Question $2500 PC Build

[Mister Duzey]

My friend is looking to buy a really nice PC and I'd like a second opinion on a PC build with a $2500 budget.

 

[AngelTech]

I assume you mean DIY? or do you mean prebuilt?

knowing the parts will let us help you better

 

[cryoburner]

What are their needs? Demanding professional applications? Gaming? If so, at what resolution and refresh rate? Do they have a suitable monitor and peripherals already, or should those be included in the price? It's a bit difficult to suggest a system without knowing more details about what they want out of it.

 

[Mister Duzey]

What are their needs? Demanding professional applications? Gaming? If so, at what resolution and refresh rate? Do they have a suitable monitor and peripherals already, or should those be included in the price? It's a bit difficult to suggest a system without knowing more details about what they want out of it.

Its for gaming on all types of games, he will be getting a 240 hz g sync monitor

 

[Mister Duzey]

I assume you mean DIY? or do you mean prebuilt?

knowing the parts will let us help you better

he wants to build it

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

OK. last thing we need to know.

What currency?
USD? AUD? CAD? etc.

Also, is this $2500 a hard budget and needs to include possible taxes and shipping costs?
If so, what is the tax rate where your friend lives?

Also, also, is this just for the system or does it have to include mouse/keyboard/monitor?

 

[Mister Duzey]

What are their needs? Demanding professional applications? Gaming? If so, at what resolution and refresh rate? Do they have a suitable monitor and peripherals already, or should those be included in the price? It's a bit difficult to suggest a system without knowing more details about what they want out of it.
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What are their needs? Demanding professional applications? Gaming? If so, at what resolution and refresh rate? Do they have a suitable monitor and peripherals already, or should those be included in the price? It's a bit difficult to suggest a system without knowing more details about what they want out of it.

He wants to get max fps and he wants some

OK. last thing we need to know.

What currency?
USD? AUD? CAD? etc.

Also, is this $2500 a hard budget and needs to include possible taxes and shipping costs?
If so, what is the tax rate where your friend lives?

Also, also, is this just for the system or does it have to include mouse/keyboard/monitor?

USD.
The $2500 budget is for the parts to the pc only. The tax is 7.5% I believe

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

Alright cool.

Well to get things started, if you were to not wait until the new Ryzen 3000 CPU's come out, then this is what you can buy right now with less than that budget.


PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor ($284.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! - Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($88.09 @ B&H)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 3 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card ($1199.99 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design - Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($82.99 @ B&H)
Case Fan: Fractal Design - X2 GP-12 (Black) 52.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($12.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Fractal Design - X2 GP-12 (Black) 52.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($12.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Fractal Design - X2 GP-12 (Black) 52.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($12.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Fractal Design - X2 GP-12 (Black) 52.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($12.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2172.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-16 23:57 EDT-0400


And with that extra money, can put it towards RGB stuff if your friend wants, or can just call it good at that and save the money.

But I would honestly wait until the 3000 series drops so that can be gotten instead for still under budget, but with better overall performance from the CPU to match the GPU.

I should note that I specifically chose the retailers for you for best price after everything is said and done.

And the retailer B&H doesn't collect taxes on purchases unless you live in either New York or New Jersey.

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

could of course get a beefier PSU if wanted for a tad bit more.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor ($284.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! - Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($88.09 @ B&H)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 3 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card ($1199.99 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design - Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ Walmart)
Case Fan: Fractal Design - X2 GP-12 (Black) 52.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($12.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Fractal Design - X2 GP-12 (Black) 52.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($12.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Fractal Design - X2 GP-12 (Black) 52.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($12.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Fractal Design - X2 GP-12 (Black) 52.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($12.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2199.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-17 00:03 EDT-0400

 

[Mister Duzey]

Thank you so much for taking the time to make that list.
How does that AMD cpu compare to the i9-9900k and I’m assuming the 3000 series is AMD’s new cpu coming out?
When is it expected to come out?

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

doesn't really matter overall.
Technically the 9900K is "better" in gaming, but the gains aren't enough to warrant the extreme cost of the CPU.

But if you wait until Zen2 with the Ryzen 3000 series, you could get the higher end CPU from AMD and it will most likely match and even outperform the 9900K.

Trust me, if I can get over 100fps at high/max graphics at 1440p with an overclocked 6700K and an overclocked 1080 Ti, then an overclocked 2700X and overclocked 2080 Ti will be more than enough yum for your friend.
Especially if they wait just a tiny bit here for the 3000 series to come out.

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

Overall, what I built for you can just be used as a place holder of sorts when it comes to the CPU and mobo.
It would be wiser to wait for about a month I believe for the 3000 series to come out, and then update the list with the new CPU and mobo to match. And maybe even faster RAM if so inclined. and all still under budget or right at the budget.

 

[AngelTech]

Thank you so much for taking the time to make that list.
How does that AMD cpu compare to the i9-9900k and I’m assuming the 3000 series is AMD’s new cpu coming out?
When is it expected to come out?

Intel is better but overpriced BUT that may change with Ryzen 3000 which comes out July 7th of this year but the CPU will be more then enough for the PC BUT if you wanna wait I would definitely look into a 3000 chip and check the increase of performance

 

[cryoburner]

How does that AMD cpu compare to the i9-9900k and I’m assuming the 3000 series is AMD’s new cpu coming out?

The 2700X is a very good processor, but if they are wanting to achieve the highest frame rates that a high-end graphics card can manage on a 240Hz screen, at the moment Intel's current i7s and i9s offer a bit higher per-core performance in games, that will typically result in a bit higher frame rates when performance is limited by the CPU, which it likely will be more often than not with a 2080 Ti running at 1080p resolution. Of course, as has been mentioned, AMD's new processors that should be coming out in a few weeks will likely close that gap, and possibly pull ahead in some titles, but we'll have to wait a bit for reviews to see exactly how performance compares. I'm guessing it will be pretty close between the two though.

Unless one is into playing certain competitive shooters at a professional level and feels they need every frame they can get, many might find it preferable to pair a high-end graphics card like that with a 1440p, 144 to 165Hz screen though. Currently, 240Hz screens are only available at 1080p, while 1440p screens will tend to offer a sharper image at their native resolution, due to them packing significantly more pixels into the same area at a given screen size. Frame rates will be lower in many games that are not as demanding on the CPU, but the 2080 Ti would be getting more fully utilized for rendering that extra detail, rather than waiting for the CPU to perform its work much of the time. Even with a high-end card and fast processor at 1080p, some games that especially demanding on the CPU may even struggle to get much above 100 fps. And past a certain point, the benefits of adding more frames becomes a bit less relevant. I guess its up to them to decide whether they want their screen to display more frames or more detail though.

And the retailer B&H doesn't collect taxes on purchases unless you live in either New York or New Jersey.

I don't think this is true anymore. Last year there was a supreme court ruling that now allows states to collect sales tax on out-of-state online purchases, and I believe a majority of states have already begun doing so. I just checked, and sure enough, tax is added for me at their site, though there are some states where that still isn't the case.

 

[Mister Duzey]

Intel is better but overpriced BUT that may change with Ryzen 3000 which comes out July 7th of this year but the CPU will be more then enough for the PC BUT if you wanna wait I would definitely look into a 3000 chip and check the increase of performance

So what’s the deal with the 3000 series? I watched a video with a ton of benchmarks and intel still seemed to slightly outperform in most cases. Is that because the core clock is lower? Or is intel still king?

 

[AngelTech]

Honestly, if a few frames are worth the premium price that is your choice but personally I think Ryzen has made great improvements to there CPUs the difference is barely noticeable esp. at 1440P and 4K.

 

[Mister Duzey]

Honestly, if a few frames are worth the premium price that is your choice but personally I think Ryzen has made great improvements to there CPUs the difference is barely noticeable esp. at 1440P and 4K.

But isnt the 3900x still more expensive?

 

[g-unit1111]

But isnt the 3900x still more expensive?

At the lowest price right now you can find the 3900X for around the ~$599 mark and any upper end X570 board is going to run you well past $259. Add in the fact that this hardware is in extremely high demand right now and the Newegg / Amazon minion sellers are going to be charging premiums you could be paying a 200% markup on that setup, so keep that in mind.

 

[Mister Duzey]

At the lowest price right now you can find the 3900X for around the ~$599 mark and any upper end X570 board is going to run you well past $259. Add in the fact that this hardware is in extremely high demand right now and the Newegg / Amazon minion sellers are going to be charging premiums you could be paying a 200% markup on that setup, so keep that in mind.

okay so it would be a lot smarted to go with a i9 for the time being?

 

[AngelTech]

Not really getting any 9 series CPU is not that smart unless you do heavy workloads if you want an intel gaming chip get an i7 9700K for a more budget-friendly option go for the i5 9600K if you wanna try AMD go Ryzen 7 3700X if you won't be streaming and want a more budget-friendly option go Ryzen 5 3600 just because it's more expensive doesn't mean they have better performance to really see a performance difference you need to look at benchmarks or reviews but do note 1-10 FPS isn't really gonna make a difference unless you're below 60 FPS.

 

[cryoburner]

But isnt the 3900x still more expensive?

The 3900X offers 12 cores with 24 threads. Compared to the closest equivalent processor from Intel, the Core i9-7920X, AMD's processor is half the price while offering substantially better performance in most games and applications.

However, one doesn't need 12 cores for gaming, and games likely won't benefit from those extra cores for a number of years, so buying a 7920X for gaming would be silly, and the 3900X probably isn't the best fit for most gaming-focused systems either. The extra cores would just be sitting around not doing anything most of the time. So, it's really the 3700X that's competing against the 9900K, as they are both 8 core, 16 thread processors. And for that, the 9900K is slightly faster, but the 3700X costs $150 less, and is more efficient, making it a better fit for less-expensive coolers, including the bundled one.

 

[g-unit1111]

okay so it would be a lot smarted to go with a i9 for the time being?

No the 3900X is the better CPU if you can find it for the MSRP. Keep checking places like PC Part Picker to get the best price. I also agree that if you want to save some money get the 3700X and you won't lose much in terms of performance.