Question New Build for my Nephew for XMAS?

[Freakinhob0]

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]

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]

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.

 

[geofelt]

A build with as little as a i3-12100 would be about 2x the cpu capability of your 4690.
Plan on using the GTX1080, it is an oldie but goodie.
Here is where it stands on general gpu capability:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

 

[Freakinhob0]

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...?