Girlfriend's first gaming PC

[BlinkTwic3]

So, my girlfriend of a couple years moved in with me a few months ago, and she's recently started gaming a LOT.  We used to just play on the weekends (league of legends, mainly) but now when I come home she's asking me to play stuff with her.  I recently got a second free key of Titanfall and gave it to her, but her laptop won't play it.  She's been wanting a more powerful PC for awhile so she can keep up better in games we play.  She's a girl so it has to be stylish and cool, and she wants it to be snappy and quick.  I'll be giving her my older 6970 GPU that i'm currently using, and upgrading to a newer card myself.  She loved the blue BitFenix Prodigy, so that's what the build revolves around.

 

 

Here's what I'm thinking so far:

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($124.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($109.24 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($72.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($64.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Blue) Mini ITX Tower Case  ($97.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $544.17

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3iQg1

 

Debates/reason for stuff below:

i3-4330 for hyperthreading and decent clockspeeds, debating upgrading to i5-4440, these processors keep the wattage usage low.  Not gonna be overclocking the pc for her since it's not going to be using a super mobo.

CPU cooler because of the fact that I hate the stock intel speeds and I wanna keep her pc as cool as possible, and quiet.

Motherboard for the cheapness, black color scheme and the WiFi built in.

Memory is on sale, and is blue. Plus it's 1866, will buy whatever blue ram is cheapest 1600+

Kingston SSDNow is the cheapest, might for for M500.  Have a 500GB 2.5" drive already for storage

Case is the one she loved the color of so much.

Power supply is only like 1$ more than the 430W right now, contemplating the nonmodular Corsair CX430 since it's 20$ right now. 

Will also be getting my trusty Sapphire 6970, my 1080p ASUS monitor, and a Cherry MX Blue keyboard.

 

 

Opinions, advice or suggestions people? I know I could save a few dollars with a different case, but she LOVES this one, also the ITX platform is pretty great right now, so I could do another build for her in it down the road with mods and stuff.  Help me make my girlfriend happy guys =P

[Tr3vor]

The i5 would be faster but it depends on what kind of games she wants to play. Some of the more demanding games nowdays want a quad core CPU.

[PillowSmoke]

Sounds like she's a keeper  .

[PillowSmoke]

btw. WELCOME TO THE FORUMS. I hope you enjoy your stay!

[BlinkTwic3]

The i5 would be faster but it depends on what kind of games she wants to play. Some of the more demanding games nowdays want a quad core CPU.

 

We play League of Legends quite a bit, but she's been wanting to join me on some games like Portal/Portal 2(she loves watching me play, and loves all the portal knick-knacks), Titanfall, and wants to get in on the MMORPG action with me like FFXIV or soon to be TESO.  Been really considering the upgrade to the i5 since I don't have to buy a GPU for her build.

 

Sounds like she's a keeper 

btw. WELCOME TO THE FORUMS. I hope you enjoy your stay!.

She is indeed!  I told her a gaming PC is almost the equivalent of a ring to gamers

I've been lurking for awhile, figured I'd join up to pick the brains of the fine LTT forumites!

[Megazero]

I think you should have upgrade the CPU to i5, and if you dont plan to overclock and your girlfriend dont mess around with it much then you might not need a CPU cooler. My computer which run an old i5 2400 (yes, 2400 because at that time I know nothing) just use the stock cooler given with it, and I was able to play games pretty ok, even Titanfall with relatively low temperature for the CPU (but I do have a GTX 780 though) For the storage you might want to upgrade to 1TB for the HDD, but if you dont plan to sell the 500GB then it will still be ok, you might need additional storage if she like to keep movie or stuff like that though. Other part is fine. if you can give us your location and price range we can come up with the best build for the price for you. 

And welcome to the forum

[BlinkTwic3]

I think you should have upgrade the CPU to i5, and if you dont plan to overclock and your girlfriend dont mess around with it much then you might not need a CPU cooler. My computer which run an old i5 2400 (yes, 2400 because at that time I know nothing) just use the stock cooler given with it, and I was able to play games pretty ok, even Titanfall with relatively low temperature for the CPU (but I do have a GTX 780 though) For the storage you might want to upgrade to 1TB for the HDD, but if you dont plan to sell the 500GB then it will still be ok, you might need additional storage if she like to keep movie or stuff like that though. Other part is fine. if you can give us your location and price range we can come up with the best build for the price for you. 

And welcome to the forum

 

Yeah, i've been considering the i5 quite heavily, the reason the i3 would be tolerable is the hyperthreading but i think the physical cores would be much better in her case.  I know the CPU cooler isn't necessary but I do want to keep her PC nice a low temps, with low noise and I've used the 212 a few times and have been very pleased with it's performance.  500GB is fine for her for a few games, but I have a HTPC/Media center for movies and stuff

I'm in the US, Arkansas specifically.  Price range is $500-$600.  Knew i was forgetting something the OP

[Jvagle875]

Intel stock cooler is actually quite good and quiet. Save some money there and try for a 240GB ssd.

[Meteora]

I wish i could find a girl that plays games only thing i could say is the power supply even if its a dollar more you should get the a lower wattage to save on your power bill.

[LancerBG]

she's paying for it right? 

[Anthony10]

she's paying for it right?

haha good one! say something funny again!

[Megazero]

Yeah, i've been considering the i5 quite heavily, the reason the i3 would be tolerable is the hyperthreading but i think the physical cores would be much better in her case.  I know the CPU cooler isn't necessary but I do want to keep her PC nice a low temps, with low noise and I've used the 212 a few times and have been very pleased with it's performance.  500GB is fine for her for a few games, but I have a HTPC/Media center for movies and stuff

I'm in the US, Arkansas specifically.  Price range is $500-$600.  Knew i was forgetting something the OP

 

The stock cooler of Intel is actually surprisingly good and quite, but it's really up to you As for the CPU physical cores is ALWAYS better than less core but HT, so no reason not to go to i5. So in general I will go with this:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3iRti

Though I'm a bit worry about the motherboard I choose. I see that the motherboard you choose for the i3 have Wifi support, do you need that?

[DBells94]

save some cash use the stock cooler but it looks solid for those games

[BlinkTwic3]

Thought it over, I will use the stock cooler for this.  Atleast for a while.  It's been a reasonable amount of time since I last used an intel heatsink and I would assume that with the CPU's soaking less power and stuff it won't suck nearly as bad now as it did then. 

 

And yeah the wifi is a kind of need, which sucks cause I myself don't like wifi much.

[Cwazywazy]

Personally, I would ditch the SSD and get an i5. If you're not looking to overclock the stock heatsink should be just fine.

 

EDIT: Just read the above post.

[Megazero]

IF you need Wifi then just change the motherboard, it will be around 50$ more expensive.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3jpxZ

[julekule]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3jJuR