Help Building a great Gaming PC

[Abraham Casas]

I am new to the Linus Tech community but I need help building a PC for gaming and choosing the right parts. I understand the latest isnt always the greatest and saving a buck here and there isnt bad either. I know sometimes building your own PC vs buying a prebuilt one can save you a few bucks while giving you the same or just as much as the same results as a $3,000 high end one. 

 

I had in mind in pc Parts like a 

Intel i9900k

The New Nvidia 2080 Super

Evga Z390 Mother board 

 

But maybe there is a much cheaper way to get a high end performance and save money? Need help also choosing the little stuff to like RAM, whether to choose 16GB or 32GB, chassis, cooling, all the complicated things unfortunately

[NinJake]

What is your budget and what monitor resolution/refresh rate is your intended end-goal?

[Abraham Casas]

11 minutes ago, NinJake said:

What is your budget and what monitor resolution/refresh rate is your intended end-goal?

Thank you for your reply, Currently I do not have a budget but if I did, maybe $2,500? At the moment I have an Alienware monitor 240Hz refresh rate and I dont usually run high setting because I am alot more competitive but I do run 1920x1080p

Edited July 9, 2019 by Abraham Casas

[KING OF THE DIRTY DANS]

7 minutes ago, Abraham Casas said:

I am new to the Linus Tech community but I need help building a PC for gaming and choosing the right parts. I understand the latest isnt always the greatest and saving a buck here and there isnt bad either. I know sometimes building your own PC vs buying a prebuilt one can save you a few bucks while giving you the same or just as much as the same results as a $3,000 high end one. 

 

I had in mind in pc Parts like a 

Intel i9900k

The New Nvidia 2080 Super

Evga Z390 Mother board 

 

But maybe there is a much cheaper way to get a high end performance and save money? Need help also choosing the little stuff to like RAM, whether to choose 16GB or 32GB, chassis, cooling, all the complicated things unfortunately

The 9900k is too expensive, for what you can get from AMD.

Now for a first build, I would get something like a 3700X for a good balance of gaming and workflow.

Get 16 GB of ram, Phanteks makes bad ass cases, For cooling I would go with a dark rock, or an AIO like the NZXT Kraken.

Get a good power supply from the Tier list (basically buy something gold from a good brand)

For GPUs, I would wait and see, how aftermarket 5700 and 5700 XTs are, before jumping on super

 

You can DM Me, if you have any questions

[Abraham Casas]

9 minutes ago, KING OF THE DIRTY DANS said:

The 9900k is too expensive, for what you can get from AMD.

Now for a first build, I would get something like a 3700X for a good balance of gaming and workflow.

Get 16 GB of ram, Phanteks makes bad ass cases, For cooling I would go with a dark rock, or an AIO like the NZXT Kraken.

Get a good power supply from the Tier list (basically buy something gold from a good brand)

For GPUs, I would wait and see, how aftermarket 5700 and 5700 XTs are, before jumping on super

 

You can DM Me, if you have any questions

Thank You for your input! Very much appreciated!

[KING OF THE DIRTY DANS]

1 minute ago, Abraham Casas said:

Thank You for your input! Very much appreciated!

No Problem.

[Taintedmind]

If you're looking to keep the same computer for a long time, then you have some things to think about.  If you're not interested in upgradin for quite sometime, along w/wanting massively good performance now, then the latest & greatest is usually what you're goin to want.  High FPS and/or high resolution w/high graphical settings are obviously demanding, so you're goin to need somethin that can keep up in more than one aspect.

Processor:  i9-9900k is quite high in price, but it's the best current raw gaming processor out as of right now, but you also have to get a decent aftermarket cooler for stock speeds or water cooling for high to extreme overclocking; if it's an interest of yours at all.  I have seen recommendations for the i7-9700k for overall performance to cost-ratio, but it has issues w/non-hyperthreading, which might be an issue in the future due to Ryzen doin so well w/their processors.  Since they're pushin hyperthreadin so much, it'll likely become more of the standard for games as time goes on.  Noctua, Cooler Master and Be Quiet make great air coolers, while NZXT and Corsair make nice liquid coolers.

 

An alternative could be the Ryzen 7 3700X is nice for its price range and is newer, while also only bein in its infant stages, so its current nice performance will only get better in time w/firmware updates.  You can also purchase a cheaper motherbard (X470) and just update the BIOS, unless you want the newer X570 features w/PCIe 4.0 and such.  If you don't have a first or second gen. Ryzen, then you can purchase one w/the USB BIOS Flashback to update the BIOS, then install your processor and use it from there.  They're still havin issues due to their infancy stages/early adopters, so it's somethin to think about if you want immediate performance w/out any issues.

 

Graphics Card:  I wouldn't recommend AMD for graphics cards for many reasons for non-low budget builds.  $2,500 is a great high-end budget, so there's no point in worryin about anything less than a RTX 2070 Super or RTX 2080 Super, which you were already lookin at.  AMD is great for a RX 570 4gb at $110, but once you get above that, then you're encroachin on NVIDIA equivalents, which're better in power consumption, heat, performance and benchmarks.  I wouldn't jump on a RTX 2080 Super the second it comes out, until benchmarks come out and people start to report the problems to make an informed decision.

 

I'm buildin a 4k computer for my friend in October and he's gettin a RTX 2080 Super after all of those issues come to light and are possibly addressed by then.  These're all suggestions I'll give him w/out over-explanin too much, since he's not tech savvy.

 

RAM: 16gb 3200 MHz is good as of now, but if you're lookin to not upgrade for quite sometime, then you can just get 32gb and be far more future resistant.  I built a computer in 2014 w/8gb of RAM and by 2018 when I made this current one, the low standard was 16gb.  It's more than enough for now, but games/programs are becomin more demandin as time goes on, especially at higher resolutions and graphical settings.  Some kits are cheaper at 3600 MHz, likely due to 3200 MHz bein the gamin standard, so the higher frequency can actually be cheaper.  Might as well pick it up, since it won't hurt and might be useful down the road for the same price or less.  There's generally drastic drop-off/diminishin return on RAM frequency above 3200 MHz for gaming, but it's not a big deal if it's the same price/cheaper.

 

Motherboard:  I prefer ASUS motherboards or Aorus, if you aren't into ASUS; but that's just personal preference.  They have great software on their website and you can migrate your info for free w/their software download (if needed).  I would go w/the ASUS Maximus XI Hero (Wi-Fi) Z390 board.

 

Power Supply:  A good EVGA 650-750w is preferred, which'll be more than enough w/headroom.  I go w/750w just for peace of mind, but it's still quite a bit overkill for what I and most people do, while only costin a little bit more.  If you're an overclocker, then it'll be nice to have the extra power, if desired.

 

Case:  I prefer high airflow, so I would go w/somethin like Cooler Master MasterCase H500P Mesh or Fractal Design Meshify C TG.  Which ever case you decide to purchase, 140mm fans are better for airflow, power consumption (unnecessary, but an added bonus) and noise level, since they push about 30-33% more air due to their size, which means they don't need to spin as fast to do as much as a 120mm fan.  Your computer at this price point is goin to be an absolute powerhouse, so airflow and cooling are obviously essential.

 

Other Items:  You can also get other items, such as an external hard drive (recommended), back-up battery (UPS: Uninterruptible Power Source) which're great for playin durin a storm and/or updatin your BIOS to not brick it in case of a power surge/outage, Graphics Card Bracket to stop/slowdown graphics card sag and possibly breakin your PCIe slot in time (upHere is nice on Amazon at $10ish) and outside magnetic dust covers to lower the amount of dust flow into the computer (if you don't get a mesh version) to just take off and rinse/shake the dust off of the computer vents.  You can also get a small stand for the computer itself to keep if off of carpet/rug, if you have one, to assist w/airflow underneath of the case.  An external CD drive that hooks up via USB 3.0 or USB-C is also an option for the rarity you'll need it, but it'll be there when/if the time comes.

 

If you have any other questions or want to hone in more on certain aspect just let me know - I'll assist in anyway I can.

[Abraham Casas]

16 hours ago, Taintedmind said:

If you're looking to keep the same computer for a long time, then you have some things to think about.  If you're not interested in upgradin for quite sometime, along w/wanting massively good performance now, then the latest & greatest is usually what you're goin to want.  High FPS and/or high resolution w/high graphical settings are obviously demanding, so you're goin to need somethin that can keep up in more than one aspect.

Processor:  i9-9900k is quite high in price, but it's the best current raw gaming processor out as of right now, but you also have to get a decent aftermarket cooler for stock speeds or water cooling for high to extreme overclocking; if it's an interest of yours at all.  I have seen recommendations for the i7-9700k for overall performance to cost-ratio, but it has issues w/non-hyperthreading, which might be an issue in the future due to Ryzen doin so well w/their processors.  Since they're pushin hyperthreadin so much, it'll likely become more of the standard for games as time goes on.  Noctua, Cooler Master and Be Quiet make great air coolers, while NZXT and Corsair make nice liquid coolers.

 

An alternative could be the Ryzen 7 3700X is nice for its price range and is newer, while also only bein in its infant stages, so its current nice performance will only get better in time w/firmware updates.  You can also purchase a cheaper motherbard (X470) and just update the BIOS, unless you want the newer X570 features w/PCIe 4.0 and such.  If you don't have a first or second gen. Ryzen, then you can purchase one w/the USB BIOS Flashback to update the BIOS, then install your processor and use it from there.  They're still havin issues due to their infancy stages/early adopters, so it's somethin to think about if you want immediate performance w/out any issues.

 

Graphics Card:  I wouldn't recommend AMD for graphics cards for many reasons for non-low budget builds.  $2,500 is a great high-end budget, so there's no point in worryin about anything less than a RTX 2070 Super or RTX 2080 Super, which you were already lookin at.  AMD is great for a RX 570 4gb at $110, but once you get above that, then you're encroachin on NVIDIA equivalents, which're better in power consumption, heat, performance and benchmarks.  I wouldn't jump on a RTX 2080 Super the second it comes out, until benchmarks come out and people start to report the problems to make an informed decision.

 

I'm buildin a 4k computer for my friend in October and he's gettin a RTX 2080 Super after all of those issues come to light and are possibly addressed by then.  These're all suggestions I'll give him w/out over-explanin too much, since he's not tech savvy.

 

RAM: 16gb 3200 MHz is good as of now, but if you're lookin to not upgrade for quite sometime, then you can just get 32gb and be far more future resistant.  I built a computer in 2014 w/8gb of RAM and by 2018 when I made this current one, the low standard was 16gb.  It's more than enough for now, but games/programs are becomin more demandin as time goes on, especially at higher resolutions and graphical settings.  Some kits are cheaper at 3600 MHz, likely due to 3200 MHz bein the gamin standard, so the higher frequency can actually be cheaper.  Might as well pick it up, since it won't hurt and might be useful down the road for the same price or less.  There's generally drastic drop-off/diminishin return on RAM frequency above 3200 MHz for gaming, but it's not a big deal if it's the same price/cheaper.

 

Motherboard:  I prefer ASUS motherboards or Aorus, if you aren't into ASUS; but that's just personal preference.  They have great software on their website and you can migrate your info for free w/their software download (if needed).  I would go w/the ASUS Maximus XI Hero (Wi-Fi) Z390 board.

 

Power Supply:  A good EVGA 650-750w is preferred, which'll be more than enough w/headroom.  I go w/750w just for peace of mind, but it's still quite a bit overkill for what I and most people do, while only costin a little bit more.  If you're an overclocker, then it'll be nice to have the extra power, if desired.

 

Case:  I prefer high airflow, so I would go w/somethin like Cooler Master MasterCase H500P Mesh or Fractal Design Meshify C TG.  Which ever case you decide to purchase, 140mm fans are better for airflow, power consumption (unnecessary, but an added bonus) and noise level, since they push about 30-33% more air due to their size, which means they don't need to spin as fast to do as much as a 120mm fan.  Your computer at this price point is goin to be an absolute powerhouse, so airflow and cooling are obviously essential.

 

Other Items:  You can also get other items, such as an external hard drive (recommended), back-up battery (UPS: Uninterruptible Power Source) which're great for playin durin a storm and/or updatin your BIOS to not brick it in case of a power surge/outage, Graphics Card Bracket to stop/slowdown graphics card sag and possibly breakin your PCIe slot in time (upHere is nice on Amazon at $10ish) and outside magnetic dust covers to lower the amount of dust flow into the computer (if you don't get a mesh version) to just take off and rinse/shake the dust off of the computer vents.  You can also get a small stand for the computer itself to keep if off of carpet/rug, if you have one, to assist w/airflow underneath of the case.  An external CD drive that hooks up via USB 3.0 or USB-C is also an option for the rarity you'll need it, but it'll be there when/if the time comes.

 

If you have any other questions or want to hone in more on certain aspect just let me know - I'll assist in anyway I can.

I absolutely absolutely thank you for your time and I will most definitely take your advice and come and ask you for any questions I have ! Thank you thank you for taking your time !!!! Very very much appreciated!!!