Build Gaming PC for 14yrs old

Hi,

I've gone through few other threads here related to building PC, but still have few specific questions for a PC that I would like to build. I'm trying to build a PC for my 14yrs old boy who plays "games" on the computer. I don't believe he's a hardcore gamer, but I'm sure he'll be in a year or so. Right now, I hear him say that he plays with Minecraft and few other games and would like to build a PC. I'm not in a hurry, so I would like to post question on this thread and hopefully get answers to build what would a nice PC for him.

This's my assumption based on the thread I've read in SD: The PC should have i7, Full form case for air flow, at least 8gb RAM and a decent Video Card.

Question 1: I've a case and power supply that I can repurpose for the new PC. The power supply sticker says it's a 400W by Ultra (Model# Ult-400p). Will that be sufficient for a PC that I'm envisioning?

Thanks


Last Update: 3/5/2013
This's what I've put together for the build so far:
Case -- Thermaltake Chaser MK-I (VN300M1W2N) Black SECC ATX Full Tower Computer Case [newegg.com]
Motherboard -- ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard [newegg.com]
Memory -- CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10 [newegg.com]
Hard Drive -- Western Digital WD VelociRaptor WD3000HLHX 300GB 10000 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive [newegg.com]
Monitor -- Asus VE248H Black 24" 2ms Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 250 cd/m2 10,000,000:1 [newegg.com]
CPU Cooler -- COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve [newegg.com]
DVD Burner -- ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM [newegg.com]


Update: 2/1/2013
Based on what I've and can be reused, I'll have to purchase:
1) Power Supply -- CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 600W [newegg.com] Got it for $28 AR/AC http://slickdeals.net/f/5831406-C...-99-AR-AC?
2) Case
3) Motherboard
4) CPU
5) Video Card
6) Memory

So, i'll continue to look for deals, since we'll build/put the PC together around end of June or early July.

NO NO NO the power supply will not work if you want to use a better video card and that will probably need a 500-600 watt quality power supply, depending on your son you may want to consider getting a case that has some flash to it if he is going to be showing it to his friends, a flashy case does not need to cost a lot but will look cool, make sure you check for shipping charges on a case or if you have a local microcenter.

There is a good chance you can go with a 3rd gen i5 processor and be fine too many games just don't use multiple cores.

Quote from komondor : NO NO NO the power supply will not work if you want to use a better video card and that will probably need a 500-600 watt quality power supply, depending on your son you may want to consider getting a case that has some flash to it if he is going to be showing it to his friends, a flashy case does not need to cost a lot but will look cool, make sure you check for shipping charges on a case or if you have a local microcenter. There is a good chance you can go with a 3rd gen i5 processor and be fine too many games just don't use multiple cores.

I agree about the PS. Quality is really important, although 600W is overkill for a single GPU system.

No need for a i7 CPU, especially Minecraft. An i5 would be a good middle point and save a few dollars. In general the GPU is most important in gaming. Games these days do have multicore support.

A budget here is important.

Thank you for such a quick responses... I live in MD, so we've Microcenter here... So, basically I've to get everything new .. Can something decent be built within $500? Thanks

well in trying to price it out I came in over 500 but it depends windows is going to cost you 100.00
so that brings the price down to 400.00 the processor is another 100-150 so you are down to 250 or so for everything else

thank you... i'll start looking around for deals.

Quote from ilikeallofu : Thank you for such a quick responses... I live in MD, so we've Microcenter here... So, basically I've to get everything new .. Can something decent be built within $500? Thanks

Do you also need a monitor? and other peripherals? the monitor itself can run up to $100 or more depending on size/quality. And the OS as someone said already.

I recently built a budget build for $200 and leftover parts that can run games like SC2 on medium settings (well that's what im assuming anyway from specs).

Camping slickdeals will definitely save you some money on whatever you buy, and if you go the i5/i7 route, microcenter will save you a ton on that (although the i7 will already be $200+).

HDD's can also run up the price some, a 1TB WD Black drive (the 'performance' one) can run around $80 or more by itself, cheaper for Seagate/Toshiba, etc. but you can always add a smaller SSD for $50-100 for boot/app drive to keep the system running faster as well and a regular hdd for storage/games.

Quote from LiquidRetro : I agree about the PS. Quality is really important, although 600W is overkill for a single GPU system. No need for a i7 CPU, especially Minecraft. An i5 would be a good middle point and save a few dollars. In general the GPU is most important in gaming. Games these days do have multicore support. A budget here is important.

Drop down to an i3 probably. Unless you're doing some serious virtualization or really, really, really need the extra two cores, an i5 isn't worth it.

re-purpose the case + dvd drive rather than the PSU, and like the others said, forget the i7 with a $500 budget - I would suggest dropping it down to an i3

get a keyboard that can be easily cleaned. No NetNanny porn filter is perfect.

Technology continues to evolve still more or less according to Moore's Law [wikipedia.org]
If you're anticipating a near future need or desire to have a more powerful system, you might want to tone down the specs you're looking for now a little (especially the video card). You/they can upgrade it in a year or two if needed. Basically if you don't need a super powerful computer yet, don't buy one yet.

Quote from ilikeallofu : thank you... i'll start looking around for deals.

This is probably the best power supply you can get for under $30: Corsair CX600 600W Power Supply ($28 after MIR)

Quote from deelseaker : This is probably the best power supply you can get for under $30: Corsair CX600 600W Power Supply ($28 after MIR)

Thank u very much... placed an order, just met the deadline for the rebate.

Quote from redmaxx : Drop down to an i3 probably. Unless you're doing some serious virtualization or really, really, really need the extra two cores, an i5 isn't worth it.

That or even an amd quad core could suffice (fx or phenom 2's).

Quote from deelseaker : This is probably the best power supply you can get for under $30: Corsair CX600 600W Power Supply ($28 after MIR)

Rock solid, affordable unit.