My "Budget" PC Build (If $1,000 is "budget")

[DJHammer]

So, my last build was "ok", at best, but I believe this one is better.
My budget was about $1,000, and I was certain for that price, I couldn't get a good enough computer plus all of my other accessories like a monitor.
I think I'm wrong.
After a decently long process, I came up with a build I like that I can potentially modify to better suit the budget. That's why I'd like to take in other's opinions, rather than just go with it.
Here is the text option from PC Part Picker, just so I don't mess any spelling or information up.

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

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($191.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($87.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB SC GAMING Video Card ($206.99 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($42.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 24.0" 144Hz Monitor ($219.99 @ Best Buy)
Mouse: SteelSeries Rival 300 Wired Optical Mouse ($39.99 @ Best Buy)
Other: Turbot 104-Key USB Wired Mechanical Gaming Keyboard with Multi-color Backlight ($78.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1016.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-10 15:42 EST-0500


I decided not to include any mail-in-rebates, and the keyboard is cheaper than it's listed. I couldn't fix the price without it looking off and losing the image. Please feel free to make edits or comments and reply below.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

get 8gb ram for now and spend the money on SSD for O/S

 

[DJHammer]

get 8gb ram for now and spend the money on SSD

I'd prefer to use 16 GB of RAM for background programs. I doubt an SSD will be as useful to me as the RAM will.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

I'd prefer to use 16 GB of RAM for background programs. I doubt an SSD will be as useful to me as the RAM will.

You would be surprised.

 

[DJHammer]

You would be surprised.

I've used an SSD before, and it didn't boost load times by much. Maybe I'll spring for a 120GB later on but right now I think I'm good.

 

[Kei]

If I may...I'd say scrap that 1Tb drive (I do love WD though), and instead hit up Amazon for a drive. I just bought my second Seagate SSHD 2Tb drive from there for a whopping $57 shipped with a warehouse deal (not in original box). I bought them both within the last week. Looks like they have at least one still, maybe more....current price is $60.

Get on it!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EIQTKAS/?tag=tec06d-20

 

[Bill_Bright]

I've used an SSD before, and it didn't boost load times by much.

Then something was wrong! Even the slowest SSD will run circles around the fastest hard drive, even hybrid drives. While Windows and program load times are the most noticeable advantage, it is not just about load times - overall performance is improved too.

Note that hard drives are based on 60 year old electromechanical drive technologies and will certainly create a bottleneck for your system. I will never go back to hard drives.

I note the Samsung 850 EVO 250GB is less than $100. And if you spring for the 850 Pro (for $120), you get an amazing 10 year warranty too! Okay, that will bust your budget a little (but you already did that anyway). But consider when you spread the extra cost over the life of the computer, it is just pennies.

 

[Kei]

I do strongly agree with Bill about SSD's if you can swing one , especially for the OS and/or program drive . In my experience, it's easily worth the money, and the only time I use an old school drive is when I need bulk storage for cheap.

 

[jboydgolfer]

I also agree with Bill, SSD trumps an additional 8 GB of RAM. Also don't "waste"your money on 120 GB solid-state drive get a minimum of 250. Unless you have some specific use for 120 size drives

That's my opinion

 

[Vario]

Yep get a 2x4 ram kit and get an SSD, You don't need more than 8 GB right now, ram will only get cheaper in the future, when you need 16 then buy it now, but you will see improvement with an SSD when it comes to boot up to windows, loading games and programs, everything...!

 

[Crap Daddy]

Good points here for the SSD, 120GB can be had for under 50$, use only for system. It's not a good idea to run both your OS and the games from the same physical mechanical HD. Anyway you'll be over 1000 since you also need windoz 10.

 

[Aquinus]

Anyway you'll be over 1000 since you also need windoz 10.

I resent that statement, sir! I know I don't.

I'll echo what others have said, the SSD is useful and I strongly suggest it but, don't get anything less than 240GB if you do. To be honest if I were you, @DJHammer, I would swap out the display for a cheaper one that isn't 144Hz and use that money for the SSD, to keep the 16GB of memory, and to afford Windows if you need it. With a 1k USD budget, I don't think the display should be the most expensive part for a balanced system. That would be different if your budget was twice as big.

 

[wolar]

Then something was wrong! Even the slowest SSD will run circles around the fastest hard drive, even hybrid drives. While Windows and program load times are the most noticeable advantage, it is not just about load times - overall performance is improved too.

Note that hard drives are based on 60 year old electromechanical drive technologies and will certainly create a bottleneck for your system. I will never go back to hard drives.

I note the Samsung 850 EVO 250GB is less than $100. And if you spring for the 850 Pro (for $120), you get an amazing 10 year warranty too! Okay, that will bust your budget a little (but you already did that anyway). But consider when you spread the extra cost over the life of the computer, it is just pennies.

From personal experience i found SSHD to be slower than HDD , by far slower . It was painfully slow (new laptop with a seagate 1tb SSHD fresh OS install)

 

[INSTG8R]

If you are set on a spinney drive as your main then at least spring for WD Black the Blue are more storage/backup oriented,

 

[Cvrk]

Mine was also 1k,some time ago. Not anymore. It went up. Can't build decent anything with 1k $ where i'm from.
I would strongly suggest the 1070 instead of 1060. W8 a month if you don't have the money, w8 even more like me. I don't know about you, but i would like my build to last me 4 years. What's 1-2 more months considering 4 years. And if you are planning 1080p gaming accepting medium graphics details, it may very well be 4 years.
Also you want a 144hz monitor , but you wanna get a 1060....so you can enjoy more than 60 fps. I don't think it will happen on a 1060. This year, sure..next year, not so much, the year after that not even close. get the 1070, you will love it more.
As for the cpu get the i5 6600k instead.

My cousin has the same exact cpu you wanna get,and i'm not impressed with it . Don't know if i would be with the 6600k either. Reason i'm very much fixed on a i7, but that's another story.
The difference between 6500 & 6600 is very small in therms of money. Dare to go above the 1k $ limit. It will be worth it.
Another thing. You don't need 16 gb of ram. 8 is enough. Get an ssd. But, don't get a 120 gb one, cuz it's not enough. I wanted to get a 120...and ended up getting a 240 one. And boy was i right, cuz the 240 is almost enough...the 120 would have been a huge mistake. And remember not to get a cheap ssd, go for higher-end ones. As far as i'm concerned go big on the ssd ,or don't go at all. High-end ssd at least 240, or don't bother.

I think it's a good build, i would greatly insist on the gtx 1070. Please get one! You will thank yourself in the years to come. Do not cut corners with that 1060, it's a mistake.

144hz monitor and a 1070 is a good combo, but not enough in the years to come. So Don't get 144hz , but a regular one and go big on the 1070 still.

144hz monitors are for 1080 gpu's.

P.S. : i don't know what sort of background app's you got, but for me right now on 8gb i only use 2,5 . the ssd is very important. Without the ssd on a regular basis you don't feel the power, even if you got a i7. Nothing will run significantly faster. I was a huge skeptic, until i was convinced the ssd is a true must

 

[Durvelle27]

Spring for a RX 480 8Gb man

 

[Cvrk]

Spring for a RX 480 8Gb man

That would be a huge mistake.
I was the only one that had no other option. Why ? Well i simply needed to be a part of the new wave: freesync or gsync. I had to have one. And Freesync monitors are so much cheap. So the decision for me was a complete no-brainer. Rx 480 is not even enough, but it's the best amd has to offer and it was in my budget. Simple as that. However few are so obsessed over "sync".
The OP isn't, since a gtx card is the only option.

 

[Bill_Bright]

From personal experience i found SSHD to be slower than HDD , by far slower .

Then something else was wrong there too. In no way is a SSHD slower than a HD with otherwise comparable specs. Your SSHD was faulty, corrupted, or infected or some combination of the three.

The whole point of SSHDs is to take advantage of superior speeds the NAND flash memory provides over standard buffer memory used in conventional drives.

Of course, once your data files are loaded into RAM, the drive's performance is no longer a factor (except what Windows itself uses - temp files and the PF, for example).

 

[phanbuey]

dude why are you buying all new parts on that budget? Intel's performance hasn't moved in like 2 generations.

If I were you, I would buy a used haswell K series...

pick up a refurb board and some ram, see if you can at least get a 1070 if not go with a pair of 480 8GB....

definitely go SSD and 16GB of the cheapest ddr3 you can find since there is about a 2% difference in real world performance between the slowest kits and the fastest kits.

 

[Cvrk]

@phanbuey i like your proposal

 

[phanbuey]

Ok trying to take a whack at this build (Here is what I would replace):
- Core i5-4670K - $209.90

- mobo - used Z97 from MSI - $68.72

- Keyboard - save $40... I have this keyboard and love it (blue switches)- $45:

-$80 DDR3 2400 Ram (you could probably find this cheaper - either way).


- GPU - 8GB rx480 for $20 more


That will get you a lot more speed as you will probably get that chip to 4.5ghz easy (and you will need that, a lot of games are getting more cpu intense...) also that will allow you to crossfire down the line.



If you can find another $200 you can really get some decent graphics in there in the form of a 1070 (or another 480).


I like the choice of monitor tbh, I don't think you will get a better gaming monitor for that price... but honestly that gfx card wont be able to ever push that unless you're playing something pretty old




At this price you may also want to consider a prebuilt and then upgrade from there... if you got this you would save some dough:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883230157R&cm_re=rx480-_-83-230-157R-_-Product

OR

https://www.amazon.com/CybertronPC-...TF8&qid=1478885019&sr=1-86&keywords=barebones

^ drop a cheap quad and a 1070 into that one.

 

[Vario]

On the topic of old tech
i5 2500k $85
or
3570k $100
1155 Board maybe $120, thats the hard part

 

[sutyi]

Building on a 1k budget I would do the dreaded bottleneck build: i3-6100 + 1070. Swap for an i5 when you have the cash for it.

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/mYJHRG

But in any case please don't buy a GTX 1060 with 3GB VRAM. Just don't.

 

[little cat]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($103.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB GAMING X Video Card ($268.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $959.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-12 13:10 EST-0500

 

[fourletterfame]

I'd prefer to use 16 GB of RAM for background programs. I doubt an SSD will be as useful to me as the RAM will.

What factors are influencing this preference? Unless you have a specific use-case for the additional RAM, the ssd is objectively the better option for inclusion.