[Build Help] $600-700 PC w/ SSD & Windows 8.1 in Budget

The problem with the g3258 is that it's not all that cost effective now, it just provides a good upgrade path to an unlocked i5. You will need a pricier z97 motherboard and a cooler to overclock, and it ends up not costing less than an i3.

That said, it's still a viable option if you want to overclock (because let's be honest it's fun), and you want to upgrade to a 4690k later.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type Item Price
CPU Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor $69.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler $34.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard $107.99 @ Amazon
Memory Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $71.99 @ Amazon
Storage Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive $104.99 @ Amazon
Video Card XFX Radeon R9 270 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card $155.76 @ Amazon
Case NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case $49.97 @ Amazon
Power Supply EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply $42.86 @ Amazon
Optical Drive Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer $21.69 @ Amazon
Operating System Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro (OEM) (64-bit) $129.00 @ Amazon
Total
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available $789.23
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-28 17:30 EST-0500

Had to drop to a 270 non-x to keep costs low, and I switched to a higher wattage PSU.

This is the path I went, and when I upgraded to a 280x, I saw significant bottlenecking till I upgraded to a 4690k. So it's up to you. Just be aware that the g3258 is a fun chip that PWNS some games, but is really bad in others that can use 4+ cores (BF4 multiplayer and Crysis 3 for instance).

/r/buildapc Thread