Building a new system, need some advice.

Ajaxx

Reputable
Nov 25, 2014
12
0
4,510
The choices are mind boggling and my memory is not what it used to be. So much information needed to make a good decision. I thought I'd enlist the help of Tom's readers.

My objective:

Build a primarily gaming system which is fast enough to power GTA V, xplane 11 and other simulations at smooth frame rates, and also be able to handle VR, and be reasonably future proof if there is such a thing, without costing a fortune.

The case:

Must be silent/near silent as I am very sensitive to unwanted noise.
Not ready just yet to give up my DVD drive, so must have a 5.25 " bay.
Must have good and easily accessible dust filters

Would like as small a case as possible, and have no plans on doing SLI or crossfire. I had been looking at the FD R5 but was a little unhappy with the size, to give you an idea. My current computer case is an Antec Sonata and I would like something smaller than that.


The CPU:

I still haven't made up my mind whether to go with an Intel or AMD CPU. I like the idea of extra cores, but it may take a while before most game studios ever make good use of them, and this is probably true of xplane as well.


The Motherboard:

I would like to go MicroATX if I could find a board that does not sacrifice speed, reliability, or features for size. I've had good luck in the past with Gigabyte boards


The Video Card:


I am appalled at the situation with the video card market. The prices of cards just seems insane. It seems hard to justify spending 600+ for a 1080 card that is priced above MSRP and, if sanity ever returns to the market, will be worth a fraction of that. I don't have money to burn as I am on a fixed income.

I am currently using a LG widescreen 29" monitor which is 2560x1440, If my memory serves me. My current card is a Zotac GTX970

Budget: Would like to keep it under 12-1300....

That's about it really. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance!



 
Solution
1070 is more than sufficient for 2k gaming, 1060 6gb may sacrifice some details for 2k gaming:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($195.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B350M GAMING PRO Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($74.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($138.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($149.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.69 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini Video Card ($399.89 @...
Intel will be releasing their new Coffee lake based cpus next week (if i remember correctly) so it's probably worth it to wait for them and see how they perform. Crypto currency mining seems to be on the decline too which means that gpu prices should be dropping soon hopefully.
 

Ajaxx

Reputable
Nov 25, 2014
12
0
4,510
Thanks guys - I don't care too much about FPS, as long as the game is smooth and without stutters. Anything at or above 30 FPS is fine with me. I do tend to appreciate graphics quality, so that is a big factor. I will most likely keep my current monitor using the 2560x1440 resolution.. Haven't really read anything about Coffee lake that I can recall will have to check that out..
 
1070 is more than sufficient for 2k gaming, 1060 6gb may sacrifice some details for 2k gaming:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($195.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B350M GAMING PRO Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($74.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($138.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($149.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.69 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini Video Card ($399.89 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair - Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($41.89 @ Newegg)
Total: $1102.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-28 16:30 EDT-0400
 
Solution
My perspective:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($195.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - FORTIS 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($142.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($98.94 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.69 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card ($519.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake - Core V21 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($59.93 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($83.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1222.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-28 16:40 EDT-0400