WoW - thank you all for your help and advice! it is totally a mind field and if he had bit more knowledge I’m sure he’d have a big say in what we’re looking at!
I’m going to read through all the tech stuff again… lol 
Hi Spinrek999,
It’s really thoughtful of you to encourage the young ones to get into the creative scene.
I’m having a blast creating with my first title using Unreal Engine 4 as it is so easy to use and there a lot of YouTube tutorials out there.
Contrary to belief, you do not need an expensive computer to get started as I have upgraded mine over time.
PSU: 600 Watt @ <$50USD
(Powers up to a GTX Titan as UE4 does not support multi GPU setup)
MOBO: Z170 @<$100USD
(M.2 Slot as UE4 can load and save in a fraction of time versus SSD or HDD.)
CPU: i5 6500 <$200USD
(Includes the heat sink fan and 1 Teraflops Intel HD530 integrated graphics out of the box.)
(i5 has 2 Cores and 4 Threads is almost the same as the i7 with 4 Cores and 4 Threads, but 50% cheaper.)
(I find that unless there is video editing involved, you don’t need a fast CPU at all as UE4 relies mostly on a fast GPU.)
RAM: 8GB <$50USD
(More ram later for less crashing of memory hungry applications like UE4, Blender, and etc.)
(In my opinion, 8GB is baseline, 16GB is too little or just enough, and 32GB is just perfect and don’t need any more.)
Drive: SSD <$100USD
(Project files and UE4 only take up about 1GB and 15GB respectively, but you do want to get the most GB per $.)
(Samsung 950 Pro and 960 Evo/Pro are the fastest and will reduce waiting time by over 400% or more, but very expensive.)
GPU: None
(Yes, I used a 4K monitor to run this setup too, and eventually settled for a 6.5 Teraflops GTX 1070, but other people may vary.)
(As a benchmark for other people, the Nov 2014 PS4 runs on 1Teraflops, and the Sep 2016 PS4 Pro runs on 4Teraflops.)
(If you’re developing a small project like for mobile or console than integrated is just fine.)
(If you decide to step it up to AAA console or desktop enthusiast tier, then get the best such as the RX290 or 1080Ti and save.)
*Lastly, for those who don’t know, you can run a computer out of the cardboard box that came with the motherboard.
To power it on, you can use any metal object to create the AC bridge between plus and negative pins like the IT technicians do it.
Saves me $100 USD every time I build a new computer by omitting the case altogether.
Not recommended for those who are careless or oblivious around exposed electronics.
i know its cheap and refurbished but would this do him? I’m going to see the laptop build guy later as I’ve tried the pc build sites and still get confused!! lol! I’m not sure if i need ssd/hsdd or whatever - you guys have such a better grasp of it than me! lol!
or this one? I’m trying to figure out all the different types of graphics cards xx
This one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-GTX-750-Certified-Refurbished/dp/B00TG06LP8/ref=sr_1_16?s=electronics&srs=8362590031&ie=UTF8&qid=1481539122&sr=1-16 would have been good value for money and would get the job done. but sadly, the form factor means upgrading it is gonna be very cumbersome. upgrading the RAM isn’t a problem, but if your son wants to upgrade the video card which would be necessary for working on larger projects, you will be limited to half size graphics cards which are both rarer and less powerful. a few months back my main rig with a GTX 1080 had its motherboard die which forced me to fall back to my secondary rig with a GTX 750 ti. UE4 ran well, but i did miss my 1080. then again, i’m very demanding when it comes to graphical performance.
the second one https://www.amazon.co.uk/CCL-Storm-200-Gaming-PC/dp/B01MTP37ED/ref=pd_sbs_147_8?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=YEWJEKXC1HA93BTN9684&th=1 looks more interesting. the model £479 model you linked to lacks a discrete graphics card. i recommend you buy a GTX 1050 ti to go with it like this one https://www.amazon.co.uk/Palit-GeForce-1050Ti-StormX-Graphics/dp/B01M2ZC61B/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1481542212&sr=1-1&keywords=1050+ti, that inbuilt gpu is kinda ****. that should put you back about £600, but i strongly believe it’s worth it
believe in your kid !
I would give him this test, mainly to determine his level of dedication but also his ability to find information online:
List the essential parts for three different desktop builds for UE4, at approximately $600, $800 and $1000. (External components like screen and mouse not included.)
Post them here and we can tell you if they are reasonable enough. If it is to difficult or time consuming for him, UE4 will probably be too much.
Excellent idea this is ^
At 12 I doubt he will ‘‘make a project’’, let alone a ‘‘larger project’’… And he would have to learn to model, texture, animate, program, etc. to make a full project. My guess is that he’ll just use the engine as a sandbox experimentation tool. I think a 750ti gfx card would be enough for a while in that case!
for a while perhaps, but as a long time investment, limiting yourself to a half size graphics card can become a serious pain.
Agreed, you don’t buy a computer for a year or two, but for five or sometimes more.
[QUOTE=]
Intel GPU is just not good enough intel gpu’s will not work. I have tried my self on a intel q43/45 and I got like 2fps it was poop.
I use one and if you want to do stuff like 2d games or very simple 3d then a nvidia gt 610 (you can pick one up for around £30-£40 ) is good but not for big fancy 3d stuff.
[QUOTE=willardorwud;637813]
Last time I used onboard graphics was about 3 years ago and it didn’t give me any trouble for most games. Of course it was integrated with an I7 processor which probably helped. However, in those 3 years things probably have changed quite a bit. Sorry for the bad recommendation. I thought maybe it could be a way for the original poster (OP) to save some money. To the OP, please DISREGARD the recommendation.
sorry you must think it’s a onboard gpu it’s a card I use the nvidia gt 610 (you can pick one up for like £30-£40 ) and it’s fine for 2d but I did have a hard time fitting it but my pc’s a sff pc
Whenever i see a dad trying to make his kids dreams come true, i feel the urge to help !
If i were you i would skip UE4 altogether and the cost of building a powerful rig. Forget about minimum requirements. After a while and as the project grows, even the best cpu starts to cry for mercy!
Instead i would buy a licence for Construct 2 (99$ i think) -after trying out the free version first- and spend 200-300$ for a really nice windows 10 tablet (10 inch +)with a keyboard. It is more than capable of running the software, you can hook it up to a tv or monitor and the most important of all he can take it with him and learn wherever he is.
It uses a visual scripting method that resembles Java and he can create awesome stuff with it. If after a year he still cares about creating games then go ahead and sell your car for his next desktop
Just my 2 cents.
Cheers.
He’s right ue4 is very complex I’m 15 and I find it hard in some vital areas
Also gamemaker is good it’s for 2d it has a code language called gamemaker script it’s quite easy to use you can do 3d but it’s complex and hard
thanks - someone else has recommended this too! its actually a minefield of info out there (and I’m happy on my mac cos I know how it works - i just turn it on! lol! I’m not claiming to know anything!!!)
I don’t have any advice that others here haven’t already provided, but I think it’s really cool to see a parent helping to support their kid’s interest like this. I hope your son enjoys working with UE4 (or whatever development application you choose) and gets some good experience, regardless of the outcome.
Cheers
I also think GameMaker is a good idea and recommend looking at that as an intermediate step before UE4.
While it’s awesome for a kid that young to want to make games instead of just play them he needs to have the next step be something he can take. Learning GameMaker will be more complex than what he had before, and it can produce real games. But, it is simpler than UE4 to learn.