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WTB - Starter Gaming PC desktop

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dariusdarius Frets: 619
On the lookout for an older, low budget gaming pc for my youngest who really wants one for her bday and will no doubt lose interest soon after. 
I know nothing about them (except that GPUs are in short supply and prices are up up and away). Hence looking for something that was ok when new and now works fine for basic gaming. 

Anyone got a basic starter gamer they are looking to move on? 
Or lots of parts to build one? A self build could be a good little project to counterbalance the time wasted shooting pixels. 
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Comments

  • bazxkrbazxkr Frets: 610
    Much depends on which games your daughter would be playing. Some basic games will run fine on old desktops with small graphics card but more modern games can kill even fairly high spec modern graphics cards. Age of daughter and budget may help for those more knowledgeable folk that will follow
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  • dariusdarius Frets: 619
    500 is the budget, so not rally enough for even the basic spec new. And yes, recognise low budget equals low performance. But better than the 10yr old laptop currently being employed.
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  • WoodenheadWoodenhead Frets: 123
    If you're ok with low settings you can get away with a modest setup. I was able to finish Red Dead Redemption 2 on my old pc (i5 6th gen cpu, 16GB ram, GTX 750 2GB graphics card) on low settings with ~30fps, good enough for me, anyway.

    I'm no gamer but I'd advise getting at least 4GB ram graphics card, the 2GB card seemed to be the bottle neck for anything above minimum settings.
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  • Rich31kRich31k Frets: 776
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  • dariusdarius Frets: 619
    Rich31k said:
    Currys Clearance. I’ve not seen that before. Didn’t know they did refurb kit.
     The one image is of a cardboard box. Anyone know if they’re an ok outfit? Looks genuine enough.
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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23906
    The only weak thing about that is the processor. The rest of it with an i5 would be fine.


    Have a look at the games she wants to play and thin investigate the recommended settings. Minimum settings are usually very frustrating. Then you'll have a better idea of what spec you need.
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  • Rich31kRich31k Frets: 776
    darius said:
    Rich31k said:
    Currys Clearance. I’ve not seen that before. Didn’t know they did refurb kit.
     The one image is of a cardboard box. Anyone know if they’re an ok outfit? Looks genuine enough.
    I’ve bought a few things from them. They have the odd bargain, 12 month warranty and 30 day returns. 

    I returned an Apple Watch without problems and bought a ninja foodi air fryer (rock n roll) for a really low price. That was marked refurb A, but just had a damaged box. Might have been a customer return, but no signs of use. 
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  • Rich31kRich31k Frets: 776

    The only weak thing about that is the processor. The rest of it with an i5 would be fine.


    Have a look at the games she wants to play and thin investigate the recommended settings. Minimum settings are usually very frustrating. Then you'll have a better idea of what spec you need.
    Agreed i5 would be ideal, but latest gen i3 will probably suffice. You’re right about checking the minimum specs for the games she plays. 
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  • Rich31kRich31k Frets: 776
    edited April 2021
    Find it quite a good place for PCs - they add stuff through the day and usually comes in fits and starts. 

    They have this with an i5, dell (so bigger brand), slightly better GFX and usb 3.1. But looks more boring and no 1tb mechanical drive (but they are dirt cheap if you want to add one in the future) for a bit more than your budget. 

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353428888386

    If you look on a PC, you’ll be able to see more photographs 
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  • I'd recommend getting a used prebuilt something off eBay or Facebook Marketplace, and drop a used GPU in there. You can get an i5/i7 loaded Dell/Lenovo/HP with 8+GB ram, and ssd for sub-£250 if you get searching. Then grab whatever the best ssd is you can afford at the time and install it. Not a particularly difficult process, and one recommended by the computer nerds on YouTube who have plenty of instructions on this kind of thing.
    Just so people are aware. I have no idea what any of these words mean.
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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11411
    What kind of games?

    If it's Minecraft and Roblox, then any desktop made in the last 10 years with a discrete graphics card would probably be enough.  If it's more hardcore stuff, then it matters more.
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  • dariusdarius Frets: 619
    Currently Valarian(?). I haven’t got a scooby doo. The budget will determine the spec level, not the game. She can take it from there. 
    I’ve missed a couple of ideal £500 ones. So still looking, if anyone has one. 
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