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Started By
Message
14yo wants a gaming pc. Where do I start?
Posted on 12/30/25 at 8:37 am
Posted on 12/30/25 at 8:37 am
First, he doesn’t know enough about them to tell me and has no specific games in mind…..as far as I know.
Second, I’m computer illiterate for the most part……
What brands do I need to look at? $2000 and less
Second, I’m computer illiterate for the most part……
What brands do I need to look at? $2000 and less
10
Posted on 12/30/25 at 8:54 am to Old Character
First off, it's a pretty awful time to build a computer with RAM prices being through the roof.
Second off, we would need more info. What games does he play? Any idea what resolution/frames he wants? He might know this kind of info if he wants a gaming PC.
Do you already have the secondary items needed - mouse, keyboard, monitor, etc?
Second off, we would need more info. What games does he play? Any idea what resolution/frames he wants? He might know this kind of info if he wants a gaming PC.
Do you already have the secondary items needed - mouse, keyboard, monitor, etc?
Posted on 12/30/25 at 9:43 am to Old Character
I looked into building a pc last year and decided to get a GeForce Now subscription instead. Works well and I don't notice any input lag at all as long as I have a stable internet connection. They put a cap at 100 hours a month, so that's worth keeping in mind (extra time is pay per use).
Posted on 12/30/25 at 4:09 pm to bamabenny
He’s not even sure. He mentioned hertz and fpm……I’ll dig deeper. I have zero interest in building one. Really wondering what credible brands to look at in the prebuilt realm
Posted on 12/30/25 at 10:31 pm to Old Character
Just find a pre-built in your price range at Microcenter.
Posted on 12/31/25 at 1:24 am to Old Character
I’ve heard pretty good things about Starforge PCs. Their Horizon series is probably what you’re looking for.
LINK
LINK
Posted on 12/31/25 at 7:18 am to Old Character
quote:
He’s not even sure. He mentioned hertz and fpm……I’ll dig deeper.
He needs to list off a few games that he wants to play. You’re shooting completely into the dark otherwise. If he truly doesn’t know and won’t go find out, you’re about to set $2k on fire on something he is just going to use as an overpowered porn box
Posted on 12/31/25 at 11:35 am to Old Character
I'll second the prebuilt route, built one last Xmas and it was fun with multiple RMAs for a shite motherboard then eventually forgetting a NVME SSD on one of the motherboards that was shipped out.
Pros:
-Warranty
-Customer Support
Cons:
-Cost efficiency (you'll drive yourself mad trying to track MIR and price changes)
Pros:
-Warranty
-Customer Support
Cons:
-Cost efficiency (you'll drive yourself mad trying to track MIR and price changes)
This post was edited on 12/31/25 at 11:37 am
Posted on 12/31/25 at 7:42 pm to bad93ex
Steam machine
Posted on 1/1/26 at 3:15 pm to Redbonebandit
quote:
Steam machine
OP this honestly, its not out yet is the only thing. The community support to make up for the specs not being as powerful is only growing too. With the left over money you can buy games, maybe even the steam frame vr headset or the steam deck (hand held pc) if you wanted.
If you want to do a more powerful prebuilt, you really cant go wrong with any of the big brands like iBUYPOWER, CyberPower, Alienware (Dell), Starforge someone mentioned above is also very solid (better QC I have heard so a bit pricier). If you have a costco membership, I hear they have some great deals sometimes. Prebuilts are more hit/miss as they skimp out on certain things but just for gaming, they're a great option.
I'd look for something with a NVDIA 5070 GPU or AMDs RX 9070 GPU as a benchmark. Should be enough for many years to come...
Something like this is honestly perfect if you dont want to stare at numbers all day and just click buy LINK
A bit cheaper with a worse cpu but still fine LINK
This post was edited on 1/1/26 at 4:43 pm
Posted on 1/5/26 at 4:39 pm to Old Character
I bought a PC with the following specs earlier this year for $3,000 even after taxes ($2849 before):
Intel Core Ultra 9 285
Nvidia RTX 5080
Nvme WD Blue SN5000 4TB
Crucial Crucial 32GB DDR5 RAM, 4800MH (x2)
In contrast, the same model with an Ultra 7 instead of Ultra 9 is $3,199 - so basically a $250 increase for a slower processor - and this is a prebuilt machine, so likely shipped BEFORE the RAM prices went up.
Or, more to the point, the RAM in my PC now, if I were building it, would account for $700-800 of the total build
The RTX 5080 would be $1300 or so.
Everything is getting more expensive, so you're either going to have go a bit "bargain" to make it work or wait out prices and hope the AI bust happens sooner rather than later - but until then we have artificially inflated RAM prices due to scarcity just as we did in the past for video cards when everyone was buying them up to cryptomine.
It's not impossible to build one for $2000, but the if you are determined to do it then either do it immediately before prices get even worse or be willing to wait a good while.
Intel Core Ultra 9 285
Nvidia RTX 5080
Nvme WD Blue SN5000 4TB
Crucial Crucial 32GB DDR5 RAM, 4800MH (x2)
In contrast, the same model with an Ultra 7 instead of Ultra 9 is $3,199 - so basically a $250 increase for a slower processor - and this is a prebuilt machine, so likely shipped BEFORE the RAM prices went up.
Or, more to the point, the RAM in my PC now, if I were building it, would account for $700-800 of the total build
The RTX 5080 would be $1300 or so.
Everything is getting more expensive, so you're either going to have go a bit "bargain" to make it work or wait out prices and hope the AI bust happens sooner rather than later - but until then we have artificially inflated RAM prices due to scarcity just as we did in the past for video cards when everyone was buying them up to cryptomine.
It's not impossible to build one for $2000, but the if you are determined to do it then either do it immediately before prices get even worse or be willing to wait a good while.
Posted on 1/6/26 at 3:13 pm to Old Character
An intriguing option would be a handheld that can be connected to a TV or a monitor like the Asus ROG Ally X
You'd have plenty of cash left over for accessories. You could also opt for a SteamDeck, Legion Go 2, etc.
His choice in games is going to be 99% of the driver of what is good enough and what isn't. You can play Fortnite and similar games on anything. Whatever his friends play are what he'll want to play.
You'd have plenty of cash left over for accessories. You could also opt for a SteamDeck, Legion Go 2, etc.
His choice in games is going to be 99% of the driver of what is good enough and what isn't. You can play Fortnite and similar games on anything. Whatever his friends play are what he'll want to play.
Posted on 1/6/26 at 4:29 pm to Old Character
My vote is to go to Microcenter and see what they got, also it’s not a prebuilt but they have been having some killer combos lately (ram,mono,cpu) that you can’t find anywhere else.
Posted on 1/6/26 at 6:39 pm to LSUGent
Starforge are over priced. Go on Amazon and go to the skytech gaming store (search for gaming pc, find a sky tech one and select visit store). They have gaming PCs from 700-3k. Plenty of great options under 2k. I am on my 2nd skytech gaming pc and have had absolutely no issues with either one.
This post was edited on 1/6/26 at 6:39 pm
Posted on 1/6/26 at 7:00 pm to Old Character
I Buy Power
Sells desktop and laptops with full customization which means adding to the basic cost but if you are a serious gamer . . .
I prefer laptops to desktops because I like to take it with me when I travel or even move from room to room.
Sells desktop and laptops with full customization which means adding to the basic cost but if you are a serious gamer . . .
I prefer laptops to desktops because I like to take it with me when I travel or even move from room to room.
Posted on 1/10/26 at 7:08 pm to Old Money
quote:
OP this honestly, its not out yet is the only thing. The community support to make up for the specs not being as powerful is only growing too. With the left over money you can buy games, maybe even the steam frame vr headset or the steam deck (hand held pc) if you wanted.
What price do you think the steam machine should be at?
I'm pretty casual, but I do want to play starfield. My current machine is too old, and I've already halfway sold myself on the steam machine.
Posted on 1/10/26 at 9:45 pm to skrayper
I once built a 5k computer, it was fun and then gave it to my nephew. I play all my games on an 800 dollar laptop fine.
Posted on 1/10/26 at 10:08 pm to travelgamer
quote:
I play all my games on an 800 dollar laptop fine.
I would be curious what you play and your definition of "fine".
Posted on 1/11/26 at 5:32 am to Joshjrn
.
This post was edited on 1/11/26 at 5:35 am
Posted on 1/11/26 at 5:36 am to Joshjrn
quote:
I would be curious what you play and your definition of "fine".
Witcher 3 on ultra, Ashes of the Singularity on ultra.
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