Help with PC Build

[DRONE]

My son wants to build a gaming PC and these are two builds we are looking at.





Can you think of any suggestions to improve the build?

Thanks for the help

[masraum]

You might want to advise on a budget. I'm sure it would be possible to drastically increase the cost. I suspect that for gaming builds, the budget determines the build specifics more than anything else.

[DRONE]

both systems are under the limit of $2000,
he is a first time builder

[masraum]

Originally Posted by DRONE

both systems are under the limit of $2000,
he is a first time builder

Ok, so his budget is $2k. Good to know before folks start suggesting hyper expensive stuff.

[masraum]

You should check out Tom's Hardware. They have been doing "best ____ PC build for $____" articles forever (they've been doing this sort of thing for 20-25 years, I think).
They have the link below, where they start with small budgets and then the budgets get bigger and bigger including a $2000 budget build (and a $4000 build). The article was last updated Jan 15, 2025, and the cost for the $2k build was $1975.
https://www.tomshardware.com/best-picks/best-pc-builds-gaming

[jcommin]

Another vote for Tom's Hardware. You want to right size components to your budget. You don't want to spend a fortune on one component only to skimp on other components.

I do allot of photo editing so I tailored my build within a set budget. It's not a gaming computer but it is not intended for gaming. I have fun building computers - it is the journey to find the right stuff, I enjoy.

It is a good father/son project.

[Alan A]

Only gaming?

You’ll never go wrong with more RAM. I wouldn’t buy anything with less than 64GB.

And those video cards with that resolution monitor is laughable. What. A. Waste.

[zakthor]

Originally Posted by Alan A

Only gaming?
And those video cards with that resolution monitor is laughable. What. A. Waste.

Yes. Op a 1080 screen doesnt have enough pixels to stress that computer.

I sort of cringe at the thought of some kid spending 2k on a computer to play games on.

Dont compromise on monitor and keyboard and mouse - those are the items that theyll keep for years. Spend $800 on sweet screen and keyboard and then be thrifty with everything else. My kids built their machines up from cases they got at the pc recyclry. Assume you can upgrade later you can save a ton if you keep buying components a few years old.

Also id stick with nvidia.

[Alan A]

If you want to save $ buy a 4K tv with a decent refresh rate and use it as the monitor.
I use 2x43” plus the 16” on the laptop daily and the real estate is nice. You can get them for $200 a pop.

For gaming I’d drop a bit more and get something in the 55-65” range. You need to see stuff to shoot stuff.
My kids heavily into Xbox and wants to go bigger then the 65” he sits 5’ away from. He plays a lot of FPS though.

[DRONE]

I didn't know that there were so many choices, and decisions to be made but it is fun talking over the differences even within the same price range.

[Racerbvd]

Get him a bicycle and get him out of the house doing physical activities

[flipper35]

RAM, you can't have too much RAM or real estate.

Grab a second drive for games or a smaller boot M2 and a larger games drive. Between the free stuff from Epic and the Humble choice we have always had space issues and new games are huge.

Also, if he plays old games the nVidia cards are far better.

The cards are fine, some of the new stuff is pretty RAM heavy and if he ever upgrades to triple monitors he will not regret it.

If you can swing it, Windows 11 Pro not Home.

Byron, our kids are active and still have gaming computers.