$2,000 ASUS ROG STRIX Gaming Build (Newegg)

[hazeyez]

A coworker commissioned me to build a gaming rig for him for up to $2,000. We ordered the parts last Friday, they all arrived today!

 

Here's what I went with:

 

PCPartPicker part list

Chassis: Phanteks Eclipse P400 PH-EC416PTG_WT Glacier White Tempered Glass/Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($79.99)
HDD: WD Blue 1TB Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch - WD10EZEX  ($44.99)
Monitor: ASUS ROG Strix XG27VQ 27" Curved Full HD 1080p 144Hz DP HDMI DVI Eye Care Gaming Monitor ($337.24)
GPU: ASUS ROG GeForce GTX 1070 STRIX-GTX1070-O8G-GAMING 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready Video Card with RGB Lighting ($504.99)
PSU: CORSAIR CX-M Series CX650M 650W 80 PLUS BRONZE Haswell Ready ATX12V & EPS12V Semi-Modular Power Supply ($69.99)
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance RGB 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000)  ($209.99)
MoBo: ASUS ROG Strix Z370-E Gaming LGA 1151 (300 Series) Intel Z370 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 ATX Intel Motherboard ($209.99)
CPU: Intel Core i5-8600K Coffee Lake 6-Core 3.6 GHz (4.3 GHz Turbo) LGA 1151 (300 Series) 95W BX80684I58600K Desktop Processor ($244.99)
OS: Windows 10 Home - 64-bit - OEM ($99.99)
Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 140mm White LED Quiet Edition High Airflow Fan ($12.80)
Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 140mm White LED Quiet Edition High Airflow Fan ($12.80)
Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 140mm White LED Quiet Edition High Airflow Fan ($12.80)
Key/Mouse: MSI Vigor GK40 Combo US Backlit RGB Dedicated Hotkeys Anti-Ghosting Mechanical Feel Gaming Keyboard & Mouse ($61.70)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan ($29.99)
SSD: WD Black 256GB Performance SSD - M.2 2280 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive ($79.99)
Total: $2012.24
Prices DO NOT include shipping, taxes, and discounts.

 

Sure, the build could have taken another direction. This is an entry level build for him. By no means is it a "budget" (cheap) build, but we could've gotten crazy with it. He will eventually upgrade. The goal was to get him away from console gaming, and achieve 100fps+ and have it look sexy as hell. I think we did that!!!

 

Tell me what you think or what you would change/upgrade in the future?

 

Pics of the build coming tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

[.Apex.]

@hazeyez
personally i would've went for the i7-8700k instead of an overpriced motherboard.

but the 8600k is pretty damn good, dont think there's any need for upgrades, not anytime soon, atleast 4-5 years into the future, GTX 1070 on 1080p is overkill but VERY future proof  this is in no way an "Entry Level" PC.

the whole build is very future proof.
just check for him the temperatures on the 8600k while stressed with AIDA or something, because the 212 EVO was not enough at all for my 8700k, i had to do custom overclock because stock settings pushed the voltage too high.

[Brooksie359]

Would have gone for a 1070ti as it is the only gpu that is priced right. Also would have gone for a 8700k. Would have gone with a 1440p monitor or a 240hz monitor. Then again I live near microcenter so I can get a 240hz monitor for cheaper than that 144hz one you got. 

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/aoc-gaming-agon-series-ag241qx-24-lcd-qhd-freesync-monitor-black/6149439.p?skuId=6149439&ref=212&loc=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjN7YBRCOARIsAFCb934E_4U4TSIZ7fsrF2TFF5-Oklh6yiqMhwAkOpO2yvmA4UalMTv I mean I could get a 144hz 1440p monitor for the price that one. Asus overpriced their monitors imo.

 

https://m.newegg.com/products/9SIA24G63W7249?ignorebbr=true&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP-Mobile&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-Mobile-_-pla-_-Monitors+-+LCD+Flat+Panel-_-9SIA24G63W7249&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjN7YBRCOARIsAFCb934UlBgr3W4DiH1JX5UNWiEcTtpgFgIe_sDn6HTNP0bnzpCIkcHUpAMaAj5tEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds and here is an alienware 240hz monitor for the same price. 

[hazeyez]

@syn2112 thank you for the info on the cpu cooler - has me looking into better options now.. and we were exploring an i7, just didn't make sense for an extra $100 or so. 

 

@Brooksie359 yes the monitor is probably the only regret on this build.. i was more concerned with trying to get a 4k around that price, over one with more hz. However, sticking with the asus rog strix theme for a few extra dollars isn't bad imo - it's a great quality gaming monitor series. And the 1070ti has a few more cuda cores if any major difference.. you think it'll be a noticeable difference?

 

what does everyone think of the build overall? 

 

 

[SpiralTTGL]

would have went with a better cooler for higher overclock

[hazeyez]

56 minutes ago, SpiralTTGL said:

would have went with a better cooler for higher overclock

not planning on overclocking, and if he ever does then will easily upgrade cooler

[Brooksie359]

8 hours ago, hazeyez said:

@syn2112 thank you for the info on the cpu cooler - has me looking into better options now.. and we were exploring an i7, just didn't make sense for an extra $100 or so. 

 

@Brooksie359 yes the monitor is probably the only regret on this build.. i was more concerned with trying to get a 4k around that price, over one with more hz. However, sticking with the asus rog strix theme for a few extra dollars isn't bad imo - it's a great quality gaming monitor series. And the 1070ti has a few more cuda cores if any major difference.. you think it'll be a noticeable difference?

 

what does everyone think of the build overall? 

 

 

The 1070ti is basically a 1080 in terms of performance so yeah it is definitely a noticeable difference. 

[hazeyez]

Build went pretty smooth today we are getting an error at asus rog boot screen that states there is a cpu fan error.

 

Looked online it said to set the minimum rpm to 550 but when I restart the fan is back on max rpm like 1950.

 

I had installed AI suite fan xpert 4 after.. but that didn't change anything.

 

When powered on it goes to the boot screen showing error message, that's it. Does not load windows. 

 

Have to load windows manually from bios by choosing the hdd.. even after rearranging the boot order.

 

Any ideas?

 

Final pics coming tomorrow with full LED theme.

[hazeyez]

Completed project:

 

 

 

 

What do you all think?

 

[Vertis]

Looks good, the only thing I would do personally is route the PCI-E power over the top of the gpu and hide those loose connectors. 

 

Otherwise looking crisp, you've got yourself a good build there.

 

Edit: Hide that cable near the top fan as well