Computer for a friend

[RobotKey]

1. Budget & Location:

We are in the US, and currently have $1,000 available. 

2. Aim:

School and gaming. School wise he just wants to write papers and stuff, pretty basic. Gaming wise he wants something that can run some of the newer games like Fallout 4, but also get high performance with online games like CSGO, League of legends, Hearthstone, DropZone, etc...

3. Monitors:

One Monitor is definitely enough, but we don't have a Monitor picked out so we don't know what resolution it would be. 

4. Peripherals: 

my group of friends has speakers, mice, keyboards, headphones etc that we are willing to let him borrow until he can buy his own personal ones. We want him to get a pc sooner rather than later so he can play games with us though. 

5. Upgrading: 

Not an upgrade, he doesn't have a pc right now. 

 

I probably know the most about computers in my circle of friends, and I am definitely not an expert by any means, so I wanted to see if I could get feedback here to make sure he can get a nice rig. So far these are the parts we have been looking at:

• Processor: Intel i5-6400 2.7GHz (3.3GHz Turbo) Quad Core Skylake CPU - More Info
  
• Graphics: Asus STRIX NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 Direct CU II OC 4GB Graphics Card (STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5)- More Info
  
• Memory: 8GB DDR4 (3000MHz) Corsair Vengeance LPX Memory - More Info
  
• Hard Drive: 1TB Seagate Barracuda SATA-III HDD - More Info
  
• Optical Drive: 24x Samsung DVD Re-writer - More Info
  
• Motherboard: Intel Z170 Skylake Chipset ATX Motherboard -
  
• Case: Aerocool AERO 800 Windowed Gaming Case - More Info
  
• Power Supply: 600W 80+ Certified PSU
  
• CPU Cooler: Coolermaster Hyper TX3 Cooler
  
• Audio: Onboard High Definition Audio

He found this list on a pre built computer that fit the budget (sort of, not including the monitor and an operating system)

I was wondering if there were any slight downgrades that would make the build cheaper but still efficient, and what monitor to look for keeping in mind that the computer will be mostly used for gaming?

[Guest]

Why not a custom build? z170 is a waste for a non oc i5 6400. also no ssd on it. psu is not stated as well. 

[Spartan Jack 17]

Get a GTX 1060 or RX 480 instead of the GTX 970, they have better performance.

[Shiv78]

1. SSD is pretty much required at this price point
2. CPU cooler not needed for anything that isn't overclocked
3. Neither is a Z170 board ^^ for this CPU
4. I do not think that a 600 watt PSU is needed for this build...
5. Get a GTX 1060 6GB instead with the money you save from 2, 3 and 4

[RobotKey]

Okay, so a custom build means a new motherboard right? what would you recommend for a 1060?

[Shubham Yadav]

1 minute ago, RobotKey said:

Okay, so a custom build means a new motherboard right? what would you recommend for a 1060?

Any H110, H170 or a B150 board would work. I personally have an H110 because it was the cheapest.

[JoaoPRSousa]

That prebuilt computer is a big nono

 

I'd rather buy this

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($179.88 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.88 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: MSI B150M MORTAR Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP920 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($57.18 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 6GB WINDFORCE OC 6G Video Card  ($265.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($42.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: BenQ RL2460HT 24.0" 60Hz Monitor  ($207.99 @ Best Buy) 
Total: $996.37
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-14 07:31 EDT-0400

[RobotKey]

Thanks! I just looked at each of these parts and they all seem to have great reviews. This fits the budget nicely and I think he will be very pleased. I have a stupid question though, is the solid state drive required? If not what is it used for? We will probably end up getting it in the end but I do want to know what it is/how it works etc

[RobotKey]

I did do some research on the SSD and from what I can gather it is an alternative to a hard drive, so I'm guessing it's optional? Do I need it to get these parts to work together? 

[rm -rf]

50 minutes ago, RobotKey said:

I did do some research on the SSD and from what I can gather it is an alternative to a hard drive, so I'm guessing it's optional? Do I need it to get these parts to work together? 

SSDs are not required, and I wouldn't describe it as an alternative.

SSDs are expensive and fast and silent

HDDs are cheap and slow and noisy

 

You don't need an SSD, though I think you should get it.

 

Also, free copy of Windows 8.1: https://catalog.imagine.microsoft.com/en-US/Catalog/Product/82

[RobotKey]

Sweet thanks. I will definitely get the SSD then.