Hi guys... I haven't done a complete build for over a year and was volunteered to build a kid (14-years-old I think) a machine for Christmas by my fiance. The kid's max budget is $1100. I'd like to keep the build Intel/Nvidia. He's new to PC's so don't need unlocked CPU etc; just a solid build that is pretty future-proof for the next three years or so. He'll be gaming at 1080P and likely doing some Photoshop stuff so likely something along the lines of a 1060 and a solid locked i5. Hard choices will be motherboards etc. If you can help me create a list for some components to keep an eye on for some deals over Black Friday weekend, or good solid builds that would meet that budget, let me know. It's very appreciated. Thanks big time for any help on this!
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Been out of the loop - need help with solid midrange build
- Thread starter Banyan
- Start date
aztekk
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2014
- Messages
- 166
For $1100 you can do a lot better than i5+GTX1060. Here's one build for that money (prices from Newegg, incl. discounts):
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K ($299.99)
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO Z170 ($89.99)
RAM: Team Elite Plus 16GB (2 x 8GB) ($64.99)
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW ($409.99)
SSD: Crucial MX300 2.5" 525GB ($119.99)
PSU: SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze (SS-620GB) ($62.99)
Case: APEX SK-386-C Black ($22.99)
SUBTOTAL: $1070.92
So I went for the cheapest 16GB DDR4-2300 kit, a random cheap case (it's a matter of taste anyway) and most importantly an only 512GB SSD. If he needs more space than that, you could opt for the 256GB version of MX300 and buy a regular hard drive as well.
With those compromises you get what is actually a pretty high-end build, with an unlocked i7 and a GTX 1070. Should be more than enough.
And if you were to build that mid-range PC:
CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 ($204.99)
Motherboard: ASRock H170A-X1 ($71.99)
RAM: Team Elite Plus 8GB ($36.99)
GPU: GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1060 Windforce OC 3GB ($199.99)
SSD: Crucial MX300 2.5" 525GB ($119.99)
PSU: SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze (SS-620GB) ($62.99)
Case: APEX SK-386-C Black ($22.99)
SUBTOTAL: $719.93
So here I went for a factory overclocked GTX 1060 and the i5-6500. You could save extra money by getting an mATX board, but I don't think that's a good idea, thinking of possible future expansion. Buy more RAM if necessary, I'd just go with 8GB and see if it's enough, if not, go out and get another 8GB module. I left the 512GB SSD, and the PSU the same, no reason to change them. I personally have used the S12II 620W for a long time and it's a rock solid PSU. I also use Crucial SSD's, and am very happy with them.
Again, all these prices are from Newegg and a lot of them are discounted right now.
In terms of the motherboard, I usually just get the cheapest board with the expansion slots and the chipset I need. I also don't really worry about aesthetics, I rather spend the money on performance, so that's evident from my choices here.
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K ($299.99)
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO Z170 ($89.99)
RAM: Team Elite Plus 16GB (2 x 8GB) ($64.99)
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW ($409.99)
SSD: Crucial MX300 2.5" 525GB ($119.99)
PSU: SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze (SS-620GB) ($62.99)
Case: APEX SK-386-C Black ($22.99)
SUBTOTAL: $1070.92
So I went for the cheapest 16GB DDR4-2300 kit, a random cheap case (it's a matter of taste anyway) and most importantly an only 512GB SSD. If he needs more space than that, you could opt for the 256GB version of MX300 and buy a regular hard drive as well.
With those compromises you get what is actually a pretty high-end build, with an unlocked i7 and a GTX 1070. Should be more than enough.
And if you were to build that mid-range PC:
CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 ($204.99)
Motherboard: ASRock H170A-X1 ($71.99)
RAM: Team Elite Plus 8GB ($36.99)
GPU: GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1060 Windforce OC 3GB ($199.99)
SSD: Crucial MX300 2.5" 525GB ($119.99)
PSU: SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze (SS-620GB) ($62.99)
Case: APEX SK-386-C Black ($22.99)
SUBTOTAL: $719.93
So here I went for a factory overclocked GTX 1060 and the i5-6500. You could save extra money by getting an mATX board, but I don't think that's a good idea, thinking of possible future expansion. Buy more RAM if necessary, I'd just go with 8GB and see if it's enough, if not, go out and get another 8GB module. I left the 512GB SSD, and the PSU the same, no reason to change them. I personally have used the S12II 620W for a long time and it's a rock solid PSU. I also use Crucial SSD's, and am very happy with them.
Again, all these prices are from Newegg and a lot of them are discounted right now.
In terms of the motherboard, I usually just get the cheapest board with the expansion slots and the chipset I need. I also don't really worry about aesthetics, I rather spend the money on performance, so that's evident from my choices here.
Nice! Thanks very much Aztekk!
EchoWars
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2010
- Messages
- 497
Decent. But still need a CPU cooler. And an operating system.
aztekk
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2014
- Messages
- 166
Yeah missed that. But a Hyper 212 Evo is $30, fits the budget and will do the job even with overclocking. I don't usually factor cost of an OS since most people already have a copy or just pirate it. I've heard you can get Windows 10 for $20?
sinisterDei
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2004
- Messages
- 1,591
aztekk is on the right track here. If the kid really isn't going to overclock, then perhaps a melding of the two builds?
Take the mobo and CPU from the midrange build, but combine it with the RAM and GPU from the higher end build. The i5-6500 comes with a heatsink and fan as well, crappy though it may be.
In general, for the mobo on a system you're not going to overclock, you are looking for either a H170 or Z170 chipset with 4 DIMM slots. USB 3.1 is a bonus, and a M.2 slot is good too. I'm actually fine with the mATX boards, as long they have 4 DIMM slots (not all of them do). Most people don't install many add-in cards beyond the GPU these days anyways.
Also, the GTX 1070 can be found for under $400, so thats a bit of a savings there. They're all basically the same- factory overclocked ones may get you a few percentage points in performance, but at 1080p it'll be pretty negligible.
Take the mobo and CPU from the midrange build, but combine it with the RAM and GPU from the higher end build. The i5-6500 comes with a heatsink and fan as well, crappy though it may be.
In general, for the mobo on a system you're not going to overclock, you are looking for either a H170 or Z170 chipset with 4 DIMM slots. USB 3.1 is a bonus, and a M.2 slot is good too. I'm actually fine with the mATX boards, as long they have 4 DIMM slots (not all of them do). Most people don't install many add-in cards beyond the GPU these days anyways.
Also, the GTX 1070 can be found for under $400, so thats a bit of a savings there. They're all basically the same- factory overclocked ones may get you a few percentage points in performance, but at 1080p it'll be pretty negligible.
sinisterDei
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2004
- Messages
- 1,591
Even a 1060 6 GB or RX480 8GB will be pretty 1080p capable for 2-3 years, perhaps even longer if at the end of its life you'd be willing to sacrifice one or two visual settings (stupid HairWorks and shit). And they're much cheaper cards.
XXXStevemanXXX
n00b
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2015
- Messages
- 8
I think Windows 10 is free if you get it from Microsoft itself. They have an accessability version they give out for free. Their is a link on Microsoft's page straight to download it.