Build Advice Questions about $2000 gaming build

vertoxed

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May 16, 2023
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Here's the list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9CHdYN
I do not care for RGB lighting and would like everything to stay black.
Everything was recently bought off Amazon and the CPU is the only part that hasn't shipped yet.

Questions:

1. Realized my case only has two fans so I am thinking of buying 4 more fans; 2 of the Noctua NF-F12 and 2 of the Noctua NF-A14
Are theses fans worth it?
Are they compatible?
Will I need a fan hub?
Do I need to replace the NZXT fans that come with the case with the Noctua fans?

2. Do I really need an anti-static wrist rest?
What's the chance I could fry something without it?
Note: I would be building this on a wooden desk on carpet floor.

3. On PCPartPicker, my motherboard needs to have a certain BIOS version to support the CPU.
How do I find what version the motherboard has without getting into bios?
If the motherboard does come with a newer version of BIOS, do I still need to install the latest one?

4. How many flash drives will I need?
One for windows?
One for drivers?
Can I put everything on a single one?

5. I plan to take my current 1TB M.2 drive and install it along with the new 2TB M.2 drive.
What's the best way to wipe everything off the current one?
Which one should I download windows on?

6. Windows 10 or Windows 11? Better for gaming/performance?
Using Win10 on current pc but used Win11 at school so familiar with both versions.

Appreciate any help👍
Edit: Fixed PCPartPicker link.
 
Last edited:
Your PCPartPicker link is broken. Might want to fix that.

1. I would personally try and work with the fans that are in your case, before spending more on the platform. I can't see what the innards of the case will be fine.

2. I wonder where you got that idea from?
 
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Empty list.

For proper list, url needs to have identifying part behind it.
E.g like so: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/user/Aerlya/saved/QBtZLk
This is my main build, Skylake. Pics of it in my sig.

Are theses fans worth it?
Yes.

Are they compatible?
Yes. 2x 140mm can go as front intake while 2x 120mm can go as top exhaust.

Will I need a fan hub?
No. Your MoBo has 6x SYS_FAN headers, whereby you can connect all your case fans, one fan per header.

Do I need to replace the NZXT fans that come with the case with the Noctua fans?
Since PC case comes with 1x 120mm rear exhaust fan, no point removing that fan. The 2nd 120mm fan, bottom intake at 45 degree angle, you can keep it if you think your GPU would need a bit more cooling but that isn't mandatory. (I'd keep it.)

2. Do I really need an anti-static wrist rest?
Wrist rest? Or Wrist band? Two completely different items. Which one you're talking about?

What's the chance I could fry something without it?
Note: I would be building this on a wooden desk on carpet floor.
Standing on carpet - high. Wearing socks - even more so.

Carpet is one of the worst floor surfaces in terms of electrostatic buildup in your body.

How many flash drives will I need?
One.

Once you've installed Win, you can use your PC to access the net and download other drivers/utilities.

What's the best way to wipe everything off the current one?
Format.

Which one should I download windows on?
Depends. If you like to keep all your data on OS drive, then 2TB one for OS (it is also faster than 1TB drive). But if you like to keep your stuff on 2nd drive and you have lots of it, better to keep bigger drive for stuff and use smaller drive for OS.

Windows 10 or Windows 11? Better for gaming/performance?
Win 10.
 
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Your PCPartPicker link is broken. Might want to fix that.

1. I would personally try and work with the fans that are in your case, before spending more on the platform. I can't see what the innards of the case will be fine.

2. I wonder where you got that idea from?
Link should be fixed, thank you
 
Empty list.

For proper list, url needs to have identifying part behind it.
E.g like so: https://fr.pcpartpicker.com/user/Aerlya/saved/QBtZLk
This is my main build, Skylake. Pics of it in my sig.


Yes.


Yes. 2x 140mm can go as front intake while 2x 120mm can go as top exhaust.


No. Your MoBo has 6x SYS_FAN headers, whereby you can connect all your case fans, one fan per header.


Since PC case comes with 1x 120mm rear exhaust fan, no point removing that fan. The 2nd 120mm fan, bottom intake at 45 degree angle, you can keep it if you think your GPU would need a bit more cooling but that isn't mandatory. (I'd keep it.)


Wrist rest? Or Wrist band? Two completely different items. Which one you're talking about?


Standing on carpet - high. Wearing socks - even more so.

Carpet is one of the worst floor surfaces in terms of electrostatic buildup in your body.


One.

Once you've installed Win, you can use your PC to access the net and download other drivers/utilities.


Format.


Depends. If you like to keep all your data on OS drive, then 2TB one for OS (it is also faster than 1TB drive). But if you like to keep your stuff on 2nd drive and you have lots of it, better to keep bigger drive for stuff and use smaller drive for OS.


Win 10.
Link should be fixed thanks.

I meant the wristband instead of wrist restand will buy one just in case when I buy the fans

For the M.2s I meant to add which one would be better to put games on. I am assuming the 2TB as it's faster and bigger.
 
Here is the list:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor ($351.00 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool AK620 68.99 CFM CPU Cooler ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650M AORUS ELITE AX Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL32 Memory ($96.90 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial T500 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($152.09 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER 16 GB Video Card ($1099.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: Fractal Design Focus 2 ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Fractal Design Dynamic X2 GP 87.6 CFM 120 mm Fan ($21.28 @ Amazon)
Total: $2141.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-03-21 01:25 EDT-0400


All are high quality components.

For $90 more you getting decent bump in performance with RTX 4080 Super over RTX4070Ti
 
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Here is the list:

...

All are high quality components.

For $90 more you getting decent bump in performance with RTX 4080 Super over RTX4070Ti
Did you actually read what OP said? 🙄
Namely, this part:
Everything was recently bought off Amazon and the CPU is the only part that hasn't shipped yet.
So, @King Dranzer , next time read what OP says, before posting. :non:

I meant the wristband instead of wrist restand will buy one just in case when I buy the fans
Well, if you have other means to ground yourself, e.g touching central heating metal pipe or metal water pipe, then the ESD wrist band isn't needed. You can even ground yourself when you have PSU plugged to the mains and you touch the metal casing of the PSU.

But wrist band can be more convenient, given that you don't buy the "wireless" ESD wrist band, which does not work. Proper ESD wrist band is tethered to the ground point. E.g the one sold by GamersNexus;
link: https://store.gamersnexus.net/products/esd-wrist-strap-common-ground-point-cable

In-depth video about ESD wrist bands:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m54ifTCgtN4


For the M.2s I meant to add which one would be better to put games on. I am assuming the 2TB as it's faster and bigger.
For games, they best live on the OS drive, alongside OS and other program files. So, better to use 2TB drive as OS drive + games.
 
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Did you actually read what OP said? 🙄
Namely, this part:

So, @King Dranzer , next time read what OP says, before posting. :non:


Well, if you have other means to ground yourself, e.g touching central heating metal pipe or metal water pipe, then the ESD wrist band isn't needed. You can even ground yourself when you have PSU plugged to the mains and you touch the metal casing of the PSU.

But wrist band can be more convenient, given that you don't buy the "wireless" ESD wrist band, which does not work. Proper ESD wrist band is tethered to the ground point. E.g the one sold by GamersNexus;
link: https://store.gamersnexus.net/products/esd-wrist-strap-common-ground-point-cable

In-depth video about ESD wrist bands:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m54ifTCgtN4



For games, they best live on the OS drive, alongside OS and other program files. So, better to use 2TB drive as OS drive + games.
Possibly late as always man. LOL. Thanks for pointing out. Would have missed.

But man that being Amazon and if he dint begin with the build yet. He could get some stuff replaced or if still in midst of being shipped he can cancel or adjust those accordingly.
 
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But man that being Amazon and if he dint begin with the build yet. He could get some stuff replaced or if still in midst of being shipped he can cancel or adjust those accordingly.
While most people come and ask for help before buying the stuff, there are some who have already bought what they like and ask follow-up questions, like OP here.

Since parts have already been purchased, not much point to cancel the orders to change the build. Sure, one may get a bit better price-to-performance ratio with refined build, but after all, current build is what OP likes and it's their PC, not our PC. So, i leave the build as-is (nothing wrong with the one OP picked and bought) and focus on follow-up questions instead.
 
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While most people come and ask for help before buying the stuff, there are some who have already bought what they like and ask follow-up questions, like OP here.

Since parts have already been purchased, not much point to cancel the orders to change the build. Sure, one may get a bit better price-to-performance ratio with refined build, but after all, current build is what OP likes and it's their PC, not our PC. So, i leave the build as-is (nothing wrong with the one OP picked and bought) and focus on follow-up questions instead.
Yep. No issue on the compatibility side.
 
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Possibly late as always man. LOL. Thanks for pointing out. Would have missed.

But man that being Amazon and if he dint begin with the build yet. He could get some stuff replaced or if still in midst of being shipped he can cancel or adjust those accordingly.
I honestly appreciate the recommendations and if it is a much better performance boost, than I wouldn't mind returning the 4070 for the 4080 as I haven't build it yet. Although, the only 4080 Supers I see are around $1100 USD where I purchased the 4070 Ti Super for $850 USD which would make it around a $250 USD increase.
 
I honestly appreciate the recommendations and if it is a much better performance boost, than I wouldn't mind returning the 4070 for the 4080 as I haven't build it yet. Although, the only 4080 Supers I see are around $1100 USD where I purchased the 4070 Ti Super for $850 USD which would make it around a $250 USD increase.
That Motharboard is a bit expensive. Cut down a bit on it. And best thing you care getting Gigabyte Board with all the essential features.

And most important. Please send back that PSU and get the Corsair one I listed. Don't cut cost on PSU.

If GPU cannot be done due to price difference then well settle for RTX4070Ti. But do get the PSU replaced if possible.