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

[ZombieGenesis]

@Anaklusmos the idea you need to spend anywhere near a grand for a gaming rig is a fallacy. I think most of these ppl are either ex PC gamers or that hardcore elistist PC gamer who is still caught in the cycle of yearly upgrades and refuses to acknowledge that a top spec PC isnt all that practical nowadays, now that the graphical arms race has come to an halt.

Spending £1,000 - £10,000 on a pc is all fine and dandy if you have the cash to spend on your hobby, just dont try to fool other ppl that its neccesary.

True, but his question was why people are suggesting anything above £500 for a gaming rig. Short answer, because anything under £500 is going to be lacking in hardware and processor support, and probably won't have a decent payoff.
The fallacy of a £200 computer running max on anything better than Morrowind even by todays standards is rather misleading, especially if it was one from 2006.

Realistically from what I have seen, the golden spot for PC gaming is usually £400-700 for the rig, and the latter is for the more intense systems.

My current rig cost £750, but that's because I went pretty overboard on a graphics card and additional coolers, which ironically, I wasn't able to install!

 

[Inkidu]

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.

Okay, I don't know the situation in England, but crap, samey games are the same on console or PC, the PC might (and I argue wholly against this) have better graphics, but crap is crap even if it's golden in hue. The communities are as the communities are. This isn't something that cures itself just by swapping platforms. There are still people who are going to "Skull **** your mom just for beating them"

That being said. If you genuinely want a good PC it's entirely doable. Try odd jobs, mow lawns, wash people's cars. Try bargaining with your parents or relatives. Give me X amount of money for so man As in school. There's always birthday and Christmas days too. Plan it out talk to people in your home and neighborhood.

 

[Anaklusmos]

I skipped most of this thread, I just wanted to say... What the hell? All I keep seeing are prices more than £500... I bought my Pc 4 years ago for £200 and a £100 monitor and it still plays new games on the highest setting without any lag or anything. I don't understand what's the point in spending so much money when it hardly makes any difference from what I can see.

For my friends Christmas present he had everyone give him cash, and he bought a £600 computer from Dell, double the price of mine, and it is exactly the same as my computer. I rub it in his face any chance I get because that's hilarious. But, seriously guys, why would you want to spend so much on a computer when it doesn't really do anything compared to cheaper computers? I mean my computer runs at 60 FPS, highest you can get right? So anything over that is overkill, a waste. So I don't understand whats the point. Can someone enlighten me please?

Sorry to go off-topic but, I have to know.

A 4 year old PC selling for £200 cannot run games like Metro 2033 or even WoW at high settings. It just can't be done, such is the law of physics and economy. So I'm not sure what to think of your question.

I actually play World of Warcraft, and I actually play it with the highest settings and can get a decent 60 Fps when doing anything but raiding and when raiding a particle heavy boss like Cho'Gall it drops to 45 - 55

EDIT: I will admit I have made some alterations since I bought it, including quadrupling my RAM, doubling my Hard Drive and buying a new Graphics Card, which cost me just over £100.

EDIT 2: It wasn't a 2006 computer, it was 2007 =D

 

[SuperNova221]

Somebody on a different forum posted this recently. You might find it interesting.

http://i54.tinypic.com/201nax.jpg

Edit: Note that it doesn't include operating system prices, peripherals, extra fans, monitor etc etc.

 

[Plazmatic]

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.

1300. way over enough for you to build one, yup, just make sure you get a good 1200 + power supply, and either crossfired Ati 5770s or high end ATI, (nvidia is overpriced, and they like to use planned obsolence) at least 6 gigs of ddr3 ram (if your talking about high end) quad core, or, actually you could probably do hexicore, but I never find any more than quad incredibly useful at the moment, and, lets see, lost of fans, cooling devices in general, yeah, mother board, though Im not sure what kind of motherboard.

Of course, the difference is that you live in the UK, I don't and even though my dollar is weaker than yours, it still buys more (i believe) computer hardware wise within my own country, so it could be any were from cheaper for you, to 3 times as expensive.

 

[ZombieGenesis]

I skipped most of this thread, I just wanted to say... What the hell? All I keep seeing are prices more than £500... I bought my Pc 4 years ago for £200 and a £100 monitor and it still plays new games on the highest setting without any lag or anything. I don't understand what's the point in spending so much money when it hardly makes any difference from what I can see.

For my friends Christmas present he had everyone give him cash, and he bought a £600 computer from Dell, double the price of mine, and it is exactly the same as my computer. I rub it in his face any chance I get because that's hilarious. But, seriously guys, why would you want to spend so much on a computer when it doesn't really do anything compared to cheaper computers? I mean my computer runs at 60 FPS, highest you can get right? So anything over that is overkill, a waste. So I don't understand whats the point. Can someone enlighten me please?

Sorry to go off-topic but, I have to know.

A 4 year old PC selling for £200 cannot run games like Metro 2033 or even WoW at high settings. It just can't be done, such is the law of physics and economy. So I'm not sure what to think of your question.

I actually play World of Warcraft, and I actually play it with the highest settings and can get a decent 60 Fps when doing anything but raiding and when raiding a particle heavy boss like Cho'Gall it drops to 45 - 55

EDIT: I will admit I have made some alterations since I bought it, including quadrupling my RAM, doubling my Hard Drive and buying a new Graphics Card, which cost me just over £100.

Bearing in mind those are still some considerable upgrades (I'm imagining you're running something like a 460?) I can see how that could be possible. Still, that is upwards of 500 for that rig so yeah... pretty much answers your original query.

 

[Anaklusmos]

-Snip-

Actually mine would be just below £500 =D

EDIT: I'ma go watch some tv, thanks for responding =D

 

[Sansha]

Up to you, kiddo, depends on how hard you want to work, how charismatic you are for getting paid and how determined you are.

 

[xMelior]

Possible, but very, very unlikely. If I were you, I would go for a console. A lot cheaper than a high-end gamimg PC and better comunity...

 

[Foxbat Flyer]

Easily, aslong as you have a steady source of income. When i was your age, I used to get $25 a week for pocket money, I planned it all out how i was going to buy my own PC with that money, and it was flawless, Until my parents couldnt afford to give me the money... but then i got a job as soon as i could and bought a good laptop for gaming

 

[MercurySteam]

Btw guys is this a good motherboard for a good price? http://www.dabs.com/products/asus-p7p55d-e-pro--intel-p55--1156--4ddr3--2pci-ex16--crossfirex-sli--raid--8chhd--usb3---sata6--atx-6CXS.html?refs=4294957129-4294959857

It's not bad, but be aware that's an Intel 1st generation i3/i5 motherboard using Socket LGA1156. If you want to go AMD you'll need to find a decent AM3 socket motherboard.

Dell is shit parts for terrible prices.

QFT.

 

[Carl Russell]

Guys. Could you make me a build that supports crossfire, looks flashy, will last me 2-3 years for £400 to £600?

 

[MercurySteam]

Guys. Could you make me a build that supports crossfire, looks flashy, will last me 2-3 years for £400 to £600?

Hey, sorry for reviving this thread after so much time (well, I guess it's just a little over a month) but I randomly decided to come back and offer some free insight. Here's the build I came up with:

CPU: AMD Phenom II 965 Black Edition [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/186428]
RAM: Corsair XMS3 1600MHz 4GB Memory Kit [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173122]
GPU: XFX 6870 1GB GDDR5 [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/244474]
Motherboard: MSI 890FXA-GD65 890FX [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/263713]
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/254893]
Optical Drive: LG GH22NS50 22x DVD±RW [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169683]
PSU: Antec TruePower 750W [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159921]
Case: Antec Dark Fleet DF-30 Mid Case [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/226653]

Total price without postage: £624.48

I guarantee that if you Crossfire a second 6870 one or two years after, the whole system will last at least a good four years as a certified beast. The mobo also comes with a Crossfire Bridge so you should be all set.

Good Luck!

 

[Baneat]

Guys. Could you make me a build that supports crossfire, looks flashy, will last me 2-3 years for £400 to £600?

Hey, sorry for reviving this thread after so much time (well, I guess it's just a little over a month) but I randomly decided to come back and offer some free insight. Here's the build I came up with:

CPU: AMD Phenom II 965 Black Edition [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/186428]
RAM: Corsair XMS3 1600MHz 4GB Memory Kit [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173122]
GPU: XFX 6870 1GB GDDR5 [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/244474]
Motherboard: MSI 890FXA-GD65 890FX [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/263713]
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/254893]
Optical Drive: LG GH22NS50 22x DVD±RW [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169683]
PSU: Antec TruePower 750W [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159921]
Case: Antec Dark Fleet DF-30 Mid Case [http://www.ebuyer.com/product/226653]

Total price without postage: £624.48

I guarantee that if you Crossfire a second 6870 one or two years after, the whole system will last at least a good four years as a certified beast. The mobo also comes with a Crossfire Bridge so you should be all set.

Good Luck!

As an owner of an AMD

Go with Intel >.>

 

[MercurySteam]

As an owner of an AMD

Go with Intel >.>

I've never known anyone to have serious issues with AMD, and £600 doesn't leave much breathing room. If you can suggest a better build, then please do.

 

[captaincabbage]

Of course it's possible, you just have to BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

If you really make 100 pounds a week and don't have any expenses, then it should be easy to save enough for a decent gaming computer.

What I really wanted to say, though, was to ignore all the people who are saying PC gaming has a worse community than console gaming. The whole "PC gaming master race" attitude is something that only comes out when console gamers and PC gamers are talking to each other; when you're actually on a server, that's not in play at all, at least not with any kind of seriousness. However, the dedicated servers allow for an actual community to be formed -- hundreds of communities, actually. Most servers are either run by a clan, or by some kind of gaming community (for example, The Escapist has a Minecraft and two TF2 servers), and they all have rules which are enforced by admins, which largely keep out the griefers and other assorted assholes. People get annoyed by the whole "master race" thing, but PC gamers have good reason to feel smug around console gamers.

Incidentally, FPS games probably dominate the PC market to a greater extent than they do the console market, but there's a better variety of active FPS games, they play better with the mouse and keyboard, and the communities, as I pointed out earlier, are better. There's also the fact that owning a PC will give you the ability to play close to 30 years worth of older releases, which means the variety of genres you will have at your fingertips is enormous, if you're willing to look around in second hand shops, or check out sites like goodoldgames.com -- and beyond that, there's still plenty of non-FPS games getting released, it's just that FPS games, since they do so well with the mouse and keyboard, are the primary genre.

Basically, I'd go for it; I wish I'd had a top of the line rig at 13, instead of the mediocre pre-built machine my parents bought. The main game I played at that point came out five years earlier, and the computer couldn't handle games from much later than that. Kids who want to get into PC gaming these days have it easy, and I'm glad that that's the case.