First Build: $600 Occasional Gaming PC

dkelley42 · Apr 12, 2016

Approximate Purchase Date: 3-6 weeks

Budget Range: $600 after rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Typical Computer tasks as well as Gaming and HD Streaming

Parts Not Required: OS, Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com and microcenter.com, virtually any other site as well

Country: USA, near a MicroCenter

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, Nvidia Graphics, possibly MSI Mobo but open to most anything.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: Using 24" LED TV, so 1080x1920?

Additional Comments: I am new to PC Building and the PC gaming world. Have an XB1. Looking for something to get me started and playing games such as GTA 5, and Project Cars and have it look good and run smooth. I have done some research on a potential build, and am looking for advice on that or a totally different setup. My researched parts list is below.

Intel i5-4690k $200
http://www.microcenter.com/product/434177/Core_i5-4690K_35GHz_LGA_1150_Boxed_Processor

MSI Z97 PC Mate $70 w/ MicroCenter Deal
http://www.microcenter.com/product/433714/Z97_PC_Mate_Socket_LGA_1150_ATX_Intel_Motherboard

Some GTX950, NewEgg has had MSI 2GB Gaming for around $125 w/ rebate

Thermaltake Commander MS-I Snow $38 w/ rebate
http://www.microcenter.com/product/383014/Commander_MS-I_Snow_ATX_Mid-Tower_Computer_Case

Seagate Barracude SATA 3 750gb 7200rpm $30 (refurb)
http://www.microcenter.com/product/460778/Barracuda_720012_750GB_SATA_30_60GB-s_35%22_Internal_Hard_Drive_Factory_Recertified

OCZ Trion 150 series 120gb SSD $40
http://www.microcenter.com/product/460177/Trion_150_Series_120GB_SATA_III_6Gb-s_25%22_Solid_State_Drive_-_TRN150-25SAT3-1

HyperX FURY 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 1866 $35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104458

Corsair CX500 PSU Was $30 w/ rebate, I don't know if that is still present
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027

Corsair Air Series AF120 LED 120mm Quiet Edition High Airflow Fan Twin Pack $18
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181053

All said and done, with tax included from MicroCenter, my total was $599.25.

Looking for any and all suggestions. Either a critique to the parts list above, or a totally new direction to maybe get cost a little lower.

Thank you in advance.

Archaic59 · Apr 12, 2016

It has a couple issues. The Corsair CX series and not reliable. Suggest XFX, Seasonic or EVGA G2 or GS series. The OCZ Trion is the bottom end for SSD performance and a Samsung 850 EVO would be better unless budget constrains you. With a Z97 board and a 'K' cpu I expect you may try some overclocking so you'll need a bigger cooler. Cryorig H7 is good for a low price.

Or a build like this-

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 380 4GB NITRO Dual-X OC Video Card ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $612.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-12 19:14 EDT-0400

Bearmann · Apr 12, 2016

I would suggest this build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($112.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($49.49 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($169.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Blackout with Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($48.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $603.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-12 19:01 EDT-0400

James Mason · Apr 12, 2016

Here's a better gaming build, it will perform better in games, and also stay cool and quiet thanks to the fans.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.33 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H-A Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Team Dark 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.77 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($183.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P12-1300 54.4 CFM 120mm Fan ($18.59 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-B9 redux-1600 PWM 37.9 CFM 92mm Fan ($10.95 @ Amazon)
Total: $595.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-12 19:03 EDT-0400

dkelley42 · Apr 12, 2016

Is there any difference between using a full ATX mobo vs an mATX board?

James Mason · Apr 12, 2016

dkelley42 :

only the number of PCI devices you can add, usually more than you need.

Calculagator · Apr 12, 2016

I like the basics of your build. Do consider the PSU recommendations of others.
I would avoid any refurbished hard drives. A drive failure is too much of hassle to risk it.
I would also avoid the OCZ Trion. I've had two of them just die (out of 5 or so) and even when they work, they are very slow for ssds.
You could perhaps save some money going with a lesser i5 or even an i3, but that would depend on the Microcenter deal. You would have to give up overclocking, but you would still get acceptable performance for basic usage and gaming.

Bearmann · Apr 12, 2016

Here is an alternate build, a bit over budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($112.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($288.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($48.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $636.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-12 19:30 EDT-0400

dkelley42 · Apr 12, 2016

Would the i5 4590 be a decent replacement for the 4690k. I will probably never get around to overclocking, so that is not a big deal.

Archaic59 · Apr 12, 2016

If you won't be overclocking look at the new Skylake build I posted.

dkelley42 · Apr 13, 2016

I did a little bit more research and have transitioned to:

i5 4590
ASRock H97M Pro LGA1150 mATX board
same gtx 950
same case
SanDisk ssd plus 120gb
tosh p300 1tb 7200rpm hdd
team dark 8gb ddr3 ram
EVGA 100-B1-0500-KR 80 PLUS Bronze 500W PSU

I don't have my final totals in front on me, but it came in somewhere around $575 after rebates and such.
Is this a better all around build?

turkey3_scratch · Apr 13, 2016

EVGA 500B is a really poor quality power supply. https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/500B/

dkelley42 · Apr 13, 2016

XFX XT Series P1-500B-XTFR 500W ATX12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE

Would this be a better option?

turkey3_scratch · Apr 13, 2016

Nope. Look at the builds other people posted above. That EVGA unit is good, but not the 500B. A Seasonic S12ii 520W is also a solid option.

Archaic59 · Apr 13, 2016

dkelley42 :

The build I posted for you at the top of the thread is the newest Intel Skylake and the R9 380 will totally smoke the GTX 950 in gaming. It has one of the highest quality power supplies available too.

dkelley42 · Apr 13, 2016

So, I took some time and did a little bit of combining of the various builds and it seems like this is the least expensive that fits all of my needs. I investigated the r9 380, but it seems like the gtx950 will be all that I need. Thank you guys for the help. Let me know if you have any suggested changes for this one.

i5 6500 $190.80 MicroCenter
Gigabyte GA-H110M-A $22.56 MicroCenter
Toshiba P300 1TB $42 MicroCenter
Thermaltake Commander $41 MicroCenter
MicroCenter Total w/ tax $297

SanDisk SSD Plus 120GB $43 NewEgg
Some gtx950 $125 NewEgg
Corsair 120mm Twin Pack $18 NewEgg
SeaSonic S12II 520 $56 NewEgg
G.Skill Ripjaws V 8GB RAM 2400 $30 NewEgg
NewEgg Total $272.00

Final Total after Tax and Rebates $568.64

James Mason · Apr 14, 2016

dkelley42 :

So, I took some time and did a little bit of combining of the various builds and it seems like this is the least expensive that fits all of my needs. I investigated the r9 380, but it seems like the gtx950 will be all that I need. Thank you guys for the help. Let me know if you have any suggested changes for this one.

i5 6500 $190.80 MicroCenter
Gigabyte GA-H110M-A $22.56 MicroCenter
Toshiba P300 1TB $42 MicroCenter
Thermaltake Commander $41 MicroCenter
MicroCenter Total w/ tax $297

SanDisk SSD Plus 120GB $43 NewEgg
Some gtx950 $125 NewEgg
Corsair 120mm Twin Pack $18 NewEgg
SeaSonic S12II 520 $56 NewEgg
G.Skill Ripjaws V 8GB RAM 2400 $30 NewEgg
NewEgg Total $272.00

Final Total after Tax and Rebates $568.64

You can't use any ram faster than 2133mhz with that motherboard though.

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