Is this gonna last 6+ years? Gaming Build :)

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
F

Fair Farooq

Reputable
Sep 9, 2015
38
0
4,530
Hey everyone.

I have decided to spend 1k to get me a gaming/schoolwork build that'll last me at least 5-6 years, maybe even more.

I think the GPU is overkill as hell for games such as Portal 2, Minecraft, Cube World and Ark Survival.

It'll be a good idea to shave a few bucks from this build as I don't think rebates count as discounts.

I will buy half of the parts at the end of September, and the other half on October. Is that gonna be a problem?

The Build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Elite Plus 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($83.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.78 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($43.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($57.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.75 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($17.95 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VX228H 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($119.99 @ Best Buy)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($26.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1065.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-11 13:19 EDT-0400

2nd Build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Elite Plus 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($83.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.78 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 290 4GB TurboDuo Video Card ($247.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($43.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($77.99 @ Mac Mall)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.75 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VX228H 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($119.99 @ Best Buy)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($26.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1015.29
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-11 13:20 EDT-0400
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
37,037
12
89,965
Those are both pretty good, but I prefer the second build on the strength of the slightly better (and Haswell-compatible) PSU (which is also made by Seasonic, but it's a newer design).
I doubt any graphics card bought today will still play AAA games on good settings in six years. If you anticipate a graphics card upgrade in 3-4 years though, for the first build to have a stronger one now isn't going to matter.
Will you need a wireless adapter in the second build too?
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
L

littleleo

Splendid
May 8, 2009
4,097
17
23,465
Probably not most gamers upgrade some parts every 2-3 years. The only way to be sure it will last 6 years is to only play the same games you are playing now for the next 6 years. New games usually require you to upgrade your hardware to play at good res and speeds. Even then hard drives last about 2-4 years SSDs have a longer life cycle about 5-6 years so 6 years isn't much of a stretch for an SSD. Provided you bought a good brand and not some no name brand from some guy on the corner with a good deal for you, lol.

One thing for sure for maximum life on the system I would build a skylake system not a Haswell. Since the Haswell is a 4th Gen and the new Skylake is a 6th gen the Haswell is already obsolete on day 1.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
F

Fair Farooq

Reputable
Sep 9, 2015
38
0
4,530


I forgot :p. I really gotta cut the costs a little by opting for my 2nd Build. Any suggestions? I want my build to be 950$-975$, so what could I do? I also got a 3rd Build that can be overclocked, but I don't really need overclocking right now

Check it out though:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($93.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Elite Plus 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.78 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 285 2GB TurboDuo Video Card ($178.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($45.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($77.99 @ Mac Mall)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.75 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($37.24 @ Adorama)
Monitor: Asus VX228H 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($119.99 @ Best Buy)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($26.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1074.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-11 13:38 EDT-0400

EDIT: OR SHOULD I GET A R9 280X DOUBLE DISSIPATION FROM XFX?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
S

SkydrivexD

Reputable
Sep 10, 2015
6
0
4,510
I would stay with second build as well, I also agree with littleleo .. Im saving some money and waiting to be able to get a Skylake .. but im really crazy to get me a new CPU+MoBo once my kit is very old ... its an I7 870 2.9ghz on a Biostar H55 HD..
I almost got a I5 4690K ... But I should wait a little longer..
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
F

Fair Farooq

Reputable
Sep 9, 2015
38
0
4,530


I will upgrade after a few years some components, and to be honest, SkyLake is expensive a hell. I mean 240$ FOR AN i5, and 360$ FOR AN i7?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
F

Fair Farooq

Reputable
Sep 9, 2015
38
0
4,530


SkyLake is expensive and would take a while for the prices to go down. And as I said, I'm gonna buy the parts in the course of 2 months, so I'm really worried SkyLake's prices would drop and I'll be stuck with an old CPU.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
37,037
12
89,965
Your third build has a better wireless adapter; if you're going to play games over a wireless connection, you'll want that over the other one.
I don't think you need to worry much about CPU overclocking. In most games, the differences are not that substantial compared to what a stronger graphics card (or GPU overclocking) can do.
Since you'll need to replace the graphics card anyway in a few years, I'd probably look for one that can play at 1920x1080 on "very good" settings, e.g. a GTX950 for around $160. Once new games can only manage "good" settings, you can begin to consider an upgrade. In the meantime, you will have reduced your cost, or been able to get better other parts, like a 250GB or larger SSD.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,346
4,169
174,240
I think generally, it is poor strategy to try to build a "future proof" PC.
At least for more than 2-3 years out.
1. There is no telling what your needs will be in the future.
2. New products have better price/performance characteristics.

Even windows 7 is no longer developed, and will end extended support in 5 years.
Still, I like it better than 10 today.

Plan on buying what you need now, now. And give yourself some options to replace parts as needed.

There are some items that are long lasting.
Power supplies
Cases
monitors
keyboard/mice
to name a few.

It is premature to make any decisions now, September and October will bring new products and prices.

I would be thinking first about a Skylake based build.
The I3-6100U is due to launch in Late September.
Use a Z170 based motherboard, and you should be able to upgrade to I5-6600K or even Kaby lake.

Unless you need bulk storage, defer on the hard drive. A 240gb ssd is a good start.
I like Samsung EVO best today.

Bust your budget on a great monitor.
I think 21"1080P is a bit small. Consider $300 or so on a 1440P 27" monitor.

In the fall, Seasonic seems to have some good sales. 550w should be plenty for a graphics card as good as a GTX980.

A decent rule of thumb for a balanced gamer is to budget 2x the cpu cost for the graphics card.
For a haswell build, I might think of a i3-4170 @$120 and a GTX960@$200.
I would guess that a Skylake i3 and motherboard would be similarly priced.



 
Upvote 1 Downvote
capt_taco

capt_taco

Splendid
Aug 5, 2009
2,567
0
21,460
Just because Skylake is out doesn't make Haswell "obsolete." It's still 95% as good, and will be six years from now.

With Intel processors, there hasn't been a single time in the past 10 years when a new CPU has come out for the same socket that is worth the price of upgrading. (Unless you're talking about going from a dual-core to a quad-core, but that's because you chose the dual-core originally, duh.) You're just not going to be replacing the CPU until the next time you build a whole new machine. You buy the best one available in the $200-$300 range and then that's it until your next build.

The GPU is going to be the determining factor, and there's really no way to future-proof that because it advances too fast. You can spend $600-$800 now and have a card that'll still be decent in 3-4 years. Or you can spend $250-$300 now to get a kickass card, and $250-$300 four years from now to get a card that will be better than the one that's $600 today. Or $100-$150 for another of the same card to crossfire. That's just the way that works.


 
Upvote 1 Downvote
F

Fair Farooq

Reputable
Sep 9, 2015
38
0
4,530


I modified it a bit, but I don't have a keyboard and mouse. Suggestions?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Elite Plus 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($83.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.78 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($43.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($57.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.75 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($37.24 @ Adorama)
Monitor: Asus VX228H 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($119.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $947.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-11 14:23 EDT-0400

EDIT: Changed it from Reddit Format to BB Code
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
F

Fair Farooq

Reputable
Sep 9, 2015
38
0
4,530


I don't find you wrong as everyone has to upgrade at one point. But I can't spring for a better monitor or a very expensive CPU such as a SkyLake. Like I said, my budget is 1000$, and I really wanna cut costs, so if you really wanna help out, I'd appreciate you trying to fix up my build a little bit :)

I do +1 Karma everything I find useful, so you get something in return ;)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
37,037
12
89,965

Agreed. The best you can hope for is "future-resistance."

...and that's how you do it; buy quality on the the long-lasting parts, and plan for potential upgrades.

Personally, I prefer my 21" monitor to my 23" monitor. If you're going to be using this in a cramped dorm room, you may not want a big monitor, but you still want one that's comfortable to use for extended periods, especially for your text-based schoolwork.

Since this is also a schoolwork PC, particularly to reduce costs I'd relax this rule. Keep in mind too that there are some very enjoyable older games that are not graphically demanding (by modern standards; Morrowind brought many graphics cards of its day to their knees). Depending on your available time and other interests, you may or may not be able to devote the time needed to immerse yourself into the latest, most detailed games. OTOH, a few hands of spades or bridge played online will run fine on an IGP. I don't think I'd spend less on graphics than on the CPU, but I think here you can safely save some money.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
F

Fair Farooq

Reputable
Sep 9, 2015
38
0
4,530


WELL THIS I CAN UNDERSTAND.
No processor makes another processor bad, just makes that processor better, if you know what I mean. I'm building this computer to upgrade my Intel Duo Laptop that runs at 2.0 GHz with 2GB of RAM. Yeah, that bad.

I will surely upgrade my GPU, but for now, I'm just trying to get my parts together :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
F

Fair Farooq

Reputable
Sep 9, 2015
38
0
4,530


Is this okay? I just discovered this, maybe it's piracy or some crap, please help me out here :p

https://www.reddit.com/r/microsoftsoftwareswap/
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
37,037
12
89,965
It is NOT legitimate. Any keys offered by them are from sources NOT AUTHORIZED by Microsoft to resell them, such as old Technet keys (that's why the Technet program was killed).

Once you are enrolled as a student and have a .edu address, some nice discounts on Microsoft software become available. Microsoft and/or your schools's IT department should have information for you on that.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,346
4,169
174,240
Again, finalizing a build now is fruitless.
In your latest $947 build, you budgeted $264 for cpu, motherboard, and ram.
By comparison, you could spend $150 more for a i5-6600K, ddr4 ram and a Z170 motherboard which would last you one heck of a lot longer.

If budget is really such an issue, I suggest you buy a $70 G3258 for starters and see how well you can do with integrated graphics. Your games should play decently at 1080P.
In time, you can upgrade to a i3/i5/17 and a much stronger graphics card.

And, if you live near a microcenter, they will sell you a 6600K for $229, and other intel processors will be cheaper there too.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
F

Fair Farooq

Reputable
Sep 9, 2015
38
0
4,530


My Laptop runs really hot when I'm multitasking and uTorrent is activated. I think I'll damage it if I do that :(
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
F

Fair Farooq

Reputable
Sep 9, 2015
38
0
4,530


Well I live in the Middle East, so yeah. And Like I said, I'll be buying the parts in the course of 2 months. I still haven't graduated, and I'm just 13. So the budget is a big problem as parents don't want you spending their money :p
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
F

Fair Farooq

Reputable
Sep 9, 2015
38
0
4,530


I haven't graduated yet bruh. And plus, Windows is really expensive and I don't like Linux. So I guess I gotta spend 100 bucks on a OS.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
L

littleleo

Splendid
May 8, 2009
4,097
17
23,465
I sit corrected, lol.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wVpqzy
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wVpqzy/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI H170A PC Mate ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($96.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($83.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.78 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N400 ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($97.89 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VX228H 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($119.99 @ Best Buy)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($26.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1257.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-11 15:10 EDT-0400
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
F

Fair Farooq

Reputable
Sep 9, 2015
38
0
4,530


I can't afford 1.3k!! It's so expensive!! Maybe I can...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom