No idea what I'm doing. Up to 1000 price range.

[Toppy]

I'll preface by saying, while I did build my first computer, that was years ago and even then I barely knew what I was doing.

I'm needing a new computer now. I'm not the sort who needs anything major, if I can play most games around high-ish with 45-60 FPS I'll largely be happy. Nor do I even play anything that intensive and never really have. I'm mostly looking for reliability, and something that'll last 1+ years in good condition.

Here is what I took using logical increiments and PC part finder.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($138.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($36.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $831.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-08 14:30 EDT-0400

And yes, I know, prebuilts are always more expensive and Alienware especially so.

But I found this marked down by 25% and wondered if it was at all a decent deal.

https://www.amazon.com/Alienware-AX5...ords=alienware

I would have little issue paying a bit extra for it being built and having a warranty tacked on.

[Thunderball]

Prebuild PC is never a good deal compared to assembling yourself. Any particular reason you selected this motherboard? What are your requirements for the motherboard?

[Toppy]

Prebuild PC is never a good deal compared to assembling yourself. Any particular reason you selected this motherboard? What are your requirements for the motherboard?

... that its a decent deal and wont melt within a year.

I dont even know what a motherboard is for. I mean, I know where it goes, and what to do with it. But not what its doing.

[Thunderball]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.49 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B150 Gaming M3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($94.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($58.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX200 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 480 8GB Video Card ($269.99 @ B&H)
Case: Corsair SPEC-02 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($85.95 @ Amazon)
Total: $999.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-08 15:44 EDT-0400

Videocard is a placeholder, get it when custom versions become available.