Hi there, I never thought I would be so old that this would be beyond me, so here goes! My 11 year old is desperate to play planet coaster and I understand that he will need a decent pc to do this. I have an elderly laptop which I know won't be up to it, so no help there. My son is saving all his pennies and with his birthday fast approaching I figured I would put some money in to help him with his dream. My question is this. What is a rough budget for a pc that would cope with this game? I have looked at the minimum requirements for the game but they look like a foreign language :-( I understand that the sky is the limit but we currently have just over £200 in his piggy bank, I would consider a second hand one. Any options would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
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Newcomer / Intro Help please, complete technophobe here! PC suggestions please
- Thread starter bex01
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I'm not sure 200 quid is going to cut it, unfortunately.
If it's supposed to be a PC that handles modern games, something like this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/xTrbmq is about the bare minimum, imo.
The problem is mainly CPU and graphic card. Anything below Ryzen 3 CPU and RX570 GPU (I chose AMD graphic card, because the RX570 is a decent entry level and a comparable nVidia card is closer to £200)
So this is where you stand, I'm afraid. If you count in a keyboard and mouse and some 1080p monitor (If you don't have those), you're looking at about £400 and there really isn't much to do about it. Sorry.
If it's supposed to be a PC that handles modern games, something like this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/xTrbmq is about the bare minimum, imo.
The problem is mainly CPU and graphic card. Anything below Ryzen 3 CPU and RX570 GPU (I chose AMD graphic card, because the RX570 is a decent entry level and a comparable nVidia card is closer to £200)
So this is where you stand, I'm afraid. If you count in a keyboard and mouse and some 1080p monitor (If you don't have those), you're looking at about £400 and there really isn't much to do about it. Sorry.
You can get a used quad core i5/8GB RAM system on eBay for about £200 and a GTX 960 4GB graphics card for about £80. You might need to pick up a separate OS license. I like Kinguin for those - cheap and does the job. I've never had any trouble with the keys.
The resulting PC will be suitable for older and less demanding games like Elite and Planet Coaster at medium or even high settings and 60 frames per second (FPS) - the native refresh rate of most monitors, but don't expect it to run AAA titles like The Division 2 or Battlefield V adequately at similar graphics quality - games like that are very CPU-heavy, and a 4-core CPU with no hyperthreading will get a lot of stutter and/or very low FPS.
As with eBay and used goods in general, caveat emptor. Check the sellers out carefully and don't buy the equipment from China/Hong Kong at a price that looks too good to be true, because that is often the case, and I suspect you don't want or need that hassle. Looking at the prices that Chris found for you, you might even be able to find a low-end new PC at a similar price to the used eBay ones.
As Chris says though, £200 is really not going to get you a PC that will cut it.
The resulting PC will be suitable for older and less demanding games like Elite and Planet Coaster at medium or even high settings and 60 frames per second (FPS) - the native refresh rate of most monitors, but don't expect it to run AAA titles like The Division 2 or Battlefield V adequately at similar graphics quality - games like that are very CPU-heavy, and a 4-core CPU with no hyperthreading will get a lot of stutter and/or very low FPS.
As with eBay and used goods in general, caveat emptor. Check the sellers out carefully and don't buy the equipment from China/Hong Kong at a price that looks too good to be true, because that is often the case, and I suspect you don't want or need that hassle. Looking at the prices that Chris found for you, you might even be able to find a low-end new PC at a similar price to the used eBay ones.
As Chris says though, £200 is really not going to get you a PC that will cut it.
Yep.
I think £500 is kind of a sweetspot for 1080p gaming.
What I would recommend, though, is finding somebody in your vicinity who can build you the PC (either a friend or a smaller harware shop with good reviews). You're probably going to avoid some headaches, that way.
I think £500 is kind of a sweetspot for 1080p gaming.
What I would recommend, though, is finding somebody in your vicinity who can build you the PC (either a friend or a smaller harware shop with good reviews). You're probably going to avoid some headaches, that way.
Pre-built often come with a premium so I personally avoid places like PC World. They also tend to sell rigs with limited upgrade ability. As Chris says, getting a friend to build one makes great sense but you should research the components - they may sound confusing at first but you'll soon pick it and, don't forget: we'll try and help with questions.
A good friend of mine walked me though my first build in 2003. 16 years later, he no longer does PC gaming and I'm still spending more than I should on keyboards. There are lots of good build guide videos on Youtube that are generic enough to be useful to a first-time builder.
For 500 quid though, you can build a nice little machine.
Here's something I just threw together. I went for cheap parts I could find from names I recognise. I assumed you don't need a keyboard, mouse or monitor. The only place where I splurged was on RAM, because Ryzen chips benefit enormously from faster RAM, and you can never have enough RAM. You can probably save £30 by going for 2x4GB at the same speed and spend £80 or so on a 22" monitor or a nice keyboard/mouse or even keep the money and buy yourself dinner.
Nice build.
Though maybe the only thing I would do differently is the GPU. 1050Ti is really weak. Fine for Elite and Planet Coaster, but for most of the newer games it will struggle keeping 50+FPS on decent details. For 50 quid more you can have RX 580 or GTX1060 which are a league ahead and won't have problems with 1080p gaming whatsoever. If budget doesn't allow it, I'd even sacrifice the Ryzen 5 for something like Ryzen 3 1300X so I can go for higher end GPU.
Also yeah. Building the PC is really not that hard (It's like LEGO, you can't get that many things wrong), but it requires at least some guidance at the beginning. Things like all the different cables, motherboard mounts, fan placement and logic behind it, I/O and headers,... those are things that certainly can be learned through trial and error, but it's better if they aren't.
I toyed with the idea of a 1060. It's a good choice, especially bearing in mind that the build could be a gateway into other games where GPU horsepower is more important.Nice build.
Though maybe the only thing I would do differently is the GPU. 1050Ti is really weak. Fine for Elite and Planet Coaster, but for most of the newer games it will struggle keeping 50+FPS on decent details. For 50 quid more you can have RX 580 or GTX1060 which are a league ahead and won't have problems with 1080p gaming whatsoever. If budget doesn't allow it, I'd even sacrifice the Ryzen 5 for something like Ryzen 3 1300X so I can go for higher end GPU.
Also yeah. Building the PC is really not that hard (It's like LEGO, you can't get that many things wrong), but it requires at least some guidance at the beginning. Things like all the different cables, motherboard mounts, fan placement and logic behind it, I/O and headers,... those are things that certainly can be learned through trial and error, but it's better if they aren't.
PCs really are like Lego. Except it's Lego where you can destroy the CPU or motherboard if you drop something at the wrong time, as I learned when I dropped an i7-2600K onto the socket assembly on my P68 motherboard, destroying the pins in the socket in the process. (T_T)
Fair point.
The problem is that nobody here is going to be willing to go through every component and manufacturer and give a comprehensive guide of what does what and how it works. That would be insane.
The problem is that nobody here is going to be willing to go through every component and manufacturer and give a comprehensive guide of what does what and how it works. That would be insane.
Yes but really, assembling a PC requires no skill and has just the one requirement - don't wear nylon underwear or socks.
So nowadays I don't have to run a copper wire from my wrist to an earth like the lead water pipe?Yes but really, assembling a PC requires no skill and has just the one requirement - don't wear nylon underwear or socks.
Do you build your PCs dressed head-to-toe in rayon?
And besides, a good generic build guide is all you need - I watched my mate do it the first time and thought "that's it?"
I imagine Edward Scissorhands might have some issues, but apart form that...
I assume you are joking. I only ever used tethers when working with surface-mount components in very complex equipment in clean-rooms. For consumer stuff all you have to do is touch a water-pipe (as they are all earth-bonded in the UK) to discharge any static you have built-up shuffling about the house in your socks on a carpet or from stroking the cat.
Naturally you should avoid touching the connectors / terminals, just in case.
Yes but really, assembling a PC requires no skill and has just the one requirement - don't wear nylon underwear or socks.
I've been building my boxes for nearly 20 years now, just built one last month. I find you always give good advice Para, but this statement I have to take issue with. If you know what you're doing it's straightforward. But saying it requires no skill I don't agree with.
You must purchase parts that are compatible (CPU slot types, drive interfaces, power connectors etc, etc). You must know what goes where. You need knowledge of jumpers, what they do and how to set them. You need to be comfortable in a BIOS. And you get the picture. I mean, sometimes just attaching a CPU cooler can be a challenge and I've built lots of systems!
I know people that could NOT successfully build a computer, and I bet we all do.
If someone wants to go the pre-built route I recommend looking at Maingear.
Ah but the fact remains that there is no "skill" needed - really, seriously, anyone with a small amount of CDF can read the motherboard manual, watch some yootoob and put the parts together. The days of needing to be able to calculate clock settings are long gone and even the most tricky part - affixing the CPU cooler - is no longer an arcane art of layering a precise amount of
No, you are wrong to say it is a challenge. Only the most cognitively challenged would have problems sticking a mobo in a case, plugging-in the clearly labelled case and PSU connectors, dropping a CPU on the socket (seriously, no pins issues these days), clipping-on a stock cooler (having removed the cover over the pre-applied paste section), dropping a couple of sticks of ram, connecting SSD / HDD(s) and then fitting their GPU card. Most mobos don't even have jumpers requiring setting, you just connect-up, switch on and follow the prompts.
So don't make it sound difficult - it really isn't, just read the MOBO manual and follow simple instructions.
If you want to build a fine-tuned, bespoke-cooled, overclocked gaming beast then that is different - we are not talking about that, just basic PC assembly.
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Fair enough, though I think you are speaking from the point of view of someone who has done it a number of times and for you it's simple. Others, I have doubts. But it's true it's easier than it's ever been. The box I just built has auto-overclock for the memory for example which I thought was nice. Far less voltage experimentation is needed these days, that's for sure.
The internet is littered with PC-build horror stories. It's a simple thing, but only when you have the knowledge required. There is potential for disaster, regardless of how simple it should be.
The internet is littered with PC-build horror stories. It's a simple thing, but only when you have the knowledge required. There is potential for disaster, regardless of how simple it should be.