Sunday, 17 November 2019
  19 Replies
  2.1K Visits
0
Votes
Undo
Hi All
I am a Mac user, and my wife needs to update the software soon, which will mean I can't use it to play COD. Also, I have a teenage son, who wants a gaming computer (I didn't even know you can get a gaming computer, I thought it was desktops or laptops, and that was that)! Having looked at gaming computers, they appear to have a vast price range. What specifications should I look out for as a minimum? (And I am a bit basic in my knowledge - so don't go all computer geek on me - I was playing Golden Axe on BBC Acorn until recently)! :-)
0
Votes
Undo
Minimum newest i5 Intel. 8 Ram, SSD 250 harddisk, GTX1070 for cod4.

That is what i would buy. If you are to play something more demanding, streaming/two screens, you might whan't to upgrade a little.
4 years ago
·
#9063
0
Votes
Undo
What's your budget, and other than a 12 year old game that most pc’s made in last 10 years would run. What other games or software do you want to use?
4 years ago
·
#9068
0
Votes
Undo
Just to give you some idea this is my setup:
AMD Ryzen 5 3400G CPU (this has a built in graphic card - RX Vega 11)
8GB DDR4 dual channel 2666mhz Ram
240gb ssd
2tb hard drive
BluRay rw drive(I convert DVD's both bluray and normal to avi and mp4 - have approx 585 on a 2tb external hard drive)

I play COD4, COD WAW, COD WW2, Need For Speed Hot Pursuit.

This setup suits my needs.
Also I can add in a graphic card and a better Ryzen cpu at any time as my board will support all the Ryzen cpu's

I would say if you see a PC or laptop that you feel you like, post the specs on here and get others opinions.

The link below is actually my PC - its a barebone so no hard drive or windows OS.

https://www.novatech.co.uk/barebonebundles/view/bb-34008.html

http://oghf.org.uk/flat/flatty.gif

0
Votes
Undo
Here are my specs.
Runs ok :)

Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i5 @ 3.60GHz 27 °C
Coffee Lake 14nm Technology
RAM
16,0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1069MHz (15-15-15-36)
Motherboard
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. PRIME Z370-P (LGA1151) 23 °C
Graphics
BenQ GW2765 (2560x1440@59Hz)
LG ULTRAWIDE (2560x1080@144Hz)
4095MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (ASUStek Computer Inc) 48 °C
Storage
232GB Samsung SSD 960 EVO 250GB (Unknown (SSD))
1863GB TOSHIBA DT01ACA200 (SATA ) 29 °C
232GB Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB (SATA (SSD)) 24 °C
Optical Drives
No optical disk drives detected
Audio
CORSAIR HS70 Wireless Gaming Headset
4 years ago
·
#9072
0
Votes
Undo
What's your budget, and other than a 12 year old game that most pc’s made in last 10 years would run. What other games or software do you want to use?




I don't play many games other than COD and Saurbraten. But my son plays quite a few new recent releases. He is only with me every other weekend and most school holidays (he lives with his mum other times of the year). He likes online gaming as it keeps him in touch with his mates back at his mum's. I know his desktop at his mum's cost around £850 (including monitor and keyboard). I was hoping to get something a lot cheaper than that, possibly 2nd hard
4 years ago
·
#9073
0
Votes
Undo
Thanks for all your responses. I understand RAM and Hard drive, but I think it is the graphics card and motherboard, that I am stuck on (e.g. what is a good graphics card - I've no idea when I am looking on line)
Toms hardware guide used to do some really good comparison charts for gpu's.

Taking in to account resolution game played etc.

Second hand anything can be tricky if you don't know what you are looking at.

Comparison charts should give you a guide at least for the cpu and gpu.
4 years ago
·
#9093
0
Votes
Undo
Hi mate

As we discussed last night, couple of links for independents around your neck of the wood

1st option allows you to pick the various components to fit your needs and budget. bear in mind the main criteria / Gfx card/CPU/RAM - those 3 for me are the main drivers. after that, motherboard, hard drive. for the HD you could get a relatively cheap SSD drive for the operating system and essential stuff. games etc you would install on HD, i would get a 2TB HD as they very soon fill up. i have 12TB and only have 4.something free.

Monitors - 27" is my one but anything 24" should be fine - its really juggling about within your budget and seeing what you can get. concentrate on essentials and you can always upgrade lesser items.
If i can help any more or you want to chat, let me know and ill PM my phone number.

The Computer Shop
https://www.instorepcbuilder.co.uk/PJSComputersevices

Black Bear
https://www.blackbearcomputers.co.uk/product-category/gaming/custombbgamingpc/

i'm sure others can likely assist with other companies that you can tweak to have custom built, but hopefully something for you to have a look at.
As above, just shout if i can help more. not an expert in any way but can find my way around most things :)
4 years ago
·
#9131
0
Votes
Undo
Thinks Myst for taking the time out and give me a good overview of what I am looking for. We have an old 24" monitor, that is HD, so should be good enough for now. I've got annual leave booked off next week, with no plans, so I will pop to the local independent places to see what they can do for me. At least now, when I pop into those shops I know what to ask for, and not get duped into getting something I don't want or need!
4 years ago
·
#9136
0
Votes
Undo
Happy to help mate.
Let me know if you have any probs.
On your mac, if you have a large enough drive, you could partition and clone your current install, strip of all the stuff your wife needs for your gaming computer (select through startup disk) and then update the other drive as the primary which will have all her stuff. You could also, increase the size of the original drive otherworld computing is a good source for mac upgrades if you don't have enough space on current internal drive.
4 years ago
·
#9215
0
Votes
Undo
Hi Folks,

Would something like this be good enough to start off with? And then upgrade bits at a later date? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00J5JOQF2/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_HYS2DbT1QQBB4
4 years ago
·
#9219
0
Votes
Undo
To be truthful the A10 cpu is only a mid range cpu and not a high range. Very poor.

875th in the cpu benchmark chart

https://www.cpubenchmark.net

http://oghf.org.uk/flat/flatty.gif

4 years ago
·
#9232
0
Votes
Undo
This would get you going and you can add a better graphic card in at a later date.

The cpu's GPU is good enough to run Cod4 Codwaw and even cod ww2
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ADMI-Gaming-PC-Graphics-2400MHz/dp/B01M7U3NX2/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=ryzen+5+3400g+Gaming+PC&qid=1574679573&s=computers&sr=1-3

http://oghf.org.uk/flat/flatty.gif

4 years ago
·
#9241
0
Votes
Undo
CPU's / RAM
I would strongly recommend against anything AMD that is not AMD Ryzen their single thread performance really sucks and would hurt gaming performance greatly.

As for intel anything 4th gen or better would be good. 4th -> 7th gen i would aim for i7 as they are 4cores/8threads for 8th gen+ i5 would be fine as they are 6core/6threads.

I used to have a i5 2500K (2nd gen 4c/4t) and that struggled with FarCry 5 (frame hitching and crazy fps drops), it was much better with the i7 2600K (2nd gen) but not perfect (hence suggesting 4th gen+)

For system RAM I would recommend a minimum of 8GB and preferably 16GB for more modern games, If your going AMD Ryzen ram speed matters and for that i would aim around 3200MHz. For intel speed matters much less.

GPU's
I have always been somewhat of a Nvidia fanboy on this front, their drivers tend to be better and maintained/supported for much longer. Although their current pricing really does suck and is obviously them exploiting their market dominance and the knowledge learnt about what some people will pay during the crypto mining boom.

On the GPU front the more you spend the more fps you will get, If going for nvidia aim for 10series or newer and use comparison sites to figure out your best bang for buck. I'm currently running a 1070 8GB and that comfortably runs all games in High at over 40/50fps. (I want a 2080ti but price is extortionate and I'm not willing to pay it)

for GPU RAM i would recommend minimum of 4GB but 6/8 GB will get you higher settings in more modern games.

Storage
For the system drive an SSD is a must to have to pc booting quickly and feeling snappy during use. 250GB minimum is recommended, you can get away with 120GB but its very easy to quickly fill this up, For SSD's I prefer the samsung's for performance/reliability and warranty.

As more modern games are becoming huge (50GB+) 250GB is not going to cut it for having many games installed, so i would also recommend a secondary Hard Drive 1TB or more and make sure it spins at 7200 RPM.


Hope all this information helps you find a good value pc with a fun gaming experience,
4 years ago
·
#9285
0
Votes
Undo
CPU's / RAM
I would strongly recommend against anything AMD that is not AMD Ryzen their single thread performance really sucks and would hurt gaming performance greatly.

As for intel anything 4th gen or better would be good. 4th -> 7th gen i would aim for i7 as they are 4cores/8threads for 8th gen+ i5 would be fine as they are 6core/6threads.

I used to have a i5 2500K (2nd gen 4c/4t) and that struggled with FarCry 5 (frame hitching and crazy fps drops), it was much better with the i7 2600K (2nd gen) but not perfect (hence suggesting 4th gen+)

For system RAM I would recommend a minimum of 8GB and preferably 16GB for more modern games, If your going AMD Ryzen ram speed matters and for that i would aim around 3200MHz. For intel speed matters much less.

GPU's
I have always been somewhat of a Nvidia fanboy on this front, their drivers tend to be better and maintained/supported for much longer. Although their current pricing really does suck and is obviously them exploiting their market dominance and the knowledge learnt about what some people will pay during the crypto mining boom.

On the GPU front the more you spend the more fps you will get, If going for nvidia aim for 10series or newer and use comparison sites to figure out your best bang for buck. I'm currently running a 1070 8GB and that comfortably runs all games in High at over 40/50fps. (I want a 2080ti but price is extortionate and I'm not willing to pay it)

for GPU RAM i would recommend minimum of 4GB but 6/8 GB will get you higher settings in more modern games.

Storage
For the system drive an SSD is a must to have to pc booting quickly and feeling snappy during use. 250GB minimum is recommended, you can get away with 120GB but its very easy to quickly fill this up, For SSD's I prefer the samsung's for performance/reliability and warranty.

As more modern games are becoming huge (50GB+) 250GB is not going to cut it for having many games installed, so i would also recommend a secondary Hard Drive 1TB or more and make sure it spins at 7200 RPM.


Hope all this information helps you find a good value pc with a fun gaming experience,


Thank you! I've never understood the GPU bit when I am looking at all the options. This answer has helped a lot, thank you
4 years ago
·
#9287
0
Votes
Undo
A good graphic card at a reasonable price is the Nvidia GTX 1660 it is 46th in the gpu ranks and costs around £195

So with this one you get plenty of bang for your bucks as the saying goes

(based on: ASUS GeForce GTX 1660 Phoenix OC 6GB GDDR5 VR Ready Graphics Card, 1408 Core, 1530MHz GPU, 1800MHz Boost)

generaljoey: I'm currently running a 1070 8GB and that comfortably runs all games in High at over 40/50fps.
- these still are around £350

http://oghf.org.uk/flat/flatty.gif

4 years ago
·
#9291
0
Votes
Undo
Yeh 1660 Super (make sure its a super as same price as 1660 but performance of 1660Ti) is a good bang for buck card, very close to the performance of a 1070 but a lot cheaper (strange how old gen cards hold their price)

EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER SC ULTRA GAMING 6GB GDDR6 VR Ready Graphics Card, 1408 Core, 1530MHz GPU, 1830MHz Boost £232
^^ has two fans meaning it will run cooler and boost longer (boost is closely linked to temperature so the cooler you can keep the card the higher and longer it can boost)

pcpartspicker.com - EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER SC ULTRA GAMING 6GB
  • Page :
  • 1
There are no replies made for this post yet.