Hey guys,
the day has come that my students Laptop is not capable of displaying recent games anymore (~10 FPS). However, with The Witcher 3 and Fallout4 being released and looking forward to a stress free period that allows some gaming I need to buy a new desktop system.
My budget is 700-750€ (~$780-820) for a computer and a monitor. Mouse and keyboard are already there. The budget is not super tight, so if an extra buck would give me a system with a huge sustainability bonus for the future I am willing to spend it.
I already went through the $750 forum on Toms Hardware and picked a configuration that looked good and matches what my gamer friend recommends me. However, there are still some things I would like at least a second opinion on, as I am absolutely clueless to today's standard. I've listed the current status and added some comments:
CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H-GSM Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($74.12 @ Amazon)
My friend recommends a board with a H170/H110 chipset instead? A good Lan is also quite important
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($34.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
A SSD should be sufficient since I have no problem being able to only have 5-6 games installed at the same time for gaining a performance boost in loading times.
Video Card: The video card is my biggest problem. According to the guide on Toms Hardware a RX480 is supposed to be better than a GX970 gaming-wise, this article, however, has benchmarks that show the complete opposite.
Also recommended was:
XFX Radeon R9 390 8GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($264.99 @ Newegg)
What would you guys recommend and why? My friend is a huge Radeon fan since the NVidia lies about the GTX970, however, the GTX970 still seems to outperform most Radeons for almost the same price...?
Does it make sense to spend an extra 30-40€ to go for 8GB instead of 4GB?
Is there a siginificant difference between MSI, Asus, etc or just go for the cheapest one?
Case: I still have my case from my first PC about 8 years ago. It should fit ATX and miniATX as far as I know, since these standards didn't change during the last 10 years, am I right? However, there are no cooling fans or anything like it, would it be sufficient to just leave the side lid open?
Power Supply: bequiet pure power 9 400W non-modular (50€)
I dont see any real benefits going for modular, it seems to be mostly convenience?
System Usage: Gaming only
OS: not needed (7 or 10 for games?)
Overclocking: never done that, willing to start reading if possible and useful, though
Monitor: I dont have high expectations. Should be >22 inch.
My research yielded following: Reaction rate should be low, resolution 1920x1080 (otherwise the chosen graphic cards don't make sense) and that's about it?
I also read about FreeSync and G-Sync, should that determine the monitor? There seem to be no good tests yet...
Anything special to look for or just go for the cheapest model with these criteria?
I hope that you guys can help me out here and thank you very much in advance
the day has come that my students Laptop is not capable of displaying recent games anymore (~10 FPS). However, with The Witcher 3 and Fallout4 being released and looking forward to a stress free period that allows some gaming I need to buy a new desktop system.
My budget is 700-750€ (~$780-820) for a computer and a monitor. Mouse and keyboard are already there. The budget is not super tight, so if an extra buck would give me a system with a huge sustainability bonus for the future I am willing to spend it.
I already went through the $750 forum on Toms Hardware and picked a configuration that looked good and matches what my gamer friend recommends me. However, there are still some things I would like at least a second opinion on, as I am absolutely clueless to today's standard. I've listed the current status and added some comments:
CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H-GSM Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($74.12 @ Amazon)
My friend recommends a board with a H170/H110 chipset instead? A good Lan is also quite important
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($34.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
A SSD should be sufficient since I have no problem being able to only have 5-6 games installed at the same time for gaining a performance boost in loading times.
Video Card: The video card is my biggest problem. According to the guide on Toms Hardware a RX480 is supposed to be better than a GX970 gaming-wise, this article, however, has benchmarks that show the complete opposite.
Also recommended was:
XFX Radeon R9 390 8GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($264.99 @ Newegg)
What would you guys recommend and why? My friend is a huge Radeon fan since the NVidia lies about the GTX970, however, the GTX970 still seems to outperform most Radeons for almost the same price...?
Does it make sense to spend an extra 30-40€ to go for 8GB instead of 4GB?
Is there a siginificant difference between MSI, Asus, etc or just go for the cheapest one?
Case: I still have my case from my first PC about 8 years ago. It should fit ATX and miniATX as far as I know, since these standards didn't change during the last 10 years, am I right? However, there are no cooling fans or anything like it, would it be sufficient to just leave the side lid open?
Power Supply: bequiet pure power 9 400W non-modular (50€)
I dont see any real benefits going for modular, it seems to be mostly convenience?
System Usage: Gaming only
OS: not needed (7 or 10 for games?)
Overclocking: never done that, willing to start reading if possible and useful, though
Monitor: I dont have high expectations. Should be >22 inch.
My research yielded following: Reaction rate should be low, resolution 1920x1080 (otherwise the chosen graphic cards don't make sense) and that's about it?
I also read about FreeSync and G-Sync, should that determine the monitor? There seem to be no good tests yet...
Anything special to look for or just go for the cheapest model with these criteria?
I hope that you guys can help me out here and thank you very much in advance
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