Specs required for a “gaming” computer

Brokimay on 27/09/2020 - 17:29

First up, I don’t want to build it myself. It is 15 years since I’ve played with the inside of a computer and really didn’t know much then.

My 8 yr old is into gaming and I’m considering getting him a gaming computer for Christmas.

Like most 8 year olds he loves Minecraft but has a long list of games he wants, but can’t play on his basic laptop (bought for school during the lockdown). He isn’t allowed first person shooters against realistic characters.

What sort of specs do I need? I can’t afford much so would also be looking second hand.

It needs to last a few years so I don’t want the minimum for now iykwim.

Computing

Comments

  • pharkurnell on 27/09/2020 - 17:32

    Whats your budget?

    Look through some of the ozbargains, some good cheap gaming PC's in there.

    • Brokimay on 27/09/2020 - 17:40

      Problem is I don’t know what a reasonable budget is either. Hence looking from the specs view rather than $$ view

  • Kangal on 27/09/2020 - 18:17
    +11

    Options:

    1 - Emulation/Lite games only (Budget upto $300)
    Use a Windows 10 PC with only an integrated GPU (eg Intel HD/Iris or AMD Vega). So basically anything like an Intel NUC, old Laptop, cheap Office PC.

    2 - OzBargain Special (Budget $300 to $500)
    Buy a Low-Profile GPU (GTX 1050, GTX 1050Ti, GTX 1650), and throw it into a cheap Dell OptiPlex SFF system.

    3 - Used Gaming Laptop (Budget $900)
    No need to buy a separate monitor, keyboard, speakers, microphone, webcam.
    But everything is compromised compared to a standalone PC Box.

    4 - TechFast Deals (Budget $600-$1,900)
    Slow shipping, questionable quality parts, usually good value though. Here's one comment to list a couple of their great builds/deals so far. However, this is based on 2019-2020 parts and doesn't take into consideration the next-gen GPU parts/consoles being released in 2021 (Nvidia RTX-3000 and AMD RDNA-2).

    5 - Build Your Own
    Basically, the budget and components are upto you. I wouldn't go this route if I was in your shoes. Wait until AMD's and Nvidia's paper launch is over, which is basically waiting for Feb 2021.

    …also do note the most important part is the Graphics Card or GPU. Always focus on this first, for the budget and upgradeability and you shouldn't get stung too bad. Feel free to ask questions here. I made a list of a rough guide to the hierarchy of all recent GPUs, their performance, and which price brackets I expect them to fall into for 2021. If you can follow this, you won't get stung.

  • garetz on 27/09/2020 - 18:22

    Look at the required specs for each popular game today, that would probably be a safe bet to aim for higher than that.

  • JIMB0 on 27/09/2020 - 19:16
    -1

    486 DX2 66Mhz

  • the Unforgiven on 27/09/2020 - 19:54

    https://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/requirements/mine…

    Here are the Minecraft System Requirements (Minimum)

    CPU: Intel Core i3-3210 3.2 GHz / AMD A8-7600 APU 3.1 GHz or equivalent
CPU SPEED: Info
RAM: 2 GB
OS: Windows 7 and up
VIDEO CARD: Integrated: Intel HD Graphics 4000 (Ivy Bridge) or AMD Radeon R5 series (Kaveri line) with OpenGL 4.41Discrete: Nvidia GeForce 400 Series or AMD Radeon HD 7000 series with OpenGL 4.4
PIXEL SHADER: 5.0
VERTEX SHADER: 5.0
FREE DISK SPACE: At least 1 GB for Game Core and Other Files

    Minecraft Recommended Requirements

    CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz / AMD A10-7800 APU 3.5 GHz or equivalent
CPU SPEED: Info
RAM: 4 GB
OS: Windows 10
VIDEO CARD: GeForce 700 Series or AMD Radeon Rx 200 Series (excluding integrated chipsets) with OpenGL 4.5
PIXEL SHADER: 5.0
VERTEX SHADER: 5.0
FREE DISK SPACE: 4 GB
DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 256 MB
    • pharkurnell on 28/09/2020 - 12:22
      +1

      … but has a long list of games he wants, but can’t play on his basic laptop

      its the other games which will probably have higher spec which needs to list.

  • theknight27 on 27/09/2020 - 20:50
    +1

    Check this site out! https://www.logicalincrements.com/

    Depends which games you're wanting to play too (CS, Valorant, LoL vs the latest AAA titles at 4k on Max specs).

  • sal78 on 27/09/2020 - 22:33

    8yo is kind of young to be pc gaming? What about consoles/ tablets/ipad?

    My son got his 1st computer for his 15th birthday but he build it himself, stayed within budget and he can repair. He's generally way too busy with school work and extra curricular commitments and only games In his spare time. I told him if his grade drops then maybe pc not a good idea and he acknowledged n agreed.

    My younger son who's 11 hasn't asked for one because he knows he's too young. Another 2yrs. Unless he can convince his big bro to buy n build for him. But right now, we won't buy one for him as he's too young. He needs to understand the hardware and not just gaming.

  • So lo on 28/09/2020 - 07:48

    https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/usage/minecraft

    Add a cheap 2nd hand monitor/keyboard/mouse, aaand go.

  • Danstar on 28/09/2020 - 08:50

    On a budget, this:

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/564552

    Want something that will last a few years longer into the future
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/566013

  • TChalla on 28/09/2020 - 12:23
    +1

    Really should get him into FPS games (COD Warzone) and set up a twitch account for him, probably start earning 6 figures in the first 6 months from gaming / streaming addiction haha.

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