Gaming PC Build - What's 2018 Looking Like in Terms of CPUs and GPUs?

[chrisrankinpharmd101]

So, I built my first PC in 2013 and I went with an i7 3770k which worked out well for me. I went through various phases of graphics cards but it seems like my CPU is getting out of date. The PC is old, and it has some problems that I honestly just don't think is worth fixing without rebuilding.

I'm seeing i9 CPUs out there. Is now a good time to go for an i9 for gaming? I'm okay with spending money since it's a 5-year investment.

Also, what about motherboards? I know the least about them. I have an ASUS Sabertooth Z77. I guess I don't really have any complaints but I know nothing about it, tbh.

Finally, power. I cannot figure out if I made a mistake or not with my power supply. I went with a 1000 Watt Power Supply for GTX 980Ti. Did the 980Ti need 1000 Watts? What kind of Power Supply should I go for with a new build?

Thanks!

 

[Hellfire13]

You dont need a i9 for gaming. Its a waste of money. This should easily last you 5yrs...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($378.79 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z370-E GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($196.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($182.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($139.99 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT - S340 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair - RMx 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1103.13
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-01-27 15:38 EST-0500

Reuse your HDD and the 980ti with this build as it is still a pretty capable card. GPU prices are not conducive to purchasing at this time either. Get a new card couple of years down the line when there are more powerful cards and better prices.

 

[J_E_D_70]

Now isn’t a good time for a new gpu (crypto mining driving gpu prices into space) but can upgrade the rest. Ram is overpriced atm too tho.

I9 isn’t helpful for gaming. The new 8xxx intels have 6 cores so you get 12 threads with an 8700k - current version of your 3770k.

Any ~$160 - $200 mobo will be fine.

1000w is overkill without SLI 1080ti’s - even then more than necessary.

650w is comfortable for about any single gpu setup.

What resolution and refresh monitor do you have? What is your current cpu not doing?

 

[chrisrankinpharmd101]

Well, the PC is just old. For starters, I don't have enough space. I made a mistake in buying a 125 GB SSD card for Windows and then buying a 500GB SSD card for Steam gaming. (Keep in mind, I had never built a PC and this was 2013). Now, I have 2 SSD cards and 1 HDD which holds 1TB.

The other thing is that midway through my PC's lifespan, I eventually had a problem with my front USB ports. The PC would not start due to something about USB grounding. I didn't really know what to do. So I just pulled the tower's USB front panel from the motherboard.

So, the tower's front panel is useless. All my USBs are plugged directly into the motherboard. Also, the storage is annoying. I'm just going to buy a really big SSD card... I'll drop a lot of money for storage this time.

I have a BenQ 24" 1080p 2ms (I think) monitor. I'm going to buy a new monitor.

What is my CPU not doing? Well, I just assumed that the i7 3770k is outdated. I already have it overclocked to 4.4GHz. I suppose I'll stick with a quad core but I really want a long-term CPU. If now is a bad time to buy one, I'm not really sure what I'll do.

 

[chrisrankinpharmd101]

You dont need a i9 for gaming. Its a waste of money. This should easily last you 5yrs...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($378.79 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z370-E GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($196.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($182.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($139.99 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT - S340 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair - RMx 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1103.13
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-01-27 15:38 EST-0500

Reuse your HDD and the 980ti with this build as it is still a pretty capable card. GPU prices are not conducive to purchasing at this time either. Get a new card couple of years down the line when there are more powerful cards and better prices.

Actually, that's really good. I appreciate the list. The only thing I might change is the tower size. I just like big towers. It'll be another month before I build it but that's a really great price. There's no GPU here but I could just use my 980Ti that I have now.

 

[Hellfire13]

You dont need a i9 for gaming. Its a waste of money. This should easily last you 5yrs...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($378.79 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z370-E GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($196.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($182.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($139.99 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT - S340 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair - RMx 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1103.13
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-01-27 15:38 EST-0500

Reuse your HDD and the 980ti with this build as it is still a pretty capable card. GPU prices are not conducive to purchasing at this time either. Get a new card couple of years down the line when there are more powerful cards and better prices.

Actually, that's really good. I appreciate the list. The only thing I might change is the tower size. I just like big towers. It'll be another month before I build it but that's a really great price. There's no GPU here but I could just use my 980Ti that I have now.

This is a good Full Tower case...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Case: NZXT - Phantom 530 (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $109.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-01-27 16:24 EST-0500

 

[geofelt]

If your usage is primarily for gaming, spend a bit less for a I5-8600K and plan on overclocking a bit.
Few games are going to effectively use more than 2-3 threads.
The $130 difference can be better applied towards a better graphics card(good luck finding one today)
If the $130 is not that important to you, then I7-8700k is what you want.
You will need a Z370 based motherboard and DDR4 ram.

As an experiment, see how you do with 6 threads instead of 8.
You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option.
You will need to reboot for the change to take effect. Set the number of threads to less than you have.
This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many threads.
If you see little difference, your game does not need all the threads you have.

The strongest of single graphics cards will run on 650w.
What is the make/model of your psu?
A PSU will only use the wattage demanded of it, regardless of it's max capability.
The main drawback is reduced efficiency.
Most will be more efficient when operating in the middle third of it's range.
I think you could reuse it.

Love using a ssd for everything.
The ssd market is making m.2 pcie based ssd devices more competitive with sata ssd devices.
I would look to Samsung or intel for the better quality units.
Do not be too much swayed by high sequential benchmarks at high queue depths. It is the minimal latency at queu1 or 2 which is most important for everyday performance.

 

[chrisrankinpharmd101]

If your usage is primarily for gaming, spend a bit less for a I5-8600K and plan on overclocking a bit.
Few games are going to effectively use more than 2-3 threads.
The $130 difference can be better applied towards a better graphics card(good luck finding one today)
If the $130 is not that important to you, then I7-8700k is what you want.
You will need a Z370 based motherboard and DDR4 ram.

As an experiment, see how you do with 6 threads instead of 8.
You can do this in the windows msconfig boot advanced options option.
You will need to reboot for the change to take effect. Set the number of threads to less than you have.
This will tell you how sensitive your games are to the benefits of many threads.
If you see little difference, your game does not need all the threads you have.

The strongest of single graphics cards will run on 650w.
What is the make/model of your psu?
A PSU will only use the wattage demanded of it, regardless of it's max capability.
The main drawback is reduced efficiency.
Most will be more efficient when operating in the middle third of it's range.
I think you could reuse it.

Love using a ssd for everything.
The ssd market is making m.2 pcie based ssd devices more competitive with sata ssd devices.
I would look to Samsung or intel for the better quality units.
Do not be too much swayed by high sequential benchmarks at high queue depths. It is the minimal latency at queu1 or 2 which is most important for everyday performance.

Yeah I was just looking at GPUs.... holy crap... I'll just move my 980Ti

My PSU is a Cooler Master 1000W Silent Pro Gold.

You know, I'm really surprised at the GPU "shortage"?

 

[J_E_D_70]

For a new monitor, with that gpu and a new one in a year or two I suggest a Dell S2716DG - 27”, 1440p, 144hz, 3/1ms, gsync/ulmb.

Not a lot of AAA titles will hit 144 fps but the gsync takes care of that.

VERY good sale price right now - $460:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0149QBOF0/?tag=pcpapi-20