Building a second PC for my daughters to play League Of Legends

There is no need for an i5 on a League, Wow, Heroes, Hearthstone, Splintercell gaming machine. You can have a good PC for this for far less than $1000 including operating system. a GTX 960 + i3-4160 would be perfect.

This is something like what I would do. These games are the games I mostly play and my i5 is overkill for them.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($108.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($165.05 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($199.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($32.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive ($13.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $795.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-30 12:23 EDT-0400

Hello flyfisher2,

Why Gigabyte Motherboard?

Because they make stable, durable and performance oriented Motherboards with lowest RMA %. See the images below:

Gigabyte with least RMA percentage over the past two years

Major Motherboard and Graphics Card Manufacturers RMA Ratings

Read the full article here - Reliability report: Gigabyte top for motherboards, MSI for graphics cards

The Turbo Clock speeds will automatically kick in whenever an application needs more firepower.

Do your build need monitor? I'll suggest you the right one.

Update:

Consider this complete build that includes pretty good Monitor, OS, Gaming Keyboard/Mouse Combo:

Build Color Scheme: Black/Pink

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($86.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($192.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Enermax ECA3253-PW ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: BenQ GL2460HM 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($27.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1050.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-30 13:40 EDT-0400

Build excluding the Monitor:

Build Color Scheme: Black/Pink

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($86.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($192.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Enermax ECA3253-PW ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.98 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($27.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $900.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-30 13:44 EDT-0400

Notes:

- As you wish to have this PC for few years, I suggest you stick with i5 build.
- The i5 4460 3.2Ghz $176.95 is more than enough. No need to go for an i5 4590 3.3Ghz $189.95 or 4690 3.5Ghz $214.99, as the performance difference between them in gaming is high negligible or non-existent!
[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fqUaS0v7YA"][/video]
- Included the Gigabyte Motherboard and MSI GTX 960, as they make quality products with less RMA %. Check link and images posted above.

- 250GB SSD is ideal for OS/Gaming:

Samsung 850 EVO - Usually 9-10% goes for SSD Over provisioning (http://searchsolidstatestorage.techtarget.com/definition/over-provisioning-SSD-overprovisioning), which can't be used. So available space is 230GB.

OS: 30GB after all updates
Software: 30GB

3 AAA Games (Your girls may not be playing these games, but listed here just to give you an idea of why 250GB is more than enough):

GTA V: 65GB
The Witcher 3 - Wild Hunt: 40GB
Batman Arkham Knights: 55GB

Total available space: 230GB
Total space used (OS + Software + 3 AAA Games): 220GB

Over Provisioning do play a role in endurance & performance:

"SSD over provisioning can increase the endurance of a solid state drive by distributing the total number of writes and erases across a larger population of NAND flash blocks and pages over time. It can also improve performance by giving the flash controller additional buffer space for managing program/erase (P/E) cycles and improving the probability that a write operation will have immediate access to a pre-erased block. The extra capacity is not visible to the host as available storage."

- The pleasant pink colored case would be great for your girls. Watch the YouTube popular JayzTwoCents build one using this Enemax case for his daughter in this video:
[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr3MgKkS314"][/video]



- The MSI GTX 960 Graphics Card Length is 273mm. The case can accommodate GPUs with length up to 286mm. So this card would fit in this case with ease.

Definitely the GTX 960 is a great card for 1080p gaming, as it even outclass the AMD budget heavy weight R9 280. Check these videos:

The Witcher 3 GTX 960 vs R9 280/285/280X Benchmark Frame-Rate Test
Grand Theft Auto 5 PC: GTX 960 vs R9 280/R9 285/R9 280X 1440p Benchmarks
GTX 960 vs R9 285/ R9 280/ GTX 760 1080p Benchmarks
GTX 960 vs R9 285/ R9 280/ GTX 760 1440p Benchmarks

- The GTX 960 only require a quality 430W PSU that can deliver 20Amps or more on its +12V rail.
- The XFX 550W is a quality PSU that can deliver 45Amps or more on its +12V rail. Future upgrade to other mid/high end cards like GTX 970/980, R9 280X/380, as this PSU can power all those cards with ease.
- This is the only place where I could find the Enermax Case in stock - http://pccomputerdeals.com/enermax-ostrog-case-eca3253-pw-pink
- Newegg do list different colored variants of the same case. but shows the Pink case down under the "Overview" section, which is a bit confusing. You may get a clarification from Newegg on that - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811124158
- If you cant find this case or your girls don't like pink, replace the Enermax case with this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Case: Corsair SPEC-03 White ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $49.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-30 14:19 EDT-0400

Overall a pretty good build that not only meets your expectations but also gives you great price to performance value with all quality components.

Cheers!

I use Gigabyte and Asus boards exclusively. I've never had a bad Gigabyte board, only one where the Bios was a little buggy but worked fine. The only bad experience I've had with an Asus board was a bad Ram slot on a previously RMA'd board, otherwise it worked great.

Wow Yeskay.

Those rma percentages are within 1%, maybe even within 0.5% and tend to shift in outcome.Gigabyte is the consistent factor though.

That pink case is nice.but i don't know how old his daughter is,also what her taste is.You didn't provide a link to it as well,for buying i mean.It maybe can be bought via Amazon.Looked an can be,but pretty expensive,
http://www.amazon.com/Enermax-Ostrog-Case-ECA3253-PW-Pink/dp/B00IOGIYVO/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1435756330&sr=8-6&keywords=Enermax+Ostrog
A second fan would be adviced as well.
You would need a gtx 960 with this,because of the price as well.
In retrospect i don't think longer cards like a r9 290 will fit in the slot that matters.With the gigabyte motherboard could you use the second pcie slot a x8.This one might work as well,
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-axr9280x3gbd5t2dheoc
Good price too.The gtx 960 as well,good ways to save money.


@flyfisher2,

You might have to change a setting in the motherboard bios/uefi to make all cores run at the same speed.Maybe a setting in The MIT part as it is called will need to be changed.
Just check first when doing something cpu intensive at the taskmanager->source control how the cores act.When all four cores go to 3.7ghz is that imo a bonus.Otherwise look at those MIT settings.Normally only two cores use max turbo.
In the end maybe not that important,just me wanting to get the most out of a chip,the asrock motherboard is a good choice too and cheaper.


With windows will something need to be adapted,the gtx 960 as mentioned is a good solution.The r9 290 is another one.If you can't or won't use rebates say so as well.The prices in these builds rely on that.
A build with an amd r9 290,
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XVKB6h
You can see i chose a different case in this build,prices change all the time,keep an eye on that as well.
Changed the psu as well,the 550watt should do fine,but it's a power hungry card so i went with something with more stamina.Still a very good choice.
Something cheaper as well,
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CKtgjX
this would be about the same performance as yours looking at the parts.

Maybe looking at the ram wondering why a different set? Is me being anal about colors matching and still having good sticks.

So that's my own lengthy reply.