Decent gaming build for $1100?

L

LucasG

Gawd
Joined
Jul 2, 2004
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675
So I am looking to probably buy a new computer in company to my current MBP (I sold my old PC) and would like to have it mostly for gaming but don't want to go over $1100 including shipping. I am going to answer the questions required by HF below and also show my build on Amazon. Suggestions are welcome.

) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming mostly.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1100 tax and shipping included.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Florida

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc.
CPU, motherboard, RAM, SSD, GPU, Case and PSU

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
Monitor, keyboard and mouse.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Not at first. Maybe in the future.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
25.5" 1920x1200

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
February - March

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Nothing in particular that I can think of.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 10.

PC Hound Part List - Lucas' New Build

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 6M ($256.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Pro4S ($85.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) Ripjaws V Series ($41.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 04G-P4-3975-KR ($309.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA 650W 120-G1-0650-XR ($69.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: SAMSUNG 500GB 850 EVO MZ-75E500B/AM ($150.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design FD-CA-DEF-R4-BL ($81.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $997.91
 
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that pc should rock for 4~5 years of gaming. You could even get a 970 cheaper now once in a while.
 
Looks pretty solid. You can probably save $15.00 on the DDR4 by going with the caster CAS PC3000 instead, but up to you.

Are you going to be using the stock cooler on that 6600K? I'd suggest something aftermarket if you're going to be overclocking.
 
Skylake 6600k
http://www.compsource.com/ttechnote.asp?part_no=CM8066201920300&vid=211&src=F
$240 no tax free ship
MSI 980 Ti ( Free Tomb Raider )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127895
$619 no tax $7 shipping
8gb ( 2 x 4 ddr4 2133 )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231882
$42 no tax free shipping
MSI Z170A SLI Plus ( HardOCP Gold award )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0&cm_re=z170a_sli_plus-_-13-130-900-_-Product
$139 no tax $3 shipping
Crucial BX200 240GB ssd
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...156066&cm_re=240gb_SSD-_-20-156-066-_-Product
$65 no tax free shipping

$1,100

With a slight OC on the CPU and 980ti you're going going to be 35% - 40% faster than the 3.5gb 970.

Perhaps you have an older PSU / Case you can use or maybe you can find another $100.

I would totally go with the 980 ti. You dont need 16gb ram, you till have the same cpu / great mother board, and 240gb is something you upgrade later.

/2 cents. good luck
 
Darkswordz said:
Looks pretty solid. You can probably save $15.00 on the DDR4 by going with the caster CAS PC3000 instead, but up to you.

Are you going to be using the stock cooler on that 6600K? I'd suggest something aftermarket if you're going to be overclocking.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion! I will probably start with the stock and overclock in a few months.

SixFootDuo said:
Skylake 6600k
http://www.compsource.com/ttechnote.asp?part_no=CM8066201920300&vid=211&src=F
$240 no tax free ship
MSI 980 Ti ( Free Tomb Raider )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127895
$619 no tax $7 shipping
8gb ( 2 x 4 ddr4 2133 )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231882
$42 no tax free shipping
MSI Z170A SLI Plus ( HardOCP Gold award )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0&cm_re=z170a_sli_plus-_-13-130-900-_-Product
$139 no tax $3 shipping
Crucial BX200 240GB ssd
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...156066&cm_re=240gb_SSD-_-20-156-066-_-Product
$65 no tax free shipping

$1,100

With a slight OC on the CPU and 980ti you're going going to be 35% - 40% faster than the 3.5gb 970.

Perhaps you have an older PSU / Case you can use or maybe you can find another $100.

I would totally go with the 980 ti. You dont need 16gb ram, you till have the same cpu / great mother board, and 240gb is something you upgrade later.

/2 cents. good luck
Click to expand...

The 980 Ti is almost double the price of the 970. Is it that much faster? I've downgraded the RAM to your suggestion in PC Hound and trying to play around with the card you mentioned. I do want a 500 GB SSD as games today take way too much space and don't want to add an HDD for them.
 
I moved from a 970 to the 980ti. I personally have zero regrets.

It was a massive massive boost in frame rates.

If you're a light gamer that doesn't care about graphical bells and whistles and higher frame rates. Then I think the 970 would be perfect for you.

If love gaming, the 980ti is a beast and is going to give you a fantastic experience. SSD prices are falling I am positive you can upgrade to a 512gb ssd in 6 months for well under $100. Would a 240gb be ok for now? That's something only you can answer. Personally, I would cut corners to get the 980ti. A small SSD is worth that effort I think.

You're going to out grow that 970 very quickly. It's a 2 year old mid-range card. The 980ti will see you through all of 2016 and well into 2017.

I can't tell you what to do. I can only share what I would do and why I would do it.

And honestly. I hit your $1,100 budget. The truth is, you can get by on a 550watt PSU that you may already have. Case too. I would totally go for the 980ti as the center piece of your build.
 
Don't go with 4GB modules of RAM. You're wasting potential. Go no less than 8GB per stick of RAM so you can maximize the 4 DIMMS available. If you go with a 2x4GB stick then you'll only be able to upgrade to a maximum of 40GB of RAM in the system before you have to replace the 2x4GB sticks with larger modules. Going with a 2x8GB kit will allow you to at least have 48GB should you populate the other two slots with 16GB sticks. A decent 2x8GB kit of 2133 RAM will set you back about $70. It's worth the extra cost.
 
Honestly, I wouldn't spend $600+ on a 980Ti right now.

The rest of the computer isn't going to move much in the future, but between Pascal and Polaris coming later this year, $600+ now when in 2 months it could potentially be another large shift forward.

Then again, it could be 12+ months before something faster than a 980Ti comes out, but if I were to bet on it, I would be it would be a lot sooner..

Also depends on what monitor your driving. At 1080/1200, the difference between a 970 and 980Ti won't be that much, basically only in the ridiculous extreme cases - and this is what it looks like yuour using. But if your looking at maybe upgrading to 1440, then it would be a more noticable difference. At 4k, honestly, I would just wait for Pascal/Polaris.
 
Something new and better is always around the corner. Get what you want now.
 
You have to decide what works best for you. There are some valid points, some non-sense on this thread along with some misinformation.

Sorry, the 970 will be at it's knees in several games if you run ultra settings, even at 1080p. I know, I had one.

But seriously dude, if you really have a budget of $1,100 dollars and at least an old 500 - 550watt PSU and Case.

Get the 980ti. Man, rock that shit now.

Resell on the 980ti will still be excellent down the road. The 970 I promise will be $200 used on the secondary market within 6 months.

The 980ti is a short term investment. When the Nvidia Pascal comes out, the 980ti will still worth $350 - $375. Throw $150 on top of that amount and buy you the Pascal. That's how I do it, how a lot of people upgrade.

Also, whoever made the comment on the 4gb chips. I have a question for you, you know and I know that 8gb of ram is plenty for games. Every game out there recommends this amount of ram. By cutting out 16gb it gives him more money toward the fastest video card on the market. You're really telling him to take the memory over the 980ti? You've got to be kidding me. Seriously? Memory over a 980ti. SMH

Man, rock the 8gb of ram and rock a smaller SSD. Get the monster video card.

Good luck on whatever you decide.
 
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