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[The Infectious Paradox]

My best friend is getting married and me and my other friend wanted to do something special for him. Our friend group has PCs, but he is the only one that doesn't. You wouldn't really be able to get one of his own bc of his budget. We wanted to chip in together and buy him a PC for around $600. I know this is on the lower end of the spectrum, but was wondering if I could get some recommendations.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Have you considered a Steam Deck + Dock?

 

[The Infectious Paradox]

Have you considered a Steam Deck + Dock?

I did consider it, but I thought for that price it would almost be worth it to see if there was a desktop that was available

 

[Mister Wolf]

Rog Ally X.

 

[darrylgorn]

If you're looking for 1080p 60 fps, then a 3070Ti would be the bare minimum to start.

You could get a decent laptop with that card if you care about mobility.

 

[The Infectious Paradox]

Have you considered a Steam Deck + Dock?

Is it pretty viable when docked? Maybe that is a good option

 

[Mister Wolf]

Is it pretty viable when docked? Maybe that is a good option

 

[TintoConCasera]

Is it pretty viable when docked? Maybe that is a good option

Well, you can plug it to a monitor, kb&m and use it like a normal computer.

Does your friend know anything about using Linux? That might be worth considering, as well as other alternatives like the one Mister Wolf suggests.

If it's mostly for gaming I think one of those PC handhelds is a great idea, specially if your group of friends likes gathering for playing stuff together. Man, I know I would shit my pants if my friends gifted me one of those, you seem like a nice bunch.

If you aren't into LAN parties then maybe a desktop PC might give you a better bang for your buck. Laptops are fine too but in my experience they go to shit a few years after you get them, unless your friend is able to disassemble and clean it from time to time.

 

[The Infectious Paradox]

Well, you can plug it to a monitor, kb&m and use it like a normal computer.

Does your friend know anything about using Linux? That might be worth considering, as well as other alternatives like the one Mister Wolf suggests.

If it's mostly for gaming I think one of those PC handhelds is a great idea, specially if your group of friends likes gathering for playing stuff together. Man, I know I would shit my pants if my friends gifted me one of those, you seem like a nice bunch.

If you aren't into LAN parties then maybe a desktop PC might give you a better bang for your buck. Laptops are fine too but in my experience they go to shit a few years after you get them, unless your friend is able to disassemble and clean it from time to time.

Thanks! Yeah I'm going to consider a handheld more. I don't particularly want to build him one just for the convenience so I'll see if anyone had any other good experiences with prefabs along these lines.

 

[hinch7]

Depends on what games you want to play. But a Windows handheld would be in your budget and be quite easy to set up for games and chat (Discord etc).

Could probably even get him a usb to HDMI hub and a portable monitor + keyboard and mouse.

 

[ThisIsMyDog]

The Steam Deck is getting a bit outdated now. If you want a machine that'll last a few years for around $600, just build a normal PC with an RX 6600, Ryzen 5 5500, and 16GB of RAM. Prefabs are always pricier, so if your budget's tight, I wouldn't recommend going that route.

 

[T4keD0wN]

Go for something like this:
CPU: Ryzen 5600 + B550 or i5-12400f or 13400f + "B660 DDR4" pair it with some "Hyper 212" looking cooler for around 30 usd
MEMORY: 2x16gb or 2x8gb of DDR4 CL16 3200mhz to 3600mhz
STORAGE: 1TB Nvme M.2 gen3/4 (this is low priority given the budget, gen3 availability and pricing might suck compared to gen 4 so might have to go gen4)
CASE: leave that one up to you
PSU: for PSU go check the power supply tier list and pick some cheap B tier one available near you (no need to go above 600W, this pc shouldnt consume anywhere near 500W at 100% power)
GPU: Put the rest of the budget left on the GPU - have to go second hand if you want something solid, but if you do you could probably grab something like a 3060ti or 6700xt for fairly cheap or something even better

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 5600	VIEW
MOBO	ASRock B550	VIEW
GPU	XFX RX 6650 XT	VIEW
RAM	G.SKILL 16GB 16GB	VIEW
SSD	KLEVV 512GB	VIEW
CASE	GAMDIAS Apollo E2	VIEW
PSU	Segotep 750W

The internet is full of good suggestions, just do a simple Startpage or DuckDuckGo search. Even better: Ask ChatGPT!

 

[gokurho]

My best friend is getting married and me and my other friend wanted to do something special for him. Our friend group has PCs, but he is the only one that doesn't. You wouldn't really be able to get one of his own bc of his budget. We wanted to chip in together and buy him a PC for around $600. I know this is on the lower end of the spectrum, but was wondering if I could get some recommendations.

[Bloomberg]‘Wukong’ Game Debut Drives PlayStation 5 to Top of Alibaba Tmall News

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/2024/08/21/wukong-game-debut-drives-playstation-5-to-top-of-alibaba-tmall/

www.resetera.com

Trust Digital Foundry

 

[Mattyp]

Here - logicalincrements.com

 

[Zathalus]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/QVHGKX

Drop the GPU to a 3060 or 7600 if needed for budget. Get a Win 11 key for $2 from here - https://www.allkeyshop.com/blog/buy-windows-11-pro-cd-key-compare-prices/

 

[Black_Stride]

Sitting here with a 12400 and other than Spider-Man maxed out it pretty much gets me to 60fps in everything.
In many games I can go well above 60.

So dont fret over getting a top tier CPU.


GPU I always thought the RX 6600XT(7600), RTX 3060, Arc A770 would all be viable for pretty good PC gaming.

 

[Astray]

Here - logicalincrements.com

Logical Increments has become very outdated and outright bad.

Go for this list of part lists instead

 

[PeteBull]

My best friend is getting married and me and my other friend wanted to do something special for him. Our friend group has PCs, but he is the only one that doesn't. You wouldn't really be able to get one of his own bc of his budget. We wanted to chip in together and buy him a PC for around $600. I know this is on the lower end of the spectrum, but was wondering if I could get some recommendations.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/wpXR28

 

[Antwix]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/wpXR28

Vouching for this. It's almost the same as my PC. Runs great.

 

[ChoosableOne]

Get a Win 11 key for $2 from here

Is it safe? How is that possible?

 

[Mr Moose]

Is it safe? How is that possible?

OEM key.

 

[El Muerto]

Ryzen 5600x and a RX6600 is a pretty decent combo. You can play anything at 1080p max. I have this setup and i can play like 80% of my library at 1440p max settings. Even VR runs well. GPU seems to struggle when playing UE5 games on high settings @ 1440p. But for price vs. performance it's a good deal. Definitely doable at around $600.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/LYW934

 

[Haint]

If you don't have extra reusable components lying around to use (like a case/PSU/drives), you can't beat pre-built OEM's on sale if you're on a tight budget. They're not going to have the smartest/best components, or the best upgradability, but they will work and you can't beat the prices:

$980 4060Ti/Ryzen 7700, 32GB https://slickdeals.net/f/17708766-i...-free-shipping-best-buy?src=SiteSearchV2Algo1

$799 4060/i5 14400/16GB https://slickdeals.net/f/17707761-a...s-11-home-64-bit-799-99?src=SiteSearchV2Algo1

$849 4060/i5 14400/32GB https://slickdeals.net/f/17705109-s...2tb-ssd-850-15-shipping?src=SiteSearchV2Algo1

 

[Crayon]

Depends a lot on what you are trying to play. If you are just getting down on some multiplayer games, you can get away with a lot less. Like a 6600xt is hanging in for the latest sp games, but it's got some power to spare for apex and the like.