Which build should I go with?

[nzrajput]

Hi all,

I am planning on building a gaming PC. I have been researching about different components and finally need your suggestion to make a decision. I have shortlisted 2 builds and I need your suggestions to choose the best one:

Build 1:

Intel Core i5 6600 Processor
Gigabyte GA-H110M-DS2 DDR3
2 x Kingston HyperX- 4GB 1600 DDR3
Asus/Gigabyte Radeon R9 380 - 4GB or Radeon RX 480 4GB
Seagate Sata 1TB
Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB

Build 2:

Intel Core i7 - 6700
Gigabyte GA-H110M-DS2 DDR3
2 x Kingston HyperX- 4GB 1600 DDR3
Asus/Gigabyte Radeon R9 380 - 4GB or Radeon RX 480 4GB
Seagate Sata 1TB

Notes:
1. Power Supply in the build will be from either Tier 2 or Tier 3 - probably XFX
2. Please don't suggest me an overclocking build.
3. Please keep in mind that I want this build to last for atleast 3-5 years.
4. I will probably be playing at 1366 x 768 or 1600 x 900 resolutions so answer accordingly.
5. The build is mainly for Gaming.
6. I might choose a DDR4 motherboard and DDR4 RAM if budget allowed.
7. Please don't ask for my budget to suggest another as there will be currency conversion rate and components availability issue.
8. Other suggestions are welcome.
9. Please share the reason for your selection.

Questions:
1. Should I choose Radeon RX 480? The high power usage has been fixed, I know. Will I be able to install it on my motherboard and install the latest drivers without fear of destroying the motherboard?
2. Which build should I go with: Build 1 or Build 2?
3. Will either of the build last for 3-5 years?
4. How will be the gaming experience on 1366 x 768 or 1600 x 900 resolutions?
5. Will wireless keyboard/mouse be good choice?

 

[lucas_7_94]

I would go for Build 1. i5 6600 is plenty good for gaming.

About your questions:

1. The motherboards burned are cheaper one, so, nothing to worry about with your mobo.
2. build 1.
3. i can't confirm. If you're talking futureproof, well, the games improves every year, they say which hardware is obsolete or no. At your resolution, you will have some years happy with that build.
4. goto 3;
5. Depends on you.


Just question: How much the pre-builds cost? Why not building your own?

regards!

 

[nzrajput]

I would go for Build 1. i5 6600 is plenty good for gaming.

About your questions:

1. The motherboards burned are cheaper one, so, nothing to worry about with your mobo.
2. build 1.
3. i can't confirm. If you're talking futureproof, well, the games improves every year, they say which hardware is obsolete or no. At your resolution, you will have some years happy with that build.
4. goto 3;
5. Depends on you.


Just question: How much the pre-builds cost? Why not building your own?

regards!

Thank you for your answers.

Can you tell me which motherboards were burned from high power usage of RX 480? Can you share a link to an article?
Why did you suggest build 1 and not 2?

They are not pre-builds. I am building my own. They are just the components that I have shortlisted and I am listing them as "Builds" because that's what will be a part of my "Build"

 

[Oisin_3]

Both are budget PCs, and i can say gaming experience on those resolutions will be good with these cards, but if your using an rx480 why not strive for 1080p?
I would also recommend you have a look at an EVGA gtx970 SSC for similar pricing as the rx480 or even cheaper.

Also I would recommend posting your case, cooling and power supply choices as space and power will affect the suggestions made.

 

[IDProG]

Agree with the above reply, but change 6600 to 6500. It's only 0.1GHz different and about $20-$30 difference in price. You can even play even the most demanding games at 1080p with RX 480, let alone 900p or 768p. From your gaming resolution of choice, I assume that you won't be bothered by mouse acceleration and input lag a lot (correct me if I'm wrong), so wireless keyboard and mouse are fine.

 

[lucas_7_94]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-rx-480-polaris-power-fix,4668.html <- you can search similar articles!

Mainly i suggest the build 1 because for gaming, a i7 is a overkill. I mean, yes, its better, but worth the price/performance to pick it? for me, no.

Also, you're going to get a Skylake build, so, you can't choice DDR3 (yes, you can, but you need a expensive motherboard), you need DDR4 for that build.

And, put a good PSU there, don't play with the evil.

 

[nzrajput]

Both are budget PCs, and i can say gaming experience on those resolutions will be good with these cards, but if your using an rx480 why not strive for 1080p?
I would also recommend you have a look at an EVGA gtx970 SSC for similar pricing as the rx480 or even cheaper.

Also I would recommend posting your case, cooling and power supply choices as space and power will affect the suggestions made.

Thanks for your reply.
I am not going for 1080p because of my budget limitations. Instead of spending more on getting a 1080p monitor, I am spending towards a better CPU.

Is EVGA GTX 970 better than RX 480?

The casing will be based on the selected build. For cooling, I will go with the stock coolers of the processor.
Power Supply will be from either Tier 2 or Tier 3 of the PSU Tier List.

 

[lucas_7_94]

Both are budget PCs, and i can say gaming experience on those resolutions will be good with these cards, but if your using an rx480 why not strive for 1080p?
I would also recommend you have a look at an EVGA gtx970 SSC for similar pricing as the rx480 or even cheaper.

Also I would recommend posting your case, cooling and power supply choices as space and power will affect the suggestions made.

Thanks for your reply.
I am not going for 1080p because of my budget limitations. Instead of spending more on getting a 1080p monitor, I am spending towards a better CPU.

Is EVGA GTX 970 better than RX 480?

The casing will be based on the selected build. For cooling, I will go with the stock coolers of the processor.
Power Supply will be from either Tier 2 or Tier 3 of the PSU Tier List.

Both cards will do the job @ your resolution. But i would pick the RX 480 (wait non-reference cards!)

 

[IceMyth]

Hi,

For the 2 builds, both almost the same.
For the CPU: http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-6700-vs-Intel-Core-i5-6600 (the different in score is 0.4, not big deal)
For the MB: IT doesnt support CrossFire incase you decided in the future to get a 2nd GPU.
: DDR3 can be a bit costly in the future if you decide to add more. So I would suggest either get 16GB or replace it with DDR4 MB.
For the GPU: Since you want to get RX 480, if you have access to 3rd party GPUs (They will have different Fans: 2-fans or more) then it is a good idea otherwise I would suggest to wait for that for better cooling.

Note: If you dont get at least Bronze Certified PSU you might have problems in term of power consumption, but will depend on the build & Case & cooling!

Lastly I would go with Build 1 as seems you can get SSD with which is good for gaming performance!

 

[nzrajput]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-rx-480-polaris-power-fix,4668.html <- you can search similar articles!

Mainly i suggest the build 1 because for gaming, a i7 is a overkill. I mean, yes, its better, but worth the price/performance to pick it? for me, no.

Also, you're going to get a Skylake build, so, you can't choice DDR3 (yes, you can, but you need a expensive motherboard), you need DDR4 for that build.

And, put a good PSU there, don't play with the evil.

PSU will be from Tier 2 or Tier 3. Isn't that okay?
Can you please mention where it is written that only cheap mobos were impacted? I have read this article before.

Are you sure DDR3 motherboards will be expensive than the DDR4 one? If that's the case, I will go with DDR4 Mobos and DDR4 RAM

 

[Oisin_3]

Thanks for your reply.
I am not going for 1080p because of my budget limitations. Instead of spending more on getting a 1080p monitor, I am spending towards a better CPU.

Is EVGA GTX 970 better than RX 480?

The casing will be based on the selected build. For cooling, I will go with the stock coolers of the processor.
Power Supply will be from either Tier 2 or Tier 3 of the PSU Tier List.

From My research on GPUs (I'm currently trying to select one myself) the rx480 will run hotter and use more power than a EVGA gtx970 SSC, while providing a very similar result, and the 970 is slightly cheaper from what i can tell. Its hard to beat the gtx970 SSC on power for pricing.
a 1080p monitor will cost you roughly 30-50 dollars more and I think its worth it in the end, if you choose the gtx 970 it will give you that saving aswell.

I also think the i7 is overkill for your needs, im going with a i5 6600k in a higher end build

 

[nzrajput]

Agree with the above reply, but change 6600 to 6500. It's only 0.1GHz different and about $20-$30 difference in price. You can even play even the most demanding games at 1080p with RX 480, let alone 900p or 768p. From your gaming resolution of choice, I assume that you won't be bothered by mouse acceleration and input lag a lot (correct me if I'm wrong), so wireless keyboard and mouse are fine.

Yeah, but 6600 is better than 6500, isn't it?

I am not sure if there will be any lag. I am currently using a wireless mouse (A4 Tech) and I don't feel any lag in regular use. So let me know if there will be lags. Logitech says there are no lags.

 

[lucas_7_94]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-rx-480-polaris-power-fix,4668.html <- you can search similar articles!

Mainly i suggest the build 1 because for gaming, a i7 is a overkill. I mean, yes, its better, but worth the price/performance to pick it? for me, no.

Also, you're going to get a Skylake build, so, you can't choice DDR3 (yes, you can, but you need a expensive motherboard), you need DDR4 for that build.

And, put a good PSU there, don't play with the evil.

PSU will be from Tier 2 or Tier 3. Isn't that okay?
Can you please mention where it is written that only cheap mobos were impacted? I have read this article before.

Are you sure DDR3 motherboards will be expensive than the DDR4 one? If that's the case, I will go with DDR4 Mobos and DDR4 RAM

No, what i said is you will need DDR4, skylake (1151) supports DDR3L, and a few expensive mobos support it..

 

[nzrajput]

Both are budget PCs, and i can say gaming experience on those resolutions will be good with these cards, but if your using an rx480 why not strive for 1080p?
I would also recommend you have a look at an EVGA gtx970 SSC for similar pricing as the rx480 or even cheaper.

Also I would recommend posting your case, cooling and power supply choices as space and power will affect the suggestions made.

Thanks for your reply.
I am not going for 1080p because of my budget limitations. Instead of spending more on getting a 1080p monitor, I am spending towards a better CPU.

Is EVGA GTX 970 better than RX 480?

The casing will be based on the selected build. For cooling, I will go with the stock coolers of the processor.
Power Supply will be from either Tier 2 or Tier 3 of the PSU Tier List.

Both cards will do the job @ your resolution. But i would pick the RX 480 (wait non-reference cards!)

I will go with either Asus or Gigabyte RX 480. Is that okay?

 

[nzrajput]

Hi,

For the 2 builds, both almost the same.
For the CPU: http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-6700-vs-Intel-Core-i5-6600 (the different in score is 0.4, not big deal)
For the MB: IT doesnt support CrossFire incase you decided in the future to get a 2nd GPU.
: DDR3 can be a bit costly in the future if you decide to add more. So I would suggest either get 16GB or replace it with DDR4 MB.
For the GPU: Since you want to get RX 480, if you have access to 3rd party GPUs (They will have different Fans: 2-fans or more) then it is a good idea otherwise I would suggest to wait for that for better cooling.

Note: If you dont get at least Bronze Certified PSU you might have problems in term of power consumption, but will depend on the build & Case & cooling!

Lastly I would go with Build 1 as seems you can get SSD with which is good for gaming performance!

SSD won't be for gaming. It will be for OS. I have found out that SSD doesn't have much impact on games as once the game is loaded, it's all good.

I will get a PSU from Tier 2 or Tier 3 of the PSU list.

I am not planning to cross-fire.

 

[lucas_7_94]

Yeah why not, both i'm sure they will do the job fine at your resolution, and for your SDD, yes, only OS will be plenty fine. With 500W that build will work, enjoy the building.

And remember, you need DDR4 RAM!

 

[IceMyth]

Hi,

For the 2 builds, both almost the same.
For the CPU: http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-6700-vs-Intel-Core-i5-6600 (the different in score is 0.4, not big deal)
For the MB: IT doesnt support CrossFire incase you decided in the future to get a 2nd GPU.
: DDR3 can be a bit costly in the future if you decide to add more. So I would suggest either get 16GB or replace it with DDR4 MB.
For the GPU: Since you want to get RX 480, if you have access to 3rd party GPUs (They will have different Fans: 2-fans or more) then it is a good idea otherwise I would suggest to wait for that for better cooling.

Note: If you dont get at least Bronze Certified PSU you might have problems in term of power consumption, but will depend on the build & Case & cooling!

Lastly I would go with Build 1 as seems you can get SSD with which is good for gaming performance!

SSD won't be for gaming. It will be for OS. I have found out that SSD doesn't have much impact on games as once the game is loaded, it's all good.

I will get a PSU from Tier 2 or Tier 3 of the PSU list.

I am not planning to cross-fire.

Exactly having the OS on the SSD, but not all games files will load. There are trailers and other things will load as the game progress. But OS on SSD is the right thing.

For the PSU, I found this link which is very helpful.
http://www.corsair.com/en/blog/2012/august/80-plus-platinum-what-does-it-mean-and-what-is-the-benefit-to-me

Regards,

 

[nzrajput]

Hi,

For the 2 builds, both almost the same.
For the CPU: http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-6700-vs-Intel-Core-i5-6600 (the different in score is 0.4, not big deal)
For the MB: IT doesnt support CrossFire incase you decided in the future to get a 2nd GPU.
: DDR3 can be a bit costly in the future if you decide to add more. So I would suggest either get 16GB or replace it with DDR4 MB.
For the GPU: Since you want to get RX 480, if you have access to 3rd party GPUs (They will have different Fans: 2-fans or more) then it is a good idea otherwise I would suggest to wait for that for better cooling.

Note: If you dont get at least Bronze Certified PSU you might have problems in term of power consumption, but will depend on the build & Case & cooling!

Lastly I would go with Build 1 as seems you can get SSD with which is good for gaming performance!

SSD won't be for gaming. It will be for OS. I have found out that SSD doesn't have much impact on games as once the game is loaded, it's all good.

I will get a PSU from Tier 2 or Tier 3 of the PSU list.

I am not planning to cross-fire.

Exactly having the OS on the SSD, but not all games files will load. There are trailers and other things will load as the game progress. But OS on SSD is the right thing.

For the PSU, I found this link which is very helpful.
http://www.corsair.com/en/blog/2012/august/80-plus-platinum-what-does-it-mean-and-what-is-the-benefit-to-me

Regards,

I guess you haven't read the PSU Tier List: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

 

[nzrajput]

Yeah why not, both i'm sure they will do the job fine at your resolution, and for your SDD, yes, only OS will be plenty fine. With 500W that build will work, enjoy the building.

And remember, you need DDR4 RAM!

Oh, I see. You mean Motherboard which supports DDR3L are costly than DDR4 one.

Your suggestion is going with the 1st Build? 6500 or 6400 or 6600?

 

[IceMyth]

Hi,

For the 2 builds, both almost the same.
For the CPU: http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-6700-vs-Intel-Core-i5-6600 (the different in score is 0.4, not big deal)
For the MB: IT doesnt support CrossFire incase you decided in the future to get a 2nd GPU.
: DDR3 can be a bit costly in the future if you decide to add more. So I would suggest either get 16GB or replace it with DDR4 MB.
For the GPU: Since you want to get RX 480, if you have access to 3rd party GPUs (They will have different Fans: 2-fans or more) then it is a good idea otherwise I would suggest to wait for that for better cooling.

Note: If you dont get at least Bronze Certified PSU you might have problems in term of power consumption, but will depend on the build & Case & cooling!

Lastly I would go with Build 1 as seems you can get SSD with which is good for gaming performance!

SSD won't be for gaming. It will be for OS. I have found out that SSD doesn't have much impact on games as once the game is loaded, it's all good.

I will get a PSU from Tier 2 or Tier 3 of the PSU list.

I am not planning to cross-fire.

Exactly having the OS on the SSD, but not all games files will load. There are trailers and other things will load as the game progress. But OS on SSD is the right thing.

For the PSU, I found this link which is very helpful.
http://www.corsair.com/en/blog/2012/august/80-plus-platinum-what-does-it-mean-and-what-is-the-benefit-to-me

Regards,

I guess you haven't read the PSU Tier List: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

On the contrary, I bought my EVGA Platinum 80+ based on it. I had before Corsair Builder Series CX 430 Watt ATX/EPS 80 Plus Certified Power Supply but didnt last more than 45days then had to return it as the fan started to make noise. Maybe because it was defective one but after I got the EVGA 5+months and so happy. Here comes the Bronze, Silver,..... As their quieter and in my opinion they are made to last!

 

[lucas_7_94]

Yes, sorry, i know my english is terrible lol

Yes, again, first build, about the CPU, well, almost they're in the same range, i would go for 6500 or 6600. Depends of you.

 

[nzrajput]

Yes, sorry, i know my english is terrible lol

Yes, again, first build, about the CPU, well, almost they're in the same range, i would go for 6500 or 6600. Depends of you.

The problem is not your english. I was just confirming to make sure that I have understood it correctly.

You didn't mention about the "cheap" motherboards being fried and not the good ones.

 

[nzrajput]

I am thinking about going with the First build, i5 with SSD (Or may be without one) and probably 6500 instead of 6600, if it's not much of a difference.

Should I wait for Asus/Gigabyte to release RX 480 or should I just go with R9 380 4GB?

 

[lucas_7_94]

Wait aftermarket coolers.