Best Possible $800 Budget PC?

IxWolfie · May 25, 2016

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next month or so, I have to go out of town soon and I don't want to buy the parts then risk not being here when they arrive.

Budget Range: ~$800, at the most $850 after shipping. I hear people have a lot of issues with rebates, so for the sake of that let's not include them.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Streaming, Rendering, Everything else.

Are you buying a monitor: I'd like one, but I don't need one. So no, I guess not.

Parts to Upgrade: Well, I have a Hard Drive but since this is a prebuilt I have no clue how good it is. It's a hard drive, and it works. So I guess literally everything other than the Hard Drive... lol

Do you need to buy OS: Yep.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, NCIX, MicroCenter, Amazon, SuperBiiz... Basically the cheapest place in the USA, I don't particularly care if I need to go get it physically or get it mailed and from what site.

Location: Not going to list city unless I have to, Minnesota, USA.

Parts Preferences: I'd prefer anything that's good and runs well for what I wish it to do (gaming, streaming, rendering, basic browsing). If it's AMD, so be it. I prefer Intel and NVidia, but if AMD can do it for cheaper and as well or nearly as well, then there you go.

Overclocking: Preferably not, but if I have to I certainly could but I want to make sure that it wouldn't overheat.

SLI or Crossfire: No.

Your Monitor Resolution: My one monitor which I play games on is 1366x768 and my second monitor is 1440 x 900.

Additional Comments: I don't particularly care what the case looks like as long as it isn't absolutely disgusting. However, I am a first time builder so I don't want something super tiny or hard to work with. I have a keyboard and a mouse, as well as a headset, so you don't need to get any of those. As I said I have a hard drive which I can transfer, and two monitors (which will probably need adapters) that I can use as well.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: to get a more suitable build for what I want to do, which again is Gaming, Streaming, Rendering, then literally everything else after. With games and streaming comes talking with friends and stuff.

I have this if you wish to work off of what I have. I didn't know how many fans I'd need, so I just got a bunch of them. Two to replace stock fans, and two to put on the top. I also got a CPU Cooler to run the Processor slower, and if I plan to upgrade to an i5-6600 I have it if I wish to not use Stock CPU Cooler. Additionally, I got the CPU Cooler because I hear the stock one is fairly poor. However, feel free to change what you wish.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($35.00)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170-D3HP ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($97.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($178.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-02 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($85.97 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series SP120 High Performance Edition (2-Pack) 62.7 CFM 120mm Fans ($21.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series SP120 High Performance Edition (2-Pack) 62.7 CFM 120mm Fans ($21.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $822.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-25 20:51 EDT-0400

apk24 · May 25, 2016

You look like you've got a pretty solid build. I don't think that the CPU cooler (or the extra fans really) is necessary, the one that comes with the processor is usually fine, especially since you're not overclocking or doing anything crazy case wise. I might recommend stepping up to a 4gb 960 (maybe a 380X) with the funds freed up by a lack of cpu cooler. Or if not upping the GPU, an i7 might also fit in your build. It would help w/ rendering depending on the program.

Guest · May 25, 2016

Made some refinements, the case I selected comes with three fans, added a SSD, changed video card to a 380x (better than a 960). No need for an aftermarket cooler unless you want something quieter and/or overclock (no overclocking on this system). You can add more fans or RAM later if you wish. Here you go:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H170A-X1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($33.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($61.97 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 380X 4GB WINDFORCE 2X Video Card ($229.88 @ OutletPC)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($61.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($85.97 @ Amazon)
Total: $819.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-25 21:06 EDT-0400

apk24 · May 25, 2016

Render operations benefit greatly from extra RAM, so I would recommend keeping the 16GB kit. 380X vs the 4gb version of 960, it sounds like you're going to be gaming at 720p anyway, and both will max out all your games settings. However, the 960 will be better supported by rendering and productivity software since CUDA is more mature than OpenCL, and NVENC doesn't yet have an analogue.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H170A-X1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($49.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: PNY CS1311 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($61.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($85.97 @ Amazon)
Total: $807.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-25 21:17 EDT-0400

IxWolfie · May 25, 2016

apk24 :

768p, but I'm fairly certain that's close enough to 720p, haha. (1366x768 is my gaming monitor). Are you absolutely sure that the stock CPU cooler and the three stock fans that come with this case will be enough to keep the CPU under dangerous temps? I just dont' want to run into any major issues, you know what I mean? Streaming means more to me than Rendering, I can deal with longer times to Render as long as it's not tens of minutes in difference... Which in theory isn't that easy to project...

You thought the way I was, getting GTX 960, saving around $30 for 16GB of RAM.

One more question, why the 520w instead of the 550w which is cheaper? XFX TS 550w is a tier 2 PSU, and is again, cheaper. Is there any real reason to having a lower wattage PSU?

Guest · May 25, 2016

IxWolfie :

apk24 :

768p, but I'm fairly certain that's close enough to 720p, haha. (1366x768 is my gaming monitor). Are you absolutely sure that the stock CPU cooler and the three stock fans that come with this case will be enough to keep the CPU under dangerous temps? I just dont' want to run into any major issues, you know what I mean? Streaming means more to me than Rendering, I can deal with longer times to Render as long as it's not tens of minutes in difference... Which in theory isn't that easy to project...

You thought the way I was, getting GTX 960, saving around $30 for 16GB of RAM.

One more question, why the 520w instead of the 550w which is cheaper? XFX TS 550w is a tier 2 PSU, and is again, cheaper. Is there any real reason to having a lower wattage PSU?

The reason I chose the the 520W Seasonic is because I wanted it to be modular in the same price range. The Seasonic is still adequate in terms of wattage, since the system will likely consume between 275-340W. The temps should be fine, but you can add a couple of top fans and a Cooler Master Hyper T4 Cooler for not much more.

IxWolfie · May 25, 2016

IxWolfie :

apk24 :

768p, but I'm fairly certain that's close enough to 720p, haha. (1366x768 is my gaming monitor). Are you absolutely sure that the stock CPU cooler and the three stock fans that come with this case will be enough to keep the CPU under dangerous temps? I just dont' want to run into any major issues, you know what I mean? Streaming means more to me than Rendering, I can deal with longer times to Render as long as it's not tens of minutes in difference... Which in theory isn't that easy to project...

You thought the way I was, getting GTX 960, saving around $30 for 16GB of RAM.

One more question, why the 520w instead of the 550w which is cheaper? XFX TS 550w is a tier 2 PSU, and is again, cheaper. Is there any real reason to having a lower wattage PSU?

The reason I chose the the 520W Seasonic is because I wanted it to be modular in the same price range. The Seasonic is still adequate in terms of wattage, since the system will likely consume between 275-340W.

Not to sound stupid... But what's the difference between Modular, Semi, and Not Modular?

Guest · May 25, 2016

IxWolfie :

apk24 :

768p, but I'm fairly certain that's close enough to 720p, haha. (1366x768 is my gaming monitor). Are you absolutely sure that the stock CPU cooler and the three stock fans that come with this case will be enough to keep the CPU under dangerous temps? I just dont' want to run into any major issues, you know what I mean? Streaming means more to me than Rendering, I can deal with longer times to Render as long as it's not tens of minutes in difference... Which in theory isn't that easy to project...

You thought the way I was, getting GTX 960, saving around $30 for 16GB of RAM.

One more question, why the 520w instead of the 550w which is cheaper? XFX TS 550w is a tier 2 PSU, and is again, cheaper. Is there any real reason to having a lower wattage PSU?

The reason I chose the the 520W Seasonic is because I wanted it to be modular in the same price range. The Seasonic is still adequate in terms of wattage, since the system will likely consume between 275-340W.

Not to sound stupid... But what's the difference between Modular, Semi, and Not Modular?

It's a valid question.

Here's a good explanation:

http://support.nzxt.com/hc/en-us/articles/202798380-Full-Vs-Semi-Vs-Non-Modular-What-Are-The-Differences-

IxWolfie · May 25, 2016

IxWolfie :

The reason I chose the the 520W Seasonic is because I wanted it to be modular in the same price range. The Seasonic is still adequate in terms of wattage, since the system will likely consume between 275-340W.

Not to sound stupid... But what's the difference between Modular, Semi, and Not Modular?

It's a valid question.

Here's a good explanation:

http://support.nzxt.com/hc/en-us/articles/202798380-Full-Vs-Semi-Vs-Non-Modular-What-Are-The-Differences-

Huh. Okay, that makes sense... So convenience is expensive, right?

Thanks for that! I'll be sure to keep it in mind.

Guest · May 25, 2016

No problem.

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