Micro ATX build for girlfriend. HELP?

[hickery478]

Hey guys.

Girl friend wants a small compact overclockable upragradable build, that will run most games on full settings.

Budget is $600-700

 

[Theocnoob]

You're not going to be running at full settings on a $600-700 machine unless you're playing at 1280X720 unfortunately. If the $700 needs to include windows, or worse, a monitor, speakers, keybo, and mouse, the prospects get worse.

Lowest spec I'd go with for a gaming machine to be able to play at high/ultra settings at 1080P (and sometimes 1440P) would be something like an entry level i5 maybe an i5 6500, a cheap H110 motherboard, 16GB of RAM, maybe start off with a 250GB SSD and add a 1TB HDD later when funds allow. Round things out with an RX480 or GTX1060, a decent 500W power supply, and an affordable case.

 

[hickery478]

You're not going to be running at full settings on a $600-700 machine unless you're playing at 1280X720 unfortunately. If the $700 needs to include windows, or worse, a monitor, speakers, keybo, and mouse, the prospects get worse.

Lowest spec I'd go with for a gaming machine to be able to play at high/ultra settings at 1080P (and sometimes 1440P) would be something like an entry level i5 maybe an i5 6500, a cheap H110 motherboard, 16GB of RAM, maybe start off with a 250GB SSD and add a 1TB HDD later when funds allow. Round things out with an RX480 or GTX1060, a decent 500W power supply, and an affordable case.

Hey man cheers for the quick reply, the build will include windows and case. Not any other peripherals.
Basically just want
Case
Mobo
Cpu
Ssd
Hdd
Ram
Power supply
Gpu.

 

[Alaric]

And we're talking $700 AUS. While the SSD is nice, it isn't really needed for games. Otherwise, I think Theocnoob hit the minimum for the OP's stated goals. Depending on the games, 8 GB of RAM wouldn't be a hardship either.

 

[wingman99]

Would purchase GIGABYTE GA-Z170M-D3H for overclocking. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128845 I'm having a great time with my Z170 HD3.
i5 6600k for overclocking.

 

[Theocnoob]

And we're talking $700 AUS. While the SSD is nice, it isn't really needed for games. Otherwise, I think Theocnoob hit the minimum for the OP's stated goals. Depending on the games, 8 GB of RAM wouldn't be a hardship either.

Didn't notice that. With the AUS dollar being where it is, there is no hope in "heck" of making a gaming machine of any sort with $700, especially if that price includes windows 10. No way at all. Budget needs to go up about $500 AUS unfortunately.

Hickory where will you be buying parts? Do they have a website? Letting us see what prices you're dealing with will help us suggest some builds at various pricepoints. Also, do posted prices in Australia include tax/VAT? It helps to know these things so we can help.

 

[Jeff G]

Are you opposed to used or last gen gear? You can get some decent non-current gear that will play 1080p on high settings, especially if you browse used.
There was a thread a while back on older, yet still relevant CPU/motherboard combos that will get you gaming at 1080p for a decent price.

 

[ssjwizard]

I definitely think that looking at used components is worthwhile during this build, especially at this time of year. There are a lot of top end techies that are gobbling up the latest tech at great prices and offloading their current gear at spectacular discounts.

 

[Alaric]

Our Classified section may have some decently priced goodies as well. There is a 970, a 980, and 980Ti there now. There may be a RX 480 8 GB in the near future, too.

 

[ssjwizard]

I dont necessarily think that our classified section is going to be a great deal of help in this considering that he is located in AUS, but maybe.

 

[Alaric]

Doh! I forgot that. But if those prices are at all representative it could still be encouraging. A used 980 would fit nicely in the OP's goals.

 

[Mjolnir]

https://www.pccasegear.com/wish_lists/653974/Goodluck

This is about the best I could get in 750 with windows dude. I live in Aus too, you'll need to cough up a bit more cash if you want something to run things at 'full settings' (Resolution pending) Overclockable and upgradeable also don't really come into play here either.

SSD for speed, add a 1tb drive later for 70 bucks.

 

[Theocnoob]

https://www.pccasegear.com/wish_lists/653974/Goodluck

This is about the best I could get in 750 with windows dude. I live in Aus too, you'll need to cough up a bit more cash if you want something to run things at 'full settings' (Resolution pending) Overclockable and upgradeable also don't really come into play here either.

SSD for speed, add a 1tb drive later for 70 bucks.

That's a decent build (The PSU frightens me. Not your fault, Mjolnir. Budget is what it is). However I would opt for a 1TB HDD for the same price as that SSD you have included. 120GB is not enough space.
That setup will definitely not be playing games on ultra settings (except maybe DOTA2 and LOL) though. I think the OP needs to temper expectations or double the budget.

 

[Mjolnir]

That's a decent build (The PSU frightens me. Not your fault, Mjolnir. Budget is what it is). However I would opt for a 1TB HDD for the same price as that SSD you have included. 120GB is not enough space.
That setup will definitely not be playing games on ultra settings (except maybe DOTA2 and LOL) though. I think the OP needs to temper expectations or double the budget.

The PSU in the Thermaltake is 'okay enough' for low end builds that will pull sub 200 odd watts. We used it in builds for a long while and very rarely does the PSU go. Mostly with Pentium Dual Core/i3 builds and GTX 750 Ti or equiv cards. Never anything above a GTX 950 I think. (This was from my old work) and our technician was fairly content with that PSU. It's not the worst bundled PSU out there..

I agree with the 1TB, but I always try to get people on the SSD bandwagon, and add storage after your next pay haha.

 

[hickery478]

Thanks everyone for the replies, I like the sound of the $750 build from pccasegear, and to answer everyone else's question I'll be buying off pccasegear, if I take out the request for it to be an overclockable rig will that make things abit cheaper?

 

[Mjolnir]

It's already non-overclockable the unit I gave you. Overclockable makes it more. 1k will get you there maybe but you'd also be going to AMD, Or getting the cheapest Z170 board with a locked Intel chip and blck overclocking..

I think you need to realistically think about what you're trying to achieve and remember prices in Aus are way higher than US, but so is our min wage.. XD.

 

[Theocnoob]

Just to be clear that card is going to get you medium settings at 1080P with little or no AA/AF and in some games, low settings, to achieve 60FPS which most of the PC people feel is the minimum framerate for good times.
Some games can be run on high with that setup. Dota2, LOL, rocket league... TF2...

 

[Suppressor1137]

What I did was buy one part at a time per paycheck, and built a high end system over time. the benefit is new tech is comming out all the time, so your pc gets better for the money, and you don't compromise. this method has two drawbacks. You need enough knowledge to ensure part compatibility, and you don't get the pc up and running when the parts come in. buy cpu and Mobo last, psu case and ssd first. then hdd if you want. just a thought

 

[Theocnoob]

^That's never a good idea. Better parts come out all the time. It makes much more sense to actually save money (it's not that hard) and buy everything in one go to make sure that all the parts are the latest parts.