Is This Gaming PC Build Good Enough?

Hey guys! Nate here, and I'm building my first computer and I'm wondering if these specs are any good. Take a look:

Intel Core i5-4460 Processor ($180): http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=19-117-302

Motherboard ($90): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130779

CPU Cooler ($30): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-CPU+Cooling-_-N82E16835103099&gclid=CjwKEAiA1o-zBRDomsWasvKh4S8SJADSlZkqvZ7hA1A82zUWK-_xK3PtxlsTP0gZDMxMrQJAPVHmmxoCXGLw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

8 GB DDR3 RAM ($39): http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-HyperX-FURY-1600MHz-DDR3/dp/B00J8E8ZMY/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1449542423&sr=1-4&keywords=8+GB+ram&refinements=p_n_feature_twenty_browse-bin%3A9729700011

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 Graphics Card ($170): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500387

Disc Drive ($23) http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00N02BAV8/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1449551118&sr=8-2&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=internal+disk+drive&dpPl=1&dpID=41+N9YfFFGL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1

Power Supply ($65): http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16817139048&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-Skimlinks-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=12087162&PID=3987229&SID=skim92X590208X41d0b21a3321d5942b02d572a12270ac&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=afc-Skimlinks

Hard Disk Drive ($50): http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006GDVREI/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1449552409&sr=8-3&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=1+tb+hdd&dpPl=1&dpID=41sonNb4QsL&ref=plSrch

Computer Case ($60): http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DOZHJU2?vs=1

OS: Windows 7 Home

I'm on a budget but down the line I'm planning on adding in an SSD, better CPU, etc. But for now, I'm wondering if this will be good enough. I want to be able to play games at a decent enough framerate on Med-High.

Thank you so much!!! (im sorry for the confusing ass list)

Weak graphics card. 40, 50, and 60 numbers for Nvidia cards are going to be weak, budget graphics cards. Go with a 970.

What does "good enough" and "a decent enough frame rate" mean to you? Those terms are quite nebulous.

I think you need to go a tad bit higher quality with your GPU. It'll play things on low-med (med-high with well optimized games) with your current setup at 1080p. As far as good enough...well that should run things a few steps above the current consoles but nothing incredibly different. If you don't have a monitor you should look at a 24"-27" 1080p 60Hz+ one to make the most out of your system at a budget.

If all this sounds a bit disheartening then welcome to the world of PC Gaming/never being satisfied with the gear you have or what I like to call it, Mountain Biking.

If you're going to be spending te money on a gaming PC, I'd invest in that last bit to get you to a 970. I imagine you'll be very happy with the returns you're going to get.

Ditch the disk drive, get a 970 instead

I'm also going to say ditch the 950 for a 970. Then you'll be running games at the highest settings at 60 fps. I understand working with a budget is tough but a 950 will underwhelm you after all the effort of building a pc.

I don't plan on playing all games at 1080p, but I do want to play games like GTA V. Battlefront, and Fallout 4 at any possible graphics setting at 30~60fps. Because my budget is pretty damn restricted right now, I was planning on starting with the 950 and upgrading to the 970/980 down the line.

On a side note, is the 960 any decent (considered those 4 GB VRAM versions)?

If you are on a tight budget, skip the CPU cooler, the CPU comes with a basic one that is just fine for normal use.

I'd go for a 960 if you can swing it.

@kidavenger: So basically, I'm gonna assume the stock cooler for the Intel i5-4460 is good because it dosen't overclock, so the cooler can handle what the 4460 can do, etc.

In the future, when I want to upgrade my CPU to, say, an i5-4690k or i7-4790k, would that aftermarket cooler come in handy?

@cappak: sure, but only if you are looking to overclock which I'm not sure your chosen motherboard is a good pick for. I'd buy the aftermarket cooler when you get the second processor if you find it necessary at that point.

Generally with PC building your best use of money is to put as much as you can into GPU, you want a $300 card. You can cut corners elsewhere and upgrade them later. You can always add more RAM, HDDs, going without an aftermarket CPU cooler would be better than underpowering GPU here. Factory coolers get a bad rap, but are perfectly ok if you aren't overclocking - they are designed to be adequate for the CPU running at stock at room temperature (and you aren't OCing since that CPU is not a K series). I wouldn't really upgrade the CPU because by the time theres one around worth the money to get over a 4000 series i5, it'll need a new mobo and probably new RAM anyway.

The logic being that if you buy the cheaper GPU you will still have to pay the full price to upgrade it eventually and you'll have an old GPU lying around being useless.

Alternatively you could even axe the optical disc drive if you're planning on using Steam etc. It's rare that I have to put discs in my machine anymore. Even Windows will install off of a USB stick if you have one around.

970 minimum

If your ok with 30-40fps with settings down @ 1080p then sure, or if you plan on gaming at a lower resolution you can probably get better fps. Look up benchmarks for the resolution you play at and it'll give you a good idea of what card to get. Obviously if you have the money get a 970, but my guess is your on a budget so that may not be possible.

edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtPbJCJSBw4

Honestly seems fine if your not going for 60fps gaming, but you have to factor in how it will perform in future games as well.

@cappak: Do you have a PS4 or an Xbox One? Either of those will outperform the PC you're trying to build. If the PC is only for gaming, a console is a better and cheaper option.

It's also getting to be that time when new nvidia cards are going to be announced and they look to be the biggest step forward we've seen in a long time. It's probably a good idea to wait and see what's up with the Pascal cards before building a PC.

Graphics Card - It's another $20 to $30 to upgrade from the GTX 950 you listed to a GTX 960 4GB. For a GTX 970, it's another $100 on top of that. While the 960 doesn't offer a huge bump in performance over the 950, you do go up from 2GB to 4GB. I'd say go with a 960 4GB now, if you plan on upgrading somewhere down the line. There isn't much money to cut elsewhere in your build, so unless you want to wait and save up that extra $100, the 960 is probably the best choice for now.

CPU Cooler - I've always gone with aftermarket coolers. But as others have said, if money's tight and you're not over clocking, the stock cooler's probably fine. It's not a super high TDP chip (84W), and your case has two 120mm fans included, to keep air moving. If you're thinking about upgrading your CPU later, you can always look at aftermarket coolers then. But hey, if you want an aftermarket cooler now, I'm not going to advise against it. Just make sure you find some instructions/videos for installing that cooler.

RAM - You could go with a 2 x 4GB kit instead of 1 x 8GB, so you're running dual-channel. Shouldn't cost any more.

Hard Disk drive - OK, here's where you should definitely make a change. The 1TB Green drive you've selected is an "IntelliPower" drive. While it runs cool/quiet, it's not going to be as fast as a 7200RPM drive. This is fine for a data drive (or a non-gaming office PC). But for your primary drive, running OS and games, you should go 7200RPM if you're not going SSD. Here's the equivalent WD 1TB 7200RPM drive.

I currently have a 4GB 960, which was my upgrade from an aging pair of 5850's. There's little performance gain for having the addtional 2GB VRAM on the card, however the base performance of a 960 is pretty decent. I can max out Fallout 4 and keep a consistent 30-60FPS (its even gotten closer to 40-60 with the recent update) for the most part. It's a good solid card if you can't afford 970 prices.

At minimum get the 960. With your build also you do not need an aftermarket cooler. The one included is fine. I have a 970 and it great but it's $130 more than the 960. If you can spare it go for it but the 960 should be your floor.

A consistent variable frame rate!

Swap that nVidia for an AMD graphics card and you're solid. ducks

Beating a dead horse here, but ya, definitely upgrade the GPU. Here are some suggestions:

• GTX770 still holds up decently well. I'm using that in my TV room pc. You can probably pick up a used one for pretty cheap these days.
• 280x is a decent card for the price. Definitely recommend considering that over the 950 if you're going to go cheap on the GPU.
• GTX 960 is a bit pricier than 280x, but probably outperforms it a bit as well. Some will say always go nVidia, so I threw this in here. I'd recommend the AMD though if you're looking for better price-performance ratio.
• And as others have said, I think the gtx970 is the best price:performance card on the market right now.

The 960 isn't great value for its performance, it does have a decent power efficiency though if that's important to you. Save up for the 970 otherwise.

One thing I forgot to add, if you're putting together a parts list, PCPartPicker is super helpful.

Holy wow, guys, thank you for all your support!! Seriously, Giant Bomb FTW!!

Now @wraithtek, is there any difference in performance if I go with a DDR4 stick instead of a DDR3 (excuse me for sounding so nooby) one. Another question, do RAM speeds actually matter? Thank you!

@corvak: Woud it be better if I started off with an i5-4790k? What's your build?

Do you mean an i5-4690k? A 4790k is an i7.

@mike: Yeah, I meant that!

@cappak: i5 4690k is a solid cpu in my opinion. My main media PC has that as a processor and it works great.

@big_denim: Is it okay for me to get an i5-4460 now and upgrade to an i7-4590k later? I'm planning on using this for homework, video-editing, etc.

That seems like a bad idea. What's an i7-4590k? Do you mean i5-4690k or i7-4790k?

@mike

@cappak:

Ya sorry meant i5 4690k.

If you wanna do editing though, I'd definitely go for the i7 4790. The hyper threading will help a ton.

It depends.

If cappak wants to get in deep with video editing with using a bunch of effects, transitions, motion graphics and so on, or play around with OBS and get into Twitch streaming, then sure, the i7s will keep that video production train going without a hitch, especially with the Haswell-E and predicted Skylake-E CPUs. But if it's just a thing to do every once in a while, then spending the extra $100 is probably not worth it for both occasional and light editing since i5s can get the rendering jobs done fairly quickly. It's usually a ten second difference based on the various benchmarks I've seen on 'i5 vs i7 for video rendering'.

I blame Fallout for that. How they do their rendering is fucked beyond belief. Like, checking benchmarks for that game is a laughingstock for consistent frame rates.

The type of RAM you choose (DDR3 vs. DDR4) depends on your motherboard. Since the CPUs/motherboard you're looking at use socket LGA 1150; that means DDR3. In real world performance, there isn't a huge difference. (If you were bumping up to a newer Skylake CPU with LGA 1151 board, you'd be going DDR4.)

RAM speeds can make a difference, but I'd put money towards CPU and GPU before getting faster RAM. If you're not overclocking, and you're on a budget, just stick with the fastest RAM your boards supports without overclocking/overvolting. That usually means DDR3 1600 (and that's what your selected motherboard shows, as well).

As for choosing a CPU, you have to weigh price vs. priorities. An i7 may be better at video editing, but it definitely costs more. If gaming's the priority, look at an i5 with fast clock speed, instead of jumping up to the i7 range and starting at a slower speed - the extra cash would be better spent on the GPU or an SSD. An i5 can still do video editing just fine, just not as fast as an i7.