Some questions on my new build...

[Chaos Gamer]

I have done extensive research for about 5 months to make the best build I could in my region for a budget of $1925 ($185 shipping + tax, yes I know, wtf right? or is it normal?). Now, finally I want to clear all my doubts. I mostly play video games and here are my specs.......

Specs:

• Intel Core I7-7700k (newegg.com)
• Noctua NH-D15 CPU air cooler (newegg.com)
• GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1080 8 GB (newegg.com)
• Team T-Force / Night Hawk 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 (newegg.com)
• Asus ROG strix Z270E (newegg.com)
• EVGA 750 G3 PSU (newegg.com)
• Cooler Master Master Case pro 5 Nvidia edition (local)
• 240GB Kingston A400 ssd (newegg.com)
• Seagate Barracuda 2TB HDD 7200rpm (newegg.com)

Ok so,
Question 1 - I know the I7-7700k gets hot, so does the Noctua NH-D15 air cooler really perform better than the H100i, like it has been stated in many websites? Also can anyone give me the temperature of I7-7700k with the NH-D15, I can't find it. I have no intention of changing the processor to be clear.

Question 2 - I've seen videos showing that video games prefer the higher clock speeds of the I7-7700k than the Ryzen 1700x, so is it better than the Ryzen 1700x in gaming. I only want to know about gaming. But Ryzen's cores and threads can be useful in some cases. I have no interest in x299 and it's over priced motherboards, sorry 7740k  


Question 3 - I just stumbled upon that Team t-force Night Hawk RAM in Newegg, I had chosen a Corsair Vengeance LPX RAM kit before but this RAM is bit cheaper and is said to perform better. Plus it also has LED!!! So which is actually better? LPX has CAS latency of 15 while Night Hawk has 16, but it performs better. Does CAS really make a huge impact?

Question 4 - In my region, the gigabyte card that I chose is the cheapest GTX 1080 I could find with the next card $40 costlier (both gigabyte G1 and Aorus at the same price are next in line) https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125880&ignorebbr=1. Is it as good and does it get hot. Should I spend 40 more dollars to get the Aorus, but I don't want to, after all they are all the same GTX 1080 with different clock speeds and coolers.

Question 5 - Is the Kingston A400 really good? Linus recommended it for a budget build. I could get the Kingston SSDNow or SanDisk SSD plus for a 9 dollars more but I am a little tight on budget, gonna grab whatever I get but if the difference in performance is massive, I might consider.

Question 6 - Is the Seagate Barracuda 2tb 7200rpm good? There is also the consumer favorite WD Blue at the same price point, but it only has 5400rpm and theoretically 7200rpm delivers 33% higher speed. What are the features of WD that makes it so famous? For all I know it is not the price in my region.

Question 7 - What should I name it? I am thinking 'Death Star' from Star Wars, a battleship the size of the moon that can destroy a whole planet at once. Any recommendations, it is going to be in black and green color on the outside and RGB on the inside.

Overall, is this a good build? Both in performance and looks (except for the NH-D15, for which I prioritized performance over aesthetics and the Dark Rock Pro 3 is costlier in my region and the R1 Ultimate isn't available). I'm not keen on changing anything. This looks like it'll be able to play intense AAA title 80+ fps @ 1080p. Any help appreciated but experts who really knows their stuff are even better. Thanks in advance!!! : )

[Mr.Meerkat]

Let's begin with the easy question, is this a good build overall? Yes

 

Now lets get into your specific questions  

1. Nobody can really give you a specific number as all 7700Ks consume different amount of power (at the same clock speeds) so a more important question to ask is are you planning on overclocking? If not then frankly most coolers will be able to keep the 7700K at a decent temperature however if you are then even with something like custom watercooling, it may struggle. 

In terms of the D15 being better than a h100i, it depends? Maxed out fans, the h100i will perform slightly better however in terms of price to performance and performance to noise, the D15 is much better.

 

2. If its only gaming then the 7700K is the better chip (and this is coming from a 1700 owner  )

 

3. Is the LPX memory clocked lower? If so, the higher latency makes sense however if they were both 3000MHz then its not possible for the hawk to perform better.  Usually higher frequencies results in higher latencies. Both higher cl and lower feq decrease performance however generally, frequency affects performance more. 

Nonetheless, IMO if you like the looks of the hawk, just get it as its still 3000MHz RAM plus its RAM...

 

4.Not the greatest 1080 ever however its cooler is better than the FE (not hard) so IMO, getting the cheapest is fine (but do see other people opinions).

 

5. Reviews doesn't seem to put it as a 'great' SSD but seems okay. What I'd recommend is the SK SL308 (Cheaper in the UK at least), almost a 850evo in terms of performance  

 

6. Seagate is fine.

 

7. 'MY EYES!" (jokes, no ideal TBH)