Building friend a PC, loads of options.

[Sum_R4ndom_Dude]

Hi. My friend is wanting a PC since his laptop run games laggy. So i thought i'd assist him. Even though i'm pretty good with PC's, there's LOADS of options. I still haven't gotten a clear answer from him, though he is going to play some games like minecraft. What he do not know yet, is if he'll be playing games like Call Of Duty, Battlefield, or maybe Far Cry. I have some options here that looks more promising than others.

 

The Intel NUC. It'll be loaded with the most powerful CPU, 8GB of RAM and an SSD. This one is fine if he's going to be playing Minecraft only? Or what?

The second option is for a PC build by ourselves with a more powerful processor, 8GB RAM, maybe an SSD, but no graphics card. So if he's going to get into first person shooters and such, he can put in a graphics card

The third option is to get one from a company in my country called Topdata. This is if he gets into FPS games and such, right from the beginning. I'll have a link for the site here: http://topdata.dk/. Click the "Compure m. m." button and you'll see options, some of which have hardware included, and some which do not.

 

Now, for a guy like him, what do he need to get? I have a feeling that he's going to need a pretty powerful processor to run Minecraft, perhaps with some shaders on. What do you guys think? What should he get?

[DGPC]

The reason why your asking the question is because the purpose of the PC hasn't been decided. If you're going to build a PC for you or someone else, you better know what its meant for because as you've realized, it can completely alter the build. Figure out what this PC will be used for and you'll answer your own question.

[Praxis727]

For a good medium to high end build he is good with the I5 4570k.  It runs things just about as well as the i7 and is 100 dollars cheaper.  

 

The money you save buy him a gpu.  He is going to want that if he plans on any of those other games at decent framerate.  You can get a nice gpu fopr around 200 dollars.  8 gigs of ram is fine and if you are only doing one gpu a 550w power supply will likely be fine also.

 

Case is your preference.  I have an antec 302 here and it is a nice solid and good looking case you can get it for about 70 bucks but there are cheaper ones out there that work just as well.  (I am getting the 760t when it comes out

 

Motherboard is up to you.  They are all good brands.  as long as it is 1150 socket.

 

I give the same advice if you are going for an AMD sytem  You can get the processor cheaper from amd.  Great for gaming dont expect to have the fastest processing speeds tho.  Probably your better bet for this build as it will be a little cheaper.  What is the spend limit I can Look up some parts for you.

[Sum_R4ndom_Dude]

Yeah, one thing that i do not know though, is how much do shaders take? I haven't installed any on mine, so i don't have anything to compare with.

 

I will be back on this thread tomorrow, it's 23:00 here

[Praxis727]

oh using the nuc.  hrmm... I would suggest a little more then that myself but what do I know.  I will see if I can price match. You have assume Low prices come at a cost.

[dizmo]

Hi. My friend is wanting a PC since his laptop run games laggy. So i thought i'd assist him. Even though i'm pretty good with PC's, there's LOADS of options. I still haven't gotten a clear answer from him, though he is going to play some games like minecraft. What he do not know yet, is if he'll be playing games like Call Of Duty, Battlefield, or maybe Far Cry. I have some options here that looks more promising than others.

 

The Intel NUC. It'll be loaded with the most powerful CPU, 8GB of RAM and an SSD. This one is fine if he's going to be playing Minecraft only? Or what?

The second option is for a PC build by ourselves with a more powerful processor, 8GB RAM, maybe an SSD, but no graphics card. So if he's going to get into first person shooters and such, he can put in a graphics card

The third option is to get one from a company in my country called Topdata. This is if he gets into FPS games and such, right from the beginning. I'll have a link for the site here: http://topdata.dk/. Click the "Compure m. m." button and you'll see options, some of which have hardware included, and some which do not.

 

Now, for a guy like him, what do he need to get? I have a feeling that he's going to need a pretty powerful processor to run Minecraft, perhaps with some shaders on. What do you guys think? What should he get?

Don't go with the NUC. It's much too limiting. If he ever decides he wants to play a real game that requires some graphical prowess he's got to invest in an entire new system. Or hope that they have something like the external graphics cards that were at CES out. Even then, you're running off a mobile CPU, not a full fledged desk top model.

 

Definitely go with a build you do yourself. If size is an issue, there are quite a few m-ITX options out there. Start with a 4670k, if he needs a GPU you can add that in later.

Or if you don't mind AMD, the Kaveri series of processors would probably be exactly what he'd be looking for.

 

However, if he doesn't ever plan on playing a demanding game, the NUC is an awesome choice. If he even thinks he might be interested in trying a game later on, don't get it.

 

 

Motherboard is up to you.  They are all good brands.  as long as it is 1150 socket.

 

I give the same advice if you are going for an AMD sytem  You can get the processor cheaper from amd.  Great for gaming dont expect to have the fastest processing speeds tho.  Probably your better bet for this build as it will be a little cheaper.  What is the spend limit I can Look up some parts for you.

All motherboards are not all created equal...I wouldn't go with a Zotac board, for example. Or ASRock, really. I've had awful experiences with their products.

You should try and go with at least an H61 chipset, if not an H87. If you go m-ITX and he has no plans on overclocking the H61 is more than sufficient, and the 4570 processor is what I'd go with.

If you go AMD, The A8x series boards are great. Kaveri processors benefit from high frequency memory, and overclocking. Something you might want to consider doing

 

 

oh using the nuc.  hrmm... I would suggest a little more then that myself but what do I know.  I will see if I can price match. You have assume Low prices come at a cost.

I wouldn't use an NUC for this. It's an excellent option for those who either play extremely light games, or who use it for email, web surfing, spreadsheet work, etc.

[Praxis727]

Don't go with the NUC. It's much too limiting. If he ever decides he wants to play a real game that requires some graphical prowess he's got to invest in an entire new system. Or hope that they have something like the external graphics cards that were at CES out. Even then, you're running off a mobile CPU, not a full fledged desk top model.

 

Definitely go with a build you do yourself. If size is an issue, there are quite a few m-ITX options out there. Start with a 4670k, if he needs a GPU you can add that in later.

Or if you don't mind AMD, the Kaveri series of processors would probably be exactly what he'd be looking for.

 

However, if he doesn't ever plan on playing a demanding game, the NUC is an awesome choice. If he even thinks he might be interested in trying a game later on, don't get it.

 

All motherboards are not all created equal...I wouldn't go with a Zotac board, for example. Or ASRock, really. I've had awful experiences with their products.

You should try and go with at least an H61 chipset, if not an H87. If you go m-ITX and he has no plans on overclocking the H61 is more than sufficient, and the 4570 processor is what I'd go with.

If you go AMD, The A8x series boards are great. Kaveri processors benefit from high frequency memory, and overclocking. Something you might want to consider doing

 

 

I wouldn't use an NUC for this. It's an excellent option for those who either play extremely light games, or who use it for email, web surfing, spreadsheet work, etc.

I Completely agree that the Nuc isn't enough and that all boards arent the same.  Component grade and extra options vary per board.  But as for asrock being low qual... They are in the top 4 companies From what I have been reading.  But seems only the higher end boards.  So I wouldn't recommend that for med to low end personally.

[dizmo]

I Completely agree that the Nuc isn't enough and that all boards arent the same.  Component grade and extra options vary per board.  But as for asrock being low qual... They are in the top 4 companies From what I have been reading.  But seems only the higher end boards.  So I wouldn't recommend that for med to low end personally.

I didn't say they're low build quality, I said I've had a lot of problems with the products I've purchased from them. Which is true.

When I was dealing with them their CS was also incredibly poor, but that might be better by now.

I also don't really like the aesthetics, something about their boards just seems...bare? But that's totally a personal thing.

They've lasted 12 years so far though, so they've made it over the hump. Hopefully their boards only get better.

Maybe they'll be the ones to truly embrace awesome mATX and m-ITX boards.

[Sum_R4ndom_Dude]

 

The reason why your asking the question is because the purpose of the PC hasn't been decided. If you're going to build a PC for you or someone else, you better know what its meant for because as you've realized, it can completely alter the build. Figure out what this PC will be used for and you'll answer your own question.

I have talked to him about what he will use it for and the Price. The maximum is around 1300$ for a standalone computer. He will be be playing Minecraft, maybe with shaders. He's around 99% sure that he will want to play games like Far Cry, COD ans such. Two options left, number 2 and 3