My first gaming PC build (budget)

[Insevin]

OEM HP ProLiant ML10 v2 (OEM motherboard)
Intel Core i3-4150 (2 core, 3.50 GHz, 3MB, 54W)
MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GD5T OC 2GB
Asus XONAR 5.1 PCIe Sound Card
4 + 8 GB 240-Pin DDR3 ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1600 Memory
EVGA G2 80+ Gold 550W PSU
Seagate 1TB HDD
Asus 24X DVD Burner
OEM Fan over CPU
OEM x2 Gigabit Ethernet ports
OEM x2 USB 2.0, x2 USB 3.0
iLO v4 Remote Access enabled

COST = ~$640 USD

Built as a traditionally console gamer looking to get into PC without paying too much. I originally thought it wouldn't even cost this much but ran into unexpected issues. As it was I have not been able to play on the rig too much as I am out of the country for an extended period of time on business but it runs Rainbow Six Siege very well. How did I do?

 

[CTurbo]

Are these used parts or the upgrading of an existing PC? You can do better for $640.

 

[Insevin]

These were all new parts.

 

[CTurbo]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B150M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($65.38 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($33.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 380 2GB Video Card ($143.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($41.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $585.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-06 13:56 EDT-0400

 

[Insevin]

My PSU is better, plus forget Windows 10 no way I'd use that even for free, and also forget a Radeon graphics card. That also doesn't take into account my choosing a dedicated sound card or optical drive. Not to mention low amount of memory. Nice attempt at a budget build but I find mine superior. That isn't bad for the price.

 

[CTurbo]

Your psu is better, but it is more expensive. It's more efficient and fully modular, but it is not any more reliable.

Why dismiss the Radeon card??? It is faster AND cheaper?

A sound card is an unnecessary waste of money. Especially at a $640 budget.

A disc drive can easily be added. Would you even use one? I haven't used one in years so I usually forget to add one or purposely skip it to spend the money elsewhere.

If you want more than 8GB RAM, get 2x8GB so it can run in dual channel.

My cpu is better. My motherboard is better. Other than the psu, my entire build is better AND cheaper.




Anyway, here is a redo switching back to the psu you like and the GTX960. This time a 4GB version. I don't know which windows you prefer, but they're all about the same price.



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock B150M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: PNY Anarchy 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($41.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.88 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM 64-bit ($84.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $644.19
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-06 23:38 EDT-0400

 

[Insevin]

I do use my sound card, and disc drive. The graphics card is a brand choice. Also, my build was made about 4 months ago, and from 2-3 sites, not 4-5. That would be somewhat of a headache. I'm still cringing at your OS pick though, Windows 7 is where its at, for now. Overall that build is virtually the same as mine, although the 960 has gone down in price. Part of my price being high is that the memory must be ECC. Nice work finding builds. This is my first time doing this and didn't want it to be complicated.

 

[CTurbo]

I do use my sound card, and disc drive. The graphics card is a brand choice. Also, my build was made about 4 months ago, and from 2-3 sites, not 4-5. That would be somewhat of a headache.

Fair enough.

I'm still cringing at your OS pick though, Windows 7 is where its at, for now.

I completely agree. I'm still clinging to Win7 myself so I can definitely relate.

Overall that build is virtually the same as mine, although the 960 has gone down in price.

Yes it is similar. The 380 has always been a little cheaper and a little better. The 6100 is only about ~15% faster so yeah that's close enough.




I wasn't trying to bash your build. It's a good build. If you would have said from the beginning that you built it a few months ago I would have given you 2 thumbs up instead of throwing other builds at you.

 

[Insevin]

This budget build is now a couple years old. Are there any parts that make sense upgrading in this build? I don't plan on throwing too much money on upgrading an old and even odd build, but am open to suggestions.

I am still not SUPER into intensive GPU/CPU heavy games on PC and my 2 displays are only 1080p, 144hz (only over DVI which most GPUs only have 1 port for). I'm not sold on 2K or 4K, nor VR. Frame rate matters more to me.

OEM HP ProLiant ML10 v2 (OEM motherboard)
Intel Core i3-4150 (2 core, 3.50 GHz, 3MB, 54W)
MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GD5T OC 2GB
Asus XONAR 5.1 PCIe Sound Card
4 + 8 GB 240-Pin DDR3 ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1600 Memory
EVGA G2 80+ Gold 550W PSU
Seagate 1TB HDD
Asus 24X DVD Burner
OEM Fan over CPU
OEM x2 Gigabit Ethernet ports
OEM x2 USB 2.0, x2 USB 3.0
iLO v4 Remote Access enabled
128GB Toshiba OCZ SSD (new since OP)
x4 USB 3.0 Powered PCI card (new since OP)

 

[Insevin]

I've decided to upgrade this build further.

OEM HP ProLiant ML10 v2 (OEM motherboard)
Intel Core i7-4790k
PNY Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB
Asus XONAR 5.1 PCIe Sound Card
4 + 8 GB 240-Pin DDR3 ECC Unbuffered DDR3 1600 Memory (extra x2 8GB on the way)
EVGA G2 80+ Gold 550W PSU
Seagate 1TB HDD
Samsung 860 EVO 1TB SSD (old SSD uninstalled)
Asus 24X DVD Burner
OEM Fan (back)
Arctic 13 CPU fan (not yet installed)
OEM x2 Gigabit Ethernet ports
OEM x2 USB 2.0, x2 USB 3.0
iLO v4 Remote Access enabled
x4 USB 3.0 Powered PCI card