kids build - £600 budget. R5 1600 vs 3600

TrojanWhore · 24 Sep 2020 at 14:21

Hi guys,

A friend has asked me to put together a build for their kid's birthday next month (hence probably can't wait for anything launching soon!), I've not been able to get too much info from them and can't ask the kid any questions as it's a surprise. With this in mind I'm imagining minecraft/roblox/fortnite etc. as well as possibly wanting to stream/record gameplay in the future.
Also have been told the parents would like it to be flashy looking (with lights etc.). the budget is around £600, including a KB and mouse.

As such I'm thinking of going with the B450 Carbon (for the RGB elements as well as the built in Wi-Fi being useful!), either a 500GB or 1TB NVME (WD blue), 16GB RAM and a cheap tower cooler etc.

I can post a full spec later of what I'm considering, but the main thing I'm a bit stumped on is the CPU;
I'm currently borrowing an r5 1600 that I was using to test my second system (it appears the problem was a dead RAM stick!) and I think I could probably buy this second hand for this build, however I'm in two minds whether the extra for a (new) 3600(possibly X) would be worth it, or if I should go with the cheaper chip leaving a bit more budget for a better GPU (again possibly second hand).

Any input would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

Gray2233 · 24 Sep 2020 at 14:34

It could be worth waiting a couple of weeks, the new AMD CPU's are being announced shortly and fingers crossed we'll see a release soon after. While the new chips might be out of your price range there's a chance you could net a good deal on a second hand 3600 and maybe even a motherboard from someone upgrading.

For £600 your best bet is the second hand market in general tbh, especially given they want some RGB/bling and peripherals are needed.

I'd put a bundle request in on the Members Market section of the forum and see what people have to offer.

You are probably better off getting a new case unless you can pick one up locally, delivery costs alone usually make them a pain to source second hand. Something like the following (both are M-ATX) would be good while giving the required bling:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Aerocool Aero One Mini Eclipse ARGB Micro- ATX Case - Black Tempered Glass= £49.99
1 x Kolink Citadel Mesh RGB Micro-ATX Case - Black= £59.99

Total: £109.98 (includes shipping: £0.00)

SDK^ · 24 Sep 2020 at 16:32

For that budget you're spending a lot on the CPU - I would look at the 3300X leaving more for the GPU. Possibly an RTX 2060 or 1660 Ti/Super.

Also, on the KB and Mouse - Checkout PICTEK; they are very cheap, have all full RGB and great reviews. Saves spending hundreds on Steel Series, HyperX, etc...

Defy Belief · 26 Sep 2020 at 14:13

Fwiw I have a 1600 and cpu usage is about 35-45 percent when play i games like gears 5, metro etc, its more than enough. (1440p)

Gpu is a vega 56.

varkanoid · 26 Sep 2020 at 14:39

Just to give you an idea my kids are 8 and 10, play Fortnite, Roblox, Rocket League, watch and make their own Youtube gaming videos (with webcams etc) and my eldest has just started to edit his own Youtube videos.

Both are similiar specs.

i5 8500 in each PC (already had these)
16gb RAM in each PC (basic RAM no heatsinks already had this)
RTX 2060 (b grade) & GTX 1060 6gb (2nd hand)
ASUS Tuf Motherboard / ASUS Motherboard B grades
SSD Storage 256gb/512gb in each PC (already had these)
Acer 1080p 75mhz Gaming Monitors (new)
Gaming keybord/mice (new)
Fan Controllers
AIO Coolers

The CPU/RAM I got for nothing all the other bits I bought 2nd hand or new. eg cases were £15 and £19 b grade from OCUK my kids dont care about lights or RGB bling as
long as it plays the games okay.

Fortnite and Rocket League are both max settings, 75fps in Fortnite for the GTX 1060 and 70fps for the RTX 2060 with DLSS and Ray Tracing turned on in Fortnite.
They also play Star Wars Battlefront 1/2 both have max settings.

You dont need to spend the earth on components to get good gaming PC's for kids especially if you raid b grade/2nd hand stuff or what you have spare.

TrojanWhore said:
As such I'm thinking of going with the B450 Carbon (for the RGB elements as well as the built in Wi-Fi being useful!), either a 500GB or 1TB NVME (WD blue), 16GB RAM and a cheap tower cooler etc.

Forget WIFI its no good for streaming/gaming unless the parents can provide decent wifi in the kids room. My two were on gaming laptops to being with and kept moaning about "its glitching" etc in end I wired up the house further with ethernet. Then moved onto the desktop PC's above after the gaming laptops. I would also question why the parents want it flash looking which might save a few quid as like I said my kids just dont care.

This is my eldest's PC it just happened to come with the red fans, not bad for £15. Modded the front and added two fan grills as the air intake was via the bottom and was shocking. Both also have AIO pump/radiator coolers I picked up for £25 and the other I already had. The fan controller was one bought cheap for a tenner. All neat and tidy cable routing too inside.

TrojanWhore · 3 Oct 2020 at 03:01

Hi all, been crazy ill this week so got a bit dragged off this build, but thanks very much for all of your input, really helped

My friend I are working on the spec together, so taken a bit of back and forth. Spec we were given by the parents was focused on aesthetics and tbh the kid is turning 9 and has never had a PC before (and been told a PC is way to expensive and will no way be happening!), so I'm sure it's going to blow him away.

I managed to blag the R5 - tbh without it I odubt I'd fit a worthwhile GPU in at all, I think even now the top end will be around a 1660 (non-s).

Gray2233 said:
It could be worth waiting a couple of weeks, the new AMD CPU's are being announced shortly and fingers crossed we'll see a release soon after. While the new chips might be out of your price range there's a chance you could net a good deal on a second hand 3600 and maybe even a motherboard from someone upgrading.

For £600 your best bet is the second hand market in general tbh, especially given they want some RGB/bling and peripherals are needed.

I'd put a bundle request in on the Members Market section of the forum and see what people have to offer.

You are probably better off getting a new case unless you can pick one up locally, delivery costs alone usually make them a pain to source second hand. Something like the following (both are M-ATX) would be good while giving the required bling:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Aerocool Aero One Mini Eclipse ARGB Micro- ATX Case - Black Tempered Glass= £49.99

1 x Kolink Citadel Mesh RGB Micro-ATX Case - Black= £59.99

Total: £109.98 (includes shipping: £0.00)

Yeah it's a shame we don't have time to wait for the new CPUs (got under 2 weeks to build and finish now!)
Had been looking at a few of the Kolink models and sticking with ATX so 99% set on the void at this point (I know the front panel is a bit restrictive but will add a fan at least to help)

SDK^ said:
For that budget you're spending a lot on the CPU - I would look at the 3300X leaving more for the GPU. Possibly an RTX 2060 or 1660 Ti/Super.

Also, on the KB and Mouse - Checkout PICTEK; they are very cheap, have all full RGB and great reviews. Saves spending hundreds on Steel Series, HyperX, etc...

Yeah the 3600 was WAY too much for this budget, hoping the 1600 will scale well in a year or two with a further GPU upgrade if required.
Thanks for the nod on the PIKTEK stuff, looks great! There's also a 'Havit' branded set on there with mech KB and 4800dpi mouse for £32 which is tempting me, ever heard of them?

Defy Belief said:
Fwiw I have a 1600 and cpu usage is about 35-45 percent when play i games like gears 5, metro etc, its more than enough. (1440p)

Gpu is a vega 56.

Thanks for this feedback, definitely got the 1600 now and I'm sure it will be more than enough even if he gets in to recording some stuff/vid editing etc.
Had been thinking V56 as a second hand option, but with the timing it will be luck of the draw in the MM I think, gonna post a wanted thread and see what's about if I can't finalise GPU by tomorrow.

varkanoid said:
Just to give you an idea my kids are 8 and 10, play Fortnite, Roblox, Rocket League, watch and make their own Youtube gaming videos (with webcams etc) and my eldest has just started to edit his own Youtube videos.

Both are similiar specs.

i5 8500 in each PC (already had these)
16gb RAM in each PC (basic RAM no heatsinks already had this)
RTX 2060 (b grade) & GTX 1060 6gb (2nd hand)
ASUS Tuf Motherboard / ASUS Motherboard B grades
SSD Storage 256gb/512gb in each PC (already had these)
Acer 1080p 75mhz Gaming Monitors (new)
Gaming keybord/mice (new)
Fan Controllers
AIO Coolers

The CPU/RAM I got for nothing all the other bits I bought 2nd hand or new. eg cases were £15 and £19 b grade from OCUK my kids dont care about lights or RGB bling as
long as it plays the games okay.

Fortnite and Rocket League are both max settings, 75fps in Fortnite for the GTX 1060 and 70fps for the RTX 2060 with DLSS and Ray Tracing turned on in Fortnite.
They also play Star Wars Battlefront 1/2 both have max settings.

You don't need to spend the earth on components to get good gaming PC's for kids especially if you raid b grade/2nd hand stuff or what you have spare.

Forget WIFI its no good for streaming/gaming unless the parents can provide decent wifi in the kids room. My two were on gaming laptops to being with and kept moaning about "its glitching" etc in end I wired up the house further with ethernet. Then moved onto the desktop PC's above after the gaming laptops. I would also question why the parents want it flash looking which might save a few quid as like I said my kids just dont care.

This is my eldest's PC it just happened to come with the red fans, not bad for £15. Modded the front and added two fan grills as the air intake was via the bottom and was shocking. Both also have AIO pump/radiator coolers I picked up for £25 and the other I already had. The fan controller was one bought cheap for a tenner. All neat and tidy cable routing too inside.

Thanks for the spec/perf comparison, very helpful. 1600 looks to beat the i5 in MT but lag a little in ST, so hopefully OK in that regard. Really wish I could stretch to RTX, but I don't think I can swing it.

RE: WiFi, I really think my hands are tied here, I don't fancy negotiating with the mum to start drilling up her walls (but may mention it off hand to the dad

)
but the 450 Carbon looks pretty darn cool and fits the lighting bill so the extra won't be a total waste I hope.

Nice build your son has! If I get time I'll endevour to get some testing and half decent photos for anyone else working on something similar.

Thanks again everyone

varkanoid · 3 Oct 2020 at 16:18

With ref to wifi over ethernet I didnt think I would be able to go from dining room via hall to lounge (3 rooms) but with a bit of thought and some flat ethernet cable. I went from Dining room behind the sideboard (hidden) into the understairs cupboard, then from there followed either the skirting board and door frame. So when I had a doorway to navigate just tacked it round the door frame. Did this all the way into the lounge to behind the TV.

Upstairs was a bit of a trek though. Decided easiest route was to go outside using existing TV aerial cable hole, then up around front door into porch canopy which was hollow. Drill through sons bedroom wall into canopy. Then into his walk in cupboard, install a switch (power from loft) then up into loft for our "Computer Office" and down through sealing. Son 1 had the switch in his cupboard so route ethernet to his desk via skirting board. Then 2nd son across loft and down into his wardrobe then along back of his high bed to his PC.

If you have a bit of thought you can often find a solution. I understand in this situation its not possible as its not your house !

I originally tried Powerline Connectors but they are not very reliable for me due to my electric rings being seperate. IE I cant have one downstairs and the other upstairs as the two rings are not joined. This is another option you could try.