Help me with a $700 gaming rig please. :)

[LcarsSystem]

So my buddy at work told me he is interested in getting a rig to game on but has only about $700 to spend. Bare in mind he just needs the tower. Monitor, mouse and keyboard are covered. I have not kept up with PC hardware like I use to. Please Anandtech help me, help my friend.

Should I stick with Intel, or would AMD help me hit my price point better? I do trust newegg so that's where I will be getting all the components for him.

Thank you.

 

[Ken g6]

Need a copy of Windows in that 700? What games? Prefer to build or buy prebuilt?

 

[LcarsSystem]

Going to build. and Yeah I will need a copy of Windows to run. He likes a great many variety of games so I am trying to get him an all encompassing rig as best I can.

 

[freeskier93]

For $600 hardware budget you should be able to squeeze in an i5 and R9 380/GTX 960.

 

[freeskier93]

$18 over budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI B150 Gaming M3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($77.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 4GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $718.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-29 03:21 EST-0500

 

[jhansman]

$18 over budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI B150 Gaming M3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($77.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 4GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $718.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-29 03:21 EST-0500

Alas, I see no gaming keyboard, and item that (if you go backlit mechanical, and I suggest you do) will run you another $100 or so. Might look for mobo/processor/memory combos to shave off enough to fit that KB in.

 

[RaistlinZ]

OP already said he doesn't need a keyboard. I think that build is pretty solid for $700.00. I would just recommend the OP's friend up his budget by $100.00 and get a 970 or 390.

 

[Yuriman]

Alas, I see no gaming keyboard, and item that (if you go backlit mechanical, and I suggest you do) will run you another $100 or so. Might look for mobo/processor/memory combos to shave off enough to fit that KB in.

I have a hard time seeing the logic in including a $100 keyboard in a $600 build.

freeskier93's build looks great to me.

 

[Ken g6]

I found a way to fit an R9 290 in there!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: *G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: *Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: *Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: *Thermaltake Versa H25 ATX Mid Tower Case ($18.25 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: *EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($23.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $697.17
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-29 17:57 EST-0500

It's a blower, so it might be a little loud, but it's a big jump in performance. It also requires buying a few parts from NCIX US (a well-known Canadian company), and Windows from OutletPC.

 

[DigDog]

OP already said he doesn't need a keyboard. I think that build is pretty solid for $700.00. I would just recommend the OP's friend up his budget by $100.00 and get a 970 or 390.

^ this.

I found a way to fit an R9 290 in there!

Power Supply: *EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($23.99 @ NCIX US)

wow, that is insane. we never get these kind of discounts here in EU :/

 

[riversend]

OP, I assume your friend is using 1080p for his monitor resolution.

I second Ken_g6's build, nice to squeeze in an R290 although it is now selling for $220. However, with Newegg if you use Amex you could save another $25 (I have not looked at the specifics of this promo).

 

[Ken g6]

Or, if you allow for buying from lots of different stores, and get a cheaper mobo with less RAM slots, this is still possible:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($48.98 @ B&H)
Memory: *G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: *Crucial MX200 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($72.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: *VisionTek Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Case: *Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($22.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: *EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($23.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $698.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-30 09:27 EST-0500