New Budget Computer for Mom?

[RagePoweredGamer]

Not too much time on the site, nor with building TONS of computers, so I figured I would ask the community for help again. My mother has a crappy Staples laptop that just died on her. She plays some games (some of which are taken a little too seriously) and needs a new computer. This is her third laptop in 6 years, so I told her I would help her build one that would LAST that we can actually FIX. 

Basically, she wants to go as cheap as possible, but I want to throw in a few things to help out with futureproofness. 

She plays a TON of Runescape on the new client, which basically requires a dedicated GPU (though it's "recommended" is a GTX 400 series Lololol)

She also spends a fair bit of time on games like Terraria, Minecraft and other casual games. 

I want to get her into basic PC gaming with older titles she loves like Elder Scrolls and maybe some emulators, and make sure that we have things like an SSD for overall sanity. 

Size is a plus, so something that isn't in a massive case would be a bonus, but is by no means required.

 

TL;DR: We're building a cheap-as-you-can-be gaming rig for things that are either easily handled by a flagship Skylake alone or are several years old, but also want to have a little longevity in the build so we don't do this again in 5 years.

[tlink]

10 minutes ago, ragepoweredgamer said:

Not too much time on the site, nor with building TONS of computers, so I figured I would ask the community for help again. My mother has a crappy Staples laptop that just died on her. She plays some games (some of which are taken a little too seriously) and needs a new computer. This is her third laptop in 6 years, so I told her I would help her build one that would LAST that we can actually FIX. 

Basically, she wants to go as cheap as possible, but I want to throw in a few things to help out with futureproofness. 

She plays a TON of Runescape on the new client, which basically requires a dedicated GPU (though it's "recommended" is a GTX 400 series Lololol)

She also spends a fair bit of time on games like Terraria, Minecraft and other casual games. 

I want to get her into basic PC gaming with older titles she loves like Elder Scrolls and maybe some emulators, and make sure that we have things like an SSD for overall sanity. 

Size is a plus, so something that isn't in a massive case would be a bonus, but is by no means required.

 

TL;DR: We're building a cheap-as-you-can-be gaming rig for things that are either easily handled by a flagship Skylake alone or are several years old, but also want to have a little longevity in the build so we don't do this again in 5 years.

what is your budget? that is the most important question, what is the most you want to spend on this? what does it need? (keyboard mouse screen etc etc)

[Malleotomato]

Here is the cheapest I would go for is 500$. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FRxwyf. This is a good computer, the only thing I would do differently is spend more on a video card, but the RX460 should be perfectly ok with what you are describing. And its super cool that you'r mom plays video games.

[RagePoweredGamer]

1 hour ago, tlink said:

what is your budget? that is the most important question, what is the most you want to spend on this? what does it need? (keyboard mouse screen etc etc)

Honestly, whatever is the lowest possible. However, I WILL be spending a few extra dollars for Intel/Nvidia, because I have the most experience with them and trust them more than other team red products I've had. $500 is a nice guideline, but under would be amazing, and above would be possible if I knew it would have a great impact on future performance. I WOULD do another $20 for a video card if it was way better FPS per dollar, or I WOULD go another $30 or so for a good quadcore. Personally, I've gone i7 and never looked back, but I'm not putting a 4790K and an NDH-15 in a computer that will only cost double that. We have a mouse/keyboard/headset/screens/desk, but if there's leftover money we might upgrade those. I'm thinking about sticking this in our ancient 1991 computer case for a retro feel, if it will work.

[RagePoweredGamer]

1 hour ago, Malleotomato said:

Here is the cheapest I would go for is 500$. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FRxwyf. This is a good computer, the only thing I would do differently is spend more on a video card, but the RX460 should be perfectly ok with what you are describing. And its super cool that you'r mom plays video games.

It's decent looking, but I'm that a-hole that will drop a few more dollars for Nvidia/Intel, for personal preferences. There's wiggle room for increases in price if they make a good difference, like in the Linus videos that say "This card is only $30 more, but double performance" or something of the like.

[BenoitWW]

not including peripherals: $550

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/nVYkWX

 

CPU: i3 6100

GPU: GTX 1050 ti

[Spudbilly]

10 minutes ago, BenoitWW said:

not including peripherals: $550

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/nVYkWX

 

CPU: i3 6100

GPU: GTX 1050 ti

This is a good build. My only modification would be 2x4gb ram for total of 8gb ddr4 2133mhz. Save money that way. 

 

https://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16820225067

[RagePoweredGamer]

40 minutes ago, Spudbilly said:

This is a good build. My only modification would be 2x4gb ram for total of 8gb ddr4 2133mhz. Save money that way. 

 

https://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16820225067

Was actually going to spend the extra few bucks on single stick, because I could add another stick in a few months if I needed to. LOVE that 1050ti though. Looked at the chart, and I feel a little raped paying $300 for my 970 now. 

[Spudbilly]

18 minutes ago, ragepoweredgamer said:

Was actually going to spend the extra few bucks on single stick, because I could add another stick in a few months if I needed to. LOVE that 1050ti though. Looked at the chart, and I feel a little raped paying $300 for my 970 now. 

I have noticed a trend of people trying to save money by getting 1 8gb stick of RAM. But the cost is similar to buying two sticks that adds up to 8gb. I feel that you might as well just get the two dimms of RAM for dual channel because, by your description of what the computer will be used for, you will not need to upgrade to 16gb. 

 

Just my opinion though. 

[RagePoweredGamer]

1 hour ago, Spudbilly said:

I have noticed a trend of people trying to save money by getting 1 8gb stick of RAM. But the cost is similar to buying two sticks that adds up to 8gb. I feel that you might as well just get the two dimms of RAM for dual channel because, by your description of what the computer will be used for, you will not need to upgrade to 16gb. 

 

Just my opinion though. 

The main reason is the possibility of 16 GB, because she plays 3-6 alt characters and has a dozen tabs open for forums and information, as well as things like her Skype for the group chats, so I'm thinking that it would be worth it, just because the difference between 1-2 channel isn't THAT much, and there's ONLY 2 channels on this mobo. If it were 4, I wouldn't think twice, but this is going to HOPEFULLY be her only computer for well over a decade... Maybe I'm just stupid, but I might go for dual channel if I find a substantial difference. I'll research further on the matter.

[TheDankKoosh]

This will get the job done at around 450$. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Z7qFbj

[Herman Mcpootis]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($39.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Avexir Core Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($41.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: ADATA Ultimate SU800 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Newegg) for slower boot times and much better responsiveness, your mom will love it. store OS here.
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($39.99 @ Amazon) get later if you can't handle rebates.
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini Video Card  ($138.99 @ SuperBiiz) an rx 470 is doable if you drop the ssd to 120gb, if you think your mom will need it.
Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Rosewill 550W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ Newegg) if you want a pc to last, might as well get a good psu. this should last well over 5 years.
Total: $500.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-07 19:17 EST-0500

[sam_fisher007]

Check out the SilverStone PT13B-120 Thin mini-itx case. Comes with a 120w external power brick.

 

Throw a ASRock Z170M-ITX/ac (which has intergrated wifi), 8gb of ram and an i5-6600 and compliment it with any asd of your choice and you have something very compact and capable for minecraft or runes cape. 

 

I used to play black ops on my laptop which has some i5 2.7gh dual core with integrated graphics. Worked well on 1080 at medium quality. That was not even a laptop meant for games.

 

 

[RagePoweredGamer]

I don't know who will see notifications about this update, but one HUGE thing is dust. Our house seems to be MUCH dustier than most, so any case that gives amazing filters and ease of cleaning would win for sure, even at a slightly higher price.

[RagePoweredGamer]

Thank all of you guys SO much for the help. I don't think I'm getting EXACTLY what any of these were, but I'm following almost all of the suggestions by going with a 1050ti, a core i3-6100 and a micro ATX board, and probably the Cooler Master Elite 342 with included power supply. Should be a HUGE upgrade from buying the $400 laptops from Best Buy every year or 2.