Gaming build for $2000

[Lautaro]

My bother wants to build a gaming PC so we need a little advice for selecting the best possible prices, any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

1. Budget and Location:

San Francisco, CA. His budget is $2000 to $2100.

 

2. Aim:

Gaming

 

3. Monitors:

He wants a 27" (minimum size) 4K single monitor.

 

4. Peripherals:

He already has mouse and speakers, he just needs a keyboard. He wants a Razer chroma mechanical keyboard to match with his razer mouse.

 

5. Case:

Full/Mid tower. We're thinking of getting the Corsair 570x, we know it's pricey so any other suggestions are welcomed.

 

6. Operating System:

We got that already, Windows 10.

 

Why is he upgrading?

He has an Apple laptop, he needs to ascend.

 

Some other things to take into consideration:

• CPU can be INTEL OR RYZEN
• He wants the GPU to be NVIDIA
• He will need a WIFI card since his router is a bit far away
• SSD is a must

 

I think I've covered everything, please let me know if I missed anything.

And again, thanks a lot for the help! we're very excited to see your suggestions!

[LienusLateTips]

4 minutes ago, Lautaro said:

My bother wants to build a gaming PC so we need a little advice for selecting the best possible prices, any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

1. Budget and Location:

San Francisco, CA. His budget is $2000 to $2100 including tax, which is mostly 9%, that should give us a $1900-ish budget not including taxes.

Our preferred stores for buying the parts are: Newegg, Amazon, Fry's and BestBuy. But we're open to other options ofc.

 

 

Use PCPartPicker. I will have a list up in a sec

4 minutes ago, Lautaro said:

Some other things to take into consideration:

• He wants the CPU to be INTEL
• He wants the GPU to be NVIDIA, but I told him to consider AMD RYZEN, so those are welcome as well!
• He will need a WIFI card since his router is a bit far away
• SSD is a must

 

I think I've covered everything, please let me know if I missed anything.

And again, thanks a lot for the help! we're very excited to see your suggestions!

AMD Ryzen is vs. Intel

Radeon is vs. NVIDIA

[LienusLateTips]

This I guess?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($299.95 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: NZXT - Kraken X62 Liquid CPU Cooler  ($158.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Asus - CROSSHAIR VI HERO ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($238.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: *G.Skill - Trident Z 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($241.97 @ Jet) 
Storage: *Western Digital - Blue 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($139.99 @ B&H) 
Storage: *Toshiba - X300 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($132.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: *Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB Gaming OC 11G  Video Card  ($683.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400 TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case  ($85.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: *SeaSonic - X Series 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($107.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $2090.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-01 00:06 EDT-0400

[Lautaro]

@JDE thanks for noting those mistakes, fixed the post!

[LienusLateTips]

Just now, Lautaro said:

@JDE thanks for noting those mistakes, fixed the post!

Might want to tag me properly or quoting me

[Brooksie359]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jXM3QV this was the best i could come up with for that budget. you can change some things to fit your criteria better but i think this build is quite good and would do very well with gaming. i went for a midtower case because it is cheaper and you really cant skip anywhere else because you really want a gtx 1080ti if you are running a 4k screen and are planning on gaming. 

[Brooksie359]

1 minute ago, Brooksie359 said:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jXM3QV this was the best i could come up with for that budget. you can change some things to fit your criteria better but i think this build is quite good and would do very well with gaming. i went for a midtower case because it is cheaper and you really cant skip anywhere else because you really want a gtx 1080ti if you are running a 4k screen and are planning on gaming. 

actually after looking at the other builds you should switch the gpu to the gigabyte one as it will save you money and will still give really good performance. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/B3WrBP

[Brain5454]

10 minutes ago, Lautaro said:

My bother wants to build a gaming PC so we need a little advice for selecting the best possible prices, any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

1. Budget and Location:

San Francisco, CA. His budget is $2000 to $2100 including tax, which is mostly 9%, that should give us a $1900-ish budget not including taxes.

Our preferred stores for buying the parts are: Newegg, Amazon, Fry's and BestBuy. But we're open to other options ofc.

 

2. Aim:

Gaming

 

3. Monitors:

27" (minimum size) 4K single monitor.

 

4. Peripherals:

He already has mouse and speakers, he just needs a keyboard. He wants a Razer chroma mechanical keyboard to match with his razer mouse.

 

5. Case:

Full tower. We're thinking of getting the Corsair 570x, we know it's pricey so any other suggestions are welcomed.

 

6. Operating System:

We got that already, Windows 10.

 

Why is he upgrading?

He has an Apple laptop, he needs to ascend.

 

Some other things to take into consideration:

• CPU can be INTEL OR RYZEN
• He wants the GPU to be NVIDIA
• He will need a WIFI card since his router is a bit far away
• SSD is a must

 

I think I've covered everything, please let me know if I missed anything.

And again, thanks a lot for the help! we're very excited to see your suggestions!

Do you have the monitor or should that be included in the list?

[Guest lilbman]

24 minutes ago, Lautaro said:

My bother wants to build a gaming PC so we need a little advice for selecting the best possible prices, any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

1. Budget and Location:

San Francisco, CA. His budget is $2000 to $2100 including tax, which is mostly 9%, that should give us a $1900-ish budget not including taxes.

Our preferred stores for buying the parts are: Newegg, Amazon, Fry's and BestBuy. But we're open to other options ofc.

 

2. Aim:

Gaming

 

3. Monitors:

27" (minimum size) 4K single monitor.

 

4. Peripherals:

He already has mouse and speakers, he just needs a keyboard. He wants a Razer chroma mechanical keyboard to match with his razer mouse.

 

5. Case:

Full tower. We're thinking of getting the Corsair 570x, we know it's pricey so any other suggestions are welcomed.

 

6. Operating System:

We got that already, Windows 10.

 

Why is he upgrading?

He has an Apple laptop, he needs to ascend.

 

Some other things to take into consideration:

• He wants the CPU to be INTEL
• He wants the GPU to be NVIDIA, but I told him to consider AMD RYZEN, so those are welcome as well!
• He will need a WIFI card since his router is a bit far away
• SSD is a must

 

I think I've covered everything, please let me know if I missed anything.

And again, thanks a lot for the help! we're very excited to see your suggestions!

About the monitor-does the part list have to include one?

 

If not-https://pcpartpicker.com/list/49nGzM

[RadiatingLight]

Intel CPUs are a pretty bad deal TBH.

I'd recommend a 1080Ti and a Ryzen 1600.

any reason for this intel fanboyism?

[Lautaro]

2 minutes ago, RadiatingLight said:

Intel CPUs are a pretty bad deal TBH.

I'd recommend a 1080Ti and a Ryzen 1600.

any reason for this intel fanboyism?

No reason at all, I guess the general thinking that it's just better than AMD. I think all suggestions are welcome, he might change his mind once he checks out all the suggestions posted here.

 

7 minutes ago, Brain5454 said:

Do you have the monitor or should that be included in the list?

 

7 minutes ago, lilbman said:

About the monitor-does the part list have to include one?

He doesn't have the monitor so yes, please include.

 

Edited first post to clarify he doesn't have the monitor.

[Brooksie359]

Just now, Lautaro said:

No reason at all, I guess the general thinking that it's just better than AMD. I think all suggestions are welcome, he might change his mind once he checks out all the suggestions posted here.

 

 

He doesn't have the monitor so yes, please include.

 

Edited first post to clarify he doesn't have the monitor.

honestly there is no reason for going for intel unless you are getting an i7 and with your current budget you cant get an i7 with all the other required components. if you were to compromise for a lesser monitor resolution you could get a lesser gpu and afford the i7 but currently your best bet is a r5 1600 as it beats anything else in its price range. the problem with your build is that you are going for 4k and you want to game so you need a gtx 1080ti to put out playable framerates in games at acceptable settings now and into the near future. also 4k monitors aren't cheap either so that adds to the cost and so does the wifi card adn keyboard. oce all is said and done you are kinda cornered into getting a r5 1600 on a b350 motherboard. that being said the r5 1600 is a great cpu and more than capable of playing games at 4k without any issues. 

[Lautaro]

20 minutes ago, Brooksie359 said:

honestly there is no reason for going for intel unless you are getting an i7 and with your current budget you cant get an i7 with all the other required components. if you were to compromise for a lesser monitor resolution you could get a lesser gpu and afford the i7 but currently your best bet is a r5 1600 as it beats anything else in its price range. the problem with your build is that you are going for 4k and you want to game so you need a gtx 1080ti to put out playable framerates in games at acceptable settings now and into the near future. also 4k monitors aren't cheap either so that adds to the cost and so does the wifi card adn keyboard. oce all is said and done you are kinda cornered into getting a r5 1600 on a b350 motherboard. that being said the r5 1600 is a great cpu and more than capable of playing games at 4k without any issues. 

totally agree with you on this, I'll make sure he takes this into consideration. Thanks!

[RadiatingLight]

10 minutes ago, Lautaro said:

No reason at all, I guess the general thinking that it's just better than AMD. I think all suggestions are welcome, he might change his mind once he checks out all the suggestions posted here.

Well, just tell him that times are changing.

as a techy dude, he'll probably believe whatever you say if you spit out enough technobabble about hyper threading, and chipsets, and cores.

 

How about this build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($215.98 @ PCM)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool - CAPTAIN360EX 229.6 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($94.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - X370 KILLER SLI/ac ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($148.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($159.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: SK hynix - SL308 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($87.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB SC2 Video Card  ($729.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400 TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: AOC - U2879VF 28.0" 3840x2160 60Hz Monitor  ($320.44 @ Amazon)
Total: $1997.02
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-01 01:02 EDT-0400

 

[Lautaro]

Based on all the posted suggestions we ended up with this build:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($215.98 @ PCM) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($26.88 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: MSI - B350 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($94.99 @ Jet) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($129.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($107.50 @ Jet) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB Gaming OC 11G  Video Card  ($683.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Corsair - Crystal 570X RGB ATX Mid Tower Case  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.88 @ OutletPC) 
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus - PCE-AC56 PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter  ($56.79 @ OutletPC) 
Monitor: LG - 27UD58-B 27.0" 3840x2160 60Hz Monitor  ($338.90 @ Amazon) 
Keyboard: Razer - Blackwidow X Chroma Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($149.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $2154.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-01 02:31 EDT-0400

 

A bit over budget but i think it can still work out.

how does it look?

[RadiatingLight]

12 hours ago, Lautaro said:

Based on all the posted suggestions we ended up with this build:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($215.98 @ PCM) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($26.88 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: MSI - B350 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($94.99 @ Jet) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($129.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($107.50 @ Jet) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB Gaming OC 11G  Video Card  ($683.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Corsair - Crystal 570X RGB ATX Mid Tower Case  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.88 @ OutletPC) 
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus - PCE-AC56 PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter  ($56.79 @ OutletPC) 
Monitor: LG - 27UD58-B 27.0" 3840x2160 60Hz Monitor  ($338.90 @ Amazon) 
Keyboard: Razer - Blackwidow X Chroma Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($149.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $2154.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-01 02:31 EDT-0400

 

A bit over budget but i think it can still work out.

how does it look?

Good, but a few edits to make:

 

You can get an SL308 SSD for cheaper with the same performance

You don't need a 212 EVO. Stock cooler is good enough.

I'd recommend one of Asrock's AC boards (Killer SLI AC) so you don't need to spend $50 on wifi. just put that $50 in a better board, which will also get you wifi.

[Guest lilbman]

16 hours ago, Lautaro said:

No reason at all, I guess the general thinking that it's just better than AMD. I think all suggestions are welcome, he might change his mind once he checks out all the suggestions posted here.

 

 

He doesn't have the monitor so yes, please include.

 

Edited first post to clarify he doesn't have the monitor.

You'll have to drop to a 1080 to include a good 4k monitor.  This build is good for 4k 60Hz-https://pcpartpicker.com/list/KFLwf8

[SteveGrabowski0]

I don't want to post a full build, but I do have a few suggestions for getting the most for your brother's money:

 

1. Don't bother with a high end board, an aftermarket cooler, and cpu overclocking on a 4k gaming system. You're going to be gpu bound and spending too much on cpu overclocking means you'd have to take some real hits to the things that actually matter at that resolution, like gpu and monitor. I'd either go locked i7-7700 + B250 board or Ryzen R5 1600 and a cheap B350 board. Either way use the stock cooler. I'd probably lean towards the R5 1600 to save a few bucks to put towards your monitor.

 

2. The GTX 1080 Ti is the only gpu you should be looking at unless you're willing to wait two months for Vega. The 1080 isn't enough for 4k. Even with the 1080 Ti you don't want to set every setting to ultra in many games (ultra settings are mostly a waste anyways, they're often impossible to tell the difference from high).

 

3. I would spend a lot on the monitor. On a $2000 to $2100 budget if you follow what I'm advising in points #1 and #2 you should easily be able to fit in a nice large IPS panel if you go with a 60 Hz screen, or perhaps even a GSync panel.

 

4. I would skimp on the SSD. I mean absolutely get an SSD on that budget because it does make a difference in loading times and boot times, but don't blow money on expensive SSDs. A nice 240 GB SATA SSD is good, and those expensive SSDs like the 950 Pro aren't likely to make your loading times any better than a cheap SATA SSD would. Going from HDD to SSD relieves a lot of the bottleneck in loading times, but after that it's really diminishing returns since loading times include a lot more than reading data from a drive. The expensive SSDs are more for people who have a youtube channel and need a drive they can capture 4k video to. Those kind of applications are where the expensive SSDs like the 950 Pro really shine.

 

5. I wouldn't buy a crazy expensive case like the Corsair 570X. You can get the Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Tempered Glass case for like $75, and it's beautiful, it's designed well for cooling, and is likely a really nice case to build in (I have the full tower version, the Enthoo Pro, and it is a breeze to build in).

[Lautaro]

2 hours ago, RadiatingLight said:

You can get an SL308 SSD for cheaper with the same performance

I'd recommend one of Asrock's AC boards (Killer SLI AC) so you don't need to spend $50 on wifi. just put that $50 in a better board, which will also get you wifi.

I'll be honest here, we went with the Samsung SSD and MSI board for the brand, we don't know these other brands so we were not very sure if go with these or not, but we'll dig a bit more into them and check them out.

 

2 hours ago, RadiatingLight said:

You don't need a 212 EVO. Stock cooler is good enough.

Seriously?

[SteveGrabowski0]

1 minute ago, Lautaro said:

I'll be honest here, we went with the Samsung SSD and MSI board for the brand, we don't know these other brands so we were not very sure if go with these or not, but we'll dig a bit more into them and check them out.

 

Seriously?

The stock cooler on the R5 1600 is really nice.

[Lautaro]

@SteveGrabowski0 thanks for the recommendations.

 

So far this is his most updated build:

 

1. not looking do any overclocking since we don't have much experience with that and we wouldn't want to risk damaging the cpu.

 

2. yes, he's definitely going with the 1080Ti

 

3. this is where we're mostly lost, we don't know much about which monitors are good for gaming or what specific specs we need to look for other than making sure it's IPS and 4k.

 

4. yea he's going for a regular SSD nothing so extreme. I've purchased multiple Samsung EVO's over the last 3 years and never had any issues with those so that's why he's going with that one on his build

 

5. he really wants that 570X, even if it means going over budget ^^

 

 

So AMD stock coolers are better than intel's? 

[SteveGrabowski0]

55 minutes ago, Lautaro said:

@SteveGrabowski0 thanks for the recommendations.

 

So far this is his most updated build:

 

1. not looking do any overclocking since we don't have much experience with that and we wouldn't want to risk damaging the cpu.

 

2. yes, he's definitely going with the 1080Ti

 

3. this is where we're mostly lost, we don't know much about which monitors are good for gaming or what specific specs we need to look for other than making sure it's IPS and 4k.

 

4. yea he's going for a regular SSD nothing so extreme. I've purchased multiple Samsung EVO's over the last 3 years and never had any issues with those so that's why he's going with that one on his build

 

5. he really wants that 570X, even if it means going over budget ^^

 

 

So AMD stock coolers are better than intel's? 

That's a much nicer monitor than I was expecting to see at that price. That seems pretty good if your brother has to have that case and keyboard (I'd personally go cheaper on those and spend more for a bigger monitor though). Skip the wifi card though and grab a board that has wifi, such as this X370 board:

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157769

 

Then you'd have a good overclocking board. I missed the part of needing a wifi card when I was saying to go with a cheap board.

 

You could also save a few bucks while still having a nice power supply by going with this:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/nB3RsY/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii620bronze

 

Also skip the Hyper 212 EVO. Cryorig has better heatsinks for similar money now if you want to OC. It's easy to OC your cpu. But like I said above, it doesn't really matter at 4k, you'll be gpu bound in almost all games.

[Sebastian23]

I got you covered here is the ultimate pc

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/LnstYr

[Brooksie359]

18 hours ago, Lautaro said:

@SteveGrabowski0 thanks for the recommendations.

 

So far this is his most updated build:

 

1. not looking do any overclocking since we don't have much experience with that and we wouldn't want to risk damaging the cpu.

 

2. yes, he's definitely going with the 1080Ti

 

3. this is where we're mostly lost, we don't know much about which monitors are good for gaming or what specific specs we need to look for other than making sure it's IPS and 4k.

 

4. yea he's going for a regular SSD nothing so extreme. I've purchased multiple Samsung EVO's over the last 3 years and never had any issues with those so that's why he's going with that one on his build

 

5. he really wants that 570X, even if it means going over budget ^^

 

 

So AMD stock coolers are better than intel's? 

i know this a bit late but yeah the amd stock coolers will give very similar performance to an evo 212 and if you dont plan to overclock there is no reason to get anything other than the stock cooler. that is honestly the main selling point of amd cpus is they have a stock coolers that you can actually stick with and even overclock to some extent.