Need new gaming build, $700 budget. Help please!

[Senzyri]

I'm just another gamer looking to build their first gaming PC. I have only been gaming for a few years but I've been doing it on a basic Dell laptop and I'm afraid it's going to burst into flames one of these days, so it's time for something new.

Budget: $700 US
Resolution: 1920x1080
Games / Settings Desired: mostly blizzard games (WoW, D3, HoTS, Overwatch) with some others mixed in
Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc): nope
Country: USA
Parts that can be reused: none
Do you need an OS?: no
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)?: I have a mouse, keyboard, and headset.

Other notes: I already do have a case, as a friend ended up buying two when he built his PC and gave me the one he didn't use.
The case I have: NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (can't link, sorry)

I do need a monitor and I also need a wireless adapter, as well as speakers.

I am also willing to forgo a SSD for the time being if the money would be better allocated elsewhere. If one can fit into my budget reasonably though that's fine.

I admittedly do not know much in the way of building computers, and I apologize for that. A friend who has built his recommended me here to figure out the best build for my budget. Thank you so much in advance!

[Kagthul]

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

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($123.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($66.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 380 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link Archer T4U 802.11a/b/g/n/ac USB 3.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($24.49 @ Amazon)
Monitor: LG 22MC57HQ-P 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Speakers: Logitech Z313 25W 2.1ch Speakers ($31.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $665.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-23 02:30 EST-0500

[Deleted]

That case is at least 4-5years old, doesn't even have usb3.0 ports. I would rather get new cause that thing is huge, but do as you like cause getting new will cost. Couldn't really fit you speakers, either get some cheap 10/15$ ones cause for something decent you need at least 40-50. I mean for 700$ thats alot of stuff to fit. Tried to get an i5 in there but i couldn't with skylake.

You have two options around that budget. Either get the new gen i3 (skylake) cpu or go back to haswell to fit an i5. The i3 will be faster in games that use 1-2cores cause its higher clocked, but the i5 is better at multitasking and costs a little more.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($123.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H170M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($87.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($48.65 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 380 4GB Video Card ($193.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($43.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.89 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($119.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $727.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-23 02:49 EST-0500



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 380 4GB Video Card ($193.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($43.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.89 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($119.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $741.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-23 02:53 EST-0500

[Senzyri]

I greatly appreciate the help! Thank you for taking the time to put together lists that fit my needs and explaining the difference between them. I think I'm going to end up going with the i5 build, and hopefully I can get at least a few parts on sale on black friday/cyber monday!

[truulte]

I greatly appreciate the help! Thank you for taking the time to put together lists that fit my needs and explaining the difference between them. I think I'm going to end up going with the i5 build, and hopefully I can get at least a few parts on sale on black friday/cyber monday!

Shouldn't buy a locked i5 when you play Blizzard games. The games only use 1-2 cores and clock speed is all that matters. Why not get a 60$ G3258 and OC it to 4.2, with a mobo like H81M-P33? That will run about as good as an i5 4690.

[Deleted]

I greatly appreciate the help! Thank you for taking the time to put together lists that fit my needs and explaining the difference between them. I think I'm going to end up going with the i5 build, and hopefully I can get at least a few parts on sale on black friday/cyber monday!

Actually double checking, i thought the i5 4590 tubro was 3.5 but its actually 3.7, the difference is even smaller. The i3 will be like 5% faster, so the i5 is clearly a better choice with the only drawback that its previous cpu gen and not the new one. For that money i think indeed the 2nd one is a clear winner. You could save 12bucks by getting the R9 380 2gb version, but for that difference only i would stick to 4gb vram eyes closed, the reason why i didn't consider it from start.

Shouldn't buy a locked i5 when you play Blizzard games. The games only use 1-2 cores and clock speed is all that matters. Why not get a 60$ G3258 and OC it to 4.2, with a mobo like H81M-P33? That will run about as good as an i5 4690.

Well the G3258 is a nice little option but thats that only, no reason to back to a 3year old low end mobo when he can get a decent rig with an i5. There is more than clocks into that, double cache, more bandwidth etc. So even if its clocks higher i'd never take it over an i5 even if locked. 3.7Ghz is respectable.

[truulte]

Actually double checking, i thought the i5 4590 tubro was 3.5 but its actually 3.7, the difference is even smaller. The i3 will be like 5% faster, so the i5 is clearly a better choice with the only drawback that its previous cpu gen and not the new one. For that money i think indeed the 2nd one is a clear winner. You could save 12bucks by getting the R9 380 2gb version, but for that difference only i would stick to 4gb vram eyes closed, the reason why i didn't consider it from start.




Well the G3258 is a nice little option but thats that only, no reason to back to a 3year old low end mobo when he can get a decent rig with an i5. There is more than clocks into that, double cache, more bandwidth etc. So even if its clocks higher i'd never take it over an i5 even if locked. 3.7Ghz is respectable.

Clock speed is what matters 90%. I have that build on one of my computers, and it's a fantastic price/performance build, especially for Blizzard games. There's several benchmarks out there proving it's right up there with 4690 when clocked at 4.2 (which is even easy to get on stock fan due to very low heat) for a fraction of the cost.
What this build does is getting high clock speed for 1-2 core games (blizzard games), while having leftovers for a better gpu (390/970) for newer games that mainly use the GPU.

[Deleted]

snip

I know how good G3258 is, i don't even need to see the benchmarks. That doesn't leave out the fact thats still a dual core. Cause most ppl when they play a game like wow and waiting in queues and whatnot they got music on, maybe a stream, watch the tube etc. The pentium will struggle there and besides that, there are games out there that can use more than 2 cores.

As i mentioned and will explain a little better, for who is the pentium or why ppl buy/bought it.

1) They have a small budget, like 400bucks and try to get a decent gaming rig together.

2) They have a decent budget but can't really fit everything in it just yet, but they do need a pc now. So they grab say an R9 380,8gb of ram and a Z mobo along with the pentium. The pentium there is just a temporary solution for a few months. But mind you that was back when pentium and 1150 was still current gen nvm ddr3.

That pentium is an awesome little chip, can be as good as an i7 4790k If clocked high enough, think 4.4-4.5Ghz. But you know what, if he does what you said go with pentium and 390/970 then in cpu heavy games, wow, or even worse some that are both cpu/gpu heavy (or worse yet needing more than 2cores)the pentium will be bottlenecked by those gpu's.

[Senzyri]

I know how good G3258 is, i don't even need to see the benchmarks. That doesn't leave out the fact thats still a dual core. Cause most ppl when they play a game like wow and waiting in queues and whatnot they got music on, maybe a stream, watch the tube etc. The pentium will struggle there and besides that, there are games out there that can use more than 2 cores.

That's part of the reason I chose Kostattoo's i5 build suggestion, as I like to multitask A LOT. I currently have an ipad set up next to my laptop and watch streams while playing WoW or other games, and would like to be able to do that on my computer instead. I also do play other games besides blizzard games, just not often, so it's not like i'm playing ONLY blizz games. I'm also not really comfortable with overclocking at the moment (i have no idea how to) and I'd also like to build a rig that will last me a while without need for major upgrades.
I do appreciate all the discussion/suggestions as I'm still learning about this stuff, though.