PC for Minecraft

damojag

Hi all,

looking to buy a PC specifically for playing Minecraft and a small bit of internet use. I'm thinking an i3 with 1GB Graphics - any suggestions?

1. What is your budget? [€500]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming, mainly Minecraft & Internet use

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? I can supply a Sata Hard Drive

5. Do you need a monitor? No

5a. If yes, what size do you need. N/A

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? 1280x800 (possible jump to a HDTV so HDMI is necessary)

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? Wireless Card

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Yes

8. How can you pay? Card

9. When are you purchasing? No Date Yet

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Mayo

BloodBath

Massively over spec for minecraft but this is what you can get for €500. It will run even the latest games with good settings.

Item|Price
AMD FX-6300 Prozessor, Boxed, Sockel AM3+|€105.05
2 x 4GB Corsair Valueselect DDR3-1333 CL9|€54.48
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€57.74
Zalman T2 Mini Tower - schwarz, ohne Netzteil|€18.98
Corsair VS Serie VS350, Non-Modular, 80+|€29.56
ASRock 960GM-VGS3 FX, Sockel AM3+, mATX|€37.33
Samsung SH-118AB schwarz|€12.63
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 Windforce 2X, 2GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort|€172.19
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€506.95

damojag

Wow - thanks for that! I was thinking of an i3 Packard Bell at work (staff discount) that costs about €450 but it doesn't have dedicated graphics. AMD over Intel - any reason why?

BloodBath

It's the best processor in it's price category. The i3's have higher per core performance but the 6300 has an extra core and 2 extra threads. It will outperform the i3's in anything using 3 threads or more and gaming is heading towards using 8 threads.

It also allows overclocking unlike the i3.

damojag

Sweet 7200rpm over a 5400? Will it make a massive difference if I go for a different case with more USBs?

BloodBath

No you could go for a bigger atx case which and an atx board but you would be looking at adding about €25 on to the price. Adjusted build with a bigger case and board and added the wireless card but had to downgrade the graphics to get back into budget. The card below would still have lots of power for that resolution and would run even the latest games.

A 7200 would be reasonably faster alright. The bigger the capacity of the drive the faster it is as well.

There should be some free games with that card as well if you email them. There's 2-3 free new games like Bioshock infinite, tomb raider and far cry 3.

Item|Price
AMD FX-6300 Prozessor, Boxed, Sockel AM3+|€105.05
2 x 4GB Corsair Valueselect DDR3-1333 CL9|€54.48
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€57.74
Corsair VS Serie VS350, Non-Modular, 80+|€29.56
Samsung SH-118AB schwarz|€12.63
BitFenix Merc Beta|€32.18
MSI 760GA-P43 (FX), Sockel AM3+, ATX, PCIe|€51.29
ASUS PCE-N15|€14.90
ASUS HD7790-DC2OC-1GD5, Radeon HD 7790, 1GB GDDR5, 2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort|€132.39
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€509.21

damojag

I don't mind going over budget so I might go for that better card but I definitely need at least one USB 3.0. Would this one do the job? (It looks a bit mental though) Zalman Z11

BloodBath

Ah that raises other issues. All of the budget am3 boards do not have usb 3 headers meaning you cannot connect the case usb connections to the board.

Does it have to be a front usb 3? The board has usb3 at the back.

-Edit-

Actually this board has a usb3 header for 2 front usb 3.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/DDR3/79812/ASRock+970+Pro3+R2.0%2C+AM3%2B%2C+ATX.article

damojag

If it has USB 3 at the back then that is fine! The last thing now is how it looks (yeah, it's silly but hey). Are there any cases that look similar to these that you would recommend?
Zalman Z9
Sharkoon REX3
Sharkoon REX8

BloodBath

Why not just get one of those if you like them?

The board I listed in my last post has front usb3 headers.

damojag

Cool - so that last board will work in any of those cases - you're an absolute legend!

BloodBath

Yeah it will, no bother.

damojag

One more thing, if I go for the GeForce 2GB graphics card rather than the Radeon - it will be fine?

Serephucus

Yeah, everything will still work together fine. The 660 is actually the more powerful card as well (though not quite as good values at the 7790)

A 650 Ti Boost would be another option. Middle of the road price and performance between the two.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/2048MB/76893/ASUS+GeForce+GTX+650+Ti+Boost%2C+2GB+GDDR5.article

damojag

Just reading a review of both cards:
650 Ti Boost
660 Windforce

The Ti Boost seems to be the better option or am I misreading something?

Serephucus

It's actually better price/performance than the 660:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_650_Ti_Boost_Direct_Cu_II/28.html

But the 660 is slightly more powerful overall.

damojag

Tough decision to make ... I may just go for the Ti Boost, should be fine for Minecraft and a bit of light gaming?

Serephucus

It can run Crysis. 'Nuff said.

(Yes, it'll be plenty for light gaming. It'll do heavy gaming too with a few settings turned down.)

damojag

Cheers man. I'm not fond of the 660 being noisy under load - Minecraft is fairly graphics intensive.

Serephucus

damojag wrote: »

Cheers man. I'm not fond of the 660 being noisy under load - Minecraft is fairly graphics intensive.

You're joking, yes? Minecraft uses hardly any graphics power. It's almost all CPU.

damojag

Tell me about it - I'm playing it on a laptop at the minute with a freakin i7 and it sends me up to close to 100 degrees

Gumbi

damojag wrote: »

Tell me about it - I'm playing it on a laptop at the minute with a freakin i7 and it sends me up to close to 100 degrees

Yikes. That's too hot honestly. I'd open up that laptop and clear out the dust filter, see if that helps. You might have to apply some thermal paste too.

damojag

It's brand new. Rang the manufacturer and they said it was fine getting that hot. Of course I adjust the fans when it gets hot so it stays around 80 degrees.