Gaming PC Thoughts

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mls1995

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Looking to build a gaming PC next month. I don’t really have a budget at the moment, wife says she doesn’t care but I don’t want this to be insane either. PCPartpicker list below, the only thing I’ve bought so far are the 2 Noctua fans and the Thermal Grizzly paste since I had eBay bucks expiring. Already have mouse, keyboard, headphones. RGB isn’t a priority. Pretty psyched about that Lian Li case, looks like a classy Corsair Air 540 which I loved bc it was so easy to build in and for cable management.

Heavily leaning AMD right now and that MSI board seems to have very few complaints (many of the x570 boards have pretty terrible user reviews otherwise would consider maybe a cheaper one).

QUESTIONS:

  • Does the build so far look reasonable?
  • Thoughts on DDR4 RAM? I think I want 32gb (2 x 16gb sticks). Speed at least 3200.
  • Thoughts on Power Supply? Usually I buy a size up so I want at least 850 watts, modular, etc. No RGB, PS mounted in the back of the Lian Li case.
  • Thoughts on a GTX 2080 ti card? I usually buy EVGA but last time I bought MSI.
  • Thoughts on a monitor? Thinking 144hz, 1440p, 24 to 27 inches. Gsync would be great. I have to buy a monitor from a retailer with free returns bc I will not accept dead pixels on a new monitor. I’m way too OCD for that. Last time I returned 3 Acer monitors and 2 Asus monitors before landing on a Dell Gsync monitor (which is long gone).

BUILD LINK:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ys4dmg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Looks good to me. I would prolly throw in a second smaller NVMe drive for the OS. 32 gigs RAM is standard nowadays for desktops if cash flow isn't an issue.
 
Thanks. What is the advantage to putting my OS on a second m2 drive? I used to use 1 SSD for OS and 1 SSD for games but last time I realized I wasted a bunch of space on the OS drive doing that.

Any RAM that you recommend? Back in the day, I always used Corsair and then I moved to GSkill. Now I’m seeing a lot of Team, Patriot, etc. Support is important to me.
 
I personally like G.Skill and Corsair and are using both in my rigs.

It is just easier to reinstall the OS to a separate drive. Also it can make the system a little more responsive when doing real work.
 
mls1995 said:
Looking to build a gaming PC next month. I don’t really have a budget at the moment, wife says she doesn’t care but I don’t want this to be insane either. PCPartpicker list below, the only thing I’ve bought so far are the 2 Noctua fans and the Thermal Grizzly paste since I had eBay bucks expiring. Already have mouse, keyboard, headphones. RGB isn’t a priority. Pretty psyched about that Lian Li case, looks like a classy Corsair Air 540 which I loved bc it was so easy to build in and for cable management.

Heavily leaning AMD right now and that MSI board seems to have very few complaints (many of the x570 boards have pretty terrible user reviews otherwise would consider maybe a cheaper one).

QUESTIONS:

  • Does the build so far look reasonable?
  • Thoughts on DDR4 RAM? I think I want 32gb (2 x 16gb sticks). Speed at least 3200.
  • Thoughts on Power Supply? Usually I buy a size up so I want at least 850 watts, modular, etc. No RGB, PS mounted in the back of the Lian Li case.
  • Thoughts on a GTX 2080 ti card? I usually buy EVGA but last time I bought MSI.
  • Thoughts on a monitor? Thinking 144hz, 1440p, 24 to 27 inches. Gsync would be great. I have to buy a monitor from a retailer with free returns bc I will not accept dead pixels on a new monitor. I’m way too OCD for that. Last time I returned 3 Acer monitors and 2 Asus monitors before landing on a Dell Gsync monitor (which is long gone).

BUILD LINK:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hvwJV7
Click to expand...


Seems fine so far. there are rumors of a Ryzen 3750X coming, so maybe keeps an eye out for that.

RAM: 16 GB is still fine really, and can always be upgraded later. But RAM is also relatively cheap, so I can't fault going 32 GB. 3200 should be fine, IIRC getting to 3600 really inflates the price for minuscule gain.

PSU: 7-800 W seems about right for the proposed setup. Unless you're into custom cabling don't shy from the semi-modular units (the built-ins are typically cables you can't do without anyways).

GPU: IIRC the 2080ti is a steep price premium over the 2080/2080 Super. Double-check the reviews to see how they pan out at the desired resolution/refresh.

Display: 1440p is still kinda the realistic high-end for gaming, with even the 2080ti struggling at 4k on many titles. Also consider Freesync 2 displays from Nvidia's qualified list.

SSD: On Amazon the original Samsung 970 Evo 2 TB (not the Plus) is on sale for the same price. It's not PCIe 4, but without looking I'd bet that it benches better on most of the meaningful tests (i.e., raw throughput on NVMe is largely overrated unless you're using an app/workflow that actually utilizes lots of large, heavy reads/writes/copies, see real-world tests of NVMe vs SATA SSDs).


DrLobotomy said:
I personally like G.Skill and Corsair and are using both in my rigs.

It is just easier to reinstall the OS to a separate drive. Also it can make the system a little more responsive when doing real work.
Click to expand...


Neither of these are actual reasons to give the OS its own drive.

If you do an OS reinstall you'll generally still have to reinstall all your apps/games/etc. If Steam/etc. do actually allow you to re-link to games installed onto a separate volume after an OS reinstall (never tried such a thing myself), a separate partition on the same SSD will do just as well.

I've never see any benchmarks or other reports that show improved responsiveness by giving the OS its own SSD. I seriously doubt that's been a thing since HDDs. If anything, larger SSDs typically have more cache and can be pushed harder for longer before cache exhaustion and throughput falls (though typically not a real issue outside on benchmarks).

Only reason I can think to split off the OS to a separate SSD is if you need more capacity than a single drive can provide. e.g., get a 250-500 GB NVMe for the OS and most apps, and a second, much larger SATA SSD for games. (And if you do it right you may be able to squeeze out some minor cost savings.)
 
BlueLineSwinger said:
Seems fine so far. there are rumors of a Ryzen 3750X coming, so maybe keeps an eye out for that.

RAM: 16 GB is still fine really, and can always be upgraded later. But RAM is also relatively cheap, so I can't fault going 32 GB. 3200 should be fine, IIRC getting to 3600 really inflates the price for minuscule gain.

PSU: 7-800 W seems about right for the proposed setup. Unless you're into custom cabling don't shy from the semi-modular units (the built-ins are typically cables you can't do without anyways).

GPU: IIRC the 2080ti is a steep price premium over the 2080/2080 Super. Double-check the reviews to see how they pan out at the desired resolution/refresh.

Display: 1440p is still kinda the realistic high-end for gaming, with even the 2080ti struggling at 4k on many titles. Also consider Freesync 2 displays from Nvidia's qualified list.

SSD: On Amazon the original Samsung 970 Evo 2 TB (not the Plus) is on sale for the same price. It's not PCIe 4, but without looking I'd bet that it benches better on most of the meaningful tests (i.e., raw throughput on NVMe is largely overrated unless you're using an app/workflow that actually utilizes lots of large, heavy reads/writes/copies, see real-world tests of NVMe vs SATA SSDs).





Neither of these are actual reasons to give the OS its own drive.

If you do an OS reinstall you'll generally still have to reinstall all your apps/games/etc. If Steam/etc. do actually allow you to re-link to games installed onto a separate volume after an OS reinstall (never tried such a thing myself), a separate partition on the same SSD will do just as well.

I've never see any benchmarks or other reports that show improved responsiveness by giving the OS its own SSD. I seriously doubt that's been a thing since HDDs. If anything, larger SSDs typically have more cache and can be pushed harder for longer before cache exhaustion and throughput falls (though typically not a real issue outside on benchmarks).

Only reason I can think to split off the OS to a separate SSD is if you need more capacity than a single drive can provide. e.g., get a 250-500 GB NVMe for the OS and most apps, and a second, much larger SATA SSD for games. (And if you do it right you may be able to squeeze out some minor cost savings.)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback, lots of good info here!
 
If you don't really need 2tb on your ssd there is a 1tb drive from microcenter https://www.microcenter.com/product...80-pcie-nvme-40-x4-internal-solid-state-drive for $170, I think uses same phision controller as the drive you have.

Also that Msi meg board is nice but maybe way overkill, you could say drop to an asrock board with tb3 and even jump to the 3900x with savings if you were inclined to get more cpu.

Otherwise looks like a really solid build.
 
rhansen5_99 said:
If you don't really need 2tb on your ssd there is a 1tb drive from microcenter https://www.microcenter.com/product...80-pcie-nvme-40-x4-internal-solid-state-drive for $170, I think uses same phision controller as the drive you have.

Also that Msi meg board is nice but maybe way overkill, you could say drop to an asrock board with tb3 and even jump to the 3900x with savings if you were inclined to get more cpu.

Otherwise looks like a really solid build.
Click to expand...

I was originally looking at the $200 ish Asus TUF and Gigabyte but reviews scared me off. The last gigabyte board I owned was a dud. I do use Asus regularly. I was going to go with the ASRock Taichi as I really liked it but using a graphics card means you can't use the USB C header. The MSI doesn't have that problem and people really like it. I haven't had an MSI board for a long time, I'm due to try them again anyway.

Yeah maybe I'll buy 2 of those 1tb m2 drives and save $60. Thats a solid idea. Thanks for your time, I appreciate it.
 
You shouldn't read too much into user reviews on motherboards, reason being lots of bad reviews for a DOA board or inexperienced user errors, and they use reviews to complain. Also, virtually no reviewers have information on durability.

There are less reviews from experienced and satisfied customers, and those are the really helpful ones.

When buying a new motherboard, consider these 3 things:

1) Features

2) Warranty period

3) Price

Most features are physical, I/O, and build related, but if you're overclocking then UEFI menus and interface is also important. You can usually find a list of UEFI features in the motherboard's manual.

Some people are fine with a 1-2 year warranty, but others insist on a 3-5 year warranty. Remember that warranty is a big portion of cost.

Once you decide on features and warranty, then it's just a simple price comparison. User reviews and brand name tend to weigh in more than necessary, but ultimately neither should factor in your decision.
 
janas19 said:
You shouldn't read too much into user reviews on motherboards, reason being lots of bad reviews for a DOA board or inexperienced user errors, and they use reviews to complain. Also, virtually no reviewers have information on durability.

There are less reviews from experienced and satisfied customers, and those are the really helpful ones.

When buying a new motherboard, consider these 3 things:

1) Features

2) Warranty period

3) Price

Most features are physical, I/O, and build related, but if you're overclocking then UEFI menus and interface is also important. You can usually find a list of UEFI features in the motherboard's manual.

Some people are fine with a 1-2 year warranty, but others insist on a 3-5 year warranty. Remember that warranty is a big portion of cost.

Once you decide on features and warranty, then it's just a simple price comparison. User reviews and brand name tend to weigh in more than necessary, but ultimately neither should factor in your decision.
Click to expand...


Hardware Unboxed did VRM testing for many of the x570 motherboards. MSI did extremely bad unless you buy their ACE or higher, until the MSI Unify was tested this week. MSI Unify seems like a pretty great deal if you don't care about RGB.

Originally was thinking of the Asrock Taichi but I actually want to use the USB C header so that one is out.

If I was going to go bottom of the barrel price I'd take the Asus TUF.
 
mls1995 said:
Hardware Unboxed did VRM testing for many of the x570 motherboards. MSI did extremely bad unless you buy their ACE or higher, until the MSI Unify was tested this week. MSI Unify seems like a pretty great deal if you don't care about RGB.

Originally was thinking of the Asrock Taichi but I actually want to use the USB C header so that one is out.

If I was going to go bottom of the barrel price I'd take the Asus TUF.
Click to expand...

Just had a look at the MSI Unify, it does look pretty sweet. Definitely going on my list.
 
I really like the design of that Lian Li case, might just have to grab one myself
 
mls1995 said:
Hardware Unboxed did VRM testing for many of the x570 motherboards. MSI did extremely bad unless you buy their ACE or higher, until the MSI Unify was tested this week. MSI Unify seems like a pretty great deal if you don't care about RGB.

Originally was thinking of the Asrock Taichi but I actually want to use the USB C header so that one is out.

If I was going to go bottom of the barrel price I'd take the Asus TUF.
Click to expand...

I think the Asus X570-P is essentially the same board as the Asus TUF just without WiFi. It was sub $150 on sale. Probably the "cheap" board I'd buy (haven't looked at the MSI Unify yet but it doesn't look cheap).
 
xx0xx said:
I really like the design of that Lian Li case, might just have to grab one myself
Click to expand...

I have one. I think airflow is the biggest issue with the regular O11 Dynamic. Have to get creative.
 
kirbyrj said:
I think the Asus X570-P is essentially the same board as the Asus TUF just without WiFi. It was sub $150 on sale. Probably the "cheap" board I'd buy (haven't looked at the MSI Unify yet but it doesn't look cheap).
Click to expand...

MSI Unify should be around $250
 
kirbyrj said:
I have one. I think airflow is the biggest issue with the regular O11 Dynamic. Have to get creative.
Click to expand...

Did you use a 240 or higher radiator? I think that's pretty much required with these cases
 
mls1995 said:
Did you use a 240 or higher radiator? I think that's pretty much required with these cases
Click to expand...

Yes. I put a 240 on the side intake and then put two 140mm fans as exhaust on top. I have a 360 AIO coming tomorrow. I just don't know how else to get fresh air to the radiator. If you mount it on top it almost has to be exhaust otherwise the hot air has nowhere to go. I might play around with mounting fans on the bottom also.
 
mls1995 said:
MSI Unify should be around $250
Click to expand...

That looks about right. Still seems a little expensive but in the right ballpark for x570. Hard to believe that was the high-end motherboard price in x470 times.
 
kirbyrj said:
Yes. I put a 240 on the side intake and then put two 140mm fans as exhaust on top. I have a 360 AIO coming tomorrow. I just don't know how else to get fresh air to the radiator. If you mount it on top it almost has to be exhaust otherwise the hot air has nowhere to go. I might play around with mounting fans on the bottom also.
Click to expand...

A YouTuber tested all the fan configs. Best was radiator exhausting up top with intake on the side and on the bottom
 
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