First time builder looking for some advice

[Sprinkles]

Hi. Since my 21st birthday is coming up in just a couple of days, I decided that I would treat myself and decided to build my own pc for the first time. I've been watching build toturials and tried learning about the different components. I still have some unanswered questions and I was hoping someone here could give me some advice on it.

 

I'm gonna be using my pc for gaming, FPS games for the most part. I'm having a bit of trouble picking out a motherboard. There are so many options and even different variants of the same board and the more I read about it, the more confused I get. I have been looking at ASUS Prime boards, ASUS ROG boards and a couple of MSI boards but I don't really know which is better than the other and what impact it'll have on my build. If you have any tips or recommendations they are all very much appreciated!

 

At the moment I'm considering an Intel Core i7 9700k with AOI cooling, 16GB of ram and am looking to upgrade that to 32GB, I will be needing one slot for Intel Optane and one slot for an M.2 ssd. My GPU is going to be an RTX 2080.

 

I would love any kind of suggestions for both motherboard and any possible changes. RGB isn't my main priority but always nice

 

Tiny detail I live in Europe. Don't know if it changes anything

 

Thank you in advance!

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Core i7-9700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor	$409.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Corsair - H100i PRO 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	$89.89 @ OutletPC
Memory	Kingston - HyperX Predator RGB 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$320.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Samsung - 970 Evo 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$77.99 @ B&H
Storage	Kingston - A400 480 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$59.99 @ Adorama
Storage	Seagate - BarraCuda 4 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive	$98.89 @ OutletPC
Video Card	MSI - GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB GAMING X TRIO Video Card	$799.99 @ Walmart
Case	Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400S TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case	$79.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply	$99.99 @ B&H
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$2077.71
	Mail-in rebates	-$40.00
	Total	$2037.71
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-22 12:59 EST-0500

 

[xg32]

there's no need to go with a 5400rpm drive

 

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-Internal-3-5-Inch-ST2000DM006/dp/B071WLPRHN/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=hdd&qid=1550858629&s=gateway&sr=8-4&th=1

 

that 2080 is overpriced unless you are going for looks, for 200 more than the 2080 trio you can get a 2080 ti black

 

https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=08G-P4-2081-KR

 

for psu the g2 is better but 20dollars more atm

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IKDETOC/ref=twister_B01LXKQ07C?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

For z390 motherboard, just pick anything from the gigabyte lineup or the taichi that's on sale atm. Most asus boards are downgraded this generation for cost savings on their part.

 

[Fasauceome]

Some amendments:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Core i7-9700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor	$409.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Corsair - H100i PRO 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	$89.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	Gigabyte - Z390 AORUS PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$179.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$119.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Samsung - 970 Evo Plus 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$127.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate - Barracuda 3 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$84.89 @ OutletPC
Video Card	MSI - GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB GAMING X TRIO Video Card	$799.99 @ Walmart
Case	Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400S TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case	$79.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	BitFenix - Formula Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply	$69.88 @ SuperBiiz
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1982.60
	Mail-in rebates	-$20.00
	Total	$1962.60
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-22 13:09 EST-0500

There's no real benefit to dual SSDs and you may not even get much out of Optane, it's not a superb investment when you can just get another m.2 SSD later. You also don't get any benefit out of an NVMe SSD for a gaming PC, but it seems you have money to spend.

I went with the formula gold because that's a great PSU for less money, solid choice for your build. 

The Aorus line of motherboards has been great this generation, quality VRMs and good features. 

[Sprinkles]

1 minute ago, xg32 said:

there's no need to go with a 5400rpm drive

 

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-Internal-3-5-Inch-ST2000DM006/dp/B071WLPRHN/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=hdd&qid=1550858629&s=gateway&sr=8-4&th=1

 

that 2080 is overpriced unless you are going for looks

 

for psu the g2 is better but 20dollars more atm

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IKDETOC/ref=twister_B01LXKQ07C?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

Pretty much all the parts are just examples I don't really know what is the best price to performance. The drive is just a random pick. Thanks I'll see if I can buy that PSU where I live

[Bajantechnician]

Just now, Sprinkles said:

Pretty much all the parts are just examples I don't really know what is the best price to performance. The drive is just a random pick. Thanks I'll see if I can buy that PSU where I live

youll be fine with a 8700k instead of that processor you have now if you're really only going to do gaming (no editing etc) although a 8700k is still more than adequate for editing

[Eastman51]

Personally, I would go with the Intel Core i5-9600k. At stock speeds, the 9700k isn't enough of an improvement to justify the large price increase.

 

Also personally, I would go with a high-end air cooler over an AIO. A Noctua NH-D15, Dark Rock Pro 4, or Croyrig R1 Ultimate will perform similarly enough to an AIO. And if you don't OC, you definitely don't need an AIO. The NH-D15, last I checked, was the same price as that H100i. AIO's have more risk vectors (pump, tubing, and fans) than an air cooler (just fans), but they have become pretty reliable in the last few years so they can still be a good choice.

 

Don't get a 5400rpm HDD. They are very slow. For only a few dollars more you can get a 7200rpm 4TB HDD from Toshiba.

[Turtle Rig]

6 minutes ago, xg32 said:

there's no need to go with a 5400rpm drive

 

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-BarraCuda-Internal-3-5-Inch-ST2000DM006/dp/B071WLPRHN/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=hdd&qid=1550858629&s=gateway&sr=8-4&th=1

 

that 2080 is overpriced unless you are going for looks, for 200 more than the trio you can get a 2080 ti black

 

https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=08G-P4-2081-KR

 

for psu the g2 is better but 20dollars more atm

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IKDETOC/ref=twister_B01LXKQ07C?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

For z390 motherboard, just pick anything from the gigabyte lineup or the taichi that's on sale atm.

 

The cheapest 2080Ti I have seen is the EVGA almost 1385 dollars so basically 1400 dollars.  You can't buy a 2080Ti for 1100 dollars,, minimum is 1300 dollars on vanilla model.

[Eastman51]

1 minute ago, Bajantechnician said:

youll be fine with a 8700k instead of that processor you have now if you're really only going to do gaming (no editing etc) although a 8700k is still more than adequate for editing

I'd just get a 9600k instead of an 8700k. They perform nearly identically at stock speeds. The only real reason I'd go with the 8700k is if I was going to do a lot of overclocking.

[Sprinkles]

1 minute ago, fasauceome said:

Some amendments:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Core i7-9700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor	$409.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Corsair - H100i PRO 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	$89.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	Gigabyte - Z390 AORUS PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$179.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$119.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Samsung - 970 Evo Plus 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$127.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate - Barracuda 3 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$84.89 @ OutletPC
Video Card	MSI - GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB GAMING X TRIO Video Card	$799.99 @ Walmart
Case	Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400S TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case	$79.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	BitFenix - Formula Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply	$69.88 @ SuperBiiz
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1982.60
	Mail-in rebates	-$20.00
	Total	$1962.60
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-22 13:09 EST-0500

There's no real benefit to dual SSDs and you may not even get much out of Optane, it's not a superb investment when you can just get another m.2 SSD later. You also don't get any benefit out of an NVMe SSD for a gaming PC, but it seems you have money to spend.

I went with the formula gold because that's a great PSU for less money, solid choice for your build. 

The Aorus line of motherboards has been great this generation, quality VRMs and good features. 

Thanks I'll try and see what I can get my hands on where I live. Yeah you're right It's my first time building and I don't want to cheap out on anything. I already have an 2.5 SSD I just added the M.2 because I would like to have a Samsung SSD

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, Turtle Rig said:

The cheapest 2080Ti I have seen is the EVGA almost 1385 dollars so basically 1400 dollars.  You can't buy a 2080Ti for 1100 dollars,, minimum is 1300 dollars on vanilla model.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/kZPKHx/evga-geforce-rtx-2080-ti-11gb-xc-gaming-video-card-11g-p4-2382-kr

 

$1200, so $200 less than what you're quoting. That's with free shipping too. 

[Bajantechnician]

Just now, Eastman51 said:

I'd just get a 9600k instead of an 8700k. They perform nearly identically at stock speeds. The only real reason I'd go with the 8700k is if I was going to do a lot of overclocking.

Mmm, thats a good point

[Sprinkles]

2 minutes ago, Bajantechnician said:

youll be fine with a 8700k instead of that processor you have now if you're really only going to do gaming (no editing etc) although a 8700k is still more than adequate for editing

At the moment my plans are not on editing. Being as newbie as I am I just went for the "new is always better" and "more is always better" (cores)

[Eastman51]

14 minutes ago, Sprinkles said:

I have been looking at ASUS Prime boards, ASUS ROG boards and a couple of MSI boards but I don't really know which is better than the other and what impact it'll have on my build. If you have any tips or recommendations they are all very much appreciated!

Asus' ROG line is their "gaming" boards, with Strix being the low tier ones and Maximus/Crosshair being the top tier ones. Asus PRIME is consumer/business class boards, they aren't ideal for gaming. I wouldn't recommend MSI, but that's just me.

[Fasauceome]

2 minutes ago, Eastman51 said:

I'd just get a 9600k instead of an 8700k. They perform nearly identically at stock speeds. The only real reason I'd go with the 8700k is if I was going to do a lot of overclocking.

Why wouldn't the 9600k be better for more overclocking? No HT so less work per core, and soldered IHS.

[Turtle Rig]

2 minutes ago, Zando Bob said:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/kZPKHx/evga-geforce-rtx-2080-ti-11gb-xc-gaming-video-card-11g-p4-2382-kr

 

$1200, so $200 less than what you're quoting. That's with free shipping too. 

Wow that is a steal deal 1200 bones is very low compared to the 1500 it used to be at launch or 1400  for that matter.

[xg32]

4 minutes ago, Turtle Rig said:

The cheapest 2080Ti I have seen is the EVGA almost 1385 dollars so basically 1400 dollars.  You can't buy a 2080Ti for 1100 dollars,, minimum is 1300 dollars on vanilla model.

 

it's only in stock half the time but the black is the non-a version, they go outta stock fast anytime it's back in stock though

 

https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=11G-P4-2281-KR

[Fasauceome]

2 minutes ago, Sprinkles said:

Thanks I'll try and see what I can get my hands on where I live. Yeah you're right It's my first time building and I don't want to cheap out on anything. I already have an 2.5 SSD I just added the M.2 because I would like to have a Samsung SSD

Don't forget, more money doesn't always mean better. Like I said, NVMe isn't a tangible benefit, for an m.2 SSD more suitable you could check out the 860 evo. Also, the formula gold is rated higher than the G3 on our forum's PSU tier list, click my PSU in my signature for more info.

[Eastman51]

1 minute ago, fasauceome said:

Why wouldn't the 9600k be better for more overclocking? No HT so less work per core, and soldered IHS.

The 8700k should be better for enthusiast OC, imo. You could delid the 8700k for liquid metal if you wanted to get jiggy, I've also heard that 9th gen ins't as good as 8th gen for OC as well.

[Sprinkles]

4 minutes ago, Eastman51 said:

Personally, I would go with the Intel Core i5-9600k. At stock speeds, the 9700k isn't enough of an improvement to justify the large price increase.

 

Also personally, I would go with a high-end air cooler over an AIO. A Noctua NH-D15, Dark Rock Pro 4, or Croyrig R1 Ultimate will perform similarly enough to an AIO. And if you don't OC, you definitely don't need an AIO. The NH-D15, last I checked, was the same price as that H100i. AIO's have more risk vectors (pump, tubing, and fans) than an air cooler (just fans), but they have become pretty reliable in the last few years so they can still be a good choice.

 

Don't get a 5400rpm HDD. They are very slow. For only a few dollars more you can get a 7200rpm 4TB HDD from Toshiba.

I am planning on overclocking and honestly the AIO is mostly because I like the clean look and I've always wanted watercooling when I was going to build my own pc

The HDD is just something I picked didn't look at it at all and haven't bought it yet, but thanks for the advice, It's been added to the list

[Fasauceome]

1 minute ago, Eastman51 said:

The 8700k should be better for enthusiast OC, imo. You could delid the 8700k for liquid metal if you wanted to get jiggy, I've also heard that 9th gen ins't as good as 8th gen for OC as well.

They're the same for OC potential, they're both coffee lake. Also, I highly doubt OC will be delidding their very first PC build, I've been doing it for a few years and I still don't want to delid.

[Bajantechnician]

6 minutes ago, Sprinkles said:

At the moment my plans are not on editing. Being as newbie as I am I just went for the "new is always better" and "more is always better" (cores)

Just don't forget that am3+ was *many* cores at a very slow speed  Do you think you'll use hyperthreading? virtualization, etc

[Turtle Rig]

7 minutes ago, Eastman51 said:

Asus' ROG line is their "gaming" boards, with Strix being the low tier ones and Maximus/Crosshair being the top tier ones. Asus PRIME is consumer/business class boards, they aren't ideal for gaming. I wouldn't recommend MSI, but that's just me.

Yes ASUS Prime x299 is for the 9980XE and their HEDT line.  Differences are many, main one being it offers quad channel 8 slots and has quality VRMs and components.

[Sprinkles]

4 minutes ago, fasauceome said:

Don't forget, more money doesn't always mean better. Like I said, NVMe isn't a tangible benefit, for an m.2 SSD more suitable you could check out the 860 evo. Also, the formula gold is rated higher than the G3 on our forum's PSU tier list, click my PSU in my signature for more info.

Thanks I will do that. I'm new to this whole thing and don't have anyone who really knows anything, so I'm taking baby steps. I have so many questions but no one to answer them so thanks!

[Fasauceome]

Just now, Sprinkles said:

Thanks I will do that. I'm new to this whole thing and don't have anyone who really knows anything, so I'm taking baby steps. I have so many questions but no one to answer them so thanks!

You came to the right place.

[Sprinkles]

1 minute ago, Bajantechnician said:

Just don't forget that am3+ was *many* cores at a very slow speed  Do you think you'll use hyperthreading? virtualization, etc

You see, funny thing. I haven't watched the what is hyperthreading video yet so I'm unable to answer that