Advice for buying a gaming PC!

So, over on the tech forums they suggested I go with this setup
1x Intel CPU Skylake Pentium G4400 (3.3GHz, 3MB, LGA1151) box
1x Asrock LGA1151 H110M-DGS
1x Crucial DRAM 8GB DDR4 2133 MT/s (PC4-17000) CL15 SR
1x HDD Toshiba P300 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance
1x Fortron Hexa+ 400W, 80+
1x GIGABYTE Midi ATX GZ-IF238R, ABS+Steel, USB 3.0, Black, 2x120mm

Which one actually holds up better? Should I stick with what those guys on the forum recommended, or is the list you gave me actually the way to go?

If you're just looking for a quick start, going with the A8 is probably the better move right now. However, if you're thinking about future-proofing and upgrading your CPU down the road, you definitely want to go with the 1151 socket instead. Sure, you can still beef up the first option by adding an SSD or tossing in a new GPU, but you'll hit a dead end when it comes to swapping out the processor.

So, if you go with that first option you mentioned, aren't you basically locking yourself out of playing anything even remotely demanding anytime soon?
Is it even possible—assuming I bump up the budget just a little bit for $833—to put together a build that actually leaves some room to grow, so I could swap in a beefier GPU or a better processor down the road?

With that second option, you’ve got a clear path for CPU upgrades, whereas both setups allow for general component swaps down the road.

Basically, the A8 gives you four decent cores paired with a stronger integrated GPU, while the Pentium offers two solid cores but a much weaker onboard graphics chip. If you want to jump straight into gaming right away, the A8 is the better play. However, once you eventually drop in a dedicated GPU—something in the ballpark of an rx 480 or a gtx 1050—you'll be able to handle "mid-tier" games much more smoothly. Beyond that, though, you'll hit a wall; you can't really upgrade the CPU much further since the quad-cores on that socket are all pretty much identical, and anything beefier than those mentioned GPUs would just be bottlenecked by the A8.

On the other hand, with the Celeron or Pentium builds, you have the same ability to upgrade the GPU (though being dual-core might sting in certain titles, they aren't exactly common these days). The real advantage is that you could swing about $200 later to drop an i5 in there, which then lets you pair it with a high-end GPU. So, the 1151 platform offers much better longevity, even if those major upgrades might end up costing as much as the entire initial build. With that extra $167 in your pocket, you won't see massive gains, but you could potentially swap out the Pentium for the cheapest i3 6 xxx or grab a 128GB SSD, depending on what matters most to you.

Timothy Kim60 said:mistyhound94 might even get away with a lower tier—like an H110—unless there are specific requirements I guess.

Check out my suggestion via evo links



Something slightly cheaper $2333 to save some cash (online price).

The CPU is basically the same as an I5 4460, just more efficient (actually maybe a tiny bit faster if you look at benchmarks)

The power supply is noticeably cheaper than Cooler Master (about a third less), similar quality and wattage, it just lacks modularity and the 5-year warranty. It's up to you what you want, though it should fit fine.

Skip the power strip if it isn't necessary.

The case comes with 2 fans; you could probably just run one in the back to get airflow, so nothing else needs adding. If they like the look of it, then okay—it's a decent case and the price isn't terrible.

You could put that extra budget toward a premium rx 480 model, like an MSI Gaming version—the difference might be better noise levels, better overclocking, and cooler temps. For a bit more money, the $13 SSD could be upgraded to an MX300 275GB, which is a better drive, but the current one has a 5-year warranty so think about it. IMO, the Samsung 850 is overpriced (even if it is arguably the best consumer SATA SSD). If it's available, maybe an MSI B150M Bazook plus motherboard would work too. Generally, prices aren't bad (at least for what I picked), it's just that the GPU is a little pricier here than elsewhere.

*I hope her monitor has a digital output—HDMI or DVI (meaning it's not just VGA only).

I'll take your suggestion into account and approve it, thanks for the recommendation. 😁 We're picking up the PC this Friday, so I hope everything works well. 😁 The only thing we had to swap was the motherboard (since that PRO4 wasn't available, nor was the Bazooka Plus), so we went with this ASUS B150M-A/M.2, Intel B150, DDR4, SATA, M.2, PCI-E, G-LAN, D-Sub, HDMI, DVI-D, audio, USB 3.0, mATX, socket 1151.

And we ended up getting this monitor.

Just a heads-up: inventory and pricing fluctuate daily, so things might be out of stock or priced differently by the time you look.
Mbo is a solid alternative. The monitor is decent enough, though IMO, it feels a bit pricey for a TN panel—but hey, at least it features FreeSync and a 24" screen, which helps justify the cost somewhat. I’m hoping this build is intended for gaming 😁 (since I didn't see a specific use case mentioned anywhere), because it's put together like a balanced gaming rig, given the subject matter here.

Look, I’m seriously sorry for being such a pain in the neck here. I just really don't want to go out and buy something on a whim only to have someone come crawling back in ten days saying, "Hey man, you could've done way better, you're stuck with this junk because you picked a bottom-tier build to start with." That’s not how I roll. My plan is to actually invest in this rig year after year, you know? Like, maybe next year I'll drop money on a beefier processor, a better GPU, or a faster SSD, etc. So, if I'm going to do this, I want us to put together a configuration right now that actually leaves the door open for upgrades down the road. I want to be able to slap an i3 in there today and then just swap it out for an i5 next year without any drama. For example
I'd bump the budget up to $3,000, but honestly, that is the absolute ceiling for what I can swing this year.

Futur IT Shopping Cart

1 x futur IT 1 x Asrock LGA1151 H110M-DGS
1 x Crucial DRAM 8GB DDR4 2133 MT/s (PC4-17000) CL15 SR
1 x HDD Toshiba P300 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance
1 x GIGABYTE Midi ATX GZ-IF238R, ABS+Steel, USB 3.0, Black, 2x120mm
1 x Fortron Hyper 500W, 80+ - 60mj.
1 x Intel CPU desktop Core i3-6100 (3.7GHz, 3MB,LGA1151) box

Total: $954

Once you've saved up enough cash, go ahead and pick up a dedicated GPU and eventually an SSD.

Timothy Kim60 said:The thing is, deals and prices shift daily, so stuff might be out of stock or priced differently by tomorrow.
The Mbo is a decent swap. That monitor is fine, though I guess it feels a bit overpriced for a TN panel, but at least it’s got FreeSync and a 24" screen, which justifies the cost somewhat. I hope she actually gets to game on this rig 😁 (since the purpose wasn't mentioned anywhere), because it's built like a balanced gaming PC, given the whole topic of the thread.

Yeah, it'll be her gaming setup. I'll probably get the green light once in a while to play some games myself, and once I save up enough cash, I'll be back here to build a real gaming rig for me. 😁

mistyhound94 said:Yeah, this is gonna be her gaming rig. I'll get the occasional green light to play a few rounds myself, and once I save up enough cash, I'll be back here to build my own decent gaming setup. 😁

At least she knows what she wants, 🙂 which isn't exactly common...

Don't make us feel neglected now 😬

William Richardson12 said:Having a wife who actually knows what she wants 🙂 isn't exactly common.

Don't go making us feel neglected now 😬

🤣

Every single suggestion I make just gets met with pushback, and then at the end, it’s just "fine, I'm buying it," and just like that, all my hopes, ideas, and input go down the drain. 😢 Not until I save up enough cash for my own rig. 😁

It has been about a month since I first inquired about the most optimal configuration... and observing how the market shifts lately, things seem to be changing quite rapidly
so my question is, does this setup represent the current best value for a solid Full HD gaming experience?

Intel Pentium G4560 (instead of the Intel i3 6100—though naturally, once availability improves, perhaps in two or three weeks, they should be easier to find)
ASRock H110M
Crucial 8GB DDR4 2133 Cl 15
Seagate 1TB 7200rpm-64mb (or perhaps a Western Digital or a Toshiba)
Zalman T5
FORTRON Hexa Plus 400W
Rx 470 (I am opting for this over the gtx 1050 because the price of the Rx has dropped significantly, and in my estimation, there isn't much of a difference between them at the moment)

Now, I wonder if that power supply provides sufficient headroom, and whether the Rx 470 might feel somewhat "bottlenecked" by this newer Pentium processor...

On an unrelated note—which version of Windows serves gamers better: Win10 or Win8, particularly if one doesn't have a licensed version handy? (Since Win8 lacks dx12 support, whereas Win10 feels rather "intrusive" in its telemetry)...

Here’s the breakdown

For running Win 10, unless you're obsessing over who's watching your every move—which is a bit much, honestly.

Timothy Kim60 said:Posting this video just for educational purposes

Pentium G4560 : The Ultimate gaming benchmark Guide

Top-tier benchmark. Here's what we're looking at:

- how various CPUs behave with different tiers of GPUs (1050Ti, 1060, 1080)
- how performance gaps shift when you bump up the resolution (1080p vs 1440p)
- game anomalies—basically, every single game and its engine is its own special beast.

Henry Campbell4, you nailed it—that was a smart move pairing the Pentium with a discounted $533 rx 470. Honestly, it’s about as balanced a CPU-to-GPU combo as you can get for that setup.

Timothy Kim60 said:Henry Campbell4, yes, you handled that situation perfectly by pairing the Pentium with that discounted $533 rx 470... In terms of balancing the CPU with that specific GPU, it really is an ideal match...

It is truly wonderful that you managed to find such a deal, especially when considering that within just a month, the price for those two components might drop by about $100... though, of course, DDR4 prices are currently behaving quite erratically due to the smartphone market... Generally speaking, for overall pricing, it is vital that the US Dollar also weakens slightly... All things considered, this is a fantastic window of opportunity for building a budget PC... I am almost certain we have never seen a time where gaming felt quite this "affordable"...👍

Of course, GPU prices are bound to slide even further eventually—say, the 470 might drop at least $33 more, since we've seen them hit those levels a few times before. On the flip side, RAM could just as easily head $33 up, which means... 😁

At this rate, you could spend forever just waiting for things to get cheaper. Regardless, it's probably smarter to just hold out for some decent Pentium deals

Hey everyone, I was wondering if I could get some help or maybe a bit of advice regarding a PC build I'm putting together.

Here is what I've picked out so far, but I just want to make sure all these parts are actually compatible and will work together properly:

- futur IT 1 x Asrock LGA1151 H110M-DGS, s.1151, D4, S3, U3, mATX
- Intel Pentium G4560
- card GeForce GTX 1050 gaming GDDR5 2
- Kingston DDR4 HX Savage, 8GB, 2400MHz
- Seagate HDD, 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6, 64M
- Seasonic ECO-430, 430W, 80+ Bronze
- LG GH24NSD1 sat Bulk Black
- Xilence case fan 60×60×12mm
- MS CYCLOPS IV gaming case

Total: $1367

It's alright, but since this is for gaming, I'd probably lean toward an RX 460 with 4GB (modern titles are absolute memory hogs). Or maybe just stretch the budget a bit for a 1050Ti

Paying cash? I think I can put together a much better deal for the exact same price:

Intel Core i3-4160 (3.5GHz, 3MB, LGA1151) box
ASRock H110M-DGS, s.1151, D4, S3, U3, mATX
Seagate Barracuda 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm HDWD110UZSVA
Case Nextyde X2 Isolatic 6021 black without power supply
Crucial Ballistix DDR4, 2400Mhz, 8GB, CL15
ASUS ROG RX 470 4G GDDR5 PCI-E DUAL HDMI / DVI-D / DUAL DP OC (UEFI)
LG GH24NSD1 SATA Bulk Black 24x
Corsair Builder Series CX450M, Modular Power Supply, US version, 5yrs

Total: $1373 Best Buy

A better PSU, a significantly stronger graphics card, and everything else is pretty much the same.

crimsonstag84 said:Paying cash? Honestly, I can pull together a way better combo for the exact same price:

Intel Core i3-4160 (3.5GHz, 3MB, LGA1151) box
ASRock H110M-DGS, s.1151, D4, S3, U3, mATX
Seagate Barracuda 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm HDWD110UZSVA
Black case Nextyde X2 Isolatic 6021 without power supply
Crucial Ballistix DDR4, 2400Mhz, 8GB, CL15
SAPPHIRE Video Card NITRO RADEON RX 470 4G GDDR5 PCI-E DUAL HDMI / DVI-D / DUAL DP OC (UEFI)
LG GH24NSD1 SATA Bulk Black 24x optical drive
Corsair Builder Series CX450M, Modular Power Supply, US version, 5yrs

Total: $1373 Best Buy

Better power supply, a much beefier graphics card, and everything else is basically the same...

If you actually want to play anything here, just grab an EVGA Core Pro 450 w, $33 which is cheaper, and I'd bet my life it's better too. Plus, that extra $33 is just enough to squeeze in an ASUS ROG RX 470 4GB. 🙂

There are a few other little things, but I'd end up blowing the budget by $83. -.-