Computers & Tablets

[hvymtlchik81]

My son is wanting a computer for Christmas that would do really well for gaming.  I need to keep it in the $400 range or cheaper.  I know that's is putting a bit of a constraint on a really good gaming computer, but it's the best I can do.  Can someone give me a few suggestions on which brand of computer I should be looking for?  

[hockeycanuckjc Valued Expert]

Any desktop that has a Core i3 or i5 is a great start. The integrated graphics on the newest Intel HD 520 are really good and I was able to play many games at 720p resolution and have the detail level really high.

Unfortunately it won't play the latest and greatest games so you will be trading lower graphics details for performance.

Here is the search filter I used: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/searchpage.jsp?cp=1&searchType=search&_dyncharset=UTF-8&ks=960&sc=Global...

You don't have very many choices and you will have to buy a monitor with it if you don't already have one which will put the price of the unit even higher.

[hvymtlchik81]

Thank you. I will look at the search list you gave. As long as it has a HDMI port, he can hook it to his tv. I'm hoping to find a balance between graphics vs. performance. Something that kind of meets in the middle.

[hockeycanuckjc Valued Expert]

When you shop. there is a place on the web page for each product listing which will show the specs. Pay attention to these carefully as it will help your buying decision.

[bobberuchi]

Gaming computers are a great gift and should give youi son hours of enjoyment.

There are 2 main things that make up a gaming computer.

Memory or sometimes called RAM and 

Graphics Card, often referred to as a GPU

There are several other factorrs but they are often a little more difficult to directly compare the value.

If you navigage to the computers and pick towers only then select gaming computers from the filters you will find a selection of computers built for gaming.  Meaning they have more RAM and a GPU.

If you do this and sort by price from low to high you should find a selection of gaming towers starting at $399 that are all pretty similar.

If you jump up to the $440 one you get improvments in the amount of memory and GPU

A nice thing about towers like this is you can normally easily upgrade them.  And the things you would typically want to upgrade would be the GPU and the RAM.  However, if you get one with 12 or 16 GB of RAM that would probably suffice for years.

Now, keep in mind these are entry level gaming computers. They will not be able to run the newest games at maximum speed and graphics quality.

Now on Black Friday or possibly Thursday there may be some really good online sales.  If you don't have an account with Best Buy you should  make one. Log in and put a few in your cash register or into the wish list.  Then start checking often starting tomorrow for hot deals.

Many of these gaming computers Best But does not carry in store so they will either need to be shipped to home or set for in store pickup.

Keep in mind the computer does not come with a monitor.

I picked up this monitor for my daughter to use with a ROKU and it turns out to be a pretty decent monitor.  I have not tried it with gaming so the response time may be an issue, but not much.

AOC Monitor

The nice thing about a monitor is a good one you will use for 5 to 10 years.  My Dell Monitors I had on my computer at work I had for 11 years and they still looked pretty good. 

Asus also makes some really good gamign monitors. I would suggest one with a 16:9 aspect ratio

[hvymtlchik81]

Thank you all for y'all's help. That has given me a good starting point.