Building a rig complete first time in over 15 years, any opinions or advice?

[ralockkaltan]

Hey everyone,

I've done a fair bit of research already, you can see the parts list here: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jwRytg

I'm just over $2k without software/peripherals, which is where I'm targeting. I'm primarily going to use this PC for gaming and have tried to pull together the best components I can for that price target. I'm in the US and am not in a rush so I am hoping to hit some sales and pick up some of these for a bit cheaper.

If anyone has suggestions for areas where I could shave cost without sacrificing performance or where I could get a bit more out without adding cost I'd appreciate it! And, of course, general build tips and any, "Hay dummy, those won't work together," comments would be greatly appreciated as well.

 

[bmockeg]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($355.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: EVGA - CLC 280 113.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($104.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370 Taichi ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($213.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($156.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($107.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($189.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB FTW2 Gaming iCX Video Card ($474.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair - 780T ATX Full Tower Case ($162.86 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Platinum 750W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.40 @ B&H)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($126.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1997.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-16 11:30 EDT-0400

1. IMO better motherboard, at least as good, but cheaper.
2. Get DDR 3200mhz RAM
3. Cheaper GPU same brand, slightly higher clock.
4. Better cheaper PSU, 550 watts is really enough.

 

[ralockkaltan]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($355.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: EVGA - CLC 280 113.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($104.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370 Taichi ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($213.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($156.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($107.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($189.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB FTW2 Gaming iCX Video Card ($474.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair - 780T ATX Full Tower Case ($162.86 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Platinum 750W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.40 @ B&H)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($126.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1997.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-16 11:30 EDT-0400

1. IMO better motherboard, at least as good, but cheaper.
2. Get DDR 3200mhz RAM
3. Cheaper GPU same brand, slightly higher clock.
4. Better cheaper PSU, 550 watts is really enough.

Thanks, I'll look into the motherboard and GPU tonight! And I'll probably step the RAM up for the extra $15, fair enough.

You're also probably right about the power supply, I'm definitely going to step down to at least 650W. I want a certain amount of future proofing. I'm just trying to decide if it's worth it to go platinum, seems like it might be better to just go gold. I'm looking at one of these, maybe:
https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-TX650M-Modular-Supply-Certified/dp/B01N18J52E?th=1
https://www.amazon.com/Seasonic-SSR-750FX-Modular-Warranty-Compact/dp/B073H33X7R?th=1

 

[WiiUMasterGman]

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

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($355.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake - Water 3.0 Ultimate 99.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Motherboard: EVGA - Z370 FTW ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($119.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($156.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($107.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($189.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB FTW3 GAMING iCX Video Card ($679.99 @ B&H)
Case: Corsair - Carbide SPEC-06 ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Corsair)
Power Supply: Antec - Earthwatts Gold Pro 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($73.80 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($126.98 @ My Choice Software)
Total: $2010.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-16 12:49 EDT-0400

If you aren't going for looks this build is fantastic. The motherboard is one of the best performing mobo's for the price. It has a 360mm Rad and a good PSU

 

[ralockkaltan]

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

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($355.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake - Water 3.0 Ultimate 99.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Motherboard: EVGA - Z370 FTW ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($119.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($156.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($107.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($189.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB FTW3 GAMING iCX Video Card ($679.99 @ B&H)
Case: Corsair - Carbide SPEC-06 ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Corsair)
Power Supply: Antec - Earthwatts Gold Pro 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($73.80 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($126.98 @ My Choice Software)
Total: $2010.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-16 12:49 EDT-0400

If you aren't going for looks this build is fantastic. The motherboard is one of the best performing mobo's for the price. It has a 360mm Rad and a good PSU

Thanks, I'll have to dig into that a bit more tonight. I have a bit of a crush on the MB tbh and they're the hardest part to re-work when I eventually upgrade but if it's essentially the same thing minus the RGB... I might have to suck it up, given the cost savings.

 

[bmockeg]

I wouldn't buy an EVGA motherboard with your budget. I love EVGA AIO and,GPU but nit motherboards

 

[vapour]

1. What is your major usage? As detailed as possible pls
2. What monitor do you have?
3. In general, coffee lake and Ryzen 2 are best choices for the budget.

 

[ralockkaltan]

I wouldn't buy an EVGA motherboard with your budget. I love EVGA AIO and,GPU but nit motherboards

Noted, thanks!

1. What is your major usage? As detailed as possible pls
2. What monitor do you have?
3. In general, coffee lake and Ryzen 2 are best choices for the budget.

1. Gaming primarily. I am a sucker for pretty graphics and (theoretically, if I ever have free time again) enjoy modding so I'd love to push the envelope there as much as my budget will allow. My first build had a 1080ti but I ended up cutting back to the 1080 for cost reasons.
2. I'll be using my wife's old monitor to start, I'll have to get the specs tonight, but it's ~5 years old so I expect my build will put out more than the monitor can handle. I plan to buy a new monitor down the road. From what I know so far it sounds like I will definitely want 144hz, 1440p and I've heard GSync is worth the extra money but I haven't spent time doing research yet.
3. My currently selected CPU is an Intel Core i7-8700K, which I believe is Coffee lake?

 

[vapour]

I strongly suggest you wait at this time point, 9th gen Intel and GTX 1180ti are releasing soon.

If only gaming, I5 is more than enough since most games do not benefit from double threads I7 provide.

 

[ralockkaltan]

Here's my updated build list based upon feedback here and elsewhere. Also, do you think I should re-post or would that just be annoying without value added? Thanks again for all your help.

Notes:

- I've kept the ROG motherboard and the EVGA AOI cooler b/c they're the hardest things to muck around with later so I'd rather splurge there and have overkill so if I decide to play with overclocking or whatever I'm good.

-I've kept the case because: looks, front plate, handles, tool-free side panel/drive/GPU access, included fans, air flow potential. I'm with you guys on it probably being more space than I need. Once I get it laid out on paper and have a better feel for exactly how huge it is I might be ready to step it down to a smaller case so if anyone has suggestions on a mid-case with similar feature set, I'm all about it.

-I stepped down the power supply to 750W Gold.

-I upgraded the RAM.

-I nixed the nvme & went to an M2 SSD

-I will keep an eye on graphics cards because it seems like the price on these 1080s float around. I can't bring myself to go to a ti, any money I save will just go toward a new monitor.

-I added in peripherals I'll need like thermal paste because why not.

-I might not need Win 10 Pro. I really might not. I just have flashbacks to making the decision to stick with Home on previous generations of Windows and then finding out later that some obscure feature like AppLocale or whatever is disables. Maybe a non-issue for Win10. But I guess I'm going to shell out the extra cash just for peace of mind, especially with (if I understand it right) the Win 10 retail license being transferable. So theoretically I will never need to buy another copy of Windows (for myself).

**********************************************************
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($355.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: EVGA - CLC 280 113.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($104.89 @ OutletPC)
Thermal Compound: Thermal Grizzly - Kryonaut 1g 1g Thermal Paste ($10.40 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG MAXIMUS X HERO (WI-FI AC) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($156.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($186.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB SC2 Gaming iCX Video Card ($554.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair - 780T ATX Full Tower Case ($162.86 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($85.98 @ Newegg Business)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro Full - USB 32/64-bit ($127.98 @ Trusted Tech Team)
Other: Rosewill ESD Anti-Static Wrist Strap Components RTK-002, Black/Yellow ($5.99 @ Amazon)
Other: External Optical Drive USB 2.0 DVD/CD Player For Windows98/ SE /ME / 2000 / XP / Vista / Win 7/ Win 8 / Win 10,Ultra Notebook PC Desktop Computer,Black (DVD-Rom) ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2006.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-17 10:23 EDT-0400

 

[ralockkaltan]

I strongly suggest you wait at this time point, 9th gen Intel and GTX 1180ti are releasing soon.

If only gaming, I5 is more than enough since most games do not benefit from double threads I7 provide.

i9 is rumored to be October & the 2080 is supposed to be in like 3 days, right? I'll definitely wait until after they've been announced before buying anything, I'm a month or two out from being ready to build anyway. But I'm guessing they're gonna be significantly more expensive than what's on the market now. You think they'll drive a price drop to the i7/1080?

 

[bmockeg]

Graphics are being announced soon but won't be available for purchase till around the Intel launch in October. All of them should hit shelves around the same time.

 

[vapour]

If I want to build one with 2k for gaming, this is my take:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8600K 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor ($248.90 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H5 Universal 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370 Extreme4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($158.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($186.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB DUKE OC Video Card ($644.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT - H500 (Black/Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($94.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1724.50
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-17 10:55 EDT-0400

Plus this 1440p 144hz monitor on sale for $300: https://www.neweggbusiness.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9B-24-009-769&nm_mc=afc-cjb2b&cm_mmc=afc-cjb2b-_-Monitors+-+LCD+Flat+Panel-_-Acer+America-_-9B24009769&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=afc-cjb2b-PCPartPicker%2C+LLC

You only need a normal 8gb usb flash drive and burn ISO here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10