Console Equivalent or Better Introductory Gaming PC for a friend

[RobinsonJD]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($174.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($44.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($34.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 370 2GB NITRO OC Video Card  ($133.98 @ Newegg) 
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($43.26 @ Mac Mall) 
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($23.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $505.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-14 20:43 EST-0500

 

My friend needed some help coming up with an entry-level gaming PC with a budget of around $500. How does this build look? 

[Marcus Torre DeProspero]

you could go cheaper but if he or you can afford it then go right ahead

[asiancorruption]

i would get a better psu. something from xfx or seasonic will work fine. also you could get a better gpu like a 380 4gb and just get an i3 if your budget can't stretch much farther  

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, RobinsonJD said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($174.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($44.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($34.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 370 2GB NITRO OC Video Card  ($133.98 @ Newegg) 
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($43.26 @ Mac Mall) 
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($23.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $505.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-14 20:43 EST-0500

 

My friend needed some help coming up with an entry-level gaming PC with a budget of around $500. How does this build look? 

Hmmm...I think that GPU will bottleneck........what about the R9 390 or the R9 290...they're decent cards....maybe even the 950 or 960

[RobinsonJD]

Just now, asiancorruption said:

i would get a better psu. something from xfx or seasonic will work fine. also you could get a better gpu like a 380 4gb and just get an i3 if your budget can't stretch much farther  

At that point I think the GPU would be bottlenecked by the i3 processor. Most modern games seem to have stuttering/framerate issues if you try to run them with a dual-core processor, at least from the benchmarks I've seen. 

[Marcus Torre DeProspero]

2 minutes ago, RobinsonJD said:

At that point I think the GPU would be bottlenecked by the i3 processor. Most modern games seem to have stuttering/framerate issues if you try to run them with a dual-core processor, at least from the benchmarks I've seen. 

It's an i5 not an i3 and in most cases video games only use 1-2 cores until dx12 takes advantage of multi core cpus

[pckid]

5 minutes ago, jkeasley said:

Hmmm...I think that GPU will bottleneck........what about the R9 390 or the R9 290...they're decent cards....maybe even the 950 or 960

An i5 will not bottleneck a R7 370, R9 390 and 290 are more powerful than a GTX 960 or 950 and a R7 370

[asiancorruption]

Just now, RobinsonJD said:

At that point I think the GPU would be bottlenecked by the i3 processor. Most modern games seem to have stuttering/framerate issues if you try to run them with a dual-core processor, at least from the benchmarks I've seen. 

the i3 has 4 logical cores,  so they run way better than a pentium, a legit dual core cpu, but still a little worse than a i5. if you've ever seen the skylake i3s over clocked, they were easily holding their own with i7s of yester years when hooked up to a gtx titan x. at stock speeds, they should be fine up to a 970/ 390 in most situations. a couple of people run an i3 with a 290 so it is definitely doable.  

[Guest]

Just now, pckid said:

An i5 will not bottleneck a R7 370, R9 390 and 290 are more power than a GTX 960 or 950 and a r7 370

Otherway around

[Guest]

Go with the GTX 960

[RobinsonJD]

Just now, Marcus Torre DeProspero said:

It's an i5 not an i3 and in most cases video games only use 1-2 cores until dx12 takes advantage of multi core cpus

I know my build has an i5 in it, that guy was telling me I should spend more on my power supply and get a dual-core instead of a quad-core CPU.

 

 

[Marcus Torre DeProspero]

Just now, pckid said:

An i5 will not bottleneck a R7 370, R9 390 and 290 are more powerful than a GTX 960 or 950 and a r7 370

he means an r9 380 will bottleneck

[pckid]

Just now, jkeasley said:

Otherway around

I don't think you know what you are talking about.

[RobinsonJD]

Just now, asiancorruption said:

the i3 has 4 logical cores,  so they run way better than a pentium, a legit dual core cpu, but still a little worse than a i5. if you've ever seen the skylake i3s over clocked, they were easily holding their own with i7s of yester years when hooked up to a gtx titan x. at stock speeds, they should be fine up to a 970/ 390 in most situations. a couple of people run an i3 with a 290 so it is definitely doable.  

Interesting.. which specific i3 processor would you recommend I swap out for the i5 then? 

[Marcus Torre DeProspero]

Just now, RobinsonJD said:

I know my build has an i5 in it, that guy was telling me I should spend more on my power supply and get a dual-core instead of a quad-core CPU.

 

 

oh well... still dude just don't listen to any of these guys it's fine go with it

[asiancorruption]

Just now, RobinsonJD said:

I know my build has an i5 in it, that guy was telling me I should spend more on my power supply and get a dual-core instead of a quad-core CPU.

 

 

i said that only if your budget is tight. by all means go with the i5 and a better gpu and psu if you can afford it.

[Guest]

Just now, pckid said:

I don't think you know what you are talking about.

In CPU intensive games, the GPU can bottleneck the CPU

[pckid]

1 minute ago, Marcus Torre DeProspero said:

he means an r9 380 will bottleneck

It still won't bottleneck

[pckid]

Just now, jkeasley said:

In CPU intensive games, the GPU can bottleneck the CPU

Probably not that much or any at all.

[Marcus Torre DeProspero]

Just now, pckid said:

I don't think you know what you are talking about.

an i3 actually would depending on which one you get. I built my brothers computer with an i3 and 380 it wasn't displaying any of the games correctly

[asiancorruption]

Just now, RobinsonJD said:

Interesting.. which specific i3 processor would you recommend I swap out for the i5 then? 

well, since intel is going to block overclocking on non k skylake cpus, you can go either haswell or skylake. the performance difference isn't that great to consider spending a lot more money on skylake though. in short, the cheaper one.

[pckid]

Just now, Marcus Torre DeProspero said:

an i3 actually would depending on which one you get. I built my brothers computer with an i3 and 380 it wasn't displaying any of the games correctly

Oh, well I still don't think an i5 would bottleneck in most cases.

[RobinsonJD]

Just now, asiancorruption said:

i said that only if your budget is tight. by all means go with the i5 and a better gpu and psu if you can afford it.

About $520 is the maximum my friend can afford. 

[Marcus Torre DeProspero]

Just now, pckid said:

Oh, well I still don't think an i5 would bottleneck in most cases.

I haven't tested an i5 with a 380 but I am sure it would be fine. The only problem is that it's a slight increase in price because he also would have to buy a new power supply

[RobinsonJD]

1 minute ago, Marcus Torre DeProspero said:

I haven't tested an i5 with a 380 but I am sure it would be fine. The only problem is that it's a slight increase in price because he also would have to buy a new power supply

Why would an i5 necessitate a new power supply?