azureanman

Hello! This is a follow-up post to one I made last week, but now I have a bit better Idea of how to go about this whole computer building thing… I think. Here’s the rundown: Budget: I’ve been saving up for this build for about 3 years. I’d like to keep it below $1700 USD if possible, and I’m willing to wait 3 months to do so. (Heck I already waited three years!) This budget does not include the monitor, OS, mouse, and keyboard which I already have. Uses: 3D Modeling and animating in Blender, Image Processing in MATLAB, coding in MATLAB, high performance gaming at 1440p, light video editing, looooots of google chrome tabs (yeah, I’m that guy.) Goals: I would like to build a machine that has excellent performance for a minimum of 5 years. I am open to upgrading certain components such as memory, ram, and cooling over that time. I walked into Micro Center yesterday to browse monitors, and I ended up spending $1,900 (post-tax) on all the parts I need for a rig. Pretty dumb I know, but I figured I would secure them just in case. The very convincing salesman assured me I was getting a great deal, but I had my suspicions. It turns out that the rig cost is a bit more than the same one online pre-tax, but the $150 in tax is what killed the “great deal” aspect of it. I will return the parts which were the worst deal for a full refund. (The GPU, case, and cooler which were the worst deals) Here is the build from Micro Center: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/NXsw9W note: the SSD is not the same brand as the one from micro center, but the price and capacity are the same. Here is the online match I put together with no tax and free shipping: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/QwFLhq note: The prices have gone up since I put this together, and the ram is sold out. I’m not sure if I should return the CPU, motherboard, and cooler, HDD, SDD, and RAM, but that all comes down to what you guys think. Here are my thoughts categorized by part with my most pressing questions underlined: CPU, motherboard, and cooler The way I see it, these three components are sort of a package deal, and is all comes down to the CPU. I’ve narrowed my preferences down to i7 8700, 17 8700k, and Ryzen 1800X. Here are the stats: 8700: Base clock = 3.2 GHz; boosts to 4.6 GHz 8700k: Base clock = 3.7 Hz; boots to 4.7 GHz and OC to 5.0??? 1800X: Base clock = 3.6 Hz; boots to 4.0 GHz There seem to be two schools of thought: 1. The base performance on the 8700K, without overclocking, is so much better that that of the 8700, that you should get the 8700K if you can afford it. 2. If you are overclocking, get K. If you are not overclocking, then don't get K. I've known about overclocking for quite some time now, but I have never had the opportunity to try it (obviously since this is my first build). I don’t know much, but I guess there’s some minor risk involved? It seems like the 8700K is more popular and wins out in almost every category except power efficiency which would lead me to believe it’s the better value. (http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-8700K-vs-Intel-Core-i7-8700/3937vs3940) I think I can afford both in my build and still keep it under $1700 USD, but I am concerned with getting the best bang for my buck for my purposes. Things I'm also considering: -8700K will need a more expensive cooler if overclocked (and possibly motherboard?) with effectively adds a further price premium over the 8700. All things considered, there is about a $50-$80 increase to go to K for only a 0.1-0.4ish GHz increase in performance. -These things seem to be selling like hot cakes right now. I guess I should feel lucky I got my hands on one? How long will I reasonably have to wait until they are regularly in stock and the cost stabilizes a bit lower? I'm not a big gamer, that being said, I would like the option for a high quality gaming experience since I might like that some time over the next 5 years. Does that rule out Ryzen 1800X, or is the cost savings worth it? GPU GTX 1080 vs 1080ti? This seems to be the sentiment: 1080 gives you the better performance per fps, but 1080ti gives you about 30% better overall performance with a 40% price increase. Go with 1080ti if you really need/want that significantly better performance and are willing to pay for it. I have no experience with fancy graphics cards, but here are my thoughts on the matter for myself: if I get 30% better performance on something and it saves me 30% more time over doing the same 3 hour a week rendering task with the 1080 over the course of 5 years, then it saves me 9.75 days of my life over that time (32.5 days vs 22.75 days). I'm leaning heavily toward ti. Alternatively, I can use the approximately $200 in savings by getting the 1080 and put it towards a better case, PSU, etc. There are a ton of manufacturers selling the 1080ti at very different price points. Can someone tell me what the difference is between a "cheap" 1080ti and a more expensive one? RAM I’m not sure if I got a good deal at Micro Center. I can find cheaper RAM online, but it seems to sell out quick. I guess there is a shortage of DDR4 supply right now. Is it reasonable to assume I can find a deal on RAM sometime over the next two months? Do you have any suggestions on RAM other than going with 16 GB of DDR4-3200? Memory Can I get a better deal on an SSD and/or HDD over the next few months? Final Thoughts Lots of people are saying this is a bad time to build. I guess that’s because RAM and GPU costs are high right now, AMD vs. Intel CPU is a tough choice, and mobo compatibility sucks for coffee lake? Does the build scene look any better two months from now or when the b350 motherboards come out? Sorry for the long ass post. Hopefully the answers to these questions can help more than just me.

Cool, thanks!

I hadn't looked at 8600k. I definitely benefit from multiple threads from the image processing standpoint alone. Do you think the monitor prices will come down on Black Friday/Cyber Monday?

Thanks for putting these together! Thanks for the heads up on that monitor as well. I would like the little boost from an Intel chip, and it seems like I can save on cooling since I don't plan on overclocking.

Yeah, I think I like that a bit more. From the benchmarks I've seen on YouTube, Intel pretty much warrants the $60 increase.

Agreed. Still very powerful. Thanks for the ideas!

Seems like a boost on GPU and a small hit on CPU correct? Do you think that better suits my needs?

Thanks much! I like the build

Thanks! Good tips.

I'd really like to see that build! No specific needs on case. I just thought it looked kind of fun.

That's a good point. Smaller case sounds good. I guess I just need to make sure it is CPU compatible.

Thanks for the tip!

I am an engineering PhD student whose work involves image processing with MATLAB, and I'm also into casual video editing and 3D modeling in Blender. Naturally, I also like to game a little on the side. I would like to build something that can do it all for under 1900 USD if possible. What do you all think of this build? Is there anywhere I can save money? Do I have any bottlenecks? Is the case super gross? Please give me your two cents on this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7y7rTH

You are right about the Z97 FTW being cheaper... my bad. tnx for everything!

Thanks for all the useful info! (especially on the case... I think the smaller option will be great) 1. Glad to know the cooler was overkill... it seemed pricy 2. Also good to know about the mother board. As a complete newbie, what sort of features am I likely not to use? 3. Is there a brand/ model of RAM you particularly like/ recommend? 4. will do! 5. Thanks for the tip! 6. Any recommended monitor brands/models/specs?