Question on Gaming PC

[Viekn]

My son is looking at this gaming PC...

https://vrlatech.com/product/vrla-tech-gaming/

His plans are to play: RDR2, Rocket League, GTA, War Zone, and Valorant. If those in the know could let me know how viable that linked system is for those games, I'd appreciate the input.

Thanks very much.

[Gizmo]

Take a look at Maingear pc. They have some really good customer support and warranty stuff etc if you are into it.

I know someone who works there, and I also know a few streamers who are partnered with them and love their PC build quality and service

[Taernath]

It'll be fine. ~60 fps at high/medium on 1080p. It doesn't say whether the gpu is 8gb or 4gb though.

[Alashir]

Love logical increments for questions like this: https://www.logicalincrements.com/

[Gelston]

Just buy something new. Honestly just about anything listed as a gaming PC on most of the main selling sites at the price of about a G or more can run any new game just fine.

[Alfster]

You're going to want a SSD.

[Methais]

You're going to want a SSD much bigger than 120GB.

This is correct.

[Viekn]

So question regarding the SSD: If the PC I posted in the OP comes with a 1 TB HDD in addition to the 120 GB SSD, are you saying it's still important to have a much bigger SSD? If so, where do you draw the line on what size SSD is sufficient? I'm seeing a similar PC on New Egg that has a 512 GB SSD, but no HDD.

And let me just say I appreciate everyone's help. Gaming PC's aren't something I really understand all that much and I don't want my son spending his hard earned money on something that's going to let him down. But it's also not like he's got thousands to spend either. He's got between $800-$900.

[Taernath]

So question regarding the SSD: If the PC I posted in the OP comes with a 1 TB HDD in addition to the 120 GB SSD, are you saying it's still important to have a much bigger SSD? If so, where do you draw the line on what size SSD is sufficient? I'm seeing a similar PC on New Egg that has a 512 GB SSD, but no HDD.

120gb SSD is sufficient for a windows install.

Ideally, you'd have games installed on an SSD rather than an HDD, but it can be prohibitively expensive depending on the size of SSD you get.

The PC you linked is fine and I think your son will enjoy it.

[Viekn]

So I had my son do a bit more shopping around and he found this on New Egg: https://www.newegg.com/abs-computer-technologies-ali415/p/N82E16883102993

Using the Logical Increments website (thanks Alashir), it looks like most of the components are better than the one I linked in the OP, with almost the same price. Thoughts?

[Methais]

So question regarding the SSD: If the PC I posted in the OP comes with a 1 TB HDD in addition to the 120 GB SSD, are you saying it's still important to have a much bigger SSD? If so, where do you draw the line on what size SSD is sufficient? I'm seeing a similar PC on New Egg that has a 512 GB SSD, but no HDD.

And let me just say I appreciate everyone's help. Gaming PC's aren't something I really understand all that much and I don't want my son spending his hard earned money on something that's going to let him down. But it's also not like he's got thousands to spend either. He's got between $800-$900.

SSDs load a lot faster than HDDs, so the bigger you can go with the SSD, the better.

[Taernath]

So I had my son do a bit more shopping around and he found this on New Egg: https://www.newegg.com/abs-computer-technologies-ali415/p/N82E16883102993

Using the Logical Increments website (thanks Alashir), it looks like most of the components are better than the one I linked in the OP, with almost the same price. Thoughts?

Only thing is with a 512gb SSD you might run out of room pretty quick. RDR2 itself is 120gb and the rest + Windows install total to another ~150gb.

[Methais]

Only thing is with a 512gb SSD you might run out of room pretty quick. RDR2 itself is 120gb and the rest + Windows install total to another ~150gb.

Mine has a 1TB SSD and it only took a few days to fill most of that up.

I'm pretty sure the next round of video cards is coming out soon, so you might want to wait until that happens and see what cards like a GTX 20xx cards drop to, which is currently $500. Either way, you should be able to get a video card better than the one that you're looking at for about the same price as what you'd be paying now.

[Taernath]

Mine has a 1TB SSD and it only took a few days to fill most of that up.

Your "work documents" folder is pretty big, huh?

[Methais]

Your "work documents" folder is pretty big, huh?

Big enough to hold a bunch of Steam games, yes.

[Parkbandit]

You can get a 2T SSD for a couple hundred bucks.

It's worth it if you play a lot of games.

[Frimpleton]

Worry less about the computer itself, worry more about the graphics card for games. Yes, you want a decent system spec baseline, but what you want is a ~$500 rig and a $300+ video card if you're building a budget gaming PC. That'll keep you at high specs for a year or two, medium to low specs for the rest of the decade.

I bought a barebones PC from Xidax, one step below the flagship everything for around $900. One step down from that option-wise and you'll be around $600. That's where you wanna be. Then just buy a decent graphics card aftermarket and plug it in and you're good. Cards you can get at a good price on a budget that'll run games well? GeForce GTX 980. 1080. 1070ti. These are where you wanna be on a midrange budget. They'll continue to run all new games at medium or better spec for a good 5+ years without shelling out for the flagship cards.

[Gelston]

I have a GTX 1080, it runs everything on max still.

[Seizer]

1TB SSD (https://www.microcenter.com/product/600422/inland-premium-1tb-ssd-3d-nand-m2-2280-pcie-nvme-30-x4-internal-solid-state-drive)
Another 1TB SSD (https://www.microcenter.com/product/508183/inland-professional-1tb-ssd-3d-nand-sata-iii-6gb-s-25-internal-solid-state-drive)
msi-geforce-gtx-1660 (https://www.microcenter.com/product/604243/msi-geforce-gtx-1660-ventus-xs-overclocked-dual-fan-6gb-gddr5-pcie-30-graphics-card)
If you have a Fry's or Microcenter near you check their local ad, can always try this site to see what deal you might be able to find too. I've been less enthused about them though since mid 2000s. http://www.pricegrabber.com/

If you don't mind used components I've had good luck with Ebay.

[Alashir]

You're more than a budget build but well under enthusiast. Grab a cheap/small ssd for windows and a big hdd for everything else. You'll get to see the difference yourself, save some bucks, and you can always upgrade later.

FYI the point of windows having its own ssd is one boot times (ssd around 10x faster than hdd), and two if you need to reinstall windows for any reason, wipe the ssd and reinstall. Because all your games and apps are another drive, don't have to worry about losing pictures, saved games, etc.

Video cards are in Flux right now waiting for the 3k series so you can either grab a budget card like a 1060 and run most games on low or medium graphics with decent frames or a 2k series card and run high graphics at decent frames or medium graphics at high frames. Either way it'll be upgraded at some point. The single most upgraded component on home computers is video cards. Easiest way to increase its lifespan

Because we're trying not to blow the bank ID stick with a 1080p monitor at 144hz to maximize benefits of entry level gaming cards. Higher frames = smoother response. Up to around 150 fps is strongly correlated with consistently higher win rates and k/d ratios but after that it drops off.

Glorious gaming has the best peripherals (mouse and keyboard) at the best prices imo.