CPU for first gaming PC

[SuperDeDuper]

HI, I'm new to pc gaming, and am trying to pick parts for my first build which is also on a little bit of a budget. Problem is i'm stuck on the cpu, there are so many. I'm getting mixed reviews as to which cpu will cut it. some say an i3 is enough and anything more is over kill while others make it sound like anything below a i5 6600k will bottleneck my gpu. my goal performance is 60fps on max settings for most games and my budget i'd like to keep around $700-$800 but if that's impossible I can stretch to $1000. (Note: I mostly play elite dangerous, and not on VR which is very optimized). Any advice I can get on hitting my goal of 60 fps on highest settings while keeping the budget as low as possible would be great. last thing i'm a total newbie so you don't need to worry about being to thorough. THANKS!

 

[audie-tron25]

Go for a i5 4460 (or any i5 that ISN'T a "K" version, it just adds to the cost if your not going to overclock) if you can. An i3 is still fine in games like Elite Dangerous and BF4 (on a 64 player map even) but it can struggle on games like Rainbow Six Siege and likely games coming out later this year or next year.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

An i5-6500 puts you on the latest socket and doesn't cost much more than the 4460. An i3 is certainly capable, but an i5 is the sweet spot from a price/performance standpoint.

What other components have you chosen?

 

[SuperDeDuper]

An i5-6500 puts you on the latest socket and doesn't cost much more than the 4460. An i3 is certainly capable, but an i5 is the sweet spot from a price/performance standpoint.

What other components have you chosen?

honestly I don't have much that I've decided on. I've seen quite a few builds so I have a few favorite parts picked out. next part I want to figure out is the video card. My laptop I currently play on uses an amd card and I haven't had a great time with there service so i'm thinking a GeForce is the way I want to go.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

We can put some builds together for you. Do you need a monitor, keyboard, mouse and OS?

 

[SuperDeDuper]

We can put some builds together for you. Do you need a monitor, keyboard, mouse and OS?

Thanks, you've already been a great help. all I need besides the tower is a keyboard.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

For $1,000 (USD?) you can have this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($91.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($62.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX TS 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $960.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-25 10:12 EDT-0400

For $700 you can have this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($91.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($34.39 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($41.33 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 380 4GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX TS 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $704.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-25 10:16 EDT-0400

You'll need to factor in a keyboard in both cases as that's not an item we can pick for you. The case can obviously be switched depending on what you like.

If you go for the $1,000 build then definitely consider swapping the GTX 970 for a GTX 1070. For the $700 build, you may want to consider waiting for Polaris, which is the new line of AMD GPUs.

 

[SuperDeDuper]

For $1,000 (USD?) you can have this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($91.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($62.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX TS 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $960.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-25 10:12 EDT-0400

For $700 you can have this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($91.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($34.39 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($41.33 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 380 4GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX TS 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $704.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-25 10:16 EDT-0400

You'll need to factor in a keyboard in both cases as that's not an item we can pick for you. The case can obviously be switched depending on what you like.

If you go for the $1,000 build then definitely consider swapping the GTX 970 for a GTX 1070. For the $700 build, you may want to consider waiting for Polaris, which is the new line of AMD GPUs.

There is one more question I have that has also yielded mixed responses. that is the difference between the custom gpu brands such as msi, gigabyte, evga, etc. Some say there is only a difference in warranty and customer service while others claim the cards themselves are modified. so what truly is the difference, do you have a preference for a specific brand? I'm very glad I decided to post my questions. you've been incredibly helpful. Thanks a lot!

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

No problem.

In terms of GPU branding, it's horses for courses really. Warranties and customer service will vary depending on where you live and whilst the cards are slightly modified, it's usually nothing more than a custom cooler and bump in clock speeds. Real-world performance is very, very similar between al the major brands.

I've used MSI and Gigabyte GPUs and never had a problem with them.