$1500 Gaming Build Recommendations

[waggythegeek]

Budget (including currency): 1500-ish USD

Country: United States of America

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: General Gaming/college setup

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

 

Current rough draft is here, though its been years since ive been any good at this: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Slytthus/saved/p4jYNG

Friend wanted help building a computer, figured this was a good place to start. Needs a kbd and a monitor, and some cheap speakers, but nothing else. Thoughts? Upgrading from a gaming laptop, main goal is to "not burn my wrists" and also some of the hardware is getting pretty worn out (battery puffing, processors thermally degrading, etc.)

[RONOTHAN##]

R5 1600 for >$200. Just don't. Please. 

 

Same thing with a 1660Ti for ~$700. Just. Please. Don't.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ffJWMv

 

This a better starting PC, and it still leaves you with ~$600 for a GPU. For $600, you can get a scalped 2060, a 6600XT, or if you're lucky a 1080Ti. 

 

Only other thing I'd change is get a 144Hz monitor. I've seen them go for under $100 on the local markets, so keep an eye out for a decent deal. 

[Jonathan Lee]

1600x is way too expensive when the 5600x/3700x is around the same price. Then you have intel 10th gen that's cheaper and way faster. I really wouldn't recommend building a zen1 system today. Here is what I would go with though:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-11400 2.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($189.98 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: ID-COOLING SE-224-XT Basic 76.16 CFM CPU Cooler  ($29.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG B560 TORPEDO ATX LGA1200 Motherboard  ($149.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory  ($73.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Silicon Power P34A80 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($94.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card  ($679.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P300 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA B5 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Amazon) 
Wireless Network Adapter: MSI AC905C PCIe x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter  ($22.99 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: Gigabyte ‎G24F 23.8" 1920x1080 170 Hz Monitor  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 
Keyboard: Rosewill RK-9000V2 BR Wired Standard Keyboard  ($79.98 @ Amazon) 
Speakers: Logitech S120 2.3 W 2.0 Channel Speakers  ($11.95 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1613.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-12-12 19:28 EST-0500

 

Left the GPU you had there, but yea go with what @RONOTHAN## said.

 

 

[homcorn]

2 hours ago, RONOTHAN## said:

R5 1600 for >$200. Just don't. Please. 

 

Same thing with a 1660Ti for ~$700. Just. Please. Don't.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ffJWMv

 

This a better starting PC, and it still leaves you with ~$600 for a GPU. For $600, you can get a scalped 2060, a 6600XT, or if you're lucky a 1080Ti. 

 

Only other thing I'd change is get a 144Hz monitor. I've seen them go for under $100 on the local markets, so keep an eye out for a decent deal. 

I wouldn't really use a 11400 since the 10400 has the same performance but uses more electricity. I would rather use the 10400 or go for a 5600X if you are willing to buy a Ryzen CPU.

[RONOTHAN##]

27 minutes ago, homcorn said:

I wouldn't really use a 11400 since the 10400 has the same performance but uses more electricity.

 

What are you talking about? Yeah it uses a bit more power, but it also performs noticeably better. 

 

I mean, I agree that you should use a 5600X or 12600k instead, but to fit in the budget the best option really is the 11400 or wait for a 12400 to come out in early 2022. 

[homcorn]

3 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

 

What are you talking about? Yeah it uses a bit more power, but it also performs noticeably better. 

 

I mean, I agree that you should use a 5600X or 12600k instead, but to fit in the budget the best option really is the 11400 or wait for a 12400 to come out in early 2022. 

I am not sure but if you see this benchmark  (https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-11400-vs-Intel-Core-i5-10400/4112vs4073) I dont see much of a difference. I did find out there is barely a difference in price. But considering that it takes more electricity, I would still go for a 10400.

I think my information is kinda out dated so I wont stop people from buying the 11400 now but Im still on the 10400 side.

Tell me if Im missing any information.

[RONOTHAN##]

1 minute ago, homcorn said:

  (https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-11400-vs-Intel-Core-i5-10400/4112vs4073)

Friends don't let friends use userbenchmark.

 

i.e.

 

Also their benchmark scores aren't really real world, so don't bother. Use the standard ones, so Cinebench, gaming tests, etc. In those scenarios the 11400 is much faster, especially for only $30 more. 

[homcorn]

10 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Friends don't let friends use userbenchmark.

 

i.e.

 

Also their benchmark scores aren't really real world, so don't bother. Use the standard ones, so Cinebench, gaming tests, etc. In those scenarios the 11400 is much faster, especially for only $30 more. 

First of all, thanks for letting me know that the UserBenchmark was a lie since nobody told me. Second, even though its not the UserBenchmark, most fps comparison videos show around 20 fps differences in AAA games. Not sure about specific numbers but Im sure aren't any significant difference in the performance. Third, I dont %100 trust Cinebench either because sometimes it just shows a ridiculous amount of difference in scores but the actual performance doesn't show much of a difference.

I won't stop people from 11400 but I still think the 10400 is better

 

Tell me if Im wrong about my informations.

[RONOTHAN##]

7 minutes ago, homcorn said:

First of all, thanks for letting me know that the UserBenchmark was a lie since nobody told me. Second, even though its not the UserBenchmark, most fps comparison videos show around 20 fps differences in AAA games. Not sure about specific numbers but Im sure aren't any significant difference in the performance. Third, I dont %100 trust Cinebench either because sometimes it just shows a ridiculous amount of difference in scores but the actual performance doesn't show much of a difference.

I won't stop people from 11400 but I still think the 10400 is better

 

Tell me if Im wrong about my informations.

Part of the problem is that most of the reviews that compared the two came early on before it was known how bad certain B560 boards and how inadequate the stock cooler is for that chip. If you look at benchmarks with those and without those, the performance difference is actually huge. 

 

I mainly picked Cinebench because it was the first benchmark I found when googling the specific ones. It's fine if you don't trust it, but there the trend is definitely there in very CPU bound titles. 

 

I mean, it's fine if you thing the 10400 is better, but it really just isn't.

[homcorn]

8 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Part of the problem is that most of the reviews that compared the two came early on before it was known how bad certain B560 boards and how inadequate the stock cooler is for that chip. If you look at benchmarks with those and without those, the performance difference is actually huge. 

 

I mainly picked Cinebench because it was the first benchmark I found when googling the specific ones. It's fine if you don't trust it, but there the trend is definitely there in very CPU bound titles. 

 

I mean, it's fine if you thing the 10400 is better, but it really just isn't.

Im not sure why but last time I checked the benchmarks and informations the 11400 was just not worth it. Now, people really buy it and I guess my informations are out dated. I'll just leave it to the choice of the buyers. I'll try considering 11400 as an option from now on though. Thanks for the information.

[VEXICUS]

On 12/13/2021 at 5:43 AM, waggythegeek said:

SNIP

There you go, comparitively a much better system...

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($299.00 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3733 CL17 Memory  ($71.98 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Silicon Power P34A80 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($94.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Corsair 275R Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case  ($54.94 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: BitFenix Formula Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($49.90 @ Amazon) 
Wireless Network Adapter: MSI AC905C PCIe x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter  ($22.99 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: Gigabyte ‎G24F 23.8" 1920x1080 170 Hz Monitor  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 
Keyboard: Redragon K552 Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($34.99 @ Amazon) 
Speakers: Logitech Z200 10 W 2.0 Channel Speakers  ($24.99 @ Best Buy) 
Custom: GIGABYTE B450M DS3H V2 AM4 AMD B450 SATA 6Gb/s Micro ATX AMD Motherboard and GIGABYTE Radeon RX 6600 XT GAMING OC PRO 8G Graphics Card WINDFORCE 3X Cooling System 8GB 128-bit GDDR6 GV-R66XTGAMINGOC PRO-8GD Video Card Combo ($664.98)
Total: $1498.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available