$1500 First Gaming PC

[OGH2020]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hhFmxG

 

Hello! I plan on building a PC in a month or two, and I've put together a list. The purpose of this PC is to play games like PUBG, GTA, Fortnite, CSGO, Rainbow Six, and other games like those at 1080p 144hz at medium-high settings (I understand that in GTA V and PUBG I'll have to make some sacrifices). My budget is $1500 USD, and I'm not interested in used parts.

 

Breakdown of my choices:

 

CPU

I chose the Ryzen 5 1600 because of it's OC abilities, and from the reviews I've heard it is fantastic. I plan on casually streaming in the future so the extra cores will be good for that, and I didn't choose a second gen Ryzen CPU because I'd rather upgrade when the new Ryzen CPUs come out.

 

Mobo

I chose the ASUS Prime x470-Pro because it's cheap, and I get the benefit of the Asus Aura Sync if I choose, and ASUS' BIOS (Which I've heard is the best).

 

Memory

A simple Corsair 2x8 DDR4 3000Mhz CL15 because I've heard Ryzen thrives on good, fast ram.

 

Storage

I am aware the M.2 Samsung 970 Evo is overkill, but my current PC (a laptop) has an M.2 SSD in it for the OS, and I'd rather not surrender those speeds in the future.

Basic 2TB 7200RPM HDD for Apps and Games

 

GPU

I chose the EVGA GTX 1070 FTW2 for it's faster clock speed, competitive price, and EVGA's customer service which I've heard is the best of all the GPU manufacturers.

 

Edit: When the 11 series GPU's are announced, I'll reconsider this one for another sub-$500 GPU, but for now this will do

 

Case

I included the Meshify C TG in my parts list because I like the aesthetic, and it gives plenty of good airflow.

 

PSU

750 Watt EVGA G3 PSU for the 80+ Gold efficiency, and EVGA's customer service.

 

Monitor

Best reviewed 1080p 144hz monitor, and has everything I need.

 

Upgrades in the Future:

In the future I may consider buying the NZXT Kraken x62, replacement NZXT Aer RGB fans for it, and Aer RGB fans for the top and back of the case for good aesthetics.

 

 

Please feel free to ask me anymore questions about my choices, and I'd love criticism for what is good and isn't for this build

 

Thanks,

Owen

 

Edit: See GPU section

Edit 2: Will this be capable of VR gaming?

 

[Shimejii]

Used parts Will be your best bet to get the best out of this. 1500 for a ryzen 5 isnt worth it, thats r7 or i7 territory with a few adjustments.

 

Do not buy that NVME drive, Get a Sata m.2. YOU WILL NOT USE THE SPEEDS For the next 3 years based on how many programs have yet to even fully use Sata SSD speeds. Used the saved money to buy a better CPU

 

 

IMO You can get a 1700+Mobo+Ram for prob around 400-500ish  used nowadays, but if your going to be stubborn and buy new be my guest

[OGH2020]

1 minute ago, Shimejii said:

Used parts Will be your best bet to get the best out of this. 1500 for a ryzen 5 isnt worth it, thats r7 or i7 territory with a few adjustments.

 

Do not buy that NVME drive, Get a Sata m.2. YOU WILL NOT USE THE SPEEDS For the next 3 years based on how many programs have yet to even fully use Sata SSD speeds. Used the saved money to buy a better CPU

 

 

IMO You can get a 1700+Mobo+Ram for prob around 400-500ish  used nowadays, but if your going to be stubborn and buy new be my guest

I've just had some shitty luck with used electronics, that's all. I'll reconsider the NVME drive, and reconsider used parts. Otherwise does everything look good?

[Firewrath9]

I would get something like my current build, but with a 1070 ti or a i7 8700 non k and a no k mobo. 

[Shimejii]

1 minute ago, OGH2020 said:

I've just had some shitty luck with used electronics, that's all. I'll reconsider the NVME drive, and reconsider used parts. Otherwise does everything look good?

Hrmm Honestly if you can get a Asus Strix 1070 that will perform MUCH better, or a 1070ti thats similar in price. EVGA Coolers (besides the 3 fan ftw) have been pretty terrible of late in their SC, SSC, and Base Ftw 1 edition.

 

CPU cooler is fine, thats all up to prefrence for RGB fans and cooling unit, i prefer Deepcool 360mm Captain because its 100-120 usually, and performs the same.

[OGH2020]

2 minutes ago, Firewrath9 said:

I would get something like my current build, but with a 1070 ti or a i7 8700 non k and a no k mobo. 

I'd prefer Ryzen for the multicore performance and the cheaper price, but I'll consider Intel.

[OGH2020]

1 minute ago, Shimejii said:

Hrmm Honestly if you can get a Asus Strix 1070 that will perform MUCH better, or a 1070ti thats similar in price. EVGA Coolers (besides the 3 fan ftw) have been pretty terrible of late in their SC, SSC, and Base Ftw 1 edition.

 

CPU cooler is fine, thats all up to prefrence for RGB fans and cooling unit, i prefer Deepcool 360mm Captain because its 100-120 usually, and performs the same.

Good to know about the 1070 TI's, and EVGA coolers, but I believe the Asus Strix cards are too long to go in the Meshify C with front fans installed

[i_build_nanosuits]

9 minutes ago, OGH2020 said:

Mobo

I chose the ASUS Prime x470-Pro because it's cheap, and I get the benefit of the Asus Aura Sync if I choose, and ASUS' BIOS (Which I've heard is the best).

 

 

CHEAP?! are you high...166$ for an AMD motherboard?! that cost more than the CPU itself!?! wow...

[Shimejii]

2 minutes ago, OGH2020 said:

I'd prefer Ryzen for the multicore performance and the cheaper price, but I'll consider Intel.

If you are JUST doing gaming, and nothing else like streaming etc, 8700k is the best CPU at 1080p. 1440p and 2160p things are a LOT closer. 

 

I game at 1440p 144hz for refrence with a 5930k and 980 ti.

[OGH2020]

1 minute ago, i_build_nanosuits said:

CHEAP?! are you high...166$ for an AMD motherboard?! that cost more than the CPU itself!?! wow...

Cheapest Asus mobo, sorry

[w1nger1]

I would get an extra SSD for applications and games instead of using the HDD, the loading speed is real. I wouldn't replace it tho, I would get an extra one.

[i_build_nanosuits]

Just now, OGH2020 said:

Cheapest Asus mobo, sorry

this one would do great if you want to stick with ASUS and R5 1600...

that way you could get a 1070ti instead or something...

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ZHyxFT/asus-strix-b350-f-gaming-atx-am4-motherboard-strix-b350-f-gaming

[OGH2020]

1 minute ago, i_build_nanosuits said:

this one would do great if you want to stick with ASUS and R5 1600...

that way you could get a 1070ti instead or something...

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ZHyxFT/asus-strix-b350-f-gaming-atx-am4-motherboard-strix-b350-f-gaming

I totally forgot I was dealing with the 1600, I've been making lists with the 2600x recently, and forgot about B350.

 

Thank you for pointing this out!

[Firewrath9]

Try this https://pcpartpicker.com/list/sM6NyX the 1080 and the 2600 should help.

[Streetguru]

24 minutes ago, OGH2020 said:

 

For like $20 more you can get the H500 which has tons of airflow.

swapped a few things.

 

Could just get Vega 56 at that point since most of the 1080p 144hz displays will have free-sync anyways.

Go for this one monitor over that one though.
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-ED242QR-Abidpx-FREESYNC-Technology/dp/B07598HLB5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524889602&sr=8-1&keywords=1080p+144hz+VA+Acer
 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BcV2r6
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BcV2r6/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - X470 GAMING PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($129.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($69.85 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus - Radeon RX VEGA 56 8GB ROG STRIX Video Card  ($494.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterCase H500 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($107.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($82.59 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: AOC - G2460PF 24.0" 1920x1080 144Hz Monitor  ($192.10 @ Amazon)
Total: $1452.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-07-05 23:07 EDT-0400

[OGH2020]

I made a few changes

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/xnMM3b

[Streetguru]

1 minute ago, OGH2020 said:

I made a few changes

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/xnMM3b

Is your budget close to like $1700 then?

Should get Vega 56 for sure then with a free-sync monitor. Or an RX 580 with a 1440p 144hz IPS free-sync display at around $400

 

I'd maybe invest in the monitor more than the GPU...up to you.

[Taf the Ghost]

3 minutes ago, OGH2020 said:

I made a few changes

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/xnMM3b

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6yKcCJ/samsung-860-evo-500gb-25-solid-state-drive-mz-76e500bam

 

860 Evo is out, and a little cheaper.

 

Can probably save some money with a different PSU. 

 

I wish I could tell you the B450 motherboards would be out next week, but they're still "soon". Could save a right chunk of change there, but we don't know the release date yet. Just July right now.

[OGH2020]

2 minutes ago, Taf the Ghost said:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6yKcCJ/samsung-860-evo-500gb-25-solid-state-drive-mz-76e500bam

 

860 Evo is out, and a little cheaper.

 

Can probably save some money with a different PSU. 

 

I wish I could tell you the B450 motherboards would be out next week, but they're still "soon". Could save a right chunk of change there, but we don't know the release date yet. Just July right now.

yeah, Ill change to that when released

 

[OGH2020]

Its not a real PC build until you go over your budget...

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pk7s8Y

 

Is this balanced enough?

[Taf the Ghost]

1 minute ago, OGH2020 said:

yeah, Ill change to that when released

 

If you're not buying this week, that'll be a place to save money. Also be nice not to have to tell people to roll the dice on the B350 boards.

[OGH2020]

1 minute ago, Taf the Ghost said:

If you're not buying this week, that'll be a place to save money. Also be nice not to have to tell people to roll the dice on the B350 boards.

true, thanks for your help

[LienusLateTips]

2 minutes ago, OGH2020 said:

Its not a real PC build until you go over your budget...

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pk7s8Y

 

Is this balanced enough?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor  ($189.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte - X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ Walmart) 
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($159.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($111.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB ROG STRIX Video Card  ($548.89 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Fractal Design - Meshify C TG ATX Mid Tower Case  ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G1+ 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($84.89 @ OutletPC) 
Monitor: Dell - S2417DG 23.8" 2560x1440 165Hz Monitor  ($374.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1754.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-07-05 23:21 EDT-0400

 

Better PSU, the G3 has OPP and OTP issues.

[Taf the Ghost]

3 minutes ago, OGH2020 said:

Its not a real PC build until you go over your budget...

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pk7s8Y

 

Is this balanced enough?

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/bvhvZR

 

If you're that far in, 240 Hz monitors exist.

[OGH2020]

3 minutes ago, Taf the Ghost said:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/bvhvZR

 

If you're that far in, 240 Hz monitors exist.

240hz seems a bit overkill