New gaming build

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Stryke1983

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 1, 2011
Messages
271
So after a good run I'm looking at finally doing a (almost) full rebuild of my current machine:

CPU: 2500K @ 4.4
Case: NZXT M59
PSU: 750W Corsair TX750 V2
RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600
GPU GTX 1060 6GB
Storage: 256GB Samsung 830 SSD + 1TB HDD
Monitor: 24" 1080p/60hz

Main purpose is gaming (Total War series, Skyrim/Fallout and other strategy games mostly). No set budget as I'm not decided on which upgrade path to take. Capped at around $1000 though.

I'm thinking I do a full rebuild but reuse the GPU (as it's decently powerful already, current GPUs are overpriced and new cards will probably be out later this year) and storage (I only play a couple of games at a time so I've been able to get away with everything other than media being on the SSD and I'm not certain real world improvements are significant enough between an 830 and newer models compared to the benefit I'd see upgrading other components).

Alternatively I could use the money on a 1440/144hz monitor (Dell 2716DG @ $350 on the low end to the AW3418DW @ $1000 on the highend) now with one more GPU upgrade later this year before I do the CPU/MB/RAM upgrade in another year or two.

Assuming I go ahead with a rebuild I've been considering the parts below. However I'm also considering the 8600K ($235 after tax) or even a more budget build with the Ryzen 2600 ($205 after tax) and stock cooler. 8700K as I'll be using this for many years to come and I'm thinking more than 6C/6T are likely to be used by games in that timeframe. Ryzen 2600 as the budget option as not only is it a cheaper chip but I might be able to get away with using the stock cooler if I just do a mild overclock and save the $50-60 on an better cooler.



**CPU** | [Intel - Core i7-8700K](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/sxDzK8/intel-core-i7-8700k-37ghz-6-core-processor-bx80684i78700k) | $320.00 (Local Microcenter normally has it for $300 + tax)
**CPU Cooler** | [Cooler Master - MasterLiquid ML240L RGB](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Rc...b-667-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-mlw-d24m-a20pc-r1) | $49.99 @ Newegg
**Motherboard** | [ASRock - Z370 Taichi ATX ](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/KbNypg/asrock-z370-taichi-atx-lga1151-motherboard-z370-taichi) | $190.98 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/LhgPxr/gskill-memory-f43000c15d16gvrb) | $161.99 @ Newegg Business
**Case** | [Thermaltake - View 31 TG RGB ATX Mid Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/t7...31-tg-rgb-atx-mid-tower-case-ca-1h8-00m1wn-01) | $104.99 @ SuperBiiz
**Power Supply** | [SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 550W](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bk...fied-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-ssr-550fx) | $69.99 @ SuperBiiz
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $917.94
| Mail-in rebates | -$20.00
| **Total** | **$897.94**

Any advice would be welcome. Especially when I'm torn between a lot of radically different options. Thanks.
 
Looks like a good setup to me - 8700k is top tier for gaming, the Taichi board is excellent, good choice on RAM (maybe splurge up to 3200MHz if it's only a bit more), case and PSU - I would also suggest looking into delidding the 8700k as it will significantly lower temperatures.

If you want to go after the value oriented build, the best option is the Ryzen 2600X + X470 motherboard which would cut down around $300ish - no need to overclock either, XFR will boost your performance sufficiently for gaming.
 
HiryuuX said:
Looks like a good setup to me - 8700k is top tier for gaming, the Taichi board is excellent, good choice on RAM (maybe splurge up to 3200MHz if it's only a bit more), case and PSU - I would also suggest looking into delidding the 8700k as it will significantly lower temperatures.

If you want to go after the value oriented build, the best option is the Ryzen 2600X + X470 motherboard which would cut down around $300ish - no need to overclock either, XFR will boost your performance sufficiently for gaming.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I had been going back and forth about the 2600X over the 2600 due to the cooler as well as debating a B350 or X470 board.
 
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Budget option build (2600X) would be the same but with DDR4-3200 and a Gigabyte X470 Aorus Ultra Gaming for $140.

That 2700 deal is good, but if I'm adding another $45 to the cost I may as well go with the 8600K seeing as this build is focused on gaming.
 
ABSOLUTELY go with 16 GB of RAM, 8 is bare minimum. At least buy 8 now and make the next 8 your FIRST upgrade.
 
If it's just for gaming wouldn't it be better to just buy a 1080ti in terms of increasing fps in games?
 
16GB of RAM is definitely the plan.

I decided against another GPU upgrade right now for several reasons. Cards are still over priced, we can't be that far away from the next gen coming out and my current card (1060 6GB) is fine in the meantime. With the games I'm playing I'm noticing the minimums from the CPU struggling more than my GPU being maxed out, especially when there are always some demanding effects that can be turned off to improve frames without really impacting the visuals. Plus I'm seeing more signs of instability in my system as time goes on and I've already reduced my overclock twice in the last couple of years.
 
Yeah if you want higher minimums then a cpu upgrade would be the way to go. I think I would be hesitant on buying an AMD one though for gaming as you may not see as much of an improvement for lightly threaded games (which is probably most of them)
 
bos said:
Check these build I put together.

11 Builds -5 Intel/6 AMD

If you reused your storage, case and PSU my AMD $1250 build would hit your budget close, go a little under if you went to a 1070ti.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the effort with putting all those builds together. I'm focusing on the Ryzen 2600X build now as other things have come up which are taking away from my budget and I figure I'm not losing too much dropping down from the 8700K compared to the couple of hundred dollars I'll save.

I do plan on reusing my storage, although I am tempted to fork out for a 250GB NVME drive to use as my boot drive, with my existing Samsung 830 as my second drive and ditch the regular HDD entirely as it's barely being used. I definitely plan on getting a new case as I'm tired of my current one and there are enough little issues with it that bother me that I'd rather get a new one especially when it's one of the cheapest parts of the build anyway. I've not had any issues with my PSU but as it's already 7 years old I figured it's safer to replace it rather than wait for it to die. I'm going to keep my current GPU as well considering it's current gen, prices are still around msrp for two year old tech and the next gen can't be that much farther away.
 
Stryke1983 said:
Thanks for the effort with putting all those builds together. I'm focusing on the Ryzen 2600X build now as other things have come up which are taking away from my budget and I figure I'm not losing too much dropping down from the 8700K compared to the couple of hundred dollars I'll save.

I do plan on reusing my storage, although I am tempted to fork out for a 250GB NVME drive to use as my boot drive, with my existing Samsung 830 as my second drive and ditch the regular HDD entirely as it's barely being used. I definitely plan on getting a new case as I'm tired of my current one and there are enough little issues with it that bother me that I'd rather get a new one especially when it's one of the cheapest parts of the build anyway. I've not had any issues with my PSU but as it's already 7 years old I figured it's safer to replace it rather than wait for it to die. I'm going to keep my current GPU as well considering it's current gen, prices are still around msrp for two year old tech and the next gen can't be that much farther away.
Click to expand...

NVME drives are not worth the cost for most users. You won't really boot faster. They're more designed a lot of read and writes of big files, or multiple users accessing the storage in say a server. If it's the same price as a standard ssd then go for it, but don't spend more. And really the good ones are ALOT more than a standard SSD.
 
Stryke1983 said:
I do plan on reusing my storage, although I am tempted to fork out for a 250GB NVME drive to use as my boot drive, with my existing Samsung 830 as my second drive and ditch the regular HDD entirely as it's barely being used.
Click to expand...
If I was buying an SSD now I'd buy a Crucial MX 500 1 TB as they are fast enough and it would be plenty of storage for games. However I predict that by Christmas 1 TB SATA SSD's will be down to $150 for 1 TB.

I think I would be tempted to replace an overclocked 2500k with an overclocked i5 8600k for games as 4.8Ghz should be easy to achieve and am not convinced that more than 1% of games would use more than 6 threads.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. My reasoning for the 2600x over the 8600k was partly due to cost. But mainly that some games can already use over 6 threads and, while it's a slow trend, that number has been going up. If I was keeping the CPU for just 2-3 years I wouldn't mind, but I kept my current one for 7 years and I'll be aiming for at least 5 with this one unless cpu power magically accelerates again.
 
Stryke1983 said:
Thanks for the advice everyone. My reasoning for the 2600x over the 8600k was partly due to cost. But mainly that some games can already use over 6 threads and, while it's a slow trend, that number has been going up. If I was keeping the CPU for just 2-3 years I wouldn't mind, but I kept my current one for 7 years and I'll be aiming for at least 5 with this one unless cpu power magically accelerates again.
Click to expand...

Alternatively you could go with like a r1500 or 1600 and upgrade when Zen 2 (2000 series is Zen+) comes out, which will be early next year I believe and get the mid ranger from the 3000 series. Just another alternative. The AM4 platform is going to be supported through 2020, so you'll have upgrade options. Intel is done with their current platform and the next gen will be on a new one.
 
horrorshow said:
That's literally EXACTLY what I would recommend.
Click to expand...


That Aorus board has been getting some bad reviews from users, and has some bios issues over-volting concerns, apparently you can't lock in a cap. The ASrock X470 Master SLI/AC board is the best user reviewed board I've found.
 
bos said:
NVME drives are not worth the cost for most users. You won't really boot faster. They're more designed a lot of read and writes of big files, or multiple users accessing the storage in say a server. If it's the same price as a standard ssd then go for it, but don't spend more. And really the good ones are ALOT more than a standard SSD.
Click to expand...

But they look cooler... :D

You're right though. An NVME drive is something I should be leaving for a later date.
 
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