Build help, boutique builder

zeek55

n00b
Joined
Mar 12, 2013
Messages
18
Hi guys just a little background. I built my previous PC via Digital Storm 6 years ago and it held up great until the other morning I had built up static on my carpet and touched the power button-> PC would not work any longer. If I pressed the power button it would not respond, when I unplugged it and plugged back in it would turn on for 3 seconds and then shut down again. I tried replacing the PSU nothing, troubleshoot with Mobo, nothing. So now I am thinking about recycling my GTX 1080 Ti and couple of SSD drives and plugging them into a pre-built Digital Storm System. I know I will pay a premium by not building it myself, but at same time I like having a piece of mind and not investing a ton of time into building it myself- they did a nice job with wiring last time. That being said, I don't want to spend money where I don't need to so I appreciate any advice.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing?
Primarily Gaming, Oculus Rift, and web browsing


2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$2,000 (tax/shipping not included)


3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Colorado, USA


4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, MOBO, RAM, PSU, SSD


5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
GTX 1080 Ti, Samsung 850 Pro SSD 512 GB, Samsung 840 Pro SSD 250 GB


6) Will you be overclocking?
No


7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Monitor: ASUS ROG SWIFT PG348Q, 21:9, max resolution 3440X1440

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Ordering within the week- This is what I have so far:
Case: Corsair 450d (midtower case)
CPU: i7 8700 k
Mobo: ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-H GAMING (the cheaper options they have there are ASUS PRIME Z370-P and MSI Z370 SLI PLUS )
RAM: 16 GB DDR4 3000MHz Digital Storm Performance Series ( I think that means it could be any of these memory brands-Corsair, Kingston, ADATA, and Mushkin)
PSU: 750W Corsair RM750x
Storage 1: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Samsung 960 EVO) (NVM Express)
Storage 2: 1x Storage (2TB Seagate / Toshiba)
Cooling options: I picked Intel Standard Factory Heat-sink and Fan (they have this option as well AIR: Stage 1: High-Performance Copper Heat Pipe Cooler, and then a bunch of liquid cooling options)

Total: $2,050


9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Crossfire or SLI support? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? etc.
I would like to have as many 3.1 Gen2 drives (for VR? or future proofing), wifi is not crucial, was thinking of using a second monitor (2560X1440) and plugging it into the mobo instead of GPU->that monitor is not for gaming just browsing. May use SLI down the line, though last time I did I regretted it.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
no


So here are my questions for the build above:
1.) Is the case adequate for that cpu which tends to run hot? The cooling option I have selected through Digital Storm is standard factory heat-sink and fan, is it a good idea to get their high-performance copper heat pipe cooler? I don't even know what that means and if it could hurt my CPU, also I don't want to do any other options offered on their site as they are liquid cooling.

2.) I7 8700k- so since I am not OC, I thought about the 8700 (non-k), which appears to reach nearly same speeds with turbo boost, (80 dollars less on their site) but with the limited mobo options would it be silly not to just get the 8700k? I will most likely not OC as I think with that processor and current GPU, I won't need to, and want to preserve the life of the CPU. I have 0 experience with OC as well. On top of that I don't want to tinker with fancy cooling etc..

3.) PSU- 750 w that I selected above should be more than enough power?


Thank you guys ahead of time for your time and recommendations. I appreciate any advice and insight into something that I may have overlooked. I have tried similar builds with other boutique builders and they were strangely more expensive than DS.

 
1. Not sure what standard Factory is. The stock Intel coolers are absolute shit though. Copper heat pipes typically range from adequate to pretty darn good. Don't know that you need to jump to H20 unless you are really concerned about noise levels though.

2. I think it's worth the extra for K - you at least have the option later on, and often a mild overclock is enough to get an extra year or two out of a machine that would otherwise need replacing. But if your certain you'll never overclock, save the cash, no point.

3. 750W is more than enough. RM series had some issues early on, they've supposedly been fixed, but personally I wouldn't buy one if I had the option to go with something else that's tested reliable. Just FYI.
 
Not sure what standard Factory is. The stock Intel coolers are absolute shit though.

I'm doubly confused, since the k-series CPUs do not come with stock heatsinks. I would definitely go for an AIO watercooler or at least an inexpensive tower air cooler like a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO.

If you decide to go with the i7-8700 (non-k) keep in mind that though the CPU has nearly the same max turbo frequency, it is targeting a significantly lower TDP (65W instead of 95W) and thus will likely be far less aggressive at holding those turbo speeds. You put a k-series CPU on a board with good cooling and under load they'll often just *live* at their turbo speeds, overclocking or not.

750W is more than enough, your system should be using ~500W at load.

I'm also concerned about the price. Obviously you pay a markup for going through a boutique rather than building it yourself, but the collective price of the parts you listed is ~$1400, and you say its in your cart for $2k. $600 price difference is a *lot* of markup.

*edit*
I've just added to my cart a very similar system using iBUYPOWER's online configurator. It came out to $1932 and included very similar specs to those you listed, though different models motherboard and case and such, as well as the following upgrades versus your specs: a 1000W PSU, a AIO liquid CPU cooler, a copy of Windows 10, and a RX580 4GB GPU, which presumably you could sell for ~$250+. Selling the GPU would reduce the end price back to $1700 or so. The point is, your $2000 price is a ripoff.
 
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Cooling options: I picked Intel Standard Factory Heat-sink and Fan (they have this option as well
Haswell (the i7-4xxxK) was the last CPU generation that the K-series CPUs came with an "Intel Standard Factory Heat-sink and Fan". Since Skylake (6th generation), none of the K-series CPUs come with such a cooler any more. Therefore, the separate purchase of a third-party CPU cooler is required for those CPUs. If you do what you had planned, then they might send you a system with no CPU cooler at all.
 
Did the OP ever build this?
Not AFAIK. The OP has not returned to the forums since this thread started. So until the OP returns with the build results, any subsequent posts in this thread shall be considered "necroing".
 
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