First Time Gaming Rig

[Gansters12]

Hey all,

 

I've recently decided to join the pc master race and buy in all the way with a custom rig. I'm comfortable spending around $2000 USD for a complete gaming setup. Ideally, I would be able to run most if not all games at 1440p and 60+ Hz. Here is the link to my decisions: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Reichertg13/saved/Rx7bvK

 

I will also address what I anticipate to be critiques.

 

Core i7 vs Core i5 - I am an engineering student and frequently run very CPU intensive modeling and computational programs so I went with an i7

 

Keyboard and mouse selection - Although most pc gamers will probably cry sacrilege, I prefer very flat laptop-esque keys without all the ticky tacky of mechanical. Also, that mouse has been shown to be a very good mouse for gaming while in wireless mode, and I can always just wire it if need be.

 

Let me know of any improvements or issues you see with this build, it would be a big help! Thanks!! 

[Fluffybakon]

Hi!

 

The build looks good, but there are 2 main things to consider for you-

 

a) If you intend to run intense modelling and computational programs, they utilise a lot of threads/cores, and this is where ryzen comes in. It will provide similar gaming performance, and not bottleneck your GPU, while fiving you superior rendering performance due to its 8-core layout : https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jvHCPs

 

b) Are you sure you want to spend additional cash on a super fancy case and rgb ram? Its completely up to you of course, but for those additional 100 or so dollars you could save if you went for something like an NZXT s340 elite (still looks great btw) and a generic 16gb kit of ram (corsair vengance lpx?), you could get a ryzen 7 1800x, or some more storage/better gpu even.

 

Overall, the 1080 might even be overkill, as it handles 4k 60fps easily, and will do fine with 1440p. You may want to consider spending 100$ less and get a 1070, but it will be less future proof. Also, if you intend to do a lot of gaming, consider getting a 1tb hard drive to store your steam library on, and any 3d files and such.

 

Good luck!

 

-Lukas

[Fluffybakon]

Just now, Fluffybakon said:

Hi!

 

The build looks good, but there are 2 main things to consider for you-

 

a) If you intend to run intense modelling and computational programs, they utilise a lot of threads/cores, and this is where ryzen comes in. It will provide similar gaming performance, and not bottleneck your GPU, while fiving you superior rendering performance due to its 8-core layout : https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jvHCPs

 

b) Are you sure you want to spend additional cash on a super fancy case and rgb ram? Its completely up to you of course, but for those additional 100 or so dollars you could save if you went for something like an NZXT s340 elite (still looks great btw) and a generic 16gb kit of ram (corsair vengance lpx?), you could get a ryzen 7 1800x, or some more storage/better gpu even.

 

Overall, the 1080 might even be overkill, as it handles 4k 60fps easily, and will do fine with 1440p. You may want to consider spending 100$ less and get a 1070, but it will be less future proof. Also, if you intend to do a lot of gaming, consider getting a 1tb hard drive to store your steam library on, and any 3d files and such.

 

Good luck!

 

-Lukas

Oh, and maybe invest in a larger wattage power supply, for future upgradibility : https://pcpartpicker.com/product/PvDzK8/evga-supernova-g3-850w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-220-g3-0850

 

And on second thaught, have you thaught about including an operating system, or do you allready have one?

[dude49]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($304.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME X370-PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($149.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($169.00 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.33 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card  ($528.11 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design - Define R5 Blackout Edition ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair - 850W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus - PB277Q 27.0" 2560x1440 75Hz Monitor  ($317.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Cougar - 200K Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($34.90 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Logitech - G403 Prodigy Wireless Optical Mouse  ($79.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $2062.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-26 08:23 EDT-0400

[MVPernula]

For multitreaded workloads like the ones you're talking about more cores and threads will be beneficial.

May I recommend Ryzen?

 

If you're new to PC, my personal preference would be higher refresh rate over resolution. Meaning 144hz>1440p.

But that's completely up to you.

 

Peripherals I recommend feeling out, I find myself not agreeing with critics most of the time. Go to a local tech store and try out mouse and keyboards.

I also recommend one 250GB SSD for OS and some games and then a bigger HDD for storage and games/software you don't mind running a bit slower.

 

 

[honor]

I recently tried out the surface keyboards and mice. They are really good looking, but I personally prefer mechanical still. Since you on the other hand like the chiclet keyboards, maybe it might be up your alley. 

 

 Its colourscheme also matches your phanteks case.

OH and If I was you, I would go with a Ryzen CPU. It is more suited towards your particular kind of workload. Additionally, if you can live without the whole RGB craze, get cheaper ram. You also wont need the liquid cooler, since i.e. the Ryzen R7 1700 comes with a pretty good and pretty looking Air cooler (those are quiet af btw). The money you save can go into better components like a better psu. The surplus/ leftover cash can go into better peripherals. However you go about it, is ultimately up to you, so have fun building.

 

Example:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($304.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME X370-PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($149.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($169.00 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.33 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB FTW2 Gaming iCX Video Card  ($564.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Evolv ATX Glass ATX Mid Tower Case  ($171.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($98.65 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Monitor: Asus - PB277Q 27.0" 2560x1440 75Hz Monitor  ($317.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1944.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-26 08:43 EDT-0400

 

EDIT: I will admit that I am pretty biased when comes to the Asus X370 Prime, since I have nothing but good experiences with it. A B350 Mobo is perfectly fine as well, and can cut the price down further by at least 50$

[DocSwag]

Does rgb and the case matter that much to you? If not, I could probably fit a 165 hz g sync monitor in the build.

 

Also, you don't need such a high quality psu  

[genexis_x]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($304.89 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H5 Universal 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($46.88 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming K4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($115.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial - MX300 525GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($149.99 @ Jet) 
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.88 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: PNY - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB XLR8 Gaming OC Video Card  ($699.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: NZXT - S340 Elite (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: Rosewill - 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Dell - S2417DG 23.8" 2560x1440 165Hz Monitor  ($399.00 @ Adorama) 
Keyboard: Cougar - 200K Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($34.90 @ Amazon) 
Mouse: Logitech - G403 Prodigy Wireless Optical Mouse  ($79.99 @ Best Buy) 
Total: $2141.48
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-26 08:39 EDT-0400

Alternatively, if you want to cut cost (since your initial budget is $2000), get Cryorig H7 or stick to stock cooler (AIO not worth it), get a cheaper mobo like MSI B350 PC MATE and get cheaper yet decent case like S340 non Elite

Edited May 26, 2017 by ZM Fong

[DocSwag]

Since you chose i7 over i5 I assume the stuff you do is quite thread intensive, so I chose Ryzen instead. I also managed to fit a 1080 ti and 165 hz g sync monitor for only 45 cents more  

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($304.89 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! - Dark Rock 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  ($65.49 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME X370-PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($149.49 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($115.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB Gaming OC 11G  Video Card  ($683.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400S TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Dell - S2417DG 23.8" 2560x1440 165Hz Monitor  ($399.00 @ Adorama) 
Keyboard: Cougar - 200K Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($34.90 @ Amazon) 
Mouse: Logitech - G403 Prodigy Wireless Optical Mouse  ($79.99 @ Best Buy) 
Total: $2153.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-26 08:48 EDT-0400

[Gansters12]

31 minutes ago, Fluffybakon said:

Hi!

 

The build looks good, but there are 2 main things to consider for you-

 

a) If you intend to run intense modelling and computational programs, they utilise a lot of threads/cores, and this is where ryzen comes in. It will provide similar gaming performance, and not bottleneck your GPU, while fiving you superior rendering performance due to its 8-core layout : https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jvHCPs

 

b) Are you sure you want to spend additional cash on a super fancy case and rgb ram? Its completely up to you of course, but for those additional 100 or so dollars you could save if you went for something like an NZXT s340 elite (still looks great btw) and a generic 16gb kit of ram (corsair vengance lpx?), you could get a ryzen 7 1800x, or some more storage/better gpu even.

 

Overall, the 1080 might even be overkill, as it handles 4k 60fps easily, and will do fine with 1440p. You may want to consider spending 100$ less and get a 1070, but it will be less future proof. Also, if you intend to do a lot of gaming, consider getting a 1tb hard drive to store your steam library on, and any 3d files and such.

 

Good luck!

 

-Lukas

A) Thanks for the tip on the Ryzen, I hadn't thought of that!

 

B) I had originally chosen the NZXT Phantom and cheaper ram but decided to splurge a little for aesthetics

 

The 1080 was chosen to guarantee high fps on 1440p and a little future proofing if 4k monitors start dropping a good bit. And the 1tb HDD and larger wattage PSU are also good ideas.

 

As for OS, I know a guy in IT that can get me a copy of Win10 for NOTHING so that covered!

 

Thanks for all the help!

[Ctown0812]

13 minutes ago, Gansters12 said:

Hey all,

 

I've recently decided to join the pc master race and buy in all the way with a custom rig. I'm comfortable spending around $2000 USD for a complete gaming setup. Ideally, I would be able to run most if not all games at 1440p and 60+ Hz. Here is the link to my decisions: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Reichertg13/saved/Rx7bvK

 

I will also address what I anticipate to be critiques.

 

Core i7 vs Core i5 - I am an engineering student and frequently run very CPU intensive modeling and computational programs so I went with an i7

 

Keyboard and mouse selection - Although most pc gamers will probably cry sacrilege, I prefer very flat laptop-esque keys without all the ticky tacky of mechanical. Also, that mouse has been shown to be a very good mouse for gaming while in wireless mode, and I can always just wire it if need be.

 

Let me know of any improvements or issues you see with this build, it would be a big help! Thanks!! 

Looks good.  I love that case.  One question:  Why the 6700k instead of 7700k? Not that you made a bad choice or anything, I'm just curious.  Also, like a lot of people have already suggested, Ryzen might be worth looking into.  A 1080 can handle 4k no problem, so if you find a decent 4k monitor, thats another option.  Although, I think i would stick with 1440p and try to find a 144hz+ monitor, maybe g-sync.  Other than that, looks pretty solid.  Just make sure you know you'll be happy with it in the long run.  

[Gansters12]

Just now, Ctown0812 said:

Looks good.  I love that case.  One question:  Why the 6700k instead of 7700k? Not that you made a bad choice or anything, I'm just curious.  Also, like a lot of people have already suggested, Ryzen might be worth looking into.  A 1080 can handle 4k no problem, so if you find a decent 4k monitor, thats another option.  Although, I think i would stick with 1440p and try to find a 144hz+ monitor, maybe g-sync.  Other than that, looks pretty solid.  Just make sure you know you'll be happy with it in the long run.  

Thanks, yeah the monitor choice was mainly I didn't feel like the additional cost for going above 75Hz at 1440p or buying a 4k monitor were worth it yet but the 1080 is for when they drop lower. As for the 6700k, I'm not sure exactly, I know the k-series is good but couldn't really tell why the 7700k would be a better choice..

[Ctown0812]

11 minutes ago, Gansters12 said:

6700k, I'm not sure exactly, I know the k-series is good but couldn't really tell why the 7700k would be a better choice..

7700k is newer along with the z270 chipset.  But the performance gain over the 6700k is small, 10%-15%  maybe?  All depends on what you're doing with it, of course.  Also, intel's new optane memory is only compatible with the 7th gen processors.  So if that were something you'd be interested in, the 7700k is probably the better choice.  Plus, its only about $30 more.