Password reset and notification emails are now sending correctly.
If you recently requested a password reset, please check your inbox (and spam folder just in case).
You can now reset your password and log in as normal.
Welcome back to PCHF, and thank you for your patience during our migration process!
— The PCHF Team
Welcome to PC Help Forum!
You’re viewing our community as a guest.
That means you can browse posts, but can’t yet reply or start new topics.
Join us today — it's completely free!
As a member, you'll be able to:
✅ Get personalized tech support from trusted volunteers
🦠 Work one-on-one with our Malware Removal Specialists
I’m not sure if anyone can help me but I’m trying to get my husband a PC for his birthday bc he has been wanting one for the longest time. I know he doesn’t have a specific one in mind but I know NOTHING about PCs. Please help me. I have so many questions I don’t know where to begin.
I apologize if this isn’t the right place to ask for help.
This one looks pretty good for the price, if you buy it from a 3rd party seller you can save an extra $200 or so, they seem good enough but it’s up to you.
If you plan on buying soon, I would also look at this one which is on sale - a slightly better machine, but it maxes out your budget before taxes/shipping (Also a 3rd party seller).
If neither of those fit your tastes - some advice that I would give to help you search on your own:
You want a mesh front panel, not a solid plastic or glass one.
Make sure it has an SSD and not a HDD, both is okay but you want at least one SSD.
Stay away from SFF (Small Form Factor) machines, they’re expensive and can be a hassle if you don’t know what you’re doing/how to maintain them.
2 sticks of ram 2x8 is better than 1 stick, always lean for more sticks when possible.
Finally, depending on how tech savvy your husband is - you might consider getting him the parts to build his own PC, this is usually a better deal than buying one - but you are ultimately your own tech support if you do so.
Newegg is my preferred retailer, hopefully if neither of these machines look good to you you can use them to find the machine you do want with the advice above.
Last notes:
You’ll need peripherals, something to keep in mind - I’m sure you have a mouse and keyboard laying around somewhere. And a TV makes a great monitor in the meantime.
This one looks pretty good for the price, if you buy it from a 3rd party seller you can save an extra $200 or so, they seem good enough but it’s up to you.
If you plan on buying soon, I would also look at this one which is on sale - a slightly better machine, but it maxes out your budget before taxes/shipping (Also a 3rd party seller).
If neither of those fit your tastes - some advice that I would give to help you search on your own:
You want a mesh front panel, not a solid plastic or glass one.
Make sure it has an SSD and not a HDD, both is okay but you want at least one SSD.
Stay away from SFF (Small Form Factor) machines, they’re expensive and can be a hassle if you don’t know what you’re doing/how to maintain them.
2 sticks of ram 2x8 is better than 1 stick, always lean for more sticks when possible.
Finally, depending on how tech savvy your husband is - you might consider getting him the parts to build his own PC, this is usually a better deal than buying one - but you are ultimately your own tech support if you do so.
Newegg is my preferred retailer, hopefully if neither of these machines look good to you you can use them to find the machine you do want with the advice above.
Last notes:
You’ll need peripherals, something to keep in mind - I’m sure you have a mouse and keyboard laying around somewhere. And a TV makes a great monitor in the meantime.
You folks are amazing!
I will most likely go with the first suggestion after a little more independent research.
Thank you so so much. I had absolutely no idea where to begin.
I’ll come back if I have more questions if that’s alright.
keep in mind, his idea of a gaming PC could be very different from yours.
be prepared for him to love it initially, but for it to maybe have a short honeymoon period!
I mean, he’ll love the gesture, but without knowing what games he’ll be playing now, let only the ones to come in the future, he may want to upgrade it sooner rather than later.
you don’t know what you don’t know - so don’t take it the wrong way if he wants to change it later.
think of it as giving him his first toe dip in the water, and let him go from there!
keep in mind, his idea of a gaming PC could be very different from yours.
be prepared for him to love it initially, but for it to maybe have a short honeymoon period!
I mean, he’ll love the gesture, but without knowing what games he’ll be playing now, let only the ones to come in the future, he may want to upgrade it sooner rather than later.
you don’t know what you don’t know - so don’t take it the wrong way if he wants to change it later.
think of it as giving him his first toe dip in the water, and let him go from there!
awesome birthday pressie by the way. (y)
Thank you! ???
Yeah all I know is he wants a pc and to play VR on it BUT he is interested in the laptops but I figured something like what was suggest may set him up better. I def want him to use this to play around and maybe once he gets to know the system a little more he can build his own.
Ah… VR!
that tends to be a graphically hungry beast.
if VR is to be the main usage, you may want to push the budget and get a rig with as good as graphics card as you can.
I’d certainly be staying away from laptops.
If your budget allows find a pc with either nVidia graphics alone or dual graphics. As mentioned a SSD is a must & for it to have decent capacity.
The are pc builder websites which will allow you to choose a pc & add the hardware you wish & you’ll know how much you’re paying.
I have a similar graphics card to the first machine, it’ll handle VR just fine for most games.
In the future he’ll probably want to add some more storage, but that is easy to do.
I hope some day he does build his own machine, it’s way better than a pre-built, but they’re a great place to start.
As Bruce was saying - a little bit more now is better down the line, but there’s nothing wrong with buying what you can afford and taking some time to learn what you like and dislike about it - that’s what I did when I bought my first gaming rig.
If your budget allows find a pc with either nVidia graphics alone or dual graphics. As mentioned a SSD is a must & for it to have decent capacity.
The are pc builder websites which will allow you to choose a pc & add the hardware you wish & you’ll know how much you’re paying.
I’m sorry what is nVidia graphics? I’m sorry I don’t know..like anything
I have a similar graphics card to the first machine, it’ll handle VR just fine for most games.
In the future he’ll probably want to add some more storage, but that is easy to do.
I hope some day he does build his own machine, it’s way better than a pre-built, but they’re a great place to start.
As Bruce was saying - a little bit more now is better down the line, but there’s nothing wrong with buying what you can afford and taking some time to learn what you like and dislike about it - that’s what I did when I bought my first gaming rig.
I think that’s my best bet, he’s never owned a pc but I know he’s into it and is to afraid to dive into the hobby so I think the first one suggested would be killer for his first PC!
The amount of help y’all are offering is amazing. Thank you
We process personal data about users of our site, through the use of cookies and other technologies, to deliver our services, personalize advertising, and to analyze site activity. We may share certain information about our users with our advertising and analytics partners. For additional details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
By clicking "I AGREE" below, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our personal data processing and cookie practices as described therein. You also acknowledge that this forum may be hosted outside your country and you consent to the collection, storage, and processing of your data in the country where this forum is hosted.
Tweet
Comment