OneDerscore

Commendable
Nov 7, 2016
39
0
1,530
Last time I built a PC was in 2014 and it ended up a mess. I want to make another one without any of my previous pitfalls, so my priorities are as follows:
  1. Performance
  2. Aesthetics/aesthetic cohesiveness
  3. General common sense stuff (ending up with clean cables and well chosen parts that don't have incompatibilities)
Here's what I came up with:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/sk8z29



(optional) Explanation for my decisions:

I chose this case because I love the way it looks and everybody I've seen (except GamersNexus) says it's the best case ever. I know it's not perfect but there are problems with every case, and I think this one will look the best and has GOOD ENOUGH airflow (PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, and if the SLI won't work in this case for some reason like cooling or whatever then lmk) for my parts. Also, my computer case sits on the floor, so I was thinking that it being closed on the bottom was a plus for me.

I chose the ram because I'll spend a bit of a premium for tridentz looks.

I chose the CPU because I do a bunch of video editing and multitasking these days, and if the 3600 is anything to show for the 3700X's performance, then Intel's got nothing on that price/performance level. I could be wrong but to me it looks like the 3700X is going to be a no brainer.

1080 Ti SLI is a dream, and I found them for less than $450 each. I don't think I need ray tracing and 1080 Ti SLI beats any single card in gaming. I saw some benchmarks and it can get 15-30% better performance than a 2080Ti in games that support SLI (I have had dual 1070s so I know that the games I play do support SLI - Overwatch, witcher 3, gtav). I have surround 1440p but I usually game in 1440p144 single monitor (though if I never dropped below 144 I'd be a happy camper).

That PSU for $65 seems like a steal, but it's used.

The motherboard is a stand-in for a comparable X570 that comes out.

I already own the storage, so I don't have a chance to change it at this point. I'm going to put in a 960 evo, 4 HDDs and 2 2.5" SSDs (part of the reason I didn't choose some other cases was too few bays) and maybe put in another 960 evo in RAID at a later date, time will tell.

I've done some aio stuff before but in my experience and after looking at some spec sheets they're all so loud and low value. From what I can see it'll always be better to just buy some extra case fans instead of getting an aio, so I can't bring myself to go with anything else.

General aesthetic ideas:
I put in some rgb strips and get 3 extra LL120s (with the idea of putting the default fans all at the front and then these three at the back, for a some slight positive pressure)

I have a blue accessory or two so I was thinking of getting some blue cable extensions and then doing the TechSource style blue spray paint on different parts of the case to commit to a color scheme. This way I can have some geniune blue accents and then a bunch of RGB to play around with. I'm not sure if it would all end up looking good, but that's why I'm putting my ideas out here.

I've been stressing over the parts and I want to know if it's all good (just for some peace of mind) or if there are problems. Thank you all for any input you can give.
 

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
I don't really have any input on any problems. Maybe cooling in the Evolv, SLI 1080Ti is a lot of juice.

Probably overkill for what you want to do. Not sure I would spend $900 on SLI myself. I abandoned that with my GTX980s, so many game engines dropped support for it (Unreal) and DX12 hasn't really been bothered with for multi-GPU.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
That PSU for $65 seems like a steal, but it's used.

No, no no no no no no no. Absolutely terrible idea no matter how you try to justify it. Do not spend $2000 and pair it with a used PSU, and that doesn't matter what the brand was. Capacitors wear out over time and that PSU will not be performing as it should when it was new. Don't skimp in that area.
 
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g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
I chose this case because I love the way it looks and everybody I've seen (except GamersNexus) says it's the best case ever. I know it's not perfect but there are problems with every case, and I think this one will look the best and has GOOD ENOUGH airflow (PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, and if the SLI won't work in this case for some reason like cooling or whatever then lmk) for my parts. Also, my computer case sits on the floor, so I was thinking that it being closed on the bottom was a plus for me.

If they're saying that it's the best case ever, that's really stretching it. There really isn't such a thing. You can't go wrong with Phanteks though, I've used a couple of their cases and my current Enthoo Pro M has been an awesome case so far.

I chose the ram because I'll spend a bit of a premium for tridentz looks.

If it's looks you are going for I'd currently choose Dominator Platinum RGB over Trident Z, but that's me. You can't go wrong with either one though.

I chose the CPU because I do a bunch of video editing and multitasking these days, and if the 3600 is anything to show for the 3700X's performance, then Intel's got nothing on that price/performance level. I could be wrong but to me it looks like the 3700X is going to be a no brainer.

It will be interesting to see what the benchmarks bring. I've been seeing that for the Ryzen 3000 series the higher end CPUs will benefit from the improved single core performance than the mid range CPUs will. The 3600 is going to be more or less about a 10% increase than the current 2600, and the 3700X and 3800X, and the 3950X are where we'll see the most improved areas.

1080 Ti SLI is a dream, and I found them for less than $450 each. I don't think I need ray tracing and 1080 Ti SLI beats any single card in gaming. I saw some benchmarks and it can get 15-30% better performance than a 2080Ti in games that support SLI (I have had dual 1070s so I know that the games I play do support SLI - Overwatch, witcher 3, gtav). I have surround 1440p but I usually game in 1440p144 single monitor (though if I never dropped below 144 I'd be a happy camper).

Yes but then you're buying used cards which will not work the same as when they were new. Not to mention if the seller mentions that they were overclocked, that will actually decrease their overall long term value. SLI doesn't have the relevance that it used to in the gaming world anymore, everything is moving toward stronger single cards than weaker multi cards.

The motherboard is a stand-in for a comparable X570 that comes out.

I already own the storage, so I don't have a chance to change it at this point. I'm going to put in a 960 evo, 4 HDDs and 2 2.5" SSDs (part of the reason I didn't choose some other cases was too few bays) and maybe put in another 960 evo in RAID at a later date, time will tell.

That's fine. Always better to get the newest generation than to settle for the previous one.

I've done some aio stuff before but in my experience and after looking at some spec sheets they're all so loud and low value. From what I can see it'll always be better to just buy some extra case fans instead of getting an aio, so I can't bring myself to go with anything else.

When it comes to air flow it's generally not considered to be good practice to buy more fans than what your case has the mounts for. You want to setup your air flow so that it moves air through the case and does not recirculate it.

I put in some rgb strips and get 3 extra LL120s (with the idea of putting the default fans all at the front and then these three at the back, for a some slight positive pressure) ]

That's fine. If your case can accommodate 140mm fans it's generally easier to mount those rather than get 120mm fans. I run a combo of Corsair LL and ML140 fans in mine and it runs very well.

I have a blue accessory or two so I was thinking of getting some blue cable extensions and then doing the TechSource style blue spray paint on different parts of the case to commit to a color scheme. This way I can have some geniune blue accents and then a bunch of RGB to play around with. I'm not sure if it would all end up looking good, but that's why I'm putting my ideas out here.

Don't buy extension cables and as I said on the PSU, buying that used is a terrible idea. Buy a new PSU that's a common, high quality unit like an EVGA G2/G3, Seasonic Prime, or Corsair RMx / HXi / AXi and you can have those cables custom made. It will cost a bit more but it will look better and be easier to use than cable extensions are.
 
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