600$ budget Critique

Solution
The i3 chips have 4 threads. In effect two of them are very fast and two are slower.
It can run any game that requires 4 cores. Yes, there are a few.
The i3-4160 has a clock of 3.6.
A i5-4460 is 3.2
You win with the i3 when two cores are needed.
You win with a i5 when all 4 cores are needed.
About a tie with 3 used cores.


Likely a i5 or i7 would be better.
But when on a budget, you need to be careful about balance.
One rule of thumb is to budget 2x the cpu cost for the graphics card.
That says to me that a fast i3 and a GTX960 is about the right balance.
What is this system going to be used for??? If it is for gaming then you are overspending in the CPU. You should put more money in the GPU as that is going to have more impact on your gaming performance.
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($178.89 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($190.88 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($33.98 @ Directron)
Total: $602.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-17 14:57 EDT-0400
 
assuming you'll be reusing a hard drive for this build from an old system:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($178.89 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($55.97 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Silicon Power 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Case: HEC Vigilance MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($23.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $582.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-17 15:00 EDT-0400
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($178.89 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($21.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($38.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $602.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-17 15:11 EDT-0400
 
If HDD is not necessary:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($178.89 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock B85 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($190.88 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($63.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $599.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-17 15:10 EDT-0400



If those useless comments are your only contribution, well done. Shutting down is the right option.

I do agree on the Mini case with the R9 280X though.
 


 
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/66WMK8



Component Selection Price
CPU

AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor
$97.46 Buy
CPU Cooler

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
$28.95 Buy
Motherboard

Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard
$37.99 Buy
Memory

G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
$62.99 Buy
Storage

Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
$52.49 Buy
Video Card

EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card
$199.99 Buy
Case

Fractal Design Arc Mini R2 MicroATX Mini Tower Case
$95.99 Buy
Power Supply

Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
$32.98 Buy
Optical Drive

Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
$18.95 Buy
Operating System

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
$86.89 Buy
Total: $714.68
 
wow thanks for the replies!
i will be taking all these suggestions into consideration
and i forgot to notify that i have a spare SSD

i really forgot extra info about the build
i am building this for my cousin.
he does not need a monster but a computer capable of school work and games like Starcraft 2 and League of legends while being reliable and fast.
thanks guys!
 


wow thank you for this build
i feel that this computer is efficient
love the case , very simplistic in my eyes
<33
 
Read tom's best gaming cpus for the money.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-3.html
With your budget, I might pick the i3-4160.
The FX cores are slow, and since few games use more than 2 cores, the 8 core is not that helpful.
Faster cores are particularly needed for strategy games, sims and mmos.
Here is an inexpensive Z97 motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135389
Yes, a lesser lga1150 motherboard would perform just as well, but a Z97 gives you future i5/i7/ broadwell cpu upgrade options. With the FX line there are none.

The cx430 will run a GTX960, they are very power efficient.
But, I would buy a better psu and overprovision a bit to say 550w.
That gives you options for a stronger GTX980 class graphics upgrade.
Look for Seasonic, xfx, antec for quality.
Buy tier 1 or 2 on this list:
https://community.newegg.com/eggxpert/computer_hardware/f/135081/t/45344.aspx?Redirected=true

You need a "C" drive.
I will never again build without a ssd for the "C" drive. It makes everything you do much quicker.
120gb is minimum, it will hold the os and a handful of games. If you can go 240gb, you may never need a hard drive.

I would defer on the hard drive unless you need to store large files such as video's.
It is easy to add a hard drive later.
Samsung EVO is a good choice.
Intel 730 is OK too.
 


i appreciate the reply!
and yes i will be applying a SSD as i have seen the magic it retains

and according to youtubers, 4 cores seems to have taken over next gen games, are you sure that 2 cores is adequate?

 


Btw...your computer specs are beastly!
 
The i3 chips have 4 threads. In effect two of them are very fast and two are slower.
It can run any game that requires 4 cores. Yes, there are a few.
The i3-4160 has a clock of 3.6.
A i5-4460 is 3.2
You win with the i3 when two cores are needed.
You win with a i5 when all 4 cores are needed.
About a tie with 3 used cores.


Likely a i5 or i7 would be better.
But when on a budget, you need to be careful about balance.
One rule of thumb is to budget 2x the cpu cost for the graphics card.
That says to me that a fast i3 and a GTX960 is about the right balance.
 
Solution