build planning $750-ish gaming pc

[PurpleDido]

Yo

I'm new in computer building. I've been doing research and stuff and I decided it's time for a new whole upgrade (still using the xps 420 with an AMD Raedon HD 5700 series, yikes)

I designed this, with my preferred gpu and cut corners on the cpu

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/63NFwP

I mostly play fps games and rpg games like tf2 and Fallout

SSD is a must

Upgradeability is pretty important

 Aesthetics are unimportant

Wifi is unimportant

Anything I should change or reconsider?

 

UPDATE:

 

With several user's suggestions, this is the new build I'm considering. I should have enough wiggle room to fit this, but if not I'll go for 80+ bronze on the psu instead of gold.

Any other suggestions?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fDgmVn

Edited April 10, 2016 by PurpleDido

[GreezyJeezy]

im too lazy to change it but i know others will, you'll want a 4 core CPU so you can actually play games that require 4 cores to even boot

[Streetguru]

6 minutes ago, PurpleDido said:

 

Should go for skylake, and get a better PSU. 

 

a 390 is going to be faster overall than a 970 and gives you 125% more VRAM, plus you save money on free-sync vs G-sync, plus maxwell doesn't look like it's going to gain anything from DX12 at this point, while AMD gets pretty large gains.

and if you're going to buy windows I'd avoid a grey market key, also don't buy an OEM key as they only work once.

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Z7yTvK
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Z7yTvK/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI B150M Pro-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.77 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 390 8GB PCS+ Video Card  ($308.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT BF ATX Mid Tower Case  ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($72.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $755.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-09 22:32 EDT-0400

[HKZeroFive]

You want a i5 at the minimum with a GTX 970 and a better PSU. Consider getting a HDD - mass storage is always handy to store all the unnecessary stuff:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($179.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($51.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($35.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($56.97 @ NCIX US) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card  ($304.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($56.98 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($30.00 @ MicrosoftSoftwareSwap) 
Total: $741.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-09 22:33 EDT-0400

[Streetguru]

3 minutes ago, GreezyJeezy said:

im too lazy to change it but i know others will, you'll want a 4 core CPU so you can actually play games that require 4 cores to even boot

an i3 counts as a quad core for games, but he can easily get an i5 in that budget

[GreezyJeezy]

Just now, Streetguru said:

an i3 counts as a quad core for games, but he can easily get an i5 in that budget

never bothered with i3's do i didnt know that. but yeah he can do better for $750

[Energycore]

If upgradability is important you'll want to get a CPU you can overclock. AMD's offerings will become slightly better as multi-threading is adopted but they also consume more power than Intel solutions.

 

Athlon X4 880k (Socket FM2+) $94.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113408&cm_re=880k-_-19-113-408-_-Product

 

FX-8300 (Socket AM3+) $119.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113399&cm_re=fx-8300-_-19-113-399-_-Product

i5-4460 $189.99 (Socket LGA 1150) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117302&cm_re=i5-4460-_-19-117-302-_-Product

 

 

[Streetguru]

13 minutes ago, Energycore said:

 

Maybe when AM4 is out an AMD CPU will be worth it, but otherwise their per core performance is too weak for most gamers.

[Auxafly]

Do you have a Micro Center near you?

[Energycore]

Just now, Streetguru said:

Maybe when AM4 is out an AMD CPU will be worth it, but otherwise their per core performance is too weak for most gamers.

I would have said the same before but now prices have gone way down. At $119.99 the FX-8300 competes directly with most i3s and it's getting better 3dmark physics scores than every i3 out there. There's also the fact that the chip's unlocked to close the single-threaded performance gap a bit.

 

http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/cpu/AMD+FX-8300/review

http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/cpu/Intel+Core+i3-6100+Processor/review

[Streetguru]

4 minutes ago, Energycore said:

I would have said the same before but now prices have gone way down. At $119.99 the FX-8300 competes directly with most i3s and it's getting better 3dmark physics scores than every i3 out there. There's also the fact that the chip's unlocked to close the single-threaded performance gap a bit.

 

http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/cpu/AMD+FX-8300/review

http://www.futuremark.com/hardware/cpu/Intel+Core+i3-6100+Processor/review

Ya, but it should say something when their 8 core at 3ghz can hardly keep up with an i3 which is only a dual core with hyperthreading.

[Energycore]

1 minute ago, Streetguru said:

Ya, but it should say something when their 8 core at 3ghz can hardly keep up with an i3 which is only a dual core with hyperthreading.

All it says is that they're similar performing processors with similar price points. But one of them is unclocked.

 

Look I know this generation of AMD processors is really old and it got frustrating that they took so long to output something better. But the value argument can be made here. I don't even know if AMD makes any margin on the FX-8300.

[Auxafly]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/MnKgYJ

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/MnKgYJ tried. i would get a better case but since you strictly have a budget, here ya go. 

[Energycore]

1 minute ago, Auxafly said:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/MnKgYJ

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/MnKgYJ tried. i would get a better case but since you strictly have a budget, here ya go. 

Could make room for a good case by stepping down to an 80-Plus Bronze Power Supply.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fDT9xr

[Auxafly]

22 minutes ago, Energycore said:

Could make room for a good case by stepping down to an 80-Plus Bronze Power Supply.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fDT9xr

that is a way better build, but i would rather have a better power supply then a better looking case

[Energycore]

Just now, Auxafly said:

that is a way better build, but i would rather have a better power supply then a better looking case

Alright! I'm a sucker for looks personally. So while the 600B doesn't look particularly good because it's non-modular, you can hide it in cases like the s340.

 

Considering OP mentioned upgradeability though, I think Skylake is definitely the way to go. You can get a Z170 Board + i3 6100 and later on switch on a kaby lake i5 or i7. You can even overclock that i3 if you're feeling bold.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9RbfK8

 

The motherboard and aftermarket cooler provide for an easy path up to an i7-7700K or whatever it'll be called. And if DX12 does multi-GPU well, you'll be able to strap a different GPU in the future.

[Streetguru]

26 minutes ago, Energycore said:

 

And i5 with a more budget board is easily going to be worth it, kaby lake probably won't be a major upgrade on performance, just performance per watt most likely.

[Shahnewaz]

Don't know if this is upgrade-able in the future or not, but since SSD is a must, here ya go:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper T2 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($11.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($72.19 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390 8GB Nitro Video Card  ($309.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $748.02
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-10 00:21 EDT-0400

[iM8Pizza]

18 minutes ago, Shahnewaz said:

Don't know if this is upgrade-able in the future or not, but since SSD is a must, here ya go:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper T2 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($11.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($72.19 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390 8GB Nitro Video Card  ($309.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $748.02
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-10 00:21 EDT-0400

dude.... get at least a 600W PSU if you pick the R9 390, 500W is scary for that card

[Shahnewaz]

1 minute ago, iM8Pizza said:

dude.... get at least a 600W PSU if you pick the R9 390, 500W is scary for that card

Scary? What do you mean "scary"?

PCPartPicker reports an estimated total wattage of 425W...

[PurpleDido]

1 hour ago, Auxafly said:

Do you have a Micro Center near you?

nope

[iM8Pizza]

9 minutes ago, Shahnewaz said:

Scary? What do you mean "scary"?

there there, have a look at page 3^

[Shahnewaz]

8 minutes ago, iM8Pizza said:

there there, have a look at page 3^

Is this what you're talking about?

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-radeon-r9-390x-review

That's an R9 390X, and I'm baffled by the complete lack of any mention of what kind of system they're using to test the 390X.

[PurpleDido]

2 hours ago, Streetguru said:

and if you're going to buy windows I'd avoid a grey market key, also don't buy an OEM key as they only work once.

I don't think that'll matter for me, unless OEM's are unreliable in any way?

Technically, Windows OS keys are only supposed to be used once, anyways, under the agreement.

[iM8Pizza]

1 minute ago, Shahnewaz said:

Is this what you're talking about?

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-radeon-r9-390x-review

That's an R9 390X, and I'm baffled by the complete lack of any mention of what kind of system they're using to test the 390X.

"You always want to give yourself plenty of room. You want your peak power needed (with a  390x that's around 500 watts depending) at about 70%. That gives you plenty of room and doesn't stress the PSU. Pushing the psu to 90-100% of its output may in theory sound okay because good ones are designed to do that but doing that always ups the risk that something gets pushed just too far and breaks and the psu takes out half the system with it.

 

So if I were you I would look into at least 650W psu probably 700-750. And if you are spending that much on a graphics card I would certainly find at least a gold 80+ psu preferably platinum because they have better more reliable parts in them." @Hunter7263

 

" Benchmarks ive seen say about 400W totally system pull on a with an i5. 500W is cutting it close Id suggest 600-650 ish." @Hunter7263

 

those....^