Thread: Building a new PC

Hello, I am new here, but you seem like nice folk, and like you know what you are talking about when it comes to gaming and PCs, so please help me. My 11 year old wants a new computer. He is currently using a 4 or so year old laptop that is on its last leg. With black Friday sales coming up I figured now was a perfect time to buy, so please lay it on me.

What does he have? KB, mouse, monitor
What does he need? everything else, and needs wireless internet since he is upstairs and the router is downstairs(rent house, so no I am not running cat5 for them)
What is his budget? about $500, but could maybe do a bit more if absolutely necessary
What does he play? Minecraft, GO, LoL, Dota

I have built 4 or 5 PCs in the past, so one more shouldn't be an issue. TIA for the help.

Intel Pentium G3258, XFX Radeon R7 260X, NZXT Source 210 (Black) - Low End ($500) Build - Allane176's Saved Part List - PCPartPicker

That's the parts list I updated a few weeks ago. Only problem is it doesn't have built-in wireless and I'm not an expert on that matter.

CybertronPC Trooper BB-1 TBB1244A AMD FX 4130 3.8GHz AMD Socket AM3+ ATI Radeon 3000 1 x HDMI Barebone - Newegg.com

ASUS Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk Black - Newegg.com

EVGA 600 B 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified 600W Active PFC ATX12V v2.31/EPS 12V v2.91 3 Year Warranty 100-B1-0600-KR Power Supply - Newegg.com

Refurbished: GIGABYTE GV-R927XOC-2GD Radeon R9 270X 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Newegg.com

$589.96

Case, AMD FX4130 @ 3.8Ghz, 8GB RAM, 500GB SATA HDD, DVD Burner, EVGA 600Watt 80 Plus Bronze PSU, R9 270X 2GB video

The barebones comes with a PSU but it's only a 375 watter and that card really wants 500-600...

Oops. I forgot wireless... but you can pick up a usb wireless dingleberry for 20 bux pretty much anywhere.

For wireless, make sure his rig has a static IP and that your router is broadcasting on a non-congested channel. Channel is less of an issue with newer routers (if you're stuck with b or g like I am, then it really helps). To see how congested you are, you can download something like Wifi Analyzer if you have a Droid.

Most of the ports should be fine (at least for LoL). Wireless isn't too bad as long as the router is set up decently.

Fuck wireless..... Ultra 500Mbps Powerline Adapter Kit - 500Mbps, RJ-45, LAN, 2x Units at TigerDirect.com

They work great for me, I tried wireless and had piss poor reception 30 feet away on my patio. I put this in and my grandkids can use a laptop through extension cords 300 foot away in their treehouse. Only thing I wish I had done differently would have been to get the pass thru type.

Hey Civil, welcome to the forums!

Check out the PCPER Hardware Leaderboard. They have some great recommendations for systems by price range.

Leaderboard | PC Perspective

The low end system should run you about $430. Check out what they are recommending for the "hybrid crossfire" that can be taken advantage of with the GPUs they recommended. Here is a link with some of the performance results of Hybrid Crossfire with the Kaveri A8-7600 along with an R7 250. It makes a pretty big difference. The CPU they are recommending is actually more powerful, so you will likely see higher performance than in the article.

AMD A8-7600 Kaveri APU and R7 250 Dual Graphics Testing - Pacing is Fixed! | PC Perspective

You can get a wireless G USB adapter for like $10 and a wireless N USB adapter for around $30-40. A wireless N PCI-E card is another option and is likely to be $30-40 for a name brand card.

Also, the price on the HW Leader Board does not include a case, but you can find cases anywhere cheap.

Thanks kanati. Went with the one you suggested from Amazon. Should come in this week.

Halp. I got the stuff in the mail today, and I am so confused. The GPU requires moar powa, and has both a 6 and 8 pin PCI-E slot on it. It came with both a 6 and 8 pin cable. The 6 splits off to 2 4s, and the 8 splits off to 2 sixes. The PSU has 2 4s I am using, but I do not have 2 6s. What do?

Originally Posted by CivilWars

Halp. I got the stuff in the mail today, and I am so confused. The GPU requires moar powa, and has both a 6 and 8 pin PCI-E slot on it. It came with both a 6 and 8 pin cable. The 6 splits off to 2 4s, and the 8 splits off to 2 sixes. The PSU has 2 4s I am using, but I do not have 2 6s. What do?

The PSU has two 4-pin CPU connectors to be possibly used in an 8-pin CPU socket. What you're looking for are two cables from the PSU that end in six and are labeled as PCI-E. One of the cables that came with the GPU is most likely a Molex connector to split power into two 6-pin PCI-E cables. Try not to use the Molex connector as they're sub-par in voltage regulation.