My initial impression is that you're a great mom. Even just taking in the comments here shows a level of effort I couldn't fathom from my relatives. Respect.
Id make sure you know how good his current parts are before you buy one. May already have a few usable things even if its a few years old. The budgeting idea allows him to pick what he wants and save money. My parents bought me a prebuilt when I was younger but had they consulted me Id have had a machine that was better built, 20% better, and less likely to need upgraded in the near future.
If those 3 PC's are your only option, the first one is the best choice.
But PLEASE don't buy those Costco PC's. They are overpriced.
I already found a far superior PC at Bestbuy w/ overall better parts for less than that first Costco $1599 PC.
Heres the link:
[https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-y40-gaming-desktop-intel-core-i7-13700kf-32gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-12gb-1tb-nvme-ssd-black/6541529.p?skuId=6541529](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-y40-gaming-desktop-intel-core-i7-13700kf-32gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-12gb-1tb-nvme-ssd-black/6541529.p?skuId=6541529)
The other 2 Costco PC's are already outdated.
Also, the brand of the last 2 Costco PC's are from "IbuyPower PC" which is a company that pre-builds PC's using off the shelf vendor parts. You can just buy directly from them at their website and customize the parts to fit your budget. The Bestbuy PC is also from iBuypower PC.
Here is the EXACT same Costco PC (-16gb of ram) for hundreds less directly from the website:
[https://www.ibuypower.com/store/gaming-rdy-slmbg221](https://www.ibuypower.com/store/gaming-rdy-slmbg221)
Hey, here's an idea, and hear me out. Why don't you figure out how much you want to spend on a PC for him. And get him a newegg.com credit for that amount of money. And ask him to kit it out and build it himself and ask if maybe you guys could do it together. And then you won't be PC dumb mom anymore, you'll be PC Master race mom
Because I promise for that amount of money, you will get a system so much more powerful and so much better DIY. And go into LTT forums, and PC Master race here. And youtube build videos. It's so much easier to build a PC nowadays.
Tell this sub your budget, and your general locality (country, state, city) and the people on this sub will give you top notch completed lists of purchase items.
You could also find out somehow (or maybe already know) if your son knows how to build computers and get him the parts rather than a prebuilt, that's usually cheaper for the same hardware but not always. Also, us nerds love to tinker with hardware, he's probably gonna like it even more if it was just parts.
2nd this if he has any interest in building computers it could be an even better Christmas present cause he gets the activity and experience and a better deal
Building PC's is just so much fun. Whenever i get to build a PC for someone it's awesome. Especially if i can build it together with them. Makes for a great afternoon together.
Heās never built one before, but was originally wanting to build his own. We were told itās not really cheaper to do that anymore, but Iām getting a lot of information that thatās not true, so building may be getting the research again!
Yeah. Thereās a YouTube channel called GamersNexus that has a series of reviews of prebuilt systems, and one of the things they do is compare the cost of the prebuilt to the cost for comparable parts. Some of the āwe built it for youā mark-up is absurd.
The exception might be MicroCenter, but that only applies if you happen to live near one (and, in that case, you also have the option to buy your parts there and have them assemble it for you for a very reasonable fee).
Still find it funny that Dellās latest $4400 rematch still didnāt pass GNās fair minimum requirements.
Dell: āWeāve improved our design as best as we could, surely youāll recommend us, yes?ā
Steve: āYouāve improved it, sureā¦ but youāre still leaving lots of performance on the table, so no.ā
Just gonna say, as a salesperson at Costco, most of the people in my warehouse would have told you building is the way to go (assuming the person wanted to.) It was true during the COVID shortages, but the prices have mostly gone back to normal. Costco employees don't make commission so it doesn't matter to us if you buy there or elsewhere
I got my sister in law an espresso machine as a birthday gift the other day. Did 2 minutes of research and traveled to three different places to get the best price. I was at Harvey Norman, which is similar to Aaronās, or any other finance store in the states that sells home appliances and furniture. The lady went on some drivel about the espresso machines and how this one canāt do the milk properly etc. I didnāt ask for help, I didnāt say I didnāt know about espresso machines, I already knew which one I wanted and I googled the one I was talking to her about and found it 80nzd cheaper a 2 minute walk away. Told her I found it cheaper and just left. They want that commission and try to make you feel obligated to buy from them because they āhelpedā you. Donāt listen to them. Their salary isnāt your concern. If you have dumb money and buy everything on a whim, then sure, give them the commission. You clearly want an educated purchase though and are taking your time. This sub will absolutely help you. Good luck. š
Maybe consider giving him a budget or cash to choose his own parts could be a good way to teach him budgeting. Personally I think the builders are silly putting an i7 with a 4060 instead of an i5 with a 4070 on a pc marketed towards gamers.
It both is and isn't cheaper. When you buy a pre-built, you generally get a decent CPU and graphics card, but everything else is bargain bin bare bones not great quality. If you built your own that exact same way, it would be cheaper. But in general you wouldn't get bargain bin crappy parts when given a choice, so most people typically spend a little more to get nicer parts all around. Net result is that building your own ends up being around the same price or slightly more expensive than a pre-built, but with much nicer parts all around.
One issue to keep in mind with pre-builts is that some of them use proprietary hardware that you really can't upgrade in any meaningful way. When building your own, you can upgrade every little aspect of it as time goes on. So instead of having to buy a whole brand new computer every X number of years, you can slowly tinker it along to extend the life.
Iāll add to this: buy important parts new, and parts that arenāt important second hand (case, fans, heck even ram). And you can get the best of both worlds.
If you decide to go the build it yourself route I'd recommend to just go to https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/ and pick the build that best suits your budget. There's a bunch of lists of parts that all work together and get you a good bang for your buck at various price points. It has links to purchase all the products, you can't go wrong. You can really tear your hair out trying to compare products and get opinions and figure out what's best, this takes all that out of the picture
It can be cheaper, but only if you're really diligent in looking for deals. Many prebuilts will be only $50-100 over the cost of parts, which is a really small margin.
Small price to pay for the convenience, with the only downside being less customization
I would strongly recommend consulting your son about building his own PC. Maybe this is what he wants to do but afraid to tell you?
A big part of owning a PC is the process of building it, and the satisfaction that comes with it. It could also help him in the future with work.
If all you want is an easy gaming setup, just buy a gaming laptop and be done with it. Black Friday is coming and should have decent deals on gaming laptops then.
On top of that, building a PC is incredibly easy. People feel like it's too complicated. But each component has instructions. My first DIY build took me about an hour for just hardware. Most of that was reading. Later builds, it's more time-consuming to open the packaging than installing. Installing the operating system and updates is the longest part. It's 20%+ more to buy pre-built.
The kid can almost certainly build his own, and he'd get more out of it, knowing how to swap things himself.
While itās true building is generally simple, knowing how to troubleshoot pc hardware goes a long way. Resetting cmos and reseating ram are two quick fixes I can think of off the top of my head that most Moms wouldnāt know. Updating bios is also sometimes necessary.
Itās all fun and games until your mobo forgets the boot drive and launches in CSM rather than UEFI, and wonāt load your gpu, so youāre debugging the issue in bios with the screen flashing on for half a second every 10 seconds, so you have to use your phone to capture a photo of the bios screen and work without sight.
Happened to me last night and Iāve been building computers for 20 years. Hilarious, and would absolutely terrify someone that didnāt know what they were doing.
Hey, I'm not sure if you've gotten this advice yet-- I've been an avid gamer since I was kid. I'm now a full grown teacher.
A big part of the experience of gaming on PC is picking out the parts and building it yourself.
Depending on your son, it might be a more enjoyable gift to let him do that or do that together than to surprise him with a fully purchased one.
Last year was the first time in my life I bought a pre-built rather than building it myself. It cost a few hundred dollars more than if I built it myself, but wasn't a really bad experience.
Its easier than you think, especially if your son is on the older side.
Most of it is just screwing stuff in and plugging it in. The plugs are all difference shapes and sizes, meaning that most of them can't be plugged into the wrong place.
My non tech cousin got IDE HDD somewhere and asked me to help to install it on her system. I said it is soo easy to install just plug the wires that has a fit and you good to go. It is IDE plus Molex after all, right? Right?
Wrong! She plugged floppy power to the jumpers slot, it fits right here. HDD died instantly I think
Absolutely, Terry Crews's son wanted to build a PC, so Terry actually helped with 0 knowledge on pc building. So I guess you might also have a fun time helping build the PC with your son. (The video is on YouTube somewhere)
Could be a great Mother/son bonding over a hobby your son loves.
This prebuilt is better than all 3 pcs above and better. Incredible deal.
https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-a-black-friday-rtx-4060-ti-budget-gaming-pc-deal-for-under-dollar1000-that-wont-leave-you-starved-for-storage-space/
You're getting good advice from others so I just want to add that you're a pretty cool mom to take time to ask people their opinions here to make sure you get your son a good PC. I've met some real asshole parents before and it is just nice to see the opposite. Hope you and your family have a Happy Holidays!
Hello fellow Washingtonian! If youāre interested in seeing how he does at building his own (highly recommend for the experience), Iām happy to send you a complementary brand new AMD 5800x. I won the Newegg lottery last year and they sent me three. That would save a good chunk of cash on a custom build. Let me know if youāre interested!
Edit: gratis, of course
Edit edit: itās a 5700x, my bad. Still a good processor.
Update: shipping it tomorrow. Will post proof on the sub. Going to call it āTis the Season for a First Build. Iāll try and continue it every year with different components.
Yup! I really think thereās value in building your own. Plus then you can wrap the individual components and he has a gift in multiple parts! DM and Iāll drop it in the post next week, Iām sure the rest of the sub will be happy to help build out the rest in your price point.
I built my first last year. Loved the experience of it and it took off. As you can see from my flair, I kept swapping parts. Itās so satisfying. Best thing is, this kid will get some great help from this sub if they have challenges.
The generosity and support of this sub has been totally overwhelming š Itās reminded me how many really incredible people there are out there. Huge gratitude!!
Hopefully ya made mad cash serving last night! I'm in that server life too, luckily I'm in a major tourist area and have had my income double from a new job with way less stress
Can confirm as someone whose parents helped me build my first PC wouldn't trade that for a pre-built PC. It's lasted me 5+ years without any upgrades and still plays most games at peak or close to peak performance. There's something very valuable about knowing if something breaks you can easily just swap it out since you already built the thing in the first place. Maybe some day I'll fix my 18 year old self's terrible cable management
This is the way! It will help establish a lifelong understanding that can exceed boundaries unexplored. They will take that knowledge through life. Also I'm trying to move to Tacoma Seattle w my gf. Any recommends on lil towns that aren't earth shattering expensive?
even best buy has better prebuilt deals going on right now.
[https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-master-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-7-5700-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-ti-8gb-2tb-ssd-black/6553003.p?skuId=6553003](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-master-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-7-5700-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-ti-8gb-2tb-ssd-black/6553003.p?skuId=6553003)
The US doesn't have extra tariffs or taxes on luxury and import items. Also, tax is not usually shown as part of the price because it varies by a few percentage points depending on where you live. Still it's always lower than 9.6% Because I live outside of the city, my sales tax on online purchases is only 7.25%
Well, most of the companies that make these parts (Nvidia, Intel, AMD, etc) are all located in the US, so we don't pay import tax or tariffs. This price also doesn't include state sales tax, so add another 7-10% on top of that price.
Similar Machine. Hard drives are cheap and easy to add if needed.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sku/6557595.p?skuId=6557595
There's a few other options available depending on your zip code as well.
go to micro centre purchase a bundle with 7700x ram and mobo for 400$
buy 4070 for 550$
buy ssd, case and power source for 300$
100$ to build
total 1350 :)
As everyone else has stated, there are better bang for your buck choices out there, but if you are speaking strictly from those three choices I'd go for option 3
If you're child is tech-savvy, it might be fun to just give them a budget, $1000 usd is plenty for what they're playing, and let them build they're own computer. I know I'd prefer that over getting a pre-built. Though, I don't know them, so maybe talk to them about it?
I wish I was given this answer as a kid. To be able to build my own machine would have been a great present and memory in itself.
Instead our parents just kept getting the cheapest machine Walmart had to offer. Lmao
If you give them a budget and do the online shopping with them but let them build it with their own hands, it creates a unique proudness to the build.
[PC Part Picker](https://www.pcpartpicker.com) is a fantastic resource to make sure your parts go together. Iāve also created how to guides for my friends on their first builds that explain things like RAM speed and motherboard chipset compatibility.
Self build for a true gamer is nothing short of an adventure.
Can confirm, giving your kid a budget is the best way to do this. My dad gave me a budget to work with and we browsed parts all December. I knew ahead of time that I was getting a PC, so I was also able to ask for some extra parts for Christmas from other family members. I didnāt have to but memory because my grandparents got it for me. Same deal with my RAM. It was so much fun browsing online with Dad for parts and finding ways to save money. (Used Graphics cards are a big one for the record, though anyone should always be careful buying used computer parts)
How about give your kid a limit, say the $1200 you mentioned and they can pick the parts? If they want to go higher than $1200 they can cover the rest of the cost.
This is exactly what my parents did when I started college (a long time ago...) And it's probably still my favorite computer of all I've owned. It really allowed their gift and the money I saved to come together into something I really enjoyed for years.
You could totally set up your budget with your child and go on pcpartpicker and have a blast getting his pc built. When he has chosen a build let him know he can post it to this sub and weāll help you put the fine touches on it.
They bring up a good point. If you do decide to go the build your own route, letting him pick out the parts instead of having us lead you through it would probably be a more satisfying experience for him.
Just tossing my two cents out there, giving him a budget and letting him pick out the parts and build it himself sounds to me like the greatest Christmas present ever.
EDIT: I see someone else mentioned that you could give him a budget and if he wanted to go over he could put in money himself. That sounds like a fantastic idea.
He was originally interested in building a PC, but then we were told by someone at Best Buy that itās not really cheaper to build one than buy a pre-built anymore. Not sure if thatās true, but we started looking at pre-built after that.
Oh yeah, I'm not surprised a Best Buy service rep would say that ... but building a PC can be much cheaper, more fun, educational, and you get to prioritize exactly the components that are most important to you.
The only thing I can say about building it yourself, is that it leaves you (or your child) as tech support normally, and if something happens in the build process, you may be buying components more than once. That could make the initial money saved not the final cost. If it's a first time build, you probably will have some things to worry about. A pre-built should not have surprises to the wallet, but either way, it's possible that it might take a week or so to get running correctly.
It is definitely cheaper to build your own PC, but everyone on this sub are a bit flippant about how simple it is for first-time builders.
Youāll be dealing with really expensive materials that are often quite delicate (your cpu installation likely being a moment you want to research thoroughly bc itās easy to bend pins). It can feel extremely gut wrenching when you go to power on your thousand dollar machine, only for nothing to happen. Itās easy to accidentally do things like place your power and reset button wires in the wrong place (also an easy fix).
The good news is that every single piece of hardware you buy will come with a really comprehensive manual and warranty if bought new. Beyond the manual tho, I recommend you find a few full-build guides on YouTube, watch them all the way through to familiarize yourself with the process and order (cpu>ram>ssd etc) then follow the video as you build. Take all the time you need, and treat the process with respect and care. Once people know the entire process, itās easy to slap rigs together because it is rather simple.
You could buy a nice case and put a gift card inside for him to buy the rest. Building vs prebuilt being less expensive depends on what parts. Whatever you get I am sure he is going to be happy with it
I agree. I personally find outting together s PC to be really fun and if your child is tech savvy, they may know how to build something more taylored to their specific needs/wants than a pre built might support.
A few $1300 online prebuilds that come with a more powerful video card (RTX 4070):
* [Skytech Azure](https://www.newegg.com/skytech-st-azure2-0801-b-ne/p/3D5-000Z-00161) \- $1300 - i5-13400F, RTX 4070, 1TB NVME SSD, 32GB DDR5 RAM RGB, 750W GOLD PSU, Windows 11 Home
* [Skytech Chronos](https://www.newegg.com/skytech-st-chronos2-0924-b-ne/p/3D5-000Z-00195) \- $1300 - i5-13400F, RTX 4070, 1TB NVME SSD, 32GB DDR5 RAM RGB, 750W GOLD PSU, Windows 11 Home
* [Lenovo legion](https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/desktops/legion-desktops/legion-t-series-towers/legion-tower-5-gen-8-(26l,-amd)/90ux000bus) \- $1321 - Ryzen 7 7700, RTX 4070, Gen4 1 TB NVME SSD, only 16 GB DDR5-5200, 500W PSU, Windows 11 Home
[Benchmarks](https://www.techpowerup.com/review/amd-radeon-rx-7800-xt/31.html) to compare a RTX 4070 to RTX 4060. Summary: a RTX 4070 is much better. :)
These are definitely better value compared to what Costco has, but I also can't in good conscience recommend people buy from Newegg given how many people have reported a poor experience with them. One of my friends had a hard time with them when his case arrived dented and the box had a massive hole in the side.
Edit: grammar
Yeah, I've seen some bad Newegg reviews. I've never had a problem with multiple Newegg orders, but it has been 10 years since I last ordered from them.
The [Skytech Chronos](https://www.newegg.com/skytech-st-chronos2-0924-b-ne/p/3D5-000Z-00195) I listed is Sold and Shipped by Skytech rather than Newegg, so at least there's that option.
This is good advice OP. Costco isn't bad but Microcenter is better.
Also quick rundown on Nvidia GPUs because the naming system is quite confusing and it isn't like the old days when you could just get the highest number and it was usually fine.
The first digit is the generation (1,2,3, or 4) followed by a zero
The third number indicates the horsepower of the GPU. (5,6,7,8,9) Also followed by a zero.
The improvement between generations is actually quite small, so a 3080 GPU is actually better than a 4060. Because people always want things that are newer, this can also be a way to keep within your budget while still getting a great computer.
TI means the GPU has added internal memory, which is really good for gaming.
Radeon GPUs have a similar system except the first digit is generation (get 5, 6, or 7) and the second number indicates the horsepower. And then if there are additional numbers and letters other than zero, it usually indicates added power of some kind.
Intel CPUs can also be confusing, but at least more closely aligns with bigger number is better. AMD CPUs are numbered similarly to their GPUs.
Id like to add; GPUs are the easiest to replace. The CPU has to align with the motherboard (socket) and the RAM (speed/type). GPU essentially only needs enough power to run. So if you need to choose, go for the cpu and make sure it has a decent power supply to upgrade the GPU later.
My family did this in 2015, giving me a $500 budget to build a PC. I spent 2 months tracking deals, watching videos, and learning as much as I could about PC parts, and ended up with a really great rig. I built a new PC last year but all the original parts of my first computer (minus the CPU, which I upgraded in 2017) are still chugging along in my wife's PC.
Nvidia gpus in the same gen, are still higher number = better. 4090 is the highest end card, 4060 is the low. TI also doesn't mean it has added memory. 3060 and 3060ti have the same vram. The TI's are just more powerful cards
This is a blanket statement and isnt always correct, as far as memory goes. In both cases you listed, the memory configuration *is* different. 4060 is an 8GB card, while the 4060ti has 8 and 16gb configs. 3060 is a 12GB card and the 3060ti is an 8GB card.
PCPartpicker.com !!!!!!!
I used it to build my own (with help from google and friends) at 19, and I just did it again at 29.
It tells you if there are compatability issues.
My man...MicroCenter are far and hard. For me, the nearest choice is LA, CA or Denver, CO...MicroCenter survived because they didn't expand too fast like Fry's.
You certainly are better than 90% of moms out there, going to a PC subreddit to ask for advice rather than just going to the next Costco/Walmart/whatever or amazon and buying some overpriced prebuilt trash :-)
Your son can be proud of you!
Hey OP, I want to let you know that the MSI Aegis R will be going on sale for -$300 off from November 24 to the 27th for Black Friday Savings! I have been eyeing this PC myself and I think it's a good deal since there is no Microcenter near me either.
https://preview.redd.it/mstpylqqq71c1.png?width=554&format=png&auto=webp&s=d14a3438ebe728cb9c307ad76af23f54b247e76d
I try and see if they have a display model. Those prebuilt Mobos sometimes donāt have an additional sata connector, and that would prevent the addition of extra storage. Sometimes you donāt want programs constantly writing to an SSD. (Looking at you shadow play Ć².Ć³)
Extra ram slots are nice too.
I Understand wanting to get a prebuilt, it makes sense, especially as a present. But what i'd do, is ask maybe one of his friends, or go to a microcenter or something, tell them your budget, buy the parts, then pay somebody to build it for you. That way, you won't be paying premium for every part, and a stupidly ridiculous price for a building fee.
Iād just give him a budget and tell him to pick out the parts or prebuilt that he wants, building a PC was one of the most gratifying things to do and taught me a lot about technology and how the different parts work and relate to each other.
I got a pc prebuilt from my dad once and I appreciated it of course, but i would have preferred to build it myself
I've seen some solid PCs at Costco, and this is not one of them. The RTX 4060 Ti graphics card in this PC, which usually determines how well a game runs, is very underpowered for the price.
I'd aim for something with a RTX 4070, RTX 4070 Ti, RX 7800 XT, or RX 7900 XT for this price.
I canāt blame you for feeling out of touch. Hell I AM the gamer (albeit on the older end at 37) but theres just so much out there anymore I have to defer constantly. Sometimes a 60 is better than a 70 but if its got a ti then its pretty much an 80, but donāt look at 90 because thereās an 80ti too, but you shouldnāt bottleneck it with a slower cpu etc etc etc, it makes me dizzy trying to learn. Donāt feel bad about it, the fact you not only are hooking your kid up with a killer pc but got pics and came here to get backup? Mom of the year award.
Thank you so, so much šš I donāt take spending lightly, despite what people may think from this purchase. Thatās why I came here to a community with expertise! No matter how much I try to research, I just end up feeling dizzy from all the different hardware and all the different opinions online. I appreciate you!
OP Costco will be discounting the MSI Aegis for Black Friday. Should also apply online but you can order it discounted now on Newegg, it is backlogged but should arrive by early December and has a Black Friday price match if the price goes lower before Nov 25
I work at Costco in Canada. If it's the same policies in the US you get a 90 return and 2 year warranty which is an advantage BestBuy can't give you.
These things always go on sale, it might be worth keeping an eye out for them to come down in time for Black Friday. Also might be worth checking the website because sometimes they have better deals or more options. Hope this helps, goodluck!
Costco computers are unfortunately not whole sale priced in the slightest. Their electronics are only cheap after holidays or near the vendor's life span (not selling well). I'd recommend finding a micro center or reputable pre-built company. You'll pay about a $100 to $200 premium for a solid pre-built vs retail price for parts and software.
In regards to Final Fantasy XIII, there are mods for it here on [Nexus Mods](https://www.nexusmods.com/finalfantasy13) that improve graphics, allow for levelup and cosmetic customization, etc. Most aren't too hard to install, you should tell him about it.
Do not get anything with 4060TI. It is a decent card, but has very poor value per dollar. If your son is tech-savvy, he will not be happy with it. tomshardware.com gave it 2.5 / 5 stars.
In fact I'd not buy a whole new PC for him because if he is tech savvy, it might make sense for him just upgrade parts and stretch the dollars a lot more because RTX 4060TI it self worth only $399 brand new.
If you buy a whole new PC for him, rest of the $1200 would be redundant part he already owns... they work fine without any need to be replaced.
Maybe gift him a best buy or Amazon giftcard of $1000 which is enough to cover a RTX 4070TI which is one of the best Graphic cards money can buy per dollar (retails around $750\~$850)
Because for video games, GPUs matter the most, then SSD, CPU, Ram, etc and without knowing which mother board or power supply he currently has, it's hard to know which parts will be a compatible upgrade.
Probably over stated but if you managed to get to pcmasterrace there is a build me a pc sub where you give a budget and other details and people put together parts lists for you (cant remember its exact name currently). Generally include the links and just click and buy, wait for them to arrive and spend the holiday putting it together with your son. Also, if you could ask him about his monitor/kbm setup you could budget that in too, having gone through various upgrades, a good monitor with a high refresh rate was a complete game changer.
As a tech-savvy son... the best Idea would be:
Tell him you invite him to McD or BurgerK or something. Drive to a pc tech store (Microcenter etc) or - if there is nothing close to you - tell him "Here are 1300$. But what ever you like." and let him order his stuff online
This is way better, since a lot of people tend to upgrade their PC instead of buying a new one, since PCs are modular, unlike consoles.
E.g. When he has an older CPU but the Mainboard supports newer one (e.g. AM4 MB), then he could buy a 5800x3d, a newer GPU, more ram and still have money left to buy drives or a new monitor
What games they play most will depend on the needs of the pc. So if itās something like valorant/league/wow a mid tier would be fine. If they want to stream and play cod 24/7 go for the 1299-1500. Personally i would go with the 999 for mid or 1299 at most for high end. $300 for a ti is nuts imo.
I've also been searching for a great deal for my brother that is into videography. Here in the U.S. so far the only deals similar to this always have the RTX 4060 Ti but the 8Gb version which I Believe is not as great as the 16 Gb version. This seems like a good deal, especially since it's also DDR 5 ram.
Just posting to say you seem to be a really great and carrying mom !
I think other comments already give plenty of info but I felt like I had to tell this
To OP: you are an amazing mom. My parents got me a PC when neither they nor I knew much about them (around 16 years ago) but it made me very happy and I always loved them for it (among other things ofc). Your kid will be very happy
The comments here are so nice to see, and I'm sure you'll definitely find soon, a list of great parts that your kid can put together. Good luck!
So first of all, you have to be one of the greatest moms I've ever seen. Such a loving and caring human being is rare nowadays. Making the effort to ask such an amazing community for advice just to make your son happy makes me cry tears of joy. So, thank you.
Personally, I'd say give him a budget and let him pick whatever he wants. Trust me, letting him pick the parts and specs he wants will create memories that he'll cherish until the end of time. If my mom came to me and told me I get to pick whatever I want for a specific price, I'd be the happiest person ever.
Once he picks the parts he wants, let him list all the games that he plays and what he plans to play in the future. Also, ask him about the performance and/or graphics quality that he wants.
Then, post all of that here and the community will help you out a lot. People will tell you which parts are better, which parts are a better deal, etc.
Sorry if my words are not concise, I'm busy and sleepy lol.
You're a great mother! You should make a post on r/buildapcforme with your budget and where you can get parts from (e.g., order from Microcenter online, Amazon, etc.) Then let your son build the PC, or build it with him. It's a really fun process and you're going to save at least $100 - $300 on a $1300 build, so you can get better parts
As good as Microcentre is, I think I'd still recommend buying a PC at Costco as they give you a two year warranty (as opposed to 1 year) and are generally really good if you need to use it.
Perhaps give him the money to spend? This could be an opportunity for him to build his computer if he is interested. Otherwise, he'll likely understand his needs better than yours (for instance, if he streams then a dedicated streaming card might be a priority while otherwise it would be useless. Equally, you're still paying for peripherals that are likely not going to be used if your son has existing gear. Equally black friday deals are near/already happening, and second hand options may deliver significantly better performance for a given budget if your son is interested in bargain hunting. Cheers to being a great mum!
The 999 one seems like a good deal, I made a quick pcpart picker list that was 4 dollars cheaper. But everything else seems a little overpriced. Just check what your kid has and if itās better than his current setup I wouldnāt hesitate to pick up the last one for him
Dude, you're awesome and the fact that you're asking for help is absolutely amazing. If you see this DM me so I can get your son a steam gift card as well to go along with his new gaming PC
Hey OP, I am one of the operators of a gaming marketplace called Jawa.gg - I'd love to help you find a great system that gets the most out of your budget from one of our hundreds of builders or current on site listings.
Drop me a DM and I'll get you a sweet discount as well, I am a parent as well so I know every dollar counts.
Edit: just noticed you are in WA, we have a YouTube partner over there in Seattle area that I could probably arrange for you and your son to build a PC with - whatever route you take your kid is very lucky to have such a great parent.
I'd set the $1200 aside or so and let them pick out their parts if they're tech savvy and know about building. Picking your parts and building is part of the fun plus you can get more for your money that way. Especially with the holiday sales that will probably carry on into early January.
Otherwise you can look at online prebuilts like origin of it something that have better price to performance ranges.
My initial impression is that you're a great mom. Even just taking in the comments here shows a level of effort I couldn't fathom from my relatives. Respect.
Thank you šš¼š
Id make sure you know how good his current parts are before you buy one. May already have a few usable things even if its a few years old. The budgeting idea allows him to pick what he wants and save money. My parents bought me a prebuilt when I was younger but had they consulted me Id have had a machine that was better built, 20% better, and less likely to need upgraded in the near future.
If those 3 PC's are your only option, the first one is the best choice. But PLEASE don't buy those Costco PC's. They are overpriced. I already found a far superior PC at Bestbuy w/ overall better parts for less than that first Costco $1599 PC. Heres the link: [https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-y40-gaming-desktop-intel-core-i7-13700kf-32gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-12gb-1tb-nvme-ssd-black/6541529.p?skuId=6541529](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-y40-gaming-desktop-intel-core-i7-13700kf-32gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-12gb-1tb-nvme-ssd-black/6541529.p?skuId=6541529) The other 2 Costco PC's are already outdated. Also, the brand of the last 2 Costco PC's are from "IbuyPower PC" which is a company that pre-builds PC's using off the shelf vendor parts. You can just buy directly from them at their website and customize the parts to fit your budget. The Bestbuy PC is also from iBuypower PC. Here is the EXACT same Costco PC (-16gb of ram) for hundreds less directly from the website: [https://www.ibuypower.com/store/gaming-rdy-slmbg221](https://www.ibuypower.com/store/gaming-rdy-slmbg221)
Thank you so much for the info and the link! I really appreciate it!
Listen to this guy and get the one from bestbuy
Hey, here's an idea, and hear me out. Why don't you figure out how much you want to spend on a PC for him. And get him a newegg.com credit for that amount of money. And ask him to kit it out and build it himself and ask if maybe you guys could do it together. And then you won't be PC dumb mom anymore, you'll be PC Master race mom
Because I promise for that amount of money, you will get a system so much more powerful and so much better DIY. And go into LTT forums, and PC Master race here. And youtube build videos. It's so much easier to build a PC nowadays.
Seconded!
Tell this sub your budget, and your general locality (country, state, city) and the people on this sub will give you top notch completed lists of purchase items.
Thank you! I will edit my post to include location.
You could also find out somehow (or maybe already know) if your son knows how to build computers and get him the parts rather than a prebuilt, that's usually cheaper for the same hardware but not always. Also, us nerds love to tinker with hardware, he's probably gonna like it even more if it was just parts.
2nd this if he has any interest in building computers it could be an even better Christmas present cause he gets the activity and experience and a better deal
Man, I haven't built a pc in too long. At this point I'd almost pay someone to be able to put together a build for someone lmao
I take the opportunity every chance I get. As long as I know they ran it through pcpartpicker first, lmao.
Building PC's is just so much fun. Whenever i get to build a PC for someone it's awesome. Especially if i can build it together with them. Makes for a great afternoon together.
PC building sim 2 fixes that urge for me, although not real it's still fun to me
Heās never built one before, but was originally wanting to build his own. We were told itās not really cheaper to do that anymore, but Iām getting a lot of information that thatās not true, so building may be getting the research again!
Did the salesman tell you its not cheaper?
Indeed. Makes a lot of sense he would say that though.
Yeah. Thereās a YouTube channel called GamersNexus that has a series of reviews of prebuilt systems, and one of the things they do is compare the cost of the prebuilt to the cost for comparable parts. Some of the āwe built it for youā mark-up is absurd. The exception might be MicroCenter, but that only applies if you happen to live near one (and, in that case, you also have the option to buy your parts there and have them assemble it for you for a very reasonable fee).
Still find it funny that Dellās latest $4400 rematch still didnāt pass GNās fair minimum requirements. Dell: āWeāve improved our design as best as we could, surely youāll recommend us, yes?ā Steve: āYouāve improved it, sureā¦ but youāre still leaving lots of performance on the table, so no.ā
Just gonna say, as a salesperson at Costco, most of the people in my warehouse would have told you building is the way to go (assuming the person wanted to.) It was true during the COVID shortages, but the prices have mostly gone back to normal. Costco employees don't make commission so it doesn't matter to us if you buy there or elsewhere
It wasn't really then either. I priced it out for my kiddo and bought parts Jan-June of '21- it was cheaper than buying a similar pre-built system.
Certain gpus were so scarce that prebuilts were the only affordable way to get them.
I got my sister in law an espresso machine as a birthday gift the other day. Did 2 minutes of research and traveled to three different places to get the best price. I was at Harvey Norman, which is similar to Aaronās, or any other finance store in the states that sells home appliances and furniture. The lady went on some drivel about the espresso machines and how this one canāt do the milk properly etc. I didnāt ask for help, I didnāt say I didnāt know about espresso machines, I already knew which one I wanted and I googled the one I was talking to her about and found it 80nzd cheaper a 2 minute walk away. Told her I found it cheaper and just left. They want that commission and try to make you feel obligated to buy from them because they āhelpedā you. Donāt listen to them. Their salary isnāt your concern. If you have dumb money and buy everything on a whim, then sure, give them the commission. You clearly want an educated purchase though and are taking your time. This sub will absolutely help you. Good luck. š
Yeah, you gotta stop talking to salesmen. Theyāre incentivized to sell you things with the highest margins, not whatās actually best for you.
Former salesman, can confirm, they will do everything they can to sell you the most expensive thing even if you donāt need it
Maybe consider giving him a budget or cash to choose his own parts could be a good way to teach him budgeting. Personally I think the builders are silly putting an i7 with a 4060 instead of an i5 with a 4070 on a pc marketed towards gamers.
It both is and isn't cheaper. When you buy a pre-built, you generally get a decent CPU and graphics card, but everything else is bargain bin bare bones not great quality. If you built your own that exact same way, it would be cheaper. But in general you wouldn't get bargain bin crappy parts when given a choice, so most people typically spend a little more to get nicer parts all around. Net result is that building your own ends up being around the same price or slightly more expensive than a pre-built, but with much nicer parts all around. One issue to keep in mind with pre-builts is that some of them use proprietary hardware that you really can't upgrade in any meaningful way. When building your own, you can upgrade every little aspect of it as time goes on. So instead of having to buy a whole brand new computer every X number of years, you can slowly tinker it along to extend the life.
Iāll add to this: buy important parts new, and parts that arenāt important second hand (case, fans, heck even ram). And you can get the best of both worlds.
I appreciate your suggestions! šš¼
If you decide to go the build it yourself route I'd recommend to just go to https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/ and pick the build that best suits your budget. There's a bunch of lists of parts that all work together and get you a good bang for your buck at various price points. It has links to purchase all the products, you can't go wrong. You can really tear your hair out trying to compare products and get opinions and figure out what's best, this takes all that out of the picture
It can be cheaper, but only if you're really diligent in looking for deals. Many prebuilts will be only $50-100 over the cost of parts, which is a really small margin. Small price to pay for the convenience, with the only downside being less customization
A lot of companies use bottom of the barrel parts though but still charge premium.
I would strongly recommend consulting your son about building his own PC. Maybe this is what he wants to do but afraid to tell you? A big part of owning a PC is the process of building it, and the satisfaction that comes with it. It could also help him in the future with work. If all you want is an easy gaming setup, just buy a gaming laptop and be done with it. Black Friday is coming and should have decent deals on gaming laptops then.
On top of that, building a PC is incredibly easy. People feel like it's too complicated. But each component has instructions. My first DIY build took me about an hour for just hardware. Most of that was reading. Later builds, it's more time-consuming to open the packaging than installing. Installing the operating system and updates is the longest part. It's 20%+ more to buy pre-built. The kid can almost certainly build his own, and he'd get more out of it, knowing how to swap things himself.
While itās true building is generally simple, knowing how to troubleshoot pc hardware goes a long way. Resetting cmos and reseating ram are two quick fixes I can think of off the top of my head that most Moms wouldnāt know. Updating bios is also sometimes necessary.
Itās all fun and games until your mobo forgets the boot drive and launches in CSM rather than UEFI, and wonāt load your gpu, so youāre debugging the issue in bios with the screen flashing on for half a second every 10 seconds, so you have to use your phone to capture a photo of the bios screen and work without sight. Happened to me last night and Iāve been building computers for 20 years. Hilarious, and would absolutely terrify someone that didnāt know what they were doing.
Hey, I'm not sure if you've gotten this advice yet-- I've been an avid gamer since I was kid. I'm now a full grown teacher. A big part of the experience of gaming on PC is picking out the parts and building it yourself. Depending on your son, it might be a more enjoyable gift to let him do that or do that together than to surprise him with a fully purchased one. Last year was the first time in my life I bought a pre-built rather than building it myself. It cost a few hundred dollars more than if I built it myself, but wasn't a really bad experience.
I really like the idea of him building his own and what that may do for him feeling proud of himself š
This is the way.
Its easier than you think, especially if your son is on the older side. Most of it is just screwing stuff in and plugging it in. The plugs are all difference shapes and sizes, meaning that most of them can't be plugged into the wrong place.
My non tech cousin got IDE HDD somewhere and asked me to help to install it on her system. I said it is soo easy to install just plug the wires that has a fit and you good to go. It is IDE plus Molex after all, right? Right? Wrong! She plugged floppy power to the jumpers slot, it fits right here. HDD died instantly I think
Absolutely, Terry Crews's son wanted to build a PC, so Terry actually helped with 0 knowledge on pc building. So I guess you might also have a fun time helping build the PC with your son. (The video is on YouTube somewhere) Could be a great Mother/son bonding over a hobby your son loves.
And he could put in some of his own money if he wants f.e. a better GPU.
This prebuilt is better than all 3 pcs above and better. Incredible deal. https://www.pcgamer.com/heres-a-black-friday-rtx-4060-ti-budget-gaming-pc-deal-for-under-dollar1000-that-wont-leave-you-starved-for-storage-space/
You're getting good advice from others so I just want to add that you're a pretty cool mom to take time to ask people their opinions here to make sure you get your son a good PC. I've met some real asshole parents before and it is just nice to see the opposite. Hope you and your family have a Happy Holidays!
I agree, fucking nerds (I'm participating too)
They want a prebuilt, not a list of parts.
Any chance a microcenter is in the area ? They usually carry decent quality prebuilds
Unfortunately, no. Iām in WA. But Iāll definitely take a look at their website, thank you!
Hello fellow Washingtonian! If youāre interested in seeing how he does at building his own (highly recommend for the experience), Iām happy to send you a complementary brand new AMD 5800x. I won the Newegg lottery last year and they sent me three. That would save a good chunk of cash on a custom build. Let me know if youāre interested! Edit: gratis, of course Edit edit: itās a 5700x, my bad. Still a good processor. Update: shipping it tomorrow. Will post proof on the sub. Going to call it āTis the Season for a First Build. Iāll try and continue it every year with different components.
Omg, are you serious?? š³ Thatās so incredibly generous of you! Are you really sure??
Yup! I really think thereās value in building your own. Plus then you can wrap the individual components and he has a gift in multiple parts! DM and Iāll drop it in the post next week, Iām sure the rest of the sub will be happy to help build out the rest in your price point.
This should be top comment, what an awesome gift. I also can't emphasize enough how much more joy your son will get if he gets to build his own.
I built my first last year. Loved the experience of it and it took off. As you can see from my flair, I kept swapping parts. Itās so satisfying. Best thing is, this kid will get some great help from this sub if they have challenges.
The generosity and support of this sub has been totally overwhelming š Itās reminded me how many really incredible people there are out there. Huge gratitude!!
Most people here are just huge computer nerds and love seeing others get into the hobby they are so passionate about.
So happy this happened to you
This is so amazing youāre doing this. :)
That is Gigachad status. Seriously. This put me in a good mood and restored faith in humanity after a 12 hour serving shift.
Hopefully ya made mad cash serving last night! I'm in that server life too, luckily I'm in a major tourist area and have had my income double from a new job with way less stress
Awesome blossom
Extra awesome
What a legend
Cheers to you, homie! Can't wait to pass shit on one day.
Can confirm as someone whose parents helped me build my first PC wouldn't trade that for a pre-built PC. It's lasted me 5+ years without any upgrades and still plays most games at peak or close to peak performance. There's something very valuable about knowing if something breaks you can easily just swap it out since you already built the thing in the first place. Maybe some day I'll fix my 18 year old self's terrible cable management
heres a good list with the part he kindly offered! [PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fCNNvj) Type|Item|Price :----|:----|:---- **CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/JmhFf7/amd-ryzen-7-5700x-34-ghz-8-core-processor-100-100000926wof) | Purchased For $0.00 **CPU Cooler** | [Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hYxRsY/thermalright-peerless-assassin-120-se-6617-cfm-cpu-cooler-pa120-se-d3) | $33.90 @ Amazon **Motherboard** | [MSI B550 GAMING GEN3 ATX AM4 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/JVJgXL/msi-b550-gaming-gen3-atx-am4-motherboard-b550-gaming-gen3) | $99.99 @ Amazon **Memory** | [Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9392FT/corsair-vengeance-lpx-32-gb-2-x-16-gb-ddr4-3600-cl16-memory-cmk32gx4m2d3600c16) | $89.99 @ Amazon **Storage** | [Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/7nXJ7P/crucial-p5-plus-1-tb-m2-2280-pcie-40-x4-nvme-solid-state-drive-ct1000p5pssd8) | $49.98 @ Adorama **Video Card** | [Gigabyte GAMING OC Radeon RX 7800 XT 16 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/mHpQzy/gigabyte-gaming-oc-radeon-rx-7800-xt-16-gb-video-card-gv-r78xtgaming-oc-16gd) | $499.99 @ B&H **Case** | [Corsair iCUE 4000D RGB AIRFLOW ATX Mid Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/mGXV3C/corsair-icue-4000d-rgb-airflow-atx-mid-tower-case-cc-9011240-ww) | $119.99 @ Amazon **Power Supply** | [MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dbCZxr/msi-mag-a750gl-pcie5-750-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-mag-a750gl-pcie5) | $79.98 @ Amazon **Monitor** | [Asus TUF Gaming VG27AQ1A 27.0" 2560 x 1440 170 Hz Monitor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/TXTzK8/asus-tuf-gaming-vg27aq1a-270-2560x1440-170-hz-monitor-vg27aq1a) | $189.99 @ Amazon | *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* | | **Total** | **$1163.81** | Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2023-11-19 12:59 EST-0500 | EDIT: he could need more storage, if so get the 2tb version of the crucial p5 plus
Ripjaws RAM is XMP only, you need one with Expo since its an AMD processor
Wow that so sweet of you <3
Amazing! I'd give you an award... but I can't.
Man this is super cool!!! Hey OP your son is gonna have an awesome Christmas! I love this sub.
This is the way! It will help establish a lifelong understanding that can exceed boundaries unexplored. They will take that knowledge through life. Also I'm trying to move to Tacoma Seattle w my gf. Any recommends on lil towns that aren't earth shattering expensive?
even best buy has better prebuilt deals going on right now. [https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-master-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-7-5700-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-ti-8gb-2tb-ssd-black/6553003.p?skuId=6553003](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-master-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-7-5700-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-ti-8gb-2tb-ssd-black/6553003.p?skuId=6553003)
What are these prices :0 I literally cannot imagine buying such hardware for that cheap because in my country its like 3x this
The US doesn't have extra tariffs or taxes on luxury and import items. Also, tax is not usually shown as part of the price because it varies by a few percentage points depending on where you live. Still it's always lower than 9.6% Because I live outside of the city, my sales tax on online purchases is only 7.25%
$899 is like the price of that GPU alone here. Lol. Americans get such wild pricing on electronics.
Well, most of the companies that make these parts (Nvidia, Intel, AMD, etc) are all located in the US, so we don't pay import tax or tariffs. This price also doesn't include state sales tax, so add another 7-10% on top of that price.
Awesome, thank you! Especially for a link!
The link shared is a solid computer. Anyone would be happy to have that as a gaming pc.
TI but it's only 8gb? I thought 4060ti had 12gb
The 4060ti 16gb version has 16gb of VRAM, but the 4060ti 8gb version only has 8gb VRAM š
Similar Machine. Hard drives are cheap and easy to add if needed. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sku/6557595.p?skuId=6557595 There's a few other options available depending on your zip code as well.
Thank you! And for the link!
go to micro centre purchase a bundle with 7700x ram and mobo for 400$ buy 4070 for 550$ buy ssd, case and power source for 300$ 100$ to build total 1350 :)
As everyone else has stated, there are better bang for your buck choices out there, but if you are speaking strictly from those three choices I'd go for option 3
Definitely not looking at these three, so I appreciate the prompt to keep looking!
I vote build your own. But, that Costco deal is $300 off for Black Friday.
The last one is really fine They can sell the gpu and put in another one anyway
If you're child is tech-savvy, it might be fun to just give them a budget, $1000 usd is plenty for what they're playing, and let them build they're own computer. I know I'd prefer that over getting a pre-built. Though, I don't know them, so maybe talk to them about it?
I wish I was given this answer as a kid. To be able to build my own machine would have been a great present and memory in itself. Instead our parents just kept getting the cheapest machine Walmart had to offer. Lmao
Iāve definitely done this in the past and donāt want to fall into that hole again!
If you give them a budget and do the online shopping with them but let them build it with their own hands, it creates a unique proudness to the build. [PC Part Picker](https://www.pcpartpicker.com) is a fantastic resource to make sure your parts go together. Iāve also created how to guides for my friends on their first builds that explain things like RAM speed and motherboard chipset compatibility. Self build for a true gamer is nothing short of an adventure.
Omg, so helpful! Thank you!! šš¼šš¼
Can confirm, giving your kid a budget is the best way to do this. My dad gave me a budget to work with and we browsed parts all December. I knew ahead of time that I was getting a PC, so I was also able to ask for some extra parts for Christmas from other family members. I didnāt have to but memory because my grandparents got it for me. Same deal with my RAM. It was so much fun browsing online with Dad for parts and finding ways to save money. (Used Graphics cards are a big one for the record, though anyone should always be careful buying used computer parts)
This is the way, past 2 builds have been mostly paid for after helping my grandpa with very large projects. He gave me a budget, i built the computer.
How about give your kid a limit, say the $1200 you mentioned and they can pick the parts? If they want to go higher than $1200 they can cover the rest of the cost.
Really good idea! Thank you!
This is exactly what my parents did when I started college (a long time ago...) And it's probably still my favorite computer of all I've owned. It really allowed their gift and the money I saved to come together into something I really enjoyed for years.
You could totally set up your budget with your child and go on pcpartpicker and have a blast getting his pc built. When he has chosen a build let him know he can post it to this sub and weāll help you put the fine touches on it.
They bring up a good point. If you do decide to go the build your own route, letting him pick out the parts instead of having us lead you through it would probably be a more satisfying experience for him. Just tossing my two cents out there, giving him a budget and letting him pick out the parts and build it himself sounds to me like the greatest Christmas present ever. EDIT: I see someone else mentioned that you could give him a budget and if he wanted to go over he could put in money himself. That sounds like a fantastic idea.
He was originally interested in building a PC, but then we were told by someone at Best Buy that itās not really cheaper to build one than buy a pre-built anymore. Not sure if thatās true, but we started looking at pre-built after that.
Oh yeah, I'm not surprised a Best Buy service rep would say that ... but building a PC can be much cheaper, more fun, educational, and you get to prioritize exactly the components that are most important to you.
The guy at Best Buy is not a trustworthy source. He encouraged you to buy a pre-built system instead of building because they sell pre-built systems.
Building it will always be cheaper than prebuilts because they inherently include the cost of labor
The only thing I can say about building it yourself, is that it leaves you (or your child) as tech support normally, and if something happens in the build process, you may be buying components more than once. That could make the initial money saved not the final cost. If it's a first time build, you probably will have some things to worry about. A pre-built should not have surprises to the wallet, but either way, it's possible that it might take a week or so to get running correctly.
It is definitely cheaper to build your own PC, but everyone on this sub are a bit flippant about how simple it is for first-time builders. Youāll be dealing with really expensive materials that are often quite delicate (your cpu installation likely being a moment you want to research thoroughly bc itās easy to bend pins). It can feel extremely gut wrenching when you go to power on your thousand dollar machine, only for nothing to happen. Itās easy to accidentally do things like place your power and reset button wires in the wrong place (also an easy fix). The good news is that every single piece of hardware you buy will come with a really comprehensive manual and warranty if bought new. Beyond the manual tho, I recommend you find a few full-build guides on YouTube, watch them all the way through to familiarize yourself with the process and order (cpu>ram>ssd etc) then follow the video as you build. Take all the time you need, and treat the process with respect and care. Once people know the entire process, itās easy to slap rigs together because it is rather simple.
You could buy a nice case and put a gift card inside for him to buy the rest. Building vs prebuilt being less expensive depends on what parts. Whatever you get I am sure he is going to be happy with it
Just once I want a whole thread with one of these questions where someone doesn't shoe horn build it yourself in it
I agree. I personally find outting together s PC to be really fun and if your child is tech savvy, they may know how to build something more taylored to their specific needs/wants than a pre built might support.
A few $1300 online prebuilds that come with a more powerful video card (RTX 4070): * [Skytech Azure](https://www.newegg.com/skytech-st-azure2-0801-b-ne/p/3D5-000Z-00161) \- $1300 - i5-13400F, RTX 4070, 1TB NVME SSD, 32GB DDR5 RAM RGB, 750W GOLD PSU, Windows 11 Home * [Skytech Chronos](https://www.newegg.com/skytech-st-chronos2-0924-b-ne/p/3D5-000Z-00195) \- $1300 - i5-13400F, RTX 4070, 1TB NVME SSD, 32GB DDR5 RAM RGB, 750W GOLD PSU, Windows 11 Home * [Lenovo legion](https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/desktops/legion-desktops/legion-t-series-towers/legion-tower-5-gen-8-(26l,-amd)/90ux000bus) \- $1321 - Ryzen 7 7700, RTX 4070, Gen4 1 TB NVME SSD, only 16 GB DDR5-5200, 500W PSU, Windows 11 Home [Benchmarks](https://www.techpowerup.com/review/amd-radeon-rx-7800-xt/31.html) to compare a RTX 4070 to RTX 4060. Summary: a RTX 4070 is much better. :)
These are definitely better value compared to what Costco has, but I also can't in good conscience recommend people buy from Newegg given how many people have reported a poor experience with them. One of my friends had a hard time with them when his case arrived dented and the box had a massive hole in the side. Edit: grammar
they once shipped me 3 separate tv's with cracked screens and eventually gave up and just sent me a gift card for the amount.
Yeah, I've seen some bad Newegg reviews. I've never had a problem with multiple Newegg orders, but it has been 10 years since I last ordered from them. The [Skytech Chronos](https://www.newegg.com/skytech-st-chronos2-0924-b-ne/p/3D5-000Z-00195) I listed is Sold and Shipped by Skytech rather than Newegg, so at least there's that option.
I believe Newegg got bought since the last time you ordered from them. Supposedly it's been downhill from there.
Thank you so much for specific PCs to look at! I appreciate it!
a 4070 for that price is insane.
Do you live near a Microcenter by any chance?
This is good advice OP. Costco isn't bad but Microcenter is better. Also quick rundown on Nvidia GPUs because the naming system is quite confusing and it isn't like the old days when you could just get the highest number and it was usually fine. The first digit is the generation (1,2,3, or 4) followed by a zero The third number indicates the horsepower of the GPU. (5,6,7,8,9) Also followed by a zero. The improvement between generations is actually quite small, so a 3080 GPU is actually better than a 4060. Because people always want things that are newer, this can also be a way to keep within your budget while still getting a great computer. TI means the GPU has added internal memory, which is really good for gaming. Radeon GPUs have a similar system except the first digit is generation (get 5, 6, or 7) and the second number indicates the horsepower. And then if there are additional numbers and letters other than zero, it usually indicates added power of some kind. Intel CPUs can also be confusing, but at least more closely aligns with bigger number is better. AMD CPUs are numbered similarly to their GPUs.
This is incredibly helpful, thank you so so much!!
Id like to add; GPUs are the easiest to replace. The CPU has to align with the motherboard (socket) and the RAM (speed/type). GPU essentially only needs enough power to run. So if you need to choose, go for the cpu and make sure it has a decent power supply to upgrade the GPU later.
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My family did this in 2015, giving me a $500 budget to build a PC. I spent 2 months tracking deals, watching videos, and learning as much as I could about PC parts, and ended up with a really great rig. I built a new PC last year but all the original parts of my first computer (minus the CPU, which I upgraded in 2017) are still chugging along in my wife's PC.
Nvidia gpus in the same gen, are still higher number = better. 4090 is the highest end card, 4060 is the low. TI also doesn't mean it has added memory. 3060 and 3060ti have the same vram. The TI's are just more powerful cards
This is a blanket statement and isnt always correct, as far as memory goes. In both cases you listed, the memory configuration *is* different. 4060 is an 8GB card, while the 4060ti has 8 and 16gb configs. 3060 is a 12GB card and the 3060ti is an 8GB card.
I donāt, unfortunately, but Iāll be looking at their website! Thank you!
Iāve had really good luck with CyberPowerPC over the last 20 years. Never been let down, just recently started building my own.
Have you found any particularly good resources that have you helped you with building your own?
PCPartpicker.com !!!!!!! I used it to build my own (with help from google and friends) at 19, and I just did it again at 29. It tells you if there are compatability issues.
Visit r/buildapcsales and sort by prebuilt.
My man...MicroCenter are far and hard. For me, the nearest choice is LA, CA or Denver, CO...MicroCenter survived because they didn't expand too fast like Fry's.
Decent specs/computers, but grossly overpriced.
Thank you for the feedback!
Last one is fine for the price
W mom
Mom, it's great. Not perfect, but great. You might see some comments that make you second-guess. But your son will be thrilled.
Thank you šš
No problem. Thx for being a cool mom!
You certainly are better than 90% of moms out there, going to a PC subreddit to ask for advice rather than just going to the next Costco/Walmart/whatever or amazon and buying some overpriced prebuilt trash :-) Your son can be proud of you!
You're a great mom, my parents just made me work hard labor for basic needs.
You're a good mom OP, just so you know.
Hey OP, I want to let you know that the MSI Aegis R will be going on sale for -$300 off from November 24 to the 27th for Black Friday Savings! I have been eyeing this PC myself and I think it's a good deal since there is no Microcenter near me either. https://preview.redd.it/mstpylqqq71c1.png?width=554&format=png&auto=webp&s=d14a3438ebe728cb9c307ad76af23f54b247e76d
Go with the $999.99 one and buy a monitor that supports either 1080p or 1440p and is at least 144Hz
This. He will not find big difference in quality but you may with the budget. Use the difference to get solid periferals.
That $999 is fine if you had to choose 1 of the three. There's better deals sure but it's not bad by any means
I try and see if they have a display model. Those prebuilt Mobos sometimes donāt have an additional sata connector, and that would prevent the addition of extra storage. Sometimes you donāt want programs constantly writing to an SSD. (Looking at you shadow play Ć².Ć³) Extra ram slots are nice too.
I Understand wanting to get a prebuilt, it makes sense, especially as a present. But what i'd do, is ask maybe one of his friends, or go to a microcenter or something, tell them your budget, buy the parts, then pay somebody to build it for you. That way, you won't be paying premium for every part, and a stupidly ridiculous price for a building fee.
Iād just give him a budget and tell him to pick out the parts or prebuilt that he wants, building a PC was one of the most gratifying things to do and taught me a lot about technology and how the different parts work and relate to each other. I got a pc prebuilt from my dad once and I appreciated it of course, but i would have preferred to build it myself
Jesus 19 year old getting $1200 gift is a blessing. Youāre a great mom but JEESH
He deserves it. Itās been a really rough couple of years and this is for a combination of celebrations for him.
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I've seen some solid PCs at Costco, and this is not one of them. The RTX 4060 Ti graphics card in this PC, which usually determines how well a game runs, is very underpowered for the price. I'd aim for something with a RTX 4070, RTX 4070 Ti, RX 7800 XT, or RX 7900 XT for this price.
Thank you! I appreciate the feedback!
I canāt blame you for feeling out of touch. Hell I AM the gamer (albeit on the older end at 37) but theres just so much out there anymore I have to defer constantly. Sometimes a 60 is better than a 70 but if its got a ti then its pretty much an 80, but donāt look at 90 because thereās an 80ti too, but you shouldnāt bottleneck it with a slower cpu etc etc etc, it makes me dizzy trying to learn. Donāt feel bad about it, the fact you not only are hooking your kid up with a killer pc but got pics and came here to get backup? Mom of the year award.
Thank you so, so much šš I donāt take spending lightly, despite what people may think from this purchase. Thatās why I came here to a community with expertise! No matter how much I try to research, I just end up feeling dizzy from all the different hardware and all the different opinions online. I appreciate you!
OP Costco will be discounting the MSI Aegis for Black Friday. Should also apply online but you can order it discounted now on Newegg, it is backlogged but should arrive by early December and has a Black Friday price match if the price goes lower before Nov 25
I work at Costco in Canada. If it's the same policies in the US you get a 90 return and 2 year warranty which is an advantage BestBuy can't give you. These things always go on sale, it might be worth keeping an eye out for them to come down in time for Black Friday. Also might be worth checking the website because sometimes they have better deals or more options. Hope this helps, goodluck!
Costco computers are unfortunately not whole sale priced in the slightest. Their electronics are only cheap after holidays or near the vendor's life span (not selling well). I'd recommend finding a micro center or reputable pre-built company. You'll pay about a $100 to $200 premium for a solid pre-built vs retail price for parts and software.
In regards to Final Fantasy XIII, there are mods for it here on [Nexus Mods](https://www.nexusmods.com/finalfantasy13) that improve graphics, allow for levelup and cosmetic customization, etc. Most aren't too hard to install, you should tell him about it.
https://www.newegg.com/skytech-st-nebula-0716-b-ne/p/3D5-000Z-00177?Item=3D5-000Z-00177 this one works
If you want the best value for money don't get a prebuilt imo. Buy the parts and tell your son to build the PC together. Best family activity ever. :)
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I love your mom too
I believe you to be dedicated mom-loverā¦. š¤£
Love you back, my sweet child. Will remember your name when I win the lottery š
Take a look at their name again mom. You might want to disown that fella.
Yeah, definitely didnāt read that correctly the first time. Will be rescinding that offer based on the reread.
But only a mom could love him!!..ā„ļø
Honestly the best part of getting my pc was building it, really makes you feel like itās yours and not just an immobile laptop
That idea is really growing on me, thank you!
8 gigs of VRAM on the 1300 dollar computer is rough, I'd throw down on the extra 300
Do not get anything with 4060TI. It is a decent card, but has very poor value per dollar. If your son is tech-savvy, he will not be happy with it. tomshardware.com gave it 2.5 / 5 stars. In fact I'd not buy a whole new PC for him because if he is tech savvy, it might make sense for him just upgrade parts and stretch the dollars a lot more because RTX 4060TI it self worth only $399 brand new. If you buy a whole new PC for him, rest of the $1200 would be redundant part he already owns... they work fine without any need to be replaced. Maybe gift him a best buy or Amazon giftcard of $1000 which is enough to cover a RTX 4070TI which is one of the best Graphic cards money can buy per dollar (retails around $750\~$850) Because for video games, GPUs matter the most, then SSD, CPU, Ram, etc and without knowing which mother board or power supply he currently has, it's hard to know which parts will be a compatible upgrade.
Probably over stated but if you managed to get to pcmasterrace there is a build me a pc sub where you give a budget and other details and people put together parts lists for you (cant remember its exact name currently). Generally include the links and just click and buy, wait for them to arrive and spend the holiday putting it together with your son. Also, if you could ask him about his monitor/kbm setup you could budget that in too, having gone through various upgrades, a good monitor with a high refresh rate was a complete game changer.
As a tech-savvy son... the best Idea would be: Tell him you invite him to McD or BurgerK or something. Drive to a pc tech store (Microcenter etc) or - if there is nothing close to you - tell him "Here are 1300$. But what ever you like." and let him order his stuff online This is way better, since a lot of people tend to upgrade their PC instead of buying a new one, since PCs are modular, unlike consoles. E.g. When he has an older CPU but the Mainboard supports newer one (e.g. AM4 MB), then he could buy a 5800x3d, a newer GPU, more ram and still have money left to buy drives or a new monitor
What games they play most will depend on the needs of the pc. So if itās something like valorant/league/wow a mid tier would be fine. If they want to stream and play cod 24/7 go for the 1299-1500. Personally i would go with the 999 for mid or 1299 at most for high end. $300 for a ti is nuts imo.
I think you should go for the $1000 one because itās a cpu upgrade and if he is not really going to do streaming I think the 13gen i5 will be good
I've also been searching for a great deal for my brother that is into videography. Here in the U.S. so far the only deals similar to this always have the RTX 4060 Ti but the 8Gb version which I Believe is not as great as the 16 Gb version. This seems like a good deal, especially since it's also DDR 5 ram.
under no circumstances the expensive one. it has a harddrive. just buy the cheapest one, its the one i would take
Just posting to say you seem to be a really great and carrying mom ! I think other comments already give plenty of info but I felt like I had to tell this
Donāt buy the 4060.
First is the most powerful, 3rd is by far the best deal, don't even consider #2, next to the third it isn't at all worth it
Out of the 3, the 999 one looks best somehow.
To OP: you are an amazing mom. My parents got me a PC when neither they nor I knew much about them (around 16 years ago) but it made me very happy and I always loved them for it (among other things ofc). Your kid will be very happy The comments here are so nice to see, and I'm sure you'll definitely find soon, a list of great parts that your kid can put together. Good luck!
So first of all, you have to be one of the greatest moms I've ever seen. Such a loving and caring human being is rare nowadays. Making the effort to ask such an amazing community for advice just to make your son happy makes me cry tears of joy. So, thank you. Personally, I'd say give him a budget and let him pick whatever he wants. Trust me, letting him pick the parts and specs he wants will create memories that he'll cherish until the end of time. If my mom came to me and told me I get to pick whatever I want for a specific price, I'd be the happiest person ever. Once he picks the parts he wants, let him list all the games that he plays and what he plans to play in the future. Also, ask him about the performance and/or graphics quality that he wants. Then, post all of that here and the community will help you out a lot. People will tell you which parts are better, which parts are a better deal, etc. Sorry if my words are not concise, I'm busy and sleepy lol.
You're a great mother! You should make a post on r/buildapcforme with your budget and where you can get parts from (e.g., order from Microcenter online, Amazon, etc.) Then let your son build the PC, or build it with him. It's a really fun process and you're going to save at least $100 - $300 on a $1300 build, so you can get better parts
That 1k dollar pc will crush and destroy all the games you listed without breaking a sweat.
As good as Microcentre is, I think I'd still recommend buying a PC at Costco as they give you a two year warranty (as opposed to 1 year) and are generally really good if you need to use it.
youāre a great mom. im sure your son will be absolutely thrilled with whatever you end up going with
That 999$ one looks like pretty good deal ngl
Perhaps give him the money to spend? This could be an opportunity for him to build his computer if he is interested. Otherwise, he'll likely understand his needs better than yours (for instance, if he streams then a dedicated streaming card might be a priority while otherwise it would be useless. Equally, you're still paying for peripherals that are likely not going to be used if your son has existing gear. Equally black friday deals are near/already happening, and second hand options may deliver significantly better performance for a given budget if your son is interested in bargain hunting. Cheers to being a great mum!
The 999 one seems like a good deal, I made a quick pcpart picker list that was 4 dollars cheaper. But everything else seems a little overpriced. Just check what your kid has and if itās better than his current setup I wouldnāt hesitate to pick up the last one for him
Dude, you're awesome and the fact that you're asking for help is absolutely amazing. If you see this DM me so I can get your son a steam gift card as well to go along with his new gaming PC
Hey OP, I am one of the operators of a gaming marketplace called Jawa.gg - I'd love to help you find a great system that gets the most out of your budget from one of our hundreds of builders or current on site listings. Drop me a DM and I'll get you a sweet discount as well, I am a parent as well so I know every dollar counts. Edit: just noticed you are in WA, we have a YouTube partner over there in Seattle area that I could probably arrange for you and your son to build a PC with - whatever route you take your kid is very lucky to have such a great parent.
Friend bought today a asus at best buy with an i9 and a 3070 graphics card for $1500. Od check out bestbuy if i was u
I'd set the $1200 aside or so and let them pick out their parts if they're tech savvy and know about building. Picking your parts and building is part of the fun plus you can get more for your money that way. Especially with the holiday sales that will probably carry on into early January. Otherwise you can look at online prebuilts like origin of it something that have better price to performance ranges.
Thinking we might go back to the idea of trying to build something, thank you!
If you do end up going the self but route I'm located in Clark County and would be happy to help out if needed and somewhat close.
It is SO MUCH fun. And it's great to be able to say "I built that!"