Gaming PC in $1500

[Nab15]

Hello Guyz,

I once again need your expert opinion. Last time I asked for help was in Nov 2012 and the response was awesome. Now I am building another gaming PC for myself. However all the components this time will be purchased from my home country where I live i.e. (Pakistan) except for the graphic card. I would appreciate if you could check out the components I have selected and suggest any improvements and answer a couple of my queries;

1. CPU: i5 6600K (Price $262) or i5 6500 ($220). (Should I overclock ? Will it make that much difference. Is it worth spending extra $42 ?

2. Motherboard: ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI ATX Intel Motherboard (Price $194)
OR
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 3 (rev. 1.0) Intel Socket LGA1151 G1 Gaming Motherboard (Price $188)
OR
ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4 Z170, DDR4, LGA 1151, USB3.0, ATX (Price $195)

3. MSI GeForce GTX 1070 DirectX 12 GTX 1070 GAMING 8G 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5 (Getting this from US as MSI GTX1070 is not available in Pakistan)
We only have Gigabyte or Zotac 1070 in Pakistan. Please advise if I should go for Gigabyte or Zotac. Gigabyte and Zotac for $573 each.

4. Cooler Master Hyper 212X CPU Cooler (Price $40)

5. G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM 3200 MHz Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C16D-16GVR (Price $105)

6. Corsair RMx Series™ RM750x — 750 Watt 80 PLUS® Gold Certified Fully Modular (Price $141)

7. Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (Price $52)

8. Corsair Force Series™ LE 240GB SATA 3 6Gb/s SSD CSSD-F240GBLEB (Price $80)

9. Cooler Master Storm Trooper (Price $191)

Kindly check the above list and I am open to suggestions and advise.

PS: Above prices have been converted to US dollars from local currency.

Regards,

 

[Hlsgsz]

1. it's up to you, but, honestly, there's no need to.
2. Asus
3. Get the Zotac AMP! or the Gigabyte G1 Gaming, they are both as good as the MSI. No need to bother importing.
4. If you're going to OC, see if there is a Cryorig H7 available. If you won't, you don't really need a cooler as the stock one is good enough.
5. if you want to save, get 2400Mhz RAM. The vast majority of games and normal PC usage see no benefit from faster ram, Fallout 4 beeing a notable exception.
6. excellent, but, if you do not intend to SLI, 550W will do.
7. get a WD Blue 5400RPM drive. No need for a fast 7200RPM for media storage, and they are noisier if you care about that.
8. get either an Adata sp550 or PNY CS1311.
9. you're putting too much money into teh case IMHO. Look into the Fractal Design Define R5 with or without a window(i prefer without, but that's subjective)

 

[Nab15]

1. it's up to you, but, honestly, there's no need to.
2. Asus
3. Get the Zotac AMP! or the Gigabyte G1 Gaming, they are both as good as the MSI. No need to bother importing.
4. If you're going to OC, see if there is a Cryorig H7 available. If you won't, you don't really need a cooler as the stock one is good enough.
5. if you want to save, get 2400Mhz RAM. The vast majority of games and normal PC usage see no benefit from faster ram, Fallout 4 beeing a notable exception.
6. excellent, but, if you do not intend to SLI, 550W will do.
7. get a WD Blue 5400RPM drive. No need for a fast 7200RPM for media storage, and they are noisier if you care about that.
8. get either an Adata sp550 or PNY CS1311.
9. you're putting too much money into teh case IMHO. Look into the Fractal Design Define R5 with or without a window(i prefer without, but that's subjective)

Hi Hlsgsz

Thank you for the suggestions/advise.

1. CPU: Last time I wanted a "K" CPU but went for the non "K" one. My friends say that you are missing the fun you get with a "K" version. I know you said there is no need. But does it really makes much difference in fps. What I've heard is that it only increases the fps by 2-3.

3. Graphic Card: As for the graphic card do you think zotac is a good manufacturer. With gigabyte I have heard that they have heating issue ?

4.CPU Cooler: I am just confused about OC(ing). Plus wouldn't having an extra cpu cooler be beneficial ?

5. RAM: 2400MHz is not that readily available here for some reason. That's why i went for the 3200. Actually do you think 8Gb would be sufficient or 16 GB ?

Regards,

 

[Hlsgsz]

1. barring fringe, unrealistic scenarios(benching at very low resolution to emphasize CPU horsepower), you will always be limited by your GPU. SO you'r be hard rpessed to see even a 2-3 FPS difference. That being said, overclocking can be fun for some, so i guess your question is subjective.

3. both are good.

4. Skylake K CPUs don;t include a cooler as Intel deemed(righfully) the stock cooler redundant when overclocking. With non-K CPUs, the stock cooler performs admirably because Skylake runs cool.

5. Get 16. Considering teh price difference from 8 to 16 it's well worth getting 16.
5

 

[Niklas_13]

like the OP said this would do well at 1080p max to 1440p mid to high setting

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Niklas_13/saved/#view=zg8Ff7

 

[Niklas_13]

if buying a 400 + GPU I would buy where you can send it back easy if need be ....... + you are buying new so MSI evga gigabyte ect all have a warranty

 

[Hlsgsz]

like the OP said this would do well at 1080p max to 1440p mid to high setting

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Niklas_13/saved/#view=zg8Ff7

That's an excelent build. Kudos for picking a case for grown-ups

 

[Nab15]

Hello again guyz,

I have taken your advice and have decided to buy all the components locally and even managed to find the msi gtx 1070. Moreover i will be going with non k cpu and no after market cooler. however there is a small issue, for some reason or the other both of the above mentioned motherboards are not available. The only option so far I have are;

1. MSI Z170 GAMING M5
2. MSI Z170 GAMING M7

Kindly advise. Or if there is any other Asus model that would be suitable kindly suggest or any other brand.

Regards,

 

[Niklas_13]

you don't need a Z170 mobo for a non K CPU

save the money and go for a a H mobo

you could use any of the mobo in this link https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#f=2&c=111

 

[Niklas_13]

Hello again guyz,

I have taken your advice and have decided to buy all the components locally and even managed to find the msi gtx 1070. Moreover i will be going with non k cpu and no after market cooler. however there is a small issue, for some reason or the other both of the above mentioned motherboards are not available. The only option so far I have are;

1. MSI Z170 GAMING M5
2. MSI Z170 GAMING M7

Kindly advise. Or if there is any other Asus model that would be suitable kindly suggest or any other brand.

Regards,

if you cant find a h170 mobo then you could use the MSI gaming 5 its just not needed for a non ocing cpu

 

[Hlsgsz]

Like said above, z170 is not merited when not overclocking. Get whichever MB you can find from this list: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#E=1,3&N=4,16&s=30&sort=a8&page=1&L=4

 

[Niklas_13]

with a i5 6600K + cpu cooler and a z170 mobo you are looking at 80 to 120 bucks more for 4 to 8 FPS

the GTX 1070 will push all games out atm 60 + at 1440p near ultra settings

 

[Niklas_13]

You could drop to 8 gigs of ram get the HDD at a latter time and get a cheaper case and save 100 bucks and that 100 bucks with the 100 bucks you would spend on the Z170 i5 6600K and CPU cooler that's 200 bucks that could bump the GPU to a 1080 and that's 33 % more fps vs 4 to 8

 

[Nab15]

Hi Guyz,

Sorry once again. This is primarily why I don't buy components locally and tend to get them from abroad whenever my brother is coming.

I5 6500 is not avaliable anymore. They have either 6400 or 6402 or 6600k. Moreover no H170 motherboard. The options i have is z170 pc mate which will be around 100$ and B150 pc mate around $80.

Would appreciate your help. Sorry for keep asking again and again.

Regards,

 

[Hlsgsz]

z170 + 6600k without a doubt. The 6400 is just not a good idea because of it's low clockespeed and, so long as you're getting a K series, might aswell have a z170 MB so all possibilities are on teh table.

 

[Nab15]

Thank you hlsgsz, I was thinking the same thing but the shop owner kept saying that there is only a slight difference and you will be fine with a 6400. So 6600k and a z170 gaming m5 is what I am going for. Hope it goes flawless like my last build.

 

[Niklas_13]

z170 + 6600k without a doubt. The 6400 is just not a good idea because of it's low clockespeed and, so long as you're getting a K series, might aswell have a z170 MB so all possibilities are on teh table.

Yeah +1

The i5 6600K and gtx 1070 will be a beast Enjoy

 

[Hlsgsz]

Thank you hlsgsz, I was thinking the same thing but the shop owner kept saying that there is only a slight difference and you will be fine with a 6400. So 6600k and a z170 gaming m5 is what I am going for. Hope it goes flawless like my last build.

It will. Forget what the shop owner wants to seel you. He probably has too many 6400s that are nto selling
You're welcome!

 

[Nab15]

Hello Guyz,

I have searched the entire component market and finally have found an authorized distributor with all the parts I require. This will most definitely be the last time I will be asking for help with regards to this thread. So this is what I will be having. I have tried to use your advice in conjunction with my budget to get the best system I could and would appreciate your final words/suggestions.

Not planning to overclock neither am I interested in SLI

1. CPU: i5 6600K

2. Motherboard: ASUS Z170K OR ASUS H170 PRO OR ASUS B150 PRO. H170 and B150 I believe only support RAM upto 2133.

3. MSI GeForce GTX 1070 DirectX 12 GTX 1070 GAMING 8G 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5

4. G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM 3200 MHz OR 8GB (2X4GB) 288-Pin DDR4. 3200Mhz or 2400Mhz.

5. Corsair RMx Series™ RM650x 80 PLUS® Gold Certified Fully Modular

6. Seagate Barracuda/WD 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

7. ADATA or Zotac 240GB SATA 3 6Gb/s SSD. Adata. Zotac is a little cheaper than Adata.

8. Fractal Design Define R5

Would appreciate your final verdict and tomorrow I will get the components as its already getting late. Thank you in advance.

 

[Nab15]

Hello Guyz,

I have searched the entire component market and finally have found an authorized distributor with all the parts I require. This will most definitely be the last time I will be asking for help with regards to this thread. So this is what I will be having. I have tried to use your advice in conjunction with my budget to get the best system I could and would appreciate your final words/suggestions.

Not planning to overclock neither am I interested in SLI

1. CPU: i5 6600K

2. Motherboard: ASUS Z170K OR ASUS H170 PRO OR ASUS B150 PRO. H170 and B150 I believe only support RAM upto 2133.

3. MSI GeForce GTX 1070 DirectX 12 GTX 1070 GAMING 8G 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5

4. G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM 3200 MHz OR 8GB (2X4GB) 288-Pin DDR4. 3200Mhz or 2400Mhz.

5. Corsair RMx Series™ RM650x 80 PLUS® Gold Certified Fully Modular

6. Seagate Barracuda/WD 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

7. ADATA or Zotac 240GB SATA 3 6Gb/s SSD. Adata. Zotac is a little cheaper than Adata.

8. Fractal Design Define R5

Would appreciate your final verdict and tomorrow I will get the components as its already getting late. Thank you in advance.


Sorry correction not 6600K its a typo. i meant 6500

 

[Hlsgsz]

Hello Guyz,

I have searched the entire component market and finally have found an authorized distributor with all the parts I require. This will most definitely be the last time I will be asking for help with regards to this thread. So this is what I will be having. I have tried to use your advice in conjunction with my budget to get the best system I could and would appreciate your final words/suggestions.

Not planning to overclock neither am I interested in SLI

1. CPU: i5 6600K

2. Motherboard: ASUS Z170K OR ASUS H170 PRO OR ASUS B150 PRO. H170 and B150 I believe only support RAM upto 2133.

3. MSI GeForce GTX 1070 DirectX 12 GTX 1070 GAMING 8G 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5

4. G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM 3200 MHz OR 8GB (2X4GB) 288-Pin DDR4. 3200Mhz or 2400Mhz.

5. Corsair RMx Series™ RM650x 80 PLUS® Gold Certified Fully Modular

6. Seagate Barracuda/WD 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

7. ADATA or Zotac 240GB SATA 3 6Gb/s SSD. Adata. Zotac is a little cheaper than Adata.

8. Fractal Design Define R5

Would appreciate your final verdict and tomorrow I will get the components as its already getting late. Thank you in advance.

1. it's unfortunate that you can't find the i5 6500. If you are not overclocking, theres no need to overpay for the 6600k
2. get teh cheapest if you never intend to overclock and are not interested in SLI. RAM speed is mostly inconsequential, so no need to overpay for a MB that supports more than 2133.
3. thumbs up
4. again, the cheapest 2133 or 2400 you can find
5. excellent
6. WD 5400 blue
7. adata
8. my personal fav.

 

[Nab15]

Hello Guyz,

I have searched the entire component market and finally have found an authorized distributor with all the parts I require. This will most definitely be the last time I will be asking for help with regards to this thread. So this is what I will be having. I have tried to use your advice in conjunction with my budget to get the best system I could and would appreciate your final words/suggestions.

Not planning to overclock neither am I interested in SLI

1. CPU: i5 6600K

2. Motherboard: ASUS Z170K OR ASUS H170 PRO OR ASUS B150 PRO. H170 and B150 I believe only support RAM upto 2133.

3. MSI GeForce GTX 1070 DirectX 12 GTX 1070 GAMING 8G 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5

4. G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM 3200 MHz OR 8GB (2X4GB) 288-Pin DDR4. 3200Mhz or 2400Mhz.

5. Corsair RMx Series™ RM650x 80 PLUS® Gold Certified Fully Modular

6. Seagate Barracuda/WD 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

7. ADATA or Zotac 240GB SATA 3 6Gb/s SSD. Adata. Zotac is a little cheaper than Adata.

8. Fractal Design Define R5

Would appreciate your final verdict and tomorrow I will get the components as its already getting late. Thank you in advance.

1. it's unfortunate that you can't find the i5 6500. If you are not overclocking, theres no need to overpay for the 6600k
2. get teh cheapest if you never intend to overclock and are not interested in SLI. RAM speed is mostly inconsequential, so no need to overpay for a MB that supports more than 2133.
3. thumbs up
4. again, the cheapest 2133 or 2400 you can find
5. excellent
6. WD 5400 blue
7. adata
8. my personal fav.

Hi Everyone,

Got all the components

Sorry that was a typo i have found an i5 6500. Got lucky the shipment arrived in time and the market is flooded with i5 6500
Went for Asus z170K as i got a really good deal. Got it in just $90 same as AsusH170 Pro.
MSI GTX 1070
Went for a 2400Mhz RAM 16GB.
Corsair RMx Series™ RM650
WD 5400 Blue
Adata.
CM storm stryker. Just couldn't control myself once i saw it on the shelf

Will build it over the weekend. So excited.

Thank you everyone for your support and suggestions. Couldn't have done it without your help. Thank you once again.