Ready for new gaming computer, need advice for some components

picca15 · Oct 10, 2017

Hi all!

I read many reviews and I came up with a general layout, but I still have some doubts. I waited for the 8th gen i7 to be released and now I am ready to build a new gaming computer. I will use it for gaming and for some work where multithreading is very useful (astrophotography processing).

So far here is what I considered:
- Fractal Design Arc Midi R2
- Intel i7-8700K
- Cooler NZXT Kraken X52 Rev. 2
- ASUS Maximus X Hero or MSI Gaming M5 or MSI Pro Carbon AC
- DDR4-3200 2x8GB
- MSI GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X
- Corsair AX860i PSU
- Samsung 960 EVO 512GB M.2 + Seagate FireCuda 2TB
- BR/DVD reader/writer (I will likely pick a DVD writer, I'm not planning to watch movies on the PC)
- Razer mouse (Basilisk) and keyboard (possibly the BlackWidow Chroma V2)
- Monitor 1440p 24", in the future I will probably use 2 monitors

I'm not planning to pass the 3000$ mark and this configuration is within this limit so far.
I highlighted in bold what I haven't decided yet.

Motherboard
My understanding is that, really, at the level of the boards indicated the performance is pretty much the same.
I think that the Gaming M5 is a very nice board, that comes with a set of accessories and features. I don't plan to perform hardcore overclocking, but I'm planning to boost the frequency in the future, so I don't need an extreme OC board but a reasonably featured one.
Any recommendations with reference to this?

RAM
I don't think that spending a lot of money for higher frequency memory automatically grants higher performance (in real life I mean, not in benchmarks).
Considering the price of DDR4, I think that right now buying 2x8GB is enough, with the option of buying 2 more 8GB banks in the future.
I am considering the G.Skill and the Corsair Vegeance.

Storage
Initially I was considering a single 1TB M.2 Samsung 960 Pro, but for the price of a 1TB M.2 drive I can get a 512GB one + 2TB hybrid drive + about 130$ left. Even with the games installed on the FireCuda I think the system will be quite responsive.

Monitor
The idea here is to avoid spending too much, but still get a valid screen with 1440p resolution.
I would like to buy a 24" screen with the option of adding a second screen in the future.
At the moment in my list I placed the Dell S2417DG 23.8" 2560x1440 165Hz monitor, which seems to be quite cost-effective with an adequate quality for gaming and general use.
Any suggestions? What other models should I consider?

Thank you for your comments/suggestions!

Isokolon · Oct 10, 2017

Looks good.

As for the board, the cheapest of those will do. All 3 are nice boards.

Do yourself a favour and don't get a razer keyboard. I find those pretty overpriced for their quality. A Corsair or Duffy or Das Keyboard or even Logitech uses better quality switches imo.

As for the RAM - spot on. 3000MHz and beyond costs a lot of money for minimal improvement. I would go with the rated 2666Mhz though.
As for companies, Intel used to be pretty forgiving. Since Corsair is very popular with Ryzen there are usually cheaper alternatives.

Do you really need a M.2 drive? For gaming a regular sata SSD will be responsive enough. Don't know about the astrophotography though. A MX300 or 850EVO is a good deal cheaper than a M.2 PCIe

as for the monitor, the Dell is good for gaming (and it's brother the Acer XB241YU). For colour sensitive stuff especially with blacks it wouldn't be my first choice. So if you're doing a lot of editing stuff, I'd recommend a different screen (or a second one)

Also what are you paying for the Corsair Ax860i? Those units are usually a bit overpriced and you can find units of the same quality (or better) for less.

picca15 · Oct 10, 2017

Thanks for your reply!

For the motherboard I will decide at the moment of the purchase, based on price as you suggested.
The RAM at 3200Mhz (Corsair Vengeance LPX) costs just 10$ more than the 3000Mhz and also the 2666Mhz price is there on average. I also noticed that up to 3000Mhz (and up to 3200Mhz in some cases) prices are fine and then they diverge. If price increases before I buy the components, I will pick a lower frequency one. I was hoping I could buy 32GB for a reasonable price, but 300$ is the minimum at the moment, so I think I will keep the 2x8GB and plan for a future upgrade when prices go down.

I like the Razer keyboard, but I was not convinced by the price. The alternative I was looking at is the Corsair (K95, but also Strafe RGB), but I don't really like the font used and the software seems to be hard to use (reading online). I had great experience with Logitech in the past, so I might consider a G910, which has a similar price and seems to be a very nice keyboard.
Edit: I also found the Cooler Master MasterKeys Pro L RGB which seems to be nice, any experience with that keyboard?

Also for the M.2 the situation is similar. Initially I selected a 850 EVO and the price is exactly the same, so I picked the M.2 instead. 1TB is a different story, with prices that are way higher with the SATA SSD much more affordable. For astrophotography it is not a huge deal, files can be very big but disk speed is not a big factor.

What monitor would you recommend to have an acceptable color sensitivity and balance? I will buy the second screen in the future, but my idea is to buy the same model as the first.

For the AX860i, I picked it in my list because there was a discount when I started the configuration, but now it returned to the normal price. I changed it to the HX850i, which is about 50$ cheaper at the moment. The RM850x, which I consider the baseline, is slightly cheaper (15$ if I'm not wrong), so I think it is reasonable to buy the slightly more efficient model.

Isokolon · Oct 10, 2017

Yeah a lot comes down to local pricing. Where I live every step you take upwards from 2400MHz is 10€. Paying 40€ extra for 3200MHz is definitely not worth it. If it's all the same, go for it.

Yeah the K95 platinum's font is a bit of a let down (especially compared to the original K95). But it's a great keyboard really.
RGB on the keyboard is important to you? Or will simple illumination do? (I personally find illuminated keyboards to be pretty distracting for example)
Masterkeys is a great keyboard.

Yeah if the 960 is the same price, go for it of course.

Well buying two of the same does look better in your room. I personally enjoy 2 different screens though.
Anyway if you're not doing anything that requires colour accuracy and where slight pixel inversion & colour banding isn't too much of a problem it's perfect. Otherwise I'd either go with a high refresh rate IPS like the Asus PG279Q or the Acer XB271HU / XB271HUT (care the XB271HUA is often wrongly described as the same while being a TN panel) but they cost easily double of the Dell and aren't exactly without issues either. Alternatively I'd go with a 60Hz IPS/VA panel for colours sensitive work and movies. There are a bunch of great screens with 60 Hz fitting that bill.

I'd look at the Seasonic Prime & Prime Gold. If these are more expensive than their counterparts by Corsair, I'd take a look at the Seasonic Focus Plus.
Seasonic's current lineup is though to beat tbh.
As for efficiency we're talking about 2% between gold and platinum. Do the math with a gaming load of less than 550W and decide for yourself if it's worth the extra.

picca15 · Oct 10, 2017

Thank you again for your detailed reply. I think I'm almost ready to finalize the list of the components.

I would definitely like to have illumination on the keyboard, I use a MacBook Pro right now and I cannot think about going back to a non-illuminated keyboard. RGB is a nice addition to use with some games.
I looked up some reviews online and right now the list of the keyboards I am considering is this:
- Ducky Shine 6 RGB
- Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum
- Cooler Master MasterKeys Pro L RGB
I'm still trying to find a website in the US that provides one of these keyboards with IT or UK layout though, but I guess I'll have to stick with the US layout.

It would be nice to find a gaming monitor that provides good color accuracy, unless I have to spend 600+$ for that. Can you recommend any 24" screens with 1440p and high refresh rate? 27" is too big for me and 2 of those won't definitely fit on my desk.

I looked at the SeaSonic PSUs and the Gold is about 30$ cheaper than the HX850. I am changing the configuration to include that model.

Isokolon · Oct 11, 2017

I guess tastes differ. Simple white illumination I can do with (also: only if the keys are illuminated like on the MacBook not the entire keypad background), everything else is distracting. My Ex had a laptop with a red illuminated keyboard. Not only the letters but the edges of every key as well. Wasn't able to type 3 straight sentences with that on^^

The Ducky Shine should have the best quality of those. But it offers the least features.
Logitech offers the most features -- I'd have bought this one, if it weren't for the looks -- and is clearly gamer oriented. Logitechs RoemerG switches are a bit different from the cherries, but most people like them. Personally I find the macro, wasd & arrow keys design unbearable though.
The master keys is just very well respected and decent.
Maybe import?

24'' high refresh rate, 1440p will always be TN, sadly. They don't see a market for 24'' 1440p IPS panels. Dell S2417DG & Acer XB241YU are your best bets. They use the same panel, the Acer one can be calibrated better though. However it's usually significantly more expensive.

picca15 · Oct 11, 2017

There is also the Glorious Modular keyboard that is very interesting. It is possible to choose the switches (and change them completely to basically have a keyboard that feels different) and the keycaps, and the price si quite comparable to the other keyboards. I will think about the models discussed and make the decision.

About the screens, I understand that if I want to get a higher quality panel, at that resolution I need to look at the 27" monitors. When I work on astrophotography I need a screen that doesn't have banding and smudges, as it makes it very difficult to judge the very delicate gradients that typically are present in those pictures.
Now, the Asus and Acer indicated in the previous post cost about 700$, which is almost double the price of the smaller Dell and Acer. The question is: is it really worth spending that amount? Just for size I would prefer the 24", but there are no 1440p IPS at that size. For the graphics card I think it is a waste to buy a 1080p 24" screen.

Isokolon · Oct 12, 2017

Tbh, if you got the space on the table I'd get the Dell for gaming and a second screen for when you need quality. That one doesn't necessarily have to be 144-165Hz, as those are all very expensive and come with a lot of issues 60-75Hz screens don't.
Something like a Dell U25, Philips B-Line 258B...., ASUS MX25AQ,

picca15 · Oct 12, 2017

I would prefer buying a single, bigger screen or two equal screen. I like when the desk is "tidy" and organized, so I think the solution for me could be a single 27" or 2x 24" (one now, the other later in the future).

1) Smaller screen option
How about buying the MX25AQ for gaming also? It looks like a really nice screen (even if I do not need a high quality audio system embedded in the screen). I could buy the other screen later in the future and work with one for the time being.

2) Bigger screen option
In this case I know that I have to increase the budget right away, reaching more or less the same price level of the 2x screens solution. I guess in this case an ideal screen would be the ASUS PG279Q, which costs 750$, for both gaming and image processing.

Isokolon · Oct 13, 2017

Rather optimal, yes.
Those high refresh rate IPS however do come with quality issues often. If you're willing to take that risk, it's nice. The Acer seems to have a few less issues than the Asus.

The MX25AQ should be fine for gaming. However it comes without G-Sync & is 60Hz. If that's not a deal breaker for you, it's nice

If you want a 1440p 144Hz IPS but don't wanna spend 800$, you can also sacrifice G-Sync and get a cheaper screen. G-Sync usually adds around 150$ cost.

Search

Ready for new gaming computer, need advice for some components

picca15

Prominent

Isokolon

Isokolon

Judicious

picca15

Prominent

Isokolon

Judicious

picca15

Prominent

Isokolon

Judicious

picca15

Prominent

Isokolon

Judicious

picca15

Prominent

Isokolon

Judicious

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page