$500 Build

[Starkey]

I need a little advice on this build. I am getting a 750 ti because of the whole DirectX 12 crisis with Nvidia so I'm waiting to spend serious money on a gpu. The i5 is what I'm not too sure about. I know its really nice having a true quad core compared to an i3 but will I really need it with a 750 ti? I will have chrome open and teamspeak but will the i3 be able to handle gaming with a few applications open? If i dropped the i5 i could fit an 850 evo into my budget. I've had a rMBP for awhile so I know how big of a difference an SSD makes, I'm just curious on everyone else's thoughts on it. i5 or i3 w/ SSD?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/n67CYJ

[theereal]

Rule Number 1: "If you are building a PC that is meant to run video games you must never spend more on the CPU than the GPU".

[Rafferz]

Get a 950, drop the i5 to an i3

[abt]

If your budget is a lowly $500, I don't really think you have room for specialties like an SSD. Just focus on getting a functional PC first.

[TheRandomness]

Ooorrrrrr... you could do this

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4170 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($111.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($42.89 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: Team Elite 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.89 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 380 4GB Nitro Video Card  ($198.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($29.99 @ Directron) 

Total: $498.72

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-07 16:50 EDT-0400

[grayblizzard]

I need a little advice on this build. I am getting a 750 ti because of the whole DirectX 12 crisis with Nvidia so I'm waiting to spend serious money on a gpu. The i5 is what I'm not too sure about. I know its really nice having a true quad core compared to an i3 but will I really need it with a 750 ti? I will have chrome open and teamspeak but will the i3 be able to handle gaming with a few applications open? If i dropped the i5 i could fit an 850 evo into my budget. I've had a rMBP for awhile so I know how big of a difference an SSD makes, I'm just curious on everyone else's thoughts on it. i5 or i3 w/ SSD?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/n67CYJ

this is so much better if you can use rebate:

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Dmyx3C

[Starkey]

I planned on grabbing a new gpu after nvidia release pascal. Is the 950 really worth it? A lot of youtubers were saying to just get a 960 if you wanted a 950 because of the $20 price gap. Plus the EVGA ACX 750 ti i found on newegg was only $105

[Rafferz]

Look at the post by TheRandomness, just make that

[Starkey]

 

Ooorrrrrr... you could do this

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4170 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($111.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($42.89 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: Team Elite 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.89 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 380 4GB Nitro Video Card  ($198.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($29.99 @ Directron) 

Total: $498.72

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-10-07 16:50 EDT-0400

 

I have a CS450M power supply. Would it be able to power the 380 with overclocking room?

[Guest]

I planned on grabbing a new gpu after nvidia release pascal. Is the 950 really worth it? A lot of youtubers were saying to just get a 960 if you wanted a 950 because of the $20 price gap. Plus the EVGA ACX 750 ti i found on newegg was only $105

There is nothing wrong with buying an i5 if you plan to upgrade your GPU later, and I would choose an i5 over an SSD. You are setting yourself a much better foundation if you plan to invest more in a year anyway. It is becoming more and more common place for games to heavily utilize 4 threads. A hyperthreaded dual core just can't compete with a 4 core cpu.

[Starkey]

There is nothing wrong with buying an i5 if you plan to upgrade your GPU later, and I would choose an i5 over an SSD. You are setting yourself a much better foundation if you plan to invest more in a year anyway. It is becoming more and more common place for games to heavily utilize 4 threads. A hyperthreaded dual core just can't compete with a 4 core cpu.

 

So is it worth it staying on haswell and just upgrading the gpu later on? Will the 4460 be a bottleneck anytime soon? Most people I see with i5's have the unlocked version running at 4.2+ Ghz

[Guest]

So is it worth it staying on haswell and just upgrading the gpu later on? Will the 4460 be a bottleneck anytime soon? Most people I see with i5's have the unlocked version running at 4.2+ Ghz

 

By no means do you need to overclock. To get an unlocked CPU, a motherboard with proper VRM support and sufficient cooling is all going to push the cost too high when that money could go to a GPU. A 4460 is not going to hold back many GPU's.

[TheRandomness]

I have a CS450M power supply. Would it be able to power the 380 with overclocking room?

Oohhh... I'd buy the PSU I put in that list, that's borderline going to die. (Also, lower end Corsair PSU's aren't all that good... )

[Starkey]

Oohhh... I'd buy the PSU I put in that list, that's borderline going to die. (Also, lower end Corsair PSU's aren't all that good...

 

 

I just grabbed it one day because it was $20 and 80+ gold. I wanted something to power a low end system for awhile until I can upgrade. I never thought about putting something like a 380 in with the build

 

By no means do you need to overclock. To get an unlocked CPU, a motherboard with proper VRM support and sufficient cooling is all going to push the cost too high when that money could go to a GPU. A 4460 is not going to hold back many GPU's.

 

I know I'd have to upgrade to a decent Z97 board for an unlocked i5 if I wanted to push it anywhere. I think what I'm concerned about is Skylake is already here and that is what the main focus is now. Should I stay on haswell with an i5 or try to fit a z170 board in with a skylake i3? I believe they are launching on the 9th

[Guest]

 

Oohhh... I'd buy the PSU I put in that list, that's borderline going to die. (Also, lower end Corsair PSU's aren't all that good...

 

 

I just grabbed it one day because it was $20 and 80+ gold. I wanted something to power a low end system for awhile until I can upgrade. I never thought about putting something like a 380 in with the build

 

By no means do you need to overclock. To get an unlocked CPU, a motherboard with proper VRM support and sufficient cooling is all going to push the cost too high when that money could go to a GPU. A 4460 is not going to hold back many GPU's.

 

I know I'd have to upgrade to a decent Z97 board for an unlocked i5 if I wanted to push it anywhere. I think what I'm concerned about is Skylake is already here and that is what the main focus is now. Should I stay on haswell with an i5 or try to fit a z170 board in with a skylake i3? I believe they are launching on the 9th

 

 

It's your call, you might be able to buy a bit more future compatability with new storage mediums and what not. Honestly though, I wouldn't sacrifice any performance just to go Skylake. In 2-3 years they'll be another socket and Haswell will probably still work just fine. If you can find Skylake for same price or don't mind waiting a bit, then go for it.

[TheRandomness]

It's your call, you might be able to buy a bit more future compatability with new storage mediums and what not. Honestly though, I wouldn't sacrifice any performance just to go Skylake. In 2-3 years they'll be another socket and Haswell will probably still work just fine. If you can find Skylake for same price or don't mind waiting a bit, then go for it.

It's possible to buy Skylake i3's now, that could set him on a great upgrade path

[Starkey]

It's your call, you might be able to buy a bit more future compatability with new storage mediums and what not. Honestly though, I wouldn't sacrifice any performance just to go Skylake. In 2-3 years they'll be another socket and Haswell will probably still work just fine. If you can find Skylake for same price or don't mind waiting a bit, then go for it.

 

So if it were you and you only had around a $500 budget right now. Would you go with the 4460 and have headroom for a better gpu down the road, or jump ship to skylake with an i3 and z170 motherboard? All i really wanted from a mobo was decent on-board audio which is why I went with the gigabyte b85 one. Anything other than better audio and more storage options on the z170 platform? Are there any games right now that would crush a 4460? Its a nice quad core but the boost is only to 3.4ghz I believe.

[Guest]

So if it were you and you only had around a $500 budget right now. Would you go with the 4460 and have headroom for a better gpu down the road, or jump ship to skylake with an i3 and z170 motherboard? All i really wanted from a mobo was decent on-board audio which is why I went with the gigabyte b85 one. Anything other than better audio and more storage options on the z170 platform? Are there any games right now that would crush a 4460? Its a nice quad core but the boost is only to 3.4ghz I believe.

 

If it were me, I would choose i5 haswell over i3 skylake. I don't even know if you'd notice any improvement in audio, audio has always been a bit of a sideline when it comes to motherboards. I don't know any games that would crush a 4460. The main reason I have a 4690k is for Flight Simulator X and general productivity. My previous CPU was an i5 3450 that boosts to 3.5 GHz and I didn't notice any improvements in 99% of games when I upgraded.