Need HELP to Build Gaming Sys for Minecraft, Steam, YouTube. Clueless MUM Here! Minimum $3K Budget

Lsonicheez on 20/07/2021 - 19:12
Last edited 20/07/2021 - 20:04 by 1 other user

Hi there

My son 12, is CRAZY about Minecraft. Has been for years. Has his own YouTube Channel, does those tutorials. He also plays City Skyline which I think is a Steam Game.

He does have an average Dell laptop where he plays on and also for school work. But he has been telling me that the thing is laggy especially when he's doing modding on Minecraft.

So I've agreed to get him a new Gaming system. of course I want to keep the budget down, but I've realised that I would need to spend a minimum of $3K for something decent.

Been to all major sites (I am from a small rural town in NSW with only 1 small PC shop). All sites have pre-built and option to build.

When I look a pre-built, I notice that some parts used would be the lower end/parts with not-so-great reviews.

And when I start building, I have no way of knowing what I am building - does it even go together? When I email the sites - they seem to want to push me to buy ..

This is what I have put together so far, but I am not sure if I am being excessive OR do I even need all of this?

1 x AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 4.70GHZ 8 Cores 16 Threads AM4 Desktop Processor
1 x Asus ROG STRIX B550-E Gaming AM4 ATX Motherboard
1 x Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro SL 16GB (2x8GB) 3600MHz CL18 DDR4 Desktop RAM
1 x Samsung 970 EVO 1TB NVMe 1.3 M.2 (2280) 3D V-NAND SSD
1 x Seagate FireCuda 510 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD - ZP1000GM30011
1 x MSI MPG Gungnir 110R Tempered Glass Mid-Tower ATX Case
1 x Thermaltake Lumi Colour 12 LED Strip - Blue
1 x Corsair SF750 750W 80 PLUS Platinum Fully Modular SFX Power Supply
1 x ASUS DRW-24D5MT Black SATA DVD Burner
1 x PC Assembly Labour
1 x Asus TUF Gaming LC 240 RGB Liquid CPU Cooler
1 x ASUS PCE-AC58BT Wireless-AC1200 PCIE Adapter
1 x Asus GeForce RTX3070 Ti TUF Gaming OC 8GB GDDR6 Graphics Card
1 x Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-Bit OEM With DVD - English

can someone please help and tell me if the above is good or bad or ugly? do I need to change some things around? will the above be able to connect to my home wifi? will the above have sound? or I even NEED all of the above?

Also - Do I need additional fans? or do the liquid cooler act as a fan?

We are both clueless and I don't want to be stuck with something that needs upgrading every 6 months…Please…and thanks you.

Computing Computer Desktop Computer

Comments

  • ozhunter on 20/07/2021 - 19:16
    +16

    That's overkill for minecraft.

    • copperzincminer on 20/07/2021 - 19:43

      Helpful question, does the one local PC shop have an option to assemble from components? (parts purchased elsewhere)

      • sonicheez on 21/07/2021 - 09:16

        No, they have their own prebuilt systems, so its more of a take it or leave it scenario I'm afraid.

    • Mokr on 20/07/2021 - 20:28

      But not 3d 8k cornhub

  • currentfad on 20/07/2021 - 19:16
    +9

    Jesus..since when did a computer running Minecraft cost MINIMUM 3k to build..?

    Does he want a laptop or a desktop? A desktop will require investment in a monitor and peripherals.

    What resolution are you going/planning to play in?

  • PiratePete1911 on 20/07/2021 - 19:31
    +5

    Did you choose all of this stuff yourself or is this a prebuilt?

    That power supply is a small form factor one and that case takes a full size. You can use a site like pcpartpicker.com and put all your components in and it will tell you if anything doesnt fit.

    That PC is nice and way overkill for playing even modded minecraft, its probably better than what 90% of the people on this site have.

    If you picked this list yourself I am happy to give advice on what should change if you like.

    If you have a particular site you want to buy from let me know and I can choose things that they sell.

    • sonicheez on 21/07/2021 - 09:21

      I chose myself based on my own Google-ing. I have 0 knowledge on PC let alone gaming, and just have been going off reviews online. Seems to me that everything has a different terminology and is really making me go nuts. Of course I don't want to spend this much. At the same time, I don't know how much I should spend without having to upgrade in a year maybe (which will be another dilemma for us)

      Yes, pretty please would appreciate advice.

      I have no preference sites. The above list I got off my random build at centrecom.com.au Only reason for going on this site was that it seems the most friendly site for a clueless person.

      Thanks for you help

      • Roystar4life on 21/07/2021 - 19:30

        Ozbargain also have some great deals for Desktops that are prebuilt and are set at very good prices. Like Techfast is a pretty trusty name around here

  • CrispyChrispy on 20/07/2021 - 20:37

    Like everyone else has said, you don't need a system worth 3K to play minecraft. I get by with a $200 laptop, it's not a resource intensive game to run. You can easily run the game with a system that costs a fraction of the price, say a gaming laptop priced around $1200.

  • Broke-Ken on 20/07/2021 - 20:40
    +1

    As others have said, its over kill, but you could say you're future proofing by getting these specs.

    A couple of things I noticed in your list though:

    1 x ASUS DRW-24D5MT Black SATA DVD Burner

    Most cases theses days don't even have a spot for the disc drive, does he need a dvd burner?

    1 x ASUS PCE-AC58BT Wireless-AC1200 PCIE Adapter

    The motherboard already has wifi capabilities, no need for this too.

  • deme on 20/07/2021 - 20:46
    +1

    This is a troll.

    Wtf is minimum budget?

    That's a minimum spend.

    You can run Minecraft fine on a raspberry pi.

    • sonicheez on 21/07/2021 - 09:23
      +2

      You don't know me so you can't judge me.

      NOT a troll.

      I felt I can only get a decent system for 3K. This is based on my limited knowledge on gaming/pc.

  • Succulent on 20/07/2021 - 20:48
    +4

    He is one lucky son to have a mum who is willing to spend at least $3k for his hobbies.

    • onetwothreefour on 21/07/2021 - 07:46

      He/she must be raking in the money from his YouTube channel.

      • sonicheez on 21/07/2021 - 09:24
        +2

        Not yet. I am just a mum who has her finances in order.

  • Roystar4life on 20/07/2021 - 21:01
    +3

    As said above its a bit overkill for Minecraft, Personally i would drop the Seagate NVME and swap it for a HDD for more storage space.

  • foobat on 20/07/2021 - 22:16
    +1

    Just make sure that before you start building you have a Swiss Army knife that hopefully has a Phillips head screwdriver in it.

  • bmerigan on 20/07/2021 - 22:25
    +2

    Your budget is very very high. Aim for 2k. You're not even getting a monitor.

    You most definitely do not need liquid cooling. The CPU will come with a cooler in the box.

    You do not need 2 SSDs. And if you did for some reason then you wouldn't get 2 different brands. That's strange.

    You don't need an ROG motherboard. I've built a number of computers and have never gained value from buying a premium motherboard.

    You're always better off plugging in a desktop computer than running on wifi, so leaving out the wifi card and if necessary wiring the room would be of benefit but up to you.

    CL18 memory is pretty slow, the number refers to how long it takes to do something (simplified explanation). Mine is CL9. Don't get sucked in by 'gaming' labels.

  • nomoneynoproblems on 20/07/2021 - 23:34
    +1

    Hi Mum. First off your kid is very lucky.

    You have some good questions.

    Like everyone is saying above, its overkill for Minecraft let alone a 12 year old. There are few things you could change around and yes it will connect to your home wifi and yes it will have sound. (permitted you have speakers or a headset) Need is a strong word here as there are so many ways you can skin a cat. You won't need more fans and yes the liquid cooler will keep the CPU cool but you really could do without it unless your kid has watching youtubers with all the pretty RGB lights that typically come with a liquid cooler. At its current build you will be set for years to come.

    Like the mechanics, PC shops love a clueless customer! Start off with your budget. You've said this is your minimum spend. Does this mean the sky is the limit?

    • sonicheez on 21/07/2021 - 09:28

      HI there

      I had initially wanted to spend 3K max on. the system alone. But the more I searched online, the more it seemed hard (in my head ). As I kept reading all reviews of systems around the 2K mark. How people have to swap around parts. I dont know how to do that. I dont know PC or gaming. Then I figured, if I need to spend 3K for something which will work for next 3/4 years - without me having to open it for anything - then yes, for that peace of mind I would. :(

      • nomoneynoproblems on 21/07/2021 - 10:07
        +3

        Ok that makes sense. In all honesty to take the hassle out of all this just buy a prebuilt and don’t stress about building a machine. I’d go with something like this knowing your kid can grow into it and that you’ve set a decent chunk of change for something with a bit of performance. https://www.bpctech.com.au/kp-fenrirgaming-kraken-power-fenr…

        Select the additional 1tb if you think he needs more space and select the windows 10 license. Spend an extra $200-250 on a monitor and $100 for a keyboard mouse set and you’re good to go. And yes this will connect to the home wifi.

  • KaTst3R on 21/07/2021 - 01:16
    -3

    You are very supportive mum. Im surprised you say you are clueless but in fact listed out the key components correctly. Some stuff like DVD drive are unneccessary but you will only know through years of experience as a PC user.

    I would take out the liquid cooler, dvd drive and wifi adaptor.

    The rest of the parts are premium but nothing stops you from getting something better for the kid if your budget allows it.

    I have to disagree with the others who discourage you to get more premium stuff. Sometimes as Youtubers/Streamers, the type of gear used also give a certain perception that the person is serious about gaming or the type of channel he is running. The gear doesnt get him more kills, but its all about marketing. You wouldnt see a Youtube car reviewer rocking around in a Toyota Corolla in his private time right.

    • sonicheez on 21/07/2021 - 09:25

      The above list was from my built as centre com.com.au. Only went to this site as it seems friendly to someone who has no clue of what they are doing. So yet, it was a case of Radom Googling - reading reviews and adding things to cart. Sigh

  • cre8t1v3yoozername on 21/07/2021 - 16:23
    +1

    The case doesn't support DVD drives
    Heck, I don't know of any modern "gaming" case that has a 5.25 inch bay

  • flyingfridge on 22/07/2021 - 12:18
    +1

    You can run Minecraft on a low end budget pc, but you'll need a $3K+ rig to get crispy textures like these - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFldP4tbdDE

    It's a bit overkill for a 12 yr old and completely optional - but you do need high end parts if you want Minecraft at the highest possible settings

    EDIT: OP any of the prebuild PC deals on Ozbargain will be able to play Minecraft - just make sure you include monitor/KB+Mouse etc in the total budget

    Eg https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/637713

  • [Deactivated] on 24/07/2021 - 19:10

    Used old intel 4th gen with a graphics card will prob do. Cir $400.

  • EshaySlayer on 25/07/2021 - 16:41
    +2

    I actually think that you're on the right track with that build. Your son is 12 and mainly plays Minecraft and Cities Skylines (so not very GPU-intensive) but you want to future-proof your PCs. Eventually, your son will play other games, which will most likely be the newest and most demanding games, or even esports titles which need high frame rates. You should go for $1000 to 2500 AUD for the PC alone, and the rest for peripherals such as a monitor or mouse etc. If you are building a customized PC then you are correct, in the current market, you will have to spend a fair amount ($3000+) for a future proof setup.

    There are two avenues you can go about this:

    Prebuilt: Given the current global chip shortages, lack of GPU stock and high GPU prices, prebuilts are currently the best for value. Look for prebuilts in other states or major sites, rather than local ones. There are a few good prebuilts occasionally popping up on ozbargain as well, which are well worth it for the price.

    This is a good one for the price, and will play minecraft well. Other demanding games, not so much:
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/634844

    Customized PC, which you've already done, with a few minor adjustments:
    - The 3070 Ti is a bad choice and simply not worth it for the price. Consider getting a 3060, 3060Ti or 3070. There are also the new AMD equivalents which perform well (RX 6700XT). Also look at last-gen GPUs, they are cheaper and can hold up well, e.g. looking on several sites you will see that the 2060 goes for less than the 1660 Super, despite the 2060 being better (+16%, source: UserBenchmark).
    - 32GB of 3600MHZ ram. Though most people will say 16GB of ram is enough for gaming, and it is, with your budget you may as well go for the 32GB of RAM and it will also help in the future if your son decides to stream or record.
    - Asus ROG STRIX B550-E Gaming AM4 ATX Motherboard, your chosen motherboard, if my memory serves me correctly, has onboard Wifi 6, therefore there is no need for a WiFi adapter. If your PC is close enough to the modem/router whereby it can be connected with an Ethernet cable, or can be connected by ethernet through the wall, then you don't need WiFi or a WiFi adapter. Always choose ethernet over WIFI when possible. If you are far away, then you must use WiFi.
    - DVD Drive, chances are, your son will purchase games online and will continue to do so in the future. There is really no need for a disk drive to install games or listen to music since everything is on the internet and can simply be streamed and downloaded. So don't get one, it's a waste of money.
    - The best air coolers have the same cooling potential and power as most 240mm All In One Water Coolers. Air coolers are safer, there are no chances of a leak which will damage your components. Water cooling can be efficient and aesthetically pleasing, though like i said before, there is always a risk of pump failure and leakage. It's entirely up to you, you should note that leakages are extremely rare and are unlikely to happen.

    But yes, if you buy that setup you can connect to your home WiFi, and there will be sound from the system.

    I have made a revised list of parts below that takes in everything I said, is future proof and not too overkill with a clean, minimal aesthetic with airflow and performance in mind, hope it helps. This setup will last more than 5 years and your son won't bother you about it for a while.

    https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/9BKX8J

    Main changes:
    5800X to a 5600X. A 5600X will be perfect at every game your son plays; it is also good for esports titles in particular and streaming/multitasking/multicore tasks since its AMD.
    Corsair H150i - high end corsair cooler with controllable RGB and a 360mm radiator (better than 240mm and 120mm radiators in that it is more effective at dissipating heat).
    Motherboard: Might need to be BIOS flashed, but since they are building the PC for you, it should be fine.
    16GB RAM to Corsair 32GB RAM —> Benefits stated above, high ram speed is good for Ryzen, more RAM means your son can do other tasks besides gaming such as streaming and video editing. Controllable RGB on the ram sticks, dual channel.
    1TB NVME - same as before, your son is unlikely to use all this up playing Minecraft and Cities Skylines. There is a 2TB HDD for extra storage if needed.
    RTX 3070 - this model has 3 fans for better cooling performance. The 3070 is roughly the same performance as last gen 2080Ti. Essentially, it will run any game, even at the highest settings possible (raytracing on minecraft) with ease. Futureproof as well.
    Corsair 4000D case —> White theme that is aesthetically pleasing and has powerful airflow. Will keep the system running cool.
    Corsair 120mm FANS 3-Pack, the fans will provide high-perfomance cooling and promote strong airflow which, along with the case will make your system extremely well performing in terms of thermals/cooling. It has controllable RGB via iCUE. Note how many of the components with RGB are Corsair, which means you can simply download the one corsair software to control all of them (RGB, other settings).

    The system above goes for $3000 roughly for the PC alone, and $1000 in peripherals.
    This includes:
    - Asus 280HZ 1ms monitor, a tad bit overkill but perfect for esports. Games like Minecraft are run at very high refresh rates, especially with a PC powerful as this and i think a 280hz monitor will be suitable as such. Feel free to go lower, maybe a 144hz or 240hz will suffice, or you can consider going to 1440P as the specs can also run that resolution well.
    - Corsair K55 Keyboard —> Cheap but decently performing keyboard. It's not dirt cheap but not excessively overkill either.
    - Glorious PC Gaming Race Model O Wireless Optical Mouse - An extremely light, wireless mouse, also good for esports.
    - Corsair VOID RGB ELITE 7.1 Channel Headset - Another decent, mid-end headset which will perform well.

    All in all, it goes for a total of $4000 for the whole setup.

    • sonicheez on 25/07/2021 - 19:52

      Hi EshaySlayer

      Thank you. THANK YOU so much. Thank you for not judging and thank you for understanding my predicament. I have made adjustments based on your advice and don't feel like I'm stabbing in the dark anymore. Phew! Future-proofing for 5 years sounds amazing and by that time, he would already have a part-time job and can upgrade/buy new with his hard earned money :)

      • EshaySlayer on 25/07/2021 - 21:22

        You're welcome, glad I could help :D.

  • bmxr on 25/07/2021 - 20:09
    +1

    Set a budget for your kid and let him source the rig himself?

    We did this with our 4 family PCs growing up and it was great.

    Parents that didn't know much about PCs deferred to me as I had the time to do the research and would be the primary user.

    I worked within the budget, read all the reviews, looked at what was coming out soon and what would be future-proofed for future rigs, sourced the parts and for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th builds, built it myself.

    It was win-win!

    But oh dear that Intel 386DX33 got thrashed running co-op Doom over a 14.4k baud modem connection.

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