£400 budget rig for 10yr old

Donny84

Donny84

Donny84

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Joined
6 Mar 2013
Posts
286
Hi guys, was wondering if someone would be able to put together a PC for my 10 year old son.
He's using a 10 year old laptop atm, mostly plays Roblox, Minecraft and the odd game on steam. Nothing too gpu intense.

I don't really want to spend more than £400 ish.

I basically need everything except Windows, mouse and keyboard.
I do need a monitor but I might look around for a cheap 2nd hand.

Thanks in advance!
 
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YOu may be best buying the whole thing second hand using gumtree or similar.

Here's an example build - a lot over (i forgot HDD) but will do the job asked of it (will edit another example if someone doesn't do it before - but keep the G4560 at the core):

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £472.55
(includes shipping: £11.70)



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Closer to budget and would still have the same performance. If you can afford it i would get the Super Flower PSU - wattage is enough and better qaulity.

The motherboard may need flashing to support the CPU if not the latest BIOS - but this would be a simple return to OcUK who would then flash it. Or post in the Customer Service Forum - and enquire - they may know if their latest batch has the latest BIOS (unlikely - but worth a shot):

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £416.14
(includes shipping: £11.70)



​

EDIT: Swapped out Rx 460 for GTX 1050Ti - as better all round performer and same price.
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Would be plenty for his age and the games he plays.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £432.63
(includes shipping: £11.70)



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Or given his age even this system is a lot for a young kid(wasnt computers this good in the 90s ha) with the basic dual core should be enough for what he wants right now and it keeps you under budget.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £375.63
(includes shipping: £11.70)



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Or save up the bit extra and get this better build from ryzen

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £424.63
(includes shipping: £11.70)



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And this is what it would look like price wise if you included a brand new monitor for anything decent.

Edit:

Don't know what was going on but new code wasn't including the monitor.

Anyways this was the one I chosen, so just add that price on top of whichever build for overall price .

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £91.09
(includes shipping: £11.10)



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Wouldn't onboard gfx be capable of handling what is required?

Or go minimum level and spend less. I put an R7 240 in my sons build a few years ago and he was playing Skyrim with it (now has a GTX780).
 
Quartz said:
Isn't the GTX 1050ti a better value card at that price point?
Click to expand...
Yes, on average, - I think rx 460 excels with EA sports if I remember old reviews correctly.

I thought the RX 460 4Gb was £109 when I put it in the basket - must have misread. Will edit.

Bickaxe said:
Wouldn't onboard gfx be capable of handling what is required?
Click to expand...
I think Minecraft would struggle with an HD 610 at 1080p - thinking of my son's experience with the game (although he does mod it). Where a G4560 with a dedicated card should make the gaming experience smooth with a decent FPS, if within budget, even though Minecraft is CPU based.

No idea re: Roblox but after a quick Google - bin the game. :)
 
My 10YO son plays minecraft, roblox and rocket league on a machine with a Core 2 duo e8400, a 1gb GDDR5 hd7750 and 4gb ram. I repurposed an old dell machine I found on ebay, cost me £100 including the GPU upgrade, and this was done over 2 years ago, so I'm sure you could get an even better machine used for £100 now.

He plays at 900p, and whilst its not exactly a solid 60fps, he seams happy enough with it.
 
Other option here is looking at used componenets

Second Hand:
Intel 2500 or similar + random motherboard + 8GB memory ~ £60-85
Semi decent 350W Power supply ~ £20
Random SSD 200GB ~ £40
GPU ~ Nvidia 750Ti ~ £40 OR Nvidia GTX 970 ~ £105

Brand New:
New Case + Fans + HSF ~ £35

This will bring us in for a total of around £210-270 and should be either faster or much faster than the above proposed systems depending if you go the GTX 970 route.

Quartz said:
Isn't the GTX 1050ti a better value card at that price point?
Click to expand...

The GTX 1050ti is barely worth the premium over the GTX 1050
 
rIcK said:
Other option here is looking at used componenets

Second Hand:
Intel 2500 or similar + random motherboard + 8GB memory ~ £60-85
Semi decent 350W Power supply ~ £20
Random SSD 200GB ~ £40
GPU ~ Nvidia 750Ti ~ £40 OR Nvidia GTX 970 ~ £105

Brand New:
New Case + Fans + HSF ~ £35

This will bring us in for a total of around £210-270 and should be either faster or much faster than the above proposed systems depending if you go the GTX 970 route.



The GTX 1050ti is barely worth the premium over the GTX 1050
Click to expand...


Totally agree, I made a similar post the other day in this thread: https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/a-pc-for-my-dad.18791128/#post-31107543
 
the rx 460 has more stream processors than the 550 and so will be better, i was just keeping in with the budget, i know minecraft as changed over the years, but still can be played on weak systems of old, roblox is even less demanding as far as i know, i think we need to know what the odd steam games are as some indie titles can be ran on weaker systems and some can not, but then we might not be talking indie.

.while a 2core 2 thread processor like what plec chose be good in the long run, a straight up dual core would still hold its own so long its a fast and modern one, i guess it also depends what your son be like in 5yrs with gaming criteria
 
Thanks for the replies and advice guys!

I'm gonna try and have a look around for 2nd hand parts as suggested by rIck.
Just a shame I can't get on the MM yet :/
Failing that I'll take a thorough look at the suggested builds.

Much appreciated for all the help!
 
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