2 1/2 years ago, I build my first PC in over a decade. I was able to do so because of Tek Syndicate. I'm now in the position of needing a second machine. It will be doing light to medium gaming at 1080p. The most demanding game it will run will be Team Fortress 2. Yes, TF2 is a 2007 game. Since its launch Valve have cheerfully been sewing new limbs on to it, and TF2 is an amazingly inefficient program. It's particularly CPU-hungry, and more or less only uses a single core. There may come a point where Valve improves TF2's performance, but in the interim they're too busy making money.
My budget for this setup is not huge. I'd like to keep it around $800. I already have a (60Hz) monitor, keyboard and mouse. The OS will be Windows 8 (sigh) at least until SteamOS is more viable. I need a case, CPU, cooler, GPU, RAM, SSD. The motherboard should have digital audio out, either coax or optical is fine.
Besides cost, my two other concerns are power consumption and noise. Also, dust resistance. My main rig (i7 4770k, 7970 DCU II, is quiet, but it sucks down the kWh and requires constant cleaning in my dusty home.) I'd really like a case that's has good dust filters that are easily removable (and cleanable).
I haven't put together a PC Part Picker list yet, but these are the components I'm considering:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 Haswell Quad-Core 3.2 GHz LGA 1150
GPU: MSI Nvidia GTX 960 2gb gddr5
SSD: Samung 850 EVO 500GB
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 LGA 1150
RAM: Team Elite 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 x2
PSU: EVGA 220-GS-0550-V1 80 PLUS GOLD 550W
I'm pretty confident on the CPU, GPU, PSU and SSD. I like the motherboard, but could be talked into something else. The RAM I pilfered from someone else's build list. I'm open to better suggestions for any of the components, however. What I really need help with is a case. I live in the USA. I usually buy from NewEgg or Amazon. I have zero interest in overclocking or water-cooling. I'm mostly a monogamer who engages in the Online Simulation of Hat Wearing.
Here's what I came up with, if you have any questions and/or concerns feel free to ask.
The Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xDxG7P
the 380 is faster than the 960, power consumption under a gaming load is fairly similar, still some room in the budget as well for whatever, either a better GPU/CPU or just put the money towards a better display, 1080p 144hz free-sync displays start at $250
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dBcY4D
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dBcY4D/by_merchant/
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($70.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($32.95 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 380 4GB PCS+ Video Card ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $608.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-10 17:48 EST-0500
Since your going to be playing Hat Simulator and its a freaking old game that many computer out there can run it you don't need to spend much on it. Here is something more suited to your needs, low power consumption roughly 140w, yes I am using the igpu in this yes this is decent enough for Hat Simulator 2.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yLdXTW
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yLdXTW
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yLdXTW/by_merchant/
CPU: Intel Pentium G4500 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($88.87 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.44 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($53.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($42.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($43.26 @ Mac Mall)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $338.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-10 18:50 EST-0500
I went with an AMD APU build.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/r7nH6h
You are also going to want to get some dust mesh so that you can adhere it to the side panels.
Make sure you point all the fans towards the outside of the case. This will create negative pressure and will force all the fresh air through the side vents (again, please do a little modding and push some mesh there).
But the nice thing about this build is that it can play tf2 just fine. Its going to only use about 100 watts on full load, and its super compact.
Eh, if you wanted to go that route an i3 +360 would be the way to go, APUs are just too lacking for budgets over about $300
although going with the i3 + 360 would get a 1080p 144hz free-sync display within the budget, maybe get the Elite 130 for longer GPU support in the future though
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GRhyvK
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GRhyvK/by_merchant/
CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team Elite 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 360 2GB Video Card ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: AOC G2460PF 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $722.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-10 19:53 EST-0500
normally I would agree with you, but the circumstances are kind of special.
He already has a power house of a computer to play games. This thing is just a secondary build to play TF2 and save power.
Not only can this system max out tf2 stock, but you can overclock it a bit and get some pretty darn good gaming from some tipple A titles at medium too.
Normally I would never EVER recommend a system like this. But if this is a build that is pretty much intended to save power and deliver an enjoyable gaming experience, this is what I would buy.
Could always go broadwell, the iGPU there is faster than even the A10s
though for an APU build you'd probably want the below instead, no need to spend so much if saving cash is the key, the A10s aren't all that much faster, the extra cores are too starved for memory bandwidth
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tG77zy
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tG77zy/by_merchant/
CPU: AMD A8-7600 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($77.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($63.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($39.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Xion XON-310_BK MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($26.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $293.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-10 20:23 EST-0500
Sigh. I wrote out an extensive reply, clicked one link to double check something and the forum software ate my post. ;_;
As I was saying...
Thanks for all your suggestions. I think I'm going to pass on an APU build, even though the lower power consumption and smaller price are appealing. This second machine is going to sit next to a 1080p monitor and an ancient 720p television. That latter panel is going to be replaced with either a 1080p or 4K TV this calendar year. When that happens, it will be nice to have a machine that can drive it. Also, as I mentioned in my original post, TF2 is a really poorly optimized game. I have occasional framerate issues eve on my main rig.
I think I've decided on the CPU, SSD and PSU at this point. The R9 380 seems like a worthy upgrade from the GTX 960, even if it's a bit more power hungry. The one advantage the 960 did offer was the option for to play games on an Nvidia card. I have a shamefully large Steam backlog, and there are a number of games that can be ...bitchy about AMD GPUs. That's ultimately a small matter.
The current parts list looks like this:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 Haswell Quad-Core 3.2 GHz LGA 1150
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
GPU: Sapphire Radeon R9 380 4GB NITRO Dual-X OC
SSD: Samung 850 EVO 500GB
Motherboard option 1: MSI H81M-P33 LGA 1150
Motherboard option 2: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150
Motherboard option 3: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150
RAM: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory x2
PSU: EVGA 220-GS-0550-V1 80 PLUS GOLD 550W
Motherboard selection is invariably the most difficult decision for me. The longer I stare at motherboard specs and feature, the further my eyes glaze over and my head begins to hurt. When I built my rig in 2013, I limited myself only to Asus motherboards and still had a nightmare of a time trying to make sense of their legion of options.
One thing I forgot to mention in my original post: I have a pile of spare case fans left over from my 2013 build. I have one 120mm fan, three 140mm, and a massive Silverstone 180mm. I'd love to fit any of all of them in this new build.
EDIT: I'm bit tired and not thinking clearly. My main rig has an older Fractal Arc case which I really like, but it has one major flaw: its top and front dust filters are pretty difficult to clean. I have a DataVac electric duster that produces some impressive PSI and it can barely clear the Fractal's dust filters.
I find it interesting that you are having such issues with TF2.
I am running tf2 on linux with the free drivers on wayland and I still get constant frame rates well above 60 fps with a gtx 970.
I mean yes it is a powerful gpu, but I am running super sketchy code and tf2 works fine.
TF2's performance issues have become both the stuff of legend and a source of much contention on reddit's /r/tf2 (not the best community, but usually at least acceptable) and /r/truetf2 (somehow even worse.) The consistent threads in the discussion of the game's poor performance are: Things got much worse after the Gun Mettle update and introduction of weapon skins. The frame rate issues are inconsistent. Some users experience almost none. Others do virtually all the time (a friend of mine has to restart TF2 every hour or so or it slows to a crawl.) My own problems happen mostly on 2Fort (an ancient map) which is irritating as I play it all the time.