Starter PC for a young child(need tips and price)

[TerraDSerph]

I'm looking to give my seven year old neighbor a computer that he could possibly rely on for a few years. I haven't received the go-ahead, but since I plan on doing this anyways for my youngest brother when he is old enough(and if he shows interest in computers, I'll teach him how to build and take care of his), I thought this would be a good opportunity to see what I should be looking at for a "beginner PC."

 

Things to note: my neighbor likes minecraft, so while I know I'm not looking at anything crazy, I don't think minecraft runs on cheap hardware very well. I also expect his parents will want him to use the computer for homework purposes(such as learning how to type).

 

 

I'll buy used or new parts for this butthead, as long as they're in good condition. And yes, I do plan on making sure he and his parents know how to clean and maintain the computer so it lasts longer than they'll ever need it for.

 

 

Any suggestions on what I should look at? I'll cap out at $500 USD, which should be more than enough, but as I said, as long as the parts are in good condition I'll buy them used or new.

[nhatduy1611]

Here you go. This should run minecraft max out easily and it will be more then enough for normal task like internet browsing

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.89 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($55.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($46.99 @ NCIX US) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270 2GB Dual-X Video Card  ($129.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($24.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($26.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $399.82

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-16 03:32 EDT-0400

[a_block_of_wood]

I'm looking to give my seven year old neighbor a computer that he could possibly rely on for a few years. 

 

Any suggestions on what I should look at? I'll cap out at $500 USD

 

Something tells me this will be a build from scratch, needing every single components instead of just a case an internals? Or am I wrong?

 

This could very well be one of those rare cases an AMD APU makes sense.

[MrSuperb]

Here you go. This should run minecraft max out easily and it will be more then enough for normal task like internet browsing

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.89 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($55.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($46.99 @ NCIX US) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270 2GB Dual-X Video Card  ($129.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($24.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($26.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $399.82

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-16 03:32 EDT-0400

I'd think that the additional $40 for an i3 would be a good investment, consindering that the G3258 only really excels when oced.

[nhatduy1611]

I'd think that the additional $40 for an i3 would be a good investment, consindering that the G3258 only really excels when oced.

The extra performance from the i3 is not really needed, the computer is for a 7 years old and it's like a starting foundation for the kid into pc building. Plus i haven't put in the price of window in there yet getting an i3+ window will most likely pass the $500 budget. If op want to he can replace the pentium with a 4160 but i don't think it's necessary

[VG Docs]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.98 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($42.00 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: HIS Radeon R7 260X 1GB Video Card  ($94.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Raidmax Super Hurricane (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($51.99 @ Amazon) 

Total: $423.93

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-16 03:49 EDT-0400

 

Here's the one I came up with. It's mainly there not only as a good starter for games like Minecraft, but also for in case you want to upgrade later on (GPU, CPU, RAM). Also, it's easily overclockable... not really sure if that's something you're interesting in or not, but it's possible with the build.

[Will Barnard]

Pentium Anniversary is a good starting point for a build for that use and of that budget

[TerraDSerph]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

 

I'll be sure to look around and give my neighbor's parents advice on parts(since I really would rather not spend all of my own money on this). If all goes well he'll be a happy kid with some PC building knowledge under his belt.

 

Goooooo PC Master Race!