Upgrading Kid's PC, thoughts and suggestions?

[TheDaveGuy]

I have 3 children and they each have their own PC that we put together back in 2012.

Approximate Purchase Date: Between now and Christmas - Looking for deals
Budget Range: $300.00 - $400.00 per PC
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Steam gaming / Youtube / Webbrowsing
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to Upgrade: GPU (2gb card min) / Maybe CPU/RAM/MOBO
Do you need to buy OS: No
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg / TigerDirect / Amazon
Location: Albuquerque New Mexico, USA (No Microcenter or Fry's nearby)
Parts Preferences: None except that I would like to keep all 3 PC's identical
Overclocking: No / Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: No
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Kids are playing more update games, Terreria / Starbound / Unturned / 7DTD / Dungeon Defenders

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: They are wanting newer games that are above the specs of their computers. And 4 years is a decently good enough return on what was a pretty budget limited initial build. Would like to upgrade to be able to get another 2-4 years before replacing everything.

Below is the current specs for the 3 computers, they are all identical:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G860 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Rosewill RCX-Z90-CP 62.5 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D3V Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 6670 1GB Video Card
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($33.69 @ Directron)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.89 @ OutletPC)
Other: AOC e2252Swdn 22" Class Widescreen LED Monitor 1920x1080 (Purchased For $99.99)
Total: $244.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-15 11:13 EDT-0400


One thought is to upgrade the CPU / RAM / GPU as follows:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-3240 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($138.49 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Rosewill RCX-Z90-CP 62.5 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D3V Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $48.88)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $46.88)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $33.69)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (Purchased For $14.89)
Other: AMD Radeon RX 460 2GB ($119.98)
Other: AOC e2252Swdn 22" Class Widescreen LED Monitor 1920x1080 (Purchased For $99.99)
Total of Upgrades: $292.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-15 11:16 EDT-0400


But this still is just a dual core cpu and I feel that may be to limiting for the next 2-4 years. The other option would be a more comprehensive redo:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 845 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($66.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper T2 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($15.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A68M-DG3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($44.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $48.88)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $46.88)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $33.69)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (Purchased For $14.89)
Other: AMD Radeon RX 460 2GB ($119.98)
Other: AOC e2252Swdn 22" Class Widescreen LED Monitor 1920x1080 (Purchased For $99.99)
Total of Upgrades: $280.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-15 11:45 EDT-0400

Asking opinions for either path, or maybe something I am not thinking of?

Thanks for your time!

 

[RonRave]

Personally I like both of your builds for budget computers. If you can spend the extra $80 I would get the 4GB Radeon 480 for $200. Much more future proof as 2GB cards seem to be going by the wayside pretty quickly. This should still keep you under $400 each and will improve their experience more than any other change could (besides an SSD).

 

[ComputerSecurityGuy]

I'd go i5-2500K or i3-3xxx, a SSD, 16GB of RAM (DDR3 is starting to go up again) and a RX 460/470/480 along with a 120GB SSD.

 

[Hlsgsz]

Forget about AMD for now. UNtil they launch Zen they are not competitive.
For the needs you listed, you should be looking at an i5 atleast, i7 preferably. Look for a second hand i7 3770(non-K as they Ks may have been overclocked heavily while the non-Ks are safe to buy SH) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-i7-3770-3-4GHz-Quad-Core-CM8063701211600-Processor-/401171316361?hash=item5d67ac7e89:g:ltQAAOSw0fhXkn0Q
Add to that another identical 4GB DIMM to teh ones you have and an RX470/RX480/GTX 1060, whichever one you have money left for.

 

[geofelt]

It would be reasonable to upgrade to a stronger I3 for a lga1155 motherboard.
You can find i3-3240 used on ebay for about $60.
There is value in keeping the same motherboard if you are using oem copies of windows.
Hopefully, you bought the family windows 7 upgrade pack which is considered as retail.

8 gb is a good idea.

A graphics upgrade should be several tiers higher on tom's hierarchy chart:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html
I might think a GTX750ti would be big enough. But RX470 or GTX950 looks good too .

Whatever you do, I suggest converting to a ssd for windows.
It will make your work easier when applying maintenance.
Samsung evo 240gb would be my preference.

If you want to go big,
My suggestion is to use a I3-6100 and a lga1151 motherboard.
X4-845 is simply not relevant any more, the cores are slow.
Here is a recent review of the i3-6100:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10543/the-skylake-core-i3-51w-cpu-review-i3-6320-6300-6100-tested/9
The I3 has 4 threads so it should run anything.
The faster cores will prevail in most games.
The lga1151 motherboard will support a future upgrade to i5 or even i7-6700K.

 

[ikaz]

Yeah forget about AMD as far building around their CPU's but have you considered maybe going to skylake

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/ZTD6GX

While the build only has a intel G4400 it would be as fast the i3-3240 but give you an option of upgrading in a year or two if you want to i3/i5/i7 which would be more current. It also a bit cheaper so you can more on the GPU if you want or just save the money for now and do a smaller upgrade in maybe 2 years in stead of 4.

 

[logainofhades]

I would stick with the i3, or maybe go with an OEM i5 2500. http://www.pricewatch.com/price/cpu/i5-2500 A 2500k would be pointless, with an H61 board. Get them a matching stick of ram, and a GTX 950. They will all have decent gaming setups.

 

[geofelt]

Added thought:

With 3 kids, they likely have different interests in games.
Some may like fast action games, and some might like sims, strategy or mmo.
The cpu/gpu relation will change.
Consider setting up a budget for the upgrades and getting them involved so they have some skin in the game.
Have them research whatever upgrades they might want assuming you buy from newegg or wherever.
It will be educational for them(and you)

 

[Hlsgsz]

Added thought:

With 3 kids, they likely have different interests in games.
Some may like fast action games, and some might like sims, strategy or mmo.
The cpu/gpu relation will change.
Consider setting up a budget for the upgrades and getting them involved so they have some skin in the game.
Have them research whatever upgrades they might want assuming you buy from newegg or wherever.
It will be educational for them(and you)

+1
Depending on age, they should be way ahead of you with this stuff and you should really only be providing the budget.

 

[TheDaveGuy]

Thank you for all your suggestions - have some answers and further questions below:

RonRave - I thought about the 4GB Radeon 480, but my concern was that the current power supply would not be powerful enough, and was trying not to have to replace that at this time. Also currently the least expensive 480 is $240, which is $120 more than a 460 and puts me over budget.

ComputerSecurityGuy - Yes, would love to do all that, but doing that for 3 computers it way out of my realistic price range!

Hlsgsz - I didn't think of second hand for the CPU, that is a possibility, will start looking there. And, as the kids each have 1 stick of identical ram, could move 2 to one PC and then just need to get 2 sets of 2x4GB ram.

geofelt - From what I read on the Tom's Hardware review of the RX 460 it should be placed around the Radeon 7870 in performance, which I was finding good enough for their needs.

ikaz - Is the Intel G4400 a significant upgrade to the Pentium 860?

logainofhades - Good suggestions

geofelt & Hlsgsz - My 3 kids are 11,10 and 9 with nearly identical tastes in games currently. I am sure at some point in the future that will diverge, but currently having identical PC's is more beneficial to me for upkeep than to match their gaming tastes. I may have them help with me now, but I definitely will have them very involved when the time comes for the complete system upgrade.

Did forget to mention 1 other game (can't believe I forgot it) Minecraft!!

Currently I am leaning towards looking for a second hand CPU, looking at an i5-2500 or 35XX on ebay.

Will consolidate the RAM and have them with 8GB for now.

After I get the CPU will look if the RX 480 is doable with the current Power Supply and hope they have gone down in price, otherwise may be the 470 or 460.

Gave me lots to think about and look at, thank you!

 

[madmatt30]

Look for second hand i5 3330,3350o,3450,3470,3570'ss
from reputable sellers,just grab what you can out of those - there's no need to try & find them all exactly the same , there's very little performance difference between them so its not going to cause any 'my cpu is better than yours' type kiddie argumemts .
These CPU's will still hold their own with a low-mid range GPU well enough.

 

[Hlsgsz]

Afte reading all you said, you are looking at this teh right way, but, do strive to get i5 3570. That, plus another 4 GB of ram each will do. i5 2500s will do also, but, Ivy would be beter.
Also, those PSUs are fairly decent and will handle even RX 480 without issue, but, from what you have stated, the RX 470 seems to me like the sweetsppot you should aim for. Just get the 4GB version.

 

[ComputerSecurityGuy]

An i5 (about $100 used), RX 460 ($110 or so), 120GB SSD (as little as $32) and 8GB of RAM ($30) should fit in your budget.

 

[ikaz]

Yes the G4400 is better then your your 860, again it the same or maybe a little better than Intel Core i3-3240 you were considering and again leaves you the option of upgrading to a newer process down the road.

 

[Hlsgsz]

Yes the G4400 is better then your your 860, again it the same or maybe a little better than Intel Core i3-3240 you were considering and again leaves you the option of upgrading to a newer process down the road.

A pure dual-core is in no way even close to an i3 and an all around bad decision these days. No.