Coworker is looking to get his kid a gaming PC, sub $1000 closer to $800, and preferably pre-built though he’s not completely opposed to building one. Do people have any recommendations on pre-builts for this purpose? Or would you strongly push them to build? and if so, do you have a parts list :) I haven’t specced out a system in few years so a bit out of the loop.
Why not one of the budget Alienware models? I think prices have gone down across the board to the point that they can get something serviceable at the 800 range there, even if you pay an extra $150-200 compared to building everything from scratch
Does that $1K include the price of a monitor or just the PC? $1K will get you a really good mid-level gaming system nowadays, unless that kid is looking to get into competitive FPS, if the monitor isn’t included. If you have to get a monitor, too, I’d suggest focusing on a solid 1080P resolution system built around a Radeon RX580 or a GTX 1060. If no monitor, splurge a bit more and push for a 1070 and more SSD that can do well for 1440P resolution gaming.
Consider a laptop at that price. Your kid won’t be tied down to a specific spot in the house, and at your budget level a decent gaming machine can be had.
For instance, Dell has their Inspiron 15 line with the 6GB GTX1060 and core i5 processor, 8GB ram, 256GB SSD, and full HD display for just under $1,000: