What Do I Really Need for a Maxed Out 1080p 60 FPS Gaming Machine?

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TechForth

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Jan 1, 2016
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I have been going over multiple builds back and forth and cannot decide on which to get. I currently have a basic laptop, so i'm starting from scratch and would like to build a computer soon. I plan on using one 24-27" 1080p monitor. I'm thinking I would have to spend around $1050-$1300 on the whole setup to meet my performance goal. I'm also still debating if PhysX is worth paying more for a Nivida card as I don't think it would run well unless I had a GTX 970. My main question is would I notice any real gaming difference between a 8320 and an Intel i5 as far as gaming? Would the 8320 bottleneck a GTX 970 or R9 390?

Very Cheap AMD Build ($1060)
Processor= 8320 3.5GHz [$150]
Processor Cooling= CM Hyper 212 Evo [$30]
Motherboard=? [$80]
Memory= 8GB DDR3 [$50]
Video Card= R9 380X 4GB [$220] (A bit better than a GTX 960?)
Hard Drive= 1TB WD Black [$75]
Optical Drive= DVD [$20]
Power Supply=650W Full Modular [$75]
Other (Operating System, Monitor, Keyboard / Mouse, Gaming Headset, Speakers) [$360]

Other AMD Build (Same, but with either a 390 or GTX 970 video card) +$110

$1170

Very Cheap Intel Build ($1165)
Processor= i5-6500 3.2GHz [$205]
Processor Cooling= CM Hyper 212 Evo [$30]
Motherboard=? [$120]
Memory= 8GB DDR4 [$60]
Video Card= GTX 960 4GB [$220]
Hard Drive= 1TB WD Black [$75]
Optical Drive= DVD [$20]
Power Supply=650W Full Modular [$75]
Other (Operating System, Monitor, Keyboard / Mouse, Gaming Headset, Speakers) [$360]

Other Intel Build (Same, but with either a 390 or GTX 970 video card) +$110

$1275
 
Solution
geofelt


A decent rule of thumb for a balanced gamer is to budget 2x the cpu cost for the graphics card.
By that metric, a GTX970 at $330 would match a $170 i5-6400.
If that budget is too high, then a i3-6100 and a gtx 960 would do.
A Z170 motherboard will be $100.
A 8gb kit of ddr4 ram will be $40. speed is irrelevant for skylake.

Put together a list with details.


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smorizio

smorizio

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the amd cpu is three years behind the intel cpu. the intel cpu is a better gaming cpu it also let you drop in another intel cpu latter on if intel does not kill off the 1151 pin mb. the amd cpu is a dead cpu when zen drops sometime in 2016 it goig to use a whole new mb chipset. i would wait a few weeks for the newer amd and nvidia gpu to drop. for the money there goingto be a lot faster then the the older gpu.
 
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lodders

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Definitely go Intel, because each Intel core is twice as fast as an AMD core, and no games exist which need more than 4 cores, so only half the cores on the 8 core AMD CPU get used in gaming.
Best value for money GPU is a GTX 960 Will play any game well. 970 is a lot better, but not $110 better

How to make your Intel build even cheaper
You don't need a processor cooler, and a 500W power supply is enough.
 
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BadActor

BadActor

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AMD is a dead end end right now and will not perform as well as the i5. Especially in CPU intensive games, the i5 would have a big advantage.The system below is overclockable if you add a good CPU cooler.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($183.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($304.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($50.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DVD-E818AAT/BLK/B/GEN DVD/CD Drive ($16.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($87.95 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($259.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($25.59 @ SuperBiiz)
Headphones: Creative Labs Creative Fatal1ty Headset ($20.95 @ Amazon)
Speakers: Logitech Z323 30W 2.1ch Speakers ($50.82 @ Amazon)
Total: $1250.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-17 10:38 EST-0500
 
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TechForth

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I thought Pascal was still at least 6 months away from release?
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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What types of games will you play?

Games such as sims, strategy, and mmo will depend on the single master core for performance.

Fast action shooters will depend on the graphics card.

Multiplayer with many participants will need many cores.

In general, a new build today should, in my opinion be skylake based.
Per core performance is better than amd, and lga1151 offers upgrade possibilities.

Your budget is very good.

I think the intel build comes closest in general.
I might think of a i3-6100 or i3-6320, a Z170 based motherboard and a GTX970.
Stock cooling is fine.
Instead of a hard drive, I would build with a 240gb ssd.

You have not included a case. A case lasts a long time, so it pays to buy one you love.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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A decent rule of thumb for a balanced gamer is to budget 2x the cpu cost for the graphics card.
By that metric, a GTX970 at $330 would match a $170 i5-6400.
If that budget is too high, then a i3-6100 and a gtx 960 would do.
A Z170 motherboard will be $100.
A 8gb kit of ddr4 ram will be $40. speed is irrelevant for skylake.

Put together a list with details.


 
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Solution
turkey3_scratch

turkey3_scratch

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Few weeks? Don't you mean like 5-7 months?
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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You would normally hear rumors or leaks about a major graphics upgrade months in advance. My guess is that the amd card and pascal will be closer to 8 months than 2.
And... there is no guarantee that the cards will be high end cards.
If high end, be prepared for very high launch prices.
 
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SeriouslyStache

SeriouslyStache

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This is pretty much the best you're gonna get for $1300.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($314.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($44.33 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus H97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($107.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($98.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($338.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Silverstone RVZ01B Mini ITX Desktop Case ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($87.95 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Acer G227HQLbi 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1296.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-17 13:19 EST-0500
 
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lodders

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Seriously, a $340 GPU attached to a $120 monitor??
Not sure you are going to appreciate those fantastic graphics on a monitor like that.
I say, get a GTX960, and a good quality 27" monitor.
Also, you don't need an i7 for gaming, an i5 gives almost identical performance.
 
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