New build need some advice!

[AllyB]

Hya guys, just joined the forums after plowing through some of the youtube vids(not work btw!)

I'm currently looking at doing a new build PC budget is about 1500/2000, i've got an idea of what i was going to put in it so far, but tbh after seeing some of the vids about ryzen i'm slightly torn now as to getting the best bang for my £ kinda thing.

Current build is as follows(feel free to rip it apart and suggest tweaking it werever you want!)

intel i7 8700k
gigabyte Aorus 1080ti
Gigabyte Aorus Z370 gaming 7
Team Dark Pro 16gb3200mhz
cooler masterliquid lite 240 AIO
Seasonic plus 650w 80 plus gold

I've already got the HDD's so not upgrading them just pulling from my current build into the new one, though i may add a NVMe SSD, but for mainly gaming is it really worth it?

The PC is used for gmaing so that is the focus, i don't currently have a UHD or 4k monitor, hadn't thought of changing it yet either just focusing on the rig. Any advice greatly appreciated!!!

 

[WYP]

Hya guys, just joined the forums after plowing through some of the youtube vids(not work btw!)

I'm currently looking at doing a new build PC budget is about 1500/2000, i've got an idea of what i was going to put in it so far, but tbh after seeing some of the vids about ryzen i'm slightly torn now as to getting the best bang for my £ kinda thing.

Current build is as follows(feel free to rip it apart and suggest tweaking it werever you want!)

intel i7 8700k
gigabyte Aorus 1080ti
Gigabyte Aorus Z370 gaming 7
Team Dark Pro 16gb3200mhz
cooler masterliquid lite 240 AIO
Seasonic plus 650w 80 plus gold

I've already got the HDD's so not upgrading them just pulling from my current build into the new one, though i may add a NVMe SSD, but for mainly gaming is it really worth it?

The PC is used for gmaing so that is the focus, i don't currently have a UHD or 4k monitor, hadn't thought of changing it yet either just focusing on the rig. Any advice greatly appreciated!!!

When it comes to gaming the best price to performance/capacity will be with a SATA SSD. NVMe SSDs will be faster, but they will not be fast enough to make a huge difference. Better to have more games on a slower SATA SSD than not enough stuff on an M.2.

I assume you are from the UK?

 

[AllyB]

I've already got a 250gb sata ssd that will be going in from my current rig, as well as 2 x 2tb HD's so harddrives aren't a huge issue.

My only real thing is, is it really worth the out lay on the 8700k or would i be better with the 7700k or the 1800x?
That's what i'm more wondering as the 1800x is a fairly decent price difference.

 

[AlienALX]

Please, please wait for Ryzen +. There is a very high chance that the line up will include a very good rival for the 8700k only much cheaper. With a cheaper board, meaning you can put the spondooleys into a better GPU.

The best bang for buck is waiting. It would be really, truly silly to buy something now only to feel conned in about three weeks. Intel has nothing over AMD apart from clock speed. And if AMD can get another 4-500mhz out of Ryzen even as it sits it would be right up there with Intel's CL.

As for NVME? that would be no, no and no.I don't have a single NVME drive and my rig crushes, even without it. It's really not worth the outlay IMO, unless it's going to be the same price as a regular M2 or SATA SSD. If you really must though look into Intel's "budget" NVME though even they are honkingly priced right now.

Also I would avoid Gigabyte boards no matter what the tech, company or CPU. They are dire. Stick with Asus, or even MSI.

4k is doable on a 1080Ti, however I would wait, bide your time and see what AMD come up with. the Xp Star Wars is now only a couple of hundred quid more than the 1080Ti and it is faster.

 

[AllyB]

Ah fair play that clears things up alittle!

As i said i do want to try keep my budget 1500/2000 with the basket i listed plus a case and a couple of other bits it is sitting about that.


I suppose what i'm more getting at is, do i really need to go and buy a 8700k or would a 1800x or 1700x be fine for what i want? The GPU i'm looking at it around 700/800 so not a cheap one!

 

[WYP]

Ah fair play that clears things up alittle!

As i said i do want to try keep my budget 1500/2000 with the basket i listed plus a case and a couple of other bits it is sitting about that.


I suppose what i'm more getting at is, do i really need to go and buy a 8700k or would a 1800x or 1700x be fine for what i want? The GPU i'm looking at it around 700/800 so not a cheap one!

Are you just gaming or is this system also serving as a tool for productivity or as a workstation? If yes it would be good to know what you will be doing, Blender, video editing etc.

For gaming alone, it is hard to argue with an 8600K, as not many games are likely to use more than 6 cores and they could be overclocked to around 5GHz. If you can use the extra threads the 8700K will perform better, hard to know how long it will take for games to use all 12 threads on that.

With Intel, you have an easier time selecting memory and will have higher performing single threads, though AMD does offer a lot of pure CPU performance for the money with the Ryzen 7 1700 when overclocked.

If you want a system right now Coffee Lake is a good bet, though you could wait for AMD's Ryzen refresh to see what they have to offer. There should also be a tonne of new SSDs at CES, which might help make NVMe M.2 drives a little cheaper.

 

[AlienALX]

Ah fair play that clears things up alittle!

As i said i do want to try keep my budget 1500/2000 with the basket i listed plus a case and a couple of other bits it is sitting about that.


I suppose what i'm more getting at is, do i really need to go and buy a 8700k or would a 1800x or 1700x be fine for what i want? The GPU i'm looking at it around 700/800 so not a cheap one!

The 1700 is more than enough. However, again it would be daft to buy one with Ryzen + coming.

If you are sticking to single GPU (which I strongly advise) then the B350 Strix by Asus is more than good enough.

It's all about the GPU now mate. Well, once you go over 1080p any way.

But yeah, just hold off on the board and CPU for now. The 8700k is £369 on Amazon atm which tbh? is not a bad price. However, I can guarantee that AMD will be releasing an 8 core CPU that will clock much better than the 1700 and will cost around the same. An extra two cores and threads means that you have a good 20% more computing power for the same amount of coin.

IIRC the 1700 released at £330. So if you take that as the price for the + version of the low end 8 core.. Yeah, still works out cheaper. Plus the B350 strix costs a whopping chunk less than a Z370 board.

Just looked up your board (the gaming 7) £230. The B350 Strix costs half that. Even the elite X370 board costs £30 less.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-90MB0...8&qid=1514910217&sr=8-1&keywords=crosshair+vi

So yeah, that's £70 saved plus two more cores and threads.. If you can live with a single GPU then the B350 Strix has everything you need for half of that.

 

[AllyB]

In all honesty the system will be gaming only with watching films occasionally aswell.

Games as follows

warhammer 2
BF1
GTA5
AC (a few of them)
Deus Ex
Planet Coaster
Destiny 2
Various other strat's and a few fps's.

Currently the monitor i use is only 1080p, just wanting to make sure i'm spending the money in the right place and not for the sake of it tbh!

 

[AlienALX]

Then get a Ryzen 1600, with a B350 Strix and then upgrade to Ryzen + next year. Honestly, it is enough for any one.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-Ryzen-...TF8&qid=1514910463&sr=8-1&keywords=ryzen+1600

Half the price of the Intel ! with the same specs just a lower clock. And then.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ROG-STRIX-...TF8&qid=1514910493&sr=1-1&keywords=b350+strix

TBH dude in 6 months time you could do both of those again ^ and still have only spent the same amount.

It's not even hard these days. Serious, it's quite boring.. B350 Strix, 1600 or 1700 if you feel rich, job done. The CPU is not the important factor any more. Not since Ryzen..

Oh yeah, and in before the Intel witnesses turn up to lynch me. Yes, the 8700k is faster. HOWEVER, it is not twice as bloody fast ! maybe 20% if you are lucky yet it costs 100% more.

 

[AllyB]

That's whats been making me think do i really need to spend big and get a 8700k, i did pop a post on OCUK Forums asking and got shoved straight for the 8700k with Z370K Aorus Ultra Gaming 7.

Which i did think really do i seriously need that much?

My current PC i use is as follows

i5 3570k
8gb 1866mhz ram
asus sabertooth z79 mobie
HIS 9750 4gb
250gb evo SSD
2tb Hitachi hd(3gb sata not 6)
PSU is a XFX650 pro modular
Asus zonar STX essence

so it is due an upgrade!

 

[AlienALX]

Look mate, whatever you buy will be old hat within months. It's actually worse now with AMD going at it lol. At least before you could get botty bummed by Intel but your four cores would last you a year or so. Now? haha Intel have had a core enema and it will only continue because AMD found a way to make 8/16 CPUs really cheap. A quad core with no HT doesn't cut it for high end gaming any more but a 1600 is the perfect balance of cost, performance and multi threaded performance.

The other issue is board cost. You won't get hardly anything else out of that Z370 board for double the price. Intel need to sort that out, because currently even their "cheap" CPUs like the quad core I3 need a stupid priced board. They ain't silly, they charge a socket license for every board that is why they keep getting greedy.

So yeah, IMO 1600 B350 Strix DDR4 is still a massive upgrade over what you have now. Just make sure you buy a well built 1080Ti with a very big cooler on because they are hot SOBs. The Founders cooler simply isn't adequate and you will lose 15-25% of the performance because of heat and clock throttle. The Gigabyte cards look amazing, but as we've seen on this forum they usually arrive bent because they are a bit cheaply made.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/zota...xpress-graphics-card-zt-p10810-gx-10f-zt.html

Much better off with that IMO. Unless the GB is much cheaper. Plus Zotac give you a 5 year warranty.

 

[AllyB]

Yeh i get you there buddy, i know it's always a case of there always will be better, just the way it works with computers, i just wanted to make sure i was spending money in the right places and sensibly, yes the 1700/1800's are nice and they are i do like the way the 1700x can overclock real nicely, but ok yeh i have the budget doesn't mean i should blow it fully, the AMD side is cheaper and will i notice the huge difference? Most likely not tbh.

That's why i wanted a decent second opinion as i was just getting pushed towards intel, which yes i have now but the 8700k is a heck of a pricey chipset for not massive benefits from what i can read up.

 

[WYP]

Yeh i get you there buddy, i know it's always a case of there always will be better, just the way it works with computers, i just wanted to make sure i was spending money in the right places and sensibly, yes the 1700/1800's are nice and they are i do like the way the 1700x can overclock real nicely, but ok yeh i have the budget doesn't mean i should blow it fully, the AMD side is cheaper and will i notice the huge difference? Most likely not tbh.

That's why i wanted a decent second opinion as i was just getting pushed towards intel, which yes i have now but the 8700k is a heck of a pricey chipset for not massive benefits from what i can read up.

If you have a Ryzen CPU with an overclock and fast memory there will be a minimal performance difference in games in almost all cases. Especially if you upgrade to a 1440p monitor. A 1080Ti is crazy overkill for 1080, so I would advise a new monitor if/when you can afford it.

Give me a minute and I can make a list on PCpartpicker.

 

[AllyB]

If you have a Ryzen CPU with an overclock and fast memory there will be a minimal performance difference in games in almost all cases. Especially if you upgrade to a 1440p monitor. A 1080Ti is crazy overkill for 1080, so I would advise a new monitor if/when you can afford it.

Thats the way i'm looking at the moment, just debating now between which ryzen chip tbh, thinking the 1700x as it looks a solid option, my plan is whatever i get i won't be changing it for atleast 2 years or more, the last PC i built 5 years ago and haven't upgraded it since till now.

 

[WYP]

Thats the way i'm looking at the moment, just debating now between which ryzen chip tbh, thinking the 1700x as it looks a solid option, my plan is whatever i get i won't be changing it for atleast 2 years or more, the last PC i built 5 years ago and haven't upgraded it since till now.

I have had the opportunity to work with most of AMD's Ryzen CPUs (helping TTL with review testing) and I can say that 1700 is the best buy as far as the 8-cores go. They all overclock similarly and the R7 1700 is the cheapest and has a stock cooler (handy as a spare cooler).

I'll get on PC parts picker and compile a list of parts.

 

[AllyB]

I have had the opportunity to work with most of AMD's Ryzen CPUs (helping TTL with review testing) and I can say that 1700 is the best buy as far as the 8-cores go. They all overclock similarly and the R7 1700 is the cheapest and has a stock cooler (handy as a spare cooler).

I'll get on PC parts picker and compile a list of parts.

Tbh the 1700x looks the dogs balls tbf, it can overclock real nice, is slightly cheaper so it benefits there and overal seems a pretty good chip.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...ocket-am4-ddr4-atx-motherboard-mb-6ay-as.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/amd-...hz-socket-am4-processor-retail-cp-39x-am.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...dr5x-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-19h-gi.html

That's what i've got so far i may change the GPU tbh though,

Memory wise i'm looking at either of these two.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/team...nnel-kit-black-grey-tdpgd416g3-my-076-tg.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...mhz-dual-channel-kit-white-led-my-48d-cs.html

as for the rest PSU wise i've got this

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/seas...plus-gold-modular-power-supply-ca-05q-ss.html

i am however going to run a different CPU cooler though, thinking this but not 100%
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/nzxt-kraken-x62-aio-water-cooling-unit-280mm-hs-01c-nx.html

 

[AllyB]

Right so i'm putting the package together, personally i'm leaning towards the crosshair XI Hero WIFI, simply because i need WIFI, where my PC is so makes it alot easier for me(i do have a WIFI card i could pop in though if i kept with the other board.)

 

[WYP]

Tbh the 1700x looks the dogs balls tbf, it can overclock real nice, is slightly cheaper so it benefits there and overal seems a pretty good chip.

Can you link in the parts you are looking at right now? Then I can have a look and make recommendations from there.

Also, don't you mean Crosshair VI Hero WiFi? Remember that you need an AM4 motherboard.

 

[AllyB]

Can you link in the parts you are looking at right now? Then I can have a look and make recommendations from there.

Also, don't you mean Crosshair VI Hero WiFi? Remember that you need an AM4 motherboard.

I've just sorted the links out and yes i know bud, i do have a wifi card as i said so it's not super important it's just a nice thing to have, a decent onboard sound chip would however be a very good benefit!

 

[WYP]

I've just sorted the links out and yes i know bud, i do have a wifi card as i said so it's not super important it's just a nice thing to have, a decent onboard sound chip would however be a very good benefit!

Cool stuff, post them below and I will have a look at what you have so far. I use the Hero myself and love the board, though you can get the same performance out of cheaper stuff (Though the Hero does have great BIOS support).