Recommended Skylake builds Christmas 2015

Last summer we started a trimestral post series about part picks for 3 different tier of PC, for this special Skylake builds from budget to gamer and, of course, a premium user. As we stated on the last post you can get inspiration to upgrade your existing computer, like an SSD or a new graphic card. We want to set 3 typical tiers, budget around $500, advanced $800 and top at around $1200, which for these Skylake builds are difficult to accomplish. We will use The Witcher 3 as a benchmarking tool, as it is the recent game more demanding on your computer rig.

Budget

A good configuration for playing last year games or The Witcher 3 at medium/low quality:

• CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 $126
• Motherboard: Asus B150M-A D3 DDR3 $80
• Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3 1600 MHz $45
• Graphics: Asus Radeon R7 260X $129
• CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO $30
• Hard drive: Any WD with 7200rpm depending on your budget, from $40
• Power supply: Any 80+ PSU (EVGA 600W for $50)

Total: $500
On the $500 budget, the price tag increased due to price variations and the Skylake not including cooler which forces us to get one, probably could get a cheaper one but this is the best in its price range and gets the work well done. As the CPU is locked we will get a cheaper motherboard with 4 DIMMS to get the possibility of upgrading it, also with DDR3 so you can take advantage of your old computer’s RAM.

Advanced

A mid-tier PC, unlocked, The Witcher 3 at a very good quality:

• CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K $254
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 $115
• Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB Kit (2x8GB) 2133MHz DDR4 $97
• Graphics: ASUS STRIX GeForce GTX 970 4GB $325
• CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO $30
• Hard drive: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB $90
• Power supply: Any 80+ PSU (EVGA 600W for $50)

Total: $961
I know, quite over budget but worth the extra penny, paying a little more for the GTX 970 is worth as is stated the best mid-top range video card, also getting an unlocked CPU forces us to get a Z170 chipset which is still pretty expensive.

Top

A top-tier PC, unlocked, The Witcher 3 at a ultra quality:

• CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K $400
• Motherboard: ASUS Z170-A ATX DDR4 $160
• Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB Kit (2x8GB) 2133MHz DDR4 $97
• Graphics: Asus GTX 980 Ti 6GB $660
• CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO $30
• Hard drive: Samsung SM951 256GB $190
• Power supply: Corsair CX 750 $75

Total: $1612
Also way over budget, we go premium for the best Skylake build possible, worth the money if you are searching for the best and newest.