$700 Gaming PC

[Fred944]

Greetings everyone. Without getting into too much detail, I was involved in an... altercation... which resulted in my current PC being thrown out of my second story window. It's dead, and a few of the parts are in pieces. I don't want to salvage anything because even if I found a part to be working I wouldn't trust that it wouldn't crap out on me later. So... I guess I'm looking for a new build. I don't have much, my budget is $700. Luckily I still have my monitor, which is an Asus 144Hz 1080p panel. This new build is just for gaming, I won't be doing anything else crazy. My old build was this and I was happy with performance:

 

-i5 6500

-16gb DDR4 2400mhz

-GTX 980 ti

-500gb ssd

 

Here's what I was thinking for a replacement:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($117.40 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($109.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($78.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Lexar - NS100 480 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($47.99 @ Adorama) 
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB DUAL OC Video Card  ($269.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Thermaltake - Versa N24 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $699.04
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-02 00:59 EDT-0400

 

This would be my first time actually building something from scratch. Before this I've just upgraded parts, but I feel pretty confident I can do it. Should I change anything? I would like the best gaming performance I can get in this range, the higher the fps the better.

[Fred944]

Oh and I should mention the only part I care about keeping is that tower. I've fallen in love with it...

[Oalei]

you dont realy need to replace that 980Ti tbh get something more better for the rest of your system like that PSU or other cases you might like later on.

[Fred944]

The 980 Ti is one of the parts in pieces. It came dislodged from the pcie slot on the fall and the shroud broke and a few fan blades were severed from the fans.

[Oalei]

6 minutes ago, Fred944 said:

The 980 Ti is one of the parts in pieces. It came dislodged from the pcie slot on the fall and the shroud broke and a few fan blades were severed from the fans.

well first of all use qoute so i can know that you replied.

well just replace it overall the build is good for 1080p high settings 60fps or maybe higher stable, frame drop is still there but nothing really gives stutter or something along those lines.

[trevb0t]

That 1660Ti is at best a lateral move, and likely a drop in performance from your 980Ti. I'd grab at least a 2060.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor	$117.40 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	ASRock - B450M Pro4-F Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$68.99 @ SuperBiiz
Memory	Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$66.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Team - GX2 512 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$46.99 @ Newegg
Video Card	EVGA - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB XC BLACK GAMING Video Card	$334.99 @ B&H
Case	Thermaltake - Versa N24 ATX Mid Tower Case	$34.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair - CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$39.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$765.14
	Mail-in rebates	-$55.00
	Total	$710.14
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-02 01:50 EDT-0400

 

[jerubedo]

It's certainly not a bad build, but for the price you can do better. This build features the 9100F (an upgrade over your 6500, and it handily beats out the 1600 in gaming) and an RTX 2060 (a pretty nice upgrade from your 980 Ti) which includes dedicated Ray Tracing hardware.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
Motherboard	ASRock - B365M Phantom Gaming 4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$79.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$66.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Team - MS30 256 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$30.49 @ Newegg
Video Card	Asus - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB DUAL OC Video Card	$329.99 @ Newegg
Case	Thermaltake - Versa N24 ATX Mid Tower Case	$34.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair - CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$39.89 @ OutletPC
Custom	Intel Core i3-9100F Coffee Lake 4-Core 3.6 GHz	$99.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$742.23
	Mail-in rebates	-$60.00
	Total	$683.23
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-02 01:34 EDT-0400

This video demonstrates the 9100F within just a few FPS of the 9400F (a 6 core offering from Intel) even in more demanding games like Assassin's Creed Origins, which leverages up to 12 threads, and the second video is a direct comparison on the 9100F (it's the same as a 7600K out of the box) vs the 1600.

 

 

This last video is just to show the 9100F's performance in some of the most recent games:

 

 

I'd consider Assassin's Creed Odyssey to be the most demanding game on the market currently (combined CPU and GPU) and the 9100F is able to provide a 1% low of 55 and an average of 78 FPS. In Rage 2 133 FPS averages, etc.

[Fred944]

26 minutes ago, Oalei said:

well first of all use qoute so i can know that you replied.

well just replace it overall the build is good for 1080p high settings 60fps or maybe higher stable, frame drop is still there but nothing really gives stutter or something along those lines.

Sorry, I didn't realize that...

[Fred944]

19 minutes ago, trevb0t said:

That 1660Ti is at best a lateral move, and likely a drop in performance from your 980Ti. I'd grab at least a 2060.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor	$117.40 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	ASRock - B450M Pro4-F Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$68.99 @ SuperBiiz
Memory	Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$66.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Team - GX2 512 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$46.99 @ Newegg
Video Card	EVGA - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB XC BLACK GAMING Video Card	$334.99 @ B&H
Case	Thermaltake - Versa N24 ATX Mid Tower Case	$34.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair - CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$39.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$765.14
	Mail-in rebates	-$55.00
	Total	$710.14
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-02 01:50 EDT-0400

 

 

16 minutes ago, jerubedo said:

It's certainly not a bad build, but for the price you can do better. This build features the 9100F (an upgrade over your 6500, and it handily beats out the 1600 in gaming) and an RTX 2060 (a pretty nice upgrade from your 980 Ti) which includes dedicated Ray Tracing hardware.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
Motherboard	ASRock - B365M Phantom Gaming 4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$79.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$66.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Team - MS30 256 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$30.49 @ Newegg
Video Card	Asus - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB DUAL OC Video Card	$329.99 @ Newegg
Case	Thermaltake - Versa N24 ATX Mid Tower Case	$34.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair - CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$39.89 @ OutletPC
Custom	Intel Core i3-9100F Coffee Lake 4-Core 3.6 GHz	$114.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$757.23
	Mail-in rebates	-$60.00
	Total	$697.23
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-02 01:34 EDT-0400

This video demonstrates the 9100F within just a few FPS of the 9400F (a 6 core offering from Intel) even in more demanding games like Assassin's Creed Origins, which leverages up to 12 threads, and the second video is a direct comparison on the 9100F (it's the same as a 7600K out of the box) vs the 1600.

 

 

This last video is just to show the 9100F's performance in some of the most recent games:

 

 

I'd consider Assassin's Creed Odyssey to be the most demanding game on the market currently (combined CPU and GPU) and the 9100F is able to provide a 1% low of 55 and an average of 78 FPS. In Rage 2 133 FPS averages, etc.

Thank you both so much. That is a lot of footage... I think I'll go with that build then since it seems like the best performing parts. The only thing is the 256gb ssd. I guess I can add a hard drive or another ssd later though...

[Daniel Z.]

Just now, Fred944 said:

 

Thank you both so much. That is a lot of footage... I think I'll go with that build then since it seems like the best performing parts. The only thing is the 256gb ssd. I guess I can add a hard drive or another ssd later though...

I would not recommend the 9100F, 4 cores will not age well and they stutter significantly more than a 6 core. Get something like this.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($145.78 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($66.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: ADATA - Ultimate SU800 512 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($54.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Sapphire - Radeon RX VEGA 56 8 GB PULSE Video Card  ($299.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Rosewill - FBM-X1 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($26.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($42.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $697.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-02 02:12 EDT-0400

[Oalei]

2 minutes ago, Fred944 said:

 

Thank you both so much. That is a lot of footage... I think I'll go with that build then since it seems like the best performing parts. The only thing is the 256gb ssd. I guess I can add a hard drive or another ssd later though...

or swap the ram with 2666mhz and spend that towards SSD

[jerubedo]

12 hours ago, Fred944 said:

Thank you both so much. That is a lot of footage... I think I'll go with that build then since it seems like the best performing parts. The only thing is the 256gb ssd. I guess I can add a hard drive or another ssd later though... 

Or if you're okay going just over budget you can use the SSD @trevb0t had:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
Motherboard	ASRock - B365M Phantom Gaming 4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$79.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$66.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Team - GX2 512 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$46.99 @ Newegg
Video Card	Asus - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB DUAL OC Video Card	$329.99 @ Newegg
Case	Thermaltake - Versa N24 ATX Mid Tower Case	$34.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair - CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$39.89 @ OutletPC
Custom	Intel Core i3-9100F Coffee Lake 4-Core 3.6 GHz	$99.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$758.73
	Mail-in rebates	-$60.00
	Total	$698.73
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-02 02:13 EDT-0400

 

[jerubedo]

2 minutes ago, Oalei said:

or swap the ram with 2666mhz and spend that towards SSD

believe it or not there's only a $1 difference right now between 3000 and 2666, hence why I chose it. Plus if he swaps the motherboard/CPU later, it'll be nicer to have 3000MHz.

[Oalei]

6 minutes ago, jerubedo said:

believe it or not there's only a $1 difference right now between 3000 and 2666, hence why I chose it. Plus if he swaps the motherboard/CPU later, it'll be nicer to have 3000MHz.

isnt there other kits that have 2666mhz i mean you dont have to force a 3000mhz when you want more ssd, i mean no reason basicaly.

nvm just checked 

Edited June 2, 2019 by Oalei

[jerubedo]

18 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

4 cores will not age well and they stutter significantly more than a 6 core

It's really not as bad as people say. Here's some FCAT charts from Tom's comparing the 7600K and the 1600. Notice specifically in games like the Division, Battlefield 1, and Hitman (all games which are very CPU demanding), the 7600K has equal to or less spikes than the 1600:

 

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-5-1600-cpu,5073-4.html

 

I'm sure there is some spiking in a few particular games, but they have been shown to be outliers, and recent AAA titles don't have spikes on 4 cores still, such as Mortal Kombat 11, Rage 2, and Devil May Cry 5 just to name a few very recent ones. It's also worth noting that games that were previously complained about with spiking, most notably Assassin's Creed Origins, have received several performance patches since release (which isn't reflected in most benchmarks) which have mostly alleviated stuttering on 4 core CPUs.

[Fred944]

25 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

I would not recommend the 9100F, 4 cores will not age well and they stutter significantly more than a 6 core. Get something like this.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($145.78 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($66.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: ADATA - Ultimate SU800 512 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($54.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Sapphire - Radeon RX VEGA 56 8 GB PULSE Video Card  ($299.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Rosewill - FBM-X1 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($26.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($42.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $697.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-02 02:12 EDT-0400

Odd, I never had any stuttering on my 6500... Thanks for the build, however. It looks nice...

[Daniel Z.]

4 minutes ago, jerubedo said:

It's really not as bad as people say. Here's some FCAT charts from Tom's comparing the 7600K and the 1600. Notice specifically in games like the Division, Battlefield 1, and Hitman (all games which are very CPU demanding), the 7600K has equal to or less spikes than the 1600:

 

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-5-1600-cpu,5073-4.html

 

I'm sure there is some spiking in a few particular games, but they have been shown to be outliers, and recent AAA titles don't have spikes on 4 cores still, such as Mortal Kombat 11, Rage 2, and Devil May Cry 5 just to name a few very recent ones. It's also worth noting that games that were previously complained about with spiking, most notably Assassin's Creed Origins, have received several performance patches since release (which isn't reflected in most benchmarks) which have mostly alleviated stuttering on 4 core CPUs.

There's still no point getting a 9100F when a 2600 is similar in gaming and absolutely destroys it in productivity or any other multithreaded task.

[Fred944]

26 minutes ago, jerubedo said:

Or if you're okay going just over budget you can use the SSD @trevb0t had:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
Motherboard	ASRock - B365M Phantom Gaming 4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$79.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$66.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Team - GX2 512 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$46.99 @ Newegg
Video Card	Asus - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB DUAL OC Video Card	$329.99 @ Newegg
Case	Thermaltake - Versa N24 ATX Mid Tower Case	$34.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair - CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$39.89 @ OutletPC
Custom	Intel Core i3-9100F Coffee Lake 4-Core 3.6 GHz (4.2 GHz Turbo) LGA 1151 (300 Series) 65W BX80684i39100F Desktop Processor Without Graphics	$114.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$773.73
	Mail-in rebates	-$60.00
	Total	$713.73
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-02 02:13 EDT-0400

 

This is perfect... It's like I'm getting my baby back... plus a little.

[Daniel Z.]

Just now, Fred944 said:

Odd, I never had any stuttering on my 6500... Thanks for the build, however. It looks nice...

It would be also a good idea to use the 6500 for now and just get a Vega 56 or 2060.

[Fred944]

1 minute ago, Daniel Z. said:

There's still no point getting a 9100F when a 2600 is similar in gaming and absolutely destroys it in productivity or any other multithreaded task.

I'm not doing any productivity, however. I really am just looking for the best fps...

[Daniel Z.]

Just now, Fred944 said:

I'm not doing any productivity, however. I really am just looking for the best FPS...

Best FPS, probably an i5 9400F or Ryzen 5 2600. I would wait for Ryzen 3000 though.

[jerubedo]

3 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

There's still no point getting a 9100F when a 2600 is similar in gaming and absolutely destroys it in productivity or any other multithreaded task. 

He said it was just for gaming in the OP, so no productivity. The 9100F completely beats the 2600 in average FPS and mostly in 1% lows as well.

[jerubedo]

2 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

Best FPS, probably an i5 9400F or Ryzen 5 2600.

as shown in the video below, the 9100F is VERY close to a 9400F (and the 9400F beats the 2600 completely) when paired with an RTX 2060. In fact in a few games the 9100F is better because of the slightly higher clocks:

 

 

[Jurrunio]

1 minute ago, jerubedo said:

He said it was just for gaming in the OP, so no productivity. The 9100F completely beats the 2600 in average FPS and mostly in 1% lows as well.

 

 

Not even that big of a difference with an unlocked i3, let alone one that can only clock about the same level as the 2600 maxed out.

[Herman Mcpootis]

20 minutes ago, Fred944 said:

I'm not doing any productivity, however. I really am just looking for the best fps...

then don't get the 9100F, it's not an upgrade from the 6500 and will perform worse than the 1600. 

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2017-ryzen-5-1600-1600x-vs-core-i5-7500k-review

the 7600K was stuttering in titles with just a card that performs similarly to the 1660ti while the 1600 was much smoother.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($145.78 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Sapphire - Radeon RX VEGA 64 8 GB NITRO+ Video Card  ($399.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox Q300 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($39.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($42.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $688.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-02 02:53 EDT-0400

i have doubts that the RAM and SSD are dead, so try those out on the new rig first before spending money on them.