Go-to CPU for mid-level gaming machine these days?

[SaltyNuts]

Can somebody point me to the sweet-spot for a mid-level gaming PC these days? Probably looking to spend like $1,000 to $1,200 for the build. Haven't kept up with hardware over the years as much as I should!

Thanks.

 

[SaltyNuts]

FYI, I'm probably going to buy a PC from IBUYPOWER.COM, or somewhere else if anyone has suggestions to clearly better places.

Thanks.

 

[NTMBK]

Mid level gaming? You probably want a Haswell i5. Something like an i5-4690k, or the i5-4690 if you aren't interested in overclocking. (The K indicates an unlocked CPU, which can be easily overclocked, but you pay a little more for the privilege.) Pair that with a Geforce 970 and you have a potent gaming system.

 

[SaltyNuts]

THanks NTMBK. I'm definately down with overclocking. But that processor is almost $250, and the video card like $350. I'm used to paying more like $150 or so for the processor and $199 for the video card.

Are there quality parts at or around these price points? I think with those parts you suggested it would definately break my budget.

Many thanks for the help!

 

[Yuriman]

i5 is where you start to get into diminishing returns with spending. A socket 1150 Haswell i7 has about the same priceerformance, but most games will not be using 8 threads and won't see increased performance. i3 or FX-6300 is what you'd be looking at for a (very roughly) sub-$600 build, any higher and you're in i5 territory.

EDIT: FX-6300 and i3 are the next step down, and both have major drawbacks. The i3 is a very fast dual core with hyperthreading, and the FX-6300 is a 6 core with very slow single-threaded performance. Both will have areas where they perform considerably worse than an i5.

 

[NTMBK]

THanks NTMBK. I'm definately down with overclocking. But that processor is almost $250, and the video card like $350. I'm used to paying more like $150 or so for the processor and $199 for the video card.

Are there quality parts at or around these price points? I think with those parts you suggested it would definately break my budget.

Many thanks for the help!

Well, you did specify a budget of $1200 I had a quick look on iBuyPower, and the Paladin E (with an i5 and a 970) is <$1200.

Out of curiosity, if you intend to spend only $150 on CPU and $200 on the GPU, what on earth are you going to spend the other $850 on?

 

[Yuriman]

The only Haswell parts that can overclock are the "K" parts, and you need to pair them with a more expensive "Z" chipset motherboard. If you get a non-K CPU, you can pair it with a cheaper H or B chipset (preferably H97).

You can pick up something like an i5 4590 for ~$190, and a decent compatible board for $60-80.

EDIT: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116991

 

[janeuner]

Upper mid-range is a Intel 4690K and a GTX770 or a R9 280X. System cost is around $1200.

Lower mid-range is a FX-6300 and a Radeon R7 265 or GTX 750Ti. System cost is around $700.

Unfortunately, the performance gain in the middle of that gap is pretty non-linear. The better video card is wasted without the Intel processor, and the Intel processor is idles without a beefy graphics card to back it up.

Specifying the games you are interested in would help with a recommendation.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I see you also have a thread in video cards and graphics. It would have been better to have made a single thread in General Hardware. You will get very good suggestions on a complete system there.


Of course if you are buying from a builder, everything changes and I dont know why we are discussing prices on single components. At the 1000.00 price point though, I definitely would get at least an i5 for the cpu. The conventional wisdom is to spend more on the video card, but cpu progress is so slow these days that I would not skimp on it, because a 4690(k) level i5 should last for several years.

 

[Yuriman]

Unfortunately, the performance gain in the middle of that gap is pretty non-linear. The better video card is wasted without the Intel processor, and the Intel processor is idles without a beefy graphics card to back it up.

Specifying the games you are interested in would help with a recommendation.

It's an extreme example, an outlier really, but in Guild Wars 2, 290X crossfire will only deliver "teen" fps in areas on an FX chip, while a 265 paired with an i5 will comfortably max the game and deliver framerates in the 30's in the same areas - still CPU limited, as the 265 would comfortably deliver 60+ FPS with an infinitely fast CPU. There are no settings you can disable to reduce the CPU needs of that game. CPU limitations don't change with the video cards paired with them.

EDIT:
A faster video card allows you to crank up more settings in more games, but you want to balance that with spending on a CPU so that you're CPU limited at playable framerates in as few games as possible. I'm fine with dropping shadows a notch in most games to maintain high FPS so I don't mind spending proportionally more on a CPU that will allow higher framerates.

In most games an FX-6300 will perform very well, so where this balance lies depends on what OP is doing.

 

[sm625]

But that processor is almost $250, and the video card like $350. I'm used to paying more like $150 or so for the processor and $199 for the video card.

If you're loooking to spend "$1000 to $1200" for the system then those prices fit that budget. The remaining parts (mobo,ram,SSD,case, psu,dvd,license) should only add $600 for a total of $1200.