So, my best mate Yog is considering a desktop PC in the (vaguely near) future instead of getting a new console. of course, the price of digital PC gaming is a big draw for him - though he also used to game on PC many years ago. He's an avid RPG fan (including PNP style), so it seems a good fit. He also realises (not being a total dummy) that it could be a good long term plan - both for his work as a DJ (he mixes digitally these days and wants to use his current laptop for only that), but also as a gamer (well, thats obvious why to most of you I'd reckon).

So...

What I need now is a basic "bang for your buck" round up of what he can get for his money. I'd also appreciate any of the more tech-savvy and cross-platform among you giving examples of how certain parts (ie a specific GPU) may be more beneficial than the xbox one counterpart (ie "an NVIDIA XXX card can run at x-thousand pixels on pc but may be constrained to XXXX by XXX resolution on xbox one").

So, as a vague starting price range, we're looking at between £350 ( roughly rrp of an xbox one as I can see from a quick search) and £600 (roughly the price of his laptop some years ago) - please be mindful he will not be building this himself (though may add or switch parts if the price is right!) and will be looking at a prebuilt / prepaid custom build (like alienware or summat) instead - at least initially. This is purely so he can get an idea of what he gets for his money before deciding how much he actually has.

hopefully that makes some sense - if its garbled or needs clarification, please ask!

...nobody? - by now I'd have at least expected a post by someone who didnt read the OP at all! O________o

Edit: oh Typical, I post about no posts and you post while I'm posting!

no real requirements, though I think they're looking at using a good quality TV as opposed to a monitor (at least to begin with) - its primarily for someone migrating minimal non media laptop use to a desktop and any gaming time from console to PC (hence the request for comparisons on the latter)

Can't give you specific hardware to recommend. If he's looking for more of a TV hookup, then perhaps something like a Steam Machine? I don't/haven't hooked up my computer to a TV.

The only thing I can say is avoid the name brands unless the internal hardware is good. Also, I like to go for longevity since computers are usually made obsolete quickly. I'd suggest finding a computer that has lots of room for add-ons and upgrades so that it can continue to be upgraded to add a few extra years to its lifespan. In other words, consider the cons of purchasing slim-line units (if he really wants a bona fide PC tower.)

http://www.logicalincrements.com/

It'd involve an A10 or FX processor. Start at the r7 360 or r7 260x for basic graphics cards. The Xbox One is around an r7 250 graphics card in perspective.

Total cost to make can be around $460 pre-tax. Then you have the labor charge to build it to add on from whomever's doing that. Do you have a company in mind? Aria or something?

I only play older games and indies on my laptop, so my hardware requirements are quite low by modern standards.

Personally I would just get a pre-made gaming laptop, like one of these:
[url=]http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2020688,00.asp[/url]
[url=]http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/laptop/16-best-gaming-laptops-2015-2016-uk-3467286/[/url]
[url=]http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/best-gaming-laptops-top-5-gaming-notebooks-reviewed-1258471[/url]
[url=]http://computers.toptenreviews.com/gaming-laptops/[/url]
[url=]http://www.notebookreview.com/buyers-guides/gaming-laptops/[/url]
[url=]http://www.engadget.com/2015/08/26/gaming-laptop-roundup/[/url]

It seems to me that your friend really values 'mobility', why else would you choose a laptop over a desktop.
Its also evidenced by the fact that he is using a laptop for his music mixing.
So to me 'mobility' should be your main arguments as to why he should get a laptop and not an Xbox.

Well, its hard to give specific information, better checking techie websites for comparisons. In my opinion ViBox pc's (I have sniper version) seem pretty good for the money:
https://www.vibox.co.uk/

I got mine for 40% off from Amazon end of line! So there are deals out there to be had.

Hey, I was going to post a thread for a new PC too XD

I believe this one matches your requirements, this has been on my watchlist for a while, probably will be my next rig. (Source: PCMR builds)

Also despite its low cost it runs well with newer games as well. Here's a check I ran with Mad Max and according to Game Debate it will play well between Medium and High.

Go to newegg and do a search for desktops. Good deals.

With Black Friday coming around soon, also be on the lookout for something decent and heavily discounted...

Check Newegg and Tigerdirect for package specials around the end of November. There are almost always prebuilts for any price range. Above your price range, but last year got a new computer almost half off. Main reasons were that the i7 4790k had came out (had a 4770k) and the R9 295X (had a R9 290).

There are similar deals in every price range as new intermediary chips and cards come out and the manufacturers need to get rid of their older stock. If it's not about 40% off retail, wait until you find one on sale that is...

My next PC will be coming from Chillblast.

I've heard nothing but good things about their CS

My last one came from Cyberpower. I had some initial issues but they were resolved in a timely manner.

I wont offer any advice as to builds etc but hopefully the above may assist somewhat

This is probably the one I would try if I was going to buy a prebuilt PC.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883102057&ignorebbr=1

Cost $779 USD currently

I believe it is in the mid price range of what was stated. I generally aim for mid range because when you start pushing the max of the budget, people start to get iffy on whether to buy or not or even feel disappointed if it doesn't perform as well as they had expected for the cost. And I try to stay away from the bottom line because then they question the quality. The PC seems capable (for the games I play anyway) and has room for upgrades. Any prebuilt PC is going to have some weak points in order to try to keep the price lower. It has HDMI 2.0 so you're good to go as far as hooking this up to a big screen TV and watching movies or gaming. I'm not real experienced with sound cards since I've always just used the onboard audio with my surround sound, him being a DJ he may opt for something higher quality if he decides to do any mixing on it.

Still, if building a PC myself is an option, I would always go that route. But then again I would cross the budget line in no time getting giddy reading the specs of each part. Not sure which version of windows is preferred, but the 8.1 included would surely be a selling point for me since I just don't like windows 10 myself. But 10 is still an option with this model if preferred.

Also, If you're familiar with the Black Friday sales, you can always wait for the following Monday which is Cyber Monday. This is generally when I do my Christmas shopping all at one time because I hate fighting my way through the stores on Black Friday. Either way, hope he finds what he needs.

A started answering a couple of times today, and it always takes too much research to find what I feel is an optimal solution, so I end up not posting.

I tried Scan but couldn't access it, and now that I can I can't find anything good. Tried Cyberpower and configured a nice PC then realised it doesn't include Windows, which is another 74 quid + VAT.

Anyway, Cyberpower is still a decent place to shop, far as I know. It has quite a bit of choice for customisation (which can be overwhelming) and decent deals.

I took the cheepest weekly sale just now, changed to the cheapest case, GeForce 950, 500W PSU and FX 6300 CPU, added Windows 10 Home, and ended up with £594.00 inc VAT. That's a reasonably powerful system, although I'd prefer to go with an Intel CPU.

Another good choice at Cyberpower (even at the base configuration) is the Infinity X3 SE (£499.2 inc VAT). The Pentium G3258 isn't the fastest of CPU's but it's decent enough for gaming.