Budget gaming pc

dhplayer

Hi, have built a few PCs and got a request from a friend to build a gaming PC for there child.
The budget is tight €600. Everything needed screen, keyboard, mouse, OS, case. Ideally they would like ssd drive.
Is it possible on such a budget. Haven't looked at parts in a while -whats best value GPU at moment.
Minecraft main reason for the machine but would like to make it decent for more demanding graphics.
No overclocking as not for me.
Will order as soon as decided on build.

What would anyone recommend.
Also where is best place to buy components at moment.
Last time used hardwareversands.
Thanks in advance

dhplayer

OK so I did a quick basket on mindfactory and now realising €600 is probably too tight.

250GB Samsung 750 Evo 2.5" (6.4cm) SATA 6Gb/s TLC Toggle (MZ-750250BW)
€ 65,85*

Intel Core i5 4460 4x 3.20GHz So.1150
€ 168,38*

ASRock H97 Anniversary Intel H97 So.1150 Dual Channel DDR3 ATX Retail
€ 65,85*

8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3-1600 DIMM CL9 Dual Kit
€ 36,85*

4096MB HIS Radeon RX 470 IceQ X² Turbo Aktiv PCIe 3.0 x16 (Retail)
€ 199,90*

Antec VSK-4000E USB 3.0 Midi Tower ohne Netzteil schwarz
€ 28,45*
550 Watt Corsair VS Series VS550 Non-Modular 80+
€ 43,89*

Microsoft Windows 10 Home 32/64 Bit Englisch DSP/SB
€ 112,90*

21,5" (54,61cm) Asus VS Serie VS228NE schwarz 1920x1080 VGA / DVI
€ 88,94*

€ 811,01
+ Shipping + mouse keyboard

Shlippery

Could drop to an RX 460 if it's only for mine craft or other games of that type. Still a decent card.

dhplayer

Shlippery wrote: »

Could drop to an RX 460 if it's only for mine craft or other games of that type. Still a decent card.

Thanks for that Slippery.

Im going to check if they have a small flat screen.
This is a i3 with rx460
If I didn't have to get a screen would push for the rx470.
_________


Intel Core i3 6100 2x 3.70GHz So.1151 BOX
€ 110,67*

Gigabyte GA-H110M-DS2 Intel H110 So.1151 Dual Channel DDR4 mATX Retail
€ 53,06*

8GB HyperX FURY schwarz DDR4-2133 DIMM CL14 Dual Kit
€ 39,85*

550 Watt Corsair VS Series VS550 Non-Modular 80+
€ 43,89*


2048MB Gigabyte Radeon RX 460 Windforce OC Aktiv PCIe 3.0 x16 (Retail)
€ 127,36*

250GB Samsung 750 Evo 2.5" (6.4cm) SATA 6Gb/s TLC Toggle (MZ-750250BW)
€ 65,85*

Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit Englisch DSP/SB
€ 93,54*

Sharkoon VS4-V Midi Tower ohne Netzteil schwarz
€ 31,44*

€ 565,66

Xenoronin

Make sure to buy bulky stuff like the case and monitor from amazon.co.uk or overclockers.co.uk. The cost of shipping on mindfactory will go up massively if those are included. Other than that it's looking good.

Serephucus

That's a very solid build. I wouldn't change a thing.

dhplayer

Serephucus wrote: »

That's a very solid build. I wouldn't change a thing.

Thanks. The i3 one or the i5?

Serephucus

i3. Better balanced for the budget, IMO.

K.O.Kiki

Main problem with going for such a low budget is that peripherals + Windows are taking up half the money.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A10-7870K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor (€120.84 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-DS2 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard (€47.73 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (€38.92 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Samsung 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€69.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case (€44.50 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: XFX TS 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (€46.84 @ Mindfactory)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit (€101.53 @ Mindfactory)
Monitor: ViewSonic VX2457-MHD 23.6" 60Hz Monitor (€111.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Keyboard: Aula SHIHUNZAN Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Laser Mouse (€32.35 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €613.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-07 12:57 CEST+0200

TerrorFirmer

Also worth mentioning that you can save money by just installing Win10 without buying it, unlike previous versions of Win it's not aggressive if you don't have a key, there's just a tiny watermark in the corner of the screen. Can always buy a key at a later date. Build itself is solid though. It'll rip through the likes of Minecraft so if that's the general standard of game, there'd be little point getting anything faster.

Personally I'd avoid the AMD CPU route, it's fine for Minecraft/FIFA/etc but in two years if the person suddenly wants to play the latest AAA titles the 7870K is going to be a problem. And you'd also need to buy a new graphics card on top of it being inherently very weak.

i3 + RX460 is definitely the way to go I think, use the money for Win10 to buy a monitor if required and just keep using it as a trial version.

Serephucus

If you take out the monitor, your build comes to around €500. dhplayer's build is an extra €65 for a vastly superior system. I'd spend the extra €65 how, and have a much better upgrade path down the line.

Also, as TF mentions, Windows doesn't need to be activated right away, so you could always put that money into a monitor instead.

dhplayer

Serephucus wrote: »

If you take out the monitor, your build comes to around €500. dhplayer's build is an extra €65 for a vastly superior system. I'd spend the extra €65 how, and have a much better upgrade path down the line.

Also, as TF mentions, Windows doesn't need to be activated right away, so you could always put that money into a monitor instead.

Going to see if a screen is available in the house. Also if they could source keyboard and mouse separately. On experience I'd like to go the Intel route as using the stock cooler they run cooler. Think I'll factor in the windows now and be done with it. Windows 10 I found well worth the price. Thanks for all the input so far. If I can squeeze in the Rx 470 I think it would be very good.

K.O.Kiki

dhplayer wrote: »

Going to see if a screen is available in the house. Also if they could source keyboard and mouse separately. On experience I'd like to go the Intel route as using the stock cooler they run cooler. Think I'll factor in the windows now and be done with it. Windows 10 I found well worth the price. Thanks for all the input so far. If I can squeeze in the Rx 470 I think it would be very good.

Yup, if monitor, kb&m and Windows are taken out of the equation, then a build with i3-6100 + RX 460/470 is the way to go.

However, on its own the A10-7870K outperforms the i3-6100 (link).

TerrorFirmer

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Yup, if monitor, kb&m and Windows are taken out of the equation, then a build with i3-6100 + RX 460/470 is the way to go.

However, on its own the A10-7870K outperforms the i3-6100 (link).

That's in games using the APU though vs Intel HD graphics which isn't really applicable in this case. The i3 with an RX460 is twice as fast in games than the 7870K with an RX460 added at a later date.

If it was for a 5 year old child or similar the 7870K would be fine for years playing stuff like Minecraft but when the OP mentioned wanting to play more demanding games later, the i3/rx460 is the right job.

I think the realistic market for APU's is not huge - a significant amount of people get them and plan to add a graphics card at a later date, not understanding or realizing that the CPU is seriously under powered and cripples performance even with a decent card.

Serephucus

APUs are fine if you know the most GPU work you're going to be doing is extremely light, or if you're sure you won't need to upgrade in the future. With this in mind, about the only thing I'd use them in is a HTPC or low-budget graphics workstation, at a push.

K.O.Kiki

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

That's in games using the APU though vs Intel HD graphics which isn't really applicable in this case. The i3 with an RX460 is twice as fast in games than the 7870K with an RX460 added at a later date.

http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/177677-dual-graphics-dud-intel-clobbers-amds-apus-in-budget-gaming/2

15-20% I'd say, not 100% :rolleyes:

TerrorFirmer

They've picked all CPU light games in most of those benchmarks.

Look at figures for Black Ops 3, Fallout 4, Just Cause 3, Far Cry Primal, etc - basically new titles and not ones that are 3 - 4 years old.

There's not much point looking at 2013 benchmarks when judging a PC that's going to be used for games between 2016 and likely towards 2020.

Torchlight 2 is actually a relatively CPU intensive game - here's what your own link says:

But in this case, it appears that the A10-7850K’s low CPU performance is holding the core back — the R7 260X is only 15% faster than the R7 250. When we switch to the Core i3-4330, that gap widens considerably — the R7 260X is 65% faster when paired with the Intel core compared to the AMD APU.

They're also using a low end 260X. Change that to an RX470 and see what happens framerates....

dhplayer

Have been given final budget of €650. Have sourced a decent screen free which really helps. Could ye take a look at this and see I haven't missed something. Many thanks for all the help.


Mindfactory

Intel Core i3 6100 2x 3.70GHz So.1151 BOX
€ 111.42 *

Gigabyte GA-H110M-DS2 Intel H110 So.1151 Dual Channel DDR4 mATX Retail
€ 52.94 *

8GB HyperX FURY black DDR4-2133 DIMM CL14 Dual Kit
€ 39.85 *

4096MB Gigabyte Radeon RX 460 Wind Force OC Active PCIe 3.0 x16 (Retail)
€ 138.56 *

250GB Samsung 750 Evo 2.5 "(6.4cm) SATA 6Gb / s TLC Toggle (MZ 750250BW)
€ 65.85 *

550 Watt Corsair VS Series VS550 Non-Modular 80+
€ 43.50 *

Genius SP-U120 Aktivbox 3 Watt USB black
9,90 € *

€462.02 +€30 shipping

€492.02
__________________________________________________

Amazon

BitFenix Neos - tower - ATX
£31.99 - €38

Sumvision LED Gaming Keyboard and Mouse Kane Pro Gaming LED Keyboard and LED Adjustable DPI Mouse
£15.95 - €19

Windows 10 Home 32-bit/64-bit English International by Microsoft
USB Flash Drive
£83.98 - €100


£131.92 - €160

_________________

mindfactory €492.01
amazon €160
total €653

Xenoronin

That's pretty much perfect for what you are after

Serephucus

Slightly more efficient PSU for a few pennies extra:
http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/500-Watt-EVGA-500B-Non-Modular-80--Bronze_926454.html

Cheaper RAM:
http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/8GB-G-Skill-Value-4-DDR4-2133-DIMM-CL15-Single_1013783.html

Cheaper motherboard:
http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/MSI-H110M-PRO-D-Intel-H110-So-1151-Dual-Channel-DDR4-mATX-Retail_1026941.html

Cheaper Windows:
http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/Microsoft-Windows-10-Home-64-Bit-Englisch-DSP-SB_1008300.html

Which I put into better speakers, because I'm an audio guy:
http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/Genius-SP-HF800A-2-0-System-20W-RMS-braun-schwarz_811554.html

It's about €25 trimmed down, before the speakers, so you could put it somewhere else, if you like.

dhplayer

Thanks for that.
Never looked again at the PSU. I had 550w in for the previous rx470 build. Definitely will change that.
I was going to go with ddr4 ram as the board could take it.
Picked the other windows 10 as it came on USB. Your one is dvd.
Would prefer good speakers but from experience with my kids they quickly move on to using headsets.

challengemaster

http://www.opiumpulses.com/store/1259/windows-10-professional

Cheaper Windows again.

Serephucus

If you have a spare USB stick lying around it's very easy to make your own. You can download an image from Microsoft, stick it on the USB stick, use it as normal, then enter the key from the one you bought online. That's all you're really paying for - the key.

Good point on the RAM. I completely missed the fact that the stuff I linked was DDR3. I've changed the link to a DDR4 kit.

Point taken RE speakers. Still, there's about €25 saved there you could stick into something else if you like.

@challengemaster: Is that not another MSDN seller, meaning the same problems as the Reddit lads?

challengemaster

Serephucus wrote: »

@challengemaster: Is that not another MSDN seller, meaning the same problems as the Reddit lads?

I'll be honest, I dunno. I've used 2 of the keys without issue - and it's hottest on HUKD every time it crops up. Haven't seen anything about keys being cancelled yet.

dhplayer

Is that legit?

dhplayer

I would be tempted if it was my own build. But when it's for someone else I will play it safe.

Serephucus

We're not sure.

It'll certainly work - it's not "fake Windows" or anything like that. What that link almost certainly is is someone selling MSDN keys* for cheap, to make some money. It's a bit of a grey area as far as Microsoft sees it, and I've used them myself before, with mostly good results.

*MSDN is Microsoft's Developer Network. They gives Windows keys out in batches to developers so they can more easily test software on multiple systems. Some of these people then sell the keys they don't need to get some money. Not strictly allowed by MS, but they don't seem to mind too much. Sometimes they'll cancel the key a few months down the road - in which case you get a "This software might not be genuine" error, and you'll have to go buy another key. Since Window 10 is so new though, we don't really have much of a record to base how likely this is off of.

That said, it would be quite a lot of money saved, and if you had to get another key in a few months, it would still be less than Windows usually costs.

challengemaster

I've used 2 keys from there for a few months now with no issues. That's as good as I can give for anecdotal evidence.

The other 'benefit' is how lax Windows 10 is in pursuing lack of activation. It literally only displays a small watermark in the bottom right corner of the screen if Windows isn't activated. IMO it's worth it and saves you a massive chunk of change to go towards something else.

Serephucus

With a build on as tight a budget as this, I'd tend to agree with challengemaster, though it's up to you obviously, OP.

TerrorFirmer

Yeah I mentioned that earlier as well - Win10 is very laid back about activation. My own copy isn't activated and unless they change how they handle unactivated copies, it never will be either.

If you're paying anything for Windows 10, either get a genuine retail copy or don't bother to be honest. I could understand MSDN keys for Win7 to be fair as its a pain when not activated.

But I would rather put that money into something else when on a budget like this.

Serephucus

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Yeah I mentioned that earlier as well - Win10 is very laid back about activation. My own copy isn't activated and unless they change how they handle unactivated copies, it never will be either.

Actually... Wasn't there something about getting auto-stuck on the fast ring update cycle if you don't activate?