Good gaming PC build for price?

Nothing's overkill, so long as you know going in that buying a pre-built absolutely brutalizes you on the price.

Better PSU would be a smart choice. You don't need 800W, but you do want better quality.

With Intel you don't need that much power in my opinion. Also...just build it yourself man...you'd be amazed what's possible.

I used to love saying 800 minimum and with some beastly AMD rigs (beastly in a GOOD, Power Sucking & Hot way that need a big PSU, but there is some arithmetic you can do as far as how much power each thing draws (CPU, GPU and so on) and simply add them up and then give yourself some breathing room in the final tally plus consideration for upgrades.. I have seen PC's like this with 500-600 all day long. Just stay Golden, Pony Boy. Don't go with an off name or sub gold certified or you may push the button and

*SILENCE*

or worse you will have tolerance or PG Delay issues or the sine? waves will be...wrong..I am getting too far into the technicalities...sorry

Just know better metal type designation=better certification and steady power thus not messing up your rig.

They range from least to most efficient with 80 Plus, 80 Plus Bronze, 80 Plus Silver, 80 Plus Gold, 80 Plus Platinum and 80 Plus Titanium. To meet the ENERGY STAR requirements, you need to get at least an 80 Plus Silver rated power supply.



also go with a Modular PSU. Better airflow, less clutter..the inside of your PC won't look like Medusa's VaJayJay.

Paying 20 bucks for someone to bundle your cords is just...well...rich person thinking imho.

Love the mobo you chose. YOU will love it too. Make use of the M.2 slot. That mobo hides it well as well, they are ugly to look at but great to have.

You are going to want USB 3.0 at least. 3.1 A and C are also available but unnecessary I think.

OK..gotta go gorge on turkey. Best I can do at-a-glance.

yes. 550 is perfect. sweet spot for price is right in there somwhere too. very good choice on choosing to take the capital ear marked for paying someone to build it and reinvesting it into the machine iteself. You wil be happy you future proofed a bit or we'll be having this conversation in a couple years.. OK..let's see..I am going to C & P your list and just respond to items individually...

MB: ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII HERO ALPHA LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

****OK. ANYTHING "ROG" you are paying a premium for as they came up with a catchy phrase. Like "Alienware"> Even though it's just a fancy Dell...they charge double. Not saying it isn't good but there are so many options just within the AUS camp alone. This is a VERY cutting edge board. Only DDR4, socket 1151 (not 1150) and so on. You will have this for a LONG time (in computer years).

Anyway: Have a look here-->Asus Motherboard Z170 PRO GAMING LGA1151 Z170 DDR4 SATA PCI-Express ATX Retail $169.99 . Over $100 bucks less and I cannot find a reason not to save the cash. They also have a "TUF" line with "military class specs" and comesd with white/grey camo but we are back to paying for a name again as well as that awful camo.

Graphics: ASUS ROG GeForce GTX 1070 STRIX-GTX1070-O8G-GAMING 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready Video Card.

*****Good choice. I would buy one as well for main rig I am planning to b uy in about 6 weeks (god please let time fly). My main rig went *KABOOM* in several ways and I am stripping it down to bolts and screws and wires. Everything else is just either broken, too old or...whatever, TO THE SCRAP YARD WITH YOU! LAZY CUR! Now I do have my other PC for gaming and my backup has an R9 280X (XFX). I think I am just going to buy another one and Xfire them together bringing me up to 6GB dedicated VRAM.

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000)

***Seems like a good choice. Falls into the sweet spot on DDR4 price. I was going to try and talk you into 32 but..no freakin' way at those prices.

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1151 91W

******Comes bundled with your CPU cooler for$322.98. Not sure how wonderful that price is, but there should be some savings when bundling. Was at Amazon....which I hate to promote but..there it is.

Power: EVGA SuperNOVA 550 G2 220-G2-0550-Y1 80+ GOLD 550W Fully Modular EVGA

*****Modular? CHECK! GOLD + Certified? CHECK ***good job. You were listening to the people who knew wtf they were talking about and were trying to help. You can go with a 600 or 650 (or 1500 for that matter)but you don't need it now and may not ever need it. It will only draw more power and create more heat. I am a bit old school on THIS ONE THING though. And being that I AM old, I am allowed my occasional stubbornness. I RARELY buy below 800 simply because:

I do not know what I do not know, and the future is going to always want more power.

It is a philosophy that goes way beyond power supplies, so...it is up to you. 550 Gold & Mod? wonderful. 800 Gold & Mod? Wonderful too..just a little more wonderful. Up to you!

CPU cooling: CORSAIR Hydro Series H50 120mm Quiet Edition Liquid CPU Cooler - Intel Only
***see bundle note

SSD (m.2): SAMSUNG 850 EVO M.2 2280 250GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal SSD Single Unit Version MZ-N5E250BW

***YAY M.2

HD: WD Black 1TB Performance Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch

**go at least 2TB's. You'll thank me later, cost is negligible. You could add another 1TB later but who wants a bunch of 1TB HDD's in their machine? I would either take the hit and get a 10000 RPM 500GB @ $175 bucks, the 2TB WD Black or consider a Hybrid option. You have the SSD for your OS, but you'd be amazed how much fater read/write times help with gaming. 7200 is sufficient speed but 1TB seems like a waste to me with the prices on 2TB being so close.

Wifi: Rosewill RNWD-N9003PCE - Dual Band Wireless N900 Adapter

********Is there no way to hard-wire your machine into your wifi router? I got lucky and my machine is right next to the router. My Xfinity tower comes with both options. I get http://results.speedtest.xfinity.com/result/1443110064.png on my hard wired PC, but my wifi PC which I use for non gaming but it still has an 17-6600K w/ Nvidia 3GB dedicated GPU and it gets 35 up and 20 down. So...go with wired if you CAN. If not...so be it.



Case: Rosewill Stryker M, ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case (comes with 3 fans)

*******Not bad. Look into COoler Master HAF cases. They don't get a lot of press....but if you need air flow (MUST HAVE if you run AMD as I do) then they are top of the line and not that expensive. But they are Full ATX....

So: option 1: go with what you listed. I prefer full towers though.


Option 2 :
Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced Full Tower Case with SuperSpeed USB 3.0 (RC-932-KKN5-GP)
Price: $189.98 & FREE Shipping

Option 3:Cooler Master HAF 912 - Mid Tower Computer Case with High Airflow Design (RC-912-KKN1-GP)
Price: $59.98 & FREE Shipping

so there we have it folks. Let mw know how you do!

**I completely understand on the wired/wireless situation. I run cables for people sometimes and when I am being paid I don't mind going the extra mile. I climb up into ceailings and run drops down the walls etc, For me, I have one PC within proximity for cables. The rest will be fine wireless. It helps that I have insanely fast internet....I mean 125 download is totally crazy.

You did a good job picking your parts. Now, just remember that you can do this. It isn't magic. It isn't open heart surgery. The components are tougher then you'd think, so don't be afraid of them while building your rig. You'll instill that fear intot eh rig and it will be a sissy rig (not really).

I rarely use a discharge cord (static electricity thingy you attach to a ground and wear on your wrist while building sensitive machines, but as a professional I must recommend it. They are like 4 bucks. Pain in the ass to wear tho. But in theory they keep you from discharging static electricity into the machine. If I lived in a cold-dry state and was walking on fuzzy carpet while building I'd wear one. I live in Florida where its hot and wet tho.)

Anyway. Take your time. Remember to get all your tools together before starting. Wait until after to start drinking heavily.

Also, as we discussed....you can always get more HDDs and with SSD's, HDDs and Hybrid drives out there, you have lots to choose from. PLUS, we made sure you have power for plenty more.
ENJOY YOUR NEW MACHINE!!!!