Build for a 10 year old

[USAFRet]

NOTE: As stated, this is a build for a 10 year old geek in training.

The eldest grandson has been notified that he will be helping me build a new PC. He does not know that it will be his PC. Christmas present.

Comments, parts changes, and price reductions welcomed. Max price as below is pretty much non-negotiable.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JBjcyc

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.49 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($47.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GT 730 1GB Video Card ($69.24 @ Amazon)
Case: Apevia X-SNIPER2-GN ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($36.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($17.49 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Acer S220HQLAbd 21.5" Monitor ($116.06 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $567.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-05 14:12 EDT-0400


Not a case that *I* would use, but it has the appropriate bling for a 10 year old.

Yes, I could probably buy a prebuilt one at this price point that would do the same, but a large part of it is having him build it.

 

[LukaBoki]

Oh. Ofc.

 

[Onus]

Apevia quality is so low, I'd choose something else. You can find a much more solid Rosewill case with lighted fans for less.

 

[LukaBoki]

@Onus What do you think?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kbRGdC

 

[Onus]

Here's a quick take:
Antec NEW SOLUTION SERIES VSK-3000 Black SGCC steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case
Model #:VSK-3000
Item #:N82E16811129186
$49.99 -$20.00 Instant $29.99

ASUS H81M-E LGA 1150 Intel H81 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:H81M-E
Item #:N82E16813132042
$60.00 -$3.00 Instant $57.00

MSI R7 260 1GD5 OC 1GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Model #:R7 260 1GD5 OC
Item #:N82E16814127780
Mail in Rebate Card
$99.99 $99.99

Antec VP-450 450W ATX 12V v2.3 Power Supply - Intel Haswell Fully Compatible
Model #:VP-450
Item #:N82E16817371045
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
Mail in Rebate Card
$49.99 $49.99

Intel Core i3-4130 Haswell Dual-Core 3.4GHz LGA 1150 54W Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4400 BX80646I34130
Model #:BX80646I34130
Item #:N82E16819116946
$119.99 $119.99

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL8D-4GBHK
Model #:F3-10600CL8D-4GBHK
Item #:N82E16820231180
$45.99 $45.99

Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive - OEM
Model #:WD5000AAKX
Item #:N82E16822136769
$59.99 -$9.00 Instant $50.99

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Model #: DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS
Item #:N82E16827135204
$19.99 $19.99
Subtotal: $473.93

Oh, and a monitor will reach about the same point.

 

[Onus]

I like your case for his age, but my CPU for longevity.

 

[LukaBoki]

Yea,but you've got only 4GB of RAM instead of 8,slightly weaker GPU and a 500GB HDD,whereas mine has 8GB of RAM,a monitor,keyboard and mouse,1TB HDD and a slightly better GPU all for only $5.29 over budget.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kbRGdC
Your build ^ would like this with monitor and mouse/keyboard:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9ktgCJ
So $5.77 over budget,but a weaker build. 😉

 

[voyboyfan]

Why isn't anyone considering an Athlon CPU?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88X Extreme4+ ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($82.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $491.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-06 10:38 EDT-0400

 

[LukaBoki]

@voyboyfan Because it has the same overclocking potential as the G3258,it's more expensive than the G3258 and the FM2+ MoBo will not take any stronger AMD CPU(if AMD releases a higher end FM2 or FM2+ CPU then it will probably be ok) without buying a new MoBo.The G3258's MoBo will take an high end i5 or i7 with a slight BIOS update if the MoBo is H81 or H87 chipset.Otherwise,it doesn't need a BIOS update.
Also,the G3258 will often times beat the 760K and it will even match the i5 4690K at stock when overclocked to 4.5 GHz(which can be done even with a good H81/B85 MoBo).
+ If you include a monitor and mouse+keyboard there,it would be way over budget.

 

[Onus]

A mix and match is probably appropriate, but buying from a half dozen vendors to save a few bucks is not a wise use of time, especially if rebate games are involved.

For a ten year old, a weaker GPU is not inappropriate. A weak CPU could turn out to be a real choker, but for age-appropriate games, a R7 250X or HD7750 ought to be sufficient.

 

[voyboyfan]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($84.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI A55M-E33 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($82.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($31.17 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 1GB Superclocked Video Card ($104.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: AOC e2251Swdn 60Hz 22.0" Monitor ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($7.59 @ NCIX US)
Mouse: Razer Abyssus Mirror Special Edition Wired Optical Mouse ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $555.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-06 11:42 EDT-0400

 

[LukaBoki]

Still my build keeps the record for the least amount of money over budget,which is $5.29.@Onus' is $5.77 and @voyboyfan's is $5.69. 😀 😀 😀
All builds are good IMO,it's up to USAFRet to decide which one he's gonna get.

 

[USAFRet]

So this is the tentative list:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus H81M-E Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($57.24 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 260 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill Line Glow ATX Mid Tower Case ($53.17 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($35.24 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $455.60
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-08 19:10 EDT-0400


-Still undecided between the i3 and the G3258. We'll see what happens with sale prices over the next few weeks.
-That specific case for the bling.
-Monitor might be interesting. One of my matched 22" HP IPS panels died the other day, buying a new one tomorrow. Depending on what happens with the HP warranty, they might be getting the 23-24" I'm buying to temp replace the HP. If HP chokes on the warranty replacement, then they'll get a generic 20". If HP comes through, then they get the new nice one.

 

[RazerZ]

I found the 6970 for a good price:

$99.99@ newegg

 

[Onus]

Since the mobo only has two RAM slots, it might be worth getting 2x4GB now, so as not to have to ditch those two sticks later. Otherwise, I think your tentative list is good. It has plenty of potential Grandfather/grandson upgrades in its future too, like a SSD.
Since this is to be a Christmas present, when will it get built? Perhaps waiting for Black Friday makes sense?

 

[USAFRet]

Since the mobo only has two RAM slots, it might be worth getting 2x4GB now, so as not to have to ditch those two sticks later. Otherwise, I think your tentative list is good. It has plenty of potential Grandfather/grandson upgrades in its future too, like a SSD.
Since this is to be a Christmas present, when will it get built? Perhaps waiting for Black Friday makes sense?

Right. Sales over the next few weeks will tell the tale. Will be built sometime before xmas, then put back in the case box for opening on xmas day.
He has no idea that this will be his PC. He just knows that he is going to help me assemble a PC.
Really a family PC (5 kids), but he will be the main user.

 

[DarkBeast]

Since the mobo only has two RAM slots, it might be worth getting 2x4GB now, so as not to have to ditch those two sticks later. Otherwise, I think your tentative list is good. It has plenty of potential Grandfather/grandson upgrades in its future too, like a SSD.
Since this is to be a Christmas present, when will it get built? Perhaps waiting for Black Friday makes sense?

Why not 1x4?

 

[Onus]

1x4 will work, but single-channel RAM will be something like 3%-5% slower on many things (iirc from an old article). People very rarely recommend going 1x on RAM, unless it is clear that the builder is already aware of the issue, plans a second stick, but just wants to get the machine built. For a 10-yr old, it may indeed not matter. A potential issue could come up at upgrade time; both sticks in a 2x arrangement should be identical. Vendors usually package matched pairs for that reason.

 

[USAFRet]

We shall see what the upcoming sales dictate.