Budget gaming PC build for the kids

Aha, you're going after one of those RGB coolers, aren't you?

I'm guessing this one?

https://www.amazon.com/product-link-placeholder

wiredotter14 said:Oh, I guess you're looking at a cooler with RGB lighting, right?

So, I'm assuming this one?

And, yeah, like 😁

How much is this RAM actually better than what was suggested? Or is it basically the same thing but costs $100 more just because it glows?

Adam Williams2 said:Oh right, just like 😁

How much better is this memory than the other option? Or is it the exact same thing but costs $100 more just because it has RGB?

It's identical. It just costs $100 more because of the lights.

That’s a solid build

If I were you, I'd look at the used market...

You can find 4 or 6-core Xeon systems (Ivy Bridge) on eBay that run just as fast as Zen for maybe $400 more. All you'd really need is a GPU and eventually a drive, whether you go with an SSD or an HDD.
I’m suggesting Xeons because, unlike those old i7 chips, you actually have the option to swap in an 8-core or 10-core CPU later on if games ever decide they need that much muscle. Plus, Xeons are built to take a beating and should probably outlast the consumer stuff.

bluepuma9 said:I’d suggest going used...

You can find 4 or 6-core Xeon systems (Ivy Bridge) on eBay that run just as fast as Zen for maybe 400 USD more. All you'll need is a GPU and eventually a drive, whether it's an SSD or an HDD.
I say Xeon because, unlike those old i7 chips, you actually have the option to drop in an 8 or 10+ core CPU later if games ever actually demand that many cores. Plus, Xeons are built to last longer.

Good grief. 🤣🤣🤣 🤦🤦🤦

Are you talking about the LGA1356 platform where those Xeons sit under 3GHz and get crushed in gaming by any modern entry-level processor?

Not to mention the platform is unreliable, there's zero warranty, and basically no real upgrade path. And here we are, watching someone buy a pre-built from a retail store where they'll just have it assembled for them.

EDIT:

400 USD more?

That's getting pretty close to the price of a brand-new, modern platform with a full warranty and everything.

LGA 2011 V1 vs V3

Standard Ivy Bridge Xeons can hit 4 GHz+ on Turbo. Depending on which motherboard you grab, you can even push them via overclocking—hitting 4.5 GHz or just staying comfortably north of 4 GHz across all cores (specifically looking at those 8c/16T Ivy Bridge Xeons).

I’m not even entirely sure what makes these newer boards or platforms so much more "advanced" anyway. 🤷

For 1200 USD, I put together a 20c/40T rig with 128 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD. If I actually wanted to play games, the only thing missing is a modern GPU, though this Quadro will get me through 1080p just fine.

If I tried to go out and buy a brand-new system with comparable performance today, the price would be absolutely astronomical.

Yeah, because obviously you need 20 slow cores and 128GB of RAM just to play games... right? I guess he should also grab something way cheaper, since there's zero chance of upgrading to 7nm chips that would absolutely smoke any Sandy / Ivy HEDT CPU.

My 20 cores are performing slower per core than a brand new Ryzen 2700. If I feel like messing around, I could even overclock them, though there’s really no point.
Sure, 7nm will probably shave off some more time, but... right now, a single modern CPU with about 20 cores costs more than my entire rig combined. So... with that kind of cash, I could just grab a few high-end GPUs instead.😬

Buying new isn't worth it; the performance gains are tiny compared to the massive price jump. IMHO.

First off, when someone buys a pre-built rig with a warranty, they aren't looking to overclock or mess around, so that suggestion is useless.

Second, even if we play along with this hypothetical idea of mixing old workstation parts for gaming, we still end up with garbage.

Basically, the best overclocked Xeons hit maybe a 3.80 GHz boost, and that's on a 6-core setup.
Quad-core chips are pointless anyway.

You get similar results from a Ryzen 2600, which actually has the edge with better IPC and SMT.

Old Xeons might make sense for professional work if the price is right.
But they’re facing brutal competition from modern mainstream platforms (Ryzen 7, Intel i7/i9) that deliver performance comparable to a 10-core Xeon. In my view, the only reason to touch that generation is if you absolutely need more PCIe lanes or memory channels than what today's mainstream platforms offer.

Unless you specifically need all that extra bandwidth, just go with a Ryzen 7—or if you've got the cash, grab a Threadripper.

P.S.

You tossed that 400 USD figure out pretty casually. I'm genuinely curious: what kind of workstation can you actually get for 400 USD, and which specific CPU are you talking about?

So this guy decides he’s buying his kids a gaming rig, stumbles onto a Velociraptor, and suddenly he’s acting like some kind of hardware snob, bashing Xeons and trashing any setup that isn't rocking 128 GB of RAM. 🤣

Peter Green said:Some guy buys a PC for his kids to play games on, falls down a rabbit hole looking at Velociraptor, and suddenly he's yelling about Xeons and setups with 128 GB of RAM. 🤣

My initial thought was just grabbing a cheap, used LGA 2011 workstation and pairing it with a modern GPU—it’ll run just about any game fine, and you actually have an upgrade path. Better to take the money you save and dump it into a decent monitor or something useful. Plus, plenty of big sellers on eBay offer a 6 or 12-month warranty on those older machines.
Why blow a fortune on a high-end rig that doesn't actually give you an edge in performance? In gaming, the GPU is doing basically all the heavy lifting anyway.

wiredotter14 said:Basically, those high-end overclocked Xeons max out at around a 3.8GHz boost on 6-core chips.

You sure about that?

😁

http://valid.x86.fr/y3qye9

bluepuma9 said:My initial thought was maybe just grab a cheap second-hand LGA 2011 workstation and pair it with a newer graphics card—it’d probably run most games just fine, plus there's room to upgrade later. I guess you could take the money you save and put it toward a nicer monitor or something. A lot of the bigger shops on eBay even offer a 6 or 12-month warranty on those kinds of setups.
Why bother with a more expensive machine if it doesn't actually give you an edge in performance? I mean, when it comes to gaming, the GPU is pretty much the biggest factor anyway, right?

Even if that's the case, who's going to deal with shipping a whole tower across the country if, heaven forbid, something breaks? 😁

Adam Williams2 said:Even if you go that route, who’s going to ship a heavy PC case all the way across the country if something happens to break? 😁

That’s one way to look at it, sure. But think about this: when you're gaming, your GPU, monitor, and mouse/keyboard combo are what actually matter. In my opinion, it’s better to sink your cash into those rather than components that barely move the needle on performance.

As for the warranty situation, watch your step there too. Those small local shops that build custom rigs can be a total trap... even if they eventually honor the warranty, you usually end up losing a massive amount of time and sanity in the process.

bluepuma9 said:Are you actually positive about that?

😁

http://valid.x86.fr/y3qye9

Max Turbo Frequency 3.80 GHz

The issue with these professional platforms is that even if you manage to snag a decent deal on a CPU, the motherboards are outrageously overpriced. They’re usually used, lack any kind of warranty, and if one dies on you, you're basically screwed—you'll either never find a replacement or end up paying through the nose for a second-hand board with zero protection. It's a cycle we've seen play out over several generations now. It's as if the ratio of available CPUs to compatible boards has shifted to 10:1.😬

If you're looking at used gear for gaming, the only thing that makes sense is an older i7 or some Xeon equivalents.
But here’s the catch: finding a working motherboard usually makes it way too expensive. You end up with an i7 3770 and a board costing $500, when you could grab a Ryzen 2600 and a motherboard for $667—plus you actually get a warranty and everything.
Honestly, those 8-core Xeons are usually worse for gaming than a standard 4-core or 6-core chip from the same era anyway.

Old workstations are only worth it if you need them for pro work and you're broke.

bluepuma9, you should probably start a separate thread for this. This guy just wants a PC for his kids; he isn't going to mess around building a rig out of old enterprise parts, let alone trying to overclock them.

wiredotter14 said:Velociraptor, I guess it might be better to start a separate thread for that. This guy is just looking for a PC for his kids, so he probably won't be messing around with building old pro-grade parts, let alone trying to overclock them.

I've barely been able to keep up with everyone here, so I definitely don't have the energy to be matching parts or doing any fancy tricks.😁

I have to say though, you guys explain things really well. Nobody has even tried to kick me out yet, though maybe I'll end up bugging you all with some questions later on.😁 👍

Motherboards are incredibly delicate components, and frankly, I find it quite reckless to purchase used ones—especially when dealing with ancient, worn-out hardware that lacks any kind of warranty. Such parts can fail at any given moment without warning. When it comes to gaming, in most scenarios, a budget-friendly processor such as the Ryzen 5 1600X paired with just 8GB of entry-level RAM is more than sufficient. This approach allows one to focus the majority of the budget almost exclusively on a powerful graphics card and a high-quality monitor. In my opinion, it is a mistake that people nowadays so frequently chase after 144Hz refresh rates; when working with a limited budget, doing so often means sacrificing other aspects of the experience that are far more critical.