New Build Advice

[hopfrog]

So, I have been thinking for a while about upgrading my current build from 2013. I typically try to make my builds last for 4-5 years and I have blown past five years and am headed towards six now and I think it is time. I was holding out for the new NVIDIA cards but I think they might be too rich for my blood. Here is my current 2013 build:

CPU: i5-3570K
MB: ASUS P8Z77-V LK 1155 ATX
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
GPU: MSI Gaming GTX 770 2GB
Storage: Samsung 840 PRO SSD 256GB; 2 Western Digital HDDs
PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 650W ATX12V/EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE
Case: Fractal Design R4
Monitor: ASUS 1080p 60 Hz

Now for the questions:

Approximate Purchase Date: As soon as possible, preferably in the next 2-3 months

Budget Range: Would like to keep it in the $1700-2300 range

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, daily light office work (Word, Excel, Powerpoint)

Are you buying a monitor: Yes, looking to upgrade to a 2560x1440 144/165 Hz monitor

Parts to Upgrade: Looking to upgrade everything, only parts I would re-use would be the SSD and HDDs, though I would like a new, larger SSD to use as my main drive.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes, but have access to academic discounts for that

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon, Microcenter

Location: Chicago, IL, USA

Parts Preferences: Have generally been an Intel person for CPUs, but would consider AMD. I like MSI GPUs and ASUS MBs, but I am not picky and will consider other brands if they offer better performance per dollar

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: Looking to upgrade to a 2560x1440p 144/165 Hz monitor

Additional Comments: What I am primarily looking to do with this build is to move up to 1440p at 60+ fps performance at High/Ultra as long as I can manage it. I play a mix of games: Overwatch, Battlefield series, Batman Arkham games, Fallout 4, The Witcher series. Some of these, like Fallout 4, I have held off from playing for lack of a good system to run them at the level I would like. I threw together a quick build on PCPartPicker to give an idea of what I would like http://. My primary dilemma right now is whether to wait for the new Intel line and possibly see what the benchmarks are like for the new NVIDIA cards, but I really don't see myself paying more than $750-800 for a GPU. I feel like I have waited long enough, and it is so easy to hold off on a build to wait for the hot new thing, and I feel like if it put it off any longer I will never do it. So, I would love some comments, suggestions, and advice on putting a build like this together now.

 

[feelinfroggy777]

This includes one of the best monitors in the world, but is a touch over your budget of $2300.

I would go with the AMD 2600. The Intel CPUs will be a couple hundred dollars more, and at 1440p, the 2600 will get less than 5% fewer FPS in games. 5% performance boost is not worth an extra 100% in cost. Plus the platform is cheaper with a b450 board that supports overclocking.

The Crucial MX500 is one of the best SSD's for the money.

If I were you, I would keep your current PSU as it is a good one. But I added a Seasonic Focus Gold because you said you wanted to start anew.

1080ti prices are pretty cheap right now, makes for a good buy.

Lastly, once you go with an ultrawide monitor, you cant go back and this is one of the best prices I have seen for this monitor. If you have room in your budget, it will be the best purchase of the whole rig. It will be good for the next decade.

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/y7YHq4
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/y7YHq4/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($165.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($109.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($189.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB ARMOR Video Card ($629.99 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT - H700 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($139.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus - ROG SWIFT PG348Q 34.0" 3440x1440 100Hz Monitor ($899.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $2353.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-23 09:57 EDT-0400

 

[SgtScream]

Nice build. The 1080TI will be less on eBay when the 1000 series is discontinued. Right about now is a good time to pick up a TI.

 

[WildCard999]

Red/Black Theme Build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($318.99 @ Walmart)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! - Dark Rock 4 CPU Cooler ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z370-G GAMING (WI-FI AC) Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($174.79 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB Mini Video Card ($649.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: RAIJINTEK - STYX MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($94.89 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Acer - XB271HU bmiprz 27.0" 2560x1440 165Hz Monitor ($599.99 @ Newegg Business)
Total: $2288.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-23 10:18 EDT-0400

 

[geofelt]

A very nice build, you could go with it as is.

I have some thoughts:

1. On a budget, the i5-8600K will game just as well as a 8700K.
You get perhaps 5.0 clock when overclocked and 6 threads.
Very few games can effectively use more than 2-3 threads.
OTOH, if the extra $130 or so in your budget for the 8700K, that is as good as it gets.
Intel today is still the king for gaming.
The intel 9th gen processors are due to launch this fall. A bit past your build timeframe.

2. I see no price on the cryorig H7 so I assume it is something you will carry over.
That will work up to a point, but the 8700K can get toasty under load.
Consider a noctua NH-D15s which will fit nicely in your case and cool as well as any aio cooler you could use.
It will clear ram with tall heat spreaders if you need it to.

3. The ram is fine, but faster is getting reasonable. Perhaps 3600 speed if the premium is not too great.

4. On the ssd, I like Samsung, but wd blue seems to be ok.
On a top build like this, I might spring for a pcie m.2 drive like the 960 or 970 evo.

5. GTX1080ti is probably right. There will be early issue shakeout on the new RTX series.
And, the top cards will come at inflated markups and short supply.
To hedge your bet, buy a EVGA GTX1080ti from an authorized seller and register it promptly.
You will get a 90 day trade up option if you want to upgrade.
Read the fine print on the evga web site .

6. 650w is fine. Why can't you reuse your TX650? I like the Seasonic focus gold units. It is still tier 2 and costs less than the evga psu.

7. Bust your budget if you have to for a great monitor. It will be with you for a long time.
I would look for a 4k larger wide screen unit. Go see one in person if you can.
I would not chase 165hz, it is unlikely you can generate anything like that with even a top graphics card.
Plan on keeping your old monitor as a side monitor attached to the gpu. With static images like email or performance monitors, it will not impact your gaming.

 

[hopfrog]

A very nice build, you could go with it as is.

I have some thoughts:

1. On a budget, the i5-8600K will game just as well as a 8700K.
You get perhaps 5.0 clock when overclocked and 6 threads.
Very few games can effectively use more than 2-3 threads.
OTOH, if the extra $130 or so in your budget for the 8700K, that is as good as it gets.
Intel today is still the king for gaming.
The intel 9th gen processors are due to launch this fall. A bit past your build timeframe.

2. I see no price on the cryorig H7 so I assume it is something you will carry over.
That will work up to a point, but the 8700K can get toasty under load.
Consider a noctua NH-D15s which will fit nicely in your case and cool as well as any aio cooler you could use.
It will clear ram with tall heat spreaders if you need it to.

3. The ram is fine, but faster is getting reasonable. Perhaps 3600 speed if the premium is not too great.

4. On the ssd, I like Samsung, but wd blue seems to be ok.
On a top build like this, I might spring for a pcie m.2 drive like the 960 or 970 evo.

5. GTX1080ti is probably right. There will be early issue shakeout on the new RTX series.
And, the top cards will come at inflated markups and short supply.
To hedge your bet, buy a EVGA GTX1080ti from an authorized seller and register it promptly.
You will get a 90 day trade up option if you want to upgrade.
Read the fine print on the evga web site .

6. 650w is fine. Why can't you reuse your TX650? I like the Seasonic focus gold units. It is still tier 2 and costs less than the evga psu.

7. Bust your budget if you have to for a great monitor. It will be with you for a long time.
I would look for a 4k larger wide screen unit. Go see one in person if you can.
I would not chase 165hz, it is unlikely you can generate anything like that with even a top graphics card.
Plan on keeping your old monitor as a side monitor attached to the gpu. With static images like email or performance monitors, it will not impact your gaming.

A few questions based on your comments:

1. Would it be worth waiting for the 9th generation? This is again another "something new is always around the corner" situation. I can take advantage of Coffee Lake prices now or wait for the next generation but those are likely to be much higher at launch. Would Coffee Lake hold me over for a fair few years you think?

2. I saw the Noctua but it always seemed so huge to me. Any reason to consider one of the cheaper water-cooling units or unnecessary?

6. I thought about re-using it. What is the typical amount of time for a PSU like that to run before starting to cause issues?

7. 4K monitors make my wallet shy, and I worry about having the power to push frames at that resolution.

 

[techphantom]

I've spent 2 hours on this so please notice me.

On the budget, and is awesome at both multitasking and gaming. Uses threadripper and has 32gb of ram. Black/rgb build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 1900X 3.8GHz 8-Core Processor ($316.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: NZXT - Kraken M22 Liquid CPU Cooler ($83.83 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - X399 SLI PLUS ATX TR4 Motherboard ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($340.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda Pro 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($168.70 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini Video Card ($399.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT - S340 - Designed by Razer ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Rosewill - 1050W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2109.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-23 12:08 EDT-0400

4k Monitor for only 200:
https://www.amazon.com/Sceptre-3840x2160-DisplayPort-Speakers-Metallic/dp/B073X6G4DZ

If you're impatient about that new Gtx 2000 stuff, you should get a quadro p6000 for 5,000 dollars for about same performance.

The websites listed are secure so don't worry. Superbiiz, outletpc.

 

[geofelt]

1. Worth is something only YOU can determine.

Rumors are that the new chips will lunch October 1. That is within your 2-3 month timeframe.
There are no benchmarks out, but Intel typically offers 5-10% better performance than the previous gen at a similar price.
It has been confirmed that the heat spreaders will be soldered making them cool enough without delidding.
When they lunch, 8th gen parts will be old hat, but that does not make them any less effective.
The price for new 8th gen chips will not be reduced if history follows true.
So, Buy now what you need now.

2. Any good cooler will have two sets of radiator fins. Be that on a dual tower cooler like the NH-D15s or on a good 240 class aio radiator.
One thing you could do is reuse your old cooler and see how you do. If it does ok with a 3570k, it will perform ok on a new cpu.
It is not so hard to change a cooler out later. You have a nice case that can accommodate any good air cooler.
One benefit of air which is not commonly realized is that air will keep your parts cooler.
If all the incoming cooling air comes in the front and is filtered, your parts will saty cleaner.
It is difficult to mount a radiator to accomplish the same thing.
In addition, radiators need stronger fans which will be noisier.
Liquid is less reliable with more moving parts.
And... air will not leak.

6. Corsair TX is supposed to be a very good quality unit. If you are having no problems with it and do not need more than 650w, I would keep it until it drops.

7. A good monitor will last for several generations of processors and graphics cards. Pick carefully.
Buy the best your wallet and conscience will permit.
You will never regret buying something really good.
4k monitors typically run at 60hz which is fine for many games.
Sims, strategy and mmo for instance.
If your favored games are fast action twitch types, then ok, pursue a high refresh rate monitor.

Go see a couple of different options in person if you can.

 

[hopfrog]

I've spent 2 hours on this so please notice me.

On the budget, and is awesome at both multitasking and gaming. Uses threadripper and has 32gb of ram. Black/rgb build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 1900X 3.8GHz 8-Core Processor ($316.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: NZXT - Kraken M22 Liquid CPU Cooler ($83.83 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - X399 SLI PLUS ATX TR4 Motherboard ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($340.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda Pro 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($168.70 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini Video Card ($399.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT - S340 - Designed by Razer ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Rosewill - 1050W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2109.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-23 12:08 EDT-0400

4k Monitor for only 200:
https://www.amazon.com/Sceptre-3840x2160-DisplayPort-Speakers-Metallic/dp/B073X6G4DZ

If you're impatient about that new Gtx 2000 stuff, you should get a quadro p6000 for 5,000 dollars for about same performance.

The websites listed are secure so don't worry. Superbiiz, outletpc.

Why the 32 GB of RAM and a 1070 instead of a 1080 Ti? I am not sure I would need that much RAM for my purposes and could put the money to better use by getting a beefier GPU.

 

[hopfrog]

1. Worth is something only YOU can determine.

Rumors are that the new chips will lunch October 1. That is within your 2-3 month timeframe.
There are no benchmarks out, but Intel typically offers 5-10% better performance than the previous gen at a similar price.
It has been confirmed that the heat spreaders will be soldered making them cool enough without delidding.
When they lunch, 8th gen parts will be old hat, but that does not make them any less effective.
The price for new 8th gen chips will not be reduced if history follows true.
So, Buy now what you need now.

2. Any good cooler will have two sets of radiator fins. Be that on a dual tower cooler like the NH-D15s or on a good 240 class aio radiator.
One thing you could do is reuse your old cooler and see how you do. If it does ok with a 3570k, it will perform ok on a new cpu.
It is not so hard to change a cooler out later. You have a nice case that can accommodate any good air cooler.
One benefit of air which is not commonly realized is that air will keep your parts cooler.
If all the incoming cooling air comes in the front and is filtered, your parts will saty cleaner.
It is difficult to mount a radiator to accomplish the same thing.
In addition, radiators need stronger fans which will be noisier.
Liquid is less reliable with more moving parts.
And... air will not leak.

6. Corsair TX is supposed to be a very good quality unit. If you are having no problems with it and do not need more than 650w, I would keep it until it drops.

7. A good monitor will last for several generations of processors and graphics cards. Pick carefully.
Buy the best your wallet and conscience will permit.
You will never regret buying something really good.
4k monitors typically run at 60hz which is fine for many games.
Sims, strategy and mmo for instance.
If your favored games are fast action twitch types, then ok, pursue a high refresh rate monitor.

Go see a couple of different options in person if you can.

1. Good point. I am not sure if the 9700K will be enough of an upgrade from the 8700K for the price and my needs, though it would be nice to have the latest processor, but chasing that latest and greatest is not necessarily what I have done before.

2. Good points as well, will probably go with something like the Noctua.

6. Will just re-use the Corsair PSU then and replace down the road if I have to.

7. I see what you are saying about 4K, but honestly I think I will be happy with 1440p and I think that I play enough games that would benefit from the higher refresh rate.

 

[Rogue Leader]

I've spent 2 hours on this so please notice me.

On the budget, and is awesome at both multitasking and gaming. Uses threadripper and has 32gb of ram. Black/rgb build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 1900X 3.8GHz 8-Core Processor ($316.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: NZXT - Kraken M22 Liquid CPU Cooler ($83.83 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - X399 SLI PLUS ATX TR4 Motherboard ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($340.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda Pro 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($168.70 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini Video Card ($399.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT - S340 - Designed by Razer ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Rosewill - 1050W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2109.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-23 12:08 EDT-0400

4k Monitor for only 200:
https://www.amazon.com/Sceptre-3840x2160-DisplayPort-Speakers-Metallic/dp/B073X6G4DZ

If you're impatient about that new Gtx 2000 stuff, you should get a quadro p6000 for 5,000 dollars for about same performance.

The websites listed are secure so don't worry. Superbiiz, outletpc.

More like wasted 2 hours. Threadripper and 32 gb of ram for a gaming system that does light office work? No, just no.

OP there have been a lot of good suggestions already, I suggest bypassing this one and checking out whats been presented already.

 

[USAFRet]

I've spent 2 hours on this so please notice me.

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 1900X 3.8GHz 8-Core Processor ($316.00 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($340.98 @ Newegg)

From the OP...

Gaming, daily light office work (Word, Excel, Powerpoint)

 

[logainofhades]

I would ignore techphantom's builds. The RTX 2070 would be doable in your budget, if you wish to wait and see if the claims of Titan Xp performance are true. I would do a 2700x build, for better multitasking ability. @1440p, the gaming difference, vs Intel, is minor.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz 8-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright - TRUE Spirit 140 Direct 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler ($41.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Motherboard: MSI - X470 GAMING PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard ($129.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($160.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel - 660p Series 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB GAMING X Video Card ($699.99 @ Walmart)
Case: Fractal Design - Meshify C TG ATX Mid Tower Case ($88.88 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Acer - XB271HU bmiprz 27.0" 2560x1440 165Hz Monitor ($599.99 @ Newegg Business)
Total: $2289.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-24 11:39 EDT-0400

 

[g-unit1111]

If you're impatient about that new Gtx 2000 stuff, you should get a quadro p6000 for 5,000 dollars for about same performance.

Uh................ what????? For light office work you need a $5,000 video card? Are you serious?

 

[techphantom]

g-unit1111
Moderator

If you're impatient about that new Gtx 2000 stuff, you should get a quadro p6000 for 5,000 dollars for about same performance.

Uh................ what????? For light office work you need a $5,000 video card? Are you serious?

I was sarcastic about that, and wrong link. I thought this was the guy with architecture modeling.

 

[USAFRet]

I was sarcastic about that, and wrong link. I thought this was the guy with architecture modeling.

This is why you need to pay attention.
Over the next year, thousands of people will read this. Thinking that you are serious.
And then realize..."This dude has no clue at all"

 

[g-unit1111]

I was sarcastic about that, and wrong link. I thought this was the guy with architecture modeling.

This generally isn't the place for sarcasm especially when you're dealing with people who are buying systems with their hard-earned money. Pay attention and answer correctly and concisely. That is the way to get noticed around here, answers like that will not.