New eSports Room for High School

[bcatanzaro]

Hi All

 

So the school I work at is interested in starting an eSports club (possible course elective).  We have an out dated digital classroom will a very good projector and main console Win10 computer, audio and screen.  The 26 lab computers are moving out and 13 better All in Ones are moving in but that's not going to solve our longer term goal to make a full fledged gaming center.  Our goal is to have 10-12 gaming rigs, headsets, controllers, gaming mice/keyboards and at minimum 24" screens,  at least one Nintendo Switch and maybe a PS4 or two.  Longer term, a gaming server...

 

Now like many schools we are on a shoestring budget so it likely we will need sponsors and donations from our local community.  So my questions are:

1. What hardware should we budget for; is $2000/$3000 unrealistic per rig? is it overkill? although we want to future proof to some extent.
2. What successes have you guys had in starting up clubs, what works in getting off the ground.
3. Where are the best of the best deals to be had on decent gear?  I'm sure online but retail is BestBuy, Staples, Walmart, Target, PC Richards here in CT. GameStop too
4. If we did do shirt and or room sponsors who have you had luck getting on board. We're a Catholic high school so grant opportunities are slim and there is no state educational money available for something like this.

Thanks in advance for any ideas/info.
BenC

[YoFavRussian]

$2000 - $3000 isn't unrealistic, in-fact, you can build a really good system for $1500. It really is best to buy online, but the Best Buy here will price match, so I'd see if the price match online for you as well. Never really started a club in HS, however at my college in a professional writing class we had an assignment. We created a business plan for a "gaming lounge" on campus for students to go and relax in to kill time in between classes.

[Fasauceome]

$1000, USD or CAD, makes a rockin gaming PC, or at least one I'd be thoroughly pleased to use. Don't go overboard on the peripherals, there are inexpensive 10 keyless and 60% mechanical keyboards out there, and an inexpensive 1080p 144Hz monitor (sub $200 USD) does a hell of a job for esports.

[Mr.Humble]

Approach PC distributors and system integrators in your region and ask for bulk quotes. You can try retailers but they'll probably give you worse deals.

 

Compare quotes to standard online pricing, then go with cheapest but best warranty and tech support.

 

Try lowering the price by offering free promotions to the contract winner at school for some period of time.

[LogicalDrm]

For esports you don't need that beasty rig. As you only look for frames per second, not how beautiful it looks. So something capable running heavy esports title at low graphics 144fps (160fps+ to avoid massive drops). Heaviest titles are probably PUBG, BO3/4 and R6S.

 

So $1500 per rig, maybe even including peripherals and/or monitor should be good.