Help my 13 yr old with gaming build

[Sohaltang]

HE will be gaming on a 3d Panasonic Plasma @1080P
Microcenter and frys are local. but New egg works too. Likely start with a 4770K or 4670K cpu/MB bundle from MC. Total budget is 800$

Currently have 2X2 GB CAS 7 RAM, DVDRW drive, and AMD 5770. Dont have to use these parts but they are avail if necessery for the short term.

CPU Combos
4770K
Z87-G41 PC Mate LGA 1150 ATX 340$
Z87-A (SLI) LGA 1150 ATX 395$
Z87-Extreme4 ATX LGA 1150 385$

or
4670K
Z87-G41 PC Mate LGA 1150 ATX 260$
Z87-A (SLI) LGA 1150 ATX 310$
Z87-Extreme4 ATX LGA 1150 305$


From there is pretty much open. SSD would be nice. He wants a cool looking RED case.

Thanks for help

 

[lehtv]

4770K totally not needed. However, despite the $800 budget I would definitely not reuse the RAM or the 5770. You're going to want 8GB RAM and your budget can afford a much faster graphics card.

To start with -

CPU+Mobo i5-4670K + MSI Z87A-G41 $260 @MC
RAM 2x4GB Patriot Signature 1600MHz $55 @amazon
HDD WD Blue 1TB $67
ODD Reuse
PSU Corsair CX500 $50 AP ($30 AR) @newegg
Case NZXT Phantom 410 Red $90 AP ($70 AR)

$522 + MC tax, before rebates, still need GPU. But first - do you need to include a copy of Windows in that $800? What about keyboard and mouse?

I think an SSD is not worth it in a PC for a 13yo.

 

[Sohaltang]

4770K totally not needed, and the budget isn't forgiving either.

Do you need to include a copy of Windows in that $800? What about keyboard and mouse?

NO OS needed. I have extra KB and mouse. I know the 4770 is overkill but with the microcenter bundles its hard to even get a AMD setup for much less. Guess I really need to find a GPU, case ,PSU, and HDD for 450ish depending on what cpu he buys.

 

[lehtv]

Sorry for all the edits in the above post. Bad habit .

Great so u have plenty left for a good graphics card. Add a GTX 760 to the above build and you're done!

EVGA GTX 760 $260
MSI GTX 760 Gaming $260 - out of stock but it is the best, ask when they are getting more
Asus GTX 760 $260

There's a bit of budget left to upgrade the PSU to one with 5 year warranty. Not necessary but more likely to last across many builds due to better capacitors. Rosewill Capstone 450W Gold is pretty good at $60

 

[xeledon20005]

4770K totally not needed. However, despite the $800 budget I would definitely not reuse the RAM or the 5770. You're going to want 8GB RAM and your budget can afford a much faster graphics card.

To start with -

CPU+Mobo i5-4670K + MSI Z87A-G41 $260 @MC
RAM 2x4GB Patriot Signature 1600MHz $55 @amazon
HDD WD Blue 1TB $67
ODD Reuse
PSU Corsair CX500 $50 AP ($30 AR) @newegg
Case NZXT Phantom 410 Red $90 AP ($70 AR)

$522 + MC tax, before rebates, still need GPU. But first - do you need to include a copy of Windows in that $800? What about keyboard and mouse?

I think an SSD is not worth it in a PC for a 13yo.

I disagree with bolded. I think the SSD is worth it because he is 13yo and is going to be impatient, costs like $100 840pro 128gb and then he still has the 1tb storage drive. That leaves like $400 for a nice nvidia card to do some 3d gaming should your son be interested in that. Assuming you have a copy of windows and keyboard/mouse in budget already.

 

[lehtv]

I think the SSD is worth it because he is 13yo and is going to be impatient

Exactly why it is not worth it in my opinion. Also, I wasn't impatient with my PC gaming when I was 13yo, and back then drives were IDE. Up to you OP, that's $100 you can either use to get a GTX 760 or a 7850 2GB with an SSD. Here's the difference in gaming performance: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/854?vs=778

That leaves like $400 for a nice nvidia card to do some 3d gaming should your son be interested in that.

Not sure how you figure there's so much budget left? He's on $800 budget, not $1K

 

[Sohaltang]

I can up the budget. Was just arbitrary budget anyway. I figure 800$ gift was pretty good for a kid. Its either that or preorder another PS4. He has been digging steam on my build lately.

 

[lehtv]

I would not spend more than $800 as that gets a very good gaming PC already. Diminishing returns and all that

 

[Torn Mind]

Just how satisfied is the boy with his current gaming system, if he has one?
What games does he want to play?
Any strenuous use of the internet connection while gamin?
Is the boy a computer tweaker of sorts? That would help in determining if Z87 is really worth it.

Personally, such an amount for a gift to a budding teenager seems really excessive, but it is your money, and I can't stop you.

 

[Sohaltang]

Just how satisfied is the boy with his current gaming system, if he has one?
What games does he want to play?
Any strenuous use of the internet connection while gamin?
Is the boy a computer tweaker of sorts? That would help in determining if Z87 is really worth it.

Personally, such an amount for a gift to a budding teenager seems really excessive, but it is your money, and I can't stop you.

He has had every game system. Big time gamer and youtuber. Currently on ps3 but has grown bored with it. He is on my pc all day now. I need my rig back! Lol. He turns 13 next month and this was going to be his gift. I know its excessive but we do ok. For Christmas he got the TV. That was about 2x this budget.

I will enjoy building and ocing it. The other option is giving him my 7970 and buying myself a new gpu.

Yes he does game online. We get about 85/35 from fios.

 

[lehtv]

Wait until new radeons release and get yourself one of those, then give the 7970 to your kid?

 

[Sohaltang]

Wait until new radeons release and get yourself one of those, then give the 7970 to your kid?

That was kinda a thought. I could throw the old 5770 in this new rig until something better comes out. Not sure if that would be enough though. Could it look worse than PS3?

 

[Torn Mind]

Yes he does game online. We get about 85/35 from fios.

Alright, sounds like getting lehtv's build makes the most sense here. Although, I should tell you that the RAM he chose must have change in price, because it now costs $69.61 at Amazon. I would suggest this Crucial Ballistix Sport 1.35 V RAM or this PNY RAM from Best Buy. The latter you have to pay tax. It is 1866 Mhz though.

I have is a couple suggestions for potential contingencies that might occur in the future. If the following doesn't become a issue, then you don't need to acquire the respective products.

If in the future, he needs superior Ethernet performance, you can get an Intel Ethernet card in case that ever happens.

And if overclocking ever becomes a real necessity, you'll can get a third party cooler. For now, it is best to leave everything at stock if he's satisfied. Don't need to have the boy accidentally overvolt his CPU.

 

[Sohaltang]

Thank you! So dont use the 4GB of ram I already have? Its 1600 MHZ 1.65v C7
Also dont you think I should get a better PSU? He may one day get Xfire or SLI.

I do have an extra CM evo cooler(I think). I will personally overclock it and PW lock the bios.

 

[lehtv]

I would get 8GB right off the bat, 4GB is a bit low for today's gaming rigs. The PNY RAM suggested by Torn Mind is 1.65V though, you'd need to run it at 1600 most likely to get 1.5V.

Team Vulcan 1600 CL9 1.5V ($54) is back in stock in newegg, it's the cheapest and it'll work fine (lifetime warranty like the rest of them).

Also dont you think I should get a better PSU? He may one day get Xfire or SLI.

Doubtful, when only gaming on 1080p. Also, you can't SLI/CF on that MSI G41 motherboard.

On this budget, SLI/CF compatibility is not the right place to spend money on

 

[Sohaltang]

How about this

4670K with G41 260$
1 TB Western Digital black 90$
Nxt Red case 90$
corsair vengeance red 8GB 90$


Now I need a red psu and a red gpu.

 

[Sohaltang]

How about this case for 55? http://microcenter.com/product/383015/Commander_MS-I_Epic_ATX_Gaming_Mid_Tower

 

[hackerballs]

I have a son also................build with your parts and give them to him (GPU), you buy new for yourself when the new AMD 9979 come out (fall maybe?) the 5770 will only play med and some high on games but will work for now....try for 8 gigs 1600 RAM minimum....forget the 1866......Windows 7/8 for sure

 

[T_Yamamoto]

90 dollars on red ram? Ridiculous.

If you're gonna do that, might as well go with a red motherboard.

Also you're getting a k series processor on a non overclockable board.

 

[Sohaltang]

90 dollars on red ram? Ridiculous.

If you're gonna do that, might as well go with a red motherboard.

Also you're getting a k series processor on a non overclockable board.

Ugg. Did not know the mb was not able to oc. That changes things. Might as well get the 4770k and asrock.

Thanks for heads up. I would have been very upset.

 

[lehtv]

I would just stick to a red case. He's not going to be looking at the insides of the PC that much... Yes the case has a window, but still. This applies especially to paying extra for red RAM. It's just memory... like 3% of the PC's appearance.

Appearance in order of importance: case > cable management > optional fan LED lighting > CPU cooling > motherboard > PSU > GPU > RAM > drives

Yamamoto is not correct, the MSI G41 is Z87 chipset so can be overclocked fine.

The Caviar Black is not necessary, and is in fact slower than the Blue. Caviar is 5 year warranty, but Blue has a single 1TB platter as opposed to two 500GB, which makes it faster (higher data density).

 

[caution]

Lot's of H87 and B85 motherboards overclocks, these days too (Asus/Giga/MSI). With K processor that is

 

[Torn Mind]

Lot's of H87 and B85 motherboards overclocks, these days too (Asus/Giga/MSI). With K processor that is

Asrock "uncloaked" it first. Biostar and even ECS boards allowed, although ECS is not exactly a great manufacturer.

 

[caution]

^ Yup

Asus released beta BIOS latelty, and Gigabyte uploaded BIOS too. There are some nice motherboards there, for someone who's after a 4670k, on a budget, imho

 

[Cerb]

That was kinda a thought. I could throw the old 5770 in this new rig until something better comes out. Not sure if that would be enough though. Could it look worse than PS3?

No. The 5770 will be on par with the best the PS3 has to offer, if you're paying on a TV from a distance, and blow it away for the other 98% of games . The 7970 is in a totally different league. Make it an actual 1080P monitor, instead of a TV, and your son might just become a PC graphics quality snob (without the 10ft effect and typical TV fuzzy look, there's simply no comparison).

How about this case for 55? http://microcenter.com/product/383015/Commander_MS-I_Epic_ATX_Gaming_Mid_Tower

I don't know that the NZXT Phantom is worth its everyday price (not counting aesthetics, it isn't), but it will be a better case, and is definitely a good buy with the promo and rebate.