Looking for advice towards a PC build - "Gaming" and video editing

[Amgyn]

Hey Guys - I've lurking these forums for a while now thinking about upgrading my PC - and now that the PC has all but croaked its time to move on.

I am not looking for a high end, but would like to still have something upgradeable in the future - which is where my own research hit a road-block - i cant seem to figure out what is relevant.

My use is mainly the following: Blizzard games (WoW and HotS) and LoL - not exactly the most intense graphical games and i dont mind playing on Low-Medium. When it comes down to it, I want a PC that can handle video editing and video rendering - not 3d rendering or anything crazy.

my budget is around $500 Canadian. I dont need a case, HDD, DVD, monitor/keyboard/mouse. Just the guts. CPU/MOBO/RAM and a PSU.

from speaking to a few people i'm down to this build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($99.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($98.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $488.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-19 14:08 EDT-0400

of course i showed this to a few people i know - and everybody had different suggestions - from going to AMD as a budget build to getting more RAM to just biting the bullet and go for a $1000 build (not an option right now)

Is this a good build? is a GPU really needed?

help me!

[Lektrik]

is a GPU really needed?
(

Yes, integrated graphics are horrible and it might not even be smooth at low settings.

[Deleted]

Slightly over CA$500, but definitely worth it:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($70.95 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.79 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($87.71 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 260X 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($138.75 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $507.17
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-19 15:39 EDT-0400

You're trading overclocking capability with hyperthreading.

[Deleted]

You don't think the Pentium is too weak for rendering? From what I've seen it struggles a lot in CPU heavy tasks but then again it really depends on how much rendering we are talking about.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.95 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.75 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($87.71 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 270 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($154.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Memory Express)
Total: $487.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-19 15:47 EDT-0400

Source regarding Pentium G3258 and rendering.

Its multi-threaded performance is pretty dire so if you'll be doing any rendering or video encoding work, it is to be avoided.

[Amgyn]

You don't think the Pentium is too weak for rendering? From what I've seen it struggles a lot in CPU heavy tasks but then again it really depends on how much rendering we are talking about.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.95 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.75 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($87.71 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 270 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($154.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Memory Express)
Total: $487.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-19 15:47 EDT-0400

Source regarding Pentium G3258 and rendering.

That is what i read as well about the pentium series - reason i picked the i5.

I am doing a bunch of video editing and encoding - mainly 45-60 minute videos. how long will that mobo hold out? (upgrade wise)

[Deleted]

As long as the Z97 assuming you're not going to be doing a bunch of overclocking. Seeing as there is few $ left you can swap to the Z97 I guess, The Gigabyte you had originally is good. Either of these i3's are going to be better than that i5.

If you happen to find any of these CPU on sale the few extra GHz is nice:

Intel Core i3-4350 3.6GHz
Intel Core i3-4360 3.7GHz

[Amgyn]

Hey guys this is what i ended up with after a few days of tinkering - what do you think?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($119.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Memory Express)
Memory: Team Xtreem Dark Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 270 2GB Core Edition Video Card ($159.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $514.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-21 22:50 EDT-0400

slightly over budget, but upgradable possibly to i7 once i can afford it possibly in the new year?

My only question is the Mobo - do i need a z97 or can i go with a h97 - as i am not going to be crossfiring or really overclocking anything....

[Deleted]

There is such a small difference in price between the H97 and Z97 that you might as well stick with Z97 and not lock yourself out of possibilities in the future. The 500W unit I linked earlier is down to $30 after rebate if you're looking to save a few more dollars.

[Amgyn]

There is such a small difference in price between the H97 and Z97 that you might as well stick with Z97 and not lock yourself out of possibilities in the future. The 500W unit I linked earlier is down to $30 after rebate if you're looking to save a few more dollars.

Thank you for all the help

will be ordering soon.

[Deleted]

Thank you for all the help

will be ordering soon.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

[Amgyn]

ok got everything put together and the computer starts... but never loads up windows - it just cycles over and over again - i can go into the bios menu, but it doesn't show anything wrong - it sees my HDD, but doesnt appear to boot from it.

could it be that i have to reinstall windows again? this is the 3rd computer i've built - the last two, i've never had to reinstall windows... not sure why this time i would have to.

[Deleted]

Definitely recommended to do a fresh Windows install with a new motherboard.