Please Help Us (System Build Recommendations)

[hhrrmm]

To whom it may concern:

My son is six, and really wants to start playing Minecraft. He is quite the little gamer, I bought him the Wii U last year, so I don't want to get him the xbox yet. Anyway, I figure it's a better value to buy him a PC to play the game and then he can learn about comps too. My budget is 550.00. I found this at best buy for 450.00:

AMD A10-6700 Accelerated Processor with AMD Radeon HD 8670D graphics
Ensures optimal computing performance.
8GB DDR3 memory
, expandable to 16GB.
Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive
4MB cache memory
1TB Serial ATA hard drive (7200 rpm)
AMD Radeon HD 8670D graphics
Feature shared video memory for lush visuals. HDMI and VGA (D-sub) outputs enable flexible connectivity.
6-in-1 media reader
Supports Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, xD-Picture Card and MultiMediaCard formats.

This seems like a good deal...Isn't the AMD A10 a really good CPU? My friend said the graphics card is low end. In case my son wants to play better games in the future should I buy a "gaming rig"?

I found this for arnd same price:

Avatar Gaming FX6161OC Desktop PC
AMD FX-Series Six-Core FX-6100 Processor 3.3 GHz (cache)
8GB DDR3, 1TB 7200 rpm Hard Drive
24X DVDRW Internal DVD Drive, USB Mouse, USB Keyboard
Graphics Card: GeForce 610 1GB, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
350W Power Supply, 10/100/1000Mbps LAN


System requirements for Minecraft:

Minimum Requirements:
CPU: Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 (K8) 2.6 GHz
RAM: 2GB
GPU (Integrated): Intel HD Graphics or AMD (formerly ATI) Radeon HD Graphics with OpenGL 2.1
GPU (Discrete): Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT or AMD Radeon HD 2400 with OpenGL 3.1
HDD: At least 200MB for Game Core and Other Files
Java 6 Release 45

Recommended Requirements:
CPU: Intel Core i3 or AMD Athlon II (K10) 2.8 GHz
RAM: 4GB
GPU: GeForce 2xx Series or AMD Radeon HD 5xxx Series (Excluding Integrated Chipsets) with OpenGL 3.3
HDD: 1GB
Latest release of Java 7 from java.com

What is the better CPU?
Is the graphics card any better or easier to swap in this Avatar comp?
Is it easy to change graphics card in Asus?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Berliner]

While I would never buy a "gaming rig" for a six year old, I can still answer one of your questions:

The HD 8670D is integrated into the CPU, while is the 610 is an actual card. As long as the Asus, which I assume is the first one, has a proper PCI-E slot, you can add any graphics card the PSU can handle.

I'm not up to speed on Minecraft requirements, so I hope other people will chime in.

 

[hhrrmm]

Minecraft system requirements:

Minimum Requirements:
CPU: Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 (K8) 2.6 GHz
RAM: 2GB
GPU (Integrated): Intel HD Graphics or AMD (formerly ATI) Radeon HD Graphics with OpenGL 2.1
GPU (Discrete): Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT or AMD Radeon HD 2400 with OpenGL 3.1
HDD: At least 200MB for Game Core and Other Files
Java 6 Release 45

Recommended Requirements:
CPU: Intel Core i3 or AMD Athlon II (K10) 2.8 GHz
RAM: 4GB
GPU: GeForce 2xx Series or AMD Radeon HD 5xxx Series (Excluding Integrated Chipsets) with OpenGL 3.3
HDD: 1GB
Latest release of Java 7 from java.com

My son only plays video games about 30 mins a day. He is in 1st grade and done with math up to 3rd grade, and working on 4th. If he weren't so active and hardworking we wouldn't play much vids. I just thought a computer would be good for him.

 

[nurturedhate]

A computer would be a good investment. But since he seems to be of the smart variety I would suggest building one. It is not as hard as it sounds and would make a good family project and learning experience. Literally everything has only one place for it to go. I have had my son's Lego sets be far more complicated a task. It would also save a quite of bit of money.

 

[TemjinGold]

How comfortable would you be in buying parts and building your own? This used to be something beyond most folks in the old days but realistically, anyone who can read and has SOME manual dexterity can handle it these days. I ask because with your $550 budget, if you were comfortable doing so, you can have a MUCH better system than either of these. No worries if you aren't comfortable doing so.

With regards to these 2, I wouldn't call either of these a "gaming rig" to be honest because both are extremely weak when measured that way (though the latter is less weak than the former). I'm guessing the first is a laptop. The second one while you MAY be able to put in a good graphics card, you would likely also need to replace the power supply to do so (which if you are comfortable with, then piecing your own together isn't really harder than that).

 

[stahlhart]

Since this is a request for recommendations on a complete build, moving the thread to General Hardware. You will be welcomed and encouraged to post GPU-specific questions here once you have received the requested assistance for the rest of the build.
-- stahlhart

 

[hhrrmm]

Thanks for the reply. Would it really save money? All the components are expensive, and software. Can you suggest some info on such a project? I just started an electronic engineering degree and I have instructors that encourage computer builds, and offer to help.

Also, if neither of these are gaming rigs and my son just wants to play Minecraft is there a more affordable pc that would meet the recommended requirements?

 

[ronbo613]

Thanks for the reply. Would it really save money? All the components are expensive, and software. Can you suggest some info on such a project? I just started an electronic engineering degree and I have instructors that encourage computer builds, and offer to help.

Also, if neither of these are gaming rigs and my son just wants to play Minecraft is there a more affordable pc that would meet the recommended requirements?

You may not save money, but you'll get more for the money you spend and you will get exactly what you want. You will be able to plan for upgrading in a custom built rig as well. Your son may be playing Minecraft now, but it will probably be something a little bigger and better as he gets a little older, so you may want to start out with a modest graphics card now and upgrade in a year or two to something with a little more power. Start with a 7200rpm hard drive and upgrade to an SSD and use the hard drive for storage. Spend more of you available budget on the CPU, RAM, power supply and case. Set the amount you want to spend and buy the parts according to your exact needs now and plans for future upgrades.

To build a computer, all you really need to know how to do is follow directions and use Google(if you have a question or problem). The real skill in building computers is knowing which components to use for the tasks the computer will be doing and troubleshooting any problems that may occur. You should be able to get all the parts and building advice you need on this forum. Troubleshooting advice as well.

 

[hhrrmm]

Awesome. Initially I would invest in best CPU I could afford right? What are the best CPU's?

 

[ronbo613]

Other people have their own opinion and strategy, for sure, but I like to put most of my money in the CPU/motherboard, RAM, power supply and case because those are the things you are least likely to upgrade. There are gamer guys around here who change video cards once a month. The price of SSDs is getting to the point where it's worth it to buy one instead of a mechanical hard drive.

Which CPU? That's where the research comes in. To give the computer a lifespan of more than a year or two, I would go a step or two higher that the one's recommended for Minecraft. While you are considering the CPU, look at motherboards. I would pay a few extra bucks and go for a brand name board since it's the heart of your system. I would suggest 8 gigabytes of RAM, most motherboards should be able to handle that. Get a motherboard with onboard sound, most onboard sound is good enough for normal use and you won't have to buy a sound card. Get a good power supply, a brand name if you can afford it. At least 500 watts I reckon. Get a case that you will be able to add a couple fans and another hard drive or two in the future. DVD/CD units are pretty cheap. Are you going to run Windows? Get an OEM version. What about a monitor? Then see how much cash is left for maybe an SSD, or cheaper 7200rpm hard drive and the video card(keeping mind you most likely will be upgrading it sooner or later).

Here's a website you will want to keep an eye on: newegg.com . They have as good a selection of parts and low prices as anyone. Look for sales on stuff like motherboard/cpu bundles. See some parts you like there? Use Google and see what kind of reviews they get.

Get your kid to help you, it will be a good learning experience. That's worth a few bucks right there. Teach him how to budget and save his money like we all need to do to keep buying computer parts and video games.

 

[hhrrmm]

Wow!
Thanks so much for your help!

 

[mfenn]

With regards to these 2, I wouldn't call either of these a "gaming rig" to be honest because both are extremely weak when measured that way (though the latter is less weak than the former). I'm guessing the first is a laptop. The second one while you MAY be able to put in a good graphics card, you would likely also need to replace the power supply to do so (which if you are comfortable with, then piecing your own together isn't really harder than that).

This is wrong. The A10-6700 is a 65W desktop part; it's not a laptop. It's IGP is also much more capable than the Geforce 610 in the other machine.

Granted, neither are firebreathers, but the APU machine is a better gaming machine than the FX + Geforce 610 rig.

 

[mfenn]

Building your own is a great parent/child experience. I'm not sure if six is the right age for something like that, but you know your kid better than I. If you're serious about building, please go ahead and update your post with the answers to these questions.

 

[Ken g6]

If you want to build, I post [thread=2389797]a weekly $500 gaming build[/thread]. I think this week's i3 build is nicer than most.

 

[hhrrmm]

I just bought this for 650.00! I am, relatively, new to comp computers; however, this machine seems to be a great deal. What is the 8GB SSD for? Also, I wasnt able to find the power supply details.

Thanks for all the support!

 

[hhrrmm]

Ooooops^

Levano
i7 4790 (3.6ghz 1600mhz 8MB)
16GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600mhz
2TB HD +8GB SSD

 

[Ken g6]

Bought what? You didn't link to anything!

What is the 8GB SSD for?

Cache on a hybrid drive? Did you leave out a zero?

 

[Ken g6]

Ooooops^

This. (How'd I miss this post?)

Anyway, looks like you got a nice system but left no room for a graphics card.

 

[hhrrmm]

For the graphics card, can I, eventually, upgrade it? I think Its like intel 6500 or something.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

For the graphics card, can I, eventually, upgrade it? I think Its like intel 6500 or something.

Depends on what the PSU will support and/or whether there's a PCI-E slot.

I suspect you'll be fine with the included graphics for a while yet.

 

[mfenn]

The IGP in the Lenovo is below Wii U levels in terms of graphics capability. However, you can play 2D and simpler 3D games no problem.