[SOLVED] Building my first gaming pc setup

Jan 2, 2019
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Okay, I'm not really sure what I'm doing but I want to try and do it.
I'm looking to build a PC.

All I know is I want to play games like Fortnite, COD and some Red Dead, Just Cause, Far Cry and random indie games.
I mainly want to focus on making sure the pc can compete at a competitive level in Fortnite, I'll forgo fancier settings, I just need Epic Textures and View Distance, I'll be turning off Shadows.
1080p is fine, it's what I'm used too but I'd want 144hz+, so it's mainly for the competitive games but I want to be able to relax and just play Subnautica sometimes.

I've got around €1600 (1300 + sale of xbox and monitor). ~$1800(?)

I don't need a huge amount of storage, it's something I'll look at upgrading later on if I need to.

I've been looking at some parts but I don't know much.
I'm guessing I should focus on a very good graphics card and a higher end CPU.. right?
ASUS ROG-STRIX-RX570-O4G-GAMING OC Edition GDDR5 DP HDMI DVI VR or ASUS ROG STRIX GTX1080TI 11G GAMING GeForce 11GB VR Ready (going for €580 used)

and maybe the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 8-Core 20 MB Cache 105 W CPU with Wraith Prism Cooler .

Any help is greatly appreciated!
 
Solution
As of right now, if your goal is 144hz gaming your choice should be intel. A RTX 2070 is overkill in 1080p gaming let alone a RTX 2080, and if you plan to play future triple A titles at higher refresh rates, you should be prioritizing your processor over the graphics card at that resolution:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor (€441.84 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H5 Universal 65 CFM CPU Cooler (€44.90 @ Caseking)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z390 Taichi ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€257.94 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€223.96 @ Amazon...
if only gaming, go with Intel I5.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-9600K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor (€275.89 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H5 Universal 65 CFM CPU Cooler (€44.90 @ Caseking)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z390 Extreme4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€173.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (€109.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€68.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB VENTUS Video Card (€708.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Phanteks - Eclipse P350X (Black/White) ATX Mid Tower Case (€69.90 @ Caseking)
Power Supply: Corsair - Vengeance 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (€68.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €1521.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-03 19:44 CET+0100

1440p 144hz gsync monitor
 
Dont even bother ordering Intel or AMD right now.
Next week AMD will say when their new chips are coming out and they are far superior to anything INTEL has out right now. Especially since for Intel, your paying 30% more just for a badge that very rarely is faster in games.
The above system is nice, but not worth it, wait a week and see what happens with AMD.
For what you want the amount of money you want to spend means way better than 1080p. Half that price for 1080p and keep the change for something else. Also have to remember nvidia needs an nvidia monitor to get gsync which costs about £100 more than a freesync one.
Sadly, right now AMD doesn't have any cards that can compete with 2080, but the Vega 56 OC or Vega 64 will keep up with a 1070i and allow freesync monitor.
 


That helps knowing where.

Just for gaming, a Ryzen 2700X is more than necessary. You can get away with a 2600X and save some cash.

But... here is a Intel i5 build for consideration too (You can save some $$$ skipping built in WiFi):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-9600K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor (€308.95 @ Komplett)
CPU Cooler: Scythe - FUMA Rev.B 79 CFM CPU Cooler (€54.90 @ Komplett)
Motherboard: MSI - MPG Z390 GAMING EDGE AC ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€201.26 @ Custompc)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (€135.46 @ Custompc)
Storage: ADATA - XPG SX8200 Pro 512 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (€113.95 @ Custompc)
Storage: Toshiba - P300 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€68.48 @ Custompc)
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB Dual Series Video Card (€452.95 @ Komplett)
Case: Phanteks - Eclipse P350X (Black/White) ATX Mid Tower Case (€91.13 @ Custompc)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - EVO Edition 620 W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (€87.85 @ Komplett)
Total: €1514.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-03 20:58 GMT+0000


Here is an AMD option (Again can save money going with a motherboard without WiFi... can also save by skipping the cooler):
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (€238.95 @ Komplett)
CPU Cooler: Scythe - FUMA Rev.B 79 CFM CPU Cooler (€54.90 @ Komplett)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - X470 AORUS GAMING 5 WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard (€226.04 @ Custompc)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (€135.46 @ Custompc)
Storage: ADATA - XPG SX8200 Pro 512 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive (€113.95 @ Custompc)
Storage: Toshiba - P300 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€68.48 @ Custompc)
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB Dual Series Video Card (€452.95 @ Komplett)
Case: Phanteks - Eclipse P350X (Black/White) ATX Mid Tower Case (€91.13 @ Custompc)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - EVO Edition 620 W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (€87.85 @ Komplett)
Total: €1469.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-03 21:01 GMT+0000


It won't hurt to wait a week though to see what Zen 2 (Ryzen 3xxx) will bring to the table though. Either one of these should give you 144Hz+ @ 1080p
 


Far superior remains to be seen. Big improvements? Sure.

 
Jan 2, 2019
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That's great thank you!
Would it be worth looking for a more expensive GPU, like a RTX 2080ti if I could find one relatively 'cheap'?
I doubt it would be worth it but I'm tempted to see if I could play at 240hz, I don't know if there's much of a need but it's an idea.
I just found out I'll have some extra cash (~€300) to spend if I wait 2-3 weeks so that's the main reason I'm wondering.
 
Jan 2, 2019
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Is the GPU worth it? I've been looking at some reviews and whatnot so it seems great but it's not cheap.
Would I manage or what would I need to change to get up to 240hz?
Or would that even be worth it?
 


If you're planning at staying at 1080p, a RTX2080Ti is way overkill. The RTX2080 or GTX1080Ti would be way more than enough as well.... the RTX2070 or GTX1080 would be a bit much in some ways, but it should be able to give you 240Hz refresh at 1080p. Its your money though... and if you can get a great deal on a card more powerful, (and it doesn't break the bank,) why not go for it.... You'll be "future proofed" for a few years.. just be wary of "mining" cards as many of them have been pushed hard.

Which, by the way, anything way more than the monitor can do is moot as the monitor will be the limiting factor... as is your ability to discern between, say 120Hz and 240Hz refresh. (If you can tell the difference in a blind test, then go ahead and go faster if you got the funds.)
 


depending on the game, resolution and setting, if CPU can keep up, it can do 240 in 1080p. however, not as I know of in any AAA titles. To me, 1440p 144 hz is good enough. 2080 ~ 1080ti or better, has ray tracing stuff that previous gen does not. what games do you play?
 
Jan 2, 2019
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I've been looking at the Alienware AW2518HF they're going for £300 on Amazon at the minute.
I don't mind TN panels, it's just me in my room and so long as it has relatively good colour quality I'm happy.
It's also got 1ms response time.
 
As of right now, if your goal is 144hz gaming your choice should be intel. A RTX 2070 is overkill in 1080p gaming let alone a RTX 2080, and if you plan to play future triple A titles at higher refresh rates, you should be prioritizing your processor over the graphics card at that resolution:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor (€441.84 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H5 Universal 65 CFM CPU Cooler (€44.90 @ Caseking)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z390 Taichi ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€257.94 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (€223.96 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€68.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB Black Video Card (€499.00 @ Caseking)
Case: Fractal Design - Focus G (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (€51.67 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (€91.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €1680.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-04 16:33 CET+0100


Ever since first gen Ryzen came out, new games have been optimizing for hyper-threading and additional cores, so the 8700k will give you a good blend of both multi-core & single core performance. The i5's are fast, however when a demanding triple A title is optimized for additional cores, the i5 will take a hit and will be less likely to keep a smooth sustained performance at a high refresh.

 
Solution


That is a freesync monitor, so best works with an AMD card.