Planning for VR/1440p Gaming

[Woryor67]

Hey guys, I've been planning this build for a while (delayed gratification + time to save up!) and plan on purchasing it sometime in January. I'm located in the United States and my goal is to create a gaming PC with a budget of $1600 for the PC and Monitor. I would like to play games at 1440p running at least 60hz, as well as VR games with the Oculus Rift. 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($215.85 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: NZXT - Kraken M22 Liquid CPU Cooler  ($82.58 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI - Z370-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($52.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB Mini Video Card  ($329.99 @ B&H) 
Case: NZXT - H500 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: EVGA - 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($37.99 @ Monoprice) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($98.99 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: Dell - S2716DG 27.0" 2560x1440 144 Hz Monitor  ($439.00 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1537.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-06 15:57 EST-0500

 

I've included a monitor choice (single monitor, 1440p) in the build since it will factor into the budget. I'm not worried about a keyboard or mouse recommendation as I will be purchasing those separately after the PC has been built. Please let me know what you guys think, in particular if there are any noticeable bottlenecks in the system. In my experience bottlenecks give me the most trouble; having a mismatched GPU and CPU has been an issue in the past. Thanks in advance! 

[seon123]

14 minutes ago, Woryor67 said:

it sometime in January

Prices constantly change, and new parts come out. I recommend planning the parts as close to the purchase date as possible. 

[Woryor67]

@seon123 Definitely good advice, and I will be revising the build list as time goes on and won't be making any purchases until much closer. I'm thinking of this as a good approximation of the kind of system I can expect.

[Happycowdance]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Core i5-8600K 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$249.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	be quiet! - Dark Rock 4 CPU Cooler	$67.49 @ SuperBiiz
Motherboard	MSI - Z370 GAMING PLUS ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$119.99 @ Amazon
Memory	ADATA - XPG GAMMIX D10 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$104.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Patriot - Burst 480 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$59.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$44.85 @ OutletPC
Video Card	Asus - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8 GB CERBERUS Video Card	$359.99 @ Newegg
Case	NZXT - H500 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case	$61.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply	$88.89 @ OutletPC
Operating System	Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit	$98.89 @ OutletPC
Monitor	MSI - Optix MAG27CQ 27.0" 2560x1440 144 Hz Monitor	$369.99 @ B&H
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1657.05
	Mail-in rebates	-$30.00
	Total	$1627.05
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-06 16:48 EST-0500

here's a list with:

more storage

a better cpu(one that you can oc) and good cooler

a better gpu

 

[Woryor67]

@Happycowdance Thanks for the recommendations! I don't have a desire to overclock my CPU, is there a better place you would put the $50? 

[Happycowdance]

5 minutes ago, Woryor67 said:

@Happycowdance Thanks for the recommendations! I don't have a desire to overclock my CPU, is there a better place you would put the $50? 

maybe more storage or custom sleeved cables

 

you should just do a minor oc(4.8-5ghz) tho because it will give you a good boost in performance without having to do to much and there are plenty of good tutorials online

[Happycowdance]

I would recommend waiting for zen 2 tho because the spec sheets for that indicate youll get much better performance from that

[Woryor67]

1 minute ago, Happycowdance said:

you should just do a minor oc(4.8-5ghz) tho because it will give you a good boost in performance without having to do to much and there are plenty of good tutorials online

I'll consider it. I've always valued stability over squeezing as much performance as possible out of my hardware because so much can go wrong. I know tons of people overclock just fine and have healthy hardware, but it's always been a little arcane to me and I don't want to mess with things unless I have a firm grasp on what I'm doing and what I need to watch for in case something goes wrong. But for $50 it isn't too much of an opportunity cost to go with the overclock-able CPU just to have the option when I feel comfortable enough. 

[Kyzen 69]

On 12/6/2018 at 5:04 PM, Happycowdance said:

I would recommend waiting for zen 2 tho because the spec sheets for that indicate youll get much better performance from that

Do you think it's better to go with an 8600k oc'ed for my long term VR+gaming rig, or with a 2600 as a short term "zen 2 upgradable" VR+gaming rig in hopes that the zen 2 will be silver bullet for that usage in the next year or so?