My first Gaming PC, modest but future proof? thoughts, advice?

Hey thanks a lot for the feedback, just out of curiosity, is the CPU cool absolutely necessary at this time? I only ask because I didn't think the 6500 could be overclocked and heard stock fans are sufficient. But not really sure.

Thanks a lot, I see you went with a MicroATX mobo that is a little more pricy than what I selected, is that better? Or is it just to fit better in the mid tower (which I assume you selected to offset the cost of upgraded pc parts)?


Thanks a lot. Yeah, I'm trying to do as much research as possible (watching tutorial videos, reading reviews, etc) as I know one little mistake could mean a lot of frustration.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_BK 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($111.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card ($153.98 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Neos Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($21.55 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series White 2 pack 52.2 CFM 120mm Fan ($16.78 @ Amazon)
Total: $750.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-01 15:14 EST-0500

-i5 will be very useful in the future
- great cpu cooler
- very good psu
- ask questions for more

The price looks good but you need an OS and a good monitor to compare with the OP's build and mine.

Hello,

First time poster here, and very new when it comes to building pc's. However, I have always wanted to, so here we are.

My Parts
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/CullinPM/saved/jj6G3C

My goal
My goal is to build a modest gaming pc, not including the monitor (although I did include in the parts list because I will need one) for around $700 - $800, BUT that will allow me to upgrade the CPU, GPU, cooling systems as time and budget allows without having to replace the motherboard or case.

Why these parts
When I decided on the parts, a lot boiled down to what I've researched. However, since I'm new, I know there is a lot I don't know. The following is my thought process on some of my decisions and definitely would appreciate any feedback.

The Z170 mobo I selected, from what I understand should be more than adequate to upgrade to an i5 or i7 down the line in addition to any more modern GPU's like GTX 980 or better. That being said, I really don't know much about mobo's. I chose it simply because it has good reviews and I like the price point.

I chose case because I've read and watched a few reviews on it and seems to be a great case for the money, which should be able to handle almost anything I plan on doing.

The CPU/GPU I chose as the two parts to hold back on for now, as I will certainly replace them as budget allows.

Other parts such as PSU, RAM ... I really don't know much about what is good, better, best. So I just chose something that was modest in price but had good reviews and enough wattage to handle my graphics card. Although, not sure how future proof 600W is.

I left out the SSD for now because I didn't think it was going to boost graphic performance and I can always add one down the line?

Feedback and Questions
Is there anything you would change, but remain under $800 (not including the monitor)? Do these parts mesh well together?

Also, I was wondering how games such as Black Desert, WoW, GTAV, The Witcher 3, Fallout 4 would play with this setup? Could I get good to high settings with more than 30fps?

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Sorry for the long post and if you've made it down this far, thanks a lot, any feedback is appreciated.

crossfire not really , that psu is absolutly terrible this week only 4 corsair cx blew up and people asked for help on this forum?

The OPs looking at NVidia GPUs, so Crossfire will apply only if they go with Radeon.

Not entirely correct there.
While Xfire can be enabled on x4 lanes (where SLI requires at least x8 to be enabled), they will be bottlenecked. You still want x8 or higher if you plan to run a card in the lane.

As for the topic at hand. I second Oatie's build, solid all around and meets all the requirements set forth in the OP. If you can stretch for a few more dollars I recommend an R9 380 it would give you ~10% more performance over the 960.

Not entirely correct there.
While Xfire can be enabled on x4 lanes (where SLI requires at least x8 to be enabled), they will be bottlenecked. You still want x8 or higher if you plan to run a card in the lane.

As for the topic at hand. I second Oatie's build, solid all around and meets all the requirements set forth in the OP. If you can stretch for a few more dollars I recommend an R9 380 it would give you ~10% more performance over the 960.

Linus is more a business man than a source of information in my honest opinion, but thats not why im here.
It depends on the card, but an x4 lane can range from a minimal bottleneck to a substantial loss in performance. Most cards worth running in Xfire will fall under the substantial level.