[SOLVED] Want to understand a few things about my rig (and parts in general)

[Zaptius]

I had my friend help me build this rig, as well as offer to help pick out basically all of the parts. I still really don't have a grasp on things such as compatibility, bottle-necking, price-to-performance, and things of that nature. So basically what I'm asking for is opinions on this rig, from unnecessary parts that I could've have downgraded on to save money, parts that don't really mesh well together (is this related to bottle-necking?) and if I made good purchases on some of the things on this list and so on and so forth.

In terms of usage, this is mainly a gaming computer, with a bit of usage relating to schoolwork (Microsoft office level stuff). As far as games are concerned, mainly FPS (think Call of Duty, Battlefield, etc.) and RPG's (Final Fantasy, Cyberpunk 2077, etc.)

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i9-9900K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor | $504.99 @ Best Buy
CPU Cooler | Corsair H100i RGB PLATINUM 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler | $159.99 @ Best Buy
Motherboard | Asus PRIME Z390-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $169.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory | $163.94 @ Amazon
Storage | Samsung 970 Evo 250 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive | $97.99 @ B&H
Storage | Seagate Barracuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $54.95 @ Amazon
Video Card | EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB BLACK GAMING Video Card | $723.98 @ Newegg
Case | NZXT H510 ATX Mid Tower Case | $69.98 @ Amazon
Power Supply | Corsair RMx (2018) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | $144.99 @ Best Buy
Monitor | Alienware AW2518HF 24.5" 1920x1080 240 Hz Monitor | $399.99 @ Best Buy
Keyboard | Corsair K95 RGB PLATINUM Wired Gaming Keyboard | $143.91 @ Amazon
Mouse | Logitech G502 HERO Wired Optical Mouse | $46.90 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $2711.60
| Mail-in rebates | -$30.00
| Total | $2681.60
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-03-19 18:47 EDT-0400 |

 

[USAFRet]

this is mainly a gaming computer

Your friend needs to be fired.
Do you already own this?

Overkill on the CPU
Overkill on the RAM
No solid state drive

 

[Zaptius]

Your friend needs to be fired.
Do you already own this?

Overkill on the CPU
Overkill on the RAM
No solid state drive

That's actually a mistake on my part, the SSD is a Samsung 970 Evo M.2 250 GB. Also I'm interested in why these parts are overkill, if you don't mind me asking. I'm still really new to all of this. Edit: Added the SSD

 

[USAFRet]

That's actually a mistake on my part, the SSD is a Samsung 970 Evo M.2 250 GB. Also I'm interested in why these parts are overkill, if you don't mind me asking. I'm still really new to all of this

What other drives are in this?
If only the 250GB, also fail.

For a purely game machine (with a little bit of MS Office), this is like buying a Corvette to commute to work.
Is it nice and fast? Yes. But you're not utilizing its actual performance.

 

[Zaptius]

What other drives are in this?
If only the 250GB, also fail.

For a purely game machine (with a little bit of MS Office), this is like buying a Corvette to commute to work.
Is it nice and fast? Yes. But you're not utilizing its actual performance.

I'm guessing by drivers you mean the rest of the storage, I do have a 1TB internal hard drive. If you don't mind me asking again, (obviously I'm not getting the parts since this is already built) but I would like to know what parts you would have recommended for the best utilization of my rig?

 

[tennis2]

250GB SSD is comically small for the $$ being spent here.

What games are you playing that you need a 240Hz monitor and/ or 240FPS?

 

[Zaptius]

250GB SSD is comically small for the $$ being spent here.

What games are you playing that you need a 240Hz monitor and/ or 240FPS?

Oh wow, I didn't know that. I'm guessing 1TB is what the standard is? Also right now I'm playing CS:GO, Fortnite, and Modern Warfare multiplayer and Warzone. Basically just bought the same monitor as my friend. Was told trying to get the most FPS possible would be a huge advantage gaming-wise.

 

[popatim]

If you game competitively then this was an OK build but i don't think you are or you would have a much larger SSD so that you wouldn't be loading your game files from an HDD and losing that edge.

So given that, you spent nearly twice as much for the i9-9900 instead of a slightly slower AMD R7-3700x. The rest of the build is about the same $$.

I too question the need for a 240Hz monitor when you aren't gaming competitively.

But oh well, it's built now.
Upgrade the HDD to a large SSD at least. 1TB is only about $125 these days. Then you can use the HDD as a backup drive.

 

[USAFRet]

A 250GB SSD is what I put in my grandkids $500 system.
Oh wait, that was a 500GB....🤣

 

[Zaptius]

If you game competitively then this was an OK build but i don't think you are or you would have a much larger SSD so that you wouldn't be loading your game files from an HDD and losing that edge.

So given that, you spent nearly twice as much for the i9-9900 instead of a slightly slower AMD R7-3700x. The rest of the build is about the same $$.

I too question the need for a 240Hz monitor when you aren't gaming competitively.

But oh well, it's built now.
Upgrade the HDD to a large SSD at least. 1TB is only about $125 these days. Then you can use the HDD as a backup drive.

I guess you could say "semi-competitively"? We do play UMG/GB ladders for Call of Duty and are actively trying to qualify for FNCS, but we aren't professionals in any sense lol. Thank you for the tip, I'll look into upgrading the SSD ASAP.

 

[Zaptius]

A 250GB SSD is what I put in my grandkids $500 system.
Oh wait, that was a 500GB....🤣

Learned how small the SSD was, mistakes happen I guess man.

 

[tennis2]

500GB - 1TB is a good size for SSDs. Especially when modern games are 50-100GB each.

 

[Gmoney06ss]

With the 2080S you could easily drive 1440p at 144fps or better, in the games you mention. And 400 bucks for a 1080p TN panel, 240hz or not, is outrageous! You could have, and imo should, look at a 1440/144 monitor. You should be able to snag a 27 inch for less than 400. My dell s2719dgf was 375, 27in 1440/155hz, also tn. Your gpu will drive enough fps in competitive games, and will look much nicer for those non competitive games.

Using a 240mm aio for the 9900k isnt the best idea if overclocking is a thought. At stock it'll be ok, just dont overclock. The mobo you have is a little lacking for such a high end build, but certainly not hurting anything.

Yeah the m.2 you grabbed is small and expensive, but like you said lesson learned. I'd definitely ditch the hdd for a ssd soon too.

850w is overkill, 650w would have been plenty. And saved some cash too.

32gb of ram for a gaming build is alot, and probably unnecessary. 16 would have been fine most likely. Very few games use anywhere close to 16, certainly none of the titles you've mentioned.

A very solid build nonetheless and will keep you gaming at high fps for years to come. And honestly if you're happy with it, no need to change anything.

 

[Zaptius]

With the 2080S you could easily drive 1440p at 144fps or better, in the games you mention. And 400 bucks for a 1080p TN panel, 240hz or not, is outrageous! You could have, and imo should, look at a 1440/144 monitor. You should be able to snag a 27 inch for less than 400. My dell s2719dgf was 375, 27in 1440/155hz, also tn. Your gpu will drive enough fps in competitive games, and will look much nicer for those non competitive games.

Using a 240mm aio for the 9900k isnt the best idea if overclocking is a thought. At stock it'll be ok, just dont overclock. The mobo you have is a little lacking for such a high end build, but certainly not hurting anything.

Yeah the m.2 you grabbed is small and expensive, but like you said lesson learned. I'd definitely ditch the hdd for a ssd soon too.

850w is overkill, 650w would have been plenty. And saved some cash too.

32gb of ram for a gaming build is alot, and probably unnecessary. 16 would have been fine most likely. Very few games use anywhere close to 16, certainly none of the titles you've mentioned.

A very solid build nonetheless and will keep you gaming at high fps for years to come. And honestly if you're happy with it, no need to change anything.

I appreciate all of that info man, thank you really. I will be going for a larger SSD. I do have a question about what potential problems overclocking would cause (I don't plan on doing it). Also is the Mobo lacking in terms of the overclocking you mentioned or is it something else? The build runs great, but I do have the extra funds to fine tune it to what should be in here, thanks for the critique.

 

[Zaptius]

500GB - 1TB is a good size for SSDs. Especially when modern games are 50-100GB each.

Noted, it does sound unbelievably small haha. I actually was worrying about that somewhat when I bought the SSD which is why I ended up buying the internal hard drive. Lesson learned I should've just spent more on a better SSD.

 

[Gmoney06ss]

I'd keep the 250gb for an os drive with most used apps on it. Then just replace the hdd with a 1-2tb ssd. Like said games are big now. Even a 1tb is only gonna hold 10 or so new games. Or less if you want rdr2, cyberpunk, etc. Those are ove 100gb.

The board you have is kind of Asus bottom barrel z390. Will it oc, yes. Will it do it as well as the rog boards, or other better z390s, probably not. While I have no personal experience with the prime lineup of asus boards, from what I've seen they cut a few corners on them. Lesser vrms, bios options, etc. But again without an oc, will be fine.

Only issues youd probably run into with overclocking is heat. 9900k uses more wattage overclocked than a 240mm aio can cool. You may also run into vrm cooling issues. The case airflow certainly isnt helping you any. If oc is ever to happen, you'll likely want/need a 360mm aio. A 240 performs about as well as a high end air cooler, good for 250ish watts. The 9900k oced can use upwards of 300.

I wouldn't be rushing out to drop any more money on a system like this until needed, likely years from now.

Grab a good ssd for storage drive, keep the 250 for boot drive, and think about a better(resolution wise) monitor.

 

[Zaptius]

I'd keep the 250gb for an os drive with most used apps on it. Then just replace the hdd with a 1-2tb ssd. Like said games are big now. Even a 1tb is only gonna hold 10 or so new games. Or less if you want rdr2, cyberpunk, etc. Those are ove 100gb.

The board you have is kind of Asus bottom barrel z390. Will it oc, yes. Will it do it as well as the rog boards, or other better z390s, probably not. While I have no personal experience with the prime lineup of asus boards, from what I've seen they cut a few corners on them. Lesser vrms, bios options, etc. But again without an oc, will be fine.

Only issues youd probably run into with overclocking is heat. 9900k uses more wattage overclocked than a 240mm aio can cool. You may also run into vrm cooling issues. The case airflow certainly isnt helping you any. If oc is ever to happen, you'll likely want/need a 360mm aio. A 240 performs about as well as a high end air cooler, good for 250ish watts. The 9900k oced can use upwards of 300.

I wouldn't be rushing out to drop any more money on a system like this until needed, likely years from now.

Grab a good ssd for storage drive, keep the 250 for boot drive, and think about a better(resolution wise) monitor.

Thanks for explaining it, I wasn't even thinking of overclocking right now anyway. If I ever do, I for sure will keep this in mind. Also, yeah I don't plan on adding anything else except the SSD upgrade. You've been a big help man