New Build Help?

[MGP]

Hi Hexus community, hope your all good today?

I'm looking in the next few weeks ahead at building a decent budget, gaming PC.

I've been considering the Intel i3 6100 as my CPU, followed by the Gigabyte H170-D3HP Motherboard and 2x4GB Corsair DDR4 Vengeance LPX.

Is this a good combination? I've been away from PC gaming for a long time now and just started catching up on what's hot on the scene.

Any help would be great folks!

[scaryjim]

What GPU are you thinking of matching with that? It's not a bad base system, but depends on your overall budget and what other components you already have/are thinking of getting. There are some areas where it's a really bad idea to skimp (PSUs being the obvious one) so whilst in and of itself an i3 + 8GB DDR4 is a reasonable start, it might not be best way to spend your money!

[MGP]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm not going to skimp on the PSU, that's a component i'm future proofing for upgrades.

Not sure on the graphics card yet, i plan on using the integrated graphics for a few weeks.

Obviously i'll add more memory over time, 16GB is planned. But at this point just looking into the CPU, Mobo and RAM first.

So suggestions are all welcomed!

[scaryjim]

So you're looking at around £250 on the mobo/CPU/RAM then?

8GB of either DDR3 or DDR4 seems to be available for around £40 mowadays, so really the only thing you might consider is whether you want to spend almost as much on your motherboard as on your CPU - there's a variety of H170 and B150 motherboards (not to mention H110s) that would save you around £30 - that could be invested in either jumping up to the cheapest i5 (although the benefit of that is debateable), or getting a faster GPU - £30 is the difference between a GTX 950/R7 370 and a GTX 960/R9 380, which is a jump you'd be likely to notice...

[MGP]

Apologies, i didn't include a budget figure. Around £250 is what i'm lookimg to spend on the combo.

Not looking at overclocking, just looking for quality components. DDR4 is a must for future plans also.

[scaryjim]

Apologies, i didn't include a budget figure. Around £250 is what i'm lookimg to spend on the combo.

See, it'd be more useful to know what your entire build budget is, and what drew you to the components you've chosen. Why that particular H170 board? Do you *need* particular features, other than DDR4?

For instance, for very little change in overall specs (-100MHz, -1MB smart cache), you could instead go for the i3 6100 and an ASRock B150 PRO4, and that'd save you ~£50 to go towards a bigger SSD, better GPU ... whatever you want.

[MGP]

Just looking at the CPU, Mobo and RAM at this stage as money is tight.

Not looking for certain features just quality components. I've used Gigabyte in the past and has been a sound hardware for me.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would get this motherboard:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/gigab...mb-546-gi.html

It comes with free DDR4 and is only £100 in total!!

Then you can get a Core i5 6400:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/intel...cp-587-in.html

What PSU do you have ATM??

[scaryjim]

... Then you can get a Core i5 6400:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/intel...cp-587-in.html

I considered suggesting the Core i5, but given the low clock speeds on the entry level one I'm not convinced you're gaining much? 2 HT cores @ 3.8GHz vs 4 non-HT cores at 2.7GHz doesn't look clear cut to me...

[MrJim]

I considered suggesting the Core i5, but given the low clock speeds on the entry level one I'm not convinced you're gaining much? 2 HT cores @ 3.8GHz vs 4 non-HT cores at 2.7GHz doesn't look clear cut to me...

Most motherboards have a 'mutli-core enhancement' option in the BIOS, which allows the CPU to run all four cores at the full turbo speed. In the case of the i5 6400, that would be 3.3Ghz...

[MGP]

I would get this motherboard:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/gigab...mb-546-gi.html

It comes with free DDR4 and is only £100 in total!!

Then you can get a Core i5 6400:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/intel...cp-587-in.html

What PSU do you have ATM??

That is an epic deal. How long is it on offer?

Also, I have no PC components as i'm starting from new.

[scaryjim]

Most motherboards have a 'mutli-core enhancement' option in the BIOS, which allows the CPU to run all four cores at the full turbo speed. In the case of the i5 6400, that would be 3.3Ghz...

True - I looked up some comparative benchmarks and the i3 is around 15% faster for single thread tasks and around 20% slower for multi-threaded tasks.

The thing is, for a budget gaming box, with very few games taking advantage of DX12 yet and the overall CPU load being reduced anyway for DX12 titles (you've seen the link around here somewhere of the huge leap Phenom II quad cores get from DX12, yeah?), I'd be hugely inclined to go for the i3 (I'd actually pick the i3 6100 and save another £20+) and invest the difference in a better GPU. If the OP switches to the i3 6100 and the cheapest B150 ATX motherboard available, they can add an R7 370 and barely tip the total cost over £300. If budget is a genuine concern, I honestly don't think the i5 6400 gives enough benefit for the extra £50+ you spend on it...

EDIT: one other thing I will say is that if you don't have the money for the full build right now put that money in a savings account somewhere and leave it alone until you can fund the full build. Prices change quickly enough that what's good value today won't necessarily be good value in a week's time, and there's no real point buying anything until you can afford a case, PSU and storage as you'll just end up with a very pretty desk ornament.

[MGP]

Thanks for the advice folks. Going to wait as advised and go the i3 route as details discussed above. Sounds like good bang for the buck!

[MGP]

Just a quick update. I've set my budget at £450, looking to order asap. What you recommend to order folks?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Just a quick update. I've set my budget at £450, looking to order asap. What you recommend to order folks?

Is that the budget for the CPU,motherboard and RAM and do you intend to overclock??

Also regarding any reasonable B150 motherboard you are not realy saving any money over the deal I posted. They are still around £70. The deal I posted is for a Z170 motherboard and DDR4 RAM which makes it a better overall deal and it is going to sellout quick as its now on HUKD.

[MGP]

The budget is for the complete base unit. Don't need a keyboard, mouse or OS.

Also, not planning to overclock. A nice, stable build is all i'm looking for.