying a gaming pc that would quickly become obsolete. I'm a developer so am PC literate however I don't do PC gaming.

I don't think he will play many AAA games. He is 11 and I think (?) most AAA games tend to have a PEGI rating that excludes him. He will also use the PC for his schoolwork which I imagine is not that taxing computewise.
I'm not too sure of his display, I suspect it is fairly bog standard.

What do you think of this specification?

Case
PCS 3312B BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.25GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME A320M-K: Micro-ATX, AM4, USB 3.0, 6GB/s
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
8GB AMD RADEON™ RX 580 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA 120 2.5" SSD, (up to 560MB/sR | 540MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CV SERIES™ CV-650 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Home Installation
NONE
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Price: £738.00 including VAT and Delivery

thanks, Tom

 

[TMaverick]

Hi,

Thanks for your response.

One question: How long are you expecting this PC to last? Whilst the above may be fine now, will it be fine in 5 years?

I would estimate at 2-3 years for games, 5+ years for homework/web browsing et al. After some time he can upgrade specific components.

Okay, 2 questions: What sort of games does he play? I ask as some games benefit from better CPUs....Fortnite is one, Minecraft with Mods is another.

He does play both Minecraft and Fortnite, currently on an XBox One.

The GPU is way over what is needed if his screen is a low level one.

His screen is a 32" 1080p TV. Precisely, this one: https://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/32PFT5603_05/5600-series-full-hd-ultra-slim-led-tv
Is the GPU way over spec for this? I guess I was including some level of "future growth".

Thanks for your other spec, but it is too rich for me

thanks, Tom

 

[smallkube]

Maybe take a look at the 'Reviews' pre-configured PC's. there tends to be an overall discount and, as you'd expect, a review to help decide if it's right for you. There's one at £719 that was reviewed in april.