build for a friend recommendations

[Dpg3456]

Hello all,

I have a friend who wants to get into PC gaming and is switching from console to computer. He is joining the PC master race and I want to make sure he is getting the performance he needs without spending more than necessary. So he will be using the computer for mainly gaming. Games such as Arma 3, Fallout 4, Battlefield 1, Skyrim 2, GTA 5 with a bunch of mods. He is looking to spend around 1000 but can go up to 1500 if totally necessary. But prefers the lower of the two. He will also need peripherals but can find a cheapy mouse for right now. The machine won't be overclocked or anything and my friend isn't into computers to the point where he will be changing vcore or anything.

All help is a appreciated. Links of pcpartpicker list will do more than suffice.

 

[trents]

The budget (and especially because it must include peripherals) will present some challenges and necessitate some compromises, particularly with regard to the GPU.

AMD Ryzen 1600 is my recommendation for the CPU.

Nvidia 1080 FTW for video card.

 

[Dpg3456]

Here is where I am at but I don't think he really needs a 1080. Perhaps a 580? And does he need that many cores? Would a 1500x be okay?

I am thinking around this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tLyGRG

 

[trents]

Yeah, a 1500x would be a good choice and so would the Rx 580. The 1500x will be roughly the equivalent of the i5 6600k. Concerning the cores, however, there is a tendency for games to be coded more and more so as to be able to take advantage of many cores in the CPU. There is a slow march in that direction so if there is room for a little future proofing with this budget . . .

The Rx 580 is roughly the equivalent of the Nvidia GTX 1060, maybe a tad better. The most important component in any gaming system is the video card.

And he won't need an aftermarket cooler if he is not going to overclock the CPU. So some money to be saved there.

Make sure you check the motherboard company's QVC list for the RAM. There have been lots of issues with people not being able to run high speed memory at full speed with the Ryzen's so far. Particularly with RAM not on the QVC list. That will probably get worked out in time with bios updates but no sense starting with issues out of the gate.

The rest of the choices in the Parspicker list look good to me.

 

[ssjwizard]

Try this on for size

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mCtMd6

 

[Dpg3456]

Okay here is what he have right now. I went with intel just becuase of AMD's short comings at the moment.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fhGyTH

 

[||Console||]

I would suggest a 500 gig ssd even if he had to drop the mass storage for now

 

[trents]

I would suggest a 500 gig ssd even if he had to drop the mass storage for now

I second that.

- - - Updated - - -

I certainly would not go with a 6600k over a 7600k. You said your friend was not going to be overclocking and the 7600k has a considerably higher stock clock frequency right out of the box. And the price is about the same.

 

[Dpg3456]

Okay. I agree but i need to convince my friend that its necessary. Can you tell me why? Also, here is the final list we have. The only thing not included is case since is really based on preference. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RxjmHN

 

[Bluefalcon13]

Okay. I agree but i need to convince my friend that its necessary. Can you tell me why? Also, here is the final list we have. The only thing not included is case since is really based on preference. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RxjmHN

He already did. Significantly higher base clock speed. Since your friend isn't going to overclock, base clock are rather important.

 

[Dpg3456]

No not the CPU. I meant the 240 vs 500 gb SSD. I understand CPU. And I think he should go 500gb too but I need to convince him why.

 

[ssjwizard]

If you were to switch the storage configuration to what I have on my parts list you would only spend a total of $20 more for double the storage space on both the SSD and HDD

 

[Dpg3456]

I didn't see your update. I'll look when I get home.

 

[Bluefalcon13]

No not the CPU. I meant the 240 vs 500 gb SSD. I understand CPU. And I think he should go 500gb too but I need to convince him why.

Easy. Computer is for games right? Way more games fit on a 500gb ssd than a 250. I do ALOT of uninstalling to install games these days cause I only have the 256gb for Windows.

 

[Dpg3456]

Easy. Computer is for games right? Way more games fit on a 500gb ssd than a 250. I do ALOT of uninstalling to install games these days cause I only have the 256gb for Windows.

Fair enough. I'll tell him

 

[Dpg3456]

Try this on for size

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mCtMd6

How are those SSD? And what's the warranty on them?

 

[ssjwizard]

I have an ADATA 110Gb sanforce based SSD in my laptop that has served me extremely well since like 2011 or 2012 and its still fully functional and has hardly suffered any speed loss. I also built my buddy a system with a PH-II and an ADATA 120GB SSD around the same time and it is also still up and chugging along. They are a good brand, just not as well known. Im not sure on the warranty Id assume 12 months.

 

[trents]

From the data I have seen, SSDs have no higher failure rate than spinner hard drives. They generally last for years as long as you aren't frequently doing unnecessary things like defragging and chkdsk operations.

 

[Dpg3456]

Okay. Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[trents]

SSD longevity is negatively affected by excessive reading and writing activity and even then you really have to work on it to really make much impact. That's what I meant in my last post.