New PC build

childofbaahl · 15 May 2017 at 3:54AM

Morning,
I'm going to be getting a new PC built and I thought I would post the specs here in case someone spotted an issue or could recommend a better component or idea. I have in the past gone with mid range machines that meant I could play just at the cusp of high spec gaming but I have the opportunity to get this beast for a change and really enjoy my gaming for a few years. I have been saving The Witcher, Fallout 4 and Andromeda till I got this beauty.

The PC will be primarily used for RPG gaming on 2x24" monitors running 1080 but will upgrade to a higher res when one fails. I do a small amount of photo editing, movie watching and the rest is standard surfing and general bits and bobs. The idea is to future proof my gaming to enjoy in the best graphical quality I can for as long as I can. I don't foresee any changes for at least 2 years really.

Case = NZXT H440 MID-TOWER GAMING CASE (BLACK/RED)
Processor (CPU) = Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-7700k (4.2GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard = ASUS® ROG MAXIMUS IX HERO: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM) = 16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB) Upgrading to 32GB in a few years maybe if really needed
Graphics Card = 11GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 Ti - HDMI, 3x DP
1st Hard Disk = 256GB SAMSUNG PM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 2800MB/R, 1100MB/W)
2nd Hard Disk = 1TB WD BLACK 3.5" WD1003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive = None (I have an external Blu-Ray drive I use very rarely)
Power Supply = CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling = Corsair H80i V2 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste = STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card = ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking = 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Operating System = Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence

Well there you have it... I toyed with 32Gb of Ram but couldn't really justify it right now as there isn't a lot that would need all that memory. I have 8Gb now in my 3 year old machine and it's fine. I went with the 550W PSU as what I calculated the above needed was 498W (including the 4x8Gb ram I could upgrade to) so tack on and extra 50W for good measure. Though getting a CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET would only set me back an extra £40. I chose the motherboard based on reviews as I really have no ideas when it comes to the complexities they can offer. It seemed like a good match otherwise I was going to go with the ASUS® ROG STRIX Z270H GAMING: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs and save £88 .

Any thoughts, ideas or changes are welcome.

Dandytf · 15 May 2017 at 10:34AM

I haven't built a p.c. For years.

Though some comments if I may, excellent spec, why onboard sound?

Have GPU's honestly gone eleven gig video ram? Or is that a typo.

And how much of 16 ram will latest rpg's use, is that much actually utilized.

Forgot to mention -where is your ssd? -2hdd's=bottlenecks t.b.h

Cisco001 · 15 May 2017 at 11:03AM

I would consider Ryzen R5 or R7.

consair VS is a bit low end.

Are you buy pre-built or build it yourself?

If you want to stick with intel, personally would get mid-range £170 motherboard

Data storage HDD probably pick WD Blue for cheaper price

Case - for that price range, my favourite case is Fractal Design Define R5

MrInappropriate · 15 May 2017 at 11:29AM

Dandytf wrote: »

I haven't built a p.c. For years.

Though some comments if I may, excellent spec, why onboard sound?

Have GPU's honestly gone eleven gig video ram? Or is that a typo.

And how much of 16 ram will latest rpg's use, is that much actually utilized.

Forgot to mention -where is your ssd? -2hdd's=bottlenecks t.b.h

Not a typo - the 1080Ti is probably the best card out there at the moment for its price, in my opinion. It really is a beast.

To be honest, nothing about the build stands out to me as being a major issue other than the lack of sound card and as the previous poster mentioned, the choice of power supply.

childofbaahl · 20 May 2017 at 4:23PM

Afternoon & sorry for not getting back sooner.

On the issue of the soundcard, it's just habit really. The two pervious PCs I had PC Specialist make didn't have a card and I never had an issue to be honest. I just used the on-board soundcard with quad speakers and base unit attached. Would shelling out £30 to £50 for a creative Audigy FX or SoundBlaster Z be worth it? Does it make that much of a difference? I intend to get 5.1 speakers but the on-board soundcard that comes with the Maximus says it covers 5.1

The Power supply was something I wasn't sure of and I was leaning towards the CS more as it's more efficient and I always feel nervous with power supplies. And I guess it's more efficient and reliable.

'Dandytf' - It's not 2 HDDs it's a 256Gb PICe drive for the OS and a game or 2 and a HDD for storage. As for the Ram currently I use 8Gb and I feel the hiccups and pauses if I'm playing in ultra on an older game and streaming on my 2nd monitor so 16Gb I would consider the minimum for a high end system.

Cisco001 - I'm looking to have it built to spec at PCSpecialist I have always preferred Intel chips which MB would you recommend? The Rog Strix H or something similarly priced?

Thanks again for your help

ukjoel · 20 May 2017 at 5:52PM

Build looks good and also pretty future proof.
Only negative is lack of DVD player in the case but I made the same call myself recently and its not been a problem (but still feels strange not to have an internal.

Out of curiosity what did you cost the build at?

JamoLew · 20 May 2017 at 6:19PM

Try posting on the PCS forum, you will gets lots of useful advice on there.

The Gpu is massive overkill for 1080 resolution imo and if the power is coming out as requiring 498W I would def go for 650 to allow some wiggle room for inefficiencies and future possible upgrades.

forgotmyname · 20 May 2017 at 10:08PM

That CPU was on my short list also but i went for the Ryzen 1700 and WOW.... I made the right choice.

childofbaahl · 21 May 2017 at 8:54AM

ukjoel wrote: »

Build looks good and also pretty future proof.
Only negative is lack of DVD player in the case but I made the same call myself recently and its not been a problem (but still feels strange not to have an internal.

Out of curiosity what did you cost the build at?

PCS quoted that spec at around £2050 I think. I have an external Blu-ray drive I use so the drive isn't an issue.

JamoLew wrote: »

Try posting on the PCS forum, you will gets lots of useful advice on there.

The Gpu is massive overkill for 1080 resolution imo and if the power is coming out as requiring 498W I would def go for 650 to allow some wiggle room for inefficiencies and future possible upgrades.

I did yesterday and they had some good advice too. Like you say the GPU is overkill for my 1080 monitors and even when I replace it'll be with a max of 1440 resolution so it was suggested that I get the 1080 GTX instead of the 1080 TI.

Also a few other changes which have dropped the price to £1736:

Case = Send In Your Own Case. Their H440 is the old edition and the newer version I can have it sent in for the same price has better air flow and fan controls;
Overclocked CPU = Overclocked Intel® Core™i7-7700k Quad Core (4.20GHz @ up to 4.8GHz) Stable overclocking as I'm getting a good liquid cooling unit in their anyway;
Motherboard = ASUS® ROG STRIX Z270H GAMING: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs as I don't use Bluetooth or WiFi components and it has all the basics I need;
Memory (RAM) = 16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card = 8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready! As stated above the Ti is overkill unless your running 4K really and I'll only be going up to 1440;
1st Hard Disk = NOT REQUIRED;
2nd Hard Disk = 2TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE Was told that the WD Blacks are overly expensive for what they are and to get a 2TB drive for less as it's just storage in the end and my gaming will be done of the SSD;
M.2 SSD Drive = 256GB WD Black™ M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 2050MB/s R | 700MB/s ;
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive = NOT REQUIRED as I have an external drive if I ever need one;
Power Supply = CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET took your advice and upgraded to the CS instead of the VS for the added efficiency;
Processor Cooling = Corsair H100i V2 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler upgraded to the cooling to the twin fan H100 so it can go on the roof of the case and I'll still have 4 other fans for the rest of the insides. All nicely dampened by the soundproofing;
Thermal Paste = ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND standard for overclocked rigs;
Sound Card = ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD) The PCS forums suggested as I'm fine with onboard and don't do any kind of recording or anything professional to try it out and I can always stick a card in later on;
Operating System = Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence;
Warranty = 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

So... that seems to be the machine so far and I'm happy with it. It was suggested I go with the NZXT Noctis case for the better cooling but that's when I found the updated version of the H440 and I prefer the aesthetics of the H440 and with the improved cooling facilities I'm leaning that way.

The £300 I save on the new spec will help with a monitor upgrade which I can get now instead of waiting for one to blow and still have £100 left. I'm thinking of getting the AOC 27 inch Q2778VQE for £209.

Looking forward to spending a weekend getting it all setup and running.

childofbaahl · 26 May 2017 at 3:00AM

Acer is £500+ and there is nothing matching a 'Sonic' - Thanks for the information but the AOC is a cracking monitor with dozens of awards and positive reviews from publications and will suit my gaming budget to a tee.

forgotmyname · 29 May 2017 at 12:17AM

I presume their link is missing to some spectacular deal on a monitor?

New PC build

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