HELP A MUM!!! Buying son a gaming pc for streaming etc and I don't know what I'm doing!

[Emergetic]

Hi Guys,
So my son turns 10 in 2 weeks, hes a keen gamer and wants to get into streaming so I've decided to buy him a gaming PC (he smashes stuff so a fixed unit is likely to survive better than a laptop!)

I personally have a Dell Ryzen which I use for my business, I am very good at building websites, minimal coding, editing videos and good old excel. But I know nothing about specs - I just know my Ryzen is quick and runs like a dream. Mines from Currys so was easy, just came as it was and I just chose a big screen.

Buying one from here is like looking at something in a different language for me!
Could you please take a look at the specs below and let me know if I've missed anything? He's only 10 so doesn't need to be the best, but things like the cables etc...do I need them?! Don't they come with?! I'm so confused!

Is a curved screen good for gaming? Or is a flat better?

Also What do I need for streaming? I've seen those little desktop things by corsair (not here) which look great, the options with this look confusing...don't have a clue whats needed! Does he need a webcam? Is the mic from the headset ok to use or does he need a desktop mic?? We have a gopro, don't know if we can use that instead in someway??

Any advice welcomed. Thank you - Emma.

Case
PCS 6003B BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 3 2200G Quad Core CPU with Vega Graphics (3.5GHz-3.7GHz/6MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME A320M-K: Micro-ATX, AM4, USB 3.0, 6GB/s
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 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 802.11 AC1200 867Mbps/5GHz, 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
Genuine 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® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
Norton 360 Deluxe: 1 User, 5 Devices - 1 Year Subscription
Browser
Google Chrome™
Monitor
Samsung LC24F390FHUXEN Curved 24"
Keyboard & Mouse
ASUS Cerberus Gaming Bundle - Keyboard, Mouse, Headset & Mouse Mat
Speakers
LOGITECH Z200 2.0 SPEAKERS - 10W
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £781.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-home-office/022NKTJcxq/

 

[Oussebon]

1) What is the budget for the full setup - PC, monitor, all accessories, etc? a budget range is fine (e.g. "preferably £X, but upto £Y" and people can suggest options within the range)

2) What games does he play?

3) And by streaming, I assume this is playing a game on his PC, and broadcasting that? Or, does he play games on console only e.g. PS4 and want to broadcast those, not PC games?

Is a curved screen good for gaming? Or is a flat better?

That doesn't really matter. There are other things that matter more in a screen, though I'd hold back comments until knowing the above.

What do I need for streaming? I've seen those little desktop things by corsair (not here) which look great, the options with this look confusing

You mean the "stream deck" sort of things. You don't need one. They're basically shortcuts. Given you have a limited budget, and your son is only just starting out as a streamer, prioritise spending in other areas first. If he gets into streaming, you can always buy him one as a future present. It's not necessary to stream.

Does he need a webcam? --- We have a gopro, don't know if we can use that instead in someway??

Apparently you can use a gopro as a webcam if you have a capture device:

How to use GoPro as Webcam on Windows computer

Did you know that GoPro can double up as a HD webcam? In this article we explain how you can use your GoPro as a webcam with Windows PC.

www.thewindowsclub.com

This guide mentions the OBS software, which is pretty much the go-to software for streaming.

If you don't have a capture device and depending on the answers to the above questions, a webcam may be more convenient.

Is the mic from the headset ok to use or does he need a desktop mic??

Similar to the question about the streaming deck, start with the headphone mic and see how it goes.

 

[Emergetic]

1) Budget - less than £1000. £800 mark preferred.

2) He plays fortnight, cod, forza, minecraft.

3) He has an Xbox One S too and will likely want to stream from

Thank you! Good to know the additional stuff isn't needed for streaming. Might opt for a webcam over the gopro or I'll never get to use it myself lol!

 

[Oussebon]

So just to be clear - he wants to stream games he is playing on PC, and games he is playing on console? (obviously not simultaneously, lawl..)

 

[Oussebon]

I'm going to assume we're talking about both. Which is very tricky.

Streaming gameplay from a console requires a capture card (to feed the video to the PC). Elgato HD60 seems pretty standard, and that's £160.

You also want a decent CPU if streaming PC games because streaming is quite demanding. This is because you're telling the PC to run a game and encode video at the same time.

You'll want a suitable motherboard for upgrade options and the expansion cards you want (GPU, capture card, wifi, anything else). So you need better than A320.

You'll also want fast RAM in dual channel as Ryzen CPUs, which are great bang for buck for streaming, are sensitive to this - as can some games be regardless of Intel/AMD. And it's more cost effective to just buy 2 x 8gb 2933MHz RAM than buying 1 x 8gb of slow RAM now and have to replace it later.

You'll want a half decent GPU for playing the games on. Anything less powerful than the RX 570 is either not cheaper enough to be worth buying, and/or is too weak to cope with many modern games.

You'll want a 450W, ideally 550W, PSU to ensure room for future upgrades.

Likewise, a decent budget case. e.g. Fractal Focus G.

And on top of that you need a monitor, and a full set of peripherals.

You don't need to buy an antivirus, as Windows Defender is very good, and there are free alternatives if you want a 3rd party one for whatever reason.

I probably wouldn't buy the 2 year warranty. Most individual parts that could fail costs less than the £69, and some of the parts may have warranties longer than 1 year of their own anyway.

This is what I came up with:

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS G BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.25GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
Gigabyte B450 AORUS ELITE: DDR4, USB 3.1 - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2933MHz ~ (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB AMD RADEON™ RX 570 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 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 802.11 AC1200 867Mbps/5GHz, 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
Genuine 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® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Monitor
AOC G2460VQ6 24" LED Gaming Monitor
Keyboard & Mouse
ASUS Cerberus Gaming Bundle - Keyboard, Mouse, Headset & Mouse Mat
Game Streaming
Elgato Game Capture HD60 PRO - PCIe Card
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,147.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-pc/tS7gVKS5f4/

Obviously you can buy something cheaper. But doing so I think will be more expensive in the long run as you'll want to upgrade sooner, and you'll probably have to replace parts simply in order to upgrade the parts you do want to upgrade.

The kicker is the £160 Elgato capture card. If you're not sure your son wants to stream from the Xbox, you could buy the PC without that and get him a card for Christmas or whatever.

You could save ~£30 on the monitor swapping to the 23.6" AOC E2470SWH or the SAMSUNG LS24D330HSX/EN 24" LED. The AOC G2460VQ6 has freesync, with a very wide range, which could give a lot smoother a gaming experience. However, your son may plausibly want to upgrade to a 1080p 144hz monitor (~£200) down the line especially for things like fortnite. At this point, the monitor purchased now would be relegated to a secondary monitor, which is useful for streamers (you play the game on 1 monitor and have the streaming software etc on the other). Then it doesn't matter if the 2nd monitor is decent or not. But it only saves ~£30 and could give a less satisfactory experience in the meantime.

You could buy the PC with 1x8gb 2133MHz RAM. That will nerf general CPU and gaming performance somewhat. It will save £70. You'll eventually want 2x8gb 2933MHz / 3200MHz RAM, which if you're lucky you might be able to get for ~£70. So it hurts performance and only defers the expense, and is a little more hassle as you need to do the upgrade, but it does rein the price in to £1077.

I don't work for PCS so have no interest in how much or little cash you give them, but I am worried that underspending on the system will lead to more hassle and expense down the line.

 

[Emergetic]

I'm going to assume we're talking about both. Which is very tricky.

Streaming gameplay from a console requires a capture card (to feed the video to the PC). Elgato HD60 seems pretty standard, and that's £160.

You also want a decent CPU if streaming PC games because streaming is quite demanding. This is because you're telling the PC to run a game and encode video at the same time.

You'll want a suitable motherboard for upgrade options and the expansion cards you want (GPU, capture card, wifi, anything else). So you need better than A320.

You'll also want fast RAM in dual channel as Ryzen CPUs, which are great bang for buck for streaming, are sensitive to this - as can some games be regardless of Intel/AMD. And it's more cost effective to just buy 2 x 8gb 2933MHz RAM than buying 1 x 8gb of slow RAM now and have to replace it later.

You'll want a half decent GPU for playing the games on. Anything less powerful than the RX 570 is either not cheaper enough to be worth buying, and/or is too weak to cope with many modern games.

You'll want a 450W, ideally 550W, PSU to ensure room for future upgrades.

Likewise, a decent budget case. e.g. Fractal Focus G.

And on top of that you need a monitor, and a full set of peripherals.

You don't need to buy an antivirus, as Windows Defender is very good, and there are free alternatives if you want a 3rd party one for whatever reason.

I probably wouldn't buy the 2 year warranty. Most individual parts that could fail costs less than the £69, and some of the parts may have warranties longer than 1 year of their own anyway.

This is what I came up with:

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS G BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.25GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
Gigabyte B450 AORUS ELITE: DDR4, USB 3.1 - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2933MHz ~ (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
4GB AMD RADEON™ RX 570 - HDMI, DP - DX® 12
1st Storage Drive
1TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 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 802.11 AC1200 867Mbps/5GHz, 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
Genuine 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® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Monitor
AOC G2460VQ6 24" LED Gaming Monitor
Keyboard & Mouse
ASUS Cerberus Gaming Bundle - Keyboard, Mouse, Headset & Mouse Mat
Game Streaming
Elgato Game Capture HD60 PRO - PCIe Card
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Price: £1,147.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-pc/tS7gVKS5f4/

Obviously you can buy something cheaper. But doing so I think will be more expensive in the long run as you'll want to upgrade sooner, and you'll probably have to replace parts simply in order to upgrade the parts you do want to upgrade.

The kicker is the £160 Elgato capture card. If you're not sure your son wants to stream from the Xbox, you could buy the PC without that and get him a card for Christmas or whatever.

You could save ~£30 on the monitor swapping to the 23.6" AOC E2470SWH or the SAMSUNG LS24D330HSX/EN 24" LED. The AOC G2460VQ6 has freesync, with a very wide range, which could give a lot smoother a gaming experience. However, your son may plausibly want to upgrade to a 1080p 144hz monitor (~£200) down the line especially for things like fortnite. At this point, the monitor purchased now would be relegated to a secondary monitor, which is useful for streamers (you play the game on 1 monitor and have the streaming software etc on the other). Then it doesn't matter if the 2nd monitor is decent or not. But it only saves ~£30 and could give a less satisfactory experience in the meantime.

You could buy the PC with 1x8gb 2133MHz RAM. That will nerf general CPU and gaming performance somewhat. It will save £70. You'll eventually want 2x8gb 2933MHz / 3200MHz RAM, which if you're lucky you might be able to get for ~£70. So it hurts performance and only defers the expense, and is a little more hassle as you need to do the upgrade, but it does rein the price in to £1077.

I don't work for PCS so have no interest in how much or little cash you give them, but I am worried that underspending on the system will lead to more hassle and expense down the line.

This is incredible. Thank you so very much! I will have a look and really try to understand it all and make a decision now I have the chance to understand things!
Seriously cannot thank you enough for your time and advice!

 

[Oussebon]

Not a problem at all Come back with any questions, and keep us posted.

 

[ubuysa]

Just so's you know, very few of the people on here work for PCS, you'll recognise a PCS employee by their PCS avatar. We are mostly a group of PCS customers and enthusiasts so you'll get unbiased and honest advice on here. Oussebon, who has already been helping you, is very knowledgeable and experienced, as are many others of course. Don't be afraid to ask.

 

[Emergetic]

Just so's you know, very few of the people on here work for PCS, you'll recognise a PCS employee by their PCS avatar. We are mostly a group of PCS customers and enthusiasts so you'll get unbiased and honest advice on here. Oussebon, who has already been helping you, is very knowledgeable and experienced, as are many others of course. Don't be afraid to ask.

Thank you! I've never been on a forum before, blown away with the level of help given!

 

[Emergetic]

I do have another question - Currys offer instant replacement cover on the screen. This IS needed. He's already smashed 2 TV's, 16 xbox controllers, 7 tablets and 2 mobile phones. He has ADHD and other mental health conditions so is very impulsive. Cover is essential. Does anyone know if PCS offer instant replacement? (Its £26.99 for 3 years and no excesses with Currys and is probably gonna be the selling point - almost more important than spec etc)

Also - the xbox has never been damaged as its tucked away, I am sticking with the hope that the PC will be the same as I will be giving him my desk with dedicated tower storage to protect from his rage ways!

Thanks again

 

[ubuysa]

You'd need to call PCS to check but I'm fairly sure that's a no. PCS do offer a very good warranty on the PC and accessories you buy from them, see section 7 in the Ts & Cs here, but I very much doubt that would cover accidental damage by your son.

 

[Emergetic]

Thank you for your reply. I assumed as much. Will give them a call just incase.

So much to consider and I'm dreadful at making decisions st the best of times lol!!!!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thank you for your reply. I assumed as much. Will give them a call just incase.

So much to consider and I'm dreadful at making decisions st the best of times lol!!!!

Whilst I’m sure curry’s would be a good deal, do make sure you check the terms and conditions for exclusions.

Normally with home electronics you’d cover them with someone like protectyourbubble.com.

 

[Oussebon]

PCS used to also offer the option for insurance, though a) I'm not sure if they still do and b) it says it covers "accidental damage, liquid damage and optionally theft." Not sure how it would apply here; I suspect it might not.

Depending which parts of the case are exposed, you could consider a sturdier case.

The Focus G is a great budget case, and no case is necessarily going to withstanding being attacked.

The Fractal Define R6 is heavier, has no glass or any other kind of windows, and is mostly made of fairly robust steel. It's ~11kg compared to the Focus G's 4.5kg. It's bigger, heavier, harder to manhandle, and the steel panels are probably harder to damage. Though you can damage anything PC-related very fast with a little effort...
The front panel is plastic though, and while it's fairly solid it's probably easier to damage than the steel. The focus G's front seems to be a metal mesh.

Fractal's cases have spare parts fairly readily accessible:

Cases

NODE Series, ARC Series, CORE Series, DEFINE Series, ERA Series, FOCUS Series, MESHIFY Series

www.fractal-design-shop.de

Including replacement front panels.

If it's only the front that's vulnerable, the Focus G might be preferable as the front is metal, and cheaper to replace...