i3 Gaming Build

[MGP]

Hello Hexus Community!

I want to enter the world of PC gaming, currently a console gamer. I want to play games like Sims 4, Planet Coaster and many other RTS and sim type games. I have been busy researching and I have a build in mind, nothing too special.

So here's the specification I'm looking to purchase soon.

Intel i3 6100
Corsair 8GB DDR4 2133
Z170 - Not sure which model to get? Suggestions welcomed as Oc'ing is planned
RX480

Will be gaming at 1080p, on a 42" TV. Already purchased Keyboard & Mouse, Windows 10.

Is this spec capable of running games without hassle?

[DanceswithUnix]

Yes, it should be a capable system.

You need to give your budget and how flexible that is though to really help.

Obvious questions are whether you can squeeze in an i5, or whether you need an SSD and/or HDD added into that.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

It might be better to buy a Core i5 now and a cheaper non-overclocking capable motherboard instead.

[MGP]

Thanks for the swift reply, looking at spending £500/£600 on a complete tower system.

[The Hand]

For 1080p gaming plus potentially VR gaming it's looking fine. Just a heads up though, Kaby Lake chips are coming in one month but whether you will notice the difference by going for an i3 7100 Kaby Lake instead of an i3 6100 Sky Lake is another question.

[MGP]

Will the i3 7100 work on todays z170 motherboards, obviously requiring a flash for compatibility. Would be willing to hold out till the Kaby release.

[The Hand]

As I understand it, Kaby Lake is meant to work with Z170 motherboards, although there might be the possibility of a bios update being required for the motherboard.

[MGP]

That's handy to know, what Z170 boards you folks recommend?

[The Hand]

I won't be able to vouch for a particular motherboard or which ones might need a bios update since Kaby Lake isn't out yet, but I did find this AsRock Z170 Extreme4 on Amazon which seems to be getting good feed back for around the £100 mark:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASRock-Z170...70+motherboard

[scaryjim]

Worth noting, with regards to Kaby Lake, that according to the Hexus i7 review there's been no real advance on the CPU-side at all. I know there's rumours of an unlocked Kaby Lake i3, but it's going to cost almost as much as the Core i5 parts anyway.

If your budget is tight now, I'd be very tempted to go AMD, and get an FX 6300 or FX 8300 and a good aftermarket cooler. They will overclock, and quite reasonably, and with an RX 480 at 1080p they shouldn't really be a bottleneck unless you're playing unusually CPU-intensive games (which, tbh, an i3 might struggle with anyway). The downside is that you wouldn't have an upgrade option - decide you want something faster and you're replacing the entire subsystem.

If you're considering Kaby Lake you'll be waiting a couple of months anyway, so personally I'd sit tight and see what January brings; AMD should be launching their new Zen processors, and the CPU landscape could look very different when we get more details of that.

[The Hand]

Good post above by scaryjim, if you can wait for Kaby Lake then Zen (Jan 17th) might be an option for you also, though I have seen on Wccftech the 6 and 4 core Zen chips might be coming in March so it's hard to say for sure at this point.

[MGP]

Good points, might wait till Zen hits and see what all the hype is about then. Cheers folks!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I think Zen might be more a £200 and above CPU though.

If I was starting with a new build I would look at something like this:

http://i.imgur.com/hl6am05.png



That is only a quick one off Amazon but I suspect if you shop around you can get some better deals OFC!!

You might be able to get the CPU cheaper if you look at CEX online:

https://uk.webuy.com/product.php?sku=SCPUINTI56500KA

You will need to add another £10 to £15 for a cooler though. You can then run the CPU on all cores Turbo.

Also,I suggested an HDD for the time-being but you can get a 275GB SSD for around the same price.

Edit!!

This case is another alternative:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SilverStone...&keywords=sg11

Its a bit more compact and lower profile.

[MGP]

Is there any advantages in Z170 over the B150? Majority of the B150 are priced up within just a few quid less than the Z170.

Also, the RX 470? Much of a performance gap compared to the RX480?

[The Hand]

Is there any advantages in Z170 over the B150? Majority of the B150 are priced up within just a few quid less than the Z170.

Also, the RX 470? Much of a performance gap compared to the RX480?

I personally would go for the 480 8GB since it should give you the option of VR aswell as excellent 1080p gaming. The 470 is aiming at excellent 1080p gaming really.

Here's a vid on a comparison between 480 vs 470 vs 460:

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Is there any advantages in Z170 over the B150? Majority of the B150 are priced up within just a few quid less than the Z170.

Also, the RX 470? Much of a performance gap compared to the RX480?

The Z170 is overclock capable,the B150M isn't,although apparently there is a bug which enables overclocking on non-K CPUs too,but I am not sure if that has been disabled now.

Regarding the RX470 and RX480,that RX470 8GB is not too bad for the price,and is not massively behind the RX480 8GB - remember most RX470 cards are 4GB cards,so can be pushed more in certain games.

My post was more an indication of what I would probably try and aim for.

I would try and get a Core i5 in there and I am hoping we have a Zen equivalent too.

Edit!!

I suppose you could pick up a Core i3 for now and upgrade to a Core i5 or Core i7 at a later date.