Building 2 identical computers

[Drkrize]

My husband and I have been nursing along our gaming computers for about the last 5 years or so upgrading parts as things died and we are finally to the point where we are about ready to just build 2 new computers from the ground up. We are wanting to build identical computers just with different colors but it has been so long that I really don’t know what is good anymore for what we want. 

 

We we live in the US and are wanting to spend around $1500ish per computer. These computers would primarily be for gaming.  We are currently gaming at 1080 so a machine that could do either 4K or 1440 would be a great upgrade. With that said we are going to need to buy new monitors but we have separate money set aside for those.

 

I have been watching videos and trying to do research but the more I learn the more I have no idea where to start.  I feel paralyzed with decisions:

-AMD vs Intel: is the Intel tax really with it?

-Optain memory: does this really work? Should I just buy a large mechanical drive with and Optain stick instead of an SSD?

-M.2 vs SATA: is it worth the extra money?

-RAM 16Gb vs 32Gb: do I need 32?

 

Sorry for the million questions but any advice, guidance or recommended builds would be greatly appreciated. 

 

[Herman Mcpootis]

3 minutes ago, Drkrize said:

I have been watching videos and trying to do research but the more I learn the more I have no idea where to start.  I feel paralyzed with decisions:

-AMD vs Intel: is the Intel tax really with it?

-Optain memory: does this really work? Should I just buy a large mechanical drive with and Optain stick instead of an SSD?

-M.2 vs SATA: is it worth the extra money?

-RAM 16Gb vs 32Gb: do I need 32?

coffeelake CPUs will perform better for gaming but it's not as obvious at 1440p.

it works, but you'd be better off getting a smaller boot ssd and larger hdd.

not worth it unless it's the same price or you're doing 4k editing/rendering.

not needed.

[Derrk]

AMD vs Intel: i like amd more personally, but intel is still better for the sole purpose of gaming. 

optain won't beat out an ssd. (really won't do anything if you go with AMD)

NVMe is worth the money IMO, but i guess it mostly depends on if you can fit it into your budget.

You don't need 32gb of memory unless you're into editing. 

 

You won't be able to game adequately in 4k unless you get a 1080ti or comparable rtx card (we don't know a ton about rtx yet, except that it's out of your budget)

For your budget, you might be able to get a 1080ti and 8700k if you can find good deals. The 8700k will probably have a decent drop in price when the new gen is released. Same for the 1080ti, but it's msrp is already dropping. If you get these components though, you may not be able to budget in an M.2 drive. But, if you can, i recommend getting a small capacity M.2 for your boot drive, and a mechanical drive for storage. 

 

I really like the idea of getting identical computers - maybe get different cases to add character, but i like that you two will be gaming on essentially the same machine.

Good luck!

 

[Herman Mcpootis]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor  ($164.89 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler: Scythe - SCNJ-4000 84.6 CFM CPU Cooler  ($39.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock - B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($135.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: ADATA - XPG SX6000 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($56.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Toshiba - P300 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($56.45 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GAMING X 8G Video Card  ($469.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Corsair - Carbide Series 275R (Black w/Tempered Glass) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($57.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Dell - S2417DG 23.8" 2560x1440 165Hz Monitor  ($379.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1502.05
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-19 11:51 EDT-0400

[Derrk]

1 minute ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor  ($164.89 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler: Scythe - SCNJ-4000 84.6 CFM CPU Cooler  ($39.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock - B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($135.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: ADATA - XPG SX6000 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($56.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Toshiba - P300 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($56.45 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GAMING X 8G Video Card  ($469.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Corsair - Carbide Series 275R (Black w/Tempered Glass) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($57.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Dell - S2417DG 23.8" 2560x1440 165Hz Monitor  ($379.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1502.05
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-19 11:51 EDT-0400

i like this build, except they had seperate money set aside for the monitor. I'd suggest something similar but look for a 1080ti.

 

There won't be a huge difference in framerate between intel and AMD when gaming in 4k. At that resolution, the gpu is doing most of the work. 

[brob]

30 minutes ago, Drkrize said:

...with decisions:

-AMD vs Intel: is the Intel tax really with it?

-Optain memory: does this really work? Should I just buy a large mechanical drive with and Optain stick instead of an SSD?

-M.2 vs SATA: is it worth the extra money?

-RAM 16Gb vs 32Gb: do I need 32?

...

 

Not a great deal of difference in gaming between the i7-8700/i7-8700K and Ryzen 7 2700X at higher resolution. Although Intel does better in most cases.

 

Optane memory is not worth the investment unless one is only using hdd for storage.

 

Tough call on NVMe vs SATA. (Not all M.2 drives are NVMe, some are SATA III.) Personally I think more SATA ssd storage is better than less NVMe. So, if budget enters into the picture, go with a larger SATA III ssd.

 

Sixteen GB is more than enough for gaming. 

 

I'd suggest something along the following lines. Going with a GTX 1080 Ti, instead of the 1080 listed would put the cost a bit over the budget goal. But it would be a better choice if 4K gaming is intended.

 

The case listed is available in black, and black with red, blue, or white highlights.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($311.90 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($36.40 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - H370 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($97.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: GeIL - SUPER LUCE RGB 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($138.98 @ Newegg Business) 
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($159.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB ROG STRIX Video Card  ($529.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: NZXT - H500 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($71.11 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1416.24
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-19 12:12 EDT-0400

[Guest]

Assuming you go 4K. You could easily drop the cpu down to one of the 6 core variants to save a bit more money.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3GHz 8-Core Processor  ($208.89 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC - Freezer 33 eSports Edition (Black/Red) CPU Cooler  ($46.73 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte - X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($97.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Patriot - Viper 4 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($137.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Team - L5 LITE 3D 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Toshiba - P300 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($56.45 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB AORUS Video Card  ($654.89 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Pro M Tempered Glass (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1422.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-19 12:52 EDT-0400

[SHROUD]

1 hour ago, Drkrize said:

My husband and I have been nursing along our gaming computers for about the last 5 years or so upgrading parts as things died and we are finally to the point where we are about ready to just build 2 new computers from the ground up. We are wanting to build identical computers just with different colors but it has been so long that I really don’t know what is good anymore for what we want. 

 

We we live in the US and are wanting to spend around $1500ish per computer. These computers would primarily be for gaming.  We are currently gaming at 1080 so a machine that could do either 4K or 1440 would be a great upgrade. With that said we are going to need to buy new monitors but we have separate money set aside for those.

 

I have been watching videos and trying to do research but the more I learn the more I have no idea where to start.  I feel paralyzed with decisions:

-AMD vs Intel: is the Intel tax really with it?

-Optain memory: does this really work? Should I just buy a large mechanical drive with and Optain stick instead of an SSD?

-M.2 vs SATA: is it worth the extra money?

-RAM 16Gb vs 32Gb: do I need 32?

 

Sorry for the million questions but any advice, guidance or recommended builds would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Considering that u'll be play at 4k, even the ryzen 5 chips will perform similarly to that of Intel chips.

Build something like this......one in black case, one in white case.....

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor  ($164.89 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($36.40 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte - X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($97.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($134.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: ADATA - Ultimate SU650 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($69.99 @ Newegg Marketplace) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($58.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB AORUS Video Card  ($654.89 @ OutletPC) 
Case: NZXT - H500 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1358.02
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-19 13:03 EDT-0400

[Jenshiye]

 

AMD vs Intel (post above it also.)