Build Recommendations?

[Highwayman300]

I recently been trying to build a new pc, as all my gaming so far has been done in a 6 year old laptop, (Can't even run skyrim on low at 60) and since this will be my first time building, I wanted to see if anyone was wiling to share some recommendations.

Right now I am looking for something that can run some modern games at medium to high settings at least 50fps, 60 prefered, with little to no stuttering.

My main focus would be skyrim (With ENB + Script intensive mods) and Fallout 4.

 

I have a budget of about 500, but it can be expanded to 1k. I open to any suggestions, or current builds that you are currently using. I am completely new to this, so I know little to nothing about gaming builds.

 

[mark5916]

This is a configuration near $950 (inclusive OS)

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jPndyc

 

This PC will play all today games without problems, and i guess it will be sufficient enough for the next 3 years.

 

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This one comes near $740 (inclusive OS)

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vpgzJx

 

That's also a very good system with some sacrifices to make...as gaming concerns.

 

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And lasty this one comes near to $580 (inclusive OS)

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2TCDP6

 

But that's not a gaming PC for 1080P anymore...(at least not for the mods you wanna put into)

Edited December 11, 2015 by mark5916

[obobski]

I think $500 is a bit too optimistic, but you shouldn't have to spend *tons* more; something like this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/th7vBm

 

No OS selected since PartPicker seems to love Windows 10, so just bop over to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premium-System-Builder-Packaging/dp/B00H09BB16/ (you can get 7 Pro or 8.1 or 8.1 Pro or whatever - I'd avoid Win10 and make sure whatever you pick is 64-bit).

 

If you need more storage, make that change, if you can scav a DVD drive from somewhere, you can nix that part. As far as the rest, why I picked what I picked:

 

- Skyrim doesn't care about quad/octal/million-core CPUs and primarily wants good single-thread performance. I'm assuming Fallout 4 will follow suit, and that i3 will offer such performance in spades. It has HyperThreading so you get "up to" 4 threads, and for gaming I can't see it being much of a problem any which way. It's also cheaper and runs cooler than the i5/i7 chips.

 

- The 380 will run Fallout 4 on Ultra at respectable (40+ FPS) frame-rates per Guru3D's testing, and if you don't mind knocking a few settings down you can easily get the performance up to 60+ FPS (Skyrim will run maxed on older hardware than the 380, so it's not worth arguing about). (Source: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/fallout_4_pc_graphics_performance_benchmark_review,7.html ; it shouldn't be laggy based on this, but again you could probably put that over 60 FPS with a few settings changes - if your monitor is <1080p that would also boost performance (e.g. if your monitor is 1440x900 thats a lower resolution and will be less demanding on the card)).

 

- The ASRock board will save you a lot of coin and still accomplish what you want.

 

- The Ranger-M is a case I've used in the past and liked - it isn't expensive, it isn't flashy, but it is decently put together, simple to work with, and will hold an mATX system quite nicely.

 

- The Corsair PSU saves a lot of coin, and reviewed well at Tom's Hardware (source: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-review-80-plus-bronze,3587-4.html)

 

- The RAM I just went with whatever was cheapest (same for the hard-drive, within reason)

 

- Ditch the "boot SSD" - this isn't just a cost saving thing, it's more that it's a pointless component by itself. If you really want an SSD, get one that will hold all of your data (or at least all of your application data); this will raise the price but could be done if you can bump the budget up a bit (what will an SSD do for you? improve how fast Windows loads, may improve level load times in some games, no impact on computationally-bound tasks, frame-rate, etc)

 

Some other thoughts:

 

- You may want to seriously consider an aftermarket CPU cooler.

 

- If you have a legal Windows licence you can re-use, or are using Linux/BSD (some freeware OS) that can save you money.

 

- You may want to get different fans for the Ranger M, if you don't like the blue LED fan (e.g. you want different colors or somesuch) - really just down to preference there.

Edited December 11, 2015 by obobski

[Highwayman300]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Right now I am not too picky and I don't mind playing in lower resolutions.

I am used to playing skyrim in a pathetic 800x600 low res textures since it came out for PC, so I don't mind running FO4 at that resolution either as long as it runs at medium settings.

 

OS isn't an issue, I have access to several free copies of windows since my job provides them for free, and older OS are often left there for trusted employees to take.

Edited December 11, 2015 by Highwayman300

[obobski]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Right now I am not too picky and I don't mind playing in lower resolutions.

I am used to playing skyrim in a pathetic 800x600 low res textures since it came out for PC, so I don't mind running FO4 at that resolution either as long as it runs at medium settings.

 

OS isn't an issue, I have access to several free copies of windows since my job provides them for free, and older OS are often left there for trusted employees to take.

 

If you're okay with lower resolutions like that, you could even go cheaper than my build - knock the graphics card down a few more pegs and you'd still be fine at 800x600-1280x1024 range gaming. But the 380 will do it at 1080p (should be no question @ Ultra in Skyrim; Guru3D is showing it do Ultra in FO4 at ~50 FPS (I would regard that as fully playable but some people won't)).

Edited December 11, 2015 by obobski