Building a gaming PC

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selim2019

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Hi, I'm looking to build a PC that can handle most recent AAA games. Does anyone have recommendations on what my budget should be? I'm not looking for a crazy powerful machine, just one where i could run most games well

Thanks
 
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BadActor
If that's the case, then you can round out the build with a stronger processor and motherboard you can overclock it with, faster RAM, and an SSD. If you have a 1440p monitor, we could build something better suited for that.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.89 @...
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Mr Hat

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Depends on where you live, in America you should get a nice build with a GTX 970 and a big SSD for around $1000, in Europe that's gonna cost you €1200 because of the ridicoulously high taxes.
 
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BadActor

BadActor

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Really depends on your budget, but for a gaming oriented machine, you should spend the money where it's going to get you the most frames per second on what ever resolution your going to be playing at. For a 1080p monitor, you could build a very good system without spending a ton.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.69 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($51.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($38.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($48.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $612.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-13 09:43 EST-0500
 
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Mr Hat

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Depends on what games he's wanting to play, but that's a really light CPU, I'd recommend an i5-6500.
 
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selim2019

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I was going to say the same thing. I was leaning towards a smaller SSD to run the OS and then a bigger HDD for games and media, but i want to be sure that my games aren't significantly slower running off of a HDD. What do you guys think?

Thanks to all for such quick replies


EDIT: Are there any NVIDIA cards near that price range? I'm playing fallout 4 on my laptop now and see that some options are for NVIDIA cards only
 
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BadActor

BadActor

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For all around use, yes, a true quad core is the way to go. But but for a budget build you can't beat an i3 6100. The following quote is from member Karadjgne, which states the reasons far better than I could:

"The i3 uses Hyperthreading. This means each core processes 2 threads, so maximum thread count as per any game or app currently is 4 threads. This is the same count as any i5. Applying 2 threads per core isn't as good as a single thread, so a true quad is more powerful per se. The skylake i3 6100 has better single thread performance than any Haswell or Devils Canyon cpu, has higher stock xpeeds than any but the 4970k. It's igpu iris graphics are the equal or better than an AMD a8 APU, which has 1/2 of its die dedicated to being an igpu.

With its price point, there's exactly nothing bad that can be said about the i3 6100. It's a very good base for your everyday 1080p gaming build pushing a gtx980 or r9 390 at most, with its best balance being seen with a gtx960 or r9 380.

Typically, amd rules the under $600 budget builds, until now, there's nothing amd makes that'll compete with an i3 6100 for a gaming rig at this price."
 
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Mr Hat

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I'm just brain storming: But maybe you can do something with it:
what do you think of:
GTX970 (I like the MSI Gaming one, but it's a little pricier, ASUS one is nice too)
120G Samsung 850 EVO
1 TB Western Digital 7200RPM HDD (you can go larger if you want)
B150 mobo (Z170 if you want to do some OC's)
i5-6500
500-550W PSU
A case you choose yourself (Micro ATX or larger)
Hyper 212, or stock cooler, whatever you prefer.
Should be around $800 in total.
 
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Mr Hat

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What do you mean, if you want Nvidia, in that price range, that's the way to go... If you want to spend a 1000, you can put a 980 or maybe even a 980Ti in there.
 
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BadActor

BadActor

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If that's the case, then you can round out the build with a stronger processor and motherboard you can overclock it with, faster RAM, and an SSD. If you have a 1440p monitor, we could build something better suited for that.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($48.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $891.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-13 10:13 EST-0500

http://overclocking.guide/gigabyte-z170-non-k-overclocking-guide/
 
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selim2019

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Would this rig's PSU support the use of a GTX 980 instead?
 
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Mr Hat

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Yea, for sure, you'd come around with a 600w, and this is a 750w.
 
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sammy sung

sammy sung

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Remember the OP will most likely need an OS as well as an optical drive to install the OS. Unless he wants to create an installation media via USB.

I'd personally invest into a strong platform now, and save a while yet to purchase a strong GPU solution a bit down the line. Pascal initial offerings aren't too far away. Though if your budget warrants it, a 390/970 now would be a killer combination. Either way, suggested power supply can accommodate up to a Fury X or 980 Ti

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H170A-X1/3.1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($86.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($67.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer ($14.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($87.95 @ OutletPC)
Total: $829.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-13 10:46 EST-0500
 
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Mr Hat

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I use the WNDA3100, that's a USB adaptor, looks like a big USB stick. If you want it to be internal you can use the other one ofc :)
 
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selim2019

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So what do you guys think of this?
I'm not planning on buying for a little while, but i want to plan everything out

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($215.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Classified ACX 2.0 Video Card
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer ($14.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Other: ASUS PCE-N53 Dual-Band Wireless-N600 ($37.99)
Total: $791.60
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-13 11:42 EST-0500
 
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Mr Hat

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Looks like a great build! If you don't want to OC, you could save some money by getting a B150(M) mobo, has lots of sata/usb ports, but just no OCing hardware. Good luck! Don't forget to select the best answer!
 
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selim2019

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Thanks for all of your help! I selected BadActor because I based most of my build off of his suggestions. Thanks again to everyone for the help :wahoo:
 
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