$840 gaming build help

[ValiantBird]

I'm planning on putting together a decent PC for 3350 PLN (around $840) very soon. The rig will be used for 1080p gaming (mainly FPS and MMOs along with more demanding titles such as Witcher 3), video/graphics editing, 3D modeling, streaming, messing around on the internet with dozens of unnecessary tabs open at once etc. 😛 This is my first time building one and having only begun researching this recently, I feel I could really benefit from some advice.

Here's the setup I've been considering:
CPU: Intel Core i5-6400
GPU: MSI GTX 970
Mobo: MSI H170M PRO-VDH
CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
RAM: Kingston Savage DDR4 8GB (2x4GB) 2133MHz
HDD: WD Caviar Blue 1TB WD10EZEX (I'll probably buy a SSD to migrate the OS to sooner or later)
PSU: XFX TS550W 120mm 80+ Bronze
Case: Zalman Z3 Plus

Is this acceptable for the price range or have I screwed up something major without realizing? Are there better alternatives for any of those components?

Thanks in advance for any and all comments.

 

[Icaraeus]

Go with RX 480 if it's cheaper, and get rid of the Hyper 212 EVO. You don't need it at all. It's a waste of money. At best you're paying for aesthetics. The CPU already comes with a cooler. Put the money saved towards an SSD instead.

 

[ValiantBird]

Go with RX 480 if it's cheaper, and get rid of the Hyper 212 EVO. You don't need it at all. It's a waste of money. At best you're paying for aesthetics. The CPU already comes with a cooler. Put the money saved towards an SSD instead.

Damn, now I feel stupid for forgetting Intel had stock coolers. Thanks! I think I'll wait a bit for RX 480's non reference models and see how they compare.

 

[Hlsgsz]

For your needs an i7 is totally recommended, and i have one in your budget because you came to the right place

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1240 V5 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($269.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte GA-X150M-PLUS WS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($55.25 @ Amazon)
Memory: *G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: PNY CS1311 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Zalman Z3 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Other: non-reference AMD RX 480 8GB ($250.00)
Total: $819.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-04 14:07 EDT-0400

That xeon is equivalent to an i7 7600, but has no integrated graphics and costs closer to an i5.

 

[ValiantBird]

For your needs an i7 is totally recommended, and i have one in your budget because you came to the right place

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1240 V5 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($269.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte GA-X150M-PLUS WS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($55.25 @ Amazon)
Memory: *G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: PNY CS1311 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Zalman Z3 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Other: non-reference AMD RX 480 8GB ($250.00)
Total: $819.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-04 14:07 EDT-0400

That xeon is equivalent to an i7 7600, but has no integrated graphics and costs closer to an i5.

Thank you for your suggestions, especially on the CPU! Xeon seems like a great option I hadn't considered before. However, due to hardware prices in my country being what they are, that setup goes well beyond the dollar equivalent of 1000 even if I only scour for the cheapest offers on the web (E3-1240 v5 doesn't go for lower than 1330 PLN/$334). 🙁 Would it have a noticeable impact if I downgraded to something like E3-1220 v3 (remarkably cheaper here) or should I simply stick to my initial i5 in order to keep the rig budget-friendly? I know very little about these processors and how they measure up to each other.

 

[Hlsgsz]

The v3 would be a significant downgrade. Look seeing as you do CPU heavy work like rendering and stream, we should strive to get you an i7.
How are prices on the Xeon E3-1231 V3. It's last gen, but hey! 4770 equivalent.

EDIT:
Also, how much do these go for:
i7 6700
E3-1230 v5

 

[ValiantBird]

The v3 would be a significant downgrade. Look seeing as you do CPU heavy work like rendering and stream, we should strive to get you an i7.
How are prices on the Xeon E3-1231 V3. It's last gen, but hey! 4770 equivalent.

EDIT:
Also, how much do these go for:
i7 6700
E3-1230 v5

I see. The E3-1231 v3 seems a bit more accessible at 1160PLN ($291); the i7 is 1430 ($360) and E3-1230v5 - 1335 ($335). Comparing these to newegg prices makes me somewhat jealous of Americans, but oh well, no matter - I'll just try my best to use the cards I was dealt xP

You're right that it may be wise to aim for a more powerful CPU, especially since I'm hoping to be using it for years to come. If no other price range can fetch the i7 level of performance, hey, I can just save up for a bit; it's not as if I need the PC by tomorrow.

@edit because I mixed up the prices

 

[Hlsgsz]

Well seeing as the Skylake Xeon E3-1240 v5is indeed cheaper than the i7 6700 even there, either save and get the build with that cpu or go for this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H-A Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Team Elite Plus 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: PNY CS1311 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Zalman Z3 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Other: non-reference AMD RX 480 8GB ($250.00)
Total: $779.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-04 18:01 EDT-0400

The Skylake build will be a little bit faster, but not that much faster that you should really not get the system if you want it now, even if you don't need it.
Regardless, an i7 or equivalent is definitely your safest bet.

 

[ValiantBird]

Gotcha, thanks a lot for the help!

 

[g-unit1111]

Go with RX 480 if it's cheaper, and get rid of the Hyper 212 EVO. You don't need it at all. It's a waste of money. At best you're paying for aesthetics. The CPU already comes with a cooler. Put the money saved towards an SSD instead.

Agree here, the 212 Evo is a wasted purchase but there's no way you can get an SSD for that, I would instead put that money toward a graphics upgrade - an R9-390 or R9-390X would be a much better purchase.

 

[Hlsgsz]

Gotcha, thanks a lot for the help!

You're welcome!