Gaming PC Build, $2,500

Matthew A

n00b
Joined
Feb 2, 2019
Messages
51
Hey guys, I have always wanted to build my own gaming PC for as long as I can remember and recently I have decided to make it a reality and finally start saving towards one.

My budget is $2,500 and that's for everything, PC, monitor, keyboard, etc. My goal is to build a super beefy gaming PC that can handle any game I want to play (and future games as well) on max graphical settings while maintaining the good 60 FPS or above. I was looking into 2K capabilities, I would get 4K but I know that can get expensive fast.

What components should I purchase to achieve this? Is my budget reasonable for what I want? I was hoping you guys could help me out with that.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post, have a great day. :)

(I don't plan to have the $2,500 for another 3 moths or so)
 
There are literally dozens of fairly recent threads on this forum, both in this category and others, that cover this exact topic. Please take some time to review those and see how the recommendations line up with your needs.

Also, consider other sources, such as this site's news/reviews, AnandTech, and Tech Report's recently released guide.

Then, see what you can put together yourself and post it here for critique.
 
Thanks for the responses, I'll try to come up with a build and I'll post it once I have done that to see if the build I come up with is any good. If you have any more suggestions please let me know. Thank you!
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor ($308.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC ATX AM4 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Flare X Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($199.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Intel - 660p Series 2 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($244.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB Black Video Card ($698.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design - Focus G (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.03 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Acer - XB271HU bmiprz 27.0" 2560x1440 165 Hz Monitor ($599.99 @ Newegg Business)
Total: $2326.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-03 07:55 EST-0500
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($369.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H100i PRO 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - Z370 GAMING PLUS ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($119.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Intel - 660p Series 512 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11 GB Turbo Video Card ($754.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair - Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Platinum 650 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($108.40 @ B&H)
Monitor: Acer - XB271HU bmiprz 27.0" 2560x1440 165 Hz Monitor ($599.99 @ Newegg Business)
Keyboard: Corsair - K95 RGB PLATINUM Wired Gaming Keyboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Logitech - G502 HERO Wired Optical Mouse ($69.70 @ Newegg)
Total: $2622.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-03 09:06 EST-0500

A little over budget. But i'd figure I let you pick where to cut.

If you buy the GP used, that by itself will get you under budget. They can be had for $600 regularly. Its a fast card and I love the extra vram. If not, a 2080, for if you want RTX will also get you under 2500.

Everything else is pretty straight forward.

  • 8700k is a monster.
  • Great cooler.
  • 16gb of fast ram
  • 660p is great value ssd. Wish I had the budget to just do 2tb SSD .it's worth it .
  • 2tb of storage for your games.
  • Seasonic is the best brand of PSUs IMO.
  • The monitor is IPS AND G-sync compatible. Highly worth it IMO.
  • Great Keyboard and mouse. But that's $200 between the two .you can definitely go cheaper here.
Here is it with the RTX 2080.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($369.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H100i PRO 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - Z370 GAMING PLUS ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($119.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Intel - 660p Series 512 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB Black Video Card ($669.89 @ B&H)
Case: Corsair - Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Platinum 650 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($108.40 @ B&H)
Monitor: Acer - XB271HU bmiprz 27.0" 2560x1440 165 Hz Monitor ($599.99 @ Newegg Business)
Keyboard: Corsair - K95 RGB PLATINUM Wired Gaming Keyboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Logitech - G502 HERO Wired Optical Mouse ($69.70 @ Newegg)
Total: $2537.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-03 09:10 EST-0500

 
Last edited:
3 months takes you to May, I would suggest waiting for your Cpu/Motherboard and GPU picks until then.
Very close to Zen2 release .

1080ti won't be available then of course but you may find better prices on 2080's by then and a clearer idea of Navi capabilities.
 
Congrats on building your own PC. There is a lot more to this than just getting the parts. I'll try and cover some of the basics.

But first, there is a huge difference between today and 90 days from now in that parts can get cheaper, more expensive. You could even possibly run into parts availability issues. You're also going to start to see a lot of the new 2019 models of difference PC components from all the manufactures within 90 days.

So any advice given today will not necessarily be the best advice in 90 days.

However, that doesn't mean that can't start preparing.

The best PC building advice I can give is to not rush your build. It's not a race. I've see a lot of builders race thru a build. Don't do that. You want to take complete and total control of your build from start to finish as to eliminate any potential issues with lost parts, static discards, etc etc. Also, try not to open all the boxes and finger and hold all the shit. Don't do that either. Get all your shit together and only then should you start to carefully open all the boxes as you need to parts during the process of the build.


My advice on build order.


1. Case. Get the case out, unpack it and get it ready. Leave any protective plastic film on case and or glass if you get a case with a glass or plastic side window. Take the I/O shield out of the motherboards box ( if there is one ) and gently snap it into place.

2. AIO Water Cooler ( if your build has one ) Unpack and install Water Cooling as to the instructions provided by the manufacturer into the case. Note: Use extreme caution when handling the radiator. You do not want to damage any of the fins. Note: I would suggest watching any YouTube installation videos via your phone if possible if you're a first time builder.

3. PSU. Install the power supply intio the case. Only attach the cables you will needing to the PSU. Do not fully populate the PSU with power cables. Trust me, room will be very limited and you will not need all those cables. You will need the Main Power Cable, CPU Cable and whatever component power cables and data cables that match up with the purchased PC components. You may also consider upgradeability efforts for any future components you might want to add at a later date. Case in point. I have extra power and data cable for any additional 2.5 ssd's I might add in the future.

4. Motherboard. Take out the motherboard carefully and place it down in your work area. You should gently do this to protect the small components on the underside of the mainboard. You should also place the motherboard either on top of the motherboard box for height ( this is what I do ) onto the anti-static motherboard bag or to the surface of your work area, again, on top of the motherboards included anti-static bag. Note: remember to discharge yourself of any built up static electricity that's present in your body. You do this by touching at the same time two different pieces of metal around you. This is a lot easier than it sounds. Example. Metal lamp and metal legs under your work table. Whatever you have around you.

5. M.2 SSD, Memory and CPU installation onto motherboard. I won't go into too much information here but just exercise caution, especially with the CPU. Do not rush any of this. The CPU installation is the most crucial part of the build. You need to be both very careful and exact when doing this step. Note: There are arrow marks on both the CPU and socket mechanism to help with CPU orientation / alignment.

6. Motherboard - install newly populated Motherboard into case. I won't go into too much information here but it's pretty straight forward. Be careful not to bang the motherboard around inside the case. Treat it like a game of operation. Again, we are using extreme caution to eliminate any chance of damage by taking complete and total control of all of our building steps. We do this to so our PC turns on without issues once the build is complete. Note: before motherboard installation, check that all stand-offs are present and tight. I have a special tool for this but finger tightness is sufficient as well. For first time builders I would suggest you count the stand-offs and match them to your motherboard. There should only be 9 stand-offs that will need 9 screws. Possibly 8 if the case has a center motherboard metal alignment stand-off which many cases now have.

7. PSU. Once the motherboard is placed inside the case and secured, take your power cables and attach them. Use this time to do any cable routing you feel necessary. I would suggest taking the time and making the effort to tuck cables away so the build looks clean upon completion. You will also need to connect your case control wires at this time to the motherboard. Power, Reset, PC Speaker, HD and Power LED leads.

8. AIO Water Cooling / Air Cooler. We now need to install the water cooling pump head OR Air Cooler. Carefully follow the instructions on how to do this. Again, for first time builders, consider watching a YouTube video for added guidance.

8. Case Fans. Go around and connect any case fan wires to your motherboard. Note: Again, try and route the wires so your case has a clean appearance and look to it.

You're now ready to turn on your new PC.



Good luck!
 
Do people really spend $140 on a keyboard?

You have to understand, you're wallet and needs and expectations are going to be different than everyone else's.

I buy $100 keyboards all the time, even a few $120 and $140 ones. To each his own.

You just don't place a lot of value in mechanical keyboards.
 
You have to understand, you're wallet and needs and expectations are going to be different than everyone else's.

I buy $100 keyboards all the time, even a few $120 and $140 ones. To each his own.

You just don't place a lot of value in mechanical keyboards.


This is true, BUT if you have a tight budget for a monster rig you want the CORE components to match and fit, those things which you cannot add later on or replace cheap, like a 5 year old mouse and keyboard. Those you can EASILY buy 2 months after you got the rig but it will be hard to make an inferior board a good one by adding 2 VRM's with a solder gun.

So, from this POV, it is ok to ask "why a 140$ keyboard" if you have to sacrifice somehwere else where it is not so easy to close the gap later on.


Things you can NOT change easily: CPU BOARD RAM GPU

Things you can change for little money step-by-step: keyboard, mouse, extra HDD, Screen, actually everything but the above


I would use the old peripherals and put the money into the core components, that will carry you further imho as a sys builder
 
This is true, BUT if you have a tight budget for a monster rig you want the CORE components to match and fit, those things which you cannot add later on or replace cheap, like a 5 year old mouse and keyboard. Those you can EASILY buy 2 months after you got the rig but it will be hard to make an inferior board a good one by adding 2 VRM's with a solder gun.

So, from this POV, it is ok to ask "why a 140$ keyboard" if you have to sacrifice somehwere else where it is not so easy to close the gap later on.


Things you can NOT change easily: CPU BOARD RAM GPU

Things you can change for little money step-by-step: keyboard, mouse, extra HDD, Screen, actually everything but the above


I would use the old peripherals and put the money into the core components, that will carry you further imho as a sys builder


Completely agree .

However there are some things such as gsync, a mechanical keyboard, ips monitor, a nice mouse, etc. That make PC gaming truly a unique experience.

I rather have all four and use a rtx 2070 then have none and a rtx 2080 or even 2080ti .

But I completely agree that you can start cheap here and upgrade later on except for the monitor. Due to packaging and shipping cost they are such a pain to resale.
 
Thanks guys for all of the helpful comments, The extra clarification on how to go about building my PC is really helpful not to mention that I'm starting to get an idea on what components I should get. All of these builds are great and thanks for taking the time to respond, it helps a lot!
 
How do you guys feel about this build? This is my friend's build, he likes it but I wanted to get your guys' opinion, what do you think?

[PCPartPicker part list](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kgMYKB) / [Price breakdown by merchant](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kgMYKB/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/sxDzK8/intel-core-i7-8700k-37ghz-6-core-processor-bx80684i78700k) | $369.99 @ Amazon
**CPU Cooler** | [NZXT - Kraken X62 Liquid CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bqBrxr/nzxt-kraken-x62-liquid-cpu-cooler-rl-krx62-01) | $178.98 @ OutletPC
**Motherboard** | [Asus - ROG STRIX Z390-E GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/MW...x-lga1151-motherboard-rog-strix-z390-e-gaming) | $235.99 @ SuperBiiz
**Memory** | [G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/yb...b-2-x-8gb-ddr4-3200-memory-f4-3200c16d-16gtzr) | $144.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Samsung - 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/P4ZFf7/samsung-970-evo-500gb-m2-2280-solid-state-drive-mz-v7e500bw) | $129.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** | [Samsung - 860 Evo 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/yzfhP6/samsung-860-evo-1tb-25-solid-state-drive-mz-76e1t0bam) | $147.99 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [Asus - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8 GB ROG STRIX Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/62...rix-video-card-rog-strix-gtx1070ti-a8g-gaming) |-
**Case** | [NZXT - S340 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3TYWGX/nzxt-ca-s340w-b3-atx-mid-tower-case-ca-s340w-b3) |-
**Power Supply** | [EVGA - SuperNOVA P2 650 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6p8H99/evga-power-supply-220p20650x1) | $109.89 @ OutletPC
**Operating System** | [Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/wtgPxr/microsoft-os-kw900140) | $98.89 @ OutletPC
**Case Fan** | [Enermax - T.B. RGB (3-pack) 47.53 CFM 120mm Fans](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/F4448d/enermax-tb-rgb-3-pack-475-cfm-120mm-fans-uctbrgb12-bp3) | $56.61 @ Newegg
**Monitor** | [Dell - S2417DG 23.8" 2560x1440 165 Hz Monitor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/CwgPxr/dell-s2417dg-238-165hz-monitor-s2417dg) | $339.99 @ Newegg
**Keyboard** | [Corsair - K70 RGB RAPIDFIRE Wired Gaming Keyboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/KW4NnQ/corsair-keyboard-ch9101014na) | $169.89 @ OutletPC
**Speakers** | [Logitech - Z623 200 W 2.1ch Speakers](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/svBv6h/logitech-speakers-980000402) | $99.99 @ Newegg Business
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $2113.19
| Mail-in rebates | -$30.00
| **Total** | **$2083.19**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2019-02-03 20:38 EST-0500 |

They didn't have the cost of the graphics card so the total price is more around $2,700
 
Has your friend already bought it? I think there would be room to save some money on some parts and buy a bigger monitor.

$179 seems a lot for a cooler. I'd probably look for a slightly cheaper motherboard. For storage, I'd go with one intel 660p 2TB. PSU I'd save a few bucks and buy a gold one. For the OS I'd get from here https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/combo-deal-office-2016-pro-and-w10-for-34,1.html
Case fans I don't really know about those Enermax but I'd stick to Noctua fans. Keyboard well I thought $140 was a lot for one but hey. The monitor I would get a 27" or bigger one.

For the cpu, I think if I was buying Intel I'd get the 9700k over the 8700k
 
Has your friend already bought it? I think there would be room to save some money on some parts and buy a bigger monitor.

$179 seems a lot for a cooler. I'd probably look for a slightly cheaper motherboard. For storage, I'd go with one intel 660p 2TB. PSU I'd save a few bucks and buy a gold one. For the OS I'd get from here https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/combo-deal-office-2016-pro-and-w10-for-34,1.html
Case fans I don't really know about those Enermax but I'd stick to Noctua fans. Keyboard well I thought $140 was a lot for one but hey. The monitor I would get a 27" or bigger one.

For the cpu, I think if I was buying Intel I'd get the 9700k over the 8700k
He already bought it but most of the parts were on sale for him which is probably why some of them are more expensive now then when he bought them. Thanks for the advice, I'll look into the components you recommended. :)
 
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