950/1k USD budget gaming pc. 1k absolute limit.

[daninfamous]

I could maybe stretch it to 1,000 USD. I will need

I been out of it so long I dunno which CPU and MOBO to grab, I could probably piece the rest of it together myself. Idk whats the best bang for the buck. Will need a MS Windows 10 license for 100

Need everything, except monitor mouse keyboard and no optical drive.
Samsung evo 250/500gb work for SSD no need for secondary drive.
I never really overclocked, and this is for my brother. Last rig I build is a 2500k Which I really never OC'd.

Primary gaming, some light workloads.

1900x1200 Screen Resolution.

Thanks!

 

[Azuma Hazuki]

Since you're not going to be overclocking, a K-series CPU sounds like a waste at first glance, but they're clocked higher than their non-K counterparts as of late.

I'd actually suggest a 4790K over a 6700K at this point solely because of how expensive a DDR4+H/Z170 platform would be compared to DDR3+H/Z97.

Unless you have a specific need for certain new i/o connectivity on 100-series chipsets that the 90-series is lacking, and it sounds like you don't, at this point there's really no reason to go with it.

i7-4790K
Good H97 motherboard (I like Asus!)
DDR3 RAM, 8-16GB
Samsung Evo PRO 850 - yes, the pro is worth it.

And sink the savings into an awesome graphics card. Unless you're doing 4K gaming you don't need anything beefier than a 970 or a 390X.

 

[Ken g6]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2389797

Edit: I see you need Windows in that budget too.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($195.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: *Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($95.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: *Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: *Hitachi Ultrastar 750GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: *EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($319.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: *Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: *Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $971.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-09 13:49 EST-0500

 

[EliteRetard]

Since you asked specifically about CPU and MOBO, I'll second the recommendation to get a 4790k. It's as fast or faster than most other CPUs overclocked or not. It is run on an older platform, but that means cheaper. Since you don't need to OC, get the cheapest MOBO with good features like nice built in audio and networking. The other basics like SATA and USB don't really change much or make a big difference for a gaming rig.

Here's a list I came up with:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/zRLVNG

Including Win 10 it comes in at $985 currently.

i7-4790k Going to be the fastest stock CPU you can afford (offers you much higher clock speeds and HT over the i5 in the system above)
MSI B85-G43 ATX MOBO includes the best integrated audio option available (ALC1150) and a killer NIC
Gigabyte R9 390 8GB Better faster card and more VRAM than a 970, for less money
G.Skill Ares 2 x 8GB DDR3-2133 CAS-11 1.5v 'Cause it's on sale, 1600MHz CAS 9 would be fine
Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD Arguably better than a BX100 for a desktop
Corsair SPEC-03 ATX Case and CX600 Builder PSU Basic cheap but adequate good brand
Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) Since you required it.

Edit: I do want to mention, the stock cooler Intel uses today is woefully inadequate for any i5-i7 CPU...it'll work for now, but definitely start digging coins out of couches until you got $30 to buy a FAR superior cooler (one example: Cooler Master 212 EVO)

 

[arcenite]

Generally I agree with the responses but you don't need 16gb of memory for gaming. Especially not in a bang/buck build.

Edit: And you most definitely don't need an i7.

One of my fav sites for this kind of stuff: http://www.logicalincrements.com/

Edit2: Black friday/Cyber monday is just around the corner. Maybe some great deals to be had. Also don't be afraid of refurb stuff (such as evga b-stock video cards)

 

[Ken g6]

Generally I agree with the responses but you don't need 16gb of memory for gaming.

Arkham Knight recommends 12GB. So the need for 16GB in general isn't far off.

 

[jacktesterson]

Arkham Knight recommends 12GB. So the need for 16GB in general isn't far off.

Also the worst port of the year.

 

[EliteRetard]

It's not like 16GB is expensive. And why not an i7? If he can't/wont OC then there is nothing faster for the money, and the 4790k aint just a tiny 100MHz bump in speed...it's 25%, about the same as the price increase and comes with some extras vs an i5.

Since he can get an i7 16GB and a high end GPU in his budget why not? Because an A-10 APU is cheaper? Get the best you can with the money you have.

And this is just general everyday prices, if he buys pieces as they go on sale he could save a notable chunk of coin overall...or get better part/s for the money.

 

[Soulkeeper]

i5 + 16GB of mem is reasonable.
The build suggested above is fine, you could change any of the components a bit to suit you but that's a nice blueprint.

 

[happy medium]

Gigabyte R9 390 8GB Better faster card and more VRAM than a 970, for less money

He will never use 3.5gb of vram @ 1080p his resolution or mabe even 1440p. so 8gb is a waste. The 294$ AR 390 (newegg) is not cheaper than a 259$ no rebate gtx970.
https://jet.com/product/Zotac-ZT-90...08-GHz-Core-/e7f49c84a9a34b4f87f40cfe506e5491

Some games the gtx970 is faster also.

Take the extra 35$ AR and use it on 16 ram.

 

[arcenite]

It's not like 16GB is expensive. And why not an i7? If he can't/wont OC then there is nothing faster for the money, and the 4790k aint just a tiny 100MHz bump in speed...it's 25%, about the same as the price increase and comes with some extras vs an i5.

Since he can get an i7 16GB and a high end GPU in his budget why not? Because an A-10 APU is cheaper? Get the best you can with the money you have.

And this is just general everyday prices, if he buys pieces as they go on sale he could save a notable chunk of coin overall...or get better part/s for the money.

He said 1k max. I didn't hear anything in his requirements that said he needed an i7 nor 16gb of memory. i5 is the sweet spot for gaming; all day.

I bet that 2500k based rig would suit the OP just fine--I know it's still going strong for me!

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Also the worst port of the year.

Ram, even DDR4 is cheap now, no reason to settle for 8GB. The adage: better to have it and not need it, is point 2. And having enough ram, Arkham Knight runs buttery smooth for me. Observing the wailing and gnashing of teeth over this title, indications are, many needed it and did not have it. Bad ports from console are going to continue. Hence, spending the extra $40-$50 and eliminate a potential issue, is a small premium. And I have never kicked myself mentally for having too much ram.

OP, you seem to know what you are after. Have a few comments, if you do not mind. I surmise you have a good reason you cannot transfer the windows from your old system and use the free windows 10 offer to upgrade to it.

And the reason they are adding a HDD for the game folder is games are getting rather large now. Mad Max was almost 80GB alone. If for whatever reason, you do not need the storage, obviously stick to your guns on the single drive.

The R9 390 is a great card for $300. If you are planning to waste weeks of your life on Fallout 4 like many of us are, then be aware AMD cards are suffering from lack of performance optimization at the moment, and no one can say when exactly that will get resolved. It is still the best pick at the price.

And while it is mostly just a heads up, also be aware TLC NAND have an issue with sustained write performance. link

You may seldom encounter the scenario in your usage though. And the EVO takes much smaller hit than the other TLC drives they tested.

 

[Ranulf]

With a 1k budget I'd go with an i7 4790k build with 16gb. For your OS drive, a 250gb MX200 or 850 Evo is worth the extra scratch (about $10). BX100 comes in third but still good. I'd avoid the new Crucial BX200 series for now. In no way is a Samsung 850/950 Pro worth the money for what your building right now.

You can add in more storage later along with a better heatsink like the 212 evo. Also, if you need a hd for now, just get a 1TB from WD or Seagate for $50 or so. That will tide you over until you get another SSD for games or bigger hard disks.