Absolute Noob. So many questions.

Please forgive my blank slate on BeamNG, but my 7 & 5 yr olds have been watching people play online for a few years. They want so badly to play but all we have had their whole lives is a clapped out laptop.
My IT knowledge is pretty limited, and it all seems very overwhelming. I'm under the impression that you need a "super gaming PC" to play. What are the basic requirements to get them up and running? I recently had a friend gifted us a couple PC he got from a client that was upgrading.
They are Intel core i5's, 650 @ 3.20ghz, with 12GB Ram.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Again, I am pretty much tech illiterate so keep it as simple as possible. Thanks so much for your attention.

 

Hi Tim,

BeamNG doesn't really deserve its reputation for being hard to run. If you turn the graphics settings down and maybe the resolution, you will find that even quite budget computers can run most maps with 1-2 cars just fine. 12GB RAM is more than enough; 8GB is really the minimum you need. The i5 you have just about scrapes the bar for playability, however, you would be better off upgrading your CPU to an i7 970 as that has more cores (4 vs 2 in the i5) and that will fit the same socket as your i5***. There are plenty of YouTube tutorials to help you, should you wish to invest in upgrades. You can get an i7 970 for as little as £50 if that's the route you want to go down. At the end of the day, your 7 and 5 year olds will care more about the gameplay rather than graphics and frame rate (as they should) so, I wouldn't get too hung up about a CPU upgrade.
The biggest problem with your computer is that it lacks dedicated graphics. The i5 will have onboard graphics, but they are really only best suited for YouTube videos and web browsing. Beam would look like a slideshow if you were to use that. I would recommend installing a GT 1030 (DDR5 version, the DDR4 one sucks gorilla nuts). They are reasonably cheap and don't require much wattage to run, so the power supply that is probably in your client PC should cope. However, before you MUST check that your computer has a PCIE x16 slot in it that allows for an external graphics card. Most will do, but some don't, especially the small form factor Dells and HPs that call centres and the like used to use.

***I would definitely do my research carefully with this one, as the i7 consumes a huge amount of power compared to the stock i5, and may not even be compatible with your motherboard. You would most likely have to buy a beefier CPU cooler for it as well. The best way to check for compatibility is to find the make, model and variation of the motherboard to see if it is. If you do decide to upgrade, I would buy a higher wattage power supply as well.

Iam kind of jealous that BeamNG didn't exist when I was 7, as I would have absolutely loved as a kid.

Hope this helped.

 

Thanks so much! That's awesome. I'll start pricing some of this stuff. Really appreciate the help.

 

Hey Tim,

I might have a little more expertise with small form factor PC's. I don't know what size your computer is, but my previous PC was labeled SFF in this diagram:

This means that I had to make sure I only looked at certain graphics cards, usually labeled "low profile". You will run into the same issue with CPU coolers, as most cannot fit in the tiny width of these PC's. They're not inadequate, and mine would get a solid 30 fps on most maps, but that's something you have to look at before buying parts. Additionally, @WhatNot98 's recommended i7-970 will NOT fit in your current motherboard. Your i5-650 has a LGA 1156 socket, but the i7-970 needs a LGA 1366 socket. (The motherboard is the big, usually green, piece of plastic behind everything else when you open your computer, and the socket is the part of the motherboard that holds the CPU.) This means that you would need a new motherboard to get an i7-970.

I will update this post shortly with CPU's that will fit.
--- Post updated ---
The Intel i7-880 is the best processor that fits your computer, but because it's the highest end, it hasn't gone down in price, as everyone else with a system like yours is trying to buy one. Just below that though, are the i7-875k, and the i5-870, both of which go for $80 or less. They are comparable enough that I'd go for the i7-870 from Newegg. Newegg is a trusted seller for people who are used to buying computer parts, so don't worry if you haven't heard of them. Both options only use 20 more Watts of power than your current CPU, so you shouldn't need a new cooler, just make sure to watch a good CPU installing tutorial before you do it. I recommend watching Linus Tech Tips, or paying a computer tech to do it worry-free.
--- Post updated ---
It really depends on your budget though, because for only a little more you can get a refurbished office PC with a much better processor and go from there.

 

Thanks so much for the help! I have had to put this on hold, because of expensive car problems. But I really appreciate all this info, and you sharing your knowledge. This will make things easier when I can throw some money at this. Great community, folks! Much appreciated!