$850 Gaming/School PC Build

[oss43456]

Hello everyone, I am looking to for help on my very first build. I am looking for a build that will allow me to play most games at 1080p and 60fps on at least high settings. I also need one that will allow me to do my school work, as I will begin my computer engineering major in the fall. I will be building this PC sometime in July and would like help on what to put together. I would like for the video card to be 4GB, so please keep that in mind. One more HUGE thing that I need help with is that I will be buying the parts from NewEgg, so it would be amazing if you could get all of the parts from there. I would really appreciate it.

I WILL NOT BE NEEDING AN OS SO DO NOT INCLUDE IT IN THE BUILD

 

[smorizio]

if your close to a mico center they have cpu and mb combo deals.

 

[timeconsumer]

All Newegg? Okay.

Wasn't sure if you needed an optical drive or not. But this comes in a little under budget. If you don't need the optical you can opt for a Samsung SSD or a fancy case etc.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4S ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($247.50 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $834.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-28 11:05 EDT-0400

 

[Ryan_78]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($43.45 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team Elite Plus 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT SW ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Other: AMD RX 480 4GB ($200.00)
Total: $783.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-28 11:08 EDT-0400

here. the RX 480 releases tomorrow. also if you click on price breakdown by merchant, you will find that newegg is sometimes significantly more expensive than some other places. these site are all very trusted sites. so don't worry.
the Xeon is a 4C/8T CPU, its like an i7 and here is the rest. you may want to get a 250GB SSD. also since you have the room to spare, consider the RX 480 8GB version, its only 25-50 bucks more. the 250GB A-Data premier SP550 is only 20 bucks more. so
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($43.45 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team Elite Plus 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT SW ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Other: AMD RX 480 8GB ($230.00)
Total: $833.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-28 11:11 EDT-0400

 

[smorizio]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/PHVf8K
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/PHVf8K/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus H170M-PLUS/CSM Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($103.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Elite Plus 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $732.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-28 11:11 EDT-0400

leaves you some room. i drop the hard drive for the 480x gpu.

 

[Ryan_78]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/PHVf8K
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/PHVf8K/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus H170M-PLUS/CSM Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($103.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Elite Plus 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $732.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-28 11:11 EDT-0400

leaves you some room. i drop the hard drive for the 480x gpu.

bad cooling choice and why not get a E3 1231 V3? RX 480 too. check mine out

 

[Geekwad]

Very solid:

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($43.45 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team Elite Plus 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT SW ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Other: AMD RX 480 8GB ($230.00)
Total: $833.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-28 11:11 EDT-0400

The 8-threaded performance will be great for some of your CE work as you advance, and within your budget it's a great blend of capabilities and performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usvHezHmCJ4

Note: The 390 used in the video is expected to be just a bit under the performance of the RX 480 to be released tomorrow.....but I guess tomorrow we'll know for sure.

Anyway, you may want to consider just a couple of changes:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: PNY Anarchy 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($91.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT SW ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower Classic 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Other: AMD RX 480 8GB ($239.00)
Total: $850.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

It does go right to the edge of your budget, but it also gives you a better SSD for your OS/apps, a board that allows for a second RX 480 somewhere in the future, and a PSU to more capably support CrossFire if you choose (would be great for driving 5760x1080 or 1440p at very high frame rates....maybe even 4k, but would suggest adaptive sync monitors).

 

[ScrewySqrl]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($314.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B150M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 380 4GB Video Card ($203.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $848.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-28 11:59 EDT-0400

this should work just fine for you. the R9 380 is a placeholder for a RX 480, but everything else shoudl be ideal. the i7 will give your 8 threads, the 480 will be a great 1440p gamer (and ungodly for 1080p)

 

[need4speeds]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Biostar H81MHV3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Klevv FIT Faker Edition 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Silicon Power Silm S55 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($33.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Toshiba P300 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB CLASSIFIED GAMING ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($443.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill FBM-05 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $876.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-28 13:37 EDT-0400

 

[need4speeds]

I tried to make a mini-tower micro-atx build that is smaller so it's easier to take with you and saves space.
-I swapped out for a seagate 1tb instead, crucial memory, fury nano.
If you need open cl the 980ti wont do you much good. I know i am a $27 and $46 overbudget.
-If the Klevv FIT Faker Edition comes with a case sticker, that alone makes it almost worth it. I was hoping that would bring you some good luck. lol.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Biostar H81MHV3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($30.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Silicon Power Silm S55 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($33.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: VisionTek Radeon R9 Nano 4GB Video Card ($459.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill FBM-05 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $895.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-28 17:22 EDT-0400

 

[Ryan_78]

need4speeds that build is overbudget (not for me to decide though) and also slightly outdated. and since you cant overclock, why not grab a E3 1231-3?
not only is your PSU choice poor and case bad, youre better off using the stock cooler over that piece.
also the E3 1231-3 is a LOCKED CPU. don't go buying a Z board for it, ScrewySqrl. you cant overclock it. and FSB Oc sint worth it.
and GeekWad I don't believe the 850 EVO is worth it ATM. its too expensive. I would ditch it for a better BUDGET SSD like the SP550.

 

[need4speeds]

If you can reuse a existing hdd for your steam, media and files drive, you could skip the 1tb hdd. Also the 2tb might be worth it, it's $72 so that's only a extra $20 for a extra 1tb of space.

16bg of memory could be worth it too, but it would start to be about $100 overbudget.

 

[need4speeds]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($55.38 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Corsair Force LE 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390X 8GB Tri-X OC Video Card ($309.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill FBM-05 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $849.29
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-28 14:59 EDT-0400

 

[need4speeds]

I added a cpu cooler but swapped for bit cheaper memory. The larger R9390X is cheaper than the Nano but comes with a price of a extra 100watts. So i swapped for a 600 watt, budget cpu cooler, and other parts that are better. The oem cooler might be noisy under full load and slower memory usually overclocks fairly well.

I am sticking with the tiny build because i think you will want a computer that is easy to move and take with you instead of a large gaming tower.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper T2 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($55.38 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Corsair Force LE 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390X 8GB Tri-X OC Video Card ($309.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill FBM-05 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $859.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-28 15:21 EDT-0400

 

[need4speeds]

I am almost certain you need Open Cl for Computer Engineering so your kinda stuck with a amd gpu. Coding to make stuff run on gpu cores instead of cpu cores is likely the future.

-It would be smart to find this out now cause if you need Cuda, you will be sorry you didn't swap for the GTX980. It's about the same price so have a look at what games you want to run and see which one is faster.

 

[Ryan_78]

did I not say that your PSU choice was bad and case bad?
even with a 8 threaded CPU and 16GB RAM, RX 480 8GB, and MUCH better PSU, I am still underbudget.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

your 1231 is a generation old, though. soon to be 2 gens old.

my not overclocking 6700 is 5-10% faster clock for clock, and overclocks as much as your Xeon does

 

[need4speeds]

I included a GPU that is actually for sale now, not one when it's snowing out and people are putting Christmas lights up.

But i suppose if you swap out for the $200-$240 new RX480 card, my builds would all be way under budget.

-In your build you didn't read the post. It says they want all the parts from Newegg. (It's ok i make mistakes like that too sometimes.)

 

[Ryan_78]

I included a GPU that is actually for sale now, not one when it's snowing out and people are putting Christmas lights up.

But i suppose if you swap out for the $200-$240 new RX480 card, my builds would all be way under budget.

-In your build you didn't read the post. It says they want all the parts from Newegg. (It's ok i make mistakes like that too sometimes.)

also keep in mind the T2 is trash. youre beter off with the stock cooler.
please use money wisely and not on useless parts.

as of the i7 6700, generations don matter as much. an i7 3770k still perfroms great....and so do old x58 Xeons. only at a small los of DX12 and better memory bandwidth. still the 100$ less is very good.
as of clocks both are stock 3.4GHz. the 6700 turbos to 4.0, but only when at least 4 threads are under more than 50% load.

 

[need4speeds]

The T2 is like 3x larger and has heatpipes and a much larger fan. I think it would work better than the oem cooler.

It's only $17. Of course it's not good for the K cpus or overclocking.

Anyways you piss me off so i searched it.
https://www.criticaledge.net/threads/received-a-hyper-t4-and-blizzard-t2-from-coolermaster-review.7561/

So it won't quite cool a i5-2500K@4.5ghz that BSOD at 60C.

 

[Ryan_78]

T2 is trash anyways even the TX3 Sint worth it. The T4 is a slight waste of money. And the hyper 212 EVO is easily beat by scythe units and the cryorig H7. So any cooler reccomemd actions are the h7 and the 212 EVO for last measure.

Just trying to tell you look for bang for buck not cheap cheap cheap.
C

 

[need4speeds]

Yes i know that, it's also not a K cpu running at 4.5ghz.
Maybe there are better under $20 coolers, some searching would be needed. I didn't put that much thought into it.

The RX480 benchmarks are just in. It's a close to the R9 390 but only 150watts.
In order of speed. GTX980Ti, Fury Nano, R9 390X-tie-GTX980-tie-GTX1070, RX 480-tie-R9 390, GTX970-tie-R9 380X, R9 380-tie-GTX960.
Wattage order..GTX950 OC, Pitcairn R7 370, wait.. RX480.

A small crossfire RX480 system would be great. And it can run on most quality 500watt or 600watt power supplies just like Pitcairn can.

 

[need4speeds]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-rx-480-polaris-10,4616-9.html

Actually more reading. Hmmm not really 150watts more like 170watts once you overclock a bit. I really don't like how it draws so much power from the board's pcie slot. (Do not run the RX480 with that cheap biostar board, i am sure that wont work out)

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1070-8gb-pascal-performance,4585-3.html

I still think my Fury Nano build is my best build out of the ones i did. Also you put the water cooler so it replaces the rear case fan. This exits the video card heat out of the case so the cpu will run cooler even with the stock cooler.
It's a hard choice. The 980ti is a very good card too. The R9 390x is no slouch either.

The R9 390X is cheaper so you don't have to skimp so much on the other parts.

 

[need4speeds]

lol people are going to put these in cheap package systems, drawing 80watts from a oem board like a foxconn or ecs wont happen for long.

I can see smoke and fireworks happening. pooff my Dell died.

 

[Ryan_78]

User error cough cough.
Anyways once the OEM models of the RX 480 releases they will probably have one 8 pin instead of a 6. Or more.
But I mean a 7970 ghz is supposed to be voltage locked, but I is a 270w card. Only on extremely high loads does my card draw 350w, with a medium OC. But I mean it's a 7970. Under normal load it is still under 270w for some reason.
I mean a fury nano I mean those aren't the best deal for gaming anyways. Yes they are AMDs most powerful card but the huge memory bandwidth and bus still isn't as good as used 980. I mean RX 480 is your best bet here.