First Build Newbie

[Cookie_inthehood]

Greetings people of the LTT forums. 

I'm from the UK and this is my first build. My budget is semi-flexible at around £1,700 so about $2,300. Its going to be intended for gaming, and in the future might be used for some very light editing work (depending on whether or not I take a course on computer science and media). 

 

As for specs I'm looking for, and parts I've acquired or are looking to acquire, see here:

ACQUIRED

Case: Corsair Crystal Series 460X RGB

Mouse: Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum

Keyboard: some cheap Red Dragon mechanical I'll probably replace later on

LOOKING TO ACQUIRE

CPU: Intel i7-8700 (K or not, I'm not concerned about overclocking for now) 

Motherboard: GIGABYTE Intel 1151 Socket Z370 Aorus Ultra Gaming ATX Motherboard 

GPU: GTX 1070 (any model will do, I have my eye on the ASUS STRIX version) 

RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) 3000MHz

Memory: Crucial 525GB M.2 SSD and Seagate 4TB BarraCuda 5400 RPM (Depending on the state of the market in the coming months, I'd obviously like to run everything on SSD, but doesn't look like things are getting any cheaper just yet) 

Cooling: Noctua NH-D15 and a single Corsair SP120 RGB (the case I already have comes with three SP120 fans, and I'm not overclocking, so I'll stay away from liquid cooling for now) 

Power Supply: Corsair TX750M 

OS: Windows 10 Home

Monitor: whatever I can find that's 1080p or above, Ultrawide, and has a refresh rate above 60Hz. I'm not too concerned about having super high refresh rate, so anything between 75Hz and 120Hz is enough for me. 

 

All of the parts listed above are flexible, and I'm completely open to any suggestions on parts/deals I should look out for, hence why I'm here. Amazon tells me that these parts come to around a cost of £1,700. I am coming over to the US in the summer of 2019 for a couple weeks, and I'm aware that parts over there are generally cheaper than this side of the pond. I'd like to save some money where possible, but I've also heard that computer parts may class as 'goods' to UK customs, and don't want to have to declare anything too expensive. 

 

Thanks for any advice you may bring regarding the intended system. Suggestions on how to deal with bringing parts back to the UK from the US would also be greatly appreciated, as gov.uk doesn't elaborate on the rules very well. 

 

Edit: Just noticed the recommendations on mentioned the intended use of gaming. I play a fair amount of Overwatch and Destiny 2 on console, so similar sort of stuff will be playing on this machine. 

[r2724r16]

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/fF7V6s

[Cookie_inthehood]

2 minutes ago, Rasbir Singh said:

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/fF7V6s

I like the look of most of these parts, but it's just a bit too far out of my budget range. The power supply and graphics card are a little overkill for me. Additionally, I'm not really a competitive gamer, so 144Hz is beyond my scope too as I currently stand.

[ZcanKal]

So, you thinking 60 Hz or 120 Hz?

[Cookie_inthehood]

6 minutes ago, Rasbir Singh said:

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/fF7V6s

I also think some of the parts you listed here are different to the ones you linked. 

[Cookie_inthehood]

Just now, ZcanKal said:

So, you thinking 60 Hz or 120 Hz?

120Hz is my max. 75Hz is my sweet spot. 

[ZcanKal]

1 minute ago, Cookie_inthehood said:

120Hz is my max. 75Hz is my sweet spot. 

1070 ti might work.

[Cookie_inthehood]

1 minute ago, ZcanKal said:

1070 ti might work.

You don't think the 1070 would be able to handle it? Only reason I really avoided the Ti was because I can't afford an SLI build 

[LienusLateTips]

Wait, so what IS your budget that is remaining?

[ZcanKal]

Just now, Cookie_inthehood said:

You don't think the 1070 would be able to handle it? Only reason I really avoided the Ti was because I can't afford an SLI build 

the 1070 ti is more like the 1080 than the 1070, and is built for 4k, meaning a 120 hz ultrawide (even at 1080p) will run very smoothly, even smoother than if you just had a 1070.

[Cookie_inthehood]

2 minutes ago, JDE said:

Wait, so what IS your budget that is remaining?

£1,700 +- £150. The first suggestion increased my initial suggestion by almost £300.

[Cookie_inthehood]

3 minutes ago, ZcanKal said:

the 1070 ti is more like the 1080 than the 1070, and is built for 4k, meaning a 120 hz ultrawide (even at 1080p) will run very smoothly, even smoother than if you just had a 1070.

I get ya. Okay I'll look out for a Ti, any idea of roughly how much more they cost? 

[brob]

I would suggest going with a decent, not monstrous cpu cooler. Mostly to free up some budget.

 

Given an Aorus motherboard, might as well go with an Aorus gpu. GTX 1070 Ti are currently quite close in price to 1070s.

 

The Samsung 850 Evo is slightly less expensive than the Crucial MX500. Both are good, so pick the one that is least expensive at time of purchase.

 

The Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 650W is slightly less expensive than the RMx650. It is arguably better.

 

The Windows 10 OEM license does not permit use in DIY builds. One is supposed to buy a retail version.

 

I would trade a faster refresh for a higher resolution IPS screen.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor  (£281.94 @ Aria PC) 
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler  (£34.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte - Z370 AORUS Ultra Gaming (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£146.99 @ Aria PC) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  (£169.29 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£102.00 @ Aria PC) 
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£77.99 @ Aria PC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB AORUS Video Card  (£509.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk) 
Case: Corsair - Crystal 460X RGB ATX Mid Tower Case  (Purchased For £0.00) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£79.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home Full 32/64-bit  (£101.98 @ PC World Business) 
Monitor: BenQ - GW2765HT 27.0" 2560x1440 60Hz Monitor  (£209.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Keyboard: Redragon - K552 Wired Gaming Keyboard  (Purchased For £0.00) 
Mouse: Logitech - G502 Proteus Spectrum Wired Optical Mouse  (Purchased For £0.00) 
Total: £1715.15
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-06 01:20 BST+0100

[8-Bit Ninja]

i would recommend a 7200 rpm hard drive for games, an 8700k would be a better investment purely for the higher clock speeds compared to the 8700  

[ZcanKal]

1 minute ago, Cookie_inthehood said:

I get ya. Okay I'll look out for a Ti, any idea of roughly how much more they cost? 

If we're going by Newegg, about $625, or about £446, not much higher than the regular 1070, actually, I'm kinda impressed.

[ZcanKal]

2 minutes ago, brob said:

I would trade a faster refresh for a higher resolution IPS screen.

As somebody that has unfortunately played games for most of his time in 1366x768, resolution past 1080p is... well... why not?

[Cookie_inthehood]

3 minutes ago, brob said:

I would suggest going with a decent, not monstrous cpu cooler. Mostly to free up some budget.

 

Given an Aorus motherboard, might as well go with an Aorus gpu. GTX 1070 Ti are currently quite close in price to 1070s.

 

The Samsung 850 Evo is slightly less expensive than the Crucial MX500. Both are good, so pick the one that is least expensive at time of purchase.

 

The Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 650W is slightly less expensive than the RMx650. It is arguably better.

 

The Windows 10 OEM license does not permit use in DIY builds. One is supposed to buy a retail version.

 

I would trade a faster refresh for a higher resolution IPS screen.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor  (£281.94 @ Aria PC) 
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler  (£34.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte - Z370 AORUS Ultra Gaming (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£146.99 @ Aria PC) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  (£169.29 @ Amazon UK) 
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£102.00 @ Aria PC) 
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda 4TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£77.99 @ Aria PC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB AORUS Video Card  (£509.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk) 
Case: Corsair - Crystal 460X RGB ATX Mid Tower Case  (Purchased For £0.00) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£79.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home Full 32/64-bit  (£101.98 @ PC World Business) 
Monitor: BenQ - GW2765HT 27.0" 2560x1440 60Hz Monitor  (£209.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Keyboard: Redragon - K552 Wired Gaming Keyboard  (Purchased For £0.00) 
Mouse: Logitech - G502 Proteus Spectrum Wired Optical Mouse  (Purchased For £0.00) 
Total: £1715.15
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-06 01:20 BST+0100

Thanks dude, these are some really decent looking specs, and completely forgot to match my board and GPU. Are you sure a 650W supply will be enough here? 

[Cookie_inthehood]

4 minutes ago, 8-Bit Ninja said:

i would recommend a 7200 rpm hard drive for games, an 8700k would be a better investment purely for the higher clock speeds compared to the 8700  

Agreed, and the K isn't much more expensive. 

[brob]

1 minute ago, Cookie_inthehood said:

Thanks dude, these are some really decent looking specs, and completely forgot to match my board and GPU. Are you sure a 650W supply will be enough here? 

650W is more than enough. A 550W would be quite sufficient, but everyone worries about running out of capacity despite the current trend to lower power requirements.

 

PCPartPicker calculates the max stock draw at under 400W. 

[Cookie_inthehood]

3 minutes ago, ZcanKal said:

As somebody that has unfortunately played games for most of his time in 1366x768, resolution past 1080p is... well... why not?

Although a agree 1440p is much better than 1080p, I'd like to be able to appreciate the additional frames I'll be achieving with this kind of build, with a slightly higher refresh rate than 60Hz.

[Cookie_inthehood]

1 minute ago, brob said:

650W is more than enough. A 550W would be quite sufficient, but everyone worries about running out of capacity despite the current trend to lower power requirements.

 

PCPartPicker calculates the max stock draw at under 400W. 

Okay, cool! What kind of efficiency rating should I be looking for? As in, what's a good standard to go by nowadays? 

[ZcanKal]

Just now, Cookie_inthehood said:

Okay, cool! What kind of efficiency rating should I be looking for? As in, what's a good standard to go by nowadays? 

I'd consider the minimum to be 80+ Bronze.

[brob]

Just now, Cookie_inthehood said:

Okay, cool! What kind of efficiency rating should I be looking for? As in, what's a good standard to go by nowadays? 

For this level of build Gold is the sweet spot. If you have budget to burn, put it into the monitor first.

[Cookie_inthehood]

Cool cool across the board. I've actually been hearing some worrying things about the reliability of Seagate drives. Should I avoid their brand out right? 

[brob]

10 minutes ago, Cookie_inthehood said:

Cool cool across the board. I've actually been hearing some worrying things about the reliability of Seagate drives. Should I avoid their brand out right? 

Seagate refreshed their Barracuda line recently possibly because of reliability issues. But if you are not comfortable with Seagate, WD Blue are decent drives.