$1000 August 2016 PC Build (1080P – 1440p Performance)

Jump to a specific budget pc build – (Check out all 2016 pc builds here)

• August 2016 PC Build (1440p to 4K) – $1300
• August 2016 PC Build (1080p to 1440p) – $1000
• August 2016 PC Build (1080p) – $600

Introducing the $1000 Gaming PC Build for August 2016

Here is the second build for the month of August 2016, introducing the $1000 gaming pc build built specifically for those looking for a quality build capable of gaming on high settings anywhere from 1080p to 1400p / 2K resolutions with high frames per second. If you have been around before you may have noticed the builds are coming out in pieces this month due to time restraints on my end; generally there is a single monthly builds article, however this month I have been splitting it into three sections. The first posted was the $600 August 2016 pc build and I will have the extreme build posted hopefully shortly.

This month we have solidified the two brand new graphics cards that have not captured a proper spot in this high end gaming pc build. These are the new NVIDIA GTX 1060 and the new AMD RX 480 graphics cards. Depending on the games being played either may be of benefit for you or depending on how the prices pan out that could also play into your deciding factor as to which specific card you should go for. Below you are given the option to choose either new card, but before you purchase do please do some gaming benchmark research on either of the cards to get a better idea as to which card might work better for the specific games you are interested in.

Here are some benchmarks  of the GTX 1060 & x 480 already out there to give you an idea of how they are performing – (Guru 3D / Toms Hardware / LinusTechTips Video)

Now let’s get on to the build and remember if you have any comments or questions please feel free to leave them below and happy building.

August 2016 PC Build (1080p to 1440p) – $1000

Capability: Game with Extreme settings at 1920X1080 resolutions up to Higher Settings at 2560×1440 (2K)

	Hardware Link	Price	Image
Estimated Price:	$995.56 (August 2016)
Processor	Intel Boxed Core I5-6600K 3.50 GHz, 6 M Processor Cache 6 for LGA 1151 (BX80662I56600K)	$236.99
Cooler	Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO – CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2)	$29.99
Motherboard	Gigabyte LGA1151 Intel Z170 ATX DDR4 Motherboards GA-Z170X-Gaming 3	$139.95
Graphics Card	Sapphire Radeon RX 480 8GB (*Newly released AMD card – might be in limited supply) OR (similar cards / better in specific games so look up benchmarks) ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 (*Newly released NVIDIA card – might be in limited supply)	$299.99 MRSP = $240 $321.99 MRSP = $249
RAM	Kingston HyperX FURY Black 8GB Kit (2x4GB) 2133MHz DDR4 Non-ECC CL14 DIMM Desktop Memory (HX421C14FBK2/8)	$39.99
SSD	Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E250B/AM)	$89.39
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G1 80+ GOLD, 650W Continuous Power, Fully Modular 10 Year Warranty Power Supply 120-G1-0650-XR	$79.27
Computer Case	Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Mid Tower Chassis, Black Cases PH-ES515P_BK	$79.99
Optical Drive	No optical drive included in base build cost – *This should be considered optional	–

Overview: Gaming PC Build ( $1000 )

Choosing the right pc build for you has many factors so let’s break down who this build is generally for – this is a build for those with a budget of around $1000 and for those who want to be playing all games at 1920×1080 resolutions and into 1440p / 2K resolutions smoothly and at high settings. This build includes all newer and compatible hardware and is chosen on both performance, quality and price.

For August 2016, the major additions and changes are in the graphics cards department. Throughout the mid-half of 2016 we have been seeing a ton of graphics card releases and we now have two contenders for this specific build – that is the brand new NVIDIA GTX 1060 and the new AMD X 480 graphics cards. Both of these cards can be similar in cost and performance they do differ in specific games so please do look up some benchmarks for some of the games you may be interested in. For some links to such benchmarks please refer back to the introduction of this article. Do *note that these cards are new and may be limited in supply and are in turn susceptible to price fluctuations probably for the next little while (the cards linked in the table above are typical costs so look for around those chosen and the MRSP prices).

This build uses a combination of the Skylake Intel i5 6600K cpu and a Cooler Master Hyper 212 cpu cooler (as you do need a cooler as there is no stock one included with the 6600k), plus the hyper 212 helps tremendously when oveclocking that unlocked 6600k processor leaving with tons of possibilities.

The motherboard included again this month for the $1000 August 2016 PC Build is the Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 3. This motherboard has features including SLI / Crossfire so that you do have the option to include two of either the graphics card options as an upgrade suggestion for the future (keep in mind that the GTX 1060 does not support SLI but the RX 480 does support Crossfire). The Gaming 3 motherboard has the following specifications (and you can learn more on the product page at gigabyte.com):

• Supports 6^th Generation Intel^® Core™ Processor
• Dual Channel DDR4, 4 DIMMs
• Intel^® USB 3.1 with USB Type-C™ – The World’s Next Universal Connector
• 3-Way Graphics Support with Exclusive Ultra Durable Metal Shielding over the PCIe Slots
• Dual PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 Connectors with up to 32Gb/s Data Transfer (PCIe NVMe & SATA SSD support)
• 3 SATA Express Connectors for up to 16Gb/s Data Transfer
• 115dB SNR HD Audio with Built-in Rear Audio Amplifier
• Killer™ E2200 Gaming Networks
• High Quality Audio Capacitors and Audio Noise Guard with LED Trace Path Lighting
• APP Center Including EasyTune™ and Cloud Station™ Utilities
• GIGABYTE UEFI DualBIOS™ Technology

The RAM included is the affordable kit of Kingston HyperX Fury (8GB 2x4Gb sticks), which is enough memory for most standard gaming pc builds, and you always have the option to upgrade more in the future if need be.

The included storage is the infamous and long standing Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD. Should you require more then 250GB of storage right away you could also consider adding in a cheap 1TB HDD as a secondary drive or upgrading to the 500GB version / or the slightly faster SSD included in the hardware upgrades section below.

The included power supply unit (and for some time now in this build) used is the EVGA SuperNOVA G1 650W power supply, which is a great PSU with all modular cables and it provides the perfect amount of power for this build along with room for some upgrades. For it’s price, quality and the fact that it’s modular makes this a perfect choice.

For another month I’ve included the Enthoo Pro M which recently came out with two new colors (Titanium Green and Anthracite Gray).

A quick overview of the Phanteks Enthoo Pro M  (http://www.phanteks.com) –

Features:

Enthoo Pro M includes 1 x 140mm fan in the rear. Ability to upgrade to additional fans is possible. All fans included are Phanteks new redesigned and better performing SP series fans.

Appearance:

Brushed aluminum look
Clean interior – Hidden PSU and HDDs

August 2016 (1080p to 1440p) PC Build Upgrade Suggestions –

If you want more than the included 250GB storage SSD in the main build, you could consider bumping your SSD up to a slight faster 480GB SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD instead giving you nearly double the space.