A very basic RIG for my 7 year old son

My son is now studying in class 3 under CBSE. As a part of his academic curriculum, the computer has been introduced and as usual he is after my laptop now. So I must give him a basic computer to perform his work as well as light weight gaming. Now I have an old 80 GB Hard disk at my stock and have a secondary 24 inch LCD TV with VGA input capability. I have sorted out the following using my limited knowledge--

1) A second hand INTEL CORE 2 DUO 2.33 / 4M / 1333 ( E6550 ) PROCESSOR from EBay

2) New cooler + heat sink ( Original Intel CPU Cooler FAN + Heatsink Socket LGA775 or Cooler Master, Brand New intel Pinless CPU Fan for socket 775, with heatsink) Confused between two, Is the original worth almost double the price compared to CM product?

3) New Gigabyte GA-G41MT-S2PT Motherboard from Flipkart

4) New Corsair DDR3 4 GB (1 x 4 GB) PC RAM (CMV4GX3M1A1333C9) from Flipkart

The total budget is coming around Rs(1500 cpu+ (600/400) cooler + 3900 MB + 2500 RAM)= Rs.8500/8300.
I am concentrating on MB-CPU-RAM only. I know socket 775 is EOL but any combination with socket 1155 pulling my budget to almost double ( Not interested in i3 as it is a Na Ghar ka na Ghat ka IMHO).
Kindly comment and suggest. I have no objection to AMD if the combination is better and within 1-2k (maximum) of this budget.

W

take a look at intel atom kit(processor+mobo combined in a single design,size less than an A4 size sheet,no need for cpu cooler).just add 2gb DDR3 laptop ram,hard disk(only sata),psu(even cheap 500-600 one will do fine) & you are good to go.

P.S.off topic but i wouldn't suggest having net access to a system meant solely for kids(or anyone under 18).if they want net access let them use it on your pc in front of you & teach them the do's & dont's of online world.also don't give in to their demands & get them too many or advanced games.simple bird shooting,puzzle solving,tetris type games are enough at this age.

Thank you. There is no question of net access as I am using wifi ADSL and the computer will be in another room. However the atom processor will not be able to play games (except the basic versions) as well as running windows 7 (they are being taught) very efficiently(We have a PS2, and Galaxy TAB, so he will not be satisfy with basic games). How about the following combinations on AMD platform @6.5K from FK?
1) Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2PT Motherboard
2) AMD Athlon II X2 270 Processor

It will be a all new one. Will it be better than core2 duo combination mentioned earlier?

W

you are correct about games but i have used windows 7 on an intel atom 1.6GHz system with 2 gb ram & it works fine.if you are going to buy a dual core processor then forget about AMD as no dual core from amd is a match for intel pentium G2xxx series.cheapest intel pentium dual core should cost ~3000 & will be much more powerful & power efficient than any amd dual core processor & intel core2duo.pair it with gigabyte H61 mobo(cost 3000-3800 depending on model) & it will be a good basic usage system even for adults.

Intel G2020 - @3.8k

Gigabyte H61 d2h @3.2k

This is much faster than any amd dual core and also core2 duo

ASHISH65 said:
Intel G2020 - @3.8k

Gigabyte H61 d2h @3.2k

This is much faster than any amd dual core and also core2 duo

+1 for this

Atom is too weak to handle even Google chrome(imo its meant for nas setups only)

Go for pentium blindly

whitestar_999 said:
you are correct about games but i have used windows 7 on an intel atom 1.6GHz system with 2 gb ram & it works fine.if you are going to buy a dual core processor then forget about AMD as no dual core from amd is a match for intel pentium G2xxx series.cheapest intel pentium dual core should cost ~3000 & will be much more powerful & power efficient than any amd dual core processor & intel core2duo.pair it with gigabyte H61 mobo(cost 3000-3800 depending on model) & it will be a good basic usage system even for adults.

How about this combination then

Gigabyte GA-H61M-D2H Motherboard

and
Intel G2010 Processor

I have never used the AMD Platform before. So a little bit hesitant about shifting from Intel.

@ Ashish-- Can you give the price reference because in Flipkart, they are charging much more.

bukaida said:
How about this combination then

Gigabyte GA-H61M-D2H Motherboard

and
Intel G2010 Processor

I have never used the AMD Platform before. So a little bit hesitant about shifting from Intel.

Go for it

bukaida said:
How about this combination then

Gigabyte GA-H61M-D2H Motherboard

and
Intel G2010 Processor

I have never used the AMD Platform before. So a little bit hesitant about shifting from Intel.

@ Ashish-- Can you give the price reference because in Flipkart, they are charging much more.

Flipkart is always overpriced.Local prices are much lesser than that

you can get products at lesser price at kolkata local stores like mdcomputers,vedant computers ..etc

Should I spend Rs.900 more and go for Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H Motherboard because in future if the price of i5/i7 comes down, I can go for easy upgrade without changing much? What do you suggest?
P.S- My DAD has agreed to pay 1/3 of the cost as the rig is for his grandson just now over the phone

. So I can stretch the budget 1-1.5k more.

@Ashish- Thank you so much. I think both of them are around GC Avn/Chandni. I used to purchase from Eastern Logica but it too became pricy now. Can you give the direction of your store (Nearest Land Mark)? How is RMA of Gigabyte in Kolkata?

W

if you can afford gigabyte B75M then it is the best option.btw i thought this rig was for a 7 year old.

whitestar_999 said:
if you can afford gigabyte B75M then it is the best option.btw i thought this rig was for a 7 year old.

It is for a 7 year old. I am trying to save the future cost

Get the B75 motherboard from Gigabyte as it offers better feature set also like USB 3.0 ports.

Cilus said:
Get the B75 motherboard from Gigabyte as it offers better feature set also like USB 3.0 ports.

Any idea about the price and availability at kolkata ?

bukaida said:
Any idea about the price and availability at kolkata ?

must be around 4.3-4.5k. ask in vedant computers

1 x HDMI Connector
2 x USB 3.0 Port
3 x SATA3 6Gb/s Connector
1 x S/PDIF-OUT Header (HTPC FUTURE USE)

add in a
ram 2.5k
case + psu(no name <450W ) 0.9-k

5+2.5+1=8.5k

y u no teach him unix???

avinandan012 said:
y u no teach him unix???

that for 7 year old kid!

ankush28 said:
that for 7 year old kid!

Yeah. That will be a bit too early

. Currently he is doing LOGO only.

The early you start it's better.

There are two aims for what I have said
1. aim is to teach "how to think in computers language"
2. aim is to get him "accustomed to coding" so by the time he gets to college he can convert his idea s to CODE.

of the STEM subjects only S and M are available to him. Encourage him to solve some simple math problems by using the PC.

Use "python" as language (cause it's relatively easy to learn & syntax s are some what open/loose), you need to actively participate in this.

By the way "DONT FORCE IT IF HE IS WEAK IN MATH". Then concentrate on his maths first.

avinandan012 said:
y u no teach him unix???

avinandan012 said:
The early you start it's better.

There are two aims for what I have said
1. aim is to teach "how to think in computers language"
2. aim is to get him "accustomed to coding" so by the time he gets to college he can convert his idea s to CODE.

of the STEM subjects only S and M are available to him. Encourage him to solve some simple math problems by using the PC.

Use "python" as language (cause it's relatively easy to learn & syntax s are some what open/loose), you need to actively participate in this.

By the way "DONT FORCE IT IF HE IS WEAK IN MATH". Then concentrate on his maths first.

You are correct but for this 12-14 will be more appropriate age.

bukaida said:
@Ashish- Thank you so much. I think both of them are around GC Avn/Chandni. I used to purchase from Eastern Logica but it too became pricy now. Can you give the direction of your store (Nearest Land Mark)? How is RMA of Gigabyte in Kolkata?

try Computer Media, 14/2 Old China Bazzar St. Ph 2210 1024 / 1025. Owners name is Kamesh Gupta and remember to haggle with him. I own a hardware business and he is one of my suppliers.

Thank you Sameer. I will certainly enquire with him.

S

bukaida said:
My son is now studying in class 3 under CBSE. As a part of his academic curriculum, the computer has been introduced and as usual he is after my laptop now. So I must give him a basic computer to perform his work as well as light weight gaming. Now I have an old 80 GB Hard disk at my stock and have a secondary 24 inch LCD TV with VGA input capability. I have sorted out the following using my limited knowledge--

1) A second hand INTEL CORE 2 DUO 2.33 / 4M / 1333 ( E6550 ) PROCESSOR from EBay

2) New cooler + heat sink ( Original Intel CPU Cooler FAN + Heatsink Socket LGA775 or Cooler Master, Brand New intel Pinless CPU Fan for socket 775, with heatsink) Confused between two, Is the original worth almost double the price compared to CM product?

3) New Gigabyte GA-G41MT-S2PT Motherboard from Flipkart

4) New Corsair DDR3 4 GB (1 x 4 GB) PC RAM (CMV4GX3M1A1333C9) from Flipkart

The total budget is coming around Rs(1500 cpu+ (600/400) cooler + 3900 MB + 2500 RAM)= Rs.8500/8300.
I am concentrating on MB-CPU-RAM only. I know socket 775 is EOL but any combination with socket 1155 pulling my budget to almost double ( Not interested in i3 as it is a Na Ghar ka na Ghat ka IMHO).
Kindly comment and suggest. I have no objection to AMD if the combination is better and within 1-2k (maximum) of this budget.

-----------

When you construct an entry level rig, like the one you are keen on, basic necessities will chew up a good chunk of the budget.

I'd typically be thinking of AMD’s top A10-series Trinity-based APU, a Socket FM2-equipped motherboard and there are some good ones from MSI, Biostar and Asrock available. Some of them have inbuilt sound and this will help you save on an additional sound card.

About 4 GB of RAM (find a dual-channel kit). Get yourself some least-expensive 3.5" hard drives like maybe WD's Blue-series. A reliable SMPS, 300 W should do, Make sure the SMPS you choose gives you reserves for a future mid-range graphics upgrade.

And of course get him an Internet security suite for sure