future worthy budget build? i5-6500

[1banezer]

Hey there!
after hours of research and trying to educate myself, i figured i'd post this here and see if i can get some feedback!

i'm currently running a '08 MBP 2.5Ghz Core 2 Duo / 4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM / GeForce 8600m GT 512mb / OSX 10.8.5

as you can imagine, its infuriating.

Heres my parts list -> https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/Ibanezer/saved/3LTG3C

$585.07
i5-6500 3.2Ghz
Gigabyte GA-H110M
Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB
Samsung SSD 850 EVO 120GB
<Will Add GPU Upgrade Later>
EVGA 400W ATX Power Supply
LG GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer


O/S: undecided, Win 8? from what i've heard i don't want win 10, but maybe i do i haven't owned a pc since.. XP.

i'm looking for a machine that i can buy outright for around $5-600 CAD without going to best buy and arranged this build to give me:

a future-worthy CPU
a decent MoBo with a future-worthy socket
at least 8 gb ram to start with room for 16
an SSD for O/S, editing, and load times - will add HDD later, have several externals already.
a PSU to cover future upgrades
a basic optical drive or reading and writing cd/dvd

What its for:

General - Multi-tab browsing, Large D/L's, Movies, Music, Streaming A/V, Skype
Gaming - Fallout 4, Star Citizen, No Man's Sky, Civ 5, Skyrim, BF4, Steam + +
Design and Editing - Adobe CS6 Ai+Ps+Pr, Unity 3D, Reason 8

I will probably want 2 monitors eventually, for what its worth

I figure the build above fits the bill quite well, but i really only don't know much about this stuff.

I realize the i5-6500 is listed as top tier, but lower tiers don't have prices listed - is this more than i will ever need, and if so, can you recommend something else? will i need a cooler?

re: GPU, leaning towards the GTX 750 Ti but know its short of the GTX 9xx or a R9 xxx

Are the 2 latter worth the extra investment or will the 750Ti be ok? why?
Can you recommend a comparable GPU i haven't mentioned?

The MoBo has integrated ethernet, how much of an improvement would a wired network adapter make?

I will want a sound card eventually, for audio production/editing and home theatre usage; suggestions?

I tried to include everything i could think of, and really appreciate any feedback; if i can give you any more information just ask! I would be interested to know if there is a cheaper way i can get better graphics with comparable performance right out of the gate but still be somewhat future-worthy.

Thanks again!

 

[fredfinks]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($273.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Asus H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($84.60 @ shopRBC)
Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($43.50 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($110.54 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.25 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: Antec 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($110.92 @ shopRBC)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer ($18.07 @ DirectCanada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home Full - USB (32/64-bit) ($126.90 @ shopRBC)
Total: $836.76


Add a GPU.

You could save by i3, $30 with lower quality PSU, $25 by half capacity SSD.
That PSU will last you many years and builds, same with the SSD. (for $25 its not worth losing 50% capacity)

No, you dont need a cooler. Theres one in the box.

Windows 10 is basically just Windows now. There wont be windows 11. Itll be continually updated like chrome or steam. You cant hang on to old o/s forever , mayswell now. The hype is fear mongering. Google collected more of your data with you making this post than windows will do.

750ti is low stuff. It works but im not sure what you want to hear. futureproof? no. 2 monitors running a game on a 750ti? good luck.
You have to understand that your budget isnt much more than a console price. Your expectations are too high.

Cable ethernet is much more reliable than wifi. If you can put a cable use it & forget wifi. Also thats asking more cost from a practically nonexistant budget.

 

[1banezer]

thanks or your response!

i'm going to add a GPU, but maybe a month or two after i get the rig put together - this is for a base build that i can upgrade over time to suit my needs as they arise. The integrated HD 530 blows my 8600m GT out of the water as it is, so thats why i made that choice - so i can get better HW off the bat.

i considered going i3, but or only 30 dollars, the extra cores are worth it IMO, since its not exclusively for gaming and i will be doing some multiprocess work.
I chose the 125 SSD cause it will just be for the O/S and maybe my favourite games and software, all music, videos, photos etc will be saved onto EXT HDD.

plus, from what i read, the i3 is on an old socket that won't get any future upgrades, is this true? 30 dollars isn't a lot to ensure my cpu stays relevant over the next few years.

i don't know much about PSU's so thats good to know, thanks, i want something i won't have to worry about burning out.

I figured no cooler necessary, thought i'd ask anyways, cheers!

And thanks for clarifying with windows issue, i'll go for 10 right away then.

From the benchmarks i looked at for the 750 Ti, it seems like it should be more than enough to keep me busy for a while.. i'm not looking to play anything on ultra and won't be playing on an HDTV. More what i'm concerned about having future-proof qualities are the GPU and MoBo, so i can upgrade as necessary.

also, the 2 monitors wouldn't be for gaming, but for editing and design; just to clarify.

I realize this is a pretty tight budget, and i'm not hoping to play the newest game right out of the box - just get started on a better path to PC heaven from the clutches of my macintosh hell that will allow me future upgrades without buying a new machine in 2 years.

I'll definitely be running a wired network connection to my PC, so the integrated will be fine; thanks!

I've looked thru a lot of pre made part lists, but they are all listed in USD so its rather time consuming to find one on a $CAD budget.


would switching to a comparable system from AMD give me better over all performance for lower cost out of the gate?
if so, would it still be relevant in 2 years or would i be obsolete again?

For a price comparable rig, i came up with this -> https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/Ibanezer/saved/#view=bbgv6h

but its only 40 dollars less and on a 860k, from what i understand the i5 blows that out of the water - so while this gives me the 750ti right off the bat, i may e dissatisfied before long with my CPU choice, which means i'd have to change the MoBo eventually too. I don't wanna do that.

I basically want something i can add GPU's to or the next couple years and keep up (if even a couple years behind) with some of the games/software I've missed over the years! Not future PROOF but future worthy, relevant.


thanks for taking the time to respond!

 

[g-unit1111]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($273.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Asus H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($84.60 @ shopRBC)
Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($43.50 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($110.54 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.25 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: Antec 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($110.92 @ shopRBC)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer ($18.07 @ DirectCanada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home Full - USB (32/64-bit) ($126.90 @ shopRBC)
Total: $836.76

What you are suggesting when you add a CPU is almost twice the budget here.

plus, from what i read, the i3 is on an old socket that won't get any future upgrades, is this true? 30 dollars isn't a lot to ensure my cpu stays relevant over the next few years.

i don't know much about PSU's so thats good to know, thanks, i want something i won't have to worry about burning out.

As long as it's a 6XXX processor, the i3 uses the same socket as the i5 you are proposing to use. And yes it's totally worth the extra $30 if you ask me. That PSU is definitely low quality. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use it but there are definitely better options.

From the benchmarks i looked at for the 750 Ti, it seems like it should be more than enough to keep me busy for a while.. i'm not looking to play anything on ultra and won't be playing on an HDTV. More what i'm concerned about having future-proof qualities are the GPU and MoBo, so i can upgrade as necessary.

also, the 2 monitors wouldn't be for gaming, but for editing and design; just to clarify.

The 950 is about the same price as most 750TI models now. In some cases you can get a 960 for around the $170 range. That's where I got mine for, and a 4GB model at that.

would switching to a comparable system from AMD give me better over all performance for lower cost out of the gate?
if so, would it still be relevant in 2 years or would i be obsolete again?

There is no comparable system from AMD currently. The 860K is a decent option but I wouldn't touch the FX platform currently considering the age of the platform. But still the i5 is about as good as it gets right now for any budget.

I figured no cooler necessary, thought i'd ask anyways, cheers!

You absolutely need a cooler no matter what CPU you use, but for a locked processor you don't need anything more than a stock processor. Anything else is a wasted purchase. Only buy CPU coolers for unlocked CPUs, and H170 allows for some mild BCLK overclocking but I'm not sure what the options are.

I would get a system like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H170M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card ($144.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $632.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-27 14:47 EST-0500

Then you can add an SSD later as you need it.

 

[1banezer]

Hey! thanks for the input!

The more i research the more i feel confident with the i5-6500, most gaming benchmarks i've watched run a i5-4460 with GTX 750 Ti and can run BF4 and JC3 on med-high no problem - way better than I'm used to. Getting an upgradeable socket is worth it for me.

As for the GPU, i'd definitely prefer a 950+ so thats one reason I'm looking to invest in the CPU first and then ADD a GPU later, and deal with the HD 530 in the meantime, then i can get the better graphics instead of trying to get the 750 Ti right off the hop with a lesser CPU. The 980 is still way out of my budget tho.

Yeah i figured that would be the case with the AMD's, i'd hate to buy something on a FM2+ or something else thats going to cause me to upgrade my MoBo and CPU in a year or 2.

Yeah, sorry i meant i won't need an after-market cooler, the integrated one will be sufficient, right?

That looks like a good build, but it puts the price over $900 CAD, and still $630 w/o GPU and HD-
since i'll have my O/S on the SSD, i'd like to have that first and add and HDD later, since i have a few 1TB Externals already thats not a huge deal.

Thanks for taking the time to help out!

 

[g-unit1111]

Hey! thanks for the input!

The more i research the more i feel confident with the i5-6500, most gaming benchmarks i've watched run a i5-4460 with GTX 750 Ti and can run BF4 and JC3 on med-high no problem - way better than I'm used to. Getting an upgradeable socket is worth it for me.

Yeah it usually is. FX is kind of a dead end platform as is socket LGA 1150.

As for the GPU, i'd definitely prefer a 950+ so thats one reason I'm looking to invest in the CPU first and then ADD a GPU later, and deal with the HD 530 in the meantime, then i can get the better graphics instead of trying to get the 750 Ti right off the hop with a lesser CPU. The 980 is still way out of my budget tho.

That's usually not recommended but considering there's new GPUs coming soon from both AMD and NVIDIA that doesn't hurt either.

Yeah i figured that would be the case with the AMD's, i'd hate to buy something on a FM2+ or something else thats going to cause me to upgrade my MoBo and CPU in a year or 2.

The FM2 is still a somewhat newer platform than the AM3+ which is 2011 but the newer Intel platform is 2015, so that would be your best bet, especially for gaming.

Yeah, sorry i meant i won't need an after-market cooler, the integrated one will be sufficient, right?

That's fine for a locked processor, anything else isn't required.

since i'll have my O/S on the SSD, i'd like to have that first and add and HDD later, since i have a few 1TB Externals already thats not a huge deal.

I wouldn't put any programs or anything critical on the externals, I usually say internal drives are better than external because you won't have a chance of getting your drives disconnected.

 

[1banezer]

Yeah it usually is. FX is kind of a dead end platform as is socket LGA 1150.

Cool, thats what I've been reading lately - i'll stick with the i5-6500.

That's usually not recommended but considering there's new GPUs coming soon from both AMD and NVIDIA that doesn't hurt either.

whats not recommended? running off the IGP? i'd agree, but figure since the i5 is such a huge upgrade from my MBP as it is, that i can get away with it for a while and catch up on some games I've missed before going modern.

The FM2 is still a somewhat newer platform than the AM3+ which is 2011 but the newer Intel platform is 2015, so that would be your best bet, especially for gaming.

i may be getting my sockets confused as i am definitely a greenhorn to this stuff, but yes, from what i've read the skylake's will ensure i stay upgradeable longer with more functionality down the road, is that accurate? compared to topping out an fm2 or AM3+ with no room UP later without major hardware changes?

i find the difference in cost between most of the models to be negligible in the long run and opt for the best processor i can buy out of the gate - is that a sound choice?

I wouldn't put any programs or anything critical on the externals, I usually say internal drives are better than external because you won't have a chance of getting your drives disconnected.

yeah, the externals will just be for the music/movies/photos i currently have in storage which would eventually be transferred to an onboard HDD or additional SSD, depending on $ at the time.


i really appreciate your in-depth responses, its been helpful to realize that i am on the right track.

i've changed the PSU for something beefier to allow a GPU upgrade to at least an r7 370 when the time comes and i figure i can find an old case and optical drive used somewhere else, so with that in mind i have a revised build

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/Ibanezer/saved/frbmP6

Intel i5-6500
Gigabyte GA-H110M-A
Kingston FURY 8GB
Samsung 850 EVO 120GB
EVGA 500W 80+ ATX

$537

knocked about $50 off the price tag which looks a lot more appealing to me than the first $700 build i ended up with after changing the site currency to $CAD lol, what a shock that was when my $484 build turned into a $700 build.

damn the exchange rate!!

 

[g-unit1111]

whats not recommended? running off the IGP? i'd agree, but figure since the i5 is such a huge upgrade from my MBP as it is, that i can get away with it for a while and catch up on some games I've missed before going modern.

Yeah it's generally not recommended to be running off integrated graphics because any demanding applications (games, etc) will struggle to keep up with performance.

i may be getting my sockets confused as i am definitely a greenhorn to this stuff, but yes, from what i've read the skylake's will ensure i stay upgradeable longer with more functionality down the road, is that accurate? compared to topping out an fm2 or AM3+ with no room UP later without major hardware changes?

i find the difference in cost between most of the models to be negligible in the long run and opt for the best processor i can buy out of the gate - is that a sound choice?

1. Hard to say unless Intel is guaranteeing that the next round of CPUs is going to be running on socket LGA 1151. Usually most of the time there will be two generations of CPU cycles before a motherboard socket is going to be replaced. If you keep that in mind upgrade paths should be relatively easy to figure out.

2. Yes, that is correct.

yeah, the externals will just be for the music/movies/photos i currently have in storage which would eventually be transferred to an onboard HDD or additional SSD, depending on $ at the time.

That's fine.

knocked about $50 off the price tag which looks a lot more appealing to me than the first $700 build i ended up with after changing the site currency to $CAD lol, what a shock that was when my $484 build turned into a $700 build.

I would suggest throwing a bit more on the power supply. Those EVGA B units aren't that good - they will last a while but when you get any sort of powerful graphics card, they will struggle to keep up. A solid Seasonic unit or an upgrade to the EVGA B2 or a GQ series would be a much better bet.

 

[1banezer]

any demanding applications (games, etc) will struggle to keep up with performance.

right, totally understandable, its akin to me trying to play 2012 games on my current machine - but also totally do-able with plans to upgrade the PC, yeah?

2. Yes, that is correct.

cool, i'll stick with the i5-6500 then

Im not familiar with power supplies so i took your advice on the PSU and upped it to a 600w 80+ seasonic for $69.88 - i don't want to cheap out on a PSU and cause problems down the road.

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/Ibanezer/saved/frbmP6 - $555.06 + tx/shipping is pretty good and should fit my budget well when the time comes - i think the best GPU i'll be able to afford for a while will be the R7 370 unless prices drop before then, but that would be sufficient for most things on mediumish, right?

Thanks a lot for your feedback! I feel more confident with this build and how it will perform for the foreseeable future!

 

[g-unit1111]

right, totally understandable, its akin to me trying to play 2012 games on my current machine - but also totally do-able with plans to upgrade the PC, yeah?

Yup! Should be able to with no problems.

Im not familiar with power supplies so i took your advice on the PSU and upped it to a 600w 80+ seasonic for $69.88 - i don't want to cheap out on a PSU and cause problems down the road.

Much better choice - get a good one and you won't have to worry. Go cheap and it will end in disaster.

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/Ibanezer/saved/frbmP6 - $555.06 + tx/shipping is pretty good and should fit my budget well when the time comes - i think the best GPU i'll be able to afford for a while will be the R7 370 unless prices drop before then, but that would be sufficient for most things on mediumish, right?

That looks good to me! I didn't see a case listed, what are you planning to use there?

Thanks a lot for your feedback! I feel more confident with this build and how it will perform for the foreseeable future!

Sure! That is what we're here for!

 

[1banezer]

Yup! Should be able to with no problems.

Awesome!

Much better choice - get a good one and you won't have to worry. Go cheap and it will end in disaster.

great! good to know, thanks.

That looks good to me! I didn't see a case listed, what are you planning to use there?

Yeah i wasn't sure about that yet; i read this http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-1949782/pick-case-build.html

and it seems like any micro-medium ATX case will fit the bill, so i figure i must know someone with an old tower kicking around that i can salvage the box off; i don't need anything fancy in that regard, just something that will work. Definitely somewhere i don't mind shaving a few bucks off the price, even if i upgrade later - right now I'm more concerned with making sure i get adequate guts to put in a case 😛

The only compatibility issues i noticed when looking at cases was the presence of front usb 3.0 ports, which i consider essential anyways, so would it be correct to assume that any regular old tower with front plugs will work? in that case, i won't need to order one.

edit to add:

Hey, while this thread is active, is there a GPU you could recommend for when the time comes, or are you aware of new models in the range around the GTX 960 ($239) at the top end or R7 370 ($175) with GTX 750 Ti ($150) at the low end? (prices $CAD)

of course the 960 is the best here, but I'm not going to be upset if i can't play games on ultra or full quality, medium-high is fine. Theres just so much information and model numbers whose sequences of age and performance I'm not familiar with, theres all kinds of benchmark tools etc, but i hardly know what I'm looking at.. Like i said up above, i have some games in mind that i would like to play, but id like to be able to play some yet-to-be-released titles eventually I'm sure, and I'm not sure whats going to allow me to do that with adequate performance of 30+ fps during gaming