PC or Gaming Console

Jakehoney

Hi guys
I’m trying to sort out a set up for my 10 year old boy.
There are a few considerations:

1. Budget - I can’t afford a monster PC!
2. Portability (I DONT want to get him a laptop because he will hide it when it comes to curfew time).. plus I know that laptops aren’t great for gaming.
3. He’s into playing around on apps like photoshop and video editing so even though I know a PS4 (or similar) has much better graphics I’d rather get him a PC..
4. Playability. This is the main point. Can you guys tell me if a slower graphics card will affect the playability? I understand that it won’t look as smooth.. I just need to know if it will hinder his fortnite progress (he complains that the boys at school have more victories than him because at the moment he’s playing on my MacBook Pro - which apparently is a bit ‘laggy’). I’m not bothered about him having to put up with ‘passable’ graphics as long as he won’t complain that it’s inhibiting his playing..

daniel peterson

1. If tight on budget, I'd say best to invest in something that can serve multiple purposes. PCs and Macs are much more versatile devices comparing to Xbox/PS consoles.
2. I am not the one to give comments on trust between you two, but in my experience, it is always good to establish some boundaries. Ultimately, no matter what you get for your son, he should know that certain gaming-related things are out of question. You won't always be able to control all his steps, including e.g. obtaining games designed for 16-18 yrs olds from one of his classmates or getting them online.  Not to mention that access to the internet can be used in a multitude of ways.
3. Macs tend to be valued higher vis-a-vis PCs when it comes to photoshop and video editing, but PCs get better results when it comes to gaming, because of 3 major reasons
a) PCs are cheaper than Macs
b) PCs are easier and cheaper to customise ( often necessary for gaming)
c) Macs often have limited game library running natively on OSx
4. Playability - console, no discussion here. For me, PS over Xbox. In terms of ultifunctionality Mac/PC over console. Gaming: PC over Mac. Now, the question is whether you guys prefer a desktop or something mobile. Sooner or later he will need his personal laptop anyways. Perhaps better to invest once in something multifunctional.
If you decide to get a console, however, remember that the PS5 is just around the corner, PS4 prices will go down significantly.

BlooNinja

I'd recommend a PC as it's more versatile than consoles and there's a new generation of consoles just around the corner so current ones will significantly drop in prices.

You don't have to spend a ton of money to make a decent gaming PC. I have a GTX 1050 Ti, 8 GB of RAM and i5 processor. All of the games I play run perfectly. Tweaking your in-game settings also does wonders. I can't imagine that kind of rig not being able to run Fortnite and such games.

richardb70

PC. If you post your budget in the PC gaming thread, you'll get some suggestions. Make sure to mention if you need a monitor too, and an operating system. Windows 10 is your best option these days.

If your budget isn't huge then consider second hand parts, especially from the classifieds here. People offload motherboards, CPUs and RAM in bundles every so often. Combine with a nice case, a decent power supply (these don't need to cost the earth) and you're almost there. If games are where it's at, then look at the GPU as your prime purchase. Get the best you can afford. If you're playing at 1080p then there's some healthy competition nowadays from AMD, which is good.

The best thing is that you can build the PC together (educational!) and you know exactly what's going in there (which you don't if you get an off-the-shelf). It's very satisfying to switch it on and get a successful POST.

daniel peterson

The easiest and the least risky way is to buy a pre-built PC, but the most cost-effective and ultimately the best way is to customise your own PC. Just, bear in mind, that if you have limited experience with designing your own PC, try to get someone to advise you. The PC components produced by different manufacturers are not necessarily compatible with one another by default despite universal interfaces and protocoles. You may end up buying supposedly great components, but the final effect may not be as good as what you expected, because some parts are not reaching their full potential.

mj2017

PC would be the best choice if you're on a budget.

Bigbalzo09

Can’t beat a classic ps2 to get the young ones into gaming ‘ boot sales can be brought really cheap with some good kids games

Gam1ngR3views

As much as you can stick a PC in your living room. It's not as good as sofa play as a console in your favorite fifa game. You can use a controller and it'll be exactly the same but you need a mouse and keyboard to get there and that's not great on the sofa.

Fe_man2000

Personally I would split these two requirements and maybe take longer to get both a PC/laptop  and a console as in the end as using a PC for gaming costly and almost a hobby level of work.

I have an 8 year old and I am a IT professional and even I get worn out with the amount of time I need to spend to get PC games working sometimes.  I have a PS4 and a xbox one and a gaming PC (guess what I like to do in my spare time) and with out doubt  the Xbox one   game pass is the best gaming option for a youngster no question. It works, there are good parental controls,  200  games you can play. Get the cheapest 2nd hand xbox one you can find and that's gaming sorted.

Then at a later date buy the cheapest laptop you can afford (or PC maybe 2nd hand again) and your son can use that for school work/photo stuff going forward and you and forget how good it has to be for any type of gaming which make it so much simpler and cheaper to find a good one.

Gaming on a low end PC generally looks crap, runs badly and will require a fair amount of research to ensure it actually plays what you want today and in 12 months time. And you will be involved in regular IT support to make it work possibly.   Games console = no problems.

also if his mates come around you can split screen splay on the console on quite a few games, not so much on the PC.

maybe you can get a nice new Mac for xmas/birthday some time and hand down your one to him.....just saying.