The CPU and Monitor pricing is hardcoded because they are much cheaper at Microcenter.
I went with a B450 motherboard because they are going to support the new Zen 3 Ryzen processors.
I went with a 5700XT since it is a good option for 1080P gaming and gives similar performance to an RTX 2070 at $100 less. If you think that he would play RTX titles it is worth upgrading to an RTX 2070 because it also support DLSS2.0
The CPU and Monitor pricing is hardcoded because they are much cheaper at Microcenter.
I went with a B450 motherboard because they are going to support the new Zen 3 Ryzen processors.
I went with a 5700XT since it is a good option for 1080P gaming and gives similar performance to an RTX 2070 at $100 less. If you think that he would play RTX titles it is worth upgrading to an RTX 2070 because it also support DLSS2.0
My "budget" gaming pc approach would be a Ryzen 5 1600X and a perhaps a RX 570 8GB or RX 580 GB.
Both should be fine and 8GB VRAM for the GPU isn't bad either. VRAM isn't everything though (my GTX 1660 Super has only 6GB VRAM) but anything above 4GB VRAM would make me feel more comfortable. Especially games like Assassin's Creed like eating VRAM for breakfast. You can ofc also pay more for the GPU and get a GTX 1660 Super, or RX 5600 XT. The RX 5700 XT isn't bad either, obviously, just think I wouldn't get it.
Here are FPS etc measures with the RX 570/580/590 for 9 different games:
I agree on the B450 Motherboard. Makes it future-proof
I have the Ryzen 5 3600X processor myself. But if you want to save some money where applicable a Ryzen 5 1600(X) is just as fine
On the first picture's scores, you'll see that the GPU is the bottleneck, not the CPU. The Ryzen 5 1600 is still 8.9/10. There is really no "need" for a better CPU if you don't want to throw money. While the indicated 4.9/10 score of the GPU may seem bad the game is still perfectly playable at 1920x1080p in high graphic settings like you can see in the graphs below (works with the gf's rig as well), just higher resolutions may struggle.
You can also click on where the Ryzen 5 1600 CPU is indicated on the first pic when the results are shown and play around with different GPUs to pair with it while keeping the processor:
@BloomVPS said:
The reason I went with those specs is because he said $1,200. If he said lower I would have gone lower accordingly
Also, the RX580 and 1600X would not be good for 144hz gaming.
He said he wouldn't mind paying less and that he isn't very experienced in this regard. Hence my proposal to save some buck on the CPU He could pick a better GPU instead. Just trying to say if 1200$ is not a must-spend amount, one might achieve similar results for cheaper. The GTX 1660 Super I mentioned (which I use myself) and the RX 5600XT are cheaper and will be able to handle 144Hz gaming. At least on my rig the GTX 1660 Super does a good job.
There's never been a better time to be a 1080p 60Hz gamer.
I've been scoping out the low and low-medium range of hardware.
If your kid isn't into high twitch online competitive FPS, using a 75Hz 1080p monitor as a foundation will be really kind on the budget.
Windows-only gamers/users can't beat the value of a second-hand Radeon 580. (if you are in the west)
General thoughts:
Invest in a premium quality PSU brand , well-built case(but <$80) and 4 sticks of fast RAM . These last multiple builds. (speaking from experience)
The new $120 AMD Ryzen3 4C/8T 3300x cpu that was just announced (with 16MB if cache) is also worth considering,I f the titles he's interested in, are not going to be affected by 8-Thread ceiling for 3-4years. (most titles)
AMD also has a new B550 motherboard Chipset out now that delivers PCIe 4.0 on a budget.
Do investigate this. I believe it would ensure lots of bios updates for new cpu models (Zen 3!). You can go 6C or 8C anytime you determine the 4C is actually bottlenecking you.
All my build considerations are biased towards max performance per watt and efficiency (also electricity is not cheap)
Comments
@ndelaespada
With a budget of $1,200 including a 144hz 1080P monitor, here's what I would go with:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/b3hjrV
Some notes:
Abby @ bloom.host | Gaming-Grade Virtual Dedicated and Virtual Private Servers | DDoS protection | Ryzen 3950X Dedicated CPU $2.75/GB
My "budget" gaming pc approach would be a Ryzen 5 1600X and a perhaps a RX 570 8GB or RX 580 GB.
Both should be fine and 8GB VRAM for the GPU isn't bad either. VRAM isn't everything though (my GTX 1660 Super has only 6GB VRAM) but anything above 4GB VRAM would make me feel more comfortable. Especially games like Assassin's Creed like eating VRAM for breakfast. You can ofc also pay more for the GPU and get a GTX 1660 Super, or RX 5600 XT. The RX 5700 XT isn't bad either, obviously, just think I wouldn't get it.
Here are FPS etc measures with the RX 570/580/590 for 9 different games:
I agree on the B450 Motherboard. Makes it future-proof
I have the Ryzen 5 3600X processor myself. But if you want to save some money where applicable a Ryzen 5 1600(X) is just as fine
@ndelaespada this is a great site btw to check how good your system could run certain games: https://www.game-debate.com/can-I-run/
Example Output looks smth. like this:
On the first picture's scores, you'll see that the GPU is the bottleneck, not the CPU. The Ryzen 5 1600 is still 8.9/10. There is really no "need" for a better CPU if you don't want to throw money. While the indicated 4.9/10 score of the GPU may seem bad the game is still perfectly playable at 1920x1080p in high graphic settings like you can see in the graphs below (works with the gf's rig as well), just higher resolutions may struggle.
You can also click on where the Ryzen 5 1600 CPU is indicated on the first pic when the results are shown and play around with different GPUs to pair with it while keeping the processor:
Direct link to play around with Ryzen 5 1600: https://www.game-debate.com/hardware/index.php?pid=2463&cpu=Ryzen R5 1600
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
The reason I went with those specs is because he said $1,200. If he said lower I would have gone lower accordingly
Also, the RX580 and 1600X would not be good for 144hz gaming.
Abby @ bloom.host | Gaming-Grade Virtual Dedicated and Virtual Private Servers | DDoS protection | Ryzen 3950X Dedicated CPU $2.75/GB
He said he wouldn't mind paying less and that he isn't very experienced in this regard. Hence my proposal to save some buck on the CPU
He could pick a better GPU instead. Just trying to say if 1200$ is not a must-spend amount, one might achieve similar results for cheaper. The GTX 1660 Super I mentioned (which I use myself) and the RX 5600XT are cheaper and will be able to handle 144Hz gaming. At least on my rig the GTX 1660 Super does a good job.
Ympker's VPN LTD Comparison, Uptime.is, Ympker's GitHub.
Bunch of steam sale running at the moment too. Might as well grab a game or too
RGB, custom water cooling and a new RGB computer desk.
Fans with RGB-led fans will mesmerize the kids and they won't care about the configuration of the computer.
Since, this is the case. Go for a
But if it was a Broadwell or Skylake or little newer.
The above would have worked out.
There's never been a better time to be a 1080p 60Hz gamer.
I've been scoping out the low and low-medium range of hardware.
If your kid isn't into high twitch online competitive FPS, using a 75Hz 1080p monitor as a foundation will be really kind on the budget.
Windows-only gamers/users can't beat the value of a second-hand Radeon 580. (if you are in the west)
General thoughts:
Invest in a premium quality PSU brand , well-built case(but <$80) and 4 sticks of fast RAM . These last multiple builds. (speaking from experience)
The new $120 AMD Ryzen3 4C/8T 3300x cpu that was just announced (with 16MB if cache) is also worth considering,I f the titles he's interested in, are not going to be affected by 8-Thread ceiling for 3-4years. (most titles)
AMD also has a new B550 motherboard Chipset out now that delivers PCIe 4.0 on a budget.
Do investigate this. I believe it would ensure lots of bios updates for new cpu models (Zen 3!). You can go 6C or 8C anytime you determine the 4C is actually bottlenecking you.
All my build considerations are biased towards max performance per watt and efficiency (also electricity is not cheap)