Building an Intel CPU Gamer Box for my Son - Looking for Best cost effective Single Slot Graphics MB

[-Jim-]

Gents,

My son, who loves to Game, wants me to build him a new Rig so I'm trying to get some perspective on what's the best cost effective MB he can buy for use with only a single slot GPU. He's not into SLI, or Crossfire, and only uses a single Asus LCD monitor. He seems perfectly happy with his present on board Audio as well.

His present Rig has an i5 2500K installed on an Asus P8Z68-VLE MB, 16 Gigs of DDR3 Ram, and a Gigabyte GTX-770 Video Card. He says there are now a few games where he can't use the full graphics capability. It's almost 4 years old so (his Mom and I give him a new Graphics Card almost every Christmas though) but it's understandable the MB isn't able to utilise the full capability of the GPU anymore. (I put his old Rig together. Actually I built all his Rigs, but that's another story.)

We are planning to (probably) give him a Gigabyte GTX-960 Video Card for Christmas (the local NCIX has it on Sale) as we can plug it into his existing Rig right away, even though he'll be limited by the PCIe 2.0 x16 on the P8Z68-VLE, and possibly the CPU as well. But it will form the first piece of the new Rig.

A lot of the MBs I've used in recent years all seem to have multiple PCI 16 Slots even though we never use SLI or Crossfire; as we can't afford multiple monitor setups or 3 or 4 video cards. So it seems silly to pay for a lot of capability for no benefit if an alternate is available. I've been out of touch on the new generations of MBs since I built my latest Rig, and another for one of my brothers => both with an Asus Z87-A; and then a Rig for one of his sons with a Z87-Deluxe. All of them have single GPUs =>and you guessed it multiple PCIe x16 slots.

Sometimes I wonder if I should just build him a Rig based on the Z87 MB as they are getting heavy discounts locally (saving him $$) and I expect some blowouts on Boxing Day (which is like Black Friday here in Canada) as I expect these MBs to be discontinued soon. But then I think that's 2 generations old, and possibly Gaming now and in the foreseeable future, needs more horsepower than even an i7 could produce on that platform.

Your comments and suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks for the assist.

Regards,

Jim

 

[terry4536]

First off, I need to know what processor that you are considering? The processor will determine the CPU socket type for the motherboard.

 

[-Jim-]

Terry,

Thanks for the quick response. Other than Intel, I'm quite open as to the processor as long as it too is cost effective. When I built his last Rig, Gaming didn't need anything more than an i5 2500, as the bottle neck was graphics related. (We even put double the Ram as a hedge against the future. I put a water cooler on it for grins in case we needed to O/C it someday. So far we haven't O/C'd but I may try that after we give him the new Gigabyte GTX-960 Video Card for Christmas.) If Gaming can use, or is expected to used i7 capabilities we'll go in that direction.

So I guess the answer is we'll do whatever makes sense.

 

[terry4536]

What would the be price range for the processor and motherboard and RAM?

 

[-Jim-]

I expect the Budget is about $1000 (Canadian) say $750 US Funds. Again my Son is paying for those Bits so we need to be cost effective. I could easily up that budget and pick all top end ROG stuff with i7 CPU or better, but that doesn't help him out. I assume the existing CPU & RAM won't cut it anymore and it seems DDR4 is hitting the mainstream price wise. We'll reuse the Case, PSU (which was new last year for a birthday gift), Fans, Optical Drive, mouse, etc.,

For me it's all about function of the Box. Cool looking plastic bits, lights, colors, etc., on the inside don't matter. We want something that's good for gaming that's affordable for him.

 

[terry4536]

Here are the three components (motherboard, CPU, and RAM) that I would suggest for a new gaming system. The total was US$ 540.

Intel Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1151 95W BX80662I56600K Desktop Processor US$270

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117561

ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
US$ 160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132567

G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000) Intel Z170 Desktop Memory Model F4-3000C15D-16GVR US$110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231878

$270 CPU
$160 Motherboard.
$110 DDR4 Ram (2 x 8 GB)

US $540

 

[terry4536]

If it were my pick, I would get this motherboard instead.


ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII HERO LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Gaming Motherboard US $235

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132565

 

[lodders]

The above options are great if you have plenty of $$
If you want to compromise a little to save significant money, get a CPU and motherboard like mine (see signature)

 

[The_Tester]

Intel Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1151 95W BX80662I56600K Desktop Processor US$270
Here are the three components (motherboard, CPU, and RAM) that I would suggest for a new gaming system. The total was US$ 540.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117561

ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
US$ 160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132567

G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000) Intel Z170 Desktop Memory Model F4-3000C15D-16GVR US$110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231878

$270 CPU
$160 Motherboard.
$110 DDR4 Ram (2 x 8 GB)

US $540

I definitely would stick the this^^^ or something very similar to it as a good base, it's a good combo with a nice selection of slots on the motherboard to add stuff later that won't get in the way of the graphics card (hopefully).

What sort of games are going to be played? Are they going to be GPU heavy like say Assassins creed syndicate or relatively lite like say Rainbow 6 Siege? (just picking random new games). Are they going to be older games? I want to say a GTX960 (or equivalent) then you could pick up 120GB~250GB or so SSD for the OS and a fairly quick HDD for the games/storage and other stuff you would not want to be reading and writing all the time on the SSD.

Or, GTX970 (or equivalent) and go all quality HDD. For gaming you don't really need an SSD in itself unless you are going to be doing uncompressed recording or something like that.

P.S. Most modern graphics cards running at PCIe3x8 (PCIe2x16) in the case of lodders motherboard have little noticeable drop in performance within this range. It's not always the best option to go new. But... newer hardware usually has less compatibility issues down the road.

 

[terry4536]

Also since the processor socket is different from your old system, the CPU cooler may or may not transfer to the new system.

 

[-Jim-]

Gents,

Thanks for the input. I'm quite Geeky and have built / rebuilt about 50 Boxes for Friends and Family as a hobby in the last decade or so. But I'm not a Gamer as I stopped playing games just about the time my Son got into them. So if the CPU Cooler doesn't fit, or there are PSU issues ( I doubt it as it's got an Antec HCG-750M => a 750 Watt unit), etc., I'll be able to handle it.

I've made the assumption that by now the shift to PCIe 3 is what's really hold his Rig back. Is that correct? He can't play "Just Cause 3" or "Witcher 3" at Max settings (I hope I've spelled those correctly) and his current favorite is Fallout 4. Of course if we go for the new MB, it will have to play what's coming down the road as it's his main hobby these days. And if so will one of the newer i5 CPUs be all that's required?

I was thinking of an SSD for the OS and a separate HDD for the Games. Is that the current configuration for good Gaming? (The existing MB has a small SSD to boost the performance of Win7 utilizing Intel Smart response technology) He's not keen on moving to Win10 and would prefer to stay with Win7.

I've made the assumption that by now the shift to PCIe 3 is what's really hold his Rig back. Is that correct? He can't play "Just Cause 3" or "Witcher 3" at Max settings (I hope I've spelled those correctly) and his current favorite is Fallout 4.

As he's paying for all but the GPU, I'd like not to over build so it's a balancing act between real performance gains - and $$. Any move to the GTX-970 (or equivalent) just won't fly with his Mom as she says spending that much on his Present isn't fair to his Brother => or our Bank account!

Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions.

 

[terry4536]

The advantage of PCI Express x16 3.0 over 2.0 is on the order of 5%. It is an improvement, but not a major one. The biggest improvement in the general performance will be upgrading to a SSD over a hard drive. The next would be to have sufficient RAM. I would say that the very minimum is 8GB, but more realistic minimum is 16GB for good performance. Plus the speed and latency of the RAM is important.

The components I recommended should give your son a great gaming system as a baseline. Then you can add the graphics card of your choice. But note that the GTX 960 is entry level to medium level in performance. Be sure to select a model with the most VRAM.

 

[terry4536]

Also it is tempting to save money on the CPU, you might save $50. But the performance will suffer, and you will loose the advantage of overclocking.

 

[-Jim-]

Thanks Terry,

If the shift to PCIe 3 really only 5% then are you saying there isn't going to be a tremendous improvement in his Gaming experience with a new MB, CPU, etc.,?

Would we be better off just moving to an SSD in his present Rig for the OS (and a separate HDD for the Games), O/Cing it, and moving up to a GTX-970 (or ?) video card?

 

[terry4536]

That is an option. And in the short term it would work well. The GTX 970 is what I have on my system(great card by the way).

But this year there is a dividing line that is going to extend into the next decade or so. All new systems are going to incorporate DDR4 memory. So if you are going to spend the money, I would recommend going with the new motherboard. Your son can upgrade the graphics card or drives later. Plus the price tag of SSDs are dropping. I just picked up a Samsung 250GB SSD for $74.

 

[terry4536]

Here is some reading material.

Best CPUs
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-cpus,3986.html

Best Memory
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-ram,4057.html

 

[-Jim-]

Gents,

Thanks for all the posts. We grabbed a Gigabyte G1 Gamer GTX 970 for his Christmas present. I installed it and every thing works good (except is seems slow to me when booting, and surfing the web compared to my SSD based box.)

He picked up a 3 TB HDD and wants me to migrate all of his (almost full) 1TB HDD to it. Now I'm headed into MBR /GDP issues as it's not a simple Hard Drive upgrade with Symantec System Recovery anymore. I'll post over in the Gaming section on that as I really want to do the best re-configuration for him until he bites the bullet with a new MB, CPU, etc., to go with the GTX-970.

Once again - Thanks for all the posts and suggestions.

 

[terry4536]

You are welcome. Keep in mind that if you plan to add Windows to the new Drive that it needs to be MBR unless the motherboard has a UEFI "BIOS".

Here is a good article on the subject.

http://www.howtogeek.com/193669/whats-the-difference-between-gpt-and-mbr-when-partitioning-a-drive/