Which budget gaming PC would you choose?

[lpseven965]

I'm buying my son his first gaming PC. He's 10 so I'm not going to break the bank on a beast of a machine, but I still want him to be able to play most modern games with little to no lag.

Which of these two machines do you recommend?

Option 1:
CPU - AMD A6-Series - 3.5 gigahertz
GPU - Integrated AMD Radeon R5
RAM - 16 gigs

Option 2:
CPU - AMD A4-Series - 3.8 gigahertz
GPU - AMD Radeon HD 8470D
RAM - 8 gigs

 

[bootcher]

The A6 is a marginally better APU compared the A4. Neither will be a gaming powerhouse though, but will play any game on medium to high settings on 1080p/60 fps. CPU-heavy games will probably have to be lowered settings a bit before they can run smooth.

 

[Jeff Kaos]

I guess I'd go with the first one but I wouldn't expect much with integrated graphics. Maybe look into a cheap GPU. Something like a GT 710 would only add about $40 to your budget, is easy to install and add a significant boost to performance over what you get from just the CPU.

 

[lpseven965]

Good info, thank you both! I think I'll go with option 1 and buy a GPU. Or perhaps see how it handles his games without one and purchase if necessary. Thanks again!

 

[Jeff Kaos]

Good info, thank you both! I think I'll go with option 1 and buy a GPU. Or perhaps see how it handles his games without one and purchase if necessary. Thanks again!

If you can, post how the performance was sans GPU. I'm assuming he'll be playing Minecraft like every kid, including mine, and I'm curious how the chip will handle it.

 

[bootcher]

I agree that a dedicated GPU will enable better gaming performance, however get one that is a significant upgrade from the integrated graphics on the APU. A GT 710 actually performs worse than the integrated A6 APU graphics. A GT 740/ R7 250 or better would be a decent upgrade.

 

[Jeff Kaos]

I agree that a dedicated GPU will enable better gaming performance, however get one that is a significant upgrade from the integrated graphics on the APU. A GT 710 actually performs worse than the integrated A6 APU graphics. A GT 740/ R7 250 or better would be a decent upgrade.

Thanks, I didn't realize that. I was just thinking of cheap cards.

 

[bootcher]

With Black Friday coming up there will be good deals for sure on a bit older but good GPU's!

 

[lpseven965]

Good info, thank you both! I think I'll go with option 1 and buy a GPU. Or perhaps see how it handles his games without one and purchase if necessary. Thanks again!

If you can, post how the performance was sans GPU. I'm assuming he'll be playing Minecraft like every kid, including mine, and I'm curious how the chip will handle it.

Well the performance test sans GPU was not good.. I've only had a chance to test with Minecraft, but I knew right away that it would need a dedicated card. The graphics rendering of distant objects (or "chunks") was causing major FPS drops..

So I ordered a GT 740, 4 gig. I'm thinking that should speed things up to an acceptable level.

 

[lpseven965]

Hello all - Well here it is a year later, and it's time to upgrade. My son has barely been able to play most games, even on low settings. He mostly plays Overwatch and Minecraft and he has major performance problems even on low settings..

What do you think would benefit the most from an upgrade? CPU or GPU? Ram should be plenty.. :

CPU - AMD A6-Series - 3.5 gigahertz
RAM - 16 gigs
GPU - GT 740, 4 gig

 

[madmatt30]

Hello all - Well here it is a year later, and it's time to upgrade. My son has barely been able to play most games, even on low settings. He mostly plays Overwatch and Minecraft and he has major performance problems even on low settings..

What do you think would benefit the most from an upgrade? CPU or GPU? Ram should be plenty.. :

CPU - AMD A6-Series - 3.5 gigahertz
RAM - 16 gigs
GPU - GT 740, 4 gig

The whole system really but if its one or the other drop a gtx 1050/gtx 1050 ti/ or rx 560 in there.

That gt 740 was never going to be any good for gaming anyway (even a year ago)

 

[lpseven965]

The whole system really but if its one or the other drop a gtx 1050/gtx 1050 ti/ or rx 560 in there.

That gt 740 was never going to be any good for gaming anyway (even a year ago)

Ok thanks! Yeah I wish I could afford a whole new system.. I wish the kid was into consoles instead of PC.. lol

Do you think he'll get a significant bump in frames if I put in a GTX 1050 ti?