Student summer gaming rig build

[cromania2009]

Hello everyone,

 

I just signed up to the forum. I wanted to ask you all for opinions and advice about the build that I plan to do.

I currently only have a laptop (HP Pavillion Star Wars edition 15,6" with Intel Core i7-6500U @ 2,50 GHz, nVidia GeForce GT940m and 8 GB of RAM) for gaming and everyday use so I finally want to build my first PC over the summer period. I've been combining different parts on the internet for over a year now and now I've come up with this combination. I would use the PC for 1440p 60 FPS gaming and perhaps streaming (not sure about that, though) and some content creation. The important fact is that I live in Germany, so the prices most likely aren't compatible with yours.

 

I couldnt decide between Intel Core i5 7600k and Ryzen 5 1600x. However, after seeing multiple benchmarks, I think that the Intel chip is superior in gaming (sort of equal to Ryzen 7 1700), but the Ryzen seems to be more futureproof because of the extra cores. I've squeezed the Ryzen 7 in the budget because the 1600x comes with no cooler anyway. I plan to upgrade the stock cooler to some kind of AIO in the future (most likely an NZXT Kraken X52)
That's why I think the Ryzen 7 1700 would be better option than Core i5 or Ryzen 5, especially if I'm going to be doing some streaming and/or content creation.

 

The motherboard choice was very hard. I went with ASUS ROG Strix B350-F Gaming mostly because of neutral looks and RGB lighting. I find almost all other B350 boards very ugly because of overused color accents (mostly red). If I went with the Intel, my motherboard of choice was MSI Z270 SLI Plus which is way superior to the chosen B350, but I think they both have everything what I need, especially since the RAM can overclock up to 3200 MHz on both boards.

 

Speaking of RAM, I chose G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory. Since I'm going RGB, might as well go all the way. This memory is quite expensive, but I don't think I would go for anything slower than 3200 MHz since the Ryzen chips benefit from the fast RAM.

 

For the storage, I went with a fast Samsung - 960 EVO 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive which would be enough for Windows, programms and a game or two. As a second storage drive, I chose a Toshiba - 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive because it is the cheapest 2 TB drive at the moment.

 

The graphics card was also a hard choice. The GTX1080 is still out of my budget and I skipped the GTX1060 because, if I'm starting from scratch, I want to go past 1080p and enjoy the "sharpness" of 1440p resolution (4k is still way too expensive for me). That's why I chose the GTX1070 which I still plan to overcock slightly. The ASUS ROG Strix O8G GeForce GTX 1070 OC was again chosen mostly because of neutral looks and support for ASUS Aura RGB. Almost all other cards that are cheaper have some hideous color accents and, if I manage to catch this one for around 115€, I would be satisfied.

I am not going to buy a graphics card before the launch of Vega. I am 100% sure that I will stay with nVidia, but I think that the prices will drop once Vega comes out. 

 

The power supply of choice was Corsair RMx 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply. At first I wanted to go with a 650W version, but this one costs only 10€ more so why not.

 

I would cram all this in an all black Phanteks Eclipse P400S Tempered Glass Edition case. I love the looks and it got really positive reviews, as far as I know. However, I liked a few cases from this year's Computex so I'm willing to wait if something better comes out. What I'm looking for in a case is tempered glass, minimalistic design, front radiator support, power supply basement and good acoustics.

 

I've mentioned that I'm starting from scratch. That means that I also need a monitor. I've somehow found the Lenovo L27q-10, 27" and I think it looks beautiful. I have a pretty big room so I want a 27" monitor and this one has a 1440p IPS panel for 299€. I didn't find anything cheaper/better.

I also need a pair of speakers. I want some kind of studio monitors for my audio recordings so I went with Mackie CR3 monitors. For 109€ they are within the budget and have everything I need.

A keyboard and a mouse I have already so this doesn't need to be counted in the expense.

 

In conclusion, it would cost me around 1825€ to get all the parts for my personal summer build from scratch. I really want to spend as little as possible and I definitely don't want to spend over 2000€. That's why I plan to buy the parts gradually, as they are on discounts. I am using a price agent web page so I am notified about all the discounts in my country for the chosen parts. If everything went according to the plan, this build with the monitor and the speakers would cost me 1590€.

Since I still haven't actually bought anything, none of these parts are final and everything is open for discussion. I would appreciate your opinions and advice if some parts are overkill or not good enough, or if I forgot to include something. I combined these parts myself from the reviews on Youtube and my personal preference. I am in no way educated about this so don't be too harsh if I made some ridiculous decisions.

I have all these parts in the build log on Partpicker https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/yFBJQV

 

Best regards.

[xDylanio]

Summer gaming student

[zzzzzzzhhh]

Looks good, I would criticise a lot of decisions there, but they are mainly relient on being a stupid decision for a low budget, I'm sure it is fine for your high budget.

[quiffghtyu]

Looks like a nice build. If I was you, I'd get a much smaller SSD and just use it as your boot drive to save some money.

[107x]

i wouldnt go with p400s unless you really like it, for reason of it not being good with airflow and watercooling, i would opt for the cooler mastercase 5 or mastercase pro 5 (what im buying next) plus you can get a tempered glass panel that looks dope, airflow in this case is much better and it allows for great rad support and great customization

[107x]

 

[Herman Mcpootis]

don't get a 750w PSU if you're not gonna SLI in the future, a 550w unit would be enough(or get a SLI board). i wouldn't spend so much on the ram just for RGB, get a normal kit and spend the money somewhere else. you don't need the 960 evo, a cheaper sata ssd will do just as well.

[quiffghtyu]

2 minutes ago, 107x said:

i wouldnt go with p400s unless you really like it, for reason of it not being good with airflow and watercooling, i would opt for the cooler mastercase 5 or mastercase pro 5 (what im buying next) plus you can get a tempered glass panel that looks dope, airflow in this case is much better and it allows for great rad support and great customization

Agreed, I'd recommend the NZXT S340 also.

[107x]

Just now, herman mcpootis said:

don't get a 750w PSU if you're not gonna SLI in the future, a 550w unit would be enough(or get a SLI board). i wouldn't spend so much on the ram just for RGB, get a normal kit and spend the money somewhere else. you don't need the 960 evo, a cheaper sata ssd will do just as well.

ive looked at uk prices and he might as well get 750 watt because it is actually the same price compared to 550watt and 650 watt psu's from corsair and evga, then he would have room for expansion in the future 

[cromania2009]

3 minutes ago, 107x said:

i wouldnt go with p400s unless you really like it, for reason of it not being good with airflow and watercooling, i would opt for the cooler mastercase 5 or mastercase pro 5 (what im buying next) plus you can get a tempered glass panel that looks dope, airflow in this case is much better and it allows for great rad support and great customization

I really like the looks of p400s. However, I want to wait for the new cases that will launch later this year. I am in no hurry. I will consider the MasterCase Pro 5 though, but it will most likely be a design-based decision since the case will become the centre of my room.

[domandric034]

17 minutes ago, cromania2009 said:

-snip-

Nice Rig but you could get R5 1600 with AIO coooler and overclock it then you could get NZXT S340 and get rather Crucial MX300 for SSD. Mobo is ok.

[107x]

Just now, cromania2009 said:

I really like the looks of p400s. However, I want to wait for the new cases that will launch later this year. I am in no hurry. I will consider the MasterCase Pro 5 though, but it will most likely be a design-based decision since the case will become the centre of my room.

right, yeah i figured i wanted to wait also because i know if i like a new case that comes out i will buy it even if i have a new case already  but i hate the current cae i have (corsair 500r white)

[cromania2009]

6 minutes ago, herman mcpootis said:

don't get a 750w PSU if you're not gonna SLI in the future, a 550w unit would be enough(or get a SLI board). i wouldn't spend so much on the ram just for RGB, get a normal kit and spend the money somewhere else. you don't need the 960 evo, a cheaper sata ssd will do just as well.

The PSU prices in Germany are in 10€ difference so it's not that big of an expense and I don't want to underpower my PC. I will most likely go with 650W just so my mind would be calm. For the RAM, I will probably do just that, buy a normal kit and call it a day. I could leave the nvme ssd for a future upgrade, that is true.

[Herman Mcpootis]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor  (€316.99 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Motherboard: MSI - X370 SLI PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard  (€146.81 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2800 Memory  (€123.29 @ Mindfactory) 
Storage: Crucial - MX300 275GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  (€83.99 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Storage: Toshiba - 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (€83.89 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB WINDFORCE OC 8G Video Card  (€528.21 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Case: Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400 TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case  (€96.98 @ ARLT) 
Other: Lenovo L27q-10, 27" (65CEGAC1) (€299.00)
Other: Mackie CR3  (€109.00)
Other: Corsair RMx 750w (€108.00)
Total: €1896.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-17 16:54 CEST+0200

[cromania2009]

8 minutes ago, herman mcpootis said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor  (€316.99 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Motherboard: MSI - X370 SLI PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard  (€146.81 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2800 Memory  (€123.29 @ Mindfactory) 
Storage: Crucial - MX300 275GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  (€83.99 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Storage: Toshiba - 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (€83.89 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB WINDFORCE OC 8G Video Card  (€528.21 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Case: Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400 TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case  (€96.98 @ ARLT) 
Other: Lenovo L27q-10, 27" (65CEGAC1) (€299.00)
Other: Mackie CR3  (€109.00)
Other: Corsair RMx 750w (€108.00)
Total: €1896.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-17 16:54 CEST+0200

This actually seems really good!

[sauce-c]

I agree with most and say its a good overall build, but I think with that budget you should be aiming to get a 1080 like the PCPP above. Personally I have more faith in a WD or Seagate HDD, but thats your call.