Beginner gaming PC/Laptop ideas please!

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PeeTeeGee

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Hi wise people

My 14 year old has been saving up and we’re going to contribute towards a PC for him for Christmas. Looking for any suggestions on out the box/build ideas for a PC or reasonable gaming laptop.

He primarily plays ( a lot of) Minecraft, and is starting to look at some of the shoot em ups as he gets older. So graphics a reasonable graphics setup is needed but nothing over the top!

Happy to look at reputable second hand, and any suggestions on where to start would be welcome! And can upgrade over time too

Budget around 8-10k or there about but happy to stretch if it’s worth it.

Thanks!
 
PeeTeeGee said:
Hi wise people

My 14 year old has been saving up and we’re going to contribute towards a PC for him for Christmas. Looking for any suggestions on out the box/build ideas for a PC or reasonable gaming laptop.

He primarily plays ( a lot of) Minecraft, and is starting to look at some of the shoot em ups as he gets older. So graphics a reasonable graphics setup is needed but nothing over the top!

Happy to look at reputable second hand, and any suggestions on where to start would be welcome! And can upgrade over time too

Budget around 8-10k or there about but happy to stretch if it’s worth it.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Theoretically, this might / would work :

www.incredible.co.za

PCBuilder AMD Ryzen 5 5600G DEFENDER Windows 11 Gaming PC

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 6-Core 3.9GHz AM4 GPU: Built-in Radeon graphics Motherboard: A520 Chipset AM4 Micro-ATX Memory: 16GB DDR4 3600MHz gaming memory Storage: 500GB Gen3 M.2 NVME SSD Chassis: Antec NX290 ATX gaming case Operating System: Microsoft windows 11
www.incredible.co.za www.incredible.co.za

.... but I'm sure the gaming experts would "shoot it down" ! ... as it's from Incredible & doesn't have a separate graphics card.

I'd personally look to do a build around a 5700g (8 core, 16 threads far as I remember) but for my purposes it would be for Vm's, not gaming.

They also have this, but for R14k :

www.incredible.co.za

PCBuilder AMD Ryzen 5 5500 SCOUT Windows 11 Gaming PC

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500 6-Core 3.6GHz AM4 GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 1650 ventus Motherboard: A520 Chipset AM4 Micro-ATX Memory: 16GB DDR4 3600MHz gaming Storage: 1TB Gen 4 M.2 NVME SSD Chassis PCBuilder Fortress ATX gaming Operating System – Microsoft windows 11
www.incredible.co.za www.incredible.co.za

Also have a look at Wootware who have excellent service / delivery levels, and generally good prices including specials.
 
I had a carb reseller build my kid a budget gaming rig in 2018 when he was 12. It worked out much cheaper than buying from a store like Incredible Connection. It was IIRC i3 series 8 quad-core, 8Mb ramm, 256 ssd & 500gb HDD, 1060 3Gb GPU, budget gaming case, LG 22" IPS monitor and all peripherals for R10k.

My kid basically only plays Valorant and I see now Fortnite again. But his PC is starting to give problems now after 5 years daily use.

Shop around. The HHD & GPU were 2nd hand but I did get warranties with both from the seller/builder.
 
PeeTeeGee said:
Hi wise people

My 14 year old has been saving up and we’re going to contribute towards a PC for him for Christmas. Looking for any suggestions on out the box/build ideas for a PC or reasonable gaming laptop.

He primarily plays ( a lot of) Minecraft, and is starting to look at some of the shoot em ups as he gets older. So graphics a reasonable graphics setup is needed but nothing over the top!

Happy to look at reputable second hand, and any suggestions on where to start would be welcome! And can upgrade over time too

Budget around 8-10k or there about but happy to stretch if it’s worth it.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Do. Not. Buy. A. Gaming. Laptop. It's a dead end. You can't buy a decent one for that budget, and you can't upgrade it later. Two years in you have to replace the whole thing.

The problem is that for desktop entry level graphics is R5K alone at the moment, so it might be worth it to buy a PC with terrible on-board graphics, (which should still be able to run minecraft), and then upgrade in a year or two. Hopefully the graphics card situation normalizes again with the next generation.
 
I'd also look at a used PC, Or build new, with a used graphics card.

My son is using my old PC for the last 4 years. It is a 10 year old i7, and I bought a used RX570 graphics card for it 4 years ago (for R2k). It plays Minecraft, Valorant and Fortnite perfectly.

If you buy quality components, the basic PC can last for many many years. And also be used for school work.
 
PeeTeeGee said:
Hi wise people

My 14 year old has been saving up and we’re going to contribute towards a PC for him for Christmas. Looking for any suggestions on out the box/build ideas for a PC or reasonable gaming laptop.

He primarily plays ( a lot of) Minecraft, and is starting to look at some of the shoot em ups as he gets older. So graphics a reasonable graphics setup is needed but nothing over the top!

Happy to look at reputable second hand, and any suggestions on where to start would be welcome! And can upgrade over time too

Budget around 8-10k or there about but happy to stretch if it’s worth it.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Look for second hand Xbox Series X, you'll sadly not get a lot for that price anymore :-( I mean an Asus Rog Ally is 13 to 15k.
 
PeeTeeGee said:
Budget around 8-10k or there about but happy to stretch if it’s worth it.
Click to expand...

How much can you stretch the budget by?

I quickly threw this together over on wootware jut to get an idea,

Capture.PNG

This will play Minecraft fine with the integrated gpu but ideally you want a dedicated GPU so he can play other games. Was thinking of changing the CPU and getting a used GPU off carbonite.

Do you by any chance have a screen, mouse and keyboard lying around?
 
ponder said:
How much can you stretch the budget by?

I quickly threw this together over on wootware jut to get an idea,

View attachment 1632153

This will play Minecraft fine with the integrated gpu but ideally you want a dedicated GPU so he can play other games. Was thinking of changing the CPU and getting a used GPU off carbonite.

Do you by any chance have a screen, mouse and keyboard lying around?
Click to expand...
Thanks @ponder - can I add a GPU at a later date to this setup, when he gets involved in more graphic intensive games? Happy starting with the basics and chipping in a bit more over time.

Are you recommending a lower or higher spec CPU with a reasonable 2nd had GPU? I’ll check out carbonite.

Have a KB & Mouse, and potentially grandparents helping out on the monitor front…

Again huge thanks, appreciate it!
 
PeeTeeGee said:
Thanks @ponder - can I add a GPU at a later date to this setup, when he gets involved in more graphic intensive games?
Click to expand...

Yes, you most definitely can.


PeeTeeGee said:
Are you recommending a lower or higher spec CPU with a reasonable 2nd had GPU? I’ll check out carbonite.
Click to expand...

Higher, Ryzen 5 5600. But that will require a dedicated GPU.


When looking at carbonite look at the sellers rating/rep.


I'll have a look tomorrow to see how much an Intel budget build will come to but there you will need a dedicated GPU.
 
Secondhand from carbonite, buy from well known members with over 10 ratings.
Ryzen 5 3600 + stock cooler +-R1500
Am4 motherboard +-R1500(yes they expensive these days even secondhand)
Amd RX 6600Xt, about the same as a 3060ti uses less power +- R3700
16gb(2x8) 3200mh ram +-R600
Just buy cheapish small 256gb or 512gb ssd for around R400, you can add more storage later, even a 128gb ssd with normal cheap 1tb hdd
Thats R7700
Now you need a case and psu. You can buy that also from Carb secondhand for about R1k-1.5K depending how fancy you want or even new. You get pretty nice cases for less than 1K new.
This will play proper games properly for a few years to come. You would probably need an 120hx monitor too as this system will play most games easy at that or higher in 1080p

The Ryzen APU's( the ones with the G at the end as a few have mentioned here) play your normal shooter games relatively nicely at 60fps 1080p with not the highest settings without the need for a GPU. Minecraft is more on CPU so no problem.

But what he want to play you can go much cheaper. My son is looking to upgrade the next month or so and his pc he probably going to sell for around R3.5k and it plays Fortnite easy at 120fps. Old Ryzen 3 with RX 480 4gb GPU

If you need a screen and mouse and keyboard with your budget, you going to struggle and would have to buy a cheaper system secondhand.
 
something like this might interest you BUT the user is new so best to look for something similar from a more establised user:

[For Sale] - Full System - AMD Ryzen 5 3600, Galax RTX3070 8GB, Samsung 1TB M.2 SSD, 32GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM, Gigabyte B450-PRO Mobo, Seasonic 620W PSU (R9500) | Combo (multi-item) sales & full systems

Item: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU Galax RTX3070 8GB GPU 32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz RAM (4x8GB) Samsung 970 EVO 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD Asus TUF B450-PRO GAMING Motherboard Seasonic SS-620GM 620W Semi-Modular PSU Cooler Master HAF Chassis Age: Variable (different components purchased at...
carbonite.co.za carbonite.co.za
 
Computer prices are insane right now, if it is for games go for Console. Be aware that one of the Xbox consoles will be discontinued next year.

1702461029867.png
 
Barbarian Conan said:
Do. Not. Buy. A. Gaming. Laptop. It's a dead end. You can't buy a decent one for that budget, and you can't upgrade it later. Two years in you have to replace the whole thing.

The problem is that for desktop entry level graphics is R5K alone at the moment, so it might be worth it to buy a PC with terrible on-board graphics, (which should still be able to run minecraft), and then upgrade in a year or two. Hopefully the graphics card situation normalizes again with the next generation.
Click to expand...
I was going to post that. I had a gaming laptop because of lack of space, but it's really not worth it in an long run. Cannot upgrade it so it will just cost more to replace in the long run.
 
Thansks all this has been really helpful. Kudos to @pondo for pointing me down the Woodward rabbit hole !
 
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