Vote Now! $2,500 Budget Category

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Jsimenhoff

Community Manager
Editor
Feb 28, 2016
1,814
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**THE VOTING PERIOD IS NOW OPEN** PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK TO VOTE.
We will accept votes on the Best PC Build until 9/20. Thanks for participating!


The Best PC Builds. Our title is practically self-explanatory. Unlike the System Builder Marathon, these configurations are not chosen by Tom's Hardware's editors. They are submitted and selected by our forum members based on defined pricing tiers. Every so often, we ask the community for its help picking parts based on performance and features for the price.

With Fall soon upon us, and Ryzen available to compete with Intel at every budget category, the time has come to ask Tom's Hardware members to once again submit their Best Builds. We're raising the stakes this time around, and will be sending members with winning submissions Newegg gift card good for $100.

We are accepting submission in each budget category until Thursday, September 14th. After the submission period will but the top builds to a Community vote. The builds with the most votes in each category will be crowned the Best Build.

This thread is for the $2,500 budget category. Please only submit builds within the $2,500 budget category to this thread. All other builds will be disqualified.

Please make sure to follow the ground rules below. Any builds over budget will be disqualified.

Here are the ground rules:

  • Only one build per budget category, per user. Multiple builds from a single user or duplicate accounts will be disqualified.
    ■Do not go over budget.
    ■Use only Amazon OR Newegg to source parts.
    ■Use list prices only: coupons, rebates, bundles or any other limited-time offers will not be accepted.
    ■Do not include shipping or tax in your final budget.
    ■Do not include the Operating System, Monitor or VR Headset, Keyboard, Mouse or Gamepad.
    ■Do not put your forum handle in the name of your build, and avoid odd capitalizations & symbols.
    Provide links to the Amazon or Newegg product pages of each component — we encourage users to use PCPartPicker's System Build for speedy construction. Do not post a link to your build, but rather please be sure to export as BBCode for a quick copy/paste to the forums.


Here are links to all seven build categories:

$500 Budget Build
$750 Budget Build
$1000 Budget Build
$1250 Budget Build
$1500 Budget Build
$2000 Budget Build
$2500 Budget Build


Good luck and may the best build win!
 

M04D18

Respectable
Jun 16, 2017
430
2
2,165
The Divorcer
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1800X 3.6GHz 8-Core Processor ($418.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: NZXT - Kraken X62 Rev 2 98.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus - STRIX X370-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard ($191.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($220.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB STRIX GAMING Video Card ($779.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cougar - Panzer Max ATX Full Tower Case ($144.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA P2 750W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Cooler Master - MasterFan Pro 140 Air Pressure RGB 46.2 CFM 140mm Fan ($24.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Cooler Master - MasterFan Pro 140 Air Pressure RGB 46.2 CFM 140mm Fan ($24.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2506.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-22 20:37 EDT-0400

Base Total: $2498.89
Shipping: $7.97
Total: $2506.86

Total without shipping : $2498.89
 
Aug 17, 2017
2
0
520
RGB Monster

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1800X 3.6GHz 8-Core Processor ($418.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: EVGA - CLC 280 113.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus - STRIX X370-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard ($191.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 960 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB SC Black Edition Video Card ($744.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair - Crystal 570X RGB ATX Mid Tower Case ($179.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair - HX Platinum 750W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair - Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition 39.9 CFM 120mm Fan ($15.53 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair - Air Series SP120 High Performance Edition (2-Pack) 62.7 CFM 120mm Fans ($27.30 @ Amazon)
Total: $2497.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-22 20:47 EDT-0400
 
Unlimited Power
1080 Ti SLI System, 1700 can easily be OC'd to 1800X levels.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($299.89 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H5 Universal 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - X370 GAMING X ATX AM4 Motherboard ($131.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($254.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($117.60 @ Amazon)
Storage: Hitachi - Ultrastar 7K3000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.88 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB OC BLACK Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($724.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB OC BLACK Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($724.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox Lite 5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair - TXM Gold 850W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2519.26
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-27 04:26 EDT-0400

Base Total: $2499.30
Shipping: $19.96
 

SirNathan

Distinguished
Aug 20, 2012
23
2
18,515


Just the case and parts. The rules specify to exclude keyboard, mouse, monitor, and other peripherals, as well as operating system.
 

SirNathan

Distinguished
Aug 20, 2012
23
2
18,515
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 1920X 3.5GHz 12-Core Processor ($799.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake - Water 3.0 Riing RGB 240 40.6 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - X399 Taichi ATX TR4 Motherboard ($339.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws 4 series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($273.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($166.28 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB OC BLACK Video Card ($719.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2489.23
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-22 21:27 EDT-0400
Edited to remove shipping, in accordance with contest rules
 

mcinjere

Distinguished
Apr 14, 2011
41
0
18,540
PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kbqx3F
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kbqx3F/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: NZXT - Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z270i GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($181.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3866 Memory ($417.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB SEA HAWK X Video Card ($804.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT - Manta (Black/Red) Mini ITX Desktop Case ($135.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($117.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $2328.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-22 22:39 EDT-0400
 

John Philips

Reputable
May 3, 2014
132
0
4,710
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hGbvM8

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7800X 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($375.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Alphacool - Eisbaer 240 63.9 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - X299 Taichi ATX LGA2066 Motherboard ($273.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-3733 Memory ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($122.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi - Ultrastar 7K3000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.88 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB WINDFORCE OC 8G Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($524.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB WINDFORCE OC 8G Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($524.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Deepcool - D-Shield ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - PRIME Titanium 850W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($199.90 @ Amazon)
Total: $2467.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-24 18:02 EDT-0400
 

materagia

Commendable
Oct 15, 2016
15
0
1,510

Rexper

Respectable
BANNED
Apr 12, 2017
2,132
2
2,510
Who defines 'best'? More specifically, what are the uses of this PC, and colour aesthetics?

Is this best overall or desirable for certain audience / myself?
 
RYZEN R7 1700 GTX1080Ti SLI BUILD:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($299.89 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H5 Universal 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus - STRIX X370-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard ($191.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($127.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($119.60 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($80.79 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB OC BLACK Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($724.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB OC BLACK Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($724.98 @ Newegg)
Case: be quiet! - Pure Base 600 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($77.37 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair - RMx 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2514.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-23 05:28 EDT-0400

TOTAL: 2502.52
 
Rule # 144 : 4k or GTFO

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7800X 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($375.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Scythe - Mugen MAX 97.2 CFM CPU Cooler ($36.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - X299 RAIDER ATX LGA2066 Motherboard ($214.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($148.64 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - RE4 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($41.95 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB AMP Edition Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($739.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB AMP Edition Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($739.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Zalman - Z11 NEO ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Thermaltake - 1050W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($149.95 @ Amazon)
Total: $2498.47
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-10 21:55 EDT-0400


4k 144hz stream machine.
P.S.: would very much like to swap the cpu and mobo to 8700k and gigabyte aorus gaming 5 z370 (?)
 

Paul_106

Commendable
Feb 17, 2016
24
0
1,510

No, Read the post....
 

Barty1884

Retired Moderator
"And Now for Something Completely Different "

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 1920X 3.5GHz 12-Core Processor ($799.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Fractal Design - Celsius S24 87.6 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - X399 GAMING PRO CARBON AC ATX TR4 Motherboard ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Team - Vulcan 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - Black PCIe 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB Turbo Video Card ($714.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox Lite 5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill - 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2492.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-23 16:16 EDT-0400

Base Total: $2479.91

Thought process
Presenting a different option, with Threadripper not really considered thus far in the options.

Something a little different; something for heavy content creation and other workstation tasks (12c/24t), while retaining the raw performance to be a very capable 4K gamer, and a powerhouse at 1440p - highlighting Workstation & "High End Gaming" do not have to be mutually exclusive.

CPU cooler was chosen due to out-of-the-box compatibility with the TR4 socket, while providing sufficient cooling.

DDR4 options were restricted by budget to allow for Threadripper & a 1080TI.
Ideally I would've included 4x8GB modules to utilize the Quad-Channel ability of the X399 chipset, but the tradeoff was going to be lower speeds (~2400MHz). To ensure gaming performance was maximized, I opted for the 2x16GB modules, for the higher 3200MHz clock speed.

While storage capacity isn't huge, I wanted to ensure I fit a PCIe M.2 drive into the system, which, running approx $25 more than it's SATA counterparts, limited the budget available to bulk HDD storage. (the +$25 here couldn't netter a 2TB+ drive)

The solid airflow in the MasterCase Lite 3.1 allowed the selection of the ASUS Turbo 1080TI, saving some money.

The MCLite3.1 itself is fairly budget-oriented case, but would not look out of place housing such behemoths in Threadripper and a 1080TI.

The Rosewill Capstone G750 allows approx 200W additional headroom over the 100% load draw of the system, operating within it's peak efficiency curve/. A quality, Enhance-built unit, providing 62A on the 12V rail, and semi-modular to reduce cable-clutter. Given it's housed in a case with a full-length PSU shroud, modularity wasn't a "must" for me, be the option to not have to bunch up additional SATA connectors it was a nice plus.
 
THX1138 (Power Slave)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Threadripper 1900X 3.8GHz 8-Core Processor ($549.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Fractal Design - Celsius S36 87.6 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock - Fatal1ty X399 Professional Gaming ATX TR4 Motherboard ($443.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair - Dominator Platinum 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($254.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung - SM951 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Hitachi - Ultrastar 7K3000 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB AMP Edition Video Card ($739.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400 TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($119.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $2513.89
Less Shipping: $13.98
Base Total: $2499.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-13 23:19 EDT-0400
 

Jsimenhoff

Community Manager
Editor
Feb 28, 2016
1,814
190
11,990

We will be putting the submitted builds to a community vote, so it is the best builds decided by the community. Generally we favor builds that are the most feature rich and offer the best performance at the lowest price.
 

Rexper

Respectable
BANNED
Apr 12, 2017
2,132
2
2,510


Ah, cool. Also, can we add a description of the build (explaining choices)?
 

Jsimenhoff

Community Manager
Editor
Feb 28, 2016
1,814
190
11,990

Of course! It'd be great to hear about the thought process behind your part picks.
 

gret419

Prominent
Aug 23, 2017
6
0
510
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($315.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-U9S 46.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($58.35 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z270M Extreme4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($153.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: GeIL - EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - RE4 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($41.92 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB SC2 HYBRID GAMING Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($794.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB SC2 HYBRID GAMING Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($794.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Deepcool - KENDOMEN Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Thermaltake - Smart M 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($86.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $2499.21
Prices DO NOT include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-24 08:31 EDT-0400

"This solution offers water cooling on the SLI setup in a easy to use installation ,allowing for higher overclocks without having to worry about thermal throttling."
 
"Ultimate HTPC Setup"
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($299.89 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - C7 40.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - X370 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($167.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: MyDigitalSSD - BPX 128GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 2.0TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($549.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda 4TB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB AORUS Video Card ($739.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design - Node 202 HTPC Case ($87.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair - SF 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Base Total: $2498.81
Shipping: $15.55
Total: $2514.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-31 10:53 EDT-0400

Went with an 8 core Zen 1700 because it gives good multi-threaded performance and it can be overclocked to 1800x speeds. Put in a 1080TI for awesome gaming performance. The M.2 SSD is for Windows and applications to have maximum speed, the 2.5" SSD is for games, and the 4TB HDD is for music and videos. With this machine you can watch movies on the HDD or play 4k games all from your Lazy-boy.
 
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