Is it possible for a 13 year old gamer to save up enough to buy the parts to build a gaming pc

[bobfish92]

Building your own PC is hard work if you don't know what your doing. From personal experience I made my own with the help of my Dad, which I bought all the parts for around 10 Grand(Including 1,000 on Anti-Virus's, and other acsessories).

So yes it is possible, though getting the money will be quite a pinch if you don't have a well paying income "Job".

Try blogging, I've made most of my money by doing that, (message for help if you need it).

Wow. You spent 10G on a gaming PC - and you /bought/ antivirus.

1st: Don't buy antivirus, use AVG, Malware bytes, Spybot S&D & comodo firewall and then CCleaner regularly for good measure, all for free.
2nd: Running a Nvidia Geforce 8800 GTS (£281.45 new) on a p5wd2 premium motherboard (£129.44 new) with 3GB ram (have 6 but cba to upgrade to 64bit) I can run Crysis on high with no lag (Can't try ultra because no 64 bit). The only problems I have are MoBo related because my MoBo is pretty damn old, never had problems with the card. But essentially; Get a Nvid Geforce 8800 GTS (or similar model) and a decent mobo and you'll be set for a good few years. My Nvid had lasted about 2 years, and since it can run Crysis, its showing no signs of stopping anytime soon no need to spend alot, just check out reviews from decent sites and research your options.

 

[Gudrests]

You can do it kid...and yeah..idk how much 1200 euro is.. but..$800 an make you a beautiful rig. just deal search and do ya research and your good

 

[Carl Russell]

Any one know any cheap uk based computing websites?

 

[superjaz90]

Should be easy enough, I managed it. You don't need to go super high spec as the current console generation is holding games back so you can run the most modern games on relatively old tech. I'm still running the new releases on my £500 rig from 4 years ago.

 

[Baneat]

Also the PSU you've got there is slightly less powerful, which probably accounts for the price difference. However both of these builds go to show that the OP can probably afford a good machine with a few months of saving.

The 650W is £10 more, but that doesn't even matter. Firstly, 600W is way more than enough, these systems don't usually draw much more than 300W at most. Secondly, it's a corsair PSU, they're the best of the best, the highest quality, longest warrantied, longest lasting PSU manufacturer on the market. That 600W psu costs more than other brands' 750+W PSU's, but it makes, like no noise, is very efficient and when they say 600W, they actually mean it unlike other PSU's, provided you even have a system that can use that much power.

Generally people say "I wouldn't run XXXW on that system, unless it was a corsair one, then you're just within the power specs. People got a lot of love for these things, and Corsair use that reputation to charge more than the other guys.

 

[MASTACHIEFPWN]

Pc communities are WORSE than that of consoles, because you are STUCK with the same people.

That aside, If you go for a lower end graphics card, yeah, you should be fine in getting enough money.

And, lastely, the only "Good" game devolper that doesn't pull crap out of their ass is Valve, which they are a bit clinky with titles, but I still love them.

It is basically equal exchange, the only thing I like about PC gaming is the portablity you can get with it.

 

[TriggerHappyAngel]

I payed 900 euros for my gaming pc (I didn't build it myself) and I can play all the latest releases on Very High+ settings.
So yeah, it should be possible I guess.

 

[InnerRebellion]

I'm 15, and I've been trying. I started hoarding lunch money.. but, I'm an impulsive spender and blew about 100 bucks. I'm thinking about, and I emphasize this word, trying to get a job over the summer. I doubt I'll get one, but hey, it's worth a shot. I have about another forty school days left, so I should have 90 dollars when the year ends if I stop buying lunch. And I might get lucky and have to babysit my siblings at least once. Last time I did, my dad gave me 20 dollars.

But I think it's possible, as long as you aren't an impulsive spender like myself. Damn me and wanting anything that catches my eye.

 

[Malk_Content]

Any one know any cheap uk based computing websites?

I built my gaming rig end of last year for just a tiny bit over £1000, that was from scratch (tower, monitor, keyboard, OS everything!) and pretty got it all from here -> http://www.overclockers.co.uk/

Community wise, and cheap games wise, I can really recommend steam. Find some servers you like and keep coming back to them. When you are moving to a new game (just released or older) ask some people on those servers which servers they play their games on and you'll quickly find polite and fair gamers in whatever game you go. Games without such things tend to have communities about as shitty as console communities.

As a side note, does any one know if the Escapist has a steam community? Most people on here are quite nice and would probably play well together.


We don't get many games different from just console ports, but every now and then we do (Civ V last year, Shogun 2, The Witcher 2 coming soon etc.) and are all worth it if you are into those kinds of games.

 

[Ferroto Baggins]

My old man used to upgrade his pc every year or so.

I would upgrade my PC with the components from his old pc's. so I was also building PC's as young as 13. But that would be back in the early 2000's.

I didn't really have anything nice until I had my first job.

 

[Marmalade]

Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: Yes.

 

[Ickorus]

Save up about £500 and you can get a mid-range PC that'll last you a while.

 

[Dexiro]

I am 13 years old. I'm sick of all the dull fps and crappy games developers are making for consoles. Not to mention the arrogant community that consists of immature kids (Not all of the community just most people I run into online). I?m thinking of saving up to by the components to build a high-end gaming pc that will last me about 2-3 years of playing the latest games at playable frame rates. Is it possible that I would have enough money to get my hands on the components? If I saved up all my money I earn about £1300 in 1 year. Thank you guys in return.

You earn £1300 in a year O-O Lucky git. You can probably get a decent PC for like £400, loads of kids your age seem to have gaming PCs.

 

[elvor0]

Building your own PC is hard work if you don't know what your doing. From personal experience I made my own with the help of my Dad, which I bought all the parts for around 10 Grand(Including 1,000 on Anti-Virus's, and other acsessories).

So yes it is possible, though getting the money will be quite a pinch if you don't have a well paying income "Job".

Try blogging, I've made most of my money by doing that, (message for help if you need it).

You spent 10 grand on a gaming PC? Please tell me thats a typo, otherwise the guy in the shop must've seen you coming.

 

[AndrewC]

You don't need £1300 for a gaming pc.

I'll direct you here: www.wired2fire.co.uk

This will easily last you for the next few years: http://www.wired2fire.co.uk/build.php?systype=15&fsb=40

Bear in mind you can customize ANY pc on that site, and they have excellent customer service.

You'd be very very surprised at how powerful a pc you can build on a budget

 

[omega 616]

I am 13 years old. I'm sick of all the dull fps and crappy games developers are making for consoles. Not to mention the arrogant community that consists of immature kids (Not all of the community just most people I run into online). I?m thinking of saving up to by the components to build a high-end gaming pc that will last me about 2-3 years of playing the latest games at playable frame rates. Is it possible that I would have enough money to get my hands on the components? If I saved up all my money I earn about £1300 in 1 year. Thank you guys in return.

I made an ok gaming PC for £330, I have recently bought 3gb of ram costing £35 and I buying a processor soon for about £95, so say a great one will be £600. (at a guess)

Also, while you tink you might be able to save every penny for a year, you won't. The urge is too strong to spend it. I'm nearly 22 and I still give into that urge.

 

[EllEzDee]

I can't get money to build a PC and I'm 17. I wish you luck, hopefully you can do it. My problem is just laziness mostly so if you don't have that issue you could do it.

This. I could get a job...but that would mean less time for me.

 

[Kabutos]

Any one know any cheap uk based computing websites?

Scan [scan.co.uk]
Aria [aria.co.uk]
Novatech [novatech.co.uk]
Ebuyer [ebuyer.co.uk]
and Amazon of course [amazon.co.uk]

PCs are cheap. Don't spend more than £900. If you can come up with a budget I can make you a build if you want.

Also just a few comments from scanning through the thread:

B I bought all the parts for around 10 Grand(Including 1,000 on Anti-Virus's, and other acsessories).

You're doing it wrong.

My advise, Dont bother wasting your money , you pay out that much it will be dated within a few months by newer CPU's and GPU that come out and it can be alot of hassle when something screws up in your system and you gotta get it replaced.

Putting £1300 into a machine to go out of date and last for a couple of years clearly isnt worth the bother, Ive still got my gaming rig but its just sitting there collecting dust.

I don't know where everyone seems to get this idea but PCs don't automatically become obsolete after two years. Newer =/= better.

Is it? Yes.
Should you? Probably not.
All your complaints about the console community and games are tenfold on PC. Theres a reason so many people are abandoning that sinking ship.
Don't buy a boat full of holes.

Hahaha, oh wow.

It would cost a fair bit. To be honest mate it would probably be easier just to get yourself a decent Dell, not even one of the gaming ones. Then buy your own decent graphics card and a bit more RAM to whack in there.

Off the shelf PC's are becoming way cheaper and arn't the piles of shite they used to be. You won't get top end without paying mega money, but theres such a huge back catalogue of good games top end isn't a MUST.

EDIT: Also, building yourself one from scratch is harder than you think. There are many MANY compatability issues which you wouldnt even consider. I'm fairly PC savvy and having had a real look into it I thought 'fuck that'.

You won't get top end without paying mega money for a prebuilt, but you can build one for tonnes cheaper. And it's not as difficult as you make it out to be.

Also lol Dell.

You don't need £1300 for a gaming pc.

I'll direct you here: www.wired2fire.co.uk

This will easily last you for the next few years: http://www.wired2fire.co.uk/build.php?systype=15&fsb=40

Bear in mind you can customize ANY pc on that site, and they have excellent customer service.

You'd be very very surprised at how powerful a pc you can build on a budget

Actually those are pretty terrible.

 

[Carl Russell]

Thanks for all your help guys