Budget Gaming Build for Daughter (under $500 USD)

[mep916]

Sup [H]!

So, I'm a bit out of the loop with regard to the PC hardware scene right now. My 14 y/o daughter's birthday is coming up, and I want to build her a new budget gaming rig.

I need advice on the following:

CPU
Mobo
GPU
Memory

I have the PSU and SSD covered. Honestly, her favorite game is Roblox, which shouldn't be *too* graphic intensive, but she doesn't have the ability to use shaders or play on the highest settings. There's other Steam games she plays as well.

I have no preference over Intel/AMD -- I'm just looking for best price/performance for these components < $500. I'm willing to buy used too if anyone has components FS. I searched through FS/FT but, again, not really sure what to look for nowadays.

Thanks

 

[Comixbooks]

Roblox is the ultimate gateway game =>
Just get a Intel i5 Comet or Rocketlake with integrated graphics you might not need a GPU. With a i5 you can cool the cpu with a 20.00 cooler. MB would get a Asus Tuf Z590 which Displayport and HDMI ports in the back that connect to the Intels onboard graphics. Ram 16 gigs should be good anything crucial sports are good and cheap and work on almost any MB.

 

[Comixbooks]

Looking at videos for modern games onboard graphics might not be the best any GPU would be better.

 

[TheHig]

My youngest plays Roblox , Minecraft bedrock and Java just fine with;

i5 4570
16gb ddr3 1600
1tb 7200 rpm hdd.
Gtx 950 2gb gpu.

You can buy used Haswell stuff pretty cheap right now. Could also get a lga 1150 Xeon 4c 8 thread cpu for around $70 for more cpu grunt. B85 boards with 4 memory slots for 50-60 and so on.

Want current gen? B450 or 550 AM4 board and a 3200g. 16gb 3200 ram. Add a gpu later when you find a good deal. This is probably the best investment honestly.

 

[defaultluser]

My youngest plays Roblox , Minecraft bedrock and Java just fine with;

i5 4570
16gb ddr3 1600
1tb 7200 rpm hdd.
Gtx 950 2gb gpu.

You can buy used Haswell stuff pretty cheap right now. Could also get a lga 1150 Xeon 4c 8 thread cpu for around $70 for more cpu grunt. B85 boards with 4 memory slots for 50-60 and so on.

Want current gen? B450 or 550 AM4 board and a 3200g. 16gb 3200 ram. Add a gpu later when you find a good deal. This is probably the best investment honestly.

The problem with any "additional gpu" build is finding that mythical reasonably-priced used GPU.

Have yuou seen how many hundreds the GTX 960 is going for on Ebay? Good luck finding a GT 1030 for under $150!

Also, AMD has made it a pain in the ass by discontinuing all their older Vega 8 APU parts.

If you want the best-value system you can buy right now with an IGP, pick-up Intel's Rocket Lake - the new 32 EU shaders give you performance competitive to AMD's Vega 6.

$190 at Best Buy:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/intel-...ked-desktop-processor/6452218.p?skuId=6452218

$180 at Microcenter

https://www.microcenter.com/product...-lake-26ghz-six-core-lga-1200-boxed-processor

Then you can save the money not spent here for another birthey present next year (when GPU prices have finally fallen.) But, if you're playing at 1080p, you might find this to be plenty! Pick-up a 8x2 3200 ram kit, and an intel b-series under $150. this one doesn't look too bad:

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E168131...WTo88jdd6ymmvBBLhtsaAg92EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Andrew_Carr]

Have you thought about laptops or pre-builts? They haven't been hit quite as hard in terms of pricing. If you're patient you could get a new laptop slightly beyond your budget with a gtx 2060 or gtx1650, or if you're willing to buy used you can get something with a gtx 1060 or gtx1650 for $500-600. The GPU situation right now is pretty dire and even low-end desktop cards are going to eat up half of your budget.

A cheapish build like this:
Intel i3 10100F - $113
16GB DDR4 Ram - $83 (could cut this to 8GB I guess?)
Cheap motherboard: $78 (https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813162004?quicklink=true I guess?)

Puts you at $200-250 leaving you $200-250 for a GPU, which will get you... an RX470 for AMD or a GTX 970 / GTX 1060 3GB card for nVidia(all used of course). I've seen microcenter sell some GTX 1650s for about $330 each but it's hit or miss with availability.

You could also try looking around at pre-builts. I recall seeing these HP computers selling for pretty cheap earlier in the year:
https://www.microcenter.com/product/626473/hp-pavilion-gaming-computer

 

[Deleted member 83233]

I’ve found that the sweet spot GPU-wise for kids is the GTX 1050Ti. It’s cheap (and even attainable during all this GPU madness), easily handles anything kids like, but also has just enough power to grow into AAA type games at 1080 with plenty of visual candy. I got them for my kids, and recommended them for other’s kids as well.

Any half decent CPU from, I’d say, Devil’s Canyon up, or Ryzen equivalent will do fine.

If you’re not as worried about future-proofing, you can always go with a Ryzen APU. They’re better than you’d expect, but I still prefer the NV discrete route.

 

[Axman]

Would the onboard graphics of a Ryzen 5 3400G be adequate?

11 Vega cores running at 1400MHz. It's 4c/8th, plus an inexpensive motherboard, that leaves you with a bit left over for RAM and good storage.

Edit: I just priced it out, you can get the 3400G, a motherboard, 16 gigs of RAM, and a 1TB NVME SSD for right around $500. When video cards exist you can add one later.

 

[Andrew_Carr]

Looks like a 3400g can get a steady 60fps in roblox at I guess 1080p so that might be an option, or a 4600G. AMD is coming out with new APUs "soon" so if they release those in pre-built PCs that might be better. Not any benchmarks out that I'm aware of yet but it looks like it'll be an incremental improvement in GPU performance since it'll still be a vega apu.

What about something like this?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Desktop...edWeb&brand=HP&_trksid=p2047675.c101195.m1851

 

[Deleted member 83233]

I put a 3400G in my oldest daughter's machine for a while. It held out great for a long time, but then she wanted to start playing more demanding games. I just added a 1050Ti, and still using the 3400G as the CPU. It plays everything she currently likes. She just beat Prey on it. Not a bad path to take really. That 4600G would be even better.

 

[defaultluser]

I put a 3400G in my oldest daughter's machine for a while. It held out great for a long time, but then she wanted to start playing more demanding games. I just added a 1050Ti, and still using the 3400G as the CPU. It plays everything she currently likes. She just beat Prey on it. Not a bad path to take really. That 4600G would be even better.

Unfortunately, as I stated earlier in this thread, those parts have been discontinued - most resellers I've found are charging over $200 for these processors (so unless you have an in- for cheap reseller, I would discard this idea)

Also, you can't expect to wait for Zen 3 if you want to keep it under $500 - that $150 Zen 3 APU comes with Vega 6

AMD Spec Sheet:

AMD Ryzen™ 3 5300G - # of GPU Cores : 6​

That is the only Zen 3 models under $200. The 5600G with Vega 7 will be around $250!

As I stated earlier you can get the Core i5 11400 RIGHT NOW for $180 with the exact same performance as Vega 6. You will have to pay $350 to take home a Zen 3 8-core with Vega 8\

For reference, Vega 7 is %20 faster than 6, and Vega 8 is 40% faster than 6 - is that worth waiting several more months (and doubling your outlay?)

 

[Deleted member 83233]

Unfortunately, as I stated earlier in this thread, those parts have been discontinued - most resellers I've found are charging over $200 for these processors (so unless you have an in- for cheap reseller, I would discard this idea)

Also, you can't expect to wait for Zen 3 if you want to keep it under $500 - that $150 Zen 3 APU comes with Vega 6

AMD Spec Sheet:

AMD Ryzen™ 3 5300G - # of GPU Cores : 6​

That is the only Zen 3 models under $200. The 5600G with Vega 7 will be around $250!

As I stated earlier you can get the Core i5 11400 RIGHT NOW for $180 with the exact same performance as Vega 6. You will have to pay $350 to take home a Zen 3 8-core with Vega 8\

For reference, Vega 7 is %20 faster than 6, and Vega 8 is 40% faster than 6 - is that worth waiting several more months (and doubling your outlay?)

You are correct. I didn’t catch that. I bought the one in my daughter’s PC quite a while ago, and though I can’t remember what it cost exactly, it definitely wasn’t what I’m seeing now.