Question New Build for my Nephew for XMAS?

Nov 21, 2024
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My nephew asked for a computer for XMAS so I wanted to see if I can build something for him in the $500 range. I tried a couple of builds but the GPU is killing the price and I'm not sure what would work. We already have the peripherals and a GSYNC ultra wide monitor for him. I am getting ready to build myself a new computer and was thinking of giving him my old 4690k/1080 GTX rig but it's really old/tired and has occasional issues. He mainly plays mynecraft and will most likely start getting into games like Raft, Enshrouded, etc. But I don't want his PC gaming experience to start off with stuttering garbage and would like the capability for him to expand his gaming into things beyond mynecraft as well.
 

Syntaximus

Great
Sep 20, 2024
58
36
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Build him a rig with an APU, then he can add a GPU and/or replace the CPU down the road.
Something like a Ryzen 8600G should work for the budget ~160 USD.
 

punkncat

Polypheme
Ambassador
The 1080 is still a viable card for 1080P and particularly that game. For that pricing, might consider something in 12th gen if you can still find some motherboards and such for a good price. This late into a Cyber Monday and on into Christmas things typically only get worse on selection and pricing.

Might be worth it to "loan" him your current rig after a clean out and revisit that build in January when the retailers will be begging you to buy.
 
Nov 21, 2024
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Maybe not the day to look.. but the 1080 cards are close to the same price as a 4060.. I was looking for $500 price range but I see if I bump it just a little ($700) I can get him something that should last for years and expand his gaming possibility most likely...?
 
Might look into something like an i5 12400, you can get a ddr4 board if you need to save a few bucks. For gpu, something like an rx 6600 should get him started and still be a decent 1080p card.

Though if you can go am5, maybe a ryzen 5 7500f or 7600 to start, I think AMD has said they’ll support am5 through 2027. If that’s the case there would likely be another cpu upgrade or two ready for the same board. Then you could always upgrade the gpu later on also.

Maybe something like this.

7500f 169.99

https://www.newegg.com/p/274-000M-00200

AsRock b650 board 99.99

https://www.newegg.com/asrock-b650m-hdv-m-2/p/N82E16813162114?item=N82E16813162114

Of course add on everything else. 16gb ram should be 50.

RX 6600 for 189.99

https://www.newegg.com/asrock-rx6600-cld-8g-amd-radeon-rx-6600-8gb-gddr6/p/N82E16814930066

I’m on my phone but should at least get you started.
 
Last edited:
Nov 21, 2024
7
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Ok.. using what you started with here is what I came up with. It currently sits at $800 but I struggle with some things because the difference between the 7500F and 7600X is like only $20.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Q3pRkf

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Q3pRkf

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 4.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($194.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($17.89 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock A620M-HDV/M.2 Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory ($99.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Kingston NV2 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($56.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: ASRock Challenger D Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card ($189.97 @ Newegg)
Case: Lian Li O11 VISION COMPACT ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: MSI MAG A650BN 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Amazon)

Total: $799.78