# Getting a gaming PC on finance?



## NoXion (Jul 21, 2017)

I mentioned in another thread that my current rig is basically dying. So yesterday I took a quick look at a website selling gaming PCs, and I noticed that I could get it done on finance. I know you end up paying more for it in the end but I need a replacement ASAP. 
 What I would like to know is if there is much difference between finance schemes for this sort of thing, i.e. is it worth shopping around on that front as well as with regards to the actual PC itself? The one place I looked at had the monthly payment at 27-odd quid which would be manageable given that one of my neighbours has expressed interest in paying to access my router.
 Obviously this all depends on whether they accept me, I might do credit check on myself just to avoid disappointment. If I don't get accepted for finance then I'll have to try and maintain the fiscal discipline needed to save, but in the meantime I'll be shit outta luck on the gaming front.


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## mrs quoad (Jul 21, 2017)

At the risk of stating the obvious, and with the caveat that IANAFABIDLALTMLOR4*, I reckon one starting point would be to investigate other potential sources of finance. To only investigate the particular source of FREE MONAYS that is tied to flogging gaming rigs to trigger-happy testosterone-fuelled FPS RAARRRnuts with limited capacity for delayed gratification** may end up costing you more than borrowing the same quantity of FREE MONAYS from other sources, such as zero whatever credit cards, bank loans at 7%, or whatevs.

(I am speaking out of my hat wrt the last two - I've never had a credit card, so don't really understand what this zero interest whatever is all about, or the Ts&Cs; and the last time I borrowed - apart from a mortgage - was 2006. When I think the rate was about 7%).



*I am not a financial advisor but do listen a lot to moneybox live on Radio 4.
**This is a hypothetical guess about the ability of gamers as a cohort to tolerate delayed gratification, when compared to other members of the general population. This group hypothesis bears no relation to any individual members of such group, including those who may or may not be the OP.


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## maomao (Jul 21, 2017)

Quoad is right. Look for a good deal on a credit card and buy it on that. Gives you some protection if they sell you a lemon too.

Beware though, they've been known to chop the fee interest period between accepting your application and sending the card. This happened to me with a 27-month interest free period which turned out to only be 18 when the card arrived the day before my new boiler was installed.


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## Monkeygrinder's Organ (Jul 21, 2017)

Have to agree with mrs quoad here - if you need to borrow money for the new machine I think it's unlikely the best deal will come from the computer company, and the best deals on the computer might well be from a company that don't do finance. Get a loan/card whatever at the best rate you can find then you can look for the best deal on the computer.


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## Supine (Jul 21, 2017)

Beware. With a gaming pc you might still be paying it off when it's out of date and you need a new one. 

A ps4 or something would be more affordable.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Jul 21, 2017)

Virgin are doing a two year no intrest deal on credit cards. You can transfer the cash to your current account, for which there is a fee, but still about the cheapest way going to borrow money. If your credit rating allows I'd go down that route.

Just be disaplined in paying back in time, maybe with the use of a set direct debit as the intrest rate is fairly low high after that.


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## NoXion (Jul 21, 2017)

Supine said:


> Beware. With a gaming pc you might still be paying it off when it's out of date and you need a new one.
> 
> A ps4 or something would be more affordable.


 Can't do nearly as many things with a ps4, or any other console for that matter. While I want a machine optimised for gaming, I need something that can work as a general purpose PC as well.


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## NoXion (Jul 21, 2017)

I asked a friend yesterday and he pretty much said what most of you seem to be saying, which is that a credit card would be a better deal. He's got one himself so I'll talk to him and get his take on the realities of having such a thing.


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## maomao (Jul 21, 2017)

Having a credit card that you got just to buy one thing with and are disciplined enough not to buy other stuff with is just the same as having a loan anyway.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Jul 21, 2017)

maomao said:


> Having a credit card that you got just to buy one thing with and are disciplined enough not to buy other stuff with is just the same as having a loan anyway.



But cheaper.  

 I've just used the Virgin deal to pay of the loan I took out for my car and another small credit card debt. It's quite nice knowing that all the cash I'm paying is just repaying the debt and not the intrest.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Jul 21, 2017)

NoXion said:


> Can't do nearly as many things with a ps4, or any other console for that matter. While I want a machine optimised for gaming, I need something that can work as a general purpose PC as well.



Still probably cheaper to get a PS4 and dead basic desktop, but you don't have to justify it.


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## NoXion (Jul 21, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> Still probably cheaper to get a PS4 and dead basic desktop, but you don't have to justify it.


Well in that case, I'm a die-hard PC gamer and that's that.


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## NoXion (Jul 22, 2017)

Update: so it turns out that my credit rating fucking stinks and thus no one offering credit cards is likely to want to have anything to do with me. I'm willing to try the finance option because I'm desperate at this point, but I'm betting I'll get turned down for that as well. I have a savings account. Looks like I'll have to do this the hard way.


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## Magnus McGinty (Jul 22, 2017)

Have you applied for a credit card or are you assuming you'll get rejected? They're usually tripping over themselves to heap debt on people.


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## maomao (Jul 22, 2017)

Checking your credit rating yourself is bad for your credit card rating apparently.  Should have just made a credit card application.


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## bi0boy (Jul 22, 2017)

You could always pawn some of your other assets. Also how about selling your old PC for starters, in bits on ebay if that helps.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Jul 22, 2017)

maomao said:


> Checking your credit rating yourself is bad for your credit card rating apparently.  Should have just made a credit card application.



It shouldnt be. Which site did you use NoXion. The various comparison sites are a starting point as they show your chance of being accepted, but no as accurate as one the actual credit score ones. 

Does it stink due to bad debt or never having had any?


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## cybershot (Jul 22, 2017)

NoXion said:


> Update: so it turns out that my credit rating fucking stinks and thus no one offering credit cards is likely to want to have anything to do with me. I'm willing to try the finance option because I'm desperate at this point, but I'm betting I'll get turned down for that as well. I have a savings account. Looks like I'll have to do this the hard way.



Don't assume

Loads of information here:

Credit cards eligibility calculator - MoneySavingExpert

Best Deals:

0% credit cards: interest free up to 32 mths

Best loans
Cheap personal loans: from 2.8% up to £15k

I recently used Zopa for a loan for a car after I left my old place and I had company cars before and didn't rally want to throw £7k on a credit card, I know I could keep shifting it, but Im lazy! The good thing, from my perspective anyway, is that I can pay off the loan early at any point, without the interest costs and with no extra fees on top


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## NoXion (Jul 23, 2017)

Magnus McGinty said:


> Have you applied for a credit card or are you assuming you'll get rejected? They're usually tripping over themselves to heap debt on people.


 I used one of those quick check things on the Ocean Finance credit card website after Experian said "N/A" on my chances of being accepted there. Due to my rejection on that basis I assume that's because Experian didn't have that information, rather than it meaning that credit history wasn't a factor.


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## NoXion (Jul 23, 2017)

maomao said:


> Checking your credit rating yourself is bad for your credit card rating apparently.  Should have just made a credit card application.


 I used Experian's free credit check thing and it kept insisting that using it wouldn't effect my credit rating. Not sure how much I believe that.


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## NoXion (Jul 23, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> It shouldnt be. Which site did you use NoXion. The various comparison sites are a starting point as they show your chance of being accepted, but no as accurate as one the actual credit score ones.
> 
> Does it stink due to bad debt or never having had any?


As I mentioned in a previous post, I used Experian's free credit check, which told me that my rating was "Very Poor". The number was something like 497 if I remember rightly. I wasn't expecting it to be great but I wasn't thinking it was gonna be that bad. I once took out a couple of grand from my bank as a loan when I had just turned 18, but have not borrowed anything else since then.


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## NoXion (Jul 23, 2017)

cybershot said:


> Don't assume
> 
> Loads of information here:
> 
> Credit cards eligibility calculator - MoneySavingExp


 I used that calculator and it gave the same results as the Experian one, except that all of them gave a chance of 0℅ rather than one or two of them being listed as N/A.


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## NoXion (Jul 23, 2017)

However, despite the so far bad news on the whole financing front, I have one more avenue I can explore by talking to my bank. A friend of mine says that might be worth a try, since they would know that I have a regular income, and would otherwise generally know me better than some other financial service I've never had dealings with before.


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## cybershot (Jul 23, 2017)

NoXion said:


> However, despite the so far bad news on the whole financing front, I have one more avenue I can explore by talking to my bank. A friend of mine says that might be worth a try, since they would know that I have a regular income, and would otherwise generally know me better than some other financial service I've never had dealings with before.



Good idea, when you're sorted follow some of the advice to rebuild your credit score. It's actually really easy as long as you're disciplined.


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## mauvais (Jul 23, 2017)

First of all, worth exploring why your credit rating is poor. Do they have you as on the electoral register, for instance? Use Clearscore and Noddle for some ideas.

Secondly, what's up with your current machine? Possibly better to fix it than to become indebted, especially if there's a cost of credit.

Personally I think borrowing for luxuries is generally to be avoided, possibly cars aside. But far easier for me to say so when I don't want anything.


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## Monkeygrinder's Organ (Jul 24, 2017)

NoXion said:


> As I mentioned in a previous post, I used Experian's free credit check, which told me that my rating was "Very Poor". The number was something like 497 if I remember rightly. I wasn't expecting it to be great but I wasn't thinking it was gonna be that bad. I once took out a couple of grand from my bank as a loan when I had just turned 18, but have not borrowed anything else since then.



Annoyingly your credit rating is probably poor exactly because you haven't taken out a lot of credit. They like to see a regular pattern of paying stuff back. 

Agree that talking to the bank might be a good idea - if you've got a regular income they can see that so might be better placed to lend to you.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Jul 24, 2017)

Doesn't hp you right now, but there are cards for people with really bad credit with very high interest rates. It can be worth getting one, spending a small amount on each month and making a full payment every month (so you pay no interest) to build it up.


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## NoXion (Jul 25, 2017)

I've been to the bank, and am now comforting myself with a pint on account of being turned down. So I guess the only option left to me now is saving. I reckon I might be able to put away £200 a month if I engage in Extreme Saving(tm), which would get me enough funds for a decent machine in about six months.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Jul 25, 2017)

NoXion said:


> I've been to the bank, and am now comforting myself with a pint on account of being turned down. So I guess the only option left to me now is saving. I reckon I might be able to put away £200 a month if I engage in Extreme Saving(tm), which would get me enough funds for a decent machine in about six months.



Is the last one totally past it? Can you reuse things like the case, hard drives and PSU?


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## cybershot (Jul 25, 2017)

Part of me wants to know what you did to get such a stinking credit rating, but that's none of my business really.


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## alan_ (Jul 25, 2017)

Another way, albeit slim, is if you have a relationship/know any of the local computer shops. If you can spare 200 quid a month, they may take a chance on you and regular payments and build you a machine to your specs. 50 quid a week is a reasonable sum to an independent trader.


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## NoXion (Jul 25, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> Is the last one totally past it? Can you reuse things like the case, hard drives and PSU?


 I have no idea why, but my current rig will randomly reboot itself when switched on. It's done it as soon as it loads the desktop, and it's also done it after being left on all night. It seems completely random. I have used a Restore Point to no effect and I don't get a blue screen, so I'm inclined to think it's a hardware issue. The motherboard is at least seven years old at this point. I really honestly think it's better just to wipe the slate clean and get a new machine, and I also don't trust myself to build a PC by myself without fucking it up. Besides, I will need a new machine at some point so why not now?


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Jul 25, 2017)

NoXion said:


> I have no idea why, but my current rig will randomly reboot itself when switched on. It's done it as soon as it loads the desktop, and it's also done it after being left on all night. It seems completely random. I have used a Restore Point to no effect and I don't get a blue screen, so I'm inclined to think it's a hardware issue. The motherboard is at least seven years old at this point. I really honestly think it's better just to wipe the slate clean and get a new machine, and I also don't trust myself to build a PC by myself without fucking it up. Besides, I will need a new machine at some point so why not now?



Mine have always been a woodmans axe of changing parts. Even if you just reuse the case and hard drives that's a good chunk of cash for a more powerful graphics card. They are really easy to put together as well.


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## NoXion (Jul 25, 2017)

I have also ruled out overheating as the cause because I saw it happen when the CPU and GPU were below 60c.


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## NoXion (Jul 25, 2017)

UnderAnOpenSky said:


> Mine have always been a woodmans axe of changing parts. Even if you just reuse the case and hard drives that's a good chunk of cash for a more powerful graphics card. They are really easy to put together as well.


 I fucking screwed up something as simple as buying a graphics card compatible with my current motherboard/PSU. It fit in the PCIe slot but needed some 6 or 8 pin thing to power the fans as opposed to the four-pin Molex connectors that I actually had. I bought a converter but that didn't fucking work either so as you might imagine I'm pretty fucking fed up with the DIY approach given how often that has ended in failure whenever I have attempted it.


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## cybershot (Jul 25, 2017)

NoXion said:


> I have also ruled out overheating as the cause because I saw it happen when the CPU and GPU were below 60c.



Have a look at the event viewer at the time just before it does it, may also be worth turning on the feature to stop the auto reboot so you can see the error message displayed, may point you in the right direction. I'm assuming a clean format and re-install of Windows has also been done just to rule out any nasties.

Help Troubleshoot the Blue Screen of Death by Preventing Automatic Reboot (windows 7)
[How To] Disable Automatic Restart After Failure In Windows 10 (windows 10)

Useful software: Blue screen of death (STOP error) information in dump files.

Another useful site if you're not confident of picking the right parts, just copy what someone else has already spec'ed up: Pick parts. Build your PC. Compare and share. - PCPartPicker United Kingdom


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## NoXion (Jul 25, 2017)

I have next to no fucking tools apart from a cheap screwdriver. I get that building from scratch is a major appeal for some PC gamers but that's not why it's my preferred platform. I like PCs because they're a hell of a lot more flexible than any other platform and I'm not confined to some walled garden that some prick from Tokyo or Silicon Valley thinks is better for their bottom line. If I want to play console games, I can run an emulator for most of the systems I'd be interested in, assuming that an official port isn't available or that the title wasn't cross-platform in the first place. Sorry for the rant but I keep running into people who seem to think that I'm interested in building a machine for it's own sake, rather than as a means to an end. It's kind of frustrating.


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## NoXion (Jul 25, 2017)

Also I should have mentioned, I disabled automatic restart and I still don't get a blue screen.


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## alan_ (Jul 25, 2017)

Also at 50 quid a week, you could be buying components individually, locking you into the plan and making sure that you don't squander the money on rent or bills


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## cybershot (Jul 26, 2017)

NoXion said:


> I have next to no fucking tools apart from a cheap screwdriver. I get that building from scratch is a major appeal for some PC gamers but that's not why it's my preferred platform. I like PCs because they're a hell of a lot more flexible than any other platform and I'm not confined to some walled garden that some prick from Tokyo or Silicon Valley thinks is better for their bottom line.



This makes no sense.


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## cybershot (Jul 26, 2017)

NoXion said:


> Also I should have mentioned, I disabled automatic restart and I still don't get a blue screen.



I'm going to go with that there's been some water damage somewhere, at some point!


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## NoXion (Jul 26, 2017)

cybershot said:


> This makes no sense.


 I'm saying that building it myself is not happening for various reasons.


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## NoXion (Jul 26, 2017)

cybershot said:


> I'm going to go with that there's been some water damage somewhere, at some point!


Please elaborate.


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## cybershot (Jul 26, 2017)

NoXion said:


> Please elaborate.



liquid, may have got into your system, at some point. If there is moisture somewhere in the system, it will just shut down.

Other option, have you just tried changing the PSU, the RAM? Something you can loan of someone to trial if it stops shutting down, those would be my first ports of call. Requires just fingers and a screwdriver.


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