My son is 11 and wants to build a PC for gaming. He is only really playing Minecraft and I play Civ 5 on occasion. Our current desktop is one I bought from Woot around 2011, so you can imagine how slow it is running anything. Plus it has Windows 10 and can't upgrade to 11, so it is time to put it out to pasture. I'm not sure what he will do for PC gaming in the future, but wanted to build something that will last a little while.

I'm open to any suggestions as I haven't messed around with building a PC in a long time.

**CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor](LINK ) | $221.37 @ Amazon

**CPU Cooler** | [Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 Black 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler](LINK ) | $42.69 @ Amazon

**Motherboard** | [ASRock B850 Riptide WiFi ATX AM5 Motherboard](LINK ) | $212.99 @ Newegg

**Memory** | [G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory](LINK ) | $194.00 @ Amazon

**Storage** | [Samsung 990 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](LINK ) | $99.99 @ Amazon

**Video Card** | [Asus DUAL OC Radeon RX 7600 XT 16 GB Video Card](LINK ) | $598.00 @ Amazon

**Case** | [Lian Li LANCOOL 216 ATX Mid Tower Case](LINK ) | $110.29 @ Amazon

**Power Supply** | [Corsair RM1000x (2024) 1000 W Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](LINK ) | $189.99 @ Amazon

**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 11 Pro OEM - DVD 64-bit](LINK ) | $146.18 @ B&H

| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| **Total** | **$1815.50**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](LINK ) 2025-03-30 16:18 EDT-0400 |

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Posted by Joshjrn

Baton Rouge

Member since Dec 2008

29858 posts

Posted on 3/30/25 at 3:28 pm to LSUSUPERSTAR

Before I start making suggestions, are we at, above, or below your ideal price point? Trying to figure out whether alterations should be focussed on improving performance at the current price point or about maintaining performance at a lower price point.

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Posted by LSUSUPERSTAR

Member since Jan 2005

16649 posts

Posted on 3/30/25 at 4:25 pm to Joshjrn

That's a great question.

I was hoping to stay around $1200 or less but quickly learned the costs of components in 2025. I think $2k is a reasonable price especially since I'm including the OS. The only thing I don't have is a monitor, but I'll deal with that at a later date. This one will last us a long time based on previous usage unless my son gets really into PC gaming, but we can figure that out down the road.

I could get a pre-built system, but I think this will be a good project for us to build together.

So to answer your question, improving performance at the current price point would be the help I need.

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Posted by Joshjrn

Baton Rouge

Member since Dec 2008

29858 posts

Posted on 3/30/25 at 4:33 pm to LSUSUPERSTAR

Do you have a monitor in mind yet? Knowing whether we’re targeting 1080p, 1440p, 1440 ultrawide, or 4k would be helpful.

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Posted by LSUGent

Member since Jun 2011

2710 posts

Posted on 3/30/25 at 4:37 pm to LSUSUPERSTAR

$600 for 7600xt is insane. Do not buy that under any circumstances.

Also you don’t need 64gb of ram unless you use it for work related stuff like rendering 3d models or something. 32gb is plenty and should last you for years into the future.

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Posted by LSUSUPERSTAR

Member since Jan 2005

16649 posts

Posted on 3/30/25 at 4:50 pm to Joshjrn

Unfortunately I haven't started looking into monitors. My current monitor is a about a 19" Samsung SyncMaster 906BW, circa 2010.

I don't think I can go much bigger than 27" right now due to how the desk and hutch are shaped. Let's say we target 1440p.

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Posted by Carson123987

Middle Court at the Rec

Member since Jul 2011

67295 posts

Posted on 3/30/25 at 5:03 pm to LSUSUPERSTAR

I wouldn’t go any less than a 27” 1440p. You can get some really killer deals on monitor sales

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Posted by Joshjrn

Baton Rouge

Member since Dec 2008

29858 posts

Posted on 4/1/25 at 8:59 am to LSUSUPERSTAR

Over the last couple of days, I’ve started and stopped a suggested parts list multiple times. I’ve ultimately come to the conclusion that it’s impossible to suggest anything with so much uncertainty surrounding the GPU market. In my opinion, it simply needs to settle down before we can make any reasonable suggestions on build.

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Posted by el Gaucho

He/They

Member since Dec 2010

56719 posts

Posted on 4/1/25 at 9:19 am to LSUSUPERSTAR

quote:
My son is 11 and wants to build a PC for gaming.

Get him some weights or a home batting cage instead so he doesn’t become a neet

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Posted by LSUSUPERSTAR

Member since Jan 2005

16649 posts

Posted on 4/1/25 at 1:22 pm to el Gaucho

Thanks for the advice. Time to ditch the computer plan and give him a hoop and stick.

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Posted by LemmyLives

Texas

Member since Mar 2019

9948 posts

Posted on 4/2/25 at 7:29 am to LSUSUPERSTAR

Go at least one generation back on processor, mobo, and GPU. There's no need to go in on AM5 with a 9 series processor. For the games you're describing, my 5600X on AM4 with an RX580+ does just fine. And with a 1,200 budget, PC boyz "future proofing" kind of goes out the window anyway.

Look for deals on AM4 mobos and processors, and use Tom's GPU chart with legacy GPUs to understand what you're not missing. My RX580 (Bought in 2018) rates at about 60FPS for 1080P. You can always dump in another GPU in two or three years, again being at least one gen behind if you get desperate.

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