Is this a decent option for a teenager?

ptyloch · 09-12-2023 5:49pm #1

Hi All,

8 years ago you lot helped me build my first serious PC and it has been working so far, although it seems to have reached and end of it's usable life.

My 13 year old son has been using it for the past few years for Fortnite, Minecraft and similar games but he wants a new PC as the old one is lagging.

Is this PC from Adverts a decent choice? Will it last him another few years? I don't have a massive budget and with Xmas just around the corner I think I'd rather buy something straight out of the box. Otherwise maybe someone here has a good alternative for sale in the general Limerick area?

https://www.adverts.ie/desktops/ryzen-gaming-pc/31616569

minitrue · 09-12-2023 10:48pm

It's really not great, that's might as well be a 7.5 year old graphics card and while it was a good value choice back then it wasn't high end. AMD have just recently announced they have basically stopped developing drivers for it (emergency/essential stuff only) so I wouldn't like to say it would last another few years really (not that fortnite/minecraft/similar are tooo taxing) or recommend buying one now. The cpu might be just about ok but the total price of the system doesn't make it look all that tempting to me.

Posting the specs of your 8 year old PC would help people judge if that's really any better. It's also possible a cheap upgrade or two and a fresh install of windows might breathe a worthwhile bit of life into it.

To be fair to the seller "new" options in that price range aren't easy, but now I see they admit the graphics card isn't new anyway so good chance it's a card that was used 24/7 for crypto mining for enough years that I'd be even more wary about the deal.

ptyloch · 10-12-2023 1:14pm

Here are the specs:

Intel Core i5 4460 4x 3.20GHz So.1150

Corsair CX430M

ASRock H97 Pro4 Intel H97 So.1150 Dual Channel DDR3 ATX Retail

16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3-1600 DIMM CL9 Dual Kit

NVIDIA GTX 750 TI

I also bought a GTX 770 later but there wasn't enough power in the Corsair to run it (still have it on the shelf)

There is a 120 GB SSD for the system and a 250 GB SSD and a 500 GB HDD for storage.

LambshankRedemption · 10-12-2023 1:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121478320#Comment_121478320

You'd be relpacing like with like.If I was you, I'd upgrade the PSU so it can power the new graphics card you bought and add that.

ptyloch · 10-12-2023 1:26pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121478336#Comment_121478336

Thanks a lot!

I found a I7 4790 in CEX for 40 euro or I7 4790k for 75, would it make sense to swap out the I5 for any of them?

ptyloch · 10-12-2023 1:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121478336#Comment_121478336

Would a Corsair CX650 be enough?

LambshankRedemption · 10-12-2023 1:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121478359#Comment_121478359

Its pretty decent and quite affordable. The only way to answer the question is what is the wattage of the graphics card?

10-12-2023 1:41pm

Personally I would go up a grade to a Corsair RM850e, more expensive but it will serve its purpose well, but maybe beyond your budget and a bit less power would fit your purpose.

ptyloch · 10-12-2023 1:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121478380#Comment_121478380

The card is supposed to draw 230W, on the box it says minimum wattage for a system to be 500W

10-12-2023 1:46pm

https://www.memoryc.com/39283-corsair-rm850-850w-atx-fully-modular-power-supply-white.html?fc=IE&gad_source=1

You are talking this sort of price, the item is highly rated and should be a very satisfactory choice going forward over the next several years.

ptyloch · 10-12-2023 1:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121478419#Comment_121478419

Would this RM850e from Amazon be the same?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BYKT9SNJ/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

Spear · 10-12-2023 2:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121478440#Comment_121478440

e means the economy variant, so cheaper capacitors and fans and much less connectors.

Once you've arranged a PSU, PM me a postal address, and I'll send you a GTX 980 instead. It's nearly twice the power of a GTX 770.

10-12-2023 2:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121478440#Comment_121478440

Yes it would.

Word of caution 😉, I’m the type of person that likes future-proofing & redundancy in my systems.

ptyloch · 10-12-2023 3:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121478470#Comment_121478470

I went with the economy model, should last long enough.

10-12-2023 3:16pm

Hopefully it will certainly last until it becomes redundant. I remember building my pc, and inevitably in the sum of all things there is inevitably some overkill / redundancy. Impossible to get everything just aligned perfectly in capacity. 😀

Is this a decent option for a teenager?

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