$400-500 budget gaming PC (limited parts choice)

Mediocre · Sep 14, 2016

I am building a custom PC,and i can't order anything online,so i found someone in my town who sells parts.
I asked for a similar build,and he said those are the parts he has right now.
My budged is about $400-500
Is it worth it and should i change any part from this build or add anything?
I already have the OS and the optical drive,so don't mind those.

G.SKILL 8GB Ripjaws V DDR4 2400MHz CL15 KIT F4-2400C15D-8GVR
GIGABYTE GV-N950WF2OC-2GD GTX950 2GB GDDR5 OC PCIE
INTEL Core i3-6100 3.70GHz 1151 BOX
MSI Z170-A PRO
WD Blue 1TB 7200rpm 64MB SATA3 WD10EZEX, lc power 600w

Trafalgar747 · Sep 14, 2016

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($198.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($53.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ TRION 150 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $484.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-14 09:43 EDT-0400

Get something identical to this.

FD2Raptor · Sep 14, 2016

This is how much that build would cost new now:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 950 2GB Dual WindForce Video Card ($143.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $447.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-14 09:34 EDT-0400

That's with the Gigabyte GTX950 and its $20 rebate, so its total cost is $463.45 before shipping/discount. If you can get those at closer to $400, I'd say you got a good deal.

The Z170 motherboard would be a bit much for the i3 but it would allow you to upgrade to an i5/i7-k series with ability to overclock the CPU to achieve even better CPU performance down the line.
The i3 6100 is a solid pick for budget gaming.
8GB DDR4 ram is decent choice and at 2400Mhz bus, it should provide some benefits over the standard 2133Mhz bus in games/applications that need it.
GTX950 is a decent choice at this time for budget 1080p. At large, there are RX460 that are cheaper than GTX950 and would trade blows with it between titles but if that is what is available to you at, again, closer to the $400 end rather than the $500 end, it's still a good deal.

The unknown part is the "lc power 600w"... this is a rather dangerous factor... while the GTX950+i3 would consume relatively little power that even a rather crappy PSU would power the system on and game just fine for a while; for the safety of the system in the long run however, knowing the actual make and manufacturer of that PSU to know if it's actually any good, therefore would it need to be replaced or not is the final key question.

@Trafalga:
Your build lack a graphic card and a PSU. Plus he already said that he can't order online.

Mediocre · Sep 14, 2016

FD2Raptor :

Exactly what i was looking for!
I am sorry for no info on PSU,i will look into it.
Sadly,online shopping isn't an option in my country,and the only thing i can do is to ask a local PC merchant to build me a custom PC of my choice.Of course,he can't provide the exact parts i need,since its just a local PC shop...My original build was even cheaper (and better),but he doesn't have the parts.What kind of PSU do you recommend?To be honest,the PSU is not something that i am that familiar with.However,i know almost everything else about all the other components.Oh,and by the way,i can get rx 460 or r7 370 for the same price from the same shop,so which card do you recommend of those three?
Thanks for response!

Mediocre · Sep 14, 2016

Trafalgar747 :

Thank you very much,but the PC shop is very limited when it comes to parts,and for that build,they would charge about $600,which i don't have at the moment.
Thanks for answering!

Mediocre · Sep 14, 2016

So only two question remain: PSU and graphics card (i think im good with GTX 950 tho)
I have no idea what PSU to get,and i can't go over the budget.
Oh and the case...

Trafalgar747 · Sep 14, 2016

The OP said he needs a better processor to handle his new graphics card, so i assumed he does not need a graphic card in his budget.

Just make sure you get the i5 6500, any cheap H110M motherboard will do as long as it is from a reputable brand, get 2x8GB sticks of 2133Mhz DDR4 memory, preferable by G.Skill, Corsair or Kingston. For an SSD get a 240GB/250/256 Kingston, Toshiba OCZ or ADATA Premier, get the cheapest one. The HDD that i mentioned should be readily available, you can also settle for a 1TB if it is enough space for you. For the case get any cheap and well rated case that you like.

Trafalgar747 · Sep 14, 2016

If you need a case look at Seasonic S1211 or XFX TS. May i ask what graphics card you recently purchased?

Mediocre · Sep 14, 2016

i5 6500 is not an option,and 1TB is enough.
I haven't purchased anything yet,and i can't buy either of those cases.
As i said,its a very limited market.

FD2Raptor · Sep 14, 2016

The OP said he needs a better processor to handle his new graphics card, so i assumed he does not need a graphic card in his budget.

He did not say this so I'm under the impression that you got something mix up.

@Mediocre:
Any ATX midtower case would work for the current build. Neither the i3 nor the GTX950 would produce enough heat to allow higher end case to make a difference. The GTX950 WF2OC is only 208mm long and therefore shouldn't cause any fitting issue.

As for PSU, best in the budget kind would be:
Seasonic S12II or XFX TS (same thing, different branding)
Antec High Current Gamer Modular (same platform as the S12II, with semi-modular design)

if one from these 3 lines are available, only ~430W model is needed for the current build; after that your best hope are:

Cooler Master Elite V2 550W
Antec Earth Watts Green
Antec VP500

and that's about it for the known good budget PSU, the rest are a crap-shot with no certain term that they are decent or not.
Your best bet after that are the newer FSP model i.e. HYPER/HYDRO 500W (since like Seasonic, FSP also is one of the OEM; i.e. they own the manufacturing line, unlike some of the other brands like say Corsair or EVGA who just slap their branding on the design of other OEM and therefore one shouldn't blindly trust everything with those brand).

i can get rx 460 or r7 370 for the same price from the same shop,so which card do you recommend of those three?

There's only competition between the GTX950 and the RX460 as they both out do the r7 370 while consume less power. And it's just as I said the two trade blows with each other; there are titles that the GTX950 would do better and there are titles that the RX460 would do better. This is really just depend on the game you'd like to play. The only other extra factor is the availability of Gsync vs Freesync monitors in your area that may have an effect.

Mediocre · Sep 14, 2016

FD2Raptor :

The OP said he needs a better processor to handle his new graphics card, so i assumed he does not need a graphic card in his budget.

He did not say this so I'm under the impression that you got something mix up.

@Mediocre:
Any ATX midtower case would work for the current build. Neither the i3 nor the GTX950 would produce enough heat to allow higher end case to make a difference. The GTX950 WF2OC is only 208mm long and therefore shouldn't cause any fitting issue.

As for PSU, best in the budget kind would be:
Seasonic S12II or XFX TS (same thing, different branding)
Antec High Current Gamer Modular (same platform as the S12II, with semi-modular design)

if one from these 3 lines are available, only ~430W model is needed for the current build; after that your best hope are:

Cooler Master Elite V2 550W
Antec Earth Watts Green
Antec VP500

and that's about it for the known good budget PSU, the rest are a crap-shot with no certain term that they are decent or not.
Your best bet after that are the newer FSP model i.e. HYPER/HYDRO 500W (since like Seasonic, FSP also is one of the OEM; i.e. they own the manufacturing line, unlike some of the other brands like say Corsair or EVGA who just slap their branding on the design of other OEM and therefore one shouldn't blindly trust everything with those brand).

i can get rx 460 or r7 370 for the same price from the same shop,so which card do you recommend of those three?

There's only competition between the GTX950 and the RX460 as they both out do the r7 370 while consume less power. And it's just as I said the two trade blows with each other; there are titles that the GTX950 would do better and there are titles that the RX460 would do better. This is really just depend on the game you'd like to play. The only other extra factor is the availability of Gsync vs Freesync monitors in your area that may have an effect.

Thank you both for your time,now i know everything i needed to know,you saved me money and time,and thanks to you,i will have a better PC!

Best wishes!

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