Best Gaming PC Bang for the Buck????

[HEYYOU]

I am helping my 14 year old nephew pick out a gaming PC. He is in the $700 range. I think he could go $800, if need be. I appreciate all input here. I am thinking in that price range at least a 4th gen i5, possibly an i7, with an Nvidia card.

I always think of the i7 as being a better processor, but am seeing many gamers use the i5 processor. Why is an i5 adequate for gaming? Does i5 ever have an advantage over an i7 for gaming? And of course I know that there are many sub-models of the i5 and i7, so a higher end i5 could be better than a lower model of an i7.

What is the best i5 he could get in that price range? I am all about buying Manufacturer Refurbished with a 1 year warranty, which allows more specs for the money.

Perhaps I do not understand how threads and cores relate to each other and how they relate to gaming.

What other aspects for gaming is needed to focus on other than the processor and video card? Most will come with at least 8 GB RAM and RAM is cheap to add anyway, down the road if need be.

Thank you for all replies : D

 

[Mandrake4565]

Assuming he will be playing at 1080p resolutions or less I put this build together. As far as the i7 vs i5 most games do not utilize more then 4 cores, in the future this will likely change but for now the i5 is a plenty good processor. I find choosing a case is a personal choice so I just picked the NZXT to have it in there.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/YWcpXL

 

[HEYYOU]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, he is using a 1080p screen, perhaps 2 screens. I was wondering about 4K screens.

So, it is best to get a higher end i5 than a similarly priced i7? Hyperthreading is not needed then? Is your build up and running? How would you rate the performance? Does it handle pretty much any game? I do know that is a highly regarded graphics card, which is good of course. At which point does someone need liquid cooling? Thanks!

What are all these specs and are they included in the $804.07 total?

Mountain Mods U2-UFO Duality/ Asus Crosshair V Formula----------Silverstone TJ07/ Asus Maximus Hero VI Z87
Amd FX 8350 @ 4.7/ Msi GTX 780 Lightning---------------------------Intel I7-4770K/ Evga GTX 980 K|ngp|n
OCZ Vertex 4 128g SSD/ Windows 7 64bit-----------------------------Samsung Evo SSD/ Windows 7
G-Skill Sniper X 4g @ 1866/ Cooler Master SP 1000------------------G-Skill Ripjaw 2133/ Seasonic X-650w
EK Supreme HF/ Thermochill PA 120.3---------------------------------Custom Benching Loop
Dual Laing D5 Vario/ Koolance Rp-452X2
BitFenix Spectre Pro 6 X 120mm

 

[Mandrake4565]

The build is the partpicker link in my post above. Underneath is what pc's I'm currently running, nothing to do with your original question. If he is planning on gaming on 2 1080p screens he may need a bit more horsepower in the graphics card to do so. 4k is simply out of the question at this price point. You would likely be looking at about $1,000 in graphic cards alone. The build I put together is about as high end as you're going to get at the $800.00 price point.

 

[HEYYOU]

What if I can find a Refurbished desktop on Ebay like yours with the Intel I7-4770K/ Evga GTX 980? Wouldn't it be a better performer, even though it is a 4th gen i7, whereas the i5 6500 is a 6th gen i5 (I assume)? I am not opposed to doing a build, as he had expressed interest in doing so, but I am concerned about never having done it before, reading about static and such. Doesn't seem like it would be that hard, assuming towers have slots ready to go.

 

[Mandrake4565]

I'm not really sure what something such as the i7 4770k/ Gtx 980 would go for used. Saying the i7 4770k is a better processor isn't as easy as yes or no. Yes it is because it's base and turbo clock speeds are a bit higher then the I5 6500. Though the i5 6500 is newer architecture and is slightly faster clock for clock then the 4770k, so it may be a wash. If the games he plays doesn't use more then 4 cores then, he likely will not see a difference between the two. There is one thing that makes me lean towards the 4770k with a Z97 motherboard and that is, it's an unlocked chip. Which will allow it to be overclocked, if down the road he needs a bit more performance. The I5 6500 with a H170 board is for all intensive purposes a locked processor. Therefore, it will not be able to Oc or very little. The unlocked Intel processors are designated with a K after the number, they also tend to hold their value longer then the locked processors. Just an FYI, if you're looking at used components, my 12 yr old has a i5 2500k/Z77 setup and he games on it without any issues. He plays Minecraft, COD, BF4 and a few others on it without a hiccup. If he needed another setup and I was looking at the same price point of $800.00 I wouldn't hesitate in buying the setup I posted for him. That all said, if you're really interested in getting a i7 4770k or 4790k setup for him have a look through ebay and post what you find for him. I'll have a look at it and let you know what I think.

Building it yourself is fairly easy as long as you have some patience and planning. I'm constantly swapping out parts on my benching Pc's and have never had an issue with static. If you're concerned about it just make sure you touch a metal surface and ground yourself, before you pick up any of the parts.

 

[wingman99]

My i5 2500k GTX 970 is able to run BF4 and crysis 3 at 1080 p ultra settings. So he will be fine with i7- 4770k and GTX 960 or GTX 970.

 

[HEYYOU]

As for overclocking, is that something a computer does on it's own or a tweak by the user? Always wondered about that. He really is an advanced gamer, has been playing for years, so not sure if he needs more than 4 cores or not - I have no reference as I do not game on a PC. Is this where hyperthreading comes in?

Just read somewhere that for today's games you want at least a 2G video card. Seems reasonable. Good to know what the "K" designation means, as I wondered about that. Also, is there any difference between buying a computer not designated as a "gaming" computer, as long as specs are equal?

I am looking at Manufacturer Refurbished too, not Used, as they come with the same warranty as new. My Lenovo laptop was refurbed, had a one year warranty, I've bought many electronics, TV's, etc and have had no issues at all, they usually look brand new.

I did not see an i7 4770k in his price range. I did stumble across these, below. Interesting that the 2nd link has a high end graphics card and not so much on the processors. I have read that a processor with a "U" means it is an Ultrabook, not as good. Not sure what that means.

Thanks for your help.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015JVENHA/ref=psdc_565098_t2_B00K0HMX12

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...oltTwaAqdV8P8HAQ&Q=&ap=y&m=Y&is=REG&A=details

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...kmqvoaAmrf8P8HAQ&Q=&ap=y&m=Y&is=REG&A=details

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This seems like a great deal, but the benchmark on the processor is not very high.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1170349-REG/cyberpowerpc_gamer_ultra_gua550_gaming.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...c_gamer_ultra_gua550_gaming.html/prm/alsVwDtl

And these too:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Envy-750...922767?hash=item5b1e552e0f:g:zkUAAOSwAYtWMlO2

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-DELL-XP...774395?hash=item3d02c9a4bb:g:E04AAOSw-vlVh5n6

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And these too:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Envy-750-...UAAOSwAYtWMlO2

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-DELL-XPS...4AAOSw-vlVh5n6

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Thanks

This is the link my nephew sent me earlier today. I looked at the processor and the benchmarks were not very good. What do you think?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181934701246

AMD Athlon X4 860K Black Edition 4000MHZ 4MB 95W FM2+ Processor is able to overclock, giving you added control over the performance of your system. The Athlon X4 860K Black Edition Quad-Core Processor produces great performance and the ability to boost from 3.7GHz to 4.0GHz.

Graphics Card:

Nvidia GTX 750 2GB DDR5 PCI Express 3.0 CrossFireX Support Video Card

Two HDMI Ports

Two DVI ports

8gb DDR 3 1600 MHZ Memory

1TB Hard Drive 7200 RPM

6 USB 2.0 Ports

2 USB 3.0 Ports

DVD RW Drive- SATA

WIFI ADAPTER

600 Watt PSU

Okay, he said he needs to be at $700.00. I think this is an excellent deal. Anything wrong with this one? I think it is a much better computer than the one he sent me - included below the Dell XPS link. I do not think that AMD processor is very good, according to benchmarks.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-XPS-87...287565?hash=item4aecac30cd:g:8RMAAOSw9N1Vkf0e

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181934701246

 

[Mandrake4565]

As for overclocking, is that something a computer does on it's own or a tweak by the user? Always wondered about that. He really is an advanced gamer, has been playing for years, so not sure if he needs more than 4 cores or not - I have no reference as I do not game on a PC. Is this where hyperthreading comes in?

Done by the user and in most cases he doesn't need more then 4 cores.

I am looking at Manufacturer Refurbished too, not Used, as they come with the same warranty as new.

I have no issue with you buying refurbished equipment, just keep a close eye on the Gpu not many Pc's have a higher end Gpu meant for gaming.

Ok looked through all of the links. The only one I'd consider for a gaming computer is the Cyberpower setup. That said the setup I put together will make for a better gaming Pc then the Cyberpower. In gaming 90% of the time the Gpu is more important then the Cpu. Not to say the cpu isn't important but back to the whole i7 vs i5 he's much better off with an i5 and a good Gpu vs a i7 and a budget Gpu.

AMD vs Intel is a debate that will go on forever bottom line is the X4 860K with a GTX 750 will not even come close to the i5 6500 GTX 960 in performance.

If he has to be at $700 and no more I'll put another build together. Do you happen to live near a Microcenter and are you totally against building it yourself? If so I'll only look at pre built setups. I will say you will get a lot more bang for you buck building it yourself.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HpTLMp
This is about as good as he's going to do for $700.00 new. I game on a very similar setup without issue.

 

[Maxvla]

A Skylake i3 6100is more than enough for a budget gaming rig. Check this video where they compare an older I5 2500k stock vs the i3 6100. The FPS is more than enough on those demanding games.

i3 6100 is about $120, half the price of the i5 and in the range of the higher end AMD chips.