I want to set up a PC for my son, mainly for Minecraft. I recently upgraded my dad's computer and now have his older system available: an Intel i7-8700, 16GB of DDR4-2400 memory, and a GTX 1050 4GB. It also has a 120GB SSD and a 1TB hard drive. The system appears capable of running Windows 11. Is it worth spending money upgrading this machine, or would a budget AM4 processor and motherboard be a better long-term investment?
3 Answers
Assuming the game is installed on the SSD, I’d start with the existing hardware and see how it performs. A GTX 1050 can handle basic Minecraft, especially without demanding shaders. The 120GB SSD is pretty small, though, so replacing it with a larger SSD could make the computer more convenient if storage becomes an issue.
For Minecraft alone, the current system should be perfectly usable. The i7-8700 is still plenty capable, and 16GB of RAM is enough. I wouldn’t replace the CPU and motherboard just to play one game. If he later wants heavily modded Minecraft, shaders, or newer games, the graphics card would be the first thing to consider upgrading.
That makes sense. If I did upgrade the graphics card later, what would be a realistic option for this system?
The older platform isn’t a reason by itself to rebuild. If you find an inexpensive used graphics card, something around the GTX 1650, RX 580, or RTX 3050 class could provide a noticeable improvement, depending on the power supply and local prices. I’d avoid putting major money into it, though—use it as-is first and upgrade only when your son’s games actually need more performance. A budget AM4 build would also need a CPU, motherboard, and possibly memory, so it may cost more than expected for little benefit in Minecraft.
It currently has a 120GB SSD along with a 1TB hard drive, so I can use the SSD for Windows and Minecraft for now.