Build a minimum priced witcher

So witcher 3 is coming out soon and i won't be able to enjoy je views on my iMac with the shit graphics card... so i want to build my own pc that can run rpg games like the upcoming witcher in high/max settings while spending less then a fortune^^ any advice?? :3

advice: give a budget and location

Netherlands (something small in europe ^^)
and budget... €650-850 ($700-900)

The official specs for witcher 3 from the developers:

Minimal Settings:
Intel CPU Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz
AMD CPU Phenom II X4 940
GeForce GTX 660 or Radeon HD 7870
6 GB RAM
64-bit Windows 7 or Windows 8 (8.1)
DirectX 11
free space: 40 GB

recommended settings:
Intel Core i7 3770 3,4 GHz
AMD FX-8350 4 GHz
GeForce GTX 770 oder Radeon R9 290
8 GB RAM
64-bit Windows 7 or Windows 8 (8.1)
DirectX 11
free space: 40 GB

for high quality / ultra: (at least thats the system they let the reporters play it at ultra in 1080p)
Intel i7-4790
16 GB RAM
Geforce GTX 980

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thx for the reply :)
lets say i'm a complete hardware noob.... (i use mac it's all preinstalled^^)
what kind of CPU/GPU/RAM(also what kind of not just size cuz i'm a retard^^) etc... would you advice to me?? :3

i don't think the 4790 and 980 are in my price range if i need the rest as well... whats a good alternative one/two speps down???

I'd take a look at the i5 4690K, from what I've seen and read the hyper-threading on the 4790Ks doesn't make that much of a difference to most games so a 4690K should perform just as well. For GPUs I'd look at a GTX 970 or R9 290(X).

Here is the best that I could make using PcPartPicker, with location set to Germany as the prices should be most similar; should give you some ideas - i'm not too sure exactly where you can buy from.

after some more searching i decided i was in love with the GTX 970 so thats the one i'm gonna get....

only i don't know what processor is the best option....
FX-6300 black
FX-8370E
i5-4690K

what are the pros and cons of these cpu's since the price difference is pretty huge...

At this time and with witcher 3 in mind the Intel part (i5 4690k) is the one you want. witcher 3 is going to be a demanding game and at this stage the AMD stuff is capable but old and will likely not give the best experience.

Just some info on that CPU. The K in the name mean it is an unlocked overclockable part. If you have zero interest in over clocking now and in the future the i5 4690 will probably be a little cheaper but not much and will (other than the overclocking) be identical to the 4690k.

Other than this the main thing to keep mind is the most expensive part in you PC should be the GPU. All other parts can be lower spec or cheaper to push as much of you budget to the GPU.

This is going to be a big edit so bear with me for a few minutes...

Okay. A gaming PC for witcher 3.

Witcher 3 is going to favour nVidua GPUs as it has game works (nvidia proprietary game enhancements) the game should run fine on AMD GPUs but will have some visual features disabled as AMD is not allowed implement game work features on their GPUs.

If money is a concern and you dont not want the game works extras AMD R9 290 will save you a sizable chunk of cash. Game works is only extra visual fluff it will not change how the game plays at all.

That said something like a GTX 970 should be good for this game but if you can afford it a 980 would be even better.

The CPU regardless of spec I would go Intel at this stage. AMD is just old now, not incapable but old and there are no future upgrades for the current line (which will be replaced in 2016). Intel is more expensive but it is faster, particularly for games and should have upgrades in the same line for a while yet.

You do not need an i7 for games and i5 is plenty. With that in mind you also likely don't need the highest end one either (4690) the differences with each generation of iCore CPUs is pretty small. Again to save money look into the last generation of intel CPUs (i5 3xxx) or even the Xeon line (1231v3 I think?) as they will be cheaper and perform just as well for this application.

Once you decide on a CPU you can then look at the motherboard. We will get back to this once other decisions are made.

RAM. Get 8gb of the cheapest but quality 1600-1866mhz ram. A dual channel kit (usually comes as two 4gb sticks) is best.

Storage. SSDs are nice to have for your OS but are in no way necessary at all. Again to save money don't worry about just getting a 500gb drive for OS. This will also have room for your games and programs fine and at a later date you can add more drive and move your game over to leave the OS drive to the OS or even get an SSD and reinstall the OS for speedy goodness.

Power Supply (PSU). Don't cheap out here but don't go crazy either. A 600w 80+ Gold PSU will be enough for what ever you decide to get. Seasonic, Silverstone, Antec and a few others that I can't remember are very good quality, the best in fact.

Big question that will change the budget. Do you all ready have a screen keyboard and mouse or do you need new ones.

Case whatever your remaining budget and taste allows.

That just about covers it I think. For now anyway. This is just an outline to help you out, we can get down to decisions once you arm yourself with come knowledge. Don't take my word as the end all, see what others gave to say. Also all the "shoulds" and "probablies" in that are because witcher 3 is not out yet and we simply don't know what will be the best but this should be a fairly educated guess.

This will probably be messy as I have done it in a phone, I will fix it when I get home. Any questions ask away and me or someone else will answer.

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I think this is a very nice post.
it realy sums allot of usefull things up.

I would also recommend to go with an intel cpu at this stage, like @Zibob already says, AMD cpu´s are not that bad, but they do start to show their age, especialy wenn you pair them with a more higherend GPU, which you will definitely going to need for witcher 3.

I would say a 4690K is basicly a very good cpu, pair it with a decent Z97 board like the Msi Z97 Gaming 5, buy a nice gpu on it, Sapphire 290 (x) TriX OC, and you basicly will have a nice gaming rig.

You could also wait a little if you can, because the new R9-300 series from AMD are right arround the corner. this might be interessting in terms of pricings.

You could offcourse also look at team green if you prefer Nvidia, a GTX970 is basicly a very good card for the money, it performs great on 1080p, however the 3.5GB vram issue might appear wenn you are a diehard Witcher player, and you like to play arround with texture mods and what not.
In that case i would realy advice to look at a GTX980, or R9-290X, or one of the new 300 series from AMD wenn they are out.

Can you tell me your budget, that you have in mind for the whole rig?

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he said his budget is
Netherlands (something small in europe ^^)
and budget... €650-850 ($700-900)

Thanks for mentioning @Urworstnit3m3r , i totaly readed over it.

Right now, if you buy a GTX 960, 970 or 980, you get the game for free. Saving the cost of the game makes up for the price gap compared to AMD cards if you positively, definitely, absolutely will buy that game on launch day anyway.

The card I bought even came with two serial cards, not one. I don't know if I'm allowed to sell that second key, but if I can manage that, my 960 would have had a relative cost of about 100$. XD

Also, the key is for GoG, not Steam, which is awesome.

The problem is pricing atm in the Netherlands, prices of hardware are rediculous high, in compairisson with US.

i'm pretty sure at this point i'm going with the GTX 970 at this point...i just wrote about the free game earlier and that was my exact thought ;) andi like the green and the nvidia software^^ just wondering... is there any reason to pick a brand?? (asus/gigabyte etc...) or is it just for the looks???

for the processor i'm convinced to go with intel now.... but if i get for a i5-3xxx what should atleast be in the x and if i get a xeon... it's basically a server cpu so what model should i take and whats the difference between that and a i5

thx for the great post btw @Zibob :D
and yes i already have a shity monitor and a good mice and keyboard :)

aye but flying them is will be hard :(

https://azerty.nl/winkelmandje/winkelmandje/?legen=1&product%5B528532%5D=1&product%5B582389%5D=1&product%5B680705%5D=1&product%5B478347%5D=1&product%5B683532%5D=1&product%5B717246%5D=1&product%5B717657%5D=1

Best i could do for €850,-

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Cheapest i5 (4460) + low to midrange mb + 8gb ram + best gpu you can get ~ r9 290, gtx780/780ti/970.
Even a 2nd hand i5/i7 cpu/mb combo would suffice ~ sandy or ivybridge

Motherboard brands is quality and features.

For GPUs. Nvidia uses cuda cores, and AMD uses streaming processors. Nvidia also overscans on TVs, but that is just my problem with them. AMD runs hotter then Nvidia, and requires beefier PSU.

AMD cpus are getting old from what people are saying. Intel just has newer technology out more. AMD uses more cores, with one thread, while intel uses hyperthreading, but less cores then AMD.

RAM, does not matter just get something with good stars and a low price. G,Skill is selling 2x8Gig 1866 for USD 99, just an example. 2x4 at 1600 will do you fine.

thx for the reply but i think you kinda misunderstood me :$ i meant specifically for cpu's cuz its all a GTX 970 but it comes from many different company's like: msi, asus, zotac, evga, etc..... the chip it the same just different cooling and sutch does this matter??