Sub $1000 Gaming PC

[RickM]

1. Budget & Location

Hoping for less than $1000 Canadian.

Looking for good value tho.

2. Aim

Trying to play High+ graphics on new titles for the next 5 years.

3. Monitors

One 1080p 60Hz Monitor.

 4. Peripherals

No

5. Why are you upgrading?

First gaming pc.

 

Build

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/svs2pb

 

Explanation

CPU

Ryzen 5 1600 > Intel 6700K for less stuttering and a good cooler.

Mobo

IDK how to pick a motherboard. This was the cheapest one I could find that supports DDR4 3000.

Memory

Just gaming so I heard 2*4GB sticks is all I need. Also heard Ryzen loves DDR4 3000 (Not sure what this means tho).

Video Card

Read that the GTX 1060 6GB was comparable to the RX 580 8GB but for a cheaper price.

Zotac AMP is cheap and has good reviews.

I wanted a GTX 1070 so it would play Ultra High for a long time but it too expensive.

 

Are there any problems with my build? Any recommendations for mobos?

[HZapperz]

Maybe get 16gb of ram?

And definitely a 1 or 2 TB HD for mass storage. 

[NebbyNu]

If you're for sure only getting 8gb of ram, get just one stick. That way if you decide to upgrade you can stick another one in there along side it

[RickM]

2 minutes ago, HZapperz said:

Maybe get 16gb of ram?

And definitely a 1 or 2 TB HD for mass storage. 

I don't think I need storage on this build. I'll probably only have a couple games installed at any point. I have my laptop for everything else.

Is 16 GB worth it? A lot of people are saying you only need 8GB for gaming.

 

2 minutes ago, norrisben8 said:

If you're for sure only getting 8gb of ram, get just one stick. That way if you decide to upgrade you can stick another one in there along side it

I heard 2*4GB is better. I don't know how or by how much.

Will one 8GB stick be sufficient for the next year or two? 

[thall320578]

Unless you plan on running an SLI setup or 6 spinner hard drives, the 850w PSU in your list in the link is a bit overkill... Could save a little cash stepping down to a 600-650w (maybe lower) and still have headroom with the setup you have there.

 

You'll definitely want at least the Ryzen 5 series if you plan to go any higher than the 1060 in the future; the 1060 pretty much taps out the Ryzen 3 (anything higher than the 1060 and the Ryzen 3 becomes a bottleneck), so good choice there. Alternatively if you want to save some cash now, you COULD step down the the Ryzen 3 1200 and pair it with the 1060, just keep in mind that if you do go to upgrade the 1060 down the road, you'd have to upgrade the Ryzen 3 1200 as well...

 

I would agree on the single 8gb stick if that's the motherboard you go with. Being that it only has the 2 DIMM slots, once you put those 2 4gb sticks in, that's it. An upgrade will mean replacing them completely. Where as if you went with a single 8gb stick now, if you wanted to upgrade later you can drop in another 8gb stick right along side. The dual channel 2x4gb sticks may give you a little edge in performance (more so better numbers in benchmarks...), but honestly most won't notice in game play... Long story short, dual channel split into two sticks IS a little better performance wise, but if you do the dual channel route you're going to want a motherboard with more than 2 DIMM slots if you think you'll want to upgrade RAM capacity down the road, at least cost effectively.

 

If I had to suggest a different motherboard, sticking with the same ASRock AB350 platform, the Pro4 would be my suggestion (and not because I just got one myself :P) It's roughly the same price, is a little larger but will still fit in that case in your list, and bumps you up to 4 DIMM slots, so you could run the 2x4gb sticks now and double that up later if you wanted to.

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157761

[RickM]

3 minutes ago, thall320578 said:

The 850w PSU in your list in the link is a bit overkill, could save a little cash stepping down to a 600-650w (maybe lower) and still have headroom.

 

You'll definitely want at least the Ryzen 5 series if you plan to go any higher than the 1060 in the future; the 1060 pretty much taps out the Ryzen 3.

6

The purchased items (PSU & Storage) are coming from my brother. Its gonna be cheaper than buying my own PSU.

 

Is the CPU I'm picking overkill for my build then? Should I be going down to the Ryzen 3?
 

Updated build with new RAM

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/RickM1/saved/j9Tjcf

[thall320578]

Ah okay, well that makes since, definitely use that 850-watter then

 

It's entirely up to you and what direction you see yourself going into the future. The Ryzen 3 1200 would be plenty to push that 1060, but like I mentioned if you think you'll be moving to a 1070-1080, then go ahead and get the Rzen 5 or even 7 if budget allows to better future-proof the system. The 1060 is a VERY capable card at 1080p gameplay and the Ryzen 3 can use it to it's full potential, but if you're wanting to get in 4k or VR, then you may want to consider a 1070 or more in the future and the Ryzen 3 is not going to let the 1070 or higher reach it's full potential, whereas a Ryzen 5 or 7 would.