PC recommendations

[Nicomum]

Hi,

I am looking to buy a desktop pc for my 11 years old boy, and I have been searching the last week but I really don’t know what to choose.
I saw people recommended this site so I am hoping you guys can build a list together for me, and the budget is £500-£650, sorry, I know it is a low budget.

He is into scratch and he is hoping the new pc can run unity, core, roblox and python coz he would like to create some games. A webcam is needed for distance learning. He used to play Minecraft before our laptop died and would like to carry on playing it.

I am hoping the pc can last him as long as possible and can be upgraded part by part when required.

Many thanks in advance
Nico

 

[ThoRob]

Someone with more experience than me may be able to do better but I would have thought this would be a solid start.
I believe AMD still do the better integrated graphics and in your budget that is the only option (OK £3 over).
I ran Minecraft with a worse computer than this and it was definitely playable.
If you found a few months down the line that it wasn't up to what he needed you could then purchase a dedicated GPU and have not wasted any money.
If you can spare a bit more money I would go for a 750W PSU which would give you a bit more flexibility with future upgrades but the 650W should work with this spec even if you later add a mid level GPU.

This build would require you to port over your existing windows licence from the laptop that died which is quite easy to do.

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS G BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G Six Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.9GHz-4.4GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3000MB/sR | 1600MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Price: £653.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/THFzVwj4db/

 

[JUNI0R]

Hi,

I am looking to buy a desktop pc for my 11 years old boy, and I have been searching the last week but I really don’t know what to choose.
I saw people recommended this site so I am hoping you guys can build a list together for me, and the budget is £500-£650, sorry, I know it is a low budget.

He is into scratch and he is hoping the new pc can run unity, core, roblox and python coz he would like to create some games. A webcam is needed for distance learning. He used to play Minecraft before our laptop died and would like to carry on playing it.

I am hoping the pc can last him as long as possible and can be upgraded part by part when required.

Many thanks in advance
Nico

Heya, a budget like this is extremly tight, especially in the current market. Even just another £100 would go a long way in a build like this. For a dedicated graphics card build you'd likely be starting at about the £1250 mark. For the build below, it makes use of AMD's CPU with built in graphics, which for the games you've will perform amply and as your son looks to play more demanding games a GPU can be slotted in for a far improved experience.

An area that is taking up a large chunk of your budget is the Windows key, if you're able to port one over from the old laptop or take one from another Windows device then this would save a lot of cash. Installing Windows is a pretty simple process these days and we'd be happy to assist you.

Any questions, ask away


Case
PCS SPECTRUM RGB MID TOWER CASE Inexpensive case, but will do the job
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G Six Core CPU with Radeon™ Graphics (3.9GHz-4.4GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4) The CPU we need
Motherboard
GIGABYTE B550 GAMING X V2 : DDR4, USB 3.2 - ARGB Ready Will handle the 5600G well enough
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB) Not really an area we can save on 16GB should be ample for a while
Graphics Card
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR (GPU)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2200 MB/R, 1500 MB/W) The bare minimum I'd recommend for storage, really 1TB here would be ideal
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET 650W will only really cover for a mid tier GPU for the current generation. I tend to recommend a 750W as a minimum
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER Will be perfectly fine for the 5600G
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0 If you need WiFi the AX200 WiFi card is a no brainer
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) Well worth the £5
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Price: £726.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/0NEaQnRVCV/

 

[Nicomum]

Hi @ThoRob @JUNI0R,

Thanks for the quick reply and your recommendations. About the windows key, my old laptop was on windows 7, I tried to upgrade to windows 10 before but no luck. Do you think it can still be used or upgraded on the new pc? If so, do I just need the key of the laptop? Or do I need the laptop with me? Coz I am planning to sell it for scrap value.

Thanks again in advance.
Nico

 

[ThoRob]

If you have the Windows 7 key you can install Windows 10 using a USB download from the Microsoft website then use the key to activate it. It will deactivate Windows on the laptop though.

 

[Martinr36]

This explains everything you need to know to upgrade that windows key, I know it works as i did it for the Berserker which is now on W11

Death of Windows 7, still able to update to Windows 10 / 11 for free (still relevant)

Hi all I hope we're all aware by now, but Windows 7 goes "End Of Life" on 14th January 2020. After this time, it will no longer recieve security updates. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-windows-7-support There will be some of you thinking that so long as you have...

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