First build - high end gaming focused on aesthetics

[HIdeto]

Budget (including currency):  ~ 3500 USD

I've got my hands on what's seems to be a great deal for GPU so i decided to get it and build around it high end gaming rig focused on good looks. 

The deal was: around 1800 USD for RTX 3080 Ti Gigabyte OC Vision

 

Country: Poland (EU)

 

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 

Basically i want to play modern AAA titles like Cyber Punk and and future titles at high to ultra 1440p without to worry about the performacne. There will be little to no worksation use, mainly gaming. 

 

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

I am focused on aesthetics and that's why I've chosen NZXT case - i love the desing and B550 Gigabyte OC Vision MOBO. I could consider another case (better airflow) with similair desing if you have any ideas. Ofcourse the main theme is white.

 

I would be very gratefull if you could check if the parts will work togheter and if i didnt make any stupid mistakes. I am not so sure aboout the RAM speed for eg. I am tech oriented guy but still this is my first build

Thanks for help ! 

 

Part List:

 

 

 

 

 

[Dedayog]

damn it, won't do the partpicker right (I mean *I* can't do it right, not you :))

 

 

Looks good otherwise, tho I cannot stand those AIO's.  Overpriced, but you're going for expensive so it is what it is.

 

I'd go with 3600MHz RAM, I think to stay inside the Infinity Fabric ratio.  4000RAM isn't needed.

 

Why is that SSD so expensive?  If it's a PRO type, it's a waste of money for gaming.  I'd get 2x 1TB for that price...

 

https://www.amazon.com/WD_BLACK-SN750-Internal-Gaming-Solid/dp/B095HB3L6G/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=1tb+ssd&qid=1628541854&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzUVAwSkw5STNLMlhTJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzE1NDU2MlBDQVpSME1FUzBFSiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMzk4MjM0M0gwUDdMTjVEWkNBNSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

[IkeaGnome]

28 minutes ago, HIdeto said:

Budget (including currency):  ~ 3500 USD

I've got my hands on what's seems to be a great deal for GPU so i decided to get it and build around it high end gaming rig focused on good looks. 

The deal was: around 1800 USD for RTX 3080 Ti Gigabyte OC Vision

For a build that puts out that much heat, you should be looking at something closer to the Corsair 4000d than a case with very bad airflow.

[HIdeto]

11 hours ago, IkeaGnome said:

For a build that puts out that much heat, you should be looking at something closer to the Corsair 4000d than a case with very bad airflow.

Ok I get that, so the Corsair 4000d is nice and it is probably reasonable to switch the case to one that can breathe.

 

I was checking different AIO coolers and two questions came up:

 

1. Will the kraken z63 be sufficient to cool 5900x - I don’t plan any extreme OC

 

2. I was looking for some white AIOs and there isn’t much on the market - Corsair H100i - seems to be good but it lacks the screen on the pump and the design of kraken pump is nicer to me and there is ID-COOLING AuraFlow x 240 - what do you think about these two ?

 

Thanks for your help ;) 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

Holy crap builds like this really trigger me

But i guess im a person that will do anything for maximum bang for buck ¯\_ (ツ) _/¯ 

 

The aio is horrrrrrrribly overpriced and you dont need it whatsoever as it is apparent that you are not overclocking whatsoever

 

That case is a literal pc baking oven cause

it has no airflow so rip your temps

 

 

My god this build is really bad in terms of bang for buck, guess im lucky that i dont have money to burn so i can set my priorities straight

 

 

I suggest looking for cheaper alternatives that fit your theme, that way the build doesnt have horrible bang for buck, plus youve already exceeded your budget

[HIdeto]

28 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Holy crap builds like this really trigger me

But i guess im a person that will do anything for maximum bang for buck ¯\_ (ツ) _/¯ 

 

The aio is horrrrrrrribly overpriced and you dont need it whatsoever as it is apparent that you are not overclocking whatsoever

 

That case is a literal pc baking oven cause

it has no airflow so rip your temps

 

 

My god this build is really bad in terms of bang for buck, guess im lucky that i dont have money to burn so i can set my priorities straight

 

 

I suggest looking for cheaper alternatives that fit your theme, that way the build doesnt have horrible bang for buck, plus youve already exceeded your budget

So I get your point:

1. Case 

I am committed to switch to significantly better case in terms of airflow therefore I would buy 4000d airflow 

 

2. AIO - I understand that aios are overpriced and less reliable than air coolers but it is a aesthetic decision for me. It’s a conscious decision - the motivation behind is that when I am spending so much money on a Desktop PC I really want it to look in a certain way that is pleasing to me. 
The question is: whenever the aios - kraken/h100i or the ID cooling is a good decision (enough cooling performance) or I should go with other model ?

 

So could you maybe tell me if the 5900x  or the MOBO is a bad decision in terms of bang for the buck or just the case and AIO cooling in general ? 
 

 

[KKLawrence]

I kinda agree with @Somerandomtechyboihere. Some Parts are not good choices. But you can go white PC and still have a good system.

 

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/HtGhbh

 

So the CPU is great, but I personally would only use an 8 Core, as framerate will be bound mostly by the GPU.

A white motherboard is nice, but with a big boi graphics card, you'll only see the top of it. The Asus B550 I found is a great fit for exactly that use.

Also the CPU cooler is enough for a non-overclocked 5900X. If you have high-workloads and render much, then maybe pump up the size but if you only or mainly game, then 240mm will be fine. Maybe not cheap, but for your budget and your emphasis on looks it will be a good fit.

For ram, a solid 3600MHz CL18 kit will be enough. You can't really use 4000MHz Ram unless you overclock, so just go with 3600MHz and sync your AMD infinity fabric to 1800MHz and you'll be good.

The SSD is great, kept it. Also own it myself.

The Case is hot garbage. For that price. Just go with a 4000D airflow and a pair of good RGB fans and you'll be good.

You dont need a white PSU, they are overpriced and hidden in almost every case. Just add some sleeved cables after the fact from cable mod and you'll have a more "whitish" look.

 

The GPU is okay, but if you find a white Asus 3080 TI, go for that instead. They look a bit sharper and less silver

[IkeaGnome]

2 hours ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Holy crap builds like this really trigger me

But i guess im a person that will do anything for maximum bang for buck ¯\_ (ツ) _/¯ 

 

The aio is horrrrrrrribly overpriced and you dont need it whatsoever as it is apparent that you are not overclocking whatsoever

 

That case is a literal pc baking oven cause

it has no airflow so rip your temps

 

 

My god this build is really bad in terms of bang for buck, guess im lucky that i dont have money to burn so i can set my priorities straight

 

 

I suggest looking for cheaper alternatives that fit your theme, that way the build doesnt have horrible bang for buck, plus youve already exceeded your budget

Are you going to give any help, or not? 

Cool thing about computers? Who cares if OP wants the same things as you. You can either be rude like you have been since day one, or you can actually be constructive and help find parts that fit what OP wants. You also should read the thread before you make half suggestions. Case has been swapped before you said that. 

What aio do you suggest? 

How about instead of post farming, you give suggestions and actual help.

 

[HIdeto]

52 minutes ago, KKLawrence said:

I kinda agree with @Somerandomtechyboihere. Some Parts are not good choices. But you can go white PC and still have a good system.

 

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/HtGhbh

 

So the CPU is great, but I personally would only use an 8 Core, as framerate will be bound mostly by the GPU.

A white motherboard is nice, but with a big boi graphics card, you'll only see the top of it. The Asus B550 I found is a great fit for exactly that use.

Also the CPU cooler is enough for a non-overclocked 5900X. If you have high-workloads and render much, then maybe pump up the size but if you only or mainly game, then 240mm will be fine. Maybe not cheap, but for your budget and your emphasis on looks it will be a good fit.

For ram, a solid 3600MHz CL18 kit will be enough. You can't really use 4000MHz Ram unless you overclock, so just go with 3600MHz and sync your AMD infinity fabric to 1800MHz and you'll be good.

The SSD is great, kept it. Also own it myself.

The Case is hot garbage. For that price. Just go with a 4000D airflow and a pair of good RGB fans and you'll be good.

You dont need a white PSU, they are overpriced and hidden in almost every case. Just add some sleeved cables after the fact from cable mod and you'll have a more "whitish" look.

 

The GPU is okay, but if you find a white Asus 3080 TI, go for that instead. They look a bit sharper and less silver

Good point about motherboard I will consider your pick

 

I will stick with the processor, and GPU (gpu is already bought), for the cooler I am considering H100i Elite Capelix in white - it should fit the Visuals nicely.  What do you think ?
With RAM I will definitely go with the 3600mh version. 
I will swap the PSU for some modular regular one and buy some cable mods.

For the fans I think I will stick with white Corsair fans but maybe you guys could recommend some nice looking white RGB fans ? 

[IkeaGnome]

10 minutes ago, HIdeto said:

Good point about motherboard I will consider your pick

 

I will stick with the processor, and GPU (gpu is already bought), for the cooler I am considering H100i Elite Capelix in white - it should fit the Visuals nicely.  What do you think ?
With RAM I will definitely go with the 3600mh version. 
I will swap the PSU for some modular regular one and buy some cable mods.

For the fans I think I will stick with white Corsair fans but maybe you guys could recommend some nice looking white RGB fans ? 

You could go to the Lian Li Galahad. If you stayed with a 240 this'll save you $40 usd, not sure if it's cheaper there too or not. I'm on my phone so it's a little bit harder to look up region pricing. You could even get a 360mm for almost the same price as the Corsair 240. If you wanted to keep fans looking similar, I believe some of the white Lian Li fans are cheaper than the corsairs too. 

For the PSU, the Corsair CX-F RGB is white. Has RGB, very well rated by PSU gurus here. It is semi modular, but has white cables. There could be some costs saved there once you figure buying a PSU and $60 Cable Mod cables. 

[KKLawrence]

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/6yvD9N

Updated the list a little
Yeah the Galahead is a great AIO-Choice. Also the fans that come with it are very solid. So you can also add in some LianLi fans and keep the look uniform.

And yeah, with PSU there are two choices: a good 850w PSU in white or a good one in black, for 40 bucks less. The money left over can be invested in some nice sleeved cables, that look a bit more premium. Thats why I changed the PSU to a more common model - easier availability for sleeved cables.

RGB on a PSU is unfortunately most of the time a waste, as most PSU's nowadays will be sitting under a shroud and hidden from sight.

But if the corsair PSU is good, then maybe it is the simpler way to just that one.

The H100i Elite Capelix is also a good cooler, maybe a bit more expensive then the LianLi, but if you like the look of it that much more, then go with it instead.

[IkeaGnome]

16 minutes ago, KKLawrence said:

RGB on a PSU is unfortunately most of the time a waste, as most PSU's nowadays will be sitting under a shroud and hidden from sight.

I completely agree with that. It's one of those things where if OP is okay with semi modular, it fits the build and might leave some of that extra money to be added to something like storage later and what not.

Not sure how much cheaper it is in Poland though. It tends to be a little expensive for a semi PSU, but you don't have to buy white cables. I'll be around my computer in a few hours and can actually help a little bit more.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

2 hours ago, HIdeto said:

1. Case 

I am committed to switch to significantly better case in terms of airflow therefore I would buy 4000d airflow 

 

2. AIO - I understand that aios are overpriced and less reliable than air coolers but it is a aesthetic decision for me. It’s a conscious decision - the motivation behind is that when I am spending so much money on a Desktop PC I really want it to look in a certain way that is pleasing to me. 
The question is: whenever the aios - kraken/h100i or the ID cooling is a good decision (enough cooling performance) or I should go with other model ?

 

So could you maybe tell me if the 5900x  or the MOBO is a bad decision in terms of bang for the buck or just the case and AIO cooling in general ? 

Good choice of case, abit expensive for my liking but its a good quality case and should last awhile

 

 

Look aios may look nice but when you have no need for them they are just a burden,

you will have to replace them when the pump fails which is around 3-5 years whereas air coolers the heatsink will last forever unless it corrodes or something and all you need to do is swap out the fans when they break

 

This is about longevity of your cooler

you want an expensive aio that youll have to replace every 3-5 years just for an asthetic that you may not even notice or do you want an air cooler that will basically last forever as long as it doesnt corrode and you replace your fans?

 

Heck if you look at alot of those ancient old gpus and cpu coolers they are still around and perfectly functional as long as the fan has been replaced, just need a custom bracket to mount them nowadays

 

 

The board in my opinion is just bad value, vrms are eh for the price

 

Better off going for an asus b550, its also white but isnt overpriced to sht

 

If you arent doing any productivity work go for a 5800x, though if you want to futureproof then i guess a 5900x + 32gb ram will last you around 5-7 years

[IkeaGnome]

I swapped some things around a little bit to give you some ideas on where some costs can be saved a little. A 5800x will do just fine if you're not doing workstation tasks. Feel free to keep the 5900x though. If you go for the 5800x, you can drop to the 240mm version of that AIO and save 30 euro. I didn't realize the CXF wasn't available there. The RMx white is though. It's 20 euros more than the SeaSonic Focus, but comes with white cables, so it's a savings of 80 euros if you went with a full cable kit from Cable Mod, or 20 euros if you were going to just go with extensions. The Lian Li fans are half the cost of Corsair and match what come with the Lian Li Galahad. 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor  (€382.99 @ Mindfactory) 
CPU Cooler: Lian Li GALAHAD AIO 240 RGB 69.17 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (€124.90 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B550-A GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard  (€164.90 @ Alternate) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  (€208.90 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  (€162.90 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12 GB Vision OC Video Card  (€1587.99 @ Mindfactory) 
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case  (€86.22 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  (€145.39 @ Alza) 
Case Fan: Lian Li ST120 69.17 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack  (€45.05 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Total: €2909.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-08-10 17:20 CEST+0200

 

@KKLawrenceJust an FYI, and I tend to forget it as well, you can copy the BB code and paste in a thread here and it'll post with the full list.

Spoiler

Just click the BB next to Markup, copy everything in the box that is auto highlighted and paste.

 

[HIdeto]

So I found this PSU SeaSonic Focus GX-850W which is around 200 PLN less (around 50USD) and I found white cable mod which is great and seems to be good decision. What do you think about SeaSonic - reviews are good when I looked it up.

 

Do you think I will need to swap the pre-applied thermal paste from the h100i ? 
 

Second thing - whenever I will chose B550 OC Vision or B550 from Asus will I need to flash The bios or something (with another Amd CPU that I don’t have) or it will be just plug and play with mounting 5900x ? 
 

 

[IkeaGnome]

52 minutes ago, HIdeto said:

So I found this PSU SeaSonic Focus GX-850W which is around 200 PLN less (around 50USD) and I found white cable mod which is great and seems to be good decision. What do you think about SeaSonic - reviews are good when I looked it up.

Older models had issues with power spikes with 3000 series GPUs, but supposedly has been mostly fixed. 

 

52 minutes ago, HIdeto said:

Do you think I will need to swap the pre-applied thermal paste from the h100i ? 

You can if you want, but it doesn't make a huge difference. A couple of degrees C usually.

52 minutes ago, HIdeto said:

Second thing - whenever I will chose B550 OC Vision or B550 from Asus will I need to flash The bios or something (with another Amd CPU that I don’t have) or it will be just plug and play with mounting 5900x ? 

If the specific board you get was manufactured after Zen 3 came out, it should have the BIOS already on it that will support the 5900x. That being said, I can't get Gigabyte's site to let me download the manual for the OC vision, and it doesn't have the button on the rear I/O, so I can't confirm. The Asus supports flashing the BIOS without a CPU through BIOS Flashback. The OC vision should have it, but I don't have a way to confirm that right now.

 

Edit, found it. OC Vision does support Q Flash Plus through a button on the bottom right of the motherboard. Q Flash Plus is their name for BIOS Flashback. 

[HIdeto]

2 hours ago, IkeaGnome said:

I swapped some things around a little bit to give you some ideas on where some costs can be saved a little. A 5800x will do just fine if you're not doing workstation tasks. Feel free to keep the 5900x though. If you go for the 5800x, you can drop to the 240mm version of that AIO and save 30 euro. I didn't realize the CXF wasn't available there.

So to clear up you are saying if I am sticking with 5900x (and I tend to stick with it to be more future proof) I should go with 280mm radiator and the 240 Corsair h100i would be enough ? 
 

Finding the right AIO (design and performance wise seems to be the hardest part) before that post I was committed to Corsair h100i but now I don’t now, Galahad doesn’t fit my taste as much as Corsair does or the kraken (why it couldn’t be white version of it). As far as I looked up there isn’t white version of h100i elite that is 280mm. 
 

51 minutes ago, IkeaGnome said:

Edit, found it. OC Vision does support Q Flash Plus through a button on the bottom right of the motherboard. Q Flash Plus is their name for BIOS Flashback. 

Good to know, I am extremely grateful for your help. 

 

51 minutes ago, IkeaGnome said:

lder models had issues with power spikes with 3000 series GPUs, but supposedly has been mostly fixed

Should I check the production date somehow ? Do You think it’s risky to go with that one ? 

[IkeaGnome]

1 hour ago, HIdeto said:

So to clear up you are saying if I am sticking with 5900x (and I tend to stick with it to be more future proof) I should go with 280mm radiator and the 240 Corsair h100i would be enough ? 

A 240mm will work with a 5900x. A 280mm will leave a little more thermal headroom, and a 360mm would be ideal. You are correct that there is no 280mm white Corsair. That would be the H115i in white, but that doesn't exist. I would go for a 240mm if you don't plan to overclock. If you want to OC down the line, you may as well get a 280 or 360, but if you're sticking with Corsair AIOs, that would leave you looking at 360s. Here's a really good video, not for a white AIO, but it has a ton of AIOs and temperatures in it. Keep in mind, your temps would be a little bit lower depending on ambient. They tested at 200w CPU power. With stock power settings, but PBO enabled, people are getting the 5900x to around 133 126W. This doesn't mean you'd have half the temps, but it would be noticeably cooler.

Spoiler

 

 

1 hour ago, HIdeto said:

Should I check the production date somehow ? Do You think it’s risky to go with that one ? 

The issues people were having with it were OCP. The GPU would ask for too much power for a millisecond or so and the PSU would turn off to save it's self. From what I saw, they weren't dying and taking out components. Personally, I wouldn't go with it. (I wouldn't go with it in general. I've always stuck to Corsair, and have 2 RMx in builds and a SF600 in my current, but that's down to personal opinion).