Hardware Help with a Cheap Gaming Build

[_Pro_Man_]

Hello GBATempers,
I was looking for some advice for a gaming build that would be able to run most of the current popular games at a 1080p resolution and close to 60 fps. Currently, I have a laptop, and I mainly play Minecraft, as I don't think my laptop can handle games at the resolution and speed that I am looking for. I'm guessing that a desktop would really out perform my current laptop. I would like the budget to include a monitor, speakers (if not part of the monitor), keyboard, mouse, and an OS (preferably Windows 10). There really is no max price, I'm just trying to get an estimate of how much it might cost, and if the price is reasonable, I might build the computer. I haven't built a computer before, but it looks somewhat simple enough. Some of my research has lead me to the Intel Pentium G3258 processor, and I was wondering if this would still be a good choice for a processor in 2016. I have heard that when overclocked, it can perform quite well, except for games that make usage of more cores than what the G3258 has. Would an i3 or an i5 be a better choice for new games. The build can also leave some room for upgrades (for example first getting a SSD and getting a larger capacity HDD later on). Any advice for part to buy/not to buy, overall advice, or a complete budget build all together would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

-edit-
Also forgot to mention that I would really like this build to support Wii emulation with the Dolphin Emulator and run at a high resolution and at high speeds.

 

[Joe88]

nvm

 

[endoverend]

Pretty much the cheapest high-end PC you could get would be around $800, you could go with the recently released RX 480 as well as a new-ish i5 CPU and still be under that limit.

Unfortunately I don't think you could really include a monitor, mouse, keyboard and OS and still keep it under 800 but for all that I'd say 1000 is the cheapest you could get.

 

[DarkFlare69]

I wouldn't recommend the G3258 because many games require a quad core CPU just to launch

 

[raystriker]

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/jYYpbj
The build I've configured above, would be the 1080p sweet spot.

--

Things you want to keep in mind-
~ Modern day games are getting more and more cpu intensive. Though an i3 might give a competent IPC (instructions per clock or basically single core performance), one really needs the extra two physical and logical (in the case of your beloved i7s) cores that the i5 or i7s have to offer.
~The RX480 is pretty much the best card for 1080p right now, though I would wait for the custom cooled cards to launch, better headroom for OCing and cooling(Possible GTX980 performance)
~People might say wait for the GTX1060 but I have a feeling it will be priced around the 300usd MSRP mark and will really sell for a few bucks more.
~16GB Ram is more than enough for 1080p, it will never be a point of bottleneck.
~There are a few things you could compromise on and opt for cheaper/lesser components- The PSU, the HDD and SSD and the optical drive.

~~With the mentioned specs, a 750W PSU is an overkill, you will probably not use more than 500 at any point in your rig's life. So think of getting a 550W or 600W, whichever you feel is a better deal.
~~I specified an HDD and a SSD, you can do away with the SSD for now, if you want a little more cash in your wallet.

A toned down version of the above config would be something like this- http://pcpartpicker.com/list/PbHVYr

Needless to say, a build like the one I mentioned above would easily handle 1080p or heck even 1440p gaming with all the current AAA titles. And 99% sure VR proof too. Not to mention Dolphin will run pretty well on it.

Happy Gaming!

 

[endoverend]

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/jYYpbj
The build I've configured above, would be the 1080p sweet spot.

Hmm, I'd say that the PSU is a little overkill, as is the 16GB of RAM, especially for someone on a budget. I also don't think that an SSD and an optical drive are absolute necessities. Perhaps a cheaper RX 480 variant might be better as well.

 

[raystriker]

Hmm, I'd say that the PSU is a little overkill, as is the 16GB of RAM, especially for someone on a budget. I also don't think that an SSD and an optical drive are absolute necessities. Perhaps a cheaper RX 480 variant might be better as well.

Yeah i suppose, I reused this list from another build I was planning

 

[_Pro_Man_]

Yeah i suppose, I reused this list from another build I was planning

Thanks for all of the help everyone and thank you @raystriker for the build. In the build you said a Windows 10 key for $30.00. Where would I be able to get this key for such a cheap price. I'm assuming it would be from a third party source. Does anyone have any experience buying keys from these sources?

 

[raystriker]

Thanks for all of the help everyone and thank you @raystriker for the build. In the build you said a Windows 10 key for $30.00. Where would I be able to get this key for such a cheap price. I'm assuming it would be from a third party source. Does anyone have any experience buying keys from these sources?

I trust this guy's opinion with my life.

 

[Joe88]

You can actually get it for free if you use kmspico.
Better than dealing with shady key sites imo.

 

[CeeDee]

Piggybacking on the thread... Not too worried about modern games in HD 60FPS, but what's the lowest price for a computer that could play Dolphin at fullspeed (any resolution) and maybe Minecraft?

 

[Tenshi_Okami]

I have a Intel Pentium G3220, i can play a lot of games on Low/Medium specs, but nothing like GTA 5(Barely runs on 30 fps in low settings cause of Graphics Card) or Skyrim(Graphics card is old af(Nvidia GT 730) and i dont have $$ for a new one) but for games like Gmod and BOII or similar, its a pretty good CPU c:

 

[Purge]

Hmm, I'd say that the PSU is a little overkill, as is the 16GB of RAM, especially for someone on a budget. I also don't think that an SSD and an optical drive are absolute necessities. Perhaps a cheaper RX 480 variant might be better as well.

^This. There is no reason to get more than 8gb of ram if all you want to do is browse the Internet and play games. And an SSD shouldn't even be considered if you're on a low budget.

 

[Joe88]

128GB decent quality are pretty cheap, just to use as an os drive, I recommend it even in budget builds.
The difference is night and day on how everything loads.

 

[raystriker]

Piggybacking on the thread... Not too worried about modern games in HD 60FPS, but what's the lowest price for a computer that could play Dolphin at fullspeed (any resolution) and maybe Minecraft?

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/HfCpbj or http://pcpartpicker.com/list/4wFJVY
Did some research. The components in the above config easily trump the recommended specs on the Dolphin website.
The latter config is a bit faster.

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You can actually get it for free if you use kmspico.
Better than dealing with shady key sites imo.

Illegal vs getting a valid key for 30 bucks for life hmmmm

 

[Joe88]

Those are msdn/msdnaa keys that are being sold illegally, there also keys that were pruchased with stolen credit cards.
Microsoft has revoked said keys in the past.