I need help with my first PC

[Revur]

Hi everyone, I really need help choosing which pc to purchase from Digital Storm.  The PC will be used mainly to play games competitively (Fortnite mainly) and to stream from.  My budget on each photo is the middle two, so if you guys can let me know which PC is best for those uses it would be greatly appreciated. (btw I have no knowledge on how to build my own PC). Thank You.

[Slottr]

Any reason you're buying a pre built system?

 

You'll save a few bucks if you buy parts and if you can post on a forum you can definitely follow instructions- it's no harder than building a lego set. Also the knowledge of it is good to have.

 

For example, here's that "Best" system in parts:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 7 2700 3.2 GHz 8-Core Processor	$224.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard	$114.88 @ OutletPC
Memory	Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$94.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$62.95 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$59.78 @ OutletPC
Video Card	EVGA - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB XC BLACK GAMING Video Card	$349.99 @ Amazon
Case	Fractal Design - Meshify C Dark TG ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Corsair - CXM 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply	$59.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1097.26
	Mail-in rebates	-$40.00
	Total	$1057.26
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-17 00:36 EDT-0400

 

You save 350-400$.

 

But considering you're just playing fortnite, you maybe need to spend ~900 for a higher end 1080p system like this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor	$164.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard	$114.88 @ OutletPC
Memory	Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$94.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$62.95 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$59.78 @ OutletPC
Video Card	Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1660 6 GB GAMING OC Video Card	$229.99 @ Amazon
Case	Fractal Design - Meshify C Dark TG ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Corsair - CXM 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply	$59.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$917.26
	Mail-in rebates	-$40.00
	Total	$877.26
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-17 00:37 EDT-0400

[Revur]

3 minutes ago, Slottr said:

Any reason you're buying a pre built system?

 

You'll save a few bucks if you buy parts and if you can post on a forum you can definitely follow instructions- it's no harder than building a lego set. Also the knowledge of it is good to have.

 

For example, here's that "Best" system in parts:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 7 2700 3.2 GHz 8-Core Processor	$224.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard	$114.88 @ OutletPC
Memory	Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$94.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$62.95 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$59.78 @ OutletPC
Video Card	EVGA - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB XC BLACK GAMING Video Card	$349.99 @ Amazon
Case	Fractal Design - Meshify C Dark TG ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Corsair - CXM 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply	$59.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1097.26
	Mail-in rebates	-$40.00
	Total	$1057.26
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-17 00:36 EDT-0400

 

You save 350-400$.

 

But considering you're just playing fortnite, you maybe need to spend ~900 for a high end 1080p system like this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor	$164.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard	$114.88 @ OutletPC
Memory	Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$94.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$62.95 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$59.78 @ OutletPC
Video Card	Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1660 6 GB GAMING OC Video Card	$229.99 @ Amazon
Case	Fractal Design - Meshify C Dark TG ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Corsair - CXM 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply	$59.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$917.26
	Mail-in rebates	-$40.00
	Total	$877.26
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-17 00:37 EDT-0400

 

woah thats savings is crazy! I really appreciate the response and help, and well I eventually want to dabble into GTA and Rainbow 6 Seige so should I go with that first list that copies the "Best" Digital Storm PC? 

[Slottr]

2 minutes ago, Revur said:

woah thats savings is crazy! I really appreciate the response and help, and well I eventually want to dabble into GTA and Rainbow 6 Seige so should I go with that first list that copies the "Best" Digital Storm PC? 

Glad you understand!

What resolution and refresh rate is the monitor you intend to use? 1080p 60hz? Or is it something else? And what's your all over budget?

[Revur]

2 minutes ago, Slottr said:

Glad you understand!

What resolution and refresh rate is the monitor you intend to use? 1080p 60hz? Or is it something else? And what's your all over budget?

1080p 144hz is the monitor I intend to use, and overall budget id say is probably $1400.

[Slottr]

5 minutes ago, Revur said:

1080p 144hz is the monitor I intend to use, and overall budget id say is probably $1400.

Something like this should do, 1400 is pretty overkill for a 1080p gaming machine

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor	$365.99 @ Walmart
CPU Cooler	ARCTIC - Freezer 33 eSports ONE (Black/White) CPU Cooler
Motherboard	Gigabyte - Z390 AORUS ELITE ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$159.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$94.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$62.95 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$59.78 @ OutletPC
Video Card	EVGA - GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card	$309.99 @ Amazon
Case	Fractal Design - Meshify C Dark TG ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Corsair - CXM 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply	$59.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1223.47
	Mail-in rebates	-$20.00
	Total	$1203.47
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-17 00:55 EDT-0400

 

[Revur]

2 minutes ago, Slottr said:

Something like this should do, 1400 is pretty overkill for a 1080p gaming machine

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor	$365.99 @ Walmart
CPU Cooler	ARCTIC - Freezer 33 eSports ONE (Black/White) CPU Cooler
Motherboard	Gigabyte - Z390 AORUS ELITE ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$159.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$94.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$62.95 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$59.78 @ OutletPC
Video Card	EVGA - GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card	$309.99 @ Amazon
Case	Fractal Design - Meshify C Dark TG ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Corsair - CXM 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply	$59.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1223.47
	Mail-in rebates	-$20.00
	Total	$1203.47
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-17 00:55 EDT-0400

 

thank you so much man, and this PC build will allow me to run those super congested endgames in competitive Fortnight no problem? And be able to stream them? Thank you though so much I appreciate it 

[Slottr]

Just now, Revur said:

thank you so much man, and this PC build will allow me to run those super congested endgames in competitive Fortnight no problem? And be able to stream them? Thank you though so much I appreciate it 

Yeah, you'll be absolutely fine with this setup. You -could- get a 2070, but I really don't think it would be necessary. 

[Revur]

1 minute ago, Slottr said:

Yeah, you'll be absolutely fine with this setup. You -could- get a 2070, but I really don't think it would be necessary. 

thats the video card right?

 

[Slottr]

3 minutes ago, Revur said:

thats the video card right?

 

Yep, the current one is the 1660ti. It's a great card for 1080p

[Revur]

12 minutes ago, Slottr said:

Yep, the current one is the 1660ti. It's a great card for 1080p

ok cool sorry for all the questions but these are the last two lol. 1. If i eventually get more money and want to upgrade the card I can do so just to get that 2070 and I wont have to change anything else around in the build right? And 2. any videos you recommend I check out when building this for the first time 

[Slottr]

4 minutes ago, Revur said:

ok cool sorry for all the questions but these are the last two lol. 1. If i eventually get more money and want to upgrade the card I can do so just to get that 2070 and I wont have to change anything else around in the build right? And 2. any videos you recommend I check out when building this for the first time 

No problem, it's literally the reason I sit on here lol

 

You wouldnt need to change anything theoretically. Granted, theres two things to take account for- one: is power supply. If you have add a power hungry card next to the processor in that list (8700k), you may need to upgrade that as well. If you want to feel safe, I can change the list for you to a decent 650w unit. The second thing is bottlenecking. Currently the 8700k is a GREAT chip for gaming, though tech changes over time so it depends how far down the line you upgrade and what has changed between now and then.

 

Your second question:

Yes there's tons. There's all of the beginners build guides done by LTT, Pauls Hardware and others. All consumer pc's are generally the same and carry the same principles over all. 

 

Here's a few

 

You'll need to reference your manuals every once in a while for parts that are maybe a little bit more proprietary, like your cpu cooler might have a different mounting system than others, or motherboard connector placements may differ, etc.

[Revur]

3 minutes ago, Slottr said:

No problem, it's literally the reason I sit on here lol

 

You wouldnt need to change anything theoretically. Granted, theres two things to take account for- one: is power supply. If you have add a power hungry card next to the processor in that list (8700k), you may need to upgrade that as well. If you want to feel safe, I can change the list for you to a decent 650w unit. The second thing is bottlenecking. Currently the 8700k is a GREAT chip for gaming, though tech changes over time so it depends how far down the line you upgrade and what has changed between now and then.

 

Your second question:

Yes there's tons. There's all of the beginners build guides done by LTT, Pauls Hardware and others. All consumer pc's are generally the same and carry the same principles over all. 

 

Here's a few

 

You'll need to reference your manuals every once in a while for parts that are maybe a little bit more proprietary, like your cpu cooler might have a different mounting system than others, or motherboard connector placements may differ, etc.

thank so much this will be very helpful, and yes if you wouldn't mind making that 650w unit list for future reference i'd really appreciate it haha.

[Slottr]

8 minutes ago, Revur said:

thank so much this will be very helpful, and yes if you wouldn't mind making that 650w unit list for future reference i'd really appreciate it haha.

Here you go

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor	$365.99 @ Walmart
CPU Cooler	ARCTIC - Freezer 33 eSports ONE (Black/White) CPU Cooler
Motherboard	Gigabyte - Z390 AORUS ELITE ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$159.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$94.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$62.95 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$59.78 @ OutletPC
Video Card	EVGA - GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card	$309.99 @ Amazon
Case	Fractal Design - Meshify C Dark TG ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Corsair - RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply	$89.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1233.57
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-17 02:02 EDT-0400

 

And for windows, you can get it off ebay for significantly cheaper than from microsoft. If you're a post secondary student you'll probably be able to get it for free

[Revur]

3 minutes ago, Slottr said:

Here you go

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor	$365.99 @ Walmart
CPU Cooler	ARCTIC - Freezer 33 eSports ONE (Black/White) CPU Cooler
Motherboard	Gigabyte - Z390 AORUS ELITE ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$159.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$94.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$62.95 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$59.78 @ OutletPC
Video Card	EVGA - GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card	$309.99 @ Amazon
Case	Fractal Design - Meshify C Dark TG ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Corsair - RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply	$89.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1233.57
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-17 02:02 EDT-0400

 

And for windows, you can get it off ebay for significantly cheaper than from microsoft. If you're a post secondary student you'll probably be able to get it for free

wait, so its only like 33 dollars for a more powerful build? lol shouldnt i just get this one then? and yeah i am in college so ill see what I can do about windows. thank you.

 

[Slottr]

1 minute ago, Revur said:

wait, so its only like 33 dollars for a more powerful build? lol shouldnt i just get this one then? and yeah i am in college so ill see what I can do about windows. thank you.

 

It's no different from the previous one aside from the power supply, it won't offer you any extra performance.

[Herman Mcpootis]

11 minutes ago, Slottr said:

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor	$365.99 @ Walmart
Video Card	EVGA - GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card	$309.99 @ Amazon

why an 8700k and 1660ti?

[Herman Mcpootis]

11 minutes ago, Revur said:

wait, so its only like 33 dollars for a more powerful build? lol shouldnt i just get this one then? and yeah i am in college so ill see what I can do about windows. thank you.

 

here's another option, no overclocking the i7 but you get a much better graphics card:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($294.99 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: RAIJINTEK - AIDOS 48.6 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($21.34 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI - B360-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($76.00 @ Amazon) 
Memory: OLOy - 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($78.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: HP - EX900 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.78 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($478.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: NZXT - H500 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Cooler Master - MWE Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ B&H) 
Total: $1205.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-17 02:19 EDT-0400

[Slottr]

2 minutes ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

why an 8700k and 1660ti?

Honestly, I kinda noticed that a little while ago, and wondered too

 

Though I figured the 8700k would do good for 144hz gaming and streaming, while passing a 1660ti on 1080p 144hz doesn't make too much sense to me? A 2070 would be more so of a waste of money on that resolution. Though it is up to OP, which is why I made the 2070 comment shortly after that. 

[Revur]

Just now, Herman Mcpootis said:

here's another option, no overclocking the i7 but you get a much better graphics card:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($294.99 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: RAIJINTEK - AIDOS 48.6 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($21.34 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI - B360-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($76.00 @ Amazon) 
Memory: OLOy - 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($78.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: HP - EX900 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.78 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($478.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: NZXT - H500 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Cooler Master - MWE Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ B&H) 
Total: $1205.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-17 02:19 EDT-0400

wait sorry im not very knowledgeable on this, what is the difference from this one and the other?

[Herman Mcpootis]

5 minutes ago, Revur said:

wait sorry im not very knowledgeable on this, what is the difference from this one and the other?

you can't overclock this i7, and the board is cheaper, but the graphics card performs much better.

https://www.techspot.com/review/1799-geforce-gtx-1660-mega-benchmark/

[Revur]

12 minutes ago, Slottr said:

Honestly, I kinda noticed that a little while ago, and wondered too

 

Though I figured the 8700k would do good for 144hz gaming and streaming, while passing a 1660ti on 1080p 144hz doesn't make too much sense to me? A 2070 would be more so of a waste of money on that resolution. Though it is up to OP, which is why I made the 2070 comment shortly after that. 

would you agree then Sloter? that that build is the way to go for competitive, and streaming?

[Revur]

6 minutes ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

you can't overclock this i7, and the board is cheaper, but the graphics card performs much better.

https://www.techspot.com/review/1799-geforce-gtx-1660-mega-benchmark/

would the cheaper motherboard affect amything?

[Herman Mcpootis]

1 minute ago, Revur said:

would the cheaper motherboard affect amything?

not really.

[Slottr]

5 minutes ago, Revur said:

would you agree then Sloter? that that build is the way to go for competitive, and streaming?

For sure. I guess I oversaw that you probably wouldnt overclock (right?), and the 2070 would help. Though I personally don't feel it is worth the extra tax for it on 1080p. If you think you can use it though, by all means