NEW PC GAMER | Is this a good PC build?

Hello everybody, I am a former console gamer and I am finally switching over to PC gaming. After researching for a couple days I came up with a build. If you could take the time out of your day to tell me if this is a good build or not would be much appreciated. (Feel Free to correct me on any mistakes I have made on this build, and thank you very much).

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rGqTbv

pretty nice but with that xeon you are better off getting a cheaper motherboard as it is not overclockable. just set the turbo to max 3.8 and with the 212 you should be fine.

Thanks for the reply :) Am i better of with an I7?

that xeon literally is a i7 4771 with no igpu and better power management rated for 24/7 use. to get better performance you'd need to spend 100$+. whats your budget?

1000 dollars for the pc itself, the other 300 is for gaming peripherals like a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

Naw man, many problems, Z board with a Xeon, Sub Par PSU, weak display for the 390

start here, it includes a top end display that you'll basically never have to replace, might be worth getting an overclockable i5 for the 144hz display, or just an i7 6700

Obviously you cannot saturate a 1440p 144hz display with a 380, but that's not the point, GPUs advance a lot quicker than display tech

Also don't buy an OEM windows key because it gets locked to your motherboard

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yFgkGX
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yFgkGX/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI B150M Pro-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($63.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($30.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 380 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT BF ATX Mid Tower Case ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Acer XF270HU 144Hz 27.0" Monitor ($549.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1166.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-02 20:46 EDT-0400

What about an SSD, and isn't 550 not enough if you want to overclock?

Really the display is complete overkill, but it's what I'd buy anyways, or one of the 4k 27" IPS free-sync displays, they're $500
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-monitor-27mc67b

If you just want a nicer PSU go for this one from EVGA, but that's one fine, you can't overclock that CPU anyways, as most of the time you don't need overclocking for running a 60hz display, only a few specific games really need a fast CPU, or VR/144hz gaming but even then, eh. rather just get an i7 6700 with a budget board over a 6600K, the i7 already turbos to 4ghz
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-210gq0650

Like this build, more realistic/balanced with only a 1080p 144hz TN free-sync display, great if you're only gaming

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dGPRpg
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dGPRpg/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI B150M Pro-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($63.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($49.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Mushkin ECO3 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 380 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($41.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: EVGA 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($75.39 @ Amazon)
Monitor: AOC G2460PF 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1037.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-02 20:55 EDT-0400

Also don't drop like $140 on a keyboard, before you really know anything lol like try out mechanical keyboards somewhere, or buy a key test kit before you invest in a mechanical keyboard, I'd suggest you start here with the devestator II combo from coolermaster, $30 for a solid keyboard and a passable mouse, not sure if the Z axis still sucks on it

http://gaming.coolermaster.com/en/products/keyboards/devastator-ii/

don't 4k monitors just kill your frames though and what kind of keyboard would you suggest?

The one I linked, and no, most games won't run at 4k naturally, but it's kind of actually future proof, though a 32" 4k display or larger is preferred

Basically you just run most games at 1080p until GPUs capible of 4k 60fps are out, but things like Dota 2 or CS:GO will run at 4k

the 380 is a bit faster than the 285 here

And dimitry just reviewed the Devstator II

Also do you have headphones already? or speakers?

For a keyboard if you really want a mechanical buy a key switch tester. http://www.amazon.com/WASD-6-Key-Cherry-Switch-Tester/dp/B00AZQKCD4
There are so many different switches out there and picking with out knowing what they are is not a good idea.
As for a 4K monitor it does nothing to your frames unless your run your games at 4K. 1080p looks great on a 4K monitor.

1 Like

yes I have headphones and some decent speaker

what motherboard would you recommend with the xeon?

I'd just go skylake at this point, because the i7 6700 will be a bit faster, and you'll get USB 3.1, probably worth the $100 difference

see above, also due to it's 65W TDP, you can easily get away with running a more budget board, also the MSI 1151 VD and Gaming boards have solid power delivery anyways

@Streetguru x2
Definitely invest in a good monitor if you want to really enjoy the benefits of PC gaming. I have a machine with an i7 4770k and 2 gtx 770's in sli and my monitor isn't enough at all. Anyway, since there are so many example builds out there [youtube] it seems to be much more confusing for someone getting into PC gaming.
If I was to build another PC I would have gone with a Motherboard/CPU/RAM combo from a ~$500 build but grab a graphics card from a ~$1000 build. You really don't need the extra horsepower unless you intend on doing some more CPU bound stuff, gaming is more GPU (graphics card) bound. Grab a $300 Ben-q 144hz monitor and rock on. Oh, look for a Power Supply that has a 80+gold, bronze certification, don't skimp on that. A decent SSD can be had for around $60 (~256 GB) and a 1 TB for extra storage ~$50.

P.S - Don't give in to the hype dude, I've been doing this for a while. I reinstalled Windows 7 the other day and had to go back to old drivers just to get my graphics cards to work because the drivers are designed to bluescreen your machine if you're not running Windows 10. Long story short, you're going to have some issues so be prepared. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something (owe me for that one :P)
1. You don't need a $1200 machine to have fun. (or run the best titles)
2. VR/4K is not around the corner.
3. Windows and proprietary drivers are becoming a nuisance.
4. Run Windows 10 if you want best experience for now and aren't too paranoid
5. Invest some time in learning about PC's and PC Gaming in general before building a machine, play on some other people's computers, get to know the environment (if you haven't already).

*sorry to be long winded but if I was in your shoes I would want the same advice

Thanks for the advice man, could you possibly send a partpicker link what you would do?