A little help with this build from the forums

[jdidia1006]

Hi guys,

  I'm helping a buddy work out a new gaming PC for him.  He wants to play games like DOTA, WOW, LOL, etc.  I want to go with Intel for the CPU but will the i3 work fine or should we try to go with an i5?  Secondly, not sure whether to go with the GTX960 or a R9 either 270 or 290?  Finally I'm assuming that if we upgrade to an i5 and a different GPU we'll need to select a larger PSU.

 

Here is the part list:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hRnPD3

 

Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

[jdidia1006]

We are in the US and his budget is $600 USD

[ilikemacandpc]

That build looks pretty good. Just don't waste $45 on the cpu cooler since the processor already comes with one and you can't overclock an i3 anyway. 

 

Also, what about a case?

[jdidia1006]

That build looks pretty good. Just don't waste $45 on the cpu cooler since the processor already comes with one and you can't overclock an i3 anyway. 

 

Also, what about a case?

 

We are going to be recycling the tower he currently has.  Just overhauling the hardware.  The stock coolers tend be noisy and I don't like that they are downward firing.  Would prefer something that flows across the mobo.

[stconquest]

$597:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($163.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($16.20 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Dark 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($87.30 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($44.10 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($37.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $567.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-19 10:03 EDT-0400

[jdidia1006]

$597:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($163.95 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($16.20 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($37.99 @ Newegg)

Memory: Team Dark 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($87.30 @ SuperBiiz)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($44.10 @ SuperBiiz)

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($129.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($37.99 @ NCIX US)

Total: $567.51

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-19 10:03 EDT-0400

 

Would he notice that huge of a difference between the CPU and GPU from my build to the build you posted?

[stconquest]

Would he notice that huge of a difference between the CPU and GPU from my build to the build you posted?

 

It depends on usage, when it comes to the CPU.  Most games, like 95%, won't need more than a single core... so the i3 would be enough.  If you have dual monitors and run things next to games (like I do) the i5 helps a bunch.  The i5 is basically there when you need it, where the i3 would start throwing a fit. 

 

The GTX 960 is a better card than the R9 270...  I will go grab some numbers but I am guessing at around a solid 15% better overall.

 

@jdidia1006 Look at the 270X in the charts.

 

http://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/1790-nvidia-geforce-gtx-960-game-fps-benchmark-review/Page-2

 

What you could do is drop the 1 TB HDD and grab a GTX 960, or even a R9 280X. 

 

 

 

$613:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($163.95 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($16.20 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($37.99 @ Newegg)

Memory: Team Dark 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($87.30 @ SuperBiiz)

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card  ($189.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($37.99 @ NCIX US)

Total: $583.41

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-19 10:30 EDT-0400

[RazerZ]

You could do this also if you wanted to keep the SSD and GPU:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($93.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($62.10 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($63.00 @ SuperBiiz) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($44.10 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card  ($169.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ NCIX US) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $547.15

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-19 10:44 EDT-0400

 

The PSU is overkill, but it is solid in build quality and is at a good price after rebates.