Need some help with two new computers

[The Smokin Deist]

My wife and I are considering getting new computers--finally replacing our old Dell N5110 laptops. I need some help on trying to find or build different systems for the both of us. We are working on a budget and because of our different needs, it's hard to place this post in one category. I was thinking of a budget of somewhere around $500-$800 per system. Since AMD is currently king of the CPUs right now, I'm leaning in that direction but Intel is still a contender if it does what we need. Pre-made or build my own are also both options.If we build a desktop, monitors are part of the equation but don't have to be too fancy.

My wife specifically wants a desktop--depending on what I can get, this could be a system in a box or something I can build. She basically needs a general-purpose PC that can handle very light gaming. She basically plays The Sims 3 (she didn't get 4 since she had everything for 3), Minecraft (mostly Bedrock), Dungeons & Dragons Online and this series of hidden objcet games from G5. I think she could get away with a CPU with onboard graphics and could skip an actual graphics card.

I could use a budget gaming PC (desktop or laptop)--I know that I'm not getting a top tier system but this old laptop is downright creaky with the second-gen i3 and onboard gfx. I have been hindered from playing anything remotely modern and some of my games are almost unplayable. I also enjoy Minecraft and DDO, plus I play Star Trek Online and Kerbal Space Program amongst other games. I wouldn't mind trying a few more modern games but I also know that KSP can really task a system--especially if I were to try to run some visual mods and fly anything with a high part count. KSP 2 is also a game I'd like to get. Other thing I do is watch a lot of video and movies from streaming srivces and YouTube, and working on tabletop gaming stuff in Office.

I have looked on the PC part picker and I do feel like I'm out of my element but I know you guys could be a big help in pointing me in the right direction. I have put together a couple of PCs in the past--both were AMD systems and I had help selecting the parts but I am comfortable in putting things together.

Thanks ahead of time for any and all help I can get!

[iBabySlapper]

5 minutes ago, The Smokin Deist said:

My wife and I are considering getting new computers--finally replacing our old Dell N5110 laptops. I need some help on trying to find or build different systems for the both of us. We are working on a budget and because of our different needs, it's hard to place this post in one category. I was thinking of a budget of somewhere around $500-$800 per system. Since AMD is currently king of the CPUs right now, I'm leaning in that direction but Intel is still a contender if it does what we need. Pre-made or build my own are also both options.If we build a desktop, monitors are part of the equation but don't have to be too fancy.

My wife specifically wants a desktop--depending on what I can get, this could be a system in a box or something I can build. She basically needs a general-purpose PC that can handle very light gaming. She basically plays The Sims 3 (she didn't get 4 since she had everything for 3), Minecraft (mostly Bedrock), Dungeons & Dragons Online and this series of hidden objcet games from G5. I think she could get away with a CPU with onboard graphics and could skip an actual graphics card.

I could use a budget gaming PC (desktop or laptop)--I know that I'm not getting a top tier system but this old laptop is downright creaky with the second-gen i3 and onboard gfx. I have been hindered from playing anything remotely modern and some of my games are almost unplayable. I also enjoy Minecraft and DDO, plus I play Star Trek Online and Kerbal Space Program amongst other games. I wouldn't mind trying a few more modern games but I also know that KSP can really task a system--especially if I were to try to run some visual mods and fly anything with a high part count. KSP 2 is also a game I'd like to get. Other thing I do is watch a lot of video and movies from streaming srivces and YouTube, and working on tabletop gaming stuff in Office.

I have looked on the PC part picker and I do feel like I'm out of my element but I know you guys could be a big help in pointing me in the right direction. I have put together a couple of PCs in the past--both were AMD systems and I had help selecting the parts but I am comfortable in putting things together.

Thanks ahead of time for any and all help I can get!

I'm guessing you guys are in the USA?

 

Do you have any aesthetic preferences for a PC case, or any other things you'd want (more mass storage, any brand you like in particular, etc.)

[IntMD]

6 minutes ago, The Smokin Deist said:

-snip-

Is the 500-800 per system including monitors?

[IntMD]

If it doesn't include monitors in that price, then the below should absolutely be overkill with those games and be able to get decent frame rates at 1080p in most modern games. The power supply is overkill, but is currently on a decent price for what it has.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($174.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($114.99 @ B&H) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory  ($84.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Green  240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($37.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($50.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 580 8 GB PULSE Video Card  ($169.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P300A Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case  ($68.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GX1 RGB 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($60.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $763.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-15 11:04 EDT-0400

 

If you want to spend less, then the below would be significantly cheaper, and probably still adequate graphics wise for those games she wants to play. You can also swap in a 3200G in to the below for $50-60 less and still be fine with those games, with the ability to upgrade the CPU & put in a discrete GPU if you wanted in the future.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3400G 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($149.99 @ Best Buy) 
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($114.99 @ B&H) 
Memory: G.Skill Flare X 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($68.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Green  240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($37.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($50.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P300A Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case  ($68.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($59.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $551.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-15 11:11 EDT-0400

 

 

Edit: I've just noticed there is basically no price difference between those two power supplies. Get the Thermaltake one if it is still the same price, on either build.

 

[boggy77]

build 1 - 800$ gaming:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (12nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor	$85.00 @ Amazon
Motherboard	ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$79.97 @ Amazon
Memory	G.Skill Flare X 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$68.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$109.99 @ Adorama
Video Card	Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB OC Video Card	$238.98 @ Newegg
Case	Thermaltake Versa H17 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$44.99 @ Best Buy
Power Supply	Corsair CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$59.98 @ Newegg
Monitor	Asus VA24EHE 23.8" 1920x1080 75 Hz Monitor	$114.98 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$802.88
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-15 11:28 EDT-0400

 

build 2 - 600$ light gaming: 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3400G 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$149.99 @ Best Buy
Motherboard	ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$79.97 @ Amazon
Memory	G.Skill Flare X 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$68.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$109.99 @ Adorama
Case	Thermaltake Versa H17 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$44.99 @ Best Buy
Power Supply	Corsair CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$59.98 @ Newegg
Monitor	Asus VA24EHE 23.8" 1920x1080 75 Hz Monitor	$114.98 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$628.89
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-15 11:28 EDT-0400

 

[The Smokin Deist]

31 minutes ago, ibabyslapper said:

I'm guessing you guys are in the USA?

 

Do you have any aesthetic preferences for a PC case, or any other things you'd want (more mass storage, any brand you like in particular, etc.)

Yes we are, and we don't really have much preference for the case aesthetics other than it not be really fugly. lol

[iBabySlapper]

1 hour ago, The Smokin Deist said:

Yes we are, and we don't really have much preference for the case aesthetics other than it not be really fugly. lol

This is what I'd build in your shoes. For some reason PcPartPicker doesn't recognise the existance of the R5 1600AF, so I had to change the price. This is a link for the R5 1600AF (12nm)

 

You can find a gray market Windows 10 Pro key for $5 on eBay.

 

Spend the rest of the budget on a cheap mechanical keyboard, like one of the red dragon ones, and a mouse.

The Amazon Basics programmable mech board (not the mech feel one) is actually pretty good too for the price, but I believe those are out of production.

 

To make a lesser (cheaper) machine, swap out the RX 580 for a RX 570/560. Even then, it should be able to do light 1080p gaming.

 

If you can get it in time, this PSU is better for only $6 more thanks to a mail-in rebate.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (14nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($99.50)
Motherboard: MSI B450M PRO-M2 MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory  ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial P2 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($64.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($50.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 580 8 GB PULSE Video Card  ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Lite 3.1 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12III 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ B&H)
Monitor: Asus VA229HR 21.5" 1920x1080 75 Hz Monitor  ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $740.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-15 12:40 EDT-0400

[The Smokin Deist]

Stimulus check didn't arrive but we are working on that. I hope to have my build budget soon. I had to save some money for my vehicle repair so that's why I didn't have a bigger budget. (I need brakes and oil change minimum.)

I am seeing some good stuff here and I appreciate all of your help on this. I hope to be able to build soon and perhaps post some pics. I'll also likely watch some videos so I can make sure I am comfortable with some of the more fiddly bits on the build. Thankfully I won't have to do anything too messy and these will be the third and fourth Windows PCs I've assembled.

[The Smokin Deist]

My check is finally pending for deposit and my wife is working on our tax returns so she can get her check--I'm on SSD. Hopefully my wife is still on board for this project. lol

I am considering paying full retail for my Win 10 license since the retail versions can migrate to new computers later. Now if it only covered a couple of computers at once, it would be better and save a little money.

For me it'll be the first time since my old A4000/040 where I have an actual graphics card and I'm not relying on onboard gfx. (The Amiga was sporting the Picasso IV RTG card from Village Tronic) and the two Windows desktops I built with help and the laptop just had the onboard gfx.)

This could not happen at a better time since it seems that my laptop is really starting to bog down.