Low cost efficient build with upgrade path to VR/AR

[bermakiah]

Approximate Purchase Date: within a month

Budget Range: not yet decided

System Usage from Most to Least Important: surfing, racing games, future AR/VR

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: Everything/new build

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg

Location: Tacoma, WA

Parts Preferences: enhanced efficiency, low heat, reliability

Overclocking: unlikely

SLI or Crossfire: future upgrade

Your Monitor Resolution: 2560x1080

Additional Comments: Low heat production, particularly at idle. ATX preferred, no micro or ITX. Horizontal (AKA desktop) case preferred. Filtered intake fans a must.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Looking to assign my Win 7 Ultimate key to a worthy system while the Win 10 accessibility upgrade offer is still available.

 

[Hellfire13]

Something like this should be good. The card is VR ready...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($199.89 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI - Z370-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($109.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.78 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB SC GAMING Video Card ($264.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair - SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($36.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $930.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-11-03 14:44 EDT-0400

 

[TheDoog]

The build above is actually pretty good, you can always swap the Intel stuff with the Ryzen 1600 or 1600x with a B350 board and maybe save a bit of cash or it could be a wash but you would gain SMT/HyperThreading and overclocking with the AMD build.

 

[bermakiah]

I'd like to have a more efficient chip, but even the i7 7700T only meets the performance of my current CPU, an i7 3770. Next jump in TDP is the 65 watts class that offers much more bang for the buck. I'm liking the R5 1600. I'm hoping AM4 will be long-lived. The most demanding game will be Forza 7, at least until I upgrade for VR/AR later. Game Debate suggests a 1050 Ti 4GB for that, and I like the power efficiency and cost of that board. So now the question is whether there are any particularly great motherboards or any overrated or overpriced features.

 

[Hellfire13]

For gaming requirement, Intel always takes the cake with its faster IPC although at a premium price. That said, Ryzen 1600 is pretty good too on most gaming benches. Maybe a few fps behing Intel, but then we are talking about 100+ fps mostly.
This article should give you an approx. idea about the performance of latest Intel processors. There is a gaming benchmark somewhere down there... http://www.pcgamer.com/intel-i5-8400-review-the-best-new-gaming-cpu-in-years/

Although you can go along with 1050ti with a 1600 and save a few bucks, that card doesnt support VR natively and when you decide to switch to VR experience, you might have to change the card entirely. That said, this should be a good Ryzen setup...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($193.67 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B350 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.78 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Video Card ($142.29 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair - SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($37.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $753.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-11-05 10:47 EST-0500

 

[bermakiah]

It isn't just about saving money, its about heat output, which I'm quite sensitive to. The 1050 TI is a 75 watt card that can run Oculus Rift or Windows Mixed Reality, and if VR starts to take off there will be better cards for it down the pipe, and I'm not ready to jump in yet anyways. The only reason I'm doing this now is because I have a copy of Win 7 Ultimate that I'd like to upgrade and use before MS shuts that down.

 

[Hellfire13]

Fair enough. Then you should go with the Ryzen build listed above.

 

[bermakiah]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. What I chose was very different. Turns out my current rig is nearly powerful enough to do what I want (except use up that Win 7 license). That system is an Optiplex desktop with i7 3770, 16GB DDR3, and a 750 TI. The limiting factor in that is the PCIe slot that is rated at 50 watts. Well... Dell's refurbished outlet put their 7010s on sale dirt cheap today, so I picked up the cheapest minitower for $140 total. I can swap everything between the two 7010s, keep the minitower and sell the desktop. Biggest advantage of the minitower is the PCIe slot rated for a full 75 watts, enough for that 1050 TI. It isn't the flashy ultrafast system I was dreaming of, but it will do what I want (Forza 7, Star Trek Bridge Crew) for a hell of a lot less money.

 

[Hellfire13]

Yeah, that 3770 is still a pretty capable chip. You should have mentioned that before. Just shove in a 1050ti and it can perform pretty good.