Is this a good build?

maxvm2013 · Sep 28, 2017

I am trying to build a PC for VR and I was wondering if I could change any parts for it to cost less but have similar performance.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/V7gdLD

vapour · Sep 28, 2017

Good build but do not waste money on old gen I5 any more

ram too slow, ssd is crucial for speed. PSU is overkill. See below for cheaper while better performance :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($195.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($138.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.69 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Windforce OC Video Card ($439.89 @ B&H)
Case: Zalman - Z1 ATX Mid Tower Case ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($41.89 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus - DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.49 @ OutletPC)
Speakers: Logitech - Z150 0W 2ch Speakers ($19.48 @ Amazon)
Other: GLTECK Waterproof Large Mouse Pad, Stitched Edges Non-Slip Rubber Pads-36"x12", With Carrying bag(XXL-Red Edge) ($49.00 @ Amazon)
Other: VicTsing Mouse Pad with Gel Wrist Rest, Non-Slip PU Base Wrist Rest Pad for Gaming Typist Office, Black ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Other: HAVIT Rainbow Backlit Wired Gaming Keyboard and Mouse Combo ($36.00)
Total: $1184.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-28 12:23 EDT-0400

Finstar · Sep 28, 2017

Just curious, why are you putting more money towards the mousepad than the mouse itself?

maxvm2013 · Sep 28, 2017

Finstar :

That is a mistake it's the wrong mousepad. But thanks for pointing that out!

maxvm2013 · Sep 28, 2017

vapour :

Good build but do not waste money on old gen I5 any more

ram too slow, ssd is crucial for speed. PSU is overkill. See below for cheaper while better performance :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($195.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($138.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.69 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Windforce OC Video Card ($439.89 @ B&H)
Case: Zalman - Z1 ATX Mid Tower Case ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($41.89 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus - DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.49 @ OutletPC)
Speakers: Logitech - Z150 0W 2ch Speakers ($19.48 @ Amazon)
Other: GLTECK Waterproof Large Mouse Pad, Stitched Edges Non-Slip Rubber Pads-36"x12", With Carrying bag(XXL-Red Edge) ($49.00 @ Amazon)
Other: VicTsing Mouse Pad with Gel Wrist Rest, Non-Slip PU Base Wrist Rest Pad for Gaming Typist Office, Black ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Other: HAVIT Rainbow Backlit Wired Gaming Keyboard and Mouse Combo ($36.00)
Total: $1184.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-28 12:23 EDT-0400

That was so helpful! Thanks!

JackNaylorPE · Sep 28, 2017

That was so helpful! Thanks!

I would recommend that you do some research before pulling the trigger. By no means am I suggesting "you should listen to me", just look at the testing and decide for yaself. If you check the reviews, Ryzen falls significantly behind cheaper Intel solutions ... anandtech had the 7600k ahead by 21% over Ryzen ... Techpowerup had the difference at 15% taking the GFX cards out of the equation. You also get stuck with substandard audio and LAN solutions, no 2nd monitor using IGP option and other differences.

1. With 8th generation coming out in a week, curious as to the choice of of 6th generation parts. While Ryzen does many things well, eve better than Intel in certain scenarios, Gaming is certainly not one of them. So I would have to steer you to current generation Intel ... the 7400 outperforms the 1600

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_5_1600/21.html
" Gaming frame rates lower than competing Intel chips
Higher power draw than Intel CPUs
Memory frequency options and memory compatibility limited
Setup complicated (memory, HPET, CCX, SMT, and power profile)
Boost frequency significantly lower than on Ryzen 5 1600X
Requires optimized apps of which there are not many
Lacks integrated graphics"

2. Your 1st two items last generation MoBo and RAM are costing you $336.45 Current generation substitutes cost $311.87, putting $25 back in your pocket for better stuff
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dQM323/intel-core-i5-7600k-38ghz-quad-core-processor-bx80677i57600k
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/G9X2FT/msi-z270-sli-plus-atx-lga1151-motherboard-z270-sli-plus

3. The cooler you have chosen is a good cooler for the money, but for just $12 more, you can reduce CPU temps by > 10C and get a cooler that matches / exceed the $90 performance leaders from Noctua and Cryorig. So far you still $13 richer and you just vastly increased OC ability on an already better build.

4. Your 2 x 8GB 2133 RAM is costing you $170, lets vastly increase the speed to 3000 and save $35 ... now ya have $43 more to spend and again increased performance
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3h4NnQ/patriot-viper-elite-16gb-2-x-8gb-ddr4-3000-memory-pve416g300c5kgy

5. Your storage is a bit slow.... an SSD is nice but it doesn't do squat for your gaming library unless you have budget for 500 GB - 1 TB SSDs. What we can do however is increase gaming speeds by 50+% by turning that HD into an SSHD as you can see in the link below
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/NpBrxr/seagate-firecuda-2tb-35-7200rpm-hybrid-internal-hard-drive-st2000dx002
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/hdd-charts-2013/-17-PCMark-7-Gaming,2915.html

An SSD is nice and i'd recommend one if budget allows..... but perhaps this will have to wait for a later upgrade. Boot times will suffer a bit ... SSD does 15.6 seconds / SSHD does 16.5 seconds

The switch to an SSD will cost ya $33 ... so now ya down to $10 extra in ya pocket but storage related gaming performance just went up 50%
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ZNBrxr/samsung-960-evo-250gb-m2-2280-solid-state-drive-mz-v6e250

6. Switching to the MSI card with the exact same performance specs (1.56GHz), will save ya $10
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3mDzK8/msi-geforce-gtx-1070-8gb-video-card-gtx-1070-gaming-z-8g

7. PSU ... PSU is oversized, this one is excellent and rediculously priced ... that frees up $80
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/nB3RsY/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii620bronze

In the end... you have:

... moved to current generation with better performance
... greatly expanded your overclocking ability
... storage related gaming performance went up > 50%
... increased RAM speed by almost 50%
... ya have $100 left over which will pay for a top end 250 GB SSD

maxvm2013 · Sep 28, 2017

JackNaylorPE :

That was so helpful! Thanks!

I would recommend that you do some research before pulling the trigger. By no means am I suggesting "you should listen to me", just look at the testing and decide for yaself. If you check the reviews, Ryzen falls significantly behind cheaper Intel solutions ... anandtech had the 7600k ahead by 21% over Ryzen ... Techpowerup had the difference at 15% taking the GFX cards out of the equation. You also get stuck with substandard audio and LAN solutions, no 2nd monitor using IGP option and other differences.

1. With 8th generation coming out in a week, curious as to the choice of of 6th generation parts. While Ryzen does many things well, eve better than Intel in certain scenarios, Gaming is certainly not one of them. So I would have to steer you to current generation Intel ... the 7400 outperforms the 1600

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_5_1600/21.html
" Gaming frame rates lower than competing Intel chips
Higher power draw than Intel CPUs
Memory frequency options and memory compatibility limited
Setup complicated (memory, HPET, CCX, SMT, and power profile)
Boost frequency significantly lower than on Ryzen 5 1600X
Requires optimized apps of which there are not many
Lacks integrated graphics"

2. Your 1st two items last generation MoBo and RAM are costing you $336.45 Current generation substitutes cost $311.87, putting $25 back in your pocket for better stuff
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dQM323/intel-core-i5-7600k-38ghz-quad-core-processor-bx80677i57600k
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/G9X2FT/msi-z270-sli-plus-atx-lga1151-motherboard-z270-sli-plus

3. The cooler you have chosen is a good cooler for the money, but for just $12 more, you can reduce CPU temps by > 10C and get a cooler that matches / exceed the $90 performance leaders from Noctua and Cryorig. So far you still $13 richer and you just vastly increased OC ability on an already better build.

4. Your 2 x 8GB 2133 RAM is costing you $170, lets vastly increase the speed to 3000 and save $35 ... now ya have $43 more to spend and again increased performance
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3h4NnQ/patriot-viper-elite-16gb-2-x-8gb-ddr4-3000-memory-pve416g300c5kgy

5. Your storage is a bit slow.... an SSD is nice but it doesn't do squat for your gaming library unless you have budget for 500 GB - 1 TB SSDs. What we can do however is increase gaming speeds by 50+% by turning that HD into an SSHD as you can see in the link below
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/NpBrxr/seagate-firecuda-2tb-35-7200rpm-hybrid-internal-hard-drive-st2000dx002
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/hdd-charts-2013/-17-PCMark-7-Gaming,2915.html

An SSD is nice and i'd recommend one if budget allows..... but perhaps this will have to wait for a later upgrade. Boot times will suffer a bit ... SSD does 15.6 seconds / SSHD does 16.5 seconds

The switch to an SSD will cost ya $33 ... so now ya down to $10 extra in ya pocket but storage related gaming performance just went up 50%
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ZNBrxr/samsung-960-evo-250gb-m2-2280-solid-state-drive-mz-v6e250

6. Switching to the MSI card with the exact same performance specs (1.56GHz), will save ya $10
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/3mDzK8/msi-geforce-gtx-1070-8gb-video-card-gtx-1070-gaming-z-8g

7. PSU ... PSU is oversized, this one is excellent and rediculously priced ... that frees up $80
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/nB3RsY/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii620bronze

In the end... you have:

... moved to current generation with better performance
... greatly expanded your overclocking ability
... storage related gaming performance went up > 50%
... increased RAM speed by almost 50%
... ya have $100 left over which will pay for a top end 250 GB SSD

So for my CPU, should I use the Ryzen 5 1600 or i5 6600k for VR and gaming stuff?

vapour · Sep 28, 2017

He is wrong, and that table is only 1 way to tell the functionality, single core maybe. 1600 has 2 more cores, and can be huge advantage in modern games depending on optimization.

Check this video for comparison ryzen 1600 vs i7:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9UXN35Ijss

vapour · Sep 28, 2017

Also 1600 vs i5-6600k, but with 1060

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JypkqwpOtNI

Finstar · Sep 28, 2017

Ryzen 5 1600 all day everyday.
https://youtu.be/4RMbYe4X2LI

maxvm2013 · Sep 28, 2017

Finstar :

Thanks I think I'll stick with Ryzen

JackNaylorPE · Sep 28, 2017

I wouldn't. As was indicated:

A. The old 6600k / Z170 MoBo is more expensive and slower than the [/b]7600k / Z270 [/b]so there's no reason to buy or even look at "last year's model". This year's model (7600k / Z270) is faster than Ryzen 1600.

B. Please don't take my word for it ... look at the data and decide for yaself. In order to take GFX card impacts out of the equation, TPU tested at 720p and found the following. This was the result:

1.66 means that the 7600k was 1.66 times as fast (66% faster) as Ryzen 1600 in RoTR. The 7600k was faster in 14 of the 16 games.

RotR / 1.66 (7600k is 166% as fast as Ryzen 1600)
Far Cry Primal / 1.34
Fallout 4 / 1.32
Total War: Warhammer / 1.29
DeusEx Mankind Divided / 1.28
BF1 / 1.28
Sniper Elite 4 / 1.21
Hitman / 1.20
TOTAL / 1.15
Dishonored 2 / 1.12
Styx: Shards of Darkness / 1.11
Witcher 3 / 1.08
Resident Evil 7 / 1.01
Doom / 1.01
Watch Dogs 2 / 0.85
Civilization VI / 0.72 (7600k is 72% as fast as Ryzen 1600)

C. Aside from CPU performance, it is not necessary to pair a Ryzen or any other PSU with an extreme low budget MoBo. yes this can make the Ryzen choice more atrractive, but you can use a extreme low budget mobo with either. The question is, can you live with the impacts that that choice entails ? UYSing a k series Intel CPU gives you 2 things, a significantly faster CPU and a the ability to overclock far higher than is offered by Ryzen.

At first glance, the extra $40 you need to spend to to get a MoBo that supports Intel k series overclocking, might seem like significant. The problem with that mindset, if you care about LAN and audio as most folks into first person shooters very much do, getting the desired LAN and audio performance also comes at a cost. By the time you move up to the price niche for MoBos that includes that level LAN / audio, you get the overclocking ability for free.

D. But the CPU / MoBo selection is only part of the solution. Take a good look at each component in the list on reputable sites.

Any 13 year old w/ a web cam can make a video ... and compare the performance of each versus the original selections. What you will find is little undisclosed tricks employed where folks go in w/ preconceived notions and pick certain games or test scenarios that produce results that support preconceived notions.

Take another look at the video linked above that purports to show Ryzen superiority ... it doesn't ... what's the trick ?

Does it show Ryzen 1600 superiority up against the 7600k (both current generation platforms) ? No, the only way to "get a win" was to compare it with by comparing it w/ the 6700k .. a platform that it is more than 2 years old.

One can prove any point by carefully selecting the test criteria. To get the information you need, you need to be able to recognize reputable sources of information. Does faster RAM impact gaming ?

I can prove either answer... Use Metro 2011 and 2400 and 1600 were produce the same fps. Use F1 and 2400 is 11% faster. Same here.

Average fps is what peeps folks on but what really annoys most players is minimum fps, those really annoying lag spikes, you won't see any Ryzen videos purporting an advantage there,

In some games it's not that bad ... in others ...Ouch:

https://tpucdn.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_5_1600/images/bf1_1920_1080_min.png

https://tpucdn.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_5_1600/images/dishonored2_1920_1080_min.png

https://tpucdn.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_5_1600/images/fallout4_1920_1080_min.png

https://tpucdn.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_5_1600/images/farcryprimal_1920_1080_min.png

https://tpucdn.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_5_1600/images/hitman_1920_1080_min.png

https://tpucdn.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_5_1600/images/watchdogs2_1920_1080_min.png

Finstar · Sep 28, 2017

JackNaylorPE :

I wouldn't. As was indicated:

A. The old 6600k / Z170 MoBo is more expensive and slower than the 7600k / Z270 so there's no reason to buy or even look at "last year's model". This year's model (7600k / Z270) is faster than Ryzen 1600.

B. Please don't take my word for it ... look at the data and decide for yaself. In order to take GFX card impacts out of the equation, TPU tested at 720p and found the following. This was the result:

1.66 means that the 7600k was 1.66 times as fast (66% faster) as Ryzen 1600 in RoTR. The 7600k was faster in 14 of the 16 games. No amount of hype is going to change that fact.

RotR / 1.66 (7600k is 166% as fast as Ryzen 1600)
Far Cry Primal / 1.34
Fallout 4 / 1.32
Total War: Warhammer / 1.29
DeusEx Mankind Divided / 1.28
BF1 / 1.28
Sniper Elite 4 / 1.21
Hitman / 1.20
TOTAL / 1.15
Dishonored 2 / 1.12
Styx: Shards of Darkness / 1.11
Witcher 3 / 1.08
Resident Evil 7 / 1.01
Doom / 1.01
Watch Dogs 2 / 0.85
Civilization VI / 0.72 (7600k is 72% as fast as Ryzen 1600)

C. Aside from CPU performance, it is not necessary to pair a Ryzen or any other PSU with an extreme low budget MoBo. yes this can make the Ryzen choice more atrractive, but you can use a extreme low budget mobo with either. The question is, can you live with the impacts that that choice entails ? UYSing a k series Intel CPU gives you 2 things, a significantly faster CPU and a the ability to overclock far higher than is offered by Ryzen.

At first glance, the extra $40 you need to spend to to get a MoBo that supports Intel k series overclocking, might seem like significant. The problem with that mindset, if you care about LAN and audio as most folks into first person shooters very much do, getting the desired LAN and audio performance also comes at a cost. By the time you move up to the price niche for MoBos that includes that level LAN / audio, you get the overclocking ability for free.

D. But the CPU / MoBo selection is only part of the solution. Take a good look at each component in the list on reputable sites. Any 13 year old w/ a web cam can make a video ... and compare the performance of each versus the original selections

I think he looked at the data we provided and saw how bad stutters and dips the i5 has.
Instead of writing big, pointless and misleading walls of text i suggest you educate yourself.

JackNaylorPE · Sep 28, 2017

I didn't see any data. With the stuttering comment, ya really shot yaself in the foot tho. Look at the links minimum numbers at bottom of post, the ones with the 10 to 20 fps drops . I know it's not popular of late but reading is good.

I think the other comment about a wall of text addresses the point well... you complain about a wall of text by "reposting it" ? I know it's not popular of late but reading is a good way to obtain information.

7 comparisons / 7 losses

AMD Ryzen 3 1200 3.1 GHz (8.8 Rating) - "Gaming performance doesn't match up to competing Intel parts"
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_3_1200/21.html

AMD Ryzen 3 1300X 3.4 GHz (9.0 rating) - "Gaming performance slightly behind Intel chips"
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_3_1300X/21.html

AMD Ryzen 5 1400 3.2 GHz (7.9 Rating) - "Gaming performance in the league of cheaper Core i3 dual-core parts"
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_5_1400/21.html

AMD Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5 GHz (8.8 Rating)- Gaming frame-rates lower than competing Intel chips
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_5_1500X/20.html

AMD Ryzen 5 1600 3.2 GHz (9.3 rating) - "Gaming frame rates lower than competing Intel chips"
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_5_1600/21.html

AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 3.6 GHz (9.1 rating) - "Gaming frame rates lower than competing Intel chips"
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_5_1600X/20.html

AMD Ryzen 7 1800X 3.6 GHz (8.6 rating) - "Limited game performance"
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_7_1800X/16.html

Anandtech CPU Bench

Game Ryzen 1600 7600k

(1080p) GTX 1080: Civilization 6 / 60.43 / 49.40
(1080p) GTX 1080: Ashes Escalation / 66.50 / 57.74
(1080p) GTX 1080: Shadow of Mordor / 136.18 / 146.64
(1080p) GTX 1080: RoTR-1-Valley / 93.54 / 141.33
(1080p) GTX 1080: RoTR-2-Prophets / 89.42 / 112.71
(1080p) GTX 1080: RoTR-3-Mountain / 115.59 / 145.21
(1080p) GTX 1080: Rocket League / 119.76 / 184.87
(1080p) GTX 1080: Grand Theft Auto V / 84.97 / 88.59
Total / 766.39 / 926.49 1.21 (21% advantage to 7600k)

Ryzen was a fine accomplishment and fills a niche where folks want to do more than game but also use light workstation apps. But as a gaming platform, while it completes well, but it doesn't cross the finish line 1st ... and when overclocking, it's not as much of a race at all.

If ya have any data that we can "read", Id be happy to review it.

Finstar · Sep 28, 2017

You seem to be an extremely shallow minded Intel fanboy.
Here: go read some
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2017-ryzen-5-1600-1600x-vs-core-i5-7500k-review

vapour · Sep 28, 2017

Finstar :

LOL, someone hates AMD very much

Finstar · Sep 28, 2017

vapour :

Take a look at all the build help threads where people have recommended Ryzen over Intel,
I can guarantee you'll see that exact copypasted wall of text about the early benchmarks when no optimizations had been done.
That's some sad stuff right there.

Is this a good build?

Commendable

Champion

Honorable

Commendable

Commendable

Titan

Commendable

Champion

Champion

Honorable

Commendable

Titan

Honorable

Titan

Honorable

Champion

Honorable

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