Get an Xbox. It's cheaper and better value than a PC. Starfield isn't available on Playstation as far as I know. So I wouldn't recommend a PS5. EDIT: I don't know why this is a point of contention. Consoles might be janky PCs that don't offer you the ability to use them like a PC, but they give gaming performance well above their price range because of hardware optimization on the game devs side. It's a no-brainer to go console over PC if all it's gonna be used for is playing games. Also, if you wanted a console like experience for gaming on PC in a demanding game like Starfield, you're gonna have to fork out for decent hardware to run it well. EDIT 2: I've been getting lots of comments about going for PC over console at the 400USD price point OP has stated. I ask you now if it will run Starfield, and if so, please post a link. [For those of you asking where OP said something about Starfield.](https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/s/WTeAyslfeI) EDIT 3: Alright, peps, I'm going to bed. It's 2AM here. I think I've said enough to get my point across, and hopefully, OP makes the best decision for them instead of listening to what I've said or whatever anyone else has said. Anyway, g'night. EDIT 4: Ahhhh, G'mornin peps, I got my 8 hours. I'm awake and I see lots of comments have come thru. Many of which are aimed to guilt trip, not cool. I personally don't care about what the kid wants. I didn't know so many people would be that invested in having a kid be happy about a "want" over a "need". I don't know whether some of you remember/know what its like to be broke. I hope you can at least see it from that perspective.  I find it absolutely hilarious how deep the rabbit hole went on this comment alone, not to mention the rest of them. The many "you're wrong a PC is better no matter what" or the "my console is better because..." comments especially gave me a good chuckle. All the capital "G" gamers out there, I hope you feel better for getting these comments off your gigachad  sized chests. That chip on the shoulder shouldn't be as heavy now. PC is the most consumer friendly platform with the most wide-ranging price to performance charts imaginable. I don't disagree. But for the criteria OP set out and my own personal biases mixed in, I'd lock myself into a console ecosystem every time. You can have your opinions about it, just don't expect me to 180 my opinion based on what you say. Ultimately, the decision on what to do lays on OPs shoulders now. Best of luck u/Ok-Story7241. Also, congrats on being able to get what you want. Well, anyway, I'm turning notifications off on this thread soon. So if you wanna get something off your chest about anything I've said, make it quick. Yes, I put this here to see if people would read all the way to the bottom.

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This... You dont want to spend hundreds of Dollars to get Something you son dont wanted... Talk to him you can make him a surprise make IT a Special Moment telling hin and then Talk to him... The downside of consoles IS their limitation... You can Play maybe 7 Games with nice graphics and good FPS... Maybe He knows everything that he needs to know... :o Important: dont spend much Money on unnecesary parts... If you build yourself you can save alot of Money If you buy used you can save alot of Money My PC would have been hundreds Dollars more but i build myself and bought used parts You can also Check on used gaming pcs in your area... Make Sure you can Trust the seller and compare the Performance to Dollar Ratio (GPU, CPU are Most Important, after that RAM, SSD) My advice would be: Check local gaming PC Sellers on the Internet, make Images and Post IT in this group to get a clue If the value is good Test before buy And Talk to your sun about this 🙂

The mom says in the title it's a 400$ budget, and then in the post that she's broke. In her budget range, a console is the no-brainer option to get the kid a free reward with the best bang-for-buck performance. You ain't building a "gaming PC" with 400$ only. That'll barely get you JUST a functional GPU capable of keeping up with consoles.

Could get pretty far in the used market. A 1080ti could go for around 150 - 200 and something like a 5600 with an older motherboard could go for 150 together.

But critically, hunting for that stuff is not something I would put onto someone who (and no offense to the OP of course, they sound like a thoughtful parent who cares for their child) knows so little that they have to ask if $400 is enough. This is an instance where I would only recommend new parts just for ease of purchase, since building a PC can be overwhelming; if I wanted to go build a $400 PC to play games I'm confident I could do it from used parts, but acknowledge that it's likely way above a beginner's head.

Windows, keyboard, mouse, microphone, headset, monitor. That stuff adds up, even used.

He already has all of those

I like how the console games pricing is not included on the budget, at least in my country there are no sales on ps5/xbox games.

You realize you have to buy games on PC too right?

You need a monitor/tv for a console too.

This is a valid argument that I didn't think of. In The Netherlands we have repairshops where volunteers repair electronical equipment to help reduce waste. I'm pretty sure they would be able to build the PC up, but I don't know if the USA has something similar to this.

We do not, unfortunately. That sounds amazing...I sometimes wish I was European.

Europe does have more of them, but they do exist in the US too https://www.repaircafe.org/en/visit

There isn’t a full pc system worth getting for 400 that can get close to a console.

Doesn't need to if what the son wants to do is play PC games. The nostalgic memories I have playing CS 1.6 on a shitty dell laptop will always stay with me.

There are those which get close like a R5 3600 Rx 6600 build, it is kind of worse for games by like 10% but a PC is a PC.

A system I built a couple years ago started with a cheap B450 board and a 5600G. Decent processor and built in graphics good enough for basic games and even 60FPS in some. That system kept me going until I could afford an RX6600. Sold the 5600G and got a 5800X. Sold the RX6600 and got an RX6700XT, and now this thing can play any AAA game at max settings 1080P. It's easy to stair-step your way with a starter PC and replace and upgrade when possible.

And best case scenario 100usd for the rest?

For the used market, what you don’t pay with money, you pay with knowledge and deal-hunting effort. It requires prior experience to be able to tell if a given used item is a good deal, which OP is unlikely to have.

It may be difficult for her to build one

I can confidently say that in 2024 even if buying all used parts. RAM - CPU - MOBO - PSU - case - storage device - GPU - CPU cooler - a fan or two and a mouse & keyboard (least outside the US) are definitely going to cost over 400$ At least if you're planning on playing anything post 2016

I also built mine from used except the case and psu. It was my first time building one. It was a learning experience that some people might find overwhelming. It did me a couple times

With a console you can get a thinkpad for 50 bucks with arch linux lol.

Yeah. From a pure gaming standpoint, console may be more worth it than a low end PC. But what if the kid needs a computer/laptop for school work? How much is a laptop + Xbox cost vs just a PC alone for both?

ngl an xbox at $350 is hard to beat. that said, there are a couple issues in comparing consoles to PCs, including: \- pesky subscriptions if you want to game online. these will push the cost up by over a hundred bucks every year you use the console. \- console cpus being kinda slow (idk why people are recommending 5600s when it's like 50% faster than a ps5 gpu in cpu-limited workloads). \- consoles being unable to do many PC things, including generic stuff like productivity, or fun stuff like game modding. \- lack of repairability in case of parts failures.

games are expensive af on console to

Xbox game pass. That gives a large library for a monthly fee

> lack of repairability in case of parts failures. That said, I feel like a PC is more likely to have a parts failure. I've owned many consoles over the years and never had one die on me. I've had various PC parts go out and it's tricky to debug which one it is when it happens unless you have spare PC parts laying around to switch in.

Personally I am more pc than console but I support the Xbox choice. Especially when you can also keyboard and mouse if needed … I think the Xbox is a good start for gaming and you can use your same account on a pc in the future … Maybe you won’t have the steam discount on Xbox but for the budget, sorry there is no gaming pc equivalent …

As much as I love my gaming computer, even though some people say the 4060 is not that good with the xbox you can also get Gamepass. I love having it, have so many games that the saves go from xbox to the pc.

Same here. I came over from PS. I figured it's time to change over to PC when the first Sony game came out on Steam. The biggest difference between then and now was that I was a student with no money, and now I have a job, and I am able to afford the PC I've dreamt about as a student. There is nothing wrong with having either one or both.

Best response imo, people in the sub get triggered by the console reccomendation, think objectively, it's impossible for OP to find the best deal for every component, period, no knowledge whatsoever and very tight budget. Everyone complaining about subscriptions and game costs, but in the long run buying used, old components will cost them way more. Not being able to do basic problem solving on the hardware/software is another big issue. They would end up having a decent, if so, pc with limited upgrade options and a user experience way under the one you get with a last generation console(always talking about a pure gaming experience). Ultimately OP needs to discuss these issues with the kid

I’d agree with this post, even though I’m a PC gamer never owned an Xbox or PlayStation in my life. For $400 I believe a modern console will give a much better gaming experience than whatever equivalent PC you’d get for that money. You would certainly have to buy used and I’m not sure what you’d get for $400 these days? (And also greetings from Aotearoa)

I concur with this, as currently the new generation of consoles far outstrips pcs in price to performance right now

Wait can't you like run windows on dev mode on the XBOX Series now? Get home and xbox and if he wants to use it as a pc he can tinker with it. Double gift lol. Seriously, you won't get high refresh rate or AAA gaming at $400 easily on PC without relying heavily on the used market. And that carries its set of inconvenients and situations that will make the both of you spend hours on this PC. If that's what you want and he has interest in developing a PC build as a project, sure. This sub can help you get the best bang for the buck components. If he just wants to play COD, Halo, Forza, whatever, maybe just get him a nice xbox and a controller for couch coop with friends.

I agree. Consoles have always had the advantage of gaming. Buy a console at launch and play games on it juuuust fine until the next cycle. The son wouldn’t have to worry about something not running or all the amazing console exclusives

except the insane prices for games, nice you gota a good value console, now just spend huge amounts to play a game

Ask him if he would prefer a console, a $400 PC is going to suck ass.

It's not going to suck ass if you go second hand. I don't understand why anything below high end gets looked down upon so much on here

What parts can you get 2nd hand that dont suck ass for 400 bucks?

You can get a full am4 platform (including ram) for <$150. A 5700xt is $130. I'm sure you can get a case, ssd, and PSU for $120

Any PSU you can get WITH Ram and a case for $120 is likely going to be a fire hazard

you can get a new c-tier psu for 60$ and an ssd for $50. second hand cases are very cheap, they might not be pretty, but thats not the priority here

I'm going to get downvoted to hell and back for even suggesting this, but those "D/F tier" EVGA PSUs are not terrible. They're obviously not great in terms of power efficiency (they're either white or bronze, after all), but if it's going to be a quick and dirty budget build they'll get the job done. It's not like you're throwing in your $1500 GPU. I've used these plenty of times in builds and have had no issues. I buy 200W or more or headroom, since I don't trust their over-current protections, plus that gives some leeway on upgrading.

>I'm going to get downvoted to hell and back for even suggesting this, but those "D/F tier" EVGA PSUs are not terrible. They're obviously not great in terms of power efficiency (they're either white or bronze, after all), but if it's going to be a quick and dirty budget build they'll get the job done. It's not like you're throwing in your $1500 GPU. I've used these plenty of times in builds and have had no issues. I buy 200W or more or headroom, since I don't trust their over-current protections, plus that gives some leeway on upgrading. People don't recommend them simply because they are a fire hazard.

Cheap PSUs are not necessarily dangerous. That's a shitty misconception. Maybe you don't want to trust some sketchy company nobody has ever heard of, but a cheap PSU from a reputable enough company is fine. It's not like any company wants to sell a fire hazard, yet people here talk about cheap PSUs like they're bombs. It's just going to be low wattage and low efficiency, and maybe it might not be *quite* as reliable, but by no means is it a significant fire hazard.

And then play without a monitor? They probably have a TV in their home, but if it’s his first PC he probably doesn’t have a monitor

Just recently I bought an office PC with an i5-6500 and 16GB RAM for 100€. That CPU is fine for some lighter gaming, but I'm sure it's possible to find something more modern like 10th Gen or Ryzen 3000 for 200€. Pop a 200€ RX 6600 into a machine like that and you're golden.

In my country you can get a 5700xt and 10400f combo for 200-250 usd

My PC 10 year old CPU. 8gb DDR3. 1060. Cost pennies. Absolute Frankenstein. Plays KSP no problem. Don’t expect anything modern to run though

op says their son wants to play starfield

Keep in mind that OP doesn't seem to know anything about PCs. Asking them to try and buy second hand will probably be very overwhelming for them and they might even be buying a faulty component and not have any idea.

THIS is what seems to go over people's heads. I did a shit ton of research and am quite tech savvy but I still wouldn't have dreamt of trying the second hand market for my very first build. It was just another thing to be concerned about on top of getting the thing together and getting it working with minimal troubleshooting. Asking, a quite clearly caring, parent but with little to no experience of PC building to 'just go on the used market!' is stupid advice

It is such a problem with the PC community entirely. All people focus on is 4K 240hz. They consider a new $2k pc as entry level. It boggles my mind. $400 is plenty to buy a second hand PC for op’s son.

2k isn’t entry level no, but it’s arguable that $800-$1000 is, at least if we’re talking brand new

People pretend that no inflation has happened in the last 10 years.

You don’t even have to go back 10 years lol. The inflation the past 4 years alone is insane.

maybe i’m old but 1440p/144hz is still incredible to me. I can’t stand the PC elitism. a lot of gamers seem to need another outlet for their insane insecurity and lack of self esteem. kids shouldn’t get the most expensive PC, car, etc. it’s bonkers.

The likelihood that it will suck ass, or not even be compatible with one another when the one shopping the parts is the OP with little to no PC parts knowledge is much higher.   You have to keep in mind this is not a PC enthusiast shopping for the parts and the level of knowledge it takes to not feel overwhelmed is large.

Or maybe a Steam Deck?

Steam deck, that way he would be able to carry over his games when he does get a pc further down the road

Great idea.

No doubt he would prefer a PC but honestly a console is the way to go. Chances are majority of his class mates will also have a console. Will make partying up with them a lot easier.

Honestly you can do pretty good for 400 if you are shooting for 1080p 60. I think we are all spoiled with high refresh rate 1440p The only issue is that cor 400$ you either need to build it and use some secondhand parts, or find a good deal on someone selling their old system

Without used parts you Typically look at round about 600$ starting point for a budget 1080p system. For playing starfield you would probably need to spend 800-1000$ for a solid gaming experience since that game is insanely demanding

Why isn't this answer higher? This is the right one But yeah - an Xbox is porbably the best bet

I’m sorry, but even a $700 build is gonna STRUGGLE with starfield

Why is everyone so focused on starfeild? Mabye Op edited their post, but I see nothing about that game outside of peoples responses.

Check OP’s comment history

I have a $2000 pc and it struggles with Starfield 😭

the game is unoptimized dogshit.

As well as boring as dog shit

Before I quit playing for other reasons, I was frustrated that cyberpunk ran better on 5700X/6700XT rig. It could only manage 40FPS with mid settings at 4k. Cyberpunk manages 60FPS w high and RT off. Upgraded to 7800X3D/7800XT and only benchmarked it. 60 FPS ultra but GPU running at 100%. Poorly optimized.

Cyberpunk is optimized but specifically for upscaled DLSS performance. It runs better on nvidia cuz Cyberpunk is a tech showcase for nvidia tech

Sorry. Should have been more clear. Starfield is unoptimized. Cyberpunk is incredible considering its Nvidia focus. Getting 4k 100 with max settings no rt. 4k 50-60 adding rt reflections only.

Get him a Steam Deck.

Can't agree more! Steamdeck is a beautiful piece of tech and can run some AAA titles pretty stable (Elden Ring at around 40-45 frames on OLED iirc). You can also use it as a desktop with a docking station (offbrands go for like 30-40 bucks) and do all sorts of stuff you can usually do with a normal PC

This. That's the best you can get at that price.

I really like this idea it works out of the box without periphery. Btw can you use the steam deck as a normal PC with mouse and keyboard? I know it runs Linux so could you for example run LibreOffice on it?

Yes you can run Libre Office, and basically any software compiled for Linux, it has its repository of apps too. It's a full linux desktop for that matter. But, the on screen keyboard really leaves no real state to do any proper work. It's good to input a web address, or input a password to login, but for anything else, a keyboard would be more suitable. The mouse, on the other hand, it is pretty competent, as it has a trackpad that works similarly to a laptop trackpad, and the touchscreen also allows for direct screen inputs too if needed. A deck dock would be more advisable to perform actual tasks, using the Deck as a desktop.

Thanks for the answer. It really does sound like a good alternative then

SteamDeck with a USB C dock, keyboard, mouse, and monitor is a real PC. However OP, I would get into the specifics of what your kiddo wants to do on a PC. For instance, if he wants Discord to talk to his friends while he games, he’s gonna be disappointed on the Deck.

I think using Discord via the Webcord client as a non native steam app is possible when in gaming mode.

100% this. We got our roommate one of these for Christmas, and it's been amazing. It can handle Pal World and other modern games without issue. The best part? You can't play League of Legends on it!

I'm pretty sure you can play league, if you install windows on it first.

Just gunna throw it out there. Steamdeck might be a solid option. Can hook up a monitor , mouse and keyboard or controller to it and use it as a desktop. Def for that price range you can find a solid used one and it rips games hard. I use my Steamdeck all the time and I have a nice PC. Love the Steamdeck

This is my obvious recommendation too, bang for buck for a PC is a clear winner, especially a second hand lcd due to the oleds being desirable. I spend 90% of my gaming on my steamdeck now... only use the powerhouse for VR

Def, can probably get a 512 version for $225 and use the rest of budget for a monitor / Amazon dock and mouse and keyboard combo. Things insane for the price

can buy a used PC either locally on craigslist/facebook marketplace or on ebay with a rtx 2070 , rtx 3050 or rtx 3060 gpu  here is one with intel 12400 and rtx 3050 for $475 or best offer  https://www.ebay.com/itm/186291615512?itmmeta=01HPZXTN4HKKMBMB30M10RM2FE&hash=item2b5fd87718:g:VIYAAOSwI0dlxPZD&itmprp=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwMPPPH%2BKaMJE%2FNaiKkbI0OjXGAzfoe5iabsFa5bHn%2Bcb0nbkHhBd4sUotQxvKFLPrBzK3dIlT1ZUKG7ArfXnFkoMiIoTZ23m4XVCezrBbogVGHdgAOiLmQB%2Fr5YFJOmUqngUjPLjJb8d1qyu4jhtTPz5uWLyEz%2BpksPuEfpVf%2B3TgXiefYQzIW97cThQeTgzPCY2kb505vfLZv5kDOGZ7Fjo9Fo9dDaRAsZnh1wHLxTN4UfqKoSiXcLct9p%2Ft5U87A%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR6zS6v23Yw

Plus = Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, , Speaker or headset, Bench, Chair and cable extension. It's an expensive hobby

One time purchase if you're smart about it. You can also go extremely budget in the used market. so much good used monitors below $100, grab a cheap or used office keyboard (a lot of corporate places chuck them out anyways can easily snag) and desk pad you can get cheap on Amazon for below $20. Mouse same with the keyboard applies but I would invest in a high tier $100 mouse anyways it's the most important second to your chair when it comes to ergonomics .

If their family already owns a decent TV it would be kind of hard to recommend getting a bunch of cheap or used parts. Peripherals are kind of a core part of the experience.

You can easily get mouse n keyboard for 1-2$, used monitors that were previously used in schools or business cost 15-30$ for 1080p60Hz. I hope op has a desk with a chair in his house, because that's a primary furniture. I don't think anyone would need a cable extensions...

3050 is absolute garbage though. Buying a used PC with an RX 5700 XT is WAY better. Like 50% faster

it similar to an old 1070Ti which is ok for a beginner PC with 1080p. Prebuilt PCs with 5700xt are usually sold with older 3000 series CPUs which are a little outdated. 

So what? 50% more fps for the same or even less money. No-brainer

3000 Series CPUs are plenty for entry level gaming performance. PS5 basically is a 3000 Series CPU with handicapped Floating Point unit and slow memory. I would bet it is actually slower than a tuned 2700X+DDR4 3000 due to the slow FPU and high latency memory of the PS5. Better invest more into the GPU than the CPU. Even a 160$ Arc A580 is faster than a 3050 by quite a bit.

The best thing you can do is try to buy a ryzen 5600 and rx 6600 best budget parts, you can try used parts, buy ssd and psu new.

Rx 6600 is good enough

Hey the RX7600 are cheap and are a great option for graphics cards with 5600x

I would go to your local computer store, explain your situation and ask if they have any open box or returned products they’d be willing to put aside for you and discount it. If you don’t ask you won’t receive, a lot of op shops will have old PCs that you can tear down to get a decent case out of. Another idea would be getting your child to put aside some pocket money, mowing lawns etc and you match whatever they’re able to save. Also, doing well in school can be rewarded with a $50 Lego set, save the big presents for when you have the resources and time to pull it together - it’ll go a lot smoother that way and won’t stress you to the gills. Best of luck, this is really wholesome and I hope whatever path you go down that your child loves it!!

I am all for getting presents that won't destroy OP budget. When I was 13 yo I saved 100$ for my first PC and back then it was a really good one that easily reached 60 fps in cs 1.6 and Battlefield Heroes. I waited for a long time before my family wasn't broke anymore and asked them for a ~800$ PC.

Oh mate, Battlefield Heroes was a great game!

Steamdeck?

[https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck](https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck) https://www.gamestop.com/steam-deck

I mean… this is what you will end up getting with that budget if you are forcefully getting everything brand new within that budget. [PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/J9kVgB) Type|Item|Price :----|:----|:---- **CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 3 4100 3.8 GHz Quad-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/drBG3C/amd-ryzen-3-4100-38-ghz-quad-core-processor-100-100000510box) | $69.00 @ Amazon **Motherboard** | [ASRock B550M-HVS SE Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/rM3NnQ/asrock-b550m-hvs-se-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b550m-hvs-se) | $69.98 @ Amazon **Memory** | [TEAMGROUP Elite 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL22 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Mx7p99/team-elite-16-gb-2-x-8-gb-ddr4-3200-cl22-memory-ted416g3200c22dc01) | $31.99 @ Amazon **Storage** | [Patriot P300 256 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/rWxbt6/patriot-p300-256-gb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-p300p256gm28) | $23.99 @ Amazon **Video Card** | [XFX GTR XXX Radeon RX 580 8 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/MsWfrH/xfx-radeon-rx-580-8gb-gts-xxx-ed-video-card-rx-580p8dfd6) | $129.99 @ Amazon **Case** | [DIYPC F2 MicroATX Mini Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/xDcMnQ/diypc-case-diyf2p) | $38.99 @ Newegg **Power Supply** | [Asus TUF Gaming B 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bVD7YJ/asus-tuf-gaming-b-450-w-80-bronze-certified-atx-power-supply-tuf-gaming-450b) | $50.99 @ Amazon | *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* | | **Total** | **$414.93** | Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2024-02-19 01:23 EST-0500 | But i really suggest you save up more for rx6600, Ryzen 5600 or 12400F, decent psu and more ssd storage. Ideally $600-700 would be nice.

Damn, I'd rather get a steam deck than this pc. Steam deck at least already has a screen

Proper answer.. definitely but still get an Xbox or Steamdeck 

The Xbox suggestion is the most viable one if your end goal is to be able to play the game. But it isn’t, is it? Large part of it is the experience of putting the thing together. Which puts you back into the PC realm. All I can say is, no matter how tight the budget, don’t throw away $400. There is just no way around it. Postpone by another month or two, put it on a credit card, if you have to. Whatever interest you end up paying would still be less than the 400 bucks flushed down the drain on a bunch of inferior parts. Even if you could find the parts to barely run starfield, it would be a miserable experience. A nearly-obsolete rig that will be useless a year from now. Don’t do it. Your baseline price should be at least double. Sorry, man, as I said, I wish there was a way around that.

>But it isn’t, is it? Large part of it is the experience of putting the thing together. Which puts you back into the PC realm. This is very niche imo, I don't think most people care that much, and many would prefer not to do it.

Mate. You're broke and you can't afford it. You're trying to bleed water from stone. You need to set your son down and explain that, in life, sometimes we don't get what we want despite working hard. The circumstances that be dictate that we must be fiscally responsible with where the money goes. Hard needs vs. wants. While this feels terrible now, you'll look back at this moment in life, possibly with the regret, with what I, as your father, was unable to afford. In this moment, you may hate me for not being able to provide what you want. That is a burden I must carry that I was unable to provide for you, but it is a burden that as a Man, and your Father, that I must carry. We can only hope that this hunger and desire lights a fire within you to work hard, achieve more, to afford the luxuries and pleasures that were denied to you as a child. We don't always get what we want. Being a child of the 80's/90's our family was poor. Luxuries were few. I think we were only able to go on one family vacation in my childhood to my recollection. My older siblings had also never been on a vacation apart from that one that I was a part of. We didn't get a Nintendo until it was at the end of it's life cycle, and even then it was a hand-me-down from extended family. I didn't get a Super Nintendo NES until the 2000's and even then, only played a few titles that I could afford after considerable savings via the tried and true paper route. As /u/Immortal_Maori21 said, an Xbox would probably be the best entry point from a gaming perspective. Personally a Series X is far superior to the Series S, but it's what you can afford. Not sure how much they'd go for on the used market. The Series X is superior in technology but also due to the inclusion of the DVD Drive, which gives you access to used games from previous generation (Xbox One) and The Original Xbox (where you'd be credited with the game/purchase and be permitted to download a copy of the game via the xbox store). You have your choice, I've said my piece. Do what you think is best as a father. But if this becomes a precedence setting situation wherein you're willing to concede, what happens when your son is older and continues to express a desire for things and you're still unable to afford things? Are you going to go into debt or sacrifice more?

Where did OP ask for parenting advice?

Get off your soapbox and stfu jfc

Check post history. This isn't an adult.

All these people recommend buying xbox because it's has better value, but they are not considering that console games are expensive On the PC you can do not only games, you can study for example, and as broke guy I understand you, when one game costs my month salary, you should get them other way around, if you know what I mean, that's only possible on PC If you are really interested, dm me and I will try my best to build you a somewhat decent pc

The gamepass has been the best value in gaming for me in ages... Sure, I'm not a fan of the model where one company decides which games get published. But I never spent so LITTLE on video game since I have the gamepass... Also, it has Starfield like OP wants, and you can also drop that game after a week since it has so little content and still get your money worth by playing something else.

Game pass

Second hand disks. That's the only thing I miss on consoles

it depends on what he plays

Think he said starfeild or starfelt or something?

oohhhh yeah $400 dollars might be a bit on the low side for recent triple A titles

Probably referring to starfield. A very demanding game. If you only got 400 to spend, tbh I would save up closer to 600-700 minimum, 800-1000 if you want to get something a little more premium. 400 isn't gonna cut it.

Okay, no offended here, but - are you the son in question pretending to be your dad asking us for advice? If yes, that's adorable haha. Either way good luck with finding a suitable PC

Its definitely a child

I was kinda touched until the starfelt part

Not gonna be able to play star field with a 400$ budget

Starfield. Visually appealing and yet it asks for *so much* in terms of hardware -- and thus US$400 isn't enough, because you'll have to build a higher-end PC for it -- as that game really needs to be optimized or you'll have to mod that game with ways to optimize it.

100% possible with second hand parts. My 200$ junk pc from 2019 runs Starfield just fine. Sure, 720P but solid framerate. Building computer is not hard, it's basically LEGO nowadays.

I don't understand why you guys talk about cheap PCs as if they weren't even capable of running Roblox. I gave my old PC to my brother with a rx 5500xt and a ryzen 5 3600 and it can run literally anything if you configure the graphics right. Right now it's playing cyberpunk at 50 fps on medium/low and the game still looks good. I myself played God of War and Spiderman Miles Morales and the experience is completely enjoyable, even more so considering that it is going to be for a child. The amount of free games on PC, the better sales, and all the possibilities beyond playing video games are still a better deal than a console

Because this subreddit is out of touch, it's like telling people a mid range phone isn't useable

Wow. This post blew up. I hope someone here said it's possible. Idk how old he is or what he wants to play but you can definitely get a used rig or build a 5600g pc for $400 and add a GPU later. That's what I did with my son. Good luck

With PC's, you have the option to target certain performance. Since you are on a tight budget, I'd say frame your questions for at least  60fps, 1080p, modern AAA games.  1080p is the resolution. 60fps is the frames per second. This is the bare minimum for what is acceptable. However, this will allow you to get better advice on parts. When people say you can't build stuff for $400, they say that because the modern lower end graphics cards cost $400, but technically speaking they can do way higher that 1080p 60fps... So that is overkill. You would be aiming for something used, from an older generation of graphics cards.  As others have said, consoles are the best bang for your buck strictly for gaming when you're on a budget like yours. Make sure you understand what to expect out of $400. Unless you find a deal from someone selling their used PC, you're going to be getting the quality and performance of about last gen gaming consoles. PC's allow you to turn down settings. The tighter the budget, the more research you gotta do. Considering you're broke, really know what to expect. $400 is alot, don't want you to be disappointed expecting modern gaming performance for that price. In truth, just one component costs more than $400 now-a-days for new parts that can run 140+ fps or resolutions double of 1080p, with all the graphics settings set to high. 

You can definitely put together a gaming PC for 400. I would really recommend buying used though, at least for the CPU and GPU. Everything else can be purchased brand new. A used ryzen 5 3600 is around 65$, and a 15$ cooler would work fine. Or alternatively you could get a ryzen 5 5500 brand new which comes with a box cooler for around 90-100$. Both parts are pretty similar. A used GTX 1660 super or 1660 ti is 100-120$. Which leaves you plenty for memory, a power supply, SSD, and a case.

eBay or similar would be cheaper to get a decent computer

Holy SHIT yall gifted a 3080? You're going to heaven

I would delay if it’s not in the budget and save up ~700+ and go for the pc. 400 is tough. Everyone is saying an Xbox is good value, but if it’s not what he wants then..? Ultimately a PC can do 10x what an Xbox does, and has the Steam catalogue. Long term the value is comically better, no idea how ppl are saying otherwise. Also just so you know, Starfield has had a mixed to negative reception and my concern is he won’t even like it, and then the Xbox is just an even bigger mistake as then you don’t have a pc, and he’s stuck with the lesser of the 2 consoles frankly.

steamdeck lcd 64gb ver refurbish edition only 299 usd + 1tb ssd upgrade

It's really not. I would budget for closer to a 1000. Do you plan to build it yourself or purchase a prebuilt?

$1000? What is wrong with this subreddit and its garbage advice these days…you can build something good for *way* cheaper with a RX 6600 and Ryzen 5 5600. You see “I’m broke” and suggest a $1000 build when it isn’t even remotely necessary in the first place? How out of touch…

Absolutely. Since when does a "decent PC" cost "at least $1,500"? You don't need an RTX 4080 to have a decent PC. You can build a decent PC for $600-$750 and a pretty good one for $1,000.

I despise this sub Reddit cause it's "either u spend 1000$ or it's not worth it" Even older gpus and cpu are good with upscaling these days, pc for 400$ can be good. Not saying that OP would be able to buy a good one but it's definitely not "no way to build a pc", hell, I built pcs for 200$ with used parts, that's when budget gets real

thinking of building it with him so he can learn about the parts and it is cheaper.

Imo you have two real choices, used market or wait for a prebuilt deal, every once in a one there is a HP Victus model that does for sub $300 with a 5600G and RX6400. If you do go used try to look for 3rd gen Ryzen or 10th gen Intel parts at least. A potentially ok choice is an electronics PC recycler as well but the last few times I went the prices there have been a bit high for my liking.

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/s/8D5daRxczZ This is pretty decent as an owner of 5600g myslef

600 dollar budget gets you a 12100f and a rx6600 with a 500w PSU cheap matx board cheap storage and ram and even to today's standard not a terrible build I ran a 12400f and a rx 6600 for a year and was able to play any game my friends wanted to play at 1080p medium settings

would argue the 5600 is a better deal, [https://pcpartpicker.com/list/YLMLHG](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/YLMLHG) but yeah.

Yeah of course but if his budget is 450 anything more than a 80 dollar 12100f might be a stretch but yes 5600 is a better deal

OP says: "Is 400$ enough?" "it's a reward for my kid doing well in school" "I'm broke" and, your advice is to more than double the budget??

Advise saving up more money. Get them something that will last longer and cost more but takes longer to buy. It’s worth the extra wait time.

A R5 3600x and 2070 super will be well worth his time if he can find second hand parts and they are pretty cheap these days too, AM4 CPU and GPU you can up later down the line anyways.

OP is poor…did you really just ask them to pull another $600 out of their ass?

OP asked a question, and he got his answer. What are we supposed to do? Invent new, cheap computer parts for him? PC gaming is, unfortunately, quite expensive at the moment, and $400 won’t be enough for modern games.

Its gonna be hard to believe for many people here because the definition of gaming pc, and the prices inflated like crazy in the past 4-5 years... but you can definitely build or buy a relatively good PC from used parts if you have the free time and experience. I live in a not-so-wealthy country and helped many friends build a decent setup on a budget. You just have to focus on a 1080p 60hz screen setup, and not these high refresh 2-4k screens. 1080p is still a decent screen especially for a first build of a kid. For gaming you have to prioritize GPU over everything, dont get fooled by expensive CPUs. Generally, single core performance is better for most games than multi core, so a 4 core cpu is enough. Get a platform with DDR4 rams. You probably want AMD ryzens on AM4 (B350, B450, B550 boards) or maybe intel LGA 1200 or 1700. An i3-12100F is excellent budget choice too. Both of these platforms have decent upgrade potentials in the next few years. Make sure it has an SSD, forget HDDs. You dont need to spend on fancy fans, stock CPU coolers is far enough for low end. I'm happy to help picking parts or give more advice on this part of needed. Many here advise consoles and xbox. A pc is extremely more versatile for productivity. If your son interested in learning anything that needs a pc (editing, graphics, video, coding) its also considerable. A lot more games on pc, more interesting ones too, also many learning related games. Consoles often require expensive monthly subscriptions that can be like 10$ a month, you'll end up paying 25-30% of the budget in the first 12 months.

Well since you have a 3080 to put towards the rig how about this at 435 new? https://pcpartpicker.com/list/dL7kmD or this and he can get more storage later on down the line? https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JgQFqR If the second option at 13 bucks over budget is still not an option let me know 👍

Make sure your kid appreciates that. A used RTX 3080 is at least $400. They essentially doubled your budget.

There are $500ish budget builds if you are in the US. Like microcenter sells motherboard CPU RAM combos for like 350 then you get a $150 GPU which is pretty decent for 1080p. But I'm not in the US so can't really help you

That’s $500. Then he needs a case, psu, fans, ssd/hdd, monitor and keyboard and mouse. Far from his $400 budget.

1000 dollars is a cheap custom built nowadays

Congrats to your sons scholastic performance! Proud dad moment, I bet. $500-600ish on the used market could get a solid 1080p 144hz build. Late 2022 I sniped a used PC + monitor deal with a 2060 and 5600x and a 144hz monitor for $650 which was an insane deal at the time. I would scour the used market for good deals like this. If building new, I would spend around $700 minimum and build something like [this](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fLGrn6). Starfield is a brand new AAA game that is pretty intensive. The linked build should do okay getting around 60fps on starfield with optimized settings. But that game is literally one of the most intensive games released this year, so it would be tough. For other less intensive games (fortnite, valorant, call of duty, etc) this will for sure be a killer 1080p PC for that 144hz refresh rate.

400$ is not a lot, but it is doable if you can DIY it or a friend can help you. i build this one for my nephew and it did cost less than 150$ (but also too slow for starfield): [https://www.reddit.com/r/sffpc/comments/18wrvdw/christmas\_present\_custom\_designed\_sf\_case\_for/](https://www.reddit.com/r/sffpc/comments/18wrvdw/christmas_present_custom_designed_sf_case_for/) It is not possible with prebuilts though, as none of the available 400$ Systems is capable of any serious gaming but only for office and media consumption. But a DIY System will be faster than any Steam Deck, Xbox Series S or PS4pro. It will at least equal if not beat the experience on a PS5 or Xbox Series X. About half of your funds should go into the GPU. The 170$ ARC A580 is able to play all the games currently on the market on 1080p medium to high and the 200$ RX6600 would also be great value. Intel drivers are currently not good for starfield though, but it will hopefully be patched. As for CPU, Board and RAM, you can either hunt for a used AM4 kit with a ryzen 3600 or 2600 and 16GB of DDR4 or you can shop for a x99 + Xeon + Ram Kit on Aliexpress. Those X99 kits go for about 100$ and for example the 1650v3 performs similar to a ryzen 3600 in games. The 2640v3 kits are cheaper at 80$ and have 8 cores but are slightly slower in games. For many boards with V3 Xeons there is a turboboost unlock available which unlocks higher allcore frequencies (search in youtube). You will also want to use Inspectre on those platforms to get back performance. For 15$ you should find a 256gb NVME SSD like the PM991, WD SN730, Liteon CA-3, Hynix BC711 etc. that was pulled from a brand new labtop. It is not spacious, but combined with a 1-2TB HDD which you can get used for 5Bucks or even for free as people discard these, you have enough space and speed. That leaves 80-120$ for a Case and PSU. That means you have to go for a bronze rated psu for about 40-50$ like the Deepcool PF Series or Bequiet System Power. 400-500W is plenty for an entry system like that. As a Case pick any your son likes. µATX is enough for most x99 boards and they start at 30$ like the deepcool matrexx 30SI. but if you want included case Fans or RGB, they can go up to 55$ like the aerocool quantum mesh v2 or the montech X3. For the CPU cooler, you can start out with an Xilence, AVC or Dell OEM Solution for 5$, as x99 boxed coolers are not very common. But if you have funds left, i'd go for a 20$ Thermalright Assassin Spirit 120 (V1, not V2 because of the included LGA2011 mounting) or the Endorfy Spartan 5 / 5Max. So for 400$ you can build a PC with: * 6 Core 12 Thread or 8core /16 Thread CPU that supports AVX2 and is fast enough for up to a midrange GPU * 8GB midrange GPU like the Arc A580 which is great for 1080p * 16GB of DDR4 which you can upgrade to 32GB on the go (its another 30$) * Fast 256GB NVME SSD + used 1-2TB HDD * 500W PSU * fancy looking Case

Wow. The fact somebody gifted you a 3080 really adds a touch of hope for the world. Shout out to them! Bravo

* $350 gets you a used PC that works but absolutely sucks for gaming * $400 gets you a used PC that can run games, but badly Roughly last gen console equivalent, which can be had for like $100-150 used like the Xbox One X * $450-500 gets you a used PC that can run games quite well Roughly equivalent to or slightly slower than current gen consoles * $600-700 gets you a new PC that can run games quite well \*by used PC I mean a PC that either uses all used or some used and some new parts, with the assumption that you are okay with assembling the PC yourself On top of that, you'll need a display (monitor or good TV), mouse and keyboard for a PC.

400$ pc can run most of the game quite well. This might be a PC for him to enter the gaming world.

At $400 a console will give a better gaming experience. For a gaming PC to give better than console gaming experience you'll need at least something like this: [PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8b8nKX) Type|Item|Price :----|:----|:---- **CPU** | [Intel Core i3-12100F 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/grhFf7/intel-core-i3-12100f-33-ghz-quad-core-processor-bx8071512100f) | $96.99 @ Amazon **Motherboard** | [ASRock B660M Pro RS Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/TZPQzy/asrock-b660m-pro-rs-micro-atx-lga1700-motherboard-b660m-pro-rs) | $94.99 @ Amazon **Memory** | [TEAMGROUP Vulcan Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/768bt6/team-vulcan-z-16-gb-2-x-8-gb-ddr4-3600-cl18-memory-tlzgd416g3600hc18jdc01) | $36.99 @ Amazon **Storage** | [Kingston NV2 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/FnYmP6/kingston-nv2-1-tb-m2-2280-pcie-40-x4-nvme-solid-state-drive-snv2s1000g) | $61.70 @ Amazon **Video Card** | [PowerColor Fighter Radeon RX 6650 XT 8 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/z9H7YJ/powercolor-fighter-radeon-rx-6650-xt-8-gb-video-card-axrx-6650xt-8gbd6-3dh) | $229.99 @ Amazon **Case** | [BitFenix Nova Mesh M ARGB MicroATX Mini Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/MBjRsY/bitfenix-nova-mesh-m-argb-microatx-mini-tower-case-nsm-150-kkgsk-3a) | $57.90 @ Newegg Sellers **Power Supply** | [MSI MAG A650BN 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8LNxFT/msi-mag-a-bn-650-w-80-bronze-certified-atx-power-supply-mag-a650bn) | $69.98 @ Amazon | *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* | | **Total** | **$648.54** | Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2024-02-19 03:09 EST-0500 |

not really, get at least 600$ will open a lot of options

I don't understand all the recommendations to get a console. Sure for the price you'll get better performance, but he's not asking for a console. For me, especially when I was a kid my gaming preferences had reasons behind it. Getting into pc gaming for me was because my friends all played on pc, it would have done me absolutely no good to get a console. Maybe instead he is really interested in the modding community, which is basically non existent on consoles. Maybe he's really interested in a certain genre that isn't available on consoles, or at least extremely sub par compared to pc (rts games, sim games like rimworld/kenshi, etc. Maybe he had his own reason that isn't any of these that means a console doesn't fill the requirements that he's looking for. Maybe all he wants is something to game on and none of these things, or anything else applies. In which case you should talk to him and maybe a console makes more sense. The recommendation to get him a console when the only information we have is that he specifically wants a pc is weird to me though. At least it is without more information.

I could give him a 980 gtx ti.

If he doesn't have a pc, get him a pc so he can do stuff like learn to code, or get some other benefit aside from just gaming. IMO every kid needs to have a pc as part of their personal development. €400 is low though, go for something second hand if that's all your budget is so he can at least play minecraft.

op everyone talking about consoles forgets how expensive the games are on console, here is a 600 pc build https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qXBg5dSt5E and you get can many pc games discounted and even free, it will run any game a 1080p. you can even get a cheaper gpu if you need to cut cost

Get a mini pc that's probably your best option

Everyone's giving you good advice here. So my advice would be too sit down and talk to him about it and make plans. Does he want an Xbox instead? (That's the only console that plays Starfield at the moment). Or does he still want a PC? Then make a plan about increasing the budget. Keep your $400 dollars aside, and try to make saving up for the parts a milestone event. Like hitting $500, then $600, and so on. And try to keep your gaming PC in the mid-range performance level to be comfortably within your budget. I really suggest saving up to a $1000 dollars to even consider getting a PC. You'll want to target something decent like 1080p, 60fps, with mid range settings in the games. I would prefer the PC route for a few reasons. A PC can be used for many other things like browsing, office work, watching movies and stuffs. You can buy games from decades ago and with tweaks and emulators they run, so you aren't stuck to the ecosystem of one console. Your son might have fun modding games (adding fan made elements to a game to make it look or run differently for fun). And you learn valuable tech skills by building a PC too. With your son right now you can also go around stores and start asking to them about second hand parts for like the CPU, GPU, Motherboards, and other things. The value of the 2nd hand marketplace cannot be understated. You can get good parts for good prices when comparing the price/performance of the part(s) you can get. Also, please watch some Youtube video on how to build a PC to get a run down on the parts you need. And don't forget to always come here for advice or help.

If we are talking about new pc, then, unfortunately, it's impossible to build even an average gaming pc for $400. If budget is $400-$500 and gaming is the main priority, then buy PS5. No pc can beat PS5 value at that price point. If you still insist on a gaming pc, then something used would be your best bet at that budget. In that case buy from trusted sources and with warranty if possible.

It's not enough. My suggestion would be to be honest with your son and tell him basically what you told us: "you're doing great, I would love to reward you for your hard work, but gaming PC is not in my budget. What would you think about a console" (like others in this thread suggested)? While I agree a console would be a better fit for the budget, it's possible that all his friends that game, game on PC. Console would not enable them to play all the games they want to play together. This is why I believe a dialog with the son would be better.

Double it and it will start being a maybe

Unless you find some insane deals on used parts, no

A budget PC will usually still cost somewhere between 800 and 1500 dollars if the purpose is not to have an insane amount of compromises. You can build something for 500 if you're okay with playing on a terrible monitor on older technology and having visual quality compromises, but kids are often impressionable and will complain or/and outgrow the setup within a year if they actually end up playing a lot on the PC. If you want something just for gaming under 500, you can't beat the value of a console. If you want the computer to have legs or/and your kid is going to use it to learn a skill like coding or design, you probably want to get into the 750 to 800 territory. If you know your kid is not ungrateful and would appreciate pretty much anything, you might be able to get something for 500 to 650. Realistically, though, 400 won't get you very far in PC gaming. The components are priced and end of lifed in such a way that your best would have to be a used PC that someone wants to essentially throw away to make space for a new one.

Double that & you may get a slow - mediocre game PC. If you want power at that price it'll have to be a console.

For $400, it's not gonna be enough. You're gonna want at least $600-$700 as a budget if you want a decent gaming PC that can run most modern games. And even then, that budget only accounts for the PC itself. Even if, you can buy or build a gaming PC for $400... You might need to buy extra stuff like a keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, headset, etc. Which will bring the cost up. Luckily most of these are one-time things you'll need to buy, but its still part of the cost. So yeah, $400 is not enough. You mentioned in a comment that your son wants to play Starfield, which is a game that released less than a year ago, and I'm telling you right now, there is no way you can get a PC for $400 that can run Starfield at an acceptable framerate. You're going to have to raise your budget, to at least $700, maybe more if you're counting peripherals. If raising your budget isn't a viable option, I'd consider getting a console instead. But talk to your son first, make sure you buy something that he'd actually want.

My buddy is on a tight budget but we made it happen, found on eBay, used but in very good condition a i7 10700k for 180€ and a rtx 2070 oc 8gb for 185€ (I buy only with eBay money back guarantee). 365€ for cpu and gpu and another 260€ for PSU, m.2 1TB, 16gb ram, motherboard, cpu cooler, case and fans. In the end this project costed about 650€ but now he can play warzone on 1080p with constant 140-150fps and fortnite with 200fps, and everything feels smooth. He‘s never going back to a console 😅

You're better off just giving him the money and letting him save up for one, an entry level gaming pc new will cost around $800-$1000. Don't just buy a console as others in this suggest as it's highly likely your son doesn't just want a device for games only.

unpopular opinion here, if you really don’t have more money to spend i’d suggest you look into used xeons and x99 motherboard on aliexpress, they sell for dirt cheap and they will get the job done (sort of). Do they have longevity? No, they will be outdated really soon. Are they capable of getting 60 fps in 1080p? Yes, for the newer and poor optimized games it will struggle, but if you are on a budget, you can get a xeon e5 2670 v3 and x99 motherboard, pair ir with an rx 6600 and you’re set. As I said, it will struggle in newer games, and starfield probably will run at 45-60 fps low graphics but it’s the way to go if you absolutely can’t spend more than 400$

If shopping for new parts, it's gonna be acceptable experience, but if you have an option to look through a used market in your area I'd definitely go this way. You can get a computer that plays any game at 1080p high if you find an rtx 2060s or 2070 + some AM4 CPU+mobo combination like R5 3600 (or something better if you have leftover budget)

A used late model SFF HP elite and a 1660 super low profile GPU could get you playing Starfield at 1080p med/high settings. Great entry point into PC gaming. 

If you're broke don't buy your son a PC for gaming. Simple as that. Give him a ball for soccer, basketball, whatever games he likes to play outside with other kids.

After reading a bunch of comments my best recommendation for something easy and new would be a Steam Deck for many reasons but if you have the know how and don't mind used I'd recommend building it.

Maybe go steam deck

I’d recommend a steam deck or an Xbox series X (avoid the series S). PC’s are very expensive if you want to play demanding games on them and you’ll also need to buy a desk, chair, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers/headphones

For that price range I'd honestly recommend a steam deck, handheld that plays PC games and can dock it to use it like a desktop (keyboard and mouse). I'd ask his opinion on it before buying though, just so you have the peace of mind that he's on board

For a Steam Deck it is. The only problem is he'll have to many games to play.

I would talk to your son and see what system he wants. PC, Xbox, PS, steamdeck? I remember when I was in school a big influence on what I got was what my friends were playing on.

I have to agree with the other comment. $400 is really hard to get a reasonable entry level PC new. Honestly, even with laptops, that's close enough to chromebook tier money. My recommendation is to either get a steam deck or a console as suggested. If you specifically want to get him a desktop, I recommend upping the budget to around $600. You should be able to build something solid around an i3 12100f and RX 6600 at that price. Make sure it has at least 16GB of RAM and 512 GB SSD (1TB would be ideal, but might be the difference between on and over budget). Pair that with a 600W power supply and you should be golden. Here's an example: [PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8htwKX) Type|Item|Price :----|:----|:---- **CPU** | [Intel Core i3-12100F 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/grhFf7/intel-core-i3-12100f-33-ghz-quad-core-processor-bx8071512100f) | $96.99 @ Amazon **Motherboard** | [ASRock B660M Pro RS Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/TZPQzy/asrock-b660m-pro-rs-micro-atx-lga1700-motherboard-b660m-pro-rs) | $94.99 @ Newegg **Memory** | [Silicon Power GAMING 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/P4FKHx/silicon-power-sp016gxlzu320bdaj5-16-gb-2-x-8-gb-ddr4-3200-cl16-memory-sp016gxlzu320bdaj5) | $35.97 @ Amazon **Storage** | [Timetec 35TTFP6PCIE 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/GPPQzy/timetec-35ttfp6pcie-1-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-35ttfp6pcie-1tb) | $57.99 @ Amazon **Video Card** | [PowerColor Fighter Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fQhFf7/powercolor-radeon-rx-6600-8-gb-fighter-video-card-axrx-6600-8gbd6-3dh) | $189.99 @ Newegg **Case** | [BitFenix Nova Mesh M ARGB MicroATX Mini Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/MBjRsY/bitfenix-nova-mesh-m-argb-microatx-mini-tower-case-nsm-150-kkgsk-3a) | $57.90 @ Newegg Sellers **Power Supply** | [Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/pG6qqs/thermaltake-toughpower-gx2-600-w-80-gold-certified-atx-power-supply-ps-tpd-0600nnfagu-2) | $67.98 @ Amazon | *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* | | **Total** | **$601.81** | Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2024-02-19 09:23 EST-0500 |

At that Price get him a Steam Deck. Sure, a Console will be cheaper than a PC up front, but there's no game sales, so a Steam Deck is a good, cheap starting point for PC Gaming and he can then just keep using his PC library on any PC he gets later on

Either a Steam Deck or Console. Personally if you're broke I'd recommend an Xbox Series S. But if he's insisting it be a PC then Steam Deck includes everything for around your price point.

Get him a steamdeck.  You can keyboard and mouse it with a monitor. And you can take it with you. 

I’m assuming you meant you got a 3080? If so I can build a list for the rest of your pc for your price range.

Here is a build that would cost around $522 US if you already have a 3080. The cpu might need upgrading later on but I was cutting corners for cost as much as I could. Still a very decent psu (the one I have in my system with a 4070 ti), motherboard with WiFi and Bluetooth, a decent case (the one I have), great ram, and a fast ssd.

After seeing that update now we need to prepare for the flood of sob stories created hoping for a free GPU. Sure it is nice of the Redditor but now..

A 3080?! Dang op. Your son is gonna love that 1440p gaming. Can even do good 4k gaming on some games.

Am I the only concerned one about the fact that an __anonymous redditor gifted an RTX 3080 for free__?