Suggested Gaming PC for $1,200

[tm2dragon]

I have a $1,200 budget and a desire to play the HELL out of "Fallout 4" with a solid FPS rate on at LEAST the High graphical setting. Also, I'm not all that great at Computers. ^_^; I'm up for any and all suggestions, whether they be a pre-made system or a custom build! So, thoughts?

[DoctorKaizeld]

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/bCXGTW

 

start there. im not great with computers but that can run Fallout 4 pretty well. i am looking at the same budget for a new PC myself so if someone is willing to throw some 'upgrades' to the parts listed as suggestions we can kill two birds with one stone, a kidney, a spleen, and one arm.

 

[RS13]

The thing with building a PC (or buying a custom one) is that there are a ton of options. It can be rather overwhelming if you haven't done it before. And it also makes it difficult to provide suggestions, especially since I don't know exactly what you want or how "not great" at computers you are.

 

So let's start with the basics: the most important parts of a gaming PC is the graphics card (or GPU) followed (at some distance) by the processor (or CPU). With most everything else the primary goal is to get stuff that's (A) compatible with what you've got and (B) good enough. While it might be tempting to cram 32 gb of the fastest DDR4 ram into your PC, you'd be better off settling for 8 gb of good enough ram and using that extra hundred bucks to buy a better graphics card. Do not, however, settle for disreputable stuff, especially where the power supply is concerned. If it dies, it can take other components with it.

As for compatibility, the big thing is to make sure that your motherboard supports the CPU's socket type and whichever type of ram (DDR4 or DDR3) you go in for. The other important thing is to make sure that your power supply can provide adequate power for your system. (You should probably get a power supply that provides a little bit more than you need, but not more than, say, 100W over.)

 

For more specific reqs, if all you want is to play Fallout 4 on high with solid fps, a GTX 1060 should be more than enough. If you want to build the absolute most powerful PC you can afford, you can probably get yourself a 1070 and still have enough left over for a pretty good CPU and good enough other parts. That will require a little bit more thrift, through. (You could also go AMD, I usually stick with NVidia because I'm used to their stuff and more games seem to play nice with Nvidia cards than AMD cards. At any rate, I don't know what to recommend on that side of the great GPU divide, so I'll stick with what I know.) I don't have any particular recommendations on CPUs, but Tom's Hardware came out with their reqs just two months ago.: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-cpus,3986.html.

[Erik005]

This always helps me.

 

https://us.hardware.info/pcbuyersguide

 

One of the first questions you must ask yourself is what kind of screen are you going to use.

 

If you are going for 1080p a gtx 1060 will be enough, for 1440p you will need more power.

Edited September 8, 2016 by Erik005

[FMod]

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/bCXGTW

start there. im not great with computers but that can run Fallout 4 pretty well. i am looking at the same budget for a new PC myself so if someone is willing to throw some 'upgrades' to the parts listed as suggestions we can kill two birds with one stone, a kidney, a spleen, and one arm.

This needs some changes.

Rather than list them one by one, here's some better options.

 

Option 1 - Trying to keep almost the same price: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/gvGfyf

This is actually cheaper, but will blow the other one out of the water.

 

Option 2 - below $1,000: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/pWqkJV

 

Option 3 - below the stated $1,200 budget: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/pWqkJV

Note: The GTX 1060 6GB is actually better than the RX480. But RX480+Freesync-enabled display gives you Freesync, which is worth some loss. If you don't need it, 1060 all the way.

 

Option 4 - somewhat above $1,200: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/BFD89W

The price is higher mostly due to an ultra-wide display. 1920x1080 is OK, but for $1,200+ you can afford to get a nicer screen. Windows 10 really expects a higher than 1920x1080 resolution.

 

If you don't like ultra-wides, take this instead: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/6RJkcf/aoc-monitor-q2778vqe

Or: http://pcpartpicker.com/product/Rk98TW/aoc-monitor-u2879vf

This is a 4K screen, so only old games will run in full resolution. You can always drive it at 2560x1440 or even 1920x1080 for gaming, with a high-res desktop.

 

 

And Option 5 - if you want to upgrade things other than the screen: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/GsD89W

 

Yes, this is a lot more. But it's not a package deal. Feel free to pick what you feel is worth upgrading - think of it as an answer to, "If I wanted to spend more on part X, what would I buy?"

 

You'll notice I've also added a keyboard (mechanical - not for everyone, have to be kept away from even a hint of liquid) and a mouse. (On that: a Sensei RAW for $34 is almost too good to be true. But it seems true - so take it while it's on sale. Unless you have a high-end mouse already, you won't regret it, this is a mouse that fits everyone.)

[iXenite]

This is a bit above $1200 USD, but should be a fairly solid build. It does not include the cost of an OS or any peripherals.

 

 

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($227.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H110M Gaming Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($69.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1080 8GB STRIX Video Card ($629.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($78.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Other: Fractal Design Define S Black Window Silent ATX Midtower Computer Case ($89.99)
Total: $1241.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-11 15:59 EDT-0400

 

 

 

EDIT:

If an OS and monitor and all of that stuff is really required, you could probably go for something like this. It's under budget this time as well. Pretty sure this build should be okay.

 

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($227.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG C7 40.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($137.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GT OC Video Card ($249.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($78.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($88.88 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair SP120 57.2 CFM 120mm Fan ($12.79 @ Newegg)
Monitor: HP 22cwa 21.5" 60Hz Monitor ($115.42 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Razer Deathstalker Essential Wired Gaming Keyboard ($57.98 @ PCM)
Mouse: Razer Taipan Wired Laser Mouse ($57.58 @ Amazon)
Total: $1184.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-11 16:32 EDT-0400

 

 

Edited September 11, 2016 by DaddyDirection

[FMod]

Not to argue unnecessarily, but I would caution:

 

1) The GTX 1080 is overkill for ordinary 1920x1080 screens. 1060 and 1070 are much better for the money and will perform nearly indistinguishably in any realistic scenario. In the long run, all three will be obsoleted simultaneously (when pure DX12 games dominate the market).

 

2) A solid state drive makes a massive difference in how the system boots and how some highly demanding games run. It's much easier to add a storage drive to a system later on than to migrate its key software to a SSD. Today, the best option is to buy a low price/GB SSD on the larger end of what your budget affords, run it with NTFS compression, and later, when you need more space, add a hard drive.

 

With gaming displays, bigger is better as long as it fits on your desk. Also, within the same size, brighter is better. Matte is better unless you're in a basement/attic/cave. At a minimum, you want a 24"+, 300+ cd/m^2, preferably VA or IPS screen. The HP above fails all three criteria.

 

(Actually, you want a 32"+, 450+ cd/m^2 screen, but these do cost extra. Though they're worth it much more so than any other part of your system - you'll be looking at your screen 99% of the time, any other part a fraction of that remaining 1%.)

[tm2dragon]

Here is what a local computer builder quoted me for a $1,246 build. Does this look reasonable, or could I do better? I'm also SLIGHTLY worried about somehow being conned, do to my lack of knowledge........cause I have no clue what ANY of this means!

 

Custom Micra ATX case for $70

ATX 12V 450W Power Supply for $45

Z170 LGA 1150 ATX for $159

Intel Core i7 6700K 4Ghz for $369

CoolerMaster Universal for $35

250GB SSD for $99

DVDRW 22x - SATA for $30

Windows 10 Professional OEM 64 for $160

Geforce GTX 1060 for $279

Edited September 14, 2016 by tm2dragon

[BlackRoseOfThorns]

Here is what a local computer builder quoted me for a $1,246 build. Does this look reasonable, or could I do better? I'm also SLIGHTLY worried about somehow being conned, do to my lack of knowledge........cause I have no clue what ANY of this means!

 

Custom Micra ATX case for $70

ATX 12V 450W Power Supply for $45

Z170 LGA 1150 ATX for $159

Intel Core i7 6700K 4Ghz for $369

CoolerMaster Universal for $35

250GB SSD for $99

DVDRW 22x - SATA for $30

Windows 10 Professional OEM 64 for $160

Geforce GTX 1060 for $279

 

That's a bad deal... Where do I strart?

 

 

1.246$ and only gtx 1060? Gtx brand and model was not listed? >_>

 

Micro ATX PC case for normal ATX build? LOL!!! No details on the model... It will either be incopatible with motherboard or you will be able to cook your dinner on the parts inside. To build in such small case you need to know how and which cooling solution to pick.

 

No additional fans? Unless you have spare ones at home you should buy some.

 

450W PSU is too week for rig with high end GPU and CPU that can be overclocked. He is probably just trying to squeeze small parts into micro ATX case. He doesn't even list brand or model, which is extremely fishy. Bad PSU can impact your cpu stability and permamently damage your pc parts. There are quality tiers for power consumtion like bronze / silver / gold / platinum, but sometimes you will find uncertified psu model or one that faked certification (sent cherry picked sample with different parts). That's why you have to research the model you're buying.

 

He shouldn't put DVDRW on the list, unless you request it (everyone uses usb flash memory in this age, 32gb costs like 10$).

 

No SSD brand? This is crucial when picking your main drive for operating system and primary games. He can scam you with some underperforming drive and make you pay like for renown brand. Samsung EVO 250GB costs ~99$.

 

No Motherboard model? He can be as well selling you barenbones platform worth 80$. ~200$ is the enthusiast range with bells and whistles. You should stick to metherboards inbetween 100$ - 140$ (ASUS Z170-A for 137$ already includes additional usefull features).

 

Where is the RAM?

 

You can get Windows 10 Home for 90$, Pro is 160$. Do you even need it? Don't you have like a spare licensce key at home (when you buy the box version you get a key you can use 3 times within your household) or maybe you can transfer it from old PC to new one (if you're selling/trashing old rig)? You can buy Windows key on the internet (Newegg / Amazon) anytime.

 

Why i7 6700k cpu (most expensive gaming model) when he tries to sell you 1060 gpu that won't be able to push it? You could get i5 6600k for 230$ and invest 140$ you save into a better gpu. If you want i7 6700k that badly (for video editing, etc), stretch your budget to get at least gtx 1070.

Going i5 6600k > i7 6700k gives about 5-10% performance increase in hyperethread optimized games, but costs +50%. It might be harder overclocking i5 from 3.5GHz to 4.5GHz than i7 from 4.0GHz to 4.5GHz, but it's doable with a good sample (silicon roullette).

 

 

Run like hell from that shop. We already had a person with mini ATX case asking for help last week. She decided to go with new pc, because what the guy at the store sold her was unusable. Here is a build I put together for her and tweaked a bit to fit better your needs. 1.226$ without Windows 10 and additional HDD. It's possible to cut corners to fit those too, if that's what you need.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/8k3GPs

 

 

~EDIT~

I have no clue what ANY of this means!

 

I just remembered I made small guide in other thread.

 

 

 

 

Ok, I will try to explain some basic stuff and compare products in this post, so it will be easier for you to get the hang of it.

 

 

DaddyDirection's build is solid. However since you will keep some parts from your old PC, you will be able to save a bit and make few better upgrades.

 

~CPU~

I was also going to recommend i5-6600k. The price dropped since it was released and the performance per $ ratio is decent. It's only 10$ more expensive than non K version.

All CPU models with K letter following the name can be overclocked (OC) and hold the value for much longer time than their basic non OC versions.

It's important to pick the right CPU, because each CPU series requires different motherboard and you will be stuck with the combo for a long time. i5-6600k needs LGA 1151 socket on the motherboard to slot it.

 

~Motherboar (Mobo) and RAM~

For overclockable LGA 1151 CPU you need decent Z170 type motherboard. You can find the motherboard type in the Specifications section on sites like Newegg. This type of motherboard also allows you to install DDR4 RAM with higher frequencies/speed through a Bios tweak called XMP profile. It's as simple as selecting your RAM type in option menu (takes about 30sec to do it). It's best to stick to well known RAM brands, which are on your motherboards compability list.

2133mhz DDR4 RAM doesn't need XMP tweak on Z170 motherboards. Anything higher than that will run at 2133 untill you configure XMP.

Also remember that new Z170 motherboards and i5-6600k CPU works only with new DDR 4 memory, so don't buy old DDR 3 by mistake.

 

~Storage Drive~

You already have 1TB HDD for storage. This leaves some money that can be spent on much faster SSD. It's crucial for games with long loading times like modded Skyrim. As a bonus your Windows and all other programs installed on it will boot/start two times faster. 250GB SSD costs up to 100$.

 

~DVD Drive~

Nowadays you don't really need it. You can download everything you need from the internet and save it on usb flash drive. Even Windows OS has this option. I have one external Blue-Ray drive, which I have used maybe once in last 2.5 years. Unless you have bunch of DVDs you are still using, I wouldn't bother with it. You can keep the old Dell drive, if you really want to.

 

~PSU~

I would keep your Corsair PSU for now. It's a cheap model, not the greatest quality, but there isn't anything alarming about it. Wait till some nice PSU goes on 33%+ sale.

 

~GPU~

Gtx 1060 is your bang for buck card. However Gtx 1070 will last you for longer time with it's +40% performance. This will mean that a game that runs @43fps with Gtx 1060, will run @60fps with Gtx 1070 as long as your cpu is fast enough.

I'm not sure if you are familiar with a term like "bottlenecking". It means that one part in your system is holding back the whole machine. A poor CPU will hold back good GPU, because it has to handle all the data. The higher the FPS the more work for CPU. Besides that there are a lot more task the CPU has to do when running the game. If you pick weak CPU your future GPU upgrades might be problematic.

 

-Evga GPU brand has the best warranty. They accept all RMA (Return merchandise authorization) -that weren't users fault- without any problems. With other brands you might be forced to work it out with their customer service. Their cards are tiny bit more expensive than competitors.

-ASUS is somewhere in the middle ground when it comes to product quality and RMA, it depends on specific item (their ROG monitors are problematic).

-MSI has a very good quality past last few years, but it's better to handle their RMAs through the shop where you bought the card than to send it to the main company.

-Gigabyte tries to push out high spec cards at low price, but it tends to lead to problems like a coil whine sound comming from the GPU. It might happend to any brand, though it's more common with certain Gigabyte models. Also there are many who dislike their RMA and customer service.

 

All the brands offer 2-3 tiers of the same card model. Higher priced models will usually have different cooling solutions and be overclocked (OC -overclocked / SC - superclocked). Sometimes you will find same GPU model but with different GDDR5 memory amount. For example there is 3GB and 5GB Gtx 1060 version.

 

The most quiet GPUs:

ASUS Strix (Gtx 1070 link)

MSI Gaming (Gtx 1070 link)

The fans won't start untill the card reaches 60 degrees. It can be changed with included fan profile tool/program. The performance is almost exactly the same.

 

~PC Case~

Why I would go with Fractal Design S Mid Tower instead cheaper Corsair Mid Tower.

-Corsair comes only with 1x 120mm fan and you have to buy second yourself.

Corsair 50.00$ case + ~13.00$ for second fan = 63.00$ (without any Promo) vs Fractal with 2 bigger fans for 80$

120mm fans are louder than 140mm ones (requires higher speed to push out the same amount of air).

-Padding inside the case for noise reduction.

-You can fit more fans inside.

Has 7x 140mm fan slots, 1x 140/120mm bottom slot + 1x 140mm with the windowless model.

-Dust filter on the bottom is longer, allowing you installing 140/120mm fan right before small PSU box. Helps a ton with cooling.

-Frontal dust filter is easier to clean.

-2x 3.0 USB or the front vs Corsair 1x 2.0(slow) + 1x 3.0

 

Both cases are good so decide which one has better value for you.

 

~Windows OS~

Windows 7 is a lot better for modding old DirectX9 games. Win8/12 currently has a bug limiting old DX9 games to 4GB VRAM. If you have Win7 license key, keep it.

 

 

~Skyrim PC build TIPS~

When you go to other sites for help with your first real PC, you will get confornted with common reasoning "If you play at 1920x1080p resolution, you don't need powerful machine". It is true for optimized games. In other titles you don't have true open world. Everything is created in rooms or small locations, where developers can control how many objects are displayed on your screen, reducing GPU/CPU stress. With games like Witcher 3 and especially modded Skyrim/Fallout you will get huge FPS dips in some areas. Unfortunately you have to compensate for it with hardware that can run 1440p or lower game details and limit mod quality/amount severly. Bethesda games require very strong CPUs, due to their engine design (shadows are CPU bound). While weaker CPU could get you by with other games, it will be a limiting factor for Skyrim. Even my i7 quad @4.5GHZ has problems with modded 64bit Fallout 4 and I had to install mod controlling shadow distance based on FPS. Mods adding more objects, NPCs, script will slow down your game, introducing input and AI lag, if the CPU gets overhelmed. There is no hardware overkill when it comes to Bethesda's games. Skyrim with ENB runs better on Quad Core (4 physical core) CPUs.

 

 

Edited September 16, 2016 by BlackRoseOfThorns

[iXenite]

Not to argue unnecessarily, but I would caution:

 

1) The GTX 1080 is overkill for ordinary 1920x1080 screens. 1060 and 1070 are much better for the money and will perform nearly indistinguishably in any realistic scenario. In the long run, all three will be obsoleted simultaneously (when pure DX12 games dominate the market).

 

2) A solid state drive makes a massive difference in how the system boots and how some highly demanding games run. It's much easier to add a storage drive to a system later on than to migrate its key software to a SSD. Today, the best option is to buy a low price/GB SSD on the larger end of what your budget affords, run it with NTFS compression, and later, when you need more space, add a hard drive.

 

With gaming displays, bigger is better as long as it fits on your desk. Also, within the same size, brighter is better. Matte is better unless you're in a basement/attic/cave. At a minimum, you want a 24"+, 300+ cd/m^2, preferably VA or IPS screen. The HP above fails all three criteria.

 

(Actually, you want a 32"+, 450+ cd/m^2 screen, but these do cost extra. Though they're worth it much more so than any other part of your system - you'll be looking at your screen 99% of the time, any other part a fraction of that remaining 1%.)

 

1. I picked the GTX 1080 at first because I just figured their budget was so large it would be silly in my opinion not to get it. However, I did lower the GPU by quite a bit when I decided they might want a build that included everything, like peripherals.

 

2. I usually don't go for SSD's simply because I am not fond of the price to storage capacity ratio they have. I do get what you mean though, it would certainly be worth adding a small SSD just to use as a boot drive. That or pick a reasonably sized SSD and knock the HDD out and add one later (like you said).

 

3. I picked that monitor because it was affordable, and I didn't want to go over the OP's budget. A monitor is also kind of subjective. I figured if they didn't like the monitor choice, they could just pick their own. The same principle applies to the other peripherals. It was more to show that their is room in their budget to have these things more than anything else.