PC for kids

[Gavi]

Budget (including currency): ~$300 USD

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: My kids play Roblox games and may need to do home schooling on it. They have saved $300 so far.

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): Would be easiest to order online due to living in the country and quaratinne. I have diminished lungcapacity.

 

[Gavi]

Also, we have never built a PC. So, I don't know anything.

[rapidkillerx]

great mom btw, how much more do you think they could save? $300 would be a little rough, though roblox isn't too demanding so they could probably squeak by, especially if they looked at used options on ebay

[Gavi]

They are only 8 & 11 so, $300 took awhile. Unfortunately, I had a stroke last year and I am not able to work and add to their budget. Mostly earned the money because grandma pays them to read.

[Fasauceome]

3 minutes ago, Gavi said:

They are only 8 & 11 so, $300 took awhile. Unfortunately, I had a stroke last year and I am not able to work and add to their budget. Mostly earned the money because grandma pays them to read.

make sure you quote us so that we can see your responses, or use @Gavi , or we won't get a notification.

 

If you are purchasing only new hardware, this is the best low budget machine available to you

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 200GE 3.2 GHz Dual-Core Processor	$73.78 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$72.99 @ Best Buy
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2800 CL15 Memory	$39.99 @ Newegg
Storage	TCSunBow X3 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$19.98 @ Amazon
Case	Rosewill FBM-X1 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$38.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 11 CM 400 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	$67.55 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$313.27
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-22 00:23 EDT-0400

 

If you can search the used markets, there are many options for CPUs and motherboards and ram to reduce the price. Something like an i5-4450 and cheap B85 motherboard with the cheapest DDR3 you can get is a great money saver.

[dizmo]

Don't buy new. Grab a used Dell off of eBay. You can easily get one for under $100. Then buy a used console for their games.

[Gavi]

11 hours ago, Fasauceome said:

make sure you quote us so that we can see your responses, or use @Gavi , or we won't get a notification.

 

If you are purchasing only new hardware, this is the best low budget machine available to you

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 200GE 3.2 GHz Dual-Core Processor	$73.78 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$72.99 @ Best Buy
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2800 CL15 Memory	$39.99 @ Newegg
Storage	TCSunBow X3 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$19.98 @ Amazon
Case	Rosewill FBM-X1 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$38.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 11 CM 400 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	$67.55 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$313.27
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-22 00:23 EDT-0400

 

If you can search the used markets, there are many options for CPUs and motherboards and ram to reduce the price. Something like an i5-4450 and cheap B85 motherboard with the cheapest DDR3 you can get is a great money saver.

The Mothorboard is no longer availabe. any other suggestions. Also, the power supply became out of stock after placing it in my cart. and the case is out of stock. Thanks

[Gavi]

Another question, if I change the motherboard will I need to change anything else ?

[Gavi]

My Husband and I scrounged up another $100 for a total of $400. Does that help? @Fasauceome 

[Fasauceome]

1 hour ago, Gavi said:

My Husband and I scrounged up another $100 for a total of $400. Does that help? @Fasauceome 

$400 goes a long way

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 200GE 3.2 GHz Dual-Core Processor	$73.78 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Asus TUF B450M-PLUS GAMING Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$89.99 @ Newegg
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2800 CL15 Memory	$39.99 @ Newegg
Storage	TCSunBow X3 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$19.98 @ Amazon
Case	Deepcool MATREXX 30 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$34.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Cooler Master MasterWatt 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	$70.00 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$328.73
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-22 20:41 EDT-0400

this will also give you some budget to squeeze in a graphics card in the near future, a used RX 570 or 470 is often the very best value you can get.

[Gavi]

9 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

$400 goes a long way

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 200GE 3.2 GHz Dual-Core Processor	$73.78 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Asus TUF B450M-PLUS GAMING Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$89.99 @ Newegg
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2800 CL15 Memory	$39.99 @ Newegg
Storage	TCSunBow X3 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$19.98 @ Amazon
Case	Deepcool MATREXX 30 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$34.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Cooler Master MasterWatt 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	$70.00 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$328.73
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-22 20:41 EDT-0400

this will also give you some budget to squeeze in a graphics card in the near future, a used RX 570 or 470 is often the very best value you can get.

Do I need to buy an operating system as well?

[Gavi]

@Fasauceome a different motherboard? That one is on back order.

[Fasauceome]

25 minutes ago, Gavi said:

Do I need to buy an operating system as well?

Windows can be installed for free, if you have an 8GB or larger flash drive lying around.

 

15 minutes ago, Gavi said:

@Fasauceome a different motherboard? That one is on back order.

Motherboard stock is a huge problem right now, I hate to suggest one that's too expensive for what it offers but

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dQgzK8/asrock-b450m-pro4-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-pro4

 

I would suggest buying used but used AM4 motherboards are a chore to search through. If you are looking to get a B450 motherboard, you would have to make sure it has both the backplate and I/O shield, the shield is not as necessary but the backplate is required, and for the stock cooler of the Athlon 200GE, the plastic clips that come with the motherboard (which people unfortunately throw away very often) are also needed.

[Gavi]

1 minute ago, Fasauceome said:

Windows can be installed for free, if you have an 8GB or larger flash drive lying around.

 

 

 

 

How do you install windows

[Fasauceome]

2 minutes ago, Gavi said:

How do you install windows

There are many helpful YouTube guides online. Start here:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/15088/windows-10-create-installation-media

 

Note, when you install Windows and select that you do not have a product key, a grey watermark that says "activate windows" will be in the bottom right corner, and will not go away. You can activate windows at any time later on to get rid of it, but after some time, you just won't notice it.

[SansVarnic]

-= Topic Cleaned =-

[Gavi]

50 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

There are many helpful YouTube guides online. Start here:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/15088/windows-10-create-installation-media

 

Note, when you install Windows and select that you do not have a product key, a grey watermark that says "activate windows" will be in the bottom right corner, and will not go away. You can activate windows at any time later on to get rid of it, but after some time, you just won't notice it.

I ordered everything. Do I need anything else to build the computer?

 

[Fasauceome]

36 minutes ago, Gavi said:

I ordered everything. Do I need anything else to build the computer?

 

A basic Phillips screwdriver will get you the rest of the way. Magnetic is nice to have, but not required.

 

The majority of YouTube guides will be all the instructions you need, with lots of helpful examples being available on the Linus Tech tips YouTube channel.

[ChamFamDad]

2 hours ago, Fasauceome said:

$400 goes a long way

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon 200GE 3.2 GHz Dual-Core Processor	$73.78 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Asus TUF B450M-PLUS GAMING Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$89.99 @ Newegg
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2800 CL15 Memory	$39.99 @ Newegg
Storage	TCSunBow X3 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$19.98 @ Amazon
Case	Deepcool MATREXX 30 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$34.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Cooler Master MasterWatt 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	$70.00 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$328.73
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-22 20:41 EDT-0400

this will also give you some budget to squeeze in a graphics card in the near future, a used RX 570 or 470 is often the very best value you can get.

Why are you so dead set on them using athlon when for the same price they can get a ryzen 3 3200g for the same price

 

Try this one...just get his power supply.

L

[Fasauceome]

12 minutes ago, ChamFamDad said:

Why are you so dead set on them using athlon when for the same price they can get a ryzen 3 3200g for the same price

 

what

 

I see a higher price tag on the 3200G, and it's also not guaranteed compatible. let's not get a BIOS update involved here.

[ChamFamDad]

9 hours ago, Fasauceome said:

what

 

I see a higher price tag on the 3200G, and it's also not guaranteed compatible. let's not get a BIOS update involved here.

If she buys a b450 Mobo I'd almost bet 2 whole dollars that it's bios are updated. It would have to be old stock like a eBay or secondary seller who had bought in bulk early. $87 for it on walmart dot com

[Fasauceome]

36 minutes ago, ChamFamDad said:

If she buys a b450 Mobo I'd almost bet 2 whole dollars that it's bios are updated

I'd rather not leave it up to chance. I still see plenty of forum users confused why their B450 won't boot with third gen CPUs, because it shipped with an older BIOS. There are more "old stock" boards floating around than people think 

[Gavi]

Thank you all. I may be back in 2 weeks after all the stuff comes in.

[Boomwebsearch]

11 hours ago, Fasauceome said:

I see a higher price tag on the 3200G, and it's also not guaranteed compatible. let's not get a BIOS update involved here.

 

You could get an AMD A10-9700 if you are worried about a B450 motherboard having potential BIOS compatibility issues and it has pretty decent integrated graphics if you want to wait awhile to get a good deal on a graphics card. > https://www.newegg.com/amd-a10-7th-gen-a10-9700/p/N82E16819113451

 

Although at a $300 or $400 price-point you can most likely get higher performance components for the money going used, take a look at LinusTechTips's scrapyard wars where they built pretty good computers with limited budgets.

 

 

13 hours ago, Gavi said:

I ordered everything. Do I need anything else to build the computer?

 

You should have a phillips head screwdriver and an anti-static wrist-band to build the computer, I know that many are going to say that an anti-static wrist-band is optional and that they've built computers without them and not damaged them, although I don't think it is worth taking the risk of damaging hundreds of dollars of components for not wearing even a cheap one that would be around $5.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Alligator-Grounding-Wristband-Conductive-Resistance/dp/B085GDRN76/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=anti+static+wristband&qid=1592925845&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011&rnid=2470954011&rps=1&sr=8-2

[Fasauceome]

13 minutes ago, Boomwebsearch said:

You could get an AMD A10-9700 if you are worried about a B450 motherboard having potential BIOS compatibility issues and it has pretty decent integrated graphics if you want to wait awhile to get a good deal on a graphics card.

I'd rather stick with the Athlon for better up front performance, you could throw in a cheap graphics card at any time without replacing the CPU, for more basic titles like Roblox. Also, those A series APUs are only compatible with 300 series boards, B450 doesn't have BIOS revisions that support them.