# Budget PC Build Guide ($500 - $1200 builds)



## Intel_man

So there's always a bunch of new members coming on here to ask for a budget build help, and I think there should be a guide to help these people. So I'm going to start it off. Feel free to help me out here to create more diverse builds. Also, be sure to include in the build a copy of Windows 10 and a dvd writer when you create a parts list. (Now optional, since no one really wants to include it for w/e the reason. I'll put a ** on the ones that don't include it)

*Goal of this guide*
The goal to this guide is to provide people who are new or relatively new to building computers with an idea what components you can get with the budget they have. Feel free to modify any of the builds listed below to suit your needs and as necessary due to price changes.


*Disclaimer*

The following builds will primarily be based in US purchases and US pricing.
Prices of components may change over time due to availability and/or other unforeseen circumstances.
Use this as a general guide only.
If you would like to add or replace parts with different components and is unsure about compatibility with the rest of the system, feel free to create a separate thread, ask the question and refer to this Guide.
Prices are based off of the dates in brackets
*$500 Builds*

1. $473.50 (Prices @ June 23, 2016)

i3 6100, 8gb ram, z170 mobo, 1tb hdd, corsair CX500
2. $559.81** (Prices @ March 3, 2017)

I3 7300, Gigabyte GA-H270-HD3, 8Gb RAM, CS1311 120Gb, 1Tb HDD 7200 RPM 64Mb, RX 460, EVGA 500
*$600 Builds*

1. $583.49 after $20 MIR (Prices @ June 23, 2016)

i3 6100, 8gb ram, z170 mobo, R7 370, 1tb hdd, corsair CX500
*$700 Builds*

1. $682.37 after $10 MIR (Prices @ June 23, 2016)

i3 6100, 8gb ram, z170 mobo, RX 480 4G*, 1tb hdd, corsair CX500
2. $764.56** (Prices @ March 3, 2017)

I5 7500, Gigabyte GA-H270-HD3, 16Gb RAM, 850 EVO 250Gb, 1Tb HDD 7200RPM 64Mb, Rx 470, Seasonic S12II 620W
*$800 Builds*

1. $772.37 after $10 MIR (Prices @ June 23, 2016)

i5 6500, 8gb ram, z170 mobo, RX 480 4G*, 1tb hdd, corsair CX500
*$900 Builds*

1. $901.87 after $45 MIR (Prices @ June 23, 2016)

i5 6600k, 16gb ram, z170 mobo, RX 480 4G*, 250gb ssd, corsair CX650M
2. $913.69** (Prices @ March 3, 2017)

I5 7600K, Cryorig H7, Asus Z270 Mark, 2 16Gb RAM, 850 EVO 250Gb, RX 480 4Gb , Seasonic S12II 620W, 1Tb HDD 7200 RPM 64Mb
*$1000 Builds*

1. $1001.36 after $45 MIR (Prices @ June 23, 2016)

i5 6600k, 16gb ram, z170 mobo, RX 480 8G*, 250gb ssd, 1tb hdd, corsair CX650M
*$1200 Builds*

1. $1211.35  after $45 MIR (Prices @ June 23, 2016)

i7 6700k, H80i GT AIO, 16gb ram, z170 mobo, RX 480 8G*, 250gb ssd, 1tb hdd, corsair CX650M
2. $1197.34 after $60 MIR (Prices @ June 23, 2016)

i5 6600k, 16gb ram, z170 mobo, GTX 1070, 250gb ssd, 1tb hdd, corsair CX650M
3. $1209.28** after $60 MIR (Prices @ March 9, 2017)

i5 7600k, 16gb ram, z270 mobo, GTX 1080, 250gb ssd, 1tb hdd, SeaSonic S12II 620W
*RX480 at the time this build was created is very close to being released, and prices are based on AMD announcements. Prices are subjected to change.

**Prices do not include an OS.


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## Laquer Head

Excellent idea man, I think this is long overdue and will be of great value to new and current members!


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## Intel_man

Hopefully members here post some builds and I can update the master list. @Darren, help me out here with some AMD builds!


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## johnb35

Laquer Head said:


> I think this is long overdue and will be of great value to new and current members!


Yes, way overdue along with other things that are way overdue. 

Great initiative @Intel_man.  Thank you. Let me know when this is complete and will separate the actual builds and discussion into different threads.


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## Laquer Head

johnb35 said:


> Yes, way overdue along with other things that are way overdue.
> 
> Great initiative @Intel_man.  Thank you. Let me know when this is complete and will separate the actual builds and discussion into different threads.



Yes, indeed..a great initiative.. Wish I thought of it myself..


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## Intel_man

Lol, credit to where it's due. @Laquer Head mentioned it in one of the convos I'm having with him "offline". I just so happen to be bored at the time the idea was thrown onto the table and made it happen.

@johnb35, not sure how to finish this guide tbh. I was thinking more along the lines of continuous updates to the master list in accordance to new tech releases and then perhaps archive the older builds. Of course though, it will be helpful to have others here post their build list in this thread so I can update the master list to include them along with a general description of what is in the build just like it is shown right now.


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## Darren

You can always hit me up for help with AMD builds but in all honesty they're pretty useless currently except for super low budget APU setups. If you need any help at all with this though I'm happy to help. I quite like writing guides.


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## spirit

I've mentioned this idea in the Mod Chat a few times and I think others have too. Good thread! Let's keep it updated and relevant!


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## Calin

@Darren an APU would be a better option for the 500$ build IMO.
Also I think you could fit a 1080 in the 1200$ build.


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## Intel_man

You could chuck a 1080 into a $1200 build... if you couple it with an i3. Not sure if that's ideal though.


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## Laquer Head

Can we make this a sticky thread?


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## beers

With a name like Intel Man was I foolish to expect any sort of AMD build thrown in there?


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## Intel_man

beers said:


> With a name like Intel Man was I foolish to expect any sort of AMD build thrown in there?


Pfffttttt. Mr. smarty pants. Even our resident AMD fanboy doesn't think it's wise to throw an AMD build on there unless it's that APU crap. 

You're more than welcome to make some builds with AMD and I'm more than happy to put them on the list.



Darren said:


> You can always hit me up for help with AMD builds but in all honesty *they're pretty useless currently* except for super low budget APU setups. If you need any help at all with this though I'm happy to help. I quite like writing guides.


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## Calin

@Intel_man 1080 with a locked i5 for 1237. You can add something like a Hyper 212 later. 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

*CPU:* Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($197.99 @ SuperBiiz)
*Motherboard:* Gigabyte GA-H170-D3HP ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($87.98 @ Newegg)
*Memory:* G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($52.99 @ Newegg)
*Storage:* Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($90.99 @ Amazon)
*Storage:* Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
*Video Card:* MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card  ($649.99 @ SuperBiiz)
*Case:* Zalman Z3 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case  ($40.98 @ Newegg)
*Power Supply:* SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
*Total:* $1232.40
_Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-24 18:35 EDT-0400_


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## Intel_man

@Calin, please read the following and resubmit.



Intel_man said:


> Also, be sure to include in the build a copy of Windows 10 and a dvd writer when you create a parts list.



This requirement is so that the builds are clear cut for new members and ensures that the build itself is ready out of the box to install Windows 10 with the included DVD.


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## Calin

@Intel_man I know you will kill me for this but I'd rather go AMD/1080 over Intel/1070 unless you play at 120hz and above.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

*CPU:* AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($149.99 @ SuperBiiz)
*CPU Cooler:* Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
*Motherboard:* Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($68.88 @ OutletPC)
*Memory:* G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
*Storage:* Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
*Storage:* Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
*Video Card:* MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card  ($649.99 @ SuperBiiz)
*Case:* Zalman Z3 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case  ($40.98 @ Newegg)
*Power Supply:* EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($48.99 @ NCIX US)
*Optical Drive:* LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer  ($14.89 @ OutletPC)
*Operating System:* Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
*Total:* $1249.97
_Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-24 19:51 EDT-0400_


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## Darren

An 8350 throttles my 390 at times and you want to put it with a 1080?


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## johnb35

I'm wondering if it would be best to only have a couple people working on this project so it doesn't get out of hand, somebody that knows what they are doing.  And I think doing AM3+ builds right now would be bad since AM4 is coming out soon.


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## Darren

Agreed. And maybe a discussion thread for it (this) and a separate official post managed by one/two members/mods to facilitate uniformity.


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## johnb35

Darren said:


> and a separate official post managed by one/two members/mods to facilitate uniformity.





johnb35 said:


> Let me know when this is complete and will separate the actual builds and discussion into different threads.


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## Darren

I never said I was a good listener.


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## beers

Calin said:


> I'd rather go AMD/1080 over Intel/1070 unless you play at 120hz and above.


You'd lose enough from the 8350 to end up with 1070 performance anyway.


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## Intel_man

johnb35 said:


> I'm wondering if it would be best to only have a couple people working on this project so it doesn't get out of hand, somebody that knows what they are doing.  And I think doing AM3+ builds right now would be bad since AM4 is coming out soon.


I'm ok with however it ends up being arranged. As long as it's not just me who constantly updates all the builds. 



Darren said:


> I never said I was a good listener.



lol


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## Calin

Darren said:


> An 8350 throttles my 390 at times and you want to put it with a 1080?


Because I had mine with a 980 Ti, and at 4K the only game there was a bottleneck in was GTA V. Like I said I would only go with Intel and 1070 if you play at 120+hz


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## beers

Calin said:


> Because I had mine with a 980 Ti, and at 4K the only game there was a bottleneck in was GTA V. Like I said I would only go with Intel and 1070 if you play at 120+hz


Do you have any sample benchmarks from that setup?


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## Calin

beers said:


> Do you have any sample benchmarks from that setup?






http://www.3dmark.com/fs/6487991


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## Intel_man

The 8350 is bottlenecking the 1080 in a bunch of Firestrike 1.1 tests.

Some guy with a 8350 w/ a 1080 http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8766751

Some guy with a 6700k w/ a 1080 http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8775139

Click on the "Show results detail" then go to "Detail Scores" tab to see the data.


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## Calin

Well I didn't say it won't bottleneck, it does at 1080p and 1440p but it will be fine for 60hz gaming, especially at 4k where you won't notice a difference between it and Intel. If my 8350 didn't die I would still be happily using it right now.


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## spirit

Intel_man said:


> The 8350 is bottlenecking the 1080 in a bunch of Firestrike 1.1 tests.
> 
> Some guy with a 8350 w/ a 1080 http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8766751
> 
> Some guy with a 6700k w/ a 1080 http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8775139
> 
> Click on the "Show results detail" then go to "Detail Scores" tab to see the data.


13,530 for the FX-8350 vs 20,437 for the 6700K shows a clear CPU bottleneck in this benchmark. That's a massive difference! The i7 6700K is much newer and faster than the old FX-8350 so it doesn't surprise me there's a big difference. I reckon an i5 6600K would still own the FX-8350 with the 1080. Even an older i5 like the 4670K or the 4690K probably would too!


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## Intel_man

There should be benchmarks on those setups @spirit. Just look em up in the search. I mean.. hell there's still i7-990x combos with people running 1080 in SLi. lol


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## spirit

i5 6600K and GTX 1080: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8929151 (23,053)
i5 4690K and GTX 1080: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8755319 (19,884)
i5 4670K and GTX 1080: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8907884 (17,088)
i5 3570K and GTX 1080: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8958021 (18,204)
i5 2500K and GTX 1080: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8910724 (16,125)
i5 760 and GTX 1080: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8890718 (9,825)

So the FX-8350 comes between the 6 year old i5 760 and the 5.5 year old i5 2500K.

The FX-9590 and the GTX 1080 scores 14,745, making it worse than the 2500K which is two years older than the FX-9590: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8856340

Interestingly, the old Phenom II X4 965 scored higher than the i5 760 despite the i5 760 being faster than the Phenom II X4 965. I remember researching those two CPUs extensively for months trying to decide which to use for my first build! I went with the i5 760 in the end. Here's the score: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8857940 the 965 scores 10,632. The X6 1100T scores 12,262: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8840759


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## Intel_man

i7-990x and GTX 1080: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8858084 (18,354)



@spirit, some of your links are with 2 GTX 1080s.


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## Calin

@spirit The physics score is what matters when it comes to CPUs. the 9590 seems to be between the 4690k and 6600k. I don't know why the combined scores is  lower on the 9590 even though the physics score is higher.
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8856340
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8755319
Also the 9590 score shows the memory on the GPU running at 1200mhz/2400 effective and 5000/10000 effective on the i5.
@Intel_man Wow the 990x beats my 6700k in physics score. Here's my score: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/8908029


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## spirit

Intel_man said:


> @spirit, some of your links are with 2 GTX 1080s.


Dammit I should have checked that. Eurghh... Still, the 4670K with one card is not far off the 4690K with two cards and scores higher than the 3570K with two cards!


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## [email protected]_need_help

Awesome idea. I will be using this as a ref. real soon on my First Build.

So I have a question,
Is "PC PART PICKER" a reliable source for a "No Issue" new build ?


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## Intel_man

spirit said:


> Dammit I should have checked that. Eurghh... Still, the 4670K with one card is not far off the 4690K with two cards and scores higher than the 3570K with two cards!


Even the 1st Gen Core i7 Nehalems are doing pretty well. It seems like the PCI-E 2.0 is holding it back slightly though.


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## Intel_man

[email protected]_need_help said:


> So I have a question,
> Is "PC PART PICKER" a reliable source for a "No Issue" new build ?


What I'd do is when you think you have a full build and have a few questions about it, create a new thread and ask the question. That way, it won't get lost in the other conversations. To answer you question for the time being, PCPartPicker does really well to check for incompatibilities for the most part, but it's not fool proof.


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## [email protected]_need_help

Intel_man said:


> What I'd do is when you think you have a full build and have a few questions about it, create a new thread and ask the question. That way, it won't get lost in the other conversations. To answer you question for the time being, PCPartPicker does really well to check for incompatibilities for the most part, but it's not fool proof.



OK. Thanks.


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## spirit

Intel_man said:


> Even the 1st Gen Core i7 Nehalems are doing pretty well. It seems like the PCI-E 2.0 is holding it back slightly though.


I'm amazed that people are still using these first generation i5 and i7 processors and still putting new hardware like GTX 1080s in these machines. On one hand you'd think that if you can afford a 1080 you'd probably also be able to afford a new system, but on the other hand you have to think that if people are still genuinely using these 6-7 year old CPUs as 'daily drivers' (and are not digging them out from under their beds purely to benchmark them) then that just goes to show that these CPUs have truly stood up to the test of time to remain relevant and adequate some 6-7 years after their launch!


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## Intel_man

I still have my i7 920 lying around... now that I replaced it with the W3690 (Xeon version of the 990X). Apart from PCIE gen3, USB 3.1, sata express, sata 3, and nvme support... these things are still fast enough to make AMD sweat.


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## spirit

Intel_man said:


> I still have my i7 920 lying around... now that I replaced it with the W3690 (Xeon version of the 990X). Apart from PCIE gen3, USB 3.1, sata express, sata 3, and nvme support... these things are still fast enough to make AMD sweat.


Hahaha yeah! I owned an i5 760 for a year before I upgraded to an i5 2500K but for a short time I had my i5 760 in an ASUS P7P55D-E which had a (third-party, admittedly) SATA 6GBps controller and USB 3.0 controller. I could have used the 760 for far longer I think before I would have needed to upgrade.


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## Intel_man

My sister's computer still rocks an i5 760. I might grab a decommissioned Xeon for like $80 and some more RAM for her though. Although she only uses the PC for web browsing stuff... so she doesn't really need a brand new rig or justify spending that much money on a new PC.


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## [email protected]_need_help

Intel_man said:


> So there's always a bunch of new members coming on here to ask for a budget build help, and I think there should be a guide to help these people. So I'm going to start it off. Feel free to help me out here to create more diverse builds. Also, be sure to include in the build a copy of Windows 10 and a dvd writer when you create a parts list.
> 
> *Goal of this guide*
> The goal to this guide is to provide people who are new or relatively new to building computers with an idea what components you can get with the budget they have. Feel free to modify any of the builds listed below to suit your needs and as necessary due to price changes.
> 
> 
> *Disclaimer*
> 
> The following builds will primarily be based in US purchases and US pricing.
> Prices of components may change over time due to availability and/or other unforeseen circumstances.
> Use this as a general guide only.
> If you would like to add or replace parts with different components and is unsure about compatibility with the rest of the system, feel free to create a separate thread, ask the question and refer to this Guide.
> Prices are based off of the dates in brackets
> *$500 Builds*
> 
> 1. $473.50 (Prices @ June 23, 2016)
> 
> i3 6100, 8gb ram, z170 mobo, 1tb hdd, corsair CX500
> 
> *$600 Builds*
> 
> 1. $583.49 after $20 MIR (Prices @ June 23, 2016)
> 
> i3 6100, 8gb ram, z170 mobo, R7 370, 1tb hdd, corsair CX500
> 
> *$700 Builds*
> 
> 1. $682.37 after $10 MIR (Prices @ June 23, 2016)
> 
> i3 6100, 8gb ram, z170 mobo, RX 480 4G*, 1tb hdd, corsair CX500
> 
> *$800 Builds*
> 
> 1. $772.37 after $10 MIR (Prices @ June 23, 2016)
> 
> i5 6500, 8gb ram, z170 mobo, RX 480 4G*, 1tb hdd, corsair CX500
> 
> *$900 Builds*
> 
> 1. $901.87 after $45 MIR (Prices @ June 23, 2016)
> 
> i5 6600k, 16gb ram, z170 mobo, RX 480 4G*, 250gb ssd, corsair CX650M
> 
> *$1000 Builds*
> 
> 1. $1001.36 after $45 MIR (Prices @ June 23, 2016)
> 
> i5 6600k, 16gb ram, z170 mobo, RX 480 8G*, 250gb ssd, 1tb hdd, corsair CX650M
> 
> *$1200 Builds*
> 
> 1. $1211.35  after $45 MIR (Prices @ June 23, 2016)
> 
> i7 6700k, H80i GT AIO, 16gb ram, z170 mobo, RX 480 8G*, 250gb ssd, 1tb hdd, corsair CX650M
> 2. $1197.34 after $60 MIR (Prices @ June 23, 2016)
> 
> i5 6600k, 16gb ram, z170 mobo, GTX 1070, 250gb ssd, 1tb hdd, corsair CX650M
> *RX480 at the time this build was created is very close to being released, and prices are based on AMD announcements. Prices are subjected to change.


Shouldn't this be a "Sticky" ???


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## Darren

@Intel_man or anyone else that wants to work on this PM me. I'd be happy to assist in any way I can and help format it even. I think a guide like this would be worthwhile to keep on top of, especially since there's a lot of new stuff this year and a lot of people are here for build lists.


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## Intel_man

Well I just need people to post builds that would be good suggestions to new members. I don't mind keeping it updated, just no one has really put the time to doing so. 

I spent a couple of hours on and off organizing, creating builds, and formatting that initial post.


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## C4C

Intel_man said:


> Well I just need people to post builds that would be good suggestions to new members. I don't mind keeping it updated, just no one has really put the time to doing so.
> 
> I spent a couple of hours on and off organizing, creating builds, and formatting that initial post.



I created one just like this last year I believe... Took quite a bit of time, and I didn't have any time to update it. Props to you 

I'll definitely help out because I love creating PCPartPicker lists.

Kam tried it: http://www.computerforum.com/threads/low-mid-high-ultra-end-builds-guide.235420/#post-1976984 
Ninjabubbles3 tried it: http://www.computerforum.com/threads/gaming-builds-300-through-800.231876/
and I can't find my thread on trying, but we all failed. Best of luck hehe


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## [email protected]_need_help

Good call on the RX 480. I'm still waiting on one to become avail. Hopefully early Aug.


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## Intel_man

I'll have to update this build list to include the GTX 1060 option sometime soon. Gotta balance out the competition and provide more options for everyone.


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## C4C

I'm not sure how you feel about OEM licenses, but I love saving people some money... I've used Kinguin.net for a few computer builds... Win 10 Pro is only $30 on there, sometimes less. Saves about $50 for you to add to other components!


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## AMD_man

May I suggest a few additions?

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 74.3 CFM CPU Cooler  ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z170 PRO GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($110.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($58.97 @ Jet)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($79.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB Dual Video Card  ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill NIGHTHAWK 117 ATX Full Tower Case  ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $833.77 ($922.79 without MIR)

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/AMD_man/saved/G6dD3C

CPU: AMD FX-4300 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($74.93 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($66.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($47.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow UV400 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($40.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($36.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini Video Card  ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($16.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $438.63 ($476.66 without MIR)

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/AMD_man/saved/DVVcf7

I´ve noticed you are not fond of using AMD CPUs so you can just swap that for something more Intelish.


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## Darren

AMD_man said:


> I´ve noticed you are not fond of using AMD CPUs so you can just swap that for something more Intelish.


Lists look good for the most part. 

AMD CPU's are a foolish buy at this point except at maybe the very low end, if even that.


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## AMD_man

Darren said:


> Lists look good for the most part.
> 
> AMD CPU's are a foolish buy at this point except at maybe the very low end, if even that.



Yes that's why I included it only on the low budget build. I wanted to keep it under $500 and the Skylake I3s start at $100, while this one is $70.

Also what did you mean by "for the most part"? What would you change?


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## spirit

Darren said:


> AMD CPU's are a foolish buy at this point except at maybe the very low end, if even that.


Definitely! Interesting to see what the Vishera replacement will be like though - I thought they were coming out in October 2016?


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## AMD_man

spirit said:


> Definitely! Interesting to see what the Vishera replacement will be like though - I thought they were coming out in October 2016?


Zen? January.


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## Laquer Head

Hasn't Zen been 'coming out' for months now!?!?


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## spirit

Laquer Head said:


> Hasn't Zen been 'coming out' for months now!?!?


Years actually! Since at least 2012 or 2013!


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## Laquer Head

spirit said:


> Years actually! Since at least 2012 or 2013!



Guess they are just putting the finishing touches on it and getting it perfect for the masses....


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## spirit

Laquer Head said:


> Guess they are just putting the finishing touches on it and getting it perfect for the masses....


Making sure the 8-core CPU just about matches the performance of a 5-year old i5 2500K at stock, yes...


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## Laquer Head

spirit said:


> Making sure the 8-core CPU just about matches the performance of a 5-year old i5 2500K at stock, yes...


----------



## AMD_man

spirit said:


> Making sure the 8-core CPU just about matches the performance of a 5-year old i5 2500K at stock, yes...



Funny thing is, Intel has been struggling with the same thing. Single thread performance from a brand new 6600k is not that different from the one of the 2500k.

Also, speaking of multi-core performance, the FX-8350 destroys the 6600k. Granted, it´s double amount of cores, almost no software can use them all, but still...


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## Laquer Head

AMD_man said:


> Funny thing is, Intel has been struggling with the same thing. Single thread performance from a brand new 6600k is not that different from the one of the 2500k.
> 
> Also, speaking of multi-core performance, the FX-8350 destroys the 6600k. Granted, it´s double amount of cores, almost no software can use them all, but still...



..........................


----------



## AMD_man

Laquer Head said:


> ..........................



Awkward.


----------



## spirit

AMD_man said:


> Also, speaking of multi-core performance, the FX-8350 destroys the 6600k. Granted, it´s double amount of cores, almost no software can use them all, but still...


I don't think so, see here: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1544?vs=697 the 6600K beats the FX-8350 in some multi-threaded benchmarks. Granted, not by much, but given that the 6600K has half the number of cores of the 8350, it shows that the 8350's architecture is pretty poor by comparison. An i7 6700K with 4 cores and 8 threads would blow the 8 core 8350 out of the water.


----------



## AMD_man

spirit said:


> I don't think so, see here: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1544?vs=697 the 6600K beats the FX-8350 in some multi-threaded benchmarks. Granted, not by much, but given that the 6600K has half the number of cores of the 8350, it shows that the 8350's architecture is pretty poor by comparison. An i7 6700K with 4 cores and 8 threads would blow the 8 core 8350 out of the water.



Oh I never doubted how poor the architecture and manufacturing technology is. Still, the fact that nearly useless CPUs can compete with the Skylake architecture shows how extreme and inaccurate your first statement was. I'm not trying to start a fight here but I do not appreciate the sarcasm and hatred when it comes to AMD CPUs this forum members show.

Edit:
http://m.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html


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## Laquer Head

AMD_man said:


> Awkward.



You are, indeed..


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## spirit

AMD_man said:


> Oh I never doubted how poor the architecture and manufacturing technology is. Still, the fact that nearly useless CPUs can compete with the Skylake architecture shows how extreme and inaccurate your first statement was. I'm not trying to start a fight here but I do not appreciate the sarcasm and hatred when it comes to AMD CPUs this forum members show.
> 
> Edit:
> http://m.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html


I don't believe the new high-end CPU will be able to compete with the 5960X. I hope it's an improvement over Vishera (though to be honest, anything would be - as I've said, even 5-6 year old CPUs from Intel are!), but I have my doubts that it will even come close to the 5960X, especially given it's price point and AMD's lack of new products over the past 4 or 5 years that show they are capable of that. However, I will be the first to say that I was wrong if it does turn out to be close to the 5960X. I haven't always 'hated' AMD CPUs, I even considered buying a Phenom II X4!

It's true that Intel hasn't really progressed since the Sandy Bridge days in terms of massive performance leaps, as you can see in my earlier posts in this thread, but the 6600K is faster than the 2500K, maybe not jaw-droppingly faster in single-threaded performance, but when it comes to multi-threaded performance it is better: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/288?vs=1544. It's also true that Intel has made more progress over the past 4-5 years than AMD has, that's for sure. The replacement for Vishera has taken 4 years to arrive, Intel generally replaces their CPUs every year.

Our reasoning for not liking AMD CPUs as a whole on this forum is simply because what they offer at the moment is a dead-end path. The Vishera CPUs are old and weren't even that great when they were new - the only thing they had going for them was value, which is gone now. The FX-81xx and 83xx chips promised great things but massively under-delivered. Maybe when a replacement finally surfaces next year we can start recommencing them again, but for the time being it's Intel all the way and it has been like that for several years now. Even the most die-hard of AMD fans on this forum are admitting this now (and have done for a few years). An AMD CPU is simply not a good choice in 2016 - there is no benefit. In its day the FX-8350 may well have been the 'multi-threaded king' for under a certain price point or whatever, but we are seeing now that the quad-cores from Intel are beating it. It's just an old CPU that nobody should buy anymore.


----------



## AMD_man

spirit said:


> I don't believe the new high-end CPU will be able to compete with the 5960X. I hope it's an improvement over Vishera (though to be honest, anything would be - as I've said, even 5-6 year old CPUs from Intel are!), but I have my doubts that it will even come close to the 5960X, especially given it's price point and AMD's lack of new products over the past 4 or 5 years that show they are capable of that. However, I will be the first to say that I was wrong if it does turn out to be close to the 5960X. I haven't always 'hated' AMD CPUs, I even considered buying a Phenom II X4!
> 
> It's true that Intel hasn't really progressed since the Sandy Bridge days in terms of massive performance leaps, as you can see in my earlier posts in this thread, but the 6600K is faster than the 2500K, maybe not jaw-droppingly faster in single-threaded performance, but when it comes to multi-threaded performance it is better: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/288?vs=1544. It's also true that Intel has made more progress over the past 4-5 years than AMD has, that's for sure. The replacement for Vishera has taken 4 years to arrive, Intel generally replaces their CPUs every year.
> 
> Our reasoning for not liking AMD CPUs as a whole on this forum is simply because what they offer at the moment is a dead-end path. The Vishera CPUs are old and weren't even that great when they were new - the only thing they had going for them was value, which is gone now. The FX-81xx and 83xx chips promised great things but massively under-delivered. Maybe when a replacement finally surfaces next year we can start recommencing them again, but for the time being it's Intel all the way and it has been like that for several years now. Even the most die-hard of AMD fans on this forum are admitting this now (and have done for a few years). An AMD CPU is simply not a good choice in 2016 - there is no benefit. In its day the FX-8350 may well have been the 'multi-threaded king' for under a certain price point or whatever, but we are seeing now that the quad-cores from Intel are beating it. It's just an old CPU that nobody should buy anymore.




True. AMD has always been behind and tries to compete with Intel by offering low prices for outdated technology. Also I don´t think Zen will be able to compete with the extreme versions like the 6950X (in dreams perhaps). I mean, just hearing the plan indicates how dissapointing the single core performance will be. 8 cores and 16 threads? What for? A server maybe. Not to mention that hyper-threading was implemented by Intel first. 

What I always found intriguing was the fact that Intel is charging the same (or even more) as the 6600K for an old CPU like the 2500K. I guess the reason is if the 2500K was cheaper, no one would buy the 6600K.


----------



## Darren

AMD_man said:


> I'm not trying to start a fight here but I do not appreciate the sarcasm and hatred when it comes to AMD CPUs this forum members show.
> 
> Edit:
> http://m.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html



Look. I'm a big AMD fan (see avatar and specs), but their CPU's just flat suck right now pretty much any way you slice it. Bulldozer was a forward thinking design that flopped for a variety of reasons and Vishera was only a mild improvement. I love my 8320, it was 150 bucks when I bought it 3 years ago, overclocks like crazy, and still games well. I'm excited for Zen, but I can't recommend any AMD CPU's as of the past year or two since the platform is long dead and you can get upgrade ability going with an Intel setup.


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## spirit

AMD_man said:


> What I always found intriguing was the fact that Intel is charging the same (or even more) as the 6600K for an old CPU like the 2500K. I guess the reason is if the 2500K was cheaper, no one would buy the 6600K.


Why wouldn't they charge the same? AMD charged the same for the FX-8320 as they had done for the 8120. The 760, 2500K, 3570K, 4670K and 4690K were priced pretty similarly, but the 6600K was more expensive than the 4690K had been. I think it's partly due to the 6600K supporting new technology like DDR4 and also the severe lack of competiton from AMD.


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## Darren

spirit said:


> Why wouldn't they charge the same? AMD charged the same for the FX-8320 as they had done for the 8120. The 760, 2500K, 3570K, 4670K and 4690K were priced pretty similarly, but the 6600K was more expensive than the 4690K had been. I think it's partly due to the 6600K supporting new technology like DDR4 and also the severe lack of competiton from AMD.


I think his point is that prices have stayed the same or even risen slightly despite marginal improvements jumps between each generation.


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## spirit

Darren said:


> I think his point is that prices have stayed the same or even risen slightly despite marginal improvements jumps between each generation.


Why would you expect them to charge less for each new generation? When other companies replace products, the replacement usually comes in at around the same kind of price, if not slightly higher to start with.


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## Darren

spirit said:


> Why would you expect them to charge less for each new generation? When other companies replace products, the replacement usually comes in at around the same kind of price, if not slightly higher to start with.


I dunno what he meant really, especially since you can't buy 2500K's new anymore.


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## spirit

Darren said:


> I dunno what he meant really, especially since you can't buy 2500K's new anymore.


Exactly. I'd understand his point if they were still making the 2500K or the 4690K and charging much less for that than the 6600K, but they're not. The only way you can get an older CPU is if you buy used or find a shop selling off old stock.


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## AMD_man

Not being manufactured anymore doesn´t mean you can´t buy new units. If you look at the prices The 6600K costs the same as a 2500K or a 4690K. You would think the old units get cheaper because superior ones are in the market, but still they remain the same. I didn´t mean anything by it, it was just a comment.


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## beers

AMD_man said:


> FX-8350 destroys the 6600k


It's pretty good in integer specific workloads.  Once you start using the combined FPU it starts sucking pretty bad.

Depending on what cherry picked benchmark you choose it can be either awesome or horrible.  Realistically it depends on your workload but it is becoming a pretty dated platform, the CPU itself was released in 2012.


AMD_man said:


> Not being manufactured anymore doesn´t mean you can´t buy new units. If you look at the prices The 6600K costs the same as a 2500K or a 4690K.


This is a stupid argument.


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## spirit

AMD_man said:


> Not being manufactured anymore doesn´t mean you can´t buy new units. If you look at the prices The 6600K costs the same as a 2500K or a 4690K. You would think the old units get cheaper because superior ones are in the market, but still they remain the same. I didn´t mean anything by it, it was just a comment.


Then it would appear that the older CPUs are holding their value because they are still decent and desired by people who have older LGA 1155 or 1150 boards and want to maybe upgrade from a Pentium or an i3 to an i5 (or i7, since the story is the same) without the need to replace their board and/or RAM if they'd have to upgrade from DDR3 to DDR4 to use Skylake.


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## Darren

AMD_man said:


> Not being manufactured anymore doesn´t mean you can´t buy new units. If you look at the prices The 6600K costs the same as a 2500K or a 4690K. You would think the old units get cheaper because superior ones are in the market, but still they remain the same. I didn´t mean anything by it, it was just a comment.


You might be able to find new ones still, but they're few and far between and likely more expensive as a result. 

Let's not derail this thread too far, we've got other threads for CPU discussion.


----------



## Daniel Dukai

When can we expect an update to this thread?


----------



## Intel_man

I will try to get something done within the month. Been quite busy with midterms. 

If members here can help pitch in with some builds now that ryzen is here, I'll gladly put it on the masterlist. (please put it in the format suggested on the first post.)


----------



## Deadpool

*$500 builds:
*

$559.81 (March 3 2017)

I3 7300, Gigabyte GA-H270-HD3, 8Gb RAM, CS1311 120Gb, 1Tb HDD 7200 RPM 64Mb, RX 460, EVGA 500 https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gwNsWX
*
$700 Builds:
*

764.56 (March 3 2017)

I5 7500, Gigabyte GA-H270-HD3, 16Gb RAM, 850 EVO 250Gb, 1Tb HDD 7200RPM 64Mb, Rx 470, Seasonic S12II 620W https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Pw9nCy
*
$900 Builds:
*

$913.69 (March 3 2017)

I5 7600K, Cryorig H7, Asus Z270 Mark, 2 16Gb RAM, 850 EVO 250Gb, RX 480 4Gb , Seasonic S12II 620W, 1Tb HDD 7200 RPM 64Mb https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rNrpRG
All this are basically your builds switched to Kaby. I named the motherboards because I researched them a bit and it´s not a parametric choice.


----------



## Intel_man

Deadpool said:


> *$500 builds:
> *
> 
> $559.81 (March 3 2017)
> 
> I3 7300, Gigabyte GA-H270-HD3, 8Gb RAM, CS1311 120Gb, 1Tb HDD 7200 RPM 64Mb, RX 460, EVGA 500 https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gwNsWX
> *$700 Builds:
> *
> 
> 764.56 (March 3 2017)
> 
> I5 7500, Gigabyte GA-H270-HD3, 16Gb RAM, 850 EVO 250Gb, 1Tb HDD 7200RPM 64Mb, Rx 470, Seasonic S12II 620W https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Pw9nCy
> *$900 Builds:
> *
> 
> $913.69 (March 3 2017)
> 
> I5 7600K, Cryorig H7, Asus Z270 Mark, 2 16Gb RAM, 850 EVO 250Gb, RX 480 4Gb , Seasonic S12II 620W, 1Tb HDD 7200 RPM 64Mb https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rNrpRG
> All this are basically your builds switched to Kaby. I named the motherboards because I researched them a bit and it´s not a parametric choice.


Thanks for the contribution, master list has been updated for now.


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## Deadpool

Intel_man said:


> Thanks for the contribution, master list has been updated for now.



Oh boy. I forgot the OS. That´s like $100 more 

My bad.


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## C4C

Deadpool said:


> Oh boy. I forgot the OS. That´s like $100 more
> 
> My bad.



$30USD from Kinguin.net


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## Harley Ben

This thread is helping me now. Are the rates and specs still same?


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## Deadpool

Harley Ben said:


> This thread is helping me now. Are the rates and specs still same?



You mentioned a rendering PC. Build a Ryzen rig. There are no Ryzen builds here.


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## Harley Ben

Yes Gaming+Rendering. This thread also looks insightful to me.


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## Intel_man

Added a GTX 1080 build into the $1200 category due to recent price drops.


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## Calin

I made new builds for most price categories for late 2017.

510$
623$
756$
858$
1059$
1315$


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## _Kyle_

Calin said:


> I made new builds for most price categories for late 2017.
> 
> 510$
> 623$
> 756$
> 858$
> 1059$
> 1315$


Nice. Ryzen is awesome.


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## Harley Ben

Deerling7 said:


> Nice. Ryzen is awesome.


Ryzen is indeed awesome!


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## Calin

Harley Ben said:


> Ryzen is indeed awesome!


The FX CPUs were great for their time too.


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## Harley Ben

Calin said:


> The FX CPUs were great for their time too.




Yup, never used that one though


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## Calin

Harley Ben said:


> Yup, never used that one though


I had (and still have it somewhere) a FX 8350 and I fail to understand the backlash it received. Paired with a 980 Ti, the only game it didn't get 60 FPS on was GTA V, out of the ones I tested.


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## C4C

FX processors are great, but extremely inefficient compared to what's on the market 5 years later.. 

Ryzen has a certain bang-for-the-buck value, but Intel's Coffee Lake seems to be a winner right now. For budget CPUs my choice would be the Pentium G4600 or i3-8100.


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## Darren

C4C said:


> FX processors are great, but extremely inefficient compared to what's on the market 5 years later..
> 
> Ryzen has a certain bang-for-the-buck value, but Intel's Coffee Lake seems to be a winner right now. For budget CPUs my choice would be the Pentium G4600 or i3-8100.


I'd honestly argue Ryzen simply for the fact the motherboard you'd get with a Ryzen chip is going to be viable much longer than a comparable Intel board and you can later throw in a much better CPU without necessitating a platform change. And Ryzen boards generally are cheaper last I checked.

That's assuming AMD or Intel doesn't plan to alter their current motherboard patterns.


----------



## Calin

C4C said:


> Ryzen has a certain bang-for-the-buck value, but Intel's Coffee Lake seems to be a winner right now. For budget CPUs my choice would be the Pentium G4600 or i3-8100.


I'd go for a Ryzen 1200. The 8100 is better but the Z370 boards aren't cheap and we have to wait until Q1 2018ish for the cheaper chipsets to be released.


----------



## Eduardo96

If you are extra low budget like me in Cuba just lokk in amazon for one of the Mini-ITX kits that comes with 16Gb RAM and pretty good processors only for 100 or less


----------



## martin1234567

Hi, I was thinking of purchase a new pc thats about to support gaming.

Here are the specifications:
Asrock Mb H81M-DGS
i5-4460 intel core 3.2GHz boost 3.4GHz
12GB RAN Kingston 8+4
GTX750 2GB
PSU 550W
NO HDD

I only play a couple games (not for long hours too) Do anyone of you think that the above specifications is optimal?


----------



## _Kyle_

martin1234567 said:


> Hi, I was thinking of purchase a new pc thats about to support gaming.
> 
> Here are the specifications:
> Asrock Mb H81M-DGS
> i5-4460 intel core 3.2GHz boost 3.4GHz
> 12GB RAN Kingston 8+4
> GTX750 2GB
> PSU 550W
> NO HDD
> 
> I only play a couple games (not for long hours too) Do anyone of you think that the above specifications is optimal?



Hey, what's your budget? That hardware is quite outdated, as well. Could you maybe post your own thread here? (Go to the homepage, click on "Desktop Computers", and in the top right click the "Post New Thread" button.


----------



## sozmen

thank you, but now very difficult in Turkey. Piece prices have increased a lot.
bilgisayar tamircisi


----------



## kona1984

Calin said:


> @Intel_man 1080 with a locked i5 for 1237. You can add something like a Hyper 212 later.
> PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
> 
> *CPU:* Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($197.99 @ SuperBiiz)
> *Motherboard:* Gigabyte GA-H170-D3HP ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($87.98 @ Newegg)
> *Memory:* G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($52.99 @ Newegg)
> *Storage:* Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($90.99 @ Amazon)
> *Storage:* Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
> *Video Card:* MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card  ($649.99 @ SuperBiiz)
> *Case:* Zalman Z3 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case  ($40.98 @ Newegg)
> *Power Supply:* SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
> *Total:* $1232.40
> _Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
> Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-24 18:35 EDT-0400_


I'm new here and I haven't had a pc since 2013... use s laptop.... but mostly just my phone these days.
I miss my tower...PC.
So I'm thinking of buying one. I definitely want a hard wired DVD reader. I'm not a gamer but I need a good monitor and video card.
Your list above looks good to me. What is the cost with a very good monitor, dvd/cd reader, lots of USB space and shipping to v4t1b5 in bc Canada?


----------



## Intel_man

This thread hasn't been updated in quite a while and the hardware there are outdated.

If it's not for gaming, what's the intended use?


----------



## kona1984

Intel_man said:


> This thread hasn't been updated in quite a while and the hardware there are outdated.
> 
> If it's not for gaming, what's the intended use?


I'm old and like the feel of a normal size keyboard an good sized monitor and the feature of having a dvd/cd reader hardwired into the pc tower.... like my old pc that I gave away 7 years ago sad to say. I've been using a laptop my wife and I bought about 7 years ago at Best Buy. I have an external DVD reader for it that I bought at time we bought that laptop. I find the laptop is slow and storage is not sufficient.  We have two external hard drives as well. Use the laptop mainly for email photos and home DVD movies.


----------



## PlanetLockdownFilm

A good non/minimal gaming (integrated graphics) PC build:

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Mobo: GIGABYTE B550 GAMING X V2 or another budget B550 board
RAM: FURY Beast 16GB DDR4 3200MHz CL16 Dual Channel Kit or another 3200MHz ram kit
Storage: SSD Samsung 870 EVO 2TB
Power Supply: Seasonic Core GM, 80+ Gold, 650W - 650W in case you want to upgrade to discrete graphics one day, Gold rating is important as it saves money in the long run.
CPU Cooler: Veetro V5 Black
Case

This should serve someone who just needs a PC for regular use pretty well. Sata SSD is actually enough, you won't notice the difference and the space is plenty. If you want you can still go for a 500GB sata + 2 TB HDD, and for this money you can get an M.2 SSD. For regular storage a hdd is fast enough, but for simplicity you can get the former option. 16 GB RAM is plenty (well 14 if you take away 2GB of graphics memory), and the newer AMD integrated graphics are good enough for some older or less demanding games in 1080p.


----------



## PlanetLockdownFilm

If you're gaming:

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
Mobo: GIGABYTE B550 GAMING X V2 or another budget B550 board
Graphics Card: RX 6600 XT / nVidia RTX 3060 TI
RAM: FURY Beast 16GB DDR4 3200MHz CL16 Dual Channel Kit or another 3200MHz ram kit
Storage: SSD Samsung 870 EVO 2TB
Power Supply: Seasonic Core GM, 80+ Gold, 650W  Gold rating is important, it's the standard nowadays
CPU Cooler: Veetro V5 Black

The 3060 TI is slighty better but check the price, also if you're running linux AMD graphics could be better for you as they are supported natively. From what I've seen in proton/wine formus, problems appear to pop up more often with nVidia.


----------

