help with budget build

Once you get 8GB or more of RAM for a gaming build you really shouldn't worry about RAM. Although lets say if you could get 3000Mhz RAM for the same price or like ~$5 more than 2400Mhz RAM I would go for the faster RAM.

The CPU is what determines the FPS at the end of the day, you can always lower the graphical settings to get more FPS but there isn't settings like that for the CPU. If you want ~60FPS or a bit higher in AAA games you would want a i5 6400 or greater. For a goal of 144FPS either a overclock i5 6600K, a i7 6700, or a i7 6700K. If you are okay with ~40FPS to 60FPS a i3 6100 would do.

VRAM doesn't equal performance as you said. For a idea of how to check out performance of a card I would look up reviews or real world benchmarks i.e not firestrike, GPUbenchmark which is heavily biased against AMD cards, GPUboss which is also bad, etc. If you can't find the comparison you want I would go to userbenchmark since from my experience its tends to be the most accurate compared to others synthetic benchmarks.

For RAM type its either DRR3 or DRR3L or DRR4 with DRR4 being the latest. If you are going Skylake no reason to get DRR3 since it costs about the same, if its not DRR3L it will damage the memory controller on the CPU which means you could have a dead CPU, DRR3L board choices are limited, and you might as well get with the program since DRR4 is current and will be used on future sockets like AMD Zen and whatever Intel releases next.
 
I think DDR3 system ram should be fine for my needs,
But from what l have read, 2 gigs of GDDR5 will far outperform 4 gigs of DDR3 in a video card

Reading about video cards gives me a headache
 
Barracuda413
I think DDR3 system ram should be fine for my needs,
But from what l have read, 2 gigs of GDDR5 will far outperform 4 gigs of DDR3 in a video card

Reading about video cards gives me a headache
Click to expand...

If you are going Skylake DRR3 WILL damage your CPU. If you aren't going Skylake you should unless you are buying used and/or get a good deal since its two gens old.

http://wccftech.com/skylake-does-not-support-ddr3-damage-ddr3l-only/

http://www.kitguru.net/components/m...emory-at-default-voltages-can-damage-skylake/

For the VRAM type in video cards you shouldn't even consider a card that has DRR3 because it will be weak since DRR3 cards aren't made anymore and its a major bottleneck for the card. Iirc there is about a 25% performance wise with a R7 250X with GDDR5 vs. DRR3 one.
 
VRAM I would say is equal to processing power, as far as the GPU itself is concerned if you want the game to look good. Some games will tell you what your usage is under certain settings. GTA V for example have a little bar graph. I had an RX 380 that had only 2 gigs of memory. 2 gigs goes quick when you start bumping up the quality even a bit. VR is definitely out of the question. 4GB might get you by on lower res for a little while. Depending on the card.
The rest sounds good. 115, DDR4. Probably could get away with a single 8 GB RAM stick for now. As mentioned, they are cheap enough that it's not a painful upgrade later. One thing to consider when getting your CPU. Multi threading is, finally, really being adapted, both in games and in applications. Consider a quad core. The price increase will pay off dividends in the next year as this tech gets better implementation. Even Java is working nicer with it.
Also consider a micro ATX board. Both the mobo's and the cases tend to run cheaper for nice components. Fractal Design had a really nice case on Newegg for a bit under $50 that would cost closer to 150 in mid tower size. So long as you only need one PCI slot, which sounds to be the case, then you don't really need to go big. Just be sure the case you pick will fit the graphics card.
 
I am looking for a cheap cheap deal on an 1150
or a used 1155, so skylake or DDR4 is not an issue,
and just going to reuse an old tower, hdd, keyboard, etc

Hmm after further reading sky lake 1151 doesn't look like a bad idea
$$$$ and more $$$$ haswell 1150 is still going to be a cheaper option
 
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If you want to play Horizon 3, you'll need at least 4GB VRAM. I can run it on my 2GB 960 but it constantly flashes up warnings about running low on memory and it tops out at about 1960mb when watching the use during gameplay. This is all on the lowest settings at 1080p.
 
Barracuda413
I am looking for a cheap cheap deal on an 1150
or a used 1155, so skylake or DDR4 is not an issue,
and just going to reuse an old tower, hdd, keyboard, etc

Hmm after further reading sky lake 1151 doesn't look like a bad idea
$$$$ and more $$$$ haswell 1150 is still going to be a cheaper option
Click to expand...
A 1151 socket chipset isn't that much more than a 1150 but has a bit more future proofing. I do not believe Intel is developing for the 1150 anymore, and as the next chip set comes to market, new 1150 processors will start to dwindle. As a person who helps a lot of people with their builds, I do not recommend 1150 combos anymore. Just not worth the effort when the price variances aren't that big.
 
"Future proofing"??
does that mean the ability to upgrade the CPU in the near future?
While l do like that option, l doubt l will ever do that, as l tend to keep a system for 5 or more years
so when l get around to upgrading an 1151 will be as obsolete as an 1150 or even an 1155
The only upgrades l may do are, better video card, more ram, an SSD, and a bigger monitor,

Another question
What games could l play on my old system with 4 gigs ram and an RX460?
(2.8 dual core AMD) just until l can get a new PC budgeted and built
and only interested in driving racing games/sims
I am thinking assetto corssa and truck simulator at minimum settings
any other options?
 
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It's a bit like that. But a bit more like "hey, my current specs will no longer play new games and now I am hosed because I bought last gen tech thinking it would still hold me over for more than a year." At this point, GTX 10 series is approaching it's first year, is cheaper and more powerful than last gen, the 1150 is aged and no one is designing new CPUs for it and DDR3 is nearly twice as slow and still not really that much cheaper than the new stuff.
Putting it in different terms would you buy a 2007 focus or spend 50 bucks more and get a 2016?
Another consideration is power usage. The GTX 10 series and the new procs will use less power than lest gen.
I mean, look, if you want to handicap yourself for no good reason, seriously. I don't draw a good reason to go with a 1150 over a 1151 at all, then by all means. Get a slower proc (more than just GHz here. There are also bus speeds and such to include in this) and slower ram while saving very little for it. But I really would like you to consider the advice myself and others have given.
 
AH, so "future proofing" is the ability of a system to remain usable over time,
So while an older 1155 can run forza 6 and horizon 3, it may not handle the next release
and the same goes for 1150 vs 1151,

So if given the choice of an i5 3.4ghz unlocked 1150
Or an i5 3.4ghz locked 1151, at the same price point
What would be my better option? and why?

Also would you rate the CPU or video card as more important?
 
The better option would be the 1151 as you will have faster bus and cache speeds, and access to faster ram.
As for your second question, they are both equally important. Going full on with a CPU makes no sense if you aren't following suit with the GPU. If you doing a budget build, then finding a balance is important, especially when the price differences between one CPU and another can be as much as $300. In your case, a 3.2 GHz quad core i5 with a 1060 with a single 8gig ram stick will do just fine. That will play all new games, handle VR and leave you options down the road.
 
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I have been reading up on sandy bridge, haswell and sky lake,
And ddr2 ddr3 and ddr4, and also i3 with HT, and xeon CPU's

Now my brain hurts $#%&ing computers!!! :-)

OK down to brass tacks, any current and near future games will need to run on a PS4 / Xbox one,
So l do not see the PC version requirments exceeding a basic quad core i5 of any generation, and should even run on a dual core i3 with hyper threading, for even the most demanding sim race game, and 8 gigs of ram should be quite sufficient regardless of type,
A decent quality video card, not top tier, but also not bare bones, should make for a well balanced respectable gaming system, one that will play current and most future games at an acceptable level, (acceptable to me being PS3 on a cheap TV quality:-)

OK comments and criticisms welcome
P.S. thanks for all the help so far:-) :-) :-)
 
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All I got left is don't compare PC to console. They may both be on 86x platforms, but the APIs the run them are all vastly different. This is why often you have games that hit the market first for one system over the other. IE GTA V which took months to hit the PC after it released for consoles. So long as you stick with the 1151 socket set and a 10 series GTX or 400 series AMD, you'll do just fine.
 
FH3 minimum system requirements are 2gig vram
Recommended is 4 gig vram

If only we could compare console to PC
a PS3 only has 256 mb of ram and vram
 
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Is an older used thermaltake armor 8000 series full tower case worth $50?
It is freaking huge! plenty of room for my build, overkill really, but should stay as cool as it looks
All the cases l have are stock ones from old pentium 4's, they may work but not much room for the graphics card, and only one fan,
 
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Why not. You google it. Find the MSRP then decide if the price is something worth it to you.
 
That's up to you man. It's not new, so new price clearly isn't fair. But it's worth really is your call. Research it compared to cases you may like and decide. Thats kinda the thing with used stuff. It's price is kinda subjective both to the seller and purchaser. I can't tell you it's worth to you. It's a computer case, not a classic car, so there isn't a real "market value" to be assessed.
Further, you didn't say either the case model, or show pictures of its condition, so for me to even try to guess a supposed value would be of no service to you.
 
I updated the question with more info, above
I see new cases at micro center from $39 to well over $100 +
l never really gave much thought to the case a PC was in, only what is in the case
The Armor case looks to be in decent condition, there is an old MB and CPU in it,
along with a couple drives, some ram ( not sure if it is DDR2 or DDR3) an 8800gt
and a power supply, but it is being sold as a case, nothing inside is claimed to be usable
 
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Barracuda413
Then what would be a fair price?
Click to expand...
A fair price would be one you're willing to pay. Full stop. Only you can decide what's a fair price for you.

See what the case sells for when new, and what other cases of similar specs are selling for.
 
Exactly what Bob said. However. If you are talking about the VA or VH8000... Those sell for over $100 refurbished. If this case is in good shape, $50 is very reasonable. Whether it's worth it though is up to you.
 
If it was $20 or $25 l would have grabbed it, $50 seemed a bit high as a new generic full tower can be found for $39
And l have no idea what makes a $139 full tower case better than a $39 full tower case ?
Is it just looks? and l get some people want a cool looking PC, l just don't want to spend $$ for looks,
as any black case looks fine to me, "form follows function" is more my style
 
Barracuda413
If it was $20 or $25 l would have grabbed it, $50 seemed a bit high as a new generic full tower can be found for $39
And l have no idea what makes a $139 full tower case better than a $39 full tower case ?
Is it just looks? and l get some people want a cool looking PC, l just don't want to spend $$ for looks,
as any black case looks fine to me, "form follows function" is more my style
Click to expand...
It's the same thing that generally makes high quality stuff more expensive than cheap generic crap. Quality materials and actual r&d. In the case of computers, the r&d for a case would be air movement, cable management and device placement. You can get a cheap case, and it will likely work fine. But it will also be cheap. Metals will be thinner, plastics cheaper, overall fit and finish less attractive. With more expensive cases they sometimes stick psu's and fans in them as well.
 
So safe to say a used $100 case will be as good or better than a new $50 case at the same price
And the 8800gt 512mb vid card and power supply if they work will be a small improvement over the 256mb on board graphics l have now in my AMD dual core, plus if the four ram chips are DDR2 one meg, that is twice what is in mine now, and if they are DDR3 l can use them temporarily in my new build, so win win right?

That's the problem with looking at stuff on line
The pic of the $100 case and the pic of the $50 case look the same
sometimes you need to pick them both up in person to tell the difference
 
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