Building a gaming pc, components & compatibility, suggestions etc.

[Blue42]

Heya! I'm considering upgrading my ageing gaming PC to a newer one. I've been looking around for what components to use and currently this is what I'm thinking of. I've been out of the latest tech in computers so I'm not sure if I'm missing something, got some catching up to do. Anyway, here's what I have in mind:

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K @ 4,2 GHz LGA1151
(Also considering Ryzen 1700x, but i7 apparently has better single core performance which is better for older games and certain emulators and from what I gather most games still only use 4 cores or won't benefit that much from more cores. I'm wanting a CPU that's future proof since the worst part about my current PC is the CPU, AMD Phenom II x4 925 @ 2.8GHz which makes the most demanding new games unplayable. Hard to tell if 8 cores will become the norm but we had the FX chips years ago and well here we are.)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9S
(Apparently it has good reviews and a six year warranty. Would I be fine with a cheaper cooler? I've never really overclocked a CPU, been afraid the risk of frying my PC since I was kid lol. I might get crazy and try some overclocking though, which is why I'd pick the z270 motherboard.)

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-Z270-Gaming K3 LGA1151 ATX motherboard
(Don't know much about the mobo manufacturing scene, but I'm guessing Gigabyte is considered a good/decent manufacturer? This one has the better Realtek ALC1220 soundchip, but I also have a Sound Blaster Z. Sound quality is important to me since I also produce electronic music, thinking of having a backup plan in case the SBZ doesn't work or something... Creative cards not working, call the press haha right. I don't care about SLI tbh so it's no big deal not having it. All the parts should be compatible with this board, right?)

RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 Non-ECC 3000 MHz 16 Gb (2 x 8 Gb kit)
(I figure that 16 gigs is enough for gaming. I can always buy another 2x8=16 kit if I really need to, but this one should be fine. I read that RAM speed doesn't really matter that much, and that dual channel is slightly better in games than single channel, so... This one is the cheapest that I found which is officially supported by that motherboard.)

GPU: Asus GeForce GTX 1060 DUAL-GTX1060-O3G 3072 MB PCIe
(This one seems to me like a decent middle ground between the underpowered 1050 Ti and substantially more costly 1070. There is a 6048 MB version but looks like it isn't worth the cost. I'm planning to game at 1920x1080 anyway. I'm getting a 144 Hz monitor, 60 Hz seems so... sluggish to me haha I'm used to my old 120-150 Hz CRT monitor here... sooo with maybe medium-high settings I could achieve 100+ FPS in pretty much every game... I hope. Though as long as it stays constantly above 60 it'd be decent. I have a GTX 580 which is beginning to show its age, mainly due to the limited VRAM of 1536 MB.)

Monitor: BenQ Zowie XL2430 24"
(From what I gather BenQ makes good quality monitors. Not planning on upgrading my monitor anytime soon so I think this would be a good investement. It supports DisplayPort 1.2 and 1920x1080 @ 144 Hz. As I said I'm used to my old CRT monitor so LCD/OLED/whatever tech is kind out of my experience field, dunno if you need V-sync, dunno about G-Sync and stuff like that but I'm guessing this monitor would fit the bill nicely.)

SSD: Kingston HyperX FURY 120 GB SSD 2.5" SSD
(Now this one I'm not sure about. I'm planning to use Windows 10, some say that SSD load time is totally worth it over HDD. I have loads of HDD space which I will be carrying on to my PC, but SSD could be good for Windows loading and possibly some games.)

I'm hoping this system would be future proof, lasting quite a while due to the powerful CPU also the monitor is quite an investment but absolutely needed as my only monitor is VGA only.

I have my old ATX case (antec something I think?), dvd-drive, the hard drives, PSU (650W Corsair, I forgot the exact model but should be good) blah blah and everything else ready.

Wow I tend to ramble on 😀 Anyway thanks for your focus and patience & potential advice if you have read this far! Cheers!

 

[Isokolon]

CPU: your thoughts aren't wrong. But they aren't exactly up to date either. I agree the 1700 is not needed. The 1600/X however is kinda interesting.
Intel is currently the king for single core performance and it is a pretty important thing. But Dx12 was designed for 6 physical cores in mind and the number of games making use of additional threads is rising each day. If you're not multitasking but hitting those 144fps is really important to you, the i7 is the way to go. If you can wait until the end of the year Intel will release their hexacore i7s by then (quadcores are just a dying breed by now). Otherwise a Ryzen 1600 is sufficient and saves some money.

CPU cooler: for a 7700k you'd want at least a 120mm air cooler or bigger. Scythe Mugen Max or Cryorig H5 can be found for 40$ and below. If you're keen on Noctua, go for the U12S or the U14S.
Make sure they fit into your case though.

Board/RAM: yes. Everything you've said is true.
With Intel the gains of 3000MHz RAM over 2400MHz are minimal. With Ryzen, go for 3000-3200MHz, it makes a difference.

GPU: I'd go for the 6GB. The 3GB doesn't only have less VRAM but they cut at other parts too. Manufacturer doesn't matter with the 1060s. If you find a PNY or a Palit that's cheaper than the ASUS, go for it.

SSD: Take it from experience: a 120GB SSD fits the OS but 200GB+ is more comfortable. See if you can find a cheap Samsung or Crucial MX300 instead of the Kingston. They use a better method for their SSDs.

Better look up the exact PSU model. Corsair is and has been selling some good units but also a lot of trash. Depending on it's age it might not deliver enough power @12V.

The BenQ is a decent monitor, but there are better ones out there for the money.
May I ask your total budget and your location?

 

[M04D18]

I agree with Isokolon generally , but if you are going for 144hz consider the gtx 1070 cause a 1060 3gb / 6gb wont take full advantage of your screen.

 

[King Dranzer]

What is the budget for the upgrade. That is a weak GPU for a combination of Strong CPU not good.
In few weeks Coffeelake is gonna launch go for it instead of Kabylake or Ryzen. It comes with more cores than Kabylake and better IPC than Ryzen.

 

[Blue42]

Hmm okay! I didn't know about Coffee Lake, I'm probably gonna wait for the beginning of next year then, to see the new cpus and how it affects the prices of current ones

The PSU is Corsair RM 650x. Any good?

Any comments on what are some good alternatives to the BenQ monitor at around that price range (250-500€?) and what is there to keep in mind when getting a 1080p 144 Hz monitor? Is there a reason to choose one that supports DisplayPort instead of the ones that only support HDMI/DVI?

I will keep in mind what you have said about the SSD and GPU, in any case thanks for all your thoughts. I haven't decided on a budget yet. The parts that I list on my first post would cost me around 1400€, which is already pretty steep for me. Ideally I would go for 1000-1500€, though less is always better, I wouldn't wanna sacrifice quality too much. All about finding that sweet spot eh? I'm located in Finland. The main point would be to invest most heavily on the CPU so that it would be futureproof and I could increase the life span of the system through a GPU upgrade later on, I can handle getting below 144 FPS as long as its steadily above let's say 40-60, not that important to run at ultra detail either.

 

[King Dranzer]

If you gonna wait till next year then add more budget to it as much as possible and then go for a decent build with next Gen Hardware. By then even NVIDIA Volta will be confirmed. So go for Intel Coffeelake and NVIDIA Volta build.

Even if you plan to get the build in a month then still the above listed build can be tremendously improved for performance increase.
The above list you made is imbalanced for the budget you have.

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

I'm an AMD fan myself. I had the old AMD Athlon 630 x4 I think that it was, as well as an FX 8120 for a while, and later the FX 6300. I also overclocked the 2 latter cpus.

Trust me, Ryzen is NOT FX. Much much better. I've got the 1600, overclocked to 3.7ghz. I actually was able to hit that on the stock cooler, vs the 7700k you'll need an aftermarket cooler either way. I also just scored a good deal on an RX 480 8gb card from a friend who had upgraded to a 1080ti. The card I got still has a year or so of warranty left with Microcenter, so I am happy about that.

Here's a review that shows you the difference. Keep in mind they used a 1080, but they show you the differences. Also, the Ryzen numbers of course would go up if you overclock, as would intel. I would suggest maybe looking to the Ryzen 1600 or 1600x, overclock, and then spend the savings on a better graphics card, at least get a 1060 6gb, or a GTX 1070.

Totally up to you, but if you are already up to 144hz, and if you want to turn on extra textures and turn on AA etc, you'll want the extra memory sooner or later.

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

I should say however, as great as the RX 480 is, I do like Microcenter's replacment plans(which is what my 480 has on it). Whenever volta comes out or if AMD beats them to the punch with another gpu, you may see me cashing that card in for 250, the original price my friend paid for it, and cashing it in for a shiny new volta card of some kind.