My budget is $600, but I am willing to go up to $650. I live in the US, and in Michigan, with access to Microcenters. I will most likely only use it for gaming, and the heaviest games I will probably play would be GTA V or Skyrim, but mostly I will be playing TF2. I'd like to play these with the highest settings possible with this kind of budget. I will not be using this PC for anything else really, except for browsing the internet. I do not want to overclock. My mouse grip is palm, and my keyboard doesn't require anything other than having a satisfying "click" sound every time I press a key. There is no preference for monitors. And I want Windows 10 for my OS.
Yeah, one slight problem with the G3258: It's a dual core. Games that can utilize more than 4 threads (which'll inevitably be becoming more abundant sooner or later) will run better on the 860k - have a look at the benchmarks for battlefield hardline here. Plus, given that some games will lock you out for having less than four cores, I don't think that's a great route to go down.
Also, nice storage solution. 250GB? I mean IK it's an SSD but still, not much room. lol
Thanks for the help from the both of you. I'll be checking these builds out and trying to do some research to add onto this.
And yes, if you could get me a mouse and keyboard that suits my needs, I would appreciate it.
This might do then, if you're wanting windows and a monitor that is: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GkyMHx
If it's just a mouse and keyboard, idk what to go with - that's a pretty subjective decision, although with the keyboard you'll probably only really be able to grab a rubber dome set within that budget without spending 10-15% of it on the keyboard alone. Same goes for the mouse, you really could do with going and trying a few out.
EDIT: changed that, got a cheaper case for some more RAM.
So do you recommend going with your first build or your second build. I want windows, but I don't really need a new monitor.
Would be a mix between the two if you don't need a monitor:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XbfWsY
Leaves you ~$22 for mouse+keyboard.
Check the benchmarks I posted. The G3258 is the better choice for gaming now and leaves room for easily upgrading in the future. You can't get better than the 860k with FM2+, but with 1150, you can easily drop in an i5 and be done with cpu upgrades for a good long while.
Except until we're halfway through the next generation of intel chips, then you'll find it hard to get hold of an 1150 CPU. It's not like this thing's going to be bought and upgraded in a month or two. By the time it'll be being upgraded both the motherboard and CPU will probably be done away with.
Here is my idea For a good budget build as it stands it is 800 dollars with the monitor and OS included. It is all up to you if you want to cut back on some things for a even slimmer budget thats fine. All the parts are really reliable and optimized for gaming and should last for ages. The monitor is the best and cheapest ips panel i could fine (i know you didn't ask for one but it makes the experience much better). Anyway here is my idea for a good cheap budget build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XN7xvK
Would personally cut down on the motherboard (just needs to work, not going to be overclocking or anything crazy), drop the SSD to put more money into the GPU (I mean, seems a bit unbalanced having an SSD in a build with a 270X...) and grab some cheaper RAM (you can cut off almost $10 by going with a single 8 stick, which'll have no effect on gaming performance), but alright.
I really do appreciate the help, and there is merit for the G3258, but my friend and these two are recommending the 860K.
Thanks for the additional build and the critique, all of you guys are really helpful. I will continue to look into these, but at the moment I am caught up in something.