How much should I be spending?

[SDRider]

Hi, I have been PC gaming for a while now but this will be my first ever customer build PC. Any advice on the amount I should be spending here? I'm not a hardcore gamer but I would love to be able to run things smoothly with good fps. Any build suggestions would be great as well.

Much appreciated, Sam

 

[Samat]

Maybe something like this, around 1500$ including monitor but no keyboard/mouse. You can deduct 200$ if you don't need the monitor, but it should be a good base system that should last a few years. It's not the cheapest build, but if you have the cash it's a good one. You could reduce the price by shuffling some parts or get more performance by getting a better cpu cooler or graphics card for example.

Edit.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($251.98 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z170 PRO GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($70.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)
Monitor: Dell P2414H 60Hz 23.8" Monitor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1449.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-28 04:45 EDT-0400