Building New Gaming PC Advise (Middle-End)

Danigar · Sep 15, 2016

Hello Everyone, I'm planning on building my first new gaming Desktop but as a newbie I feel overwhelmed with all the options around. I have done my research and I have a general idea of what I need. My budget is between $500 and max. $700 so I'm thinking in a entry to middle-end level build.

I'm not an enthusiast or hard core gamer but I l do like some AAA single-player games like Rise of the Tomb Raider or The Witcher 3 and would like to be able to play these or some older games at high resolutions (1080p, I don't care about 4K or any of the newer stuff yet). Otherwise I play mostly adventure games or indies that don't demand too much. Other than gaming I just do basic stuff like going on-line and maybe some programming. I would like it to be a little bit future-proof as I wouldn't like to upgrade parts too soon as newer games comes out (I would like to be able to play Mass Effect Andromeda next year for example), or be VR ready in case I become interested in it but without breaking the bank.

What do you guys think would work best for me? I have only focused on processor/GPU combos and I have looked at i3-6100, i5-6400 or i5-6500 which i think i like the most. GPU I have looked at the newer GTX 1060 3GB - 6GB and RX480 but I know there's tons of other options that may suit my needs. I'm willing to make compromises on other parts like motherboard or HDD since I don't care too much about space or multi-tasking, only to be able to play games without problems for a while (3-5 years)

Thanks, any help would be appreciated

Mac070 · Sep 15, 2016

I5 6500 definitely

I'd prefer the RX 480 . It offers Vulcan/DX 12 support which
gives it a huge gain on the GTX 1060. And has more vram and
can be crossfired in the future. More and more newer titles like Doom and BF1
is where the RX 480 is going to show its strength. Its more future proof.
Although the GTX 1060 is better for older games on DX 11 and shows its strength on
Rise Of the Tomb Raider. But RX 480 beats it in Witcher 3

Depends on whether your going to be playing Newer titles more or just older ones.
But I'd still recommend the RX 480 over the GTX 1060.

Bechmarks https://imgur.com/a/sw5u3#rfPxYci

FD2Raptor · Sep 16, 2016

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B150M MORTAR Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston FURY 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($38.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 480 8GB Video Card ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($62.98 @ NCIX US)
Total: $685.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-16 00:09 EDT-0400

This is packed with discounts, promo and rebate to give you as much as possible within the $700 budget.

Danigar · Sep 18, 2016

Thanks, that looks like a great build and I think is close to what I'm aiming at. I'm surprised about that Radeon RX 480 8gb at that price! Is that like a special discount that i should take advantage of soon? I think I'm definitely torn between that one and the GTX 1060 6GB

Mac070 · Sep 18, 2016

I'd take the RX 480 8Gb over the GTX 1060 , obvious choice.
Has more Vram, supports Vulcan and DX 12 way better, and
is cheaper with better performance

>>Benchmarks<<

FD2Raptor · Sep 18, 2016

Danigar :

Unfortunately, prices and availability has fluctuated since. That RX480 is now no longer available. The next cheapest RX480 8GB that is available now is the PowerColor Radeon RX 480 8GB Red Devil ($255.99 @ SuperBiiz; +$16).

There probably was some other promos/discount when I posted that build (probably combo buy i5-6500 with the Kingston Fury), since I'm seeing it now at $691.18 and the Corsair SPEC-01 promo code for $5 price reduction and its $10 rebate promos would both expire by the 21st.

Danigar · Sep 18, 2016

Yeah now that I'm checking prices and availability is kind of a mess and it's making it harder to decide. The RX480 8GB at $200 would be a no brainer, but as it is right now, I'm looking at either GTX1060 3GB / RX470 4GB / RX480 4GB or the more expensive GTX1060 6GB / RX480 8GB. in the $200 - 250 range

Do you think is worth to wait until November or the holidays to see if I can get good discounts on either of these or other cards, wait until more cards get in stock or is it going to be pretty much the same? Better question still, checking at the prices I can see that it would cost pretty much the same an RX470 8GB and RX480 4GB and close to a GTX1060 6GB, So the question becomes, is it better to get a 480 with less vram or a 470 with more vram?

*Update: On further research, I found an MSI GTX 970 4GB at $200. Does it beat all the other options? I would take it on a heart bit, I remember back when I first thought about building my PC, I thought about the GTX970 cause it was a popular card and it was powerful but then realized it was priced way higher than what I was willing to pay.

FD2Raptor · Sep 19, 2016

It's difficult to say on the waiting till holidays. At this price range, everybody is looking for a bargain so competition for any deal/any possible stock clearing sale by any retailer would be fierce.

A heavily OCed GTX 970 can trade blows with ref RX480, but taking DX12/Vulkan and 3rd party OC/cooler into consideration, the RX480 is worth it.

is it better to get a 480 with less vram or a 470 with more vram

The RX480 4GB is better if that's gonna be the only card in the system. RX470 8GB is worth it only if you do plan on CrossFire-ing it (maybe not now but later on, since as is, it's ~10% slower than the RX480).

g-unit1111 · Sep 19, 2016

Danigar :

No, the 970 is a step in the wrong direction. If you're interested in being VR ready the NVIDIA 10XX is a better choice. If you're only running 1080P then the 970 is fine but I see in the OP you are interested in building a VR ready system. In which case the 970 is barely adequate for VR and I wouldn't purchase it as a long term solution. One of the other mods has an RX 480 and he experienced the launch problems. I don't know if they're still persisting but I can redirect him to this thread.

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