How does a 13 year old become one with the gaming PC?

So I'm a new guy here, a friend recommended I check out this site, and I am not regretting it. I checked out the "show off your rig thread" and saw these guys sure know what they're doing, so maybe I could get some help please?

I just turned 13 June 4, and I have always wanted to be a PC gamer, something about the whole mouse n' keyboard thing always attracted me to it, and the community. So everything sounds good, right? Just get a gaming PC, right? Well, my mother is very uptight and is my only way of getting things I work part-time at a music store, but till I am 18, my mother is subject to the little money I do earn. I'm also curious, do I need to just buy a keyboard, mouse, monitor and case and the case comes with the basic parts I can later upgrade? Or is it going to be empty when I get it? Please help.

You can buy a ready gaming rig, or you can save lots of money and build one yourself which isn't very hard even at 1st build.

You can always upgrade any part inside or even the outher shell (case)

Age isn't relaly relevent, I built my own pc when I was a 11 before youtube. All that really matters is if you did a little bit of reading beforehand.

Either buy a prebuilt computer that comes with everything and a monitor if you want or just get all the parts yourself and put them in a case.

Most videos on youtube are horrible and they tend to talk about irrelevant stuff that has nothing to do with anything.

If you have a motherboard, there is one spot to plug in the cpu, put that in and put the heatsink on. Then you connect the 24pin power supply cable to it, and the 4-8 pin cpu connector to it. Connect your hard drive with two cables. Put in your ram and you have a working computer in less than 1 minute, outside the case of course.

When i was about 13 my sister had a computer and i got one slihgtly later as well, both prebuild. after that i did everything myself. a case is just that a case.. a barebone however should come with mobo and a powersupply if im not mistaken.

But then i just build myself from scratch, that way tyou can choose your components, and whatever fits within your funding as well..

A case is just a case you have to buy the parts that go in it.

As others have already said, you can get a pre-built gaming pc or build your own which is the best thing to do as it's going to save you some money and you also hand-pick the parts you prefer. I know it may seem intimidating to attempt it but it's really worth the time and you learn a thing or two along the way.

I would suggest a thorough internet search to find guides and appropriate forums(this one can help as well) so as to get acquainted with the process. Invest some time and when you feel ready, do a little research to find parts that are within your budget.

This one thing is very important whether you get a pre-built pc or build your own. Since your mother is in charge of the money, you should discuss it with her and decide on a budget. If you already own a decent monitor and mouse/keyboard/speakers you can just focus on the main parts(CPU,motherboard,GPU,PSU,case).

Go to newegg.com. There's a decent set of videos there for those who want to assemble their own PCs.

If you can read and comprehend what you read then building your first PC is the only way to go. You will save hundreds of dollars. Remember if you don't build it you are not PC MASTER RACE!

I got my first real pc in 1991, it was a 386 and i was i think 12 years old.

So i think your just the right age for it... but its expensive to get a decent enough gaming pc. Not as bad as it was in my day, you paid many thousands for so little. But its still gonna cost a lot since you'll need it all, like a monitor and pc, and all the other stuff.

I'd buy a pre made pc and start from there. And when its time for that to be upgraded you can take it apart and learn how to handle pc components. I wouldn't put one together from pieces if you haven't ever taken one apart before and you don't want to practice on brand new expensive parts. opps just dropped the 500 dollar video card onto the motherboard....

but its not like its hard to peice it together once you've done it once or twice, just you have to use common sense and some caution because the pieces on your motherboard and video card are very fragile in the hands of someone with false confidence.

With the internet u can look up anything so you should just look into videos of people building pcs if you ever go down that path. till then just buy a pre-built one.

Most importantly before you buy the pc, check for reviews and benchmarks on its cpu and video card to make sure it'll play games well. It could have a great cpu but if it comes with a garbage graphics card its a waste of money.

I started out PC gaming at 12! thats whats up tho. I never see kids nowadays into pc gaming. The only kids I know are LAME and sit on xbox 360 partys all day and annoy people and say stupid stuff. Its good to see an intelligent young person that wants more than a controller, couch and tv.

You better start saving up right now

An xbox 360 is much cheaper making it a much better option for kids who cant possibly get the money to build a PC. I didnt start PC gaming until I was 15 or 16 because of that reason alone.

I was already an adult when I assembled my first DIY PC. But, I had a Tandy 1000SX PC, Amiga 500, Amiga 2000HD, and a Leading Edge PC in the years prior. I've had years of upgrading and jerry-rigging before attempting my first DIY (1992).

Still have a photo of it. Gotta have a photo of the first. ;)

Read, read and read some more. You'll want to understand what your plugging into what so you get a better idea of what does what and why. Read reviews of hardware, emerging tech and learn what's good and what's bad. It's good to see the young folk embracing the master race. :).

My boy is nearly 13 and already has his rig. ;)

If you know someone in rl that can help you build your first rig thats probably the best option, after that you will be set and know everything and won't need any help anymore from then on except from google.

Its gotten easier to build pc's too than before.

You're 13? Little OT, but you're incredibly well spoken for someone that age.

Or perhaps hanging around GS all these years having to deal with "L33T" speak and poor grammar has me jaded.

I think I was 15 when I got my first PC, but I was well into 18 before I built my first PC. Just read online and watch videos it is really not that hard once you do your first.

Is there a desktop PC in your house? Maybe you can upgrade it for cheap.

@TDuiker: most cases now do not come with anything because the big companies like nzxt and corsair want to save as much money as possible. I know antec still inclouds power supplies with some of their older cases.

Please don't bump 6 month old threads

euh, yeah i was wondering what the hell this was about :P