Best Price for Performance PC (Don't need keyboard, mouse) for streaming games

[frankiecomp]

Currently have this; will be upgrading my monitor as well.

Looking to stream games like Path of Exile, maybe League of Legends, also anything that comes out soon that might be popular.

Budget is not limited but I would prefer to spend as little as possible and upgrade again in 2-3 years.

Would appreciate any insight or how to research parts myself.

Thank you

 

[jafrankl]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2pHCt6

 

[frankiecomp]

Thanks; any chance I should way till around Xmas for any deals?

 

[jafrankl]

That build is by no means optimized, and I don't typically look for deals around Christmas due to stock being depleted usually. Black Friday/Cyber Monday was a good time to grab parts.

 

[Drakbak]

If you're proposing a locked CPU, why would he need an aftermarket cooler or the Z97 board? Wouldn't he be fine with stock cooler and an H97 board? Would save some money.

 

[jafrankl]

pc part picker makes you pick a cooler... if you just follow the process. Otherwise yes. I still recommended aftermarket to keep the whole system airflow good.

 

[frankiecomp]

That build is by no means optimized, and I don't typically look for deals around Christmas due to stock being depleted usually. Black Friday/Cyber Monday was a good time to grab parts.

By not optimized you mean best price?

 

[jafrankl]

And some components could have better specs for similar price.

 

[frankiecomp]

And some components could have better specs for similar price.

I am assuming sorting the parts by rating and going with the cheapest price near the top isn't a bright idea?

Like this? http://pcpartpicker.com/p/d3jdgs

Do you know of any other forum or a thread where someone keeps track of builds in price ranges?

 

[jafrankl]

You can do that to start and look up reviews and performance specs on other sites. PC part picker is good for designing a system, but not for comparing items.

 

[frankiecomp]

You can do that to start and look up reviews and performance specs on other sites. PC part picker is good for designing a system, but not for comparing items.

I appreciate the help; do you know anyone on this site (or yourself) that does PC builds for a fee?

 

[jafrankl]

Physically putting them together or suggesting/creating a final build?

 

[frankiecomp]

Physically putting them together or suggesting/creating a final build?

I can wing the physical part I just need a final build as my understanding of computer parts is abysmal.

 

[jafrankl]

Doing the research for yourself on sites like: newegg.com, jonnyguru.com, passmark.com, will allow you to know how your parts compare, what benefits you will get from your choices, similar components in that price range, and how they will work together. I suggest you pick a build yourself, as if someone else does this for you, you won't know where to start in the future. Also, would you be happy not doing this yourself or knowing if you were getting the best components for your situation?

 

[frankiecomp]

Doing the research for yourself on sites like: newegg.com, jonnyguru.com, passmark.com, will allow you to know how your parts compare, what benefits you will get from your choices, similar components in that price range, and how they will work together. I suggest you pick a build yourself, as if someone else does this for you, you won't know where to start in the future. Also, would you be happy not doing this yourself or knowing if you were getting the best components for your situation?

I guess I'll get to it; would you advise against going for a $500 build like I did with my current PC? AMD CPU

 

[jafrankl]

If you went AMD, it's not impossible. But your system will also most likely not play the most recent games on high/ultra due to GPUs that can merely handle it costing ~$200+ on AMD's side.

 

[frankiecomp]

If I went along the lines of this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/RpJcmG

The price difference between me going with cheap parts vs. your choices is around $400. If I spend that $400 more will I be getting a 30-40% in increase in performance? I understand there are diminishing returns to some degree in the sense the more you spend the less effective your money gets in relation to performance.

My attention span has been shit lately but again I appreciate your advice I'll do some googling.

 

[jafrankl]

Not a bad build, check the reviews on that SSD. Samsungs have bad batches occasionally. That card will handle a lot, but the 4GB to 2GB selection will make it tough for the upcoming/new games. Also, check the PSU with jonnyguru, use online calculators to get an approximate wattage and go 50-100W over the suggestion is typical. Best of luck, post again if you have any issues/questions.

 

[frankiecomp]

Ok I am pretty set on this

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CQnxt6

Would just like any opinions; specifically regarding the amd 6 core vs intel i5. If I should go with the i5 would there be any parts I need to change?

 

[jafrankl]

Motherboard is slotted to fit a specific type of CPU, so that would be it (socket type = pin count on CPU).

 

[frankiecomp]

Okay I think I am done; question is: Do I wait a few weeks or pull the trigger? I know I missed sales last week but prices are pretty low atm afaik.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zhzQBm

 

[jafrankl]

Take care with that Seagate... many Seagates have had firmware issues and fail within a year. If you keep it monitored with something like HDD Guardian and check the firmware, it should be fine. My original is going on 3 years now and is still strong. As far as buying goes, you've made a good budget build; buy whenever you like. If you want, you could make another thread asking the forums to rank that build for budgetary purposes and ask if any sales are predicted in the near future (doubt it though).