New Gaming PC build $1500 budget.

Nanekud · Oct 16, 2017

So it begins!

I am trying to stay under $1500.00 for this machine.

As the thread says, this is a gaming PC. I know it's AMD, not Intel, however I am banking on future software upgrades helping take the lead. I don't usually pick up games until they have been out for at least a year anyhow. Please give any input you can think of to how this build can be improved to run more smoothly during gaming.

I've already got SSD and HD as well as Case, monitor, and peripherals.

One question specifically for those who might know; would this mobo be better than the ASRock Taichi for gaming or no?

Thank you in advance, and I appreciate any constructive criticism.

**CPU** | [AMD - Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4GHz 8-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9Q98TW/amd-ryzen-7-1700x-34ghz-8-core-processor-yd170xbcaewof) | $347.69 @ OutletPC

**CPU Cooler** | [Corsair - H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Vwdqqs/corsair-cpu-cooler-h60cw9060007ww) | $49.99 @ Newegg

**Motherboard** | [ASRock - Fatal1ty X370 Professional Gaming ATX AM4 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/GMQRsY/asrock-fatal1ty-x370-professional-gaming-atx-am4-motherboard-fatal1ty-x370-professional-gaming) | $233.98 @ Newegg

**Memory** | [Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/MYH48d/corsair-memory-cmk16gx4m2b3000c15) | $162.99 @ Amazon

**Video Card** | [MSI - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fKp323/msi-geforce-gtx-1070-8gb-video-card-gtx-1070-gaming-x-8g) | $444.98 @ Newegg

[strike]**Power Supply** | [EVGA - SuperNOVA P2 850W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/zhgPxr/evga-power-supply-220p20850x1) | $133.88 @ OutletPC [/strike] Already purchased.

**Operating System** | [Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/wtgPxr/microsoft-os-kw900140) | $89.89 @ OutletPC

| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1533.40
| Mail-in rebates | -$70.00
| **Total** | **$1463.40**

vapour · Oct 16, 2017

1700 instead of 1700X, as it comes with decent cooler, easily OCed to past 1700X. Faster ram is better, MB is overkill, 850W is overkill. No storage ? No Case?

My edits, also fitted in a 144 Hz 1080p monitor:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($289.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI - X370 GAMING PRO CARBON ATX AM4 Motherboard ($108.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($156.34 @ Newegg Marketplace)
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 1070 8GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400 TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - EVO Edition 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: BenQ - XL2411 24.0" 1920x1080 144Hz Monitor ($249.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $1464.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-16 23:07 EDT-0400

n0ns3ns3 · Oct 16, 2017

if you are building a GAMING ring, you should look at i7-8700K + Z370 MB - it will perform much better.

also, you probably want to pick an air cooler instead of this noise generating wannabe liquid cooler joke.

Nanekud · Oct 16, 2017

n0ns3ns3 :

Ok, so air cooler I was kind of up in the air about. I'm not too worried about noise honestly. I've used the cooler master hyper 212 evo a few times before.

When is the i7-8700k going to hit stores?

Nanekud · Oct 16, 2017

vapour :

I like it. However I already have a monitor, storage, and case. I also already purchased the 850w psu trying to resurrect my downed PC right now. We'll see how that goes.

I do really like both motherboards, but looking at them compared...I think the professional gaming mobo looks more appealing to me. The 5gb lan, the higher power choke, the higher ram speed, not to mention a lot of other features. I am alright spending a little more for it.

You say the ryzen 1700 can be OC'd past the 1700x eh? I'm not big into OC'ing but it looks like it's pretty easy to OC that past the 1700x and still run a lot cooler...and the power draw is significantly lower as well. Thank you for this recommendation. I'll most likely switch it.

n0ns3ns3 · Oct 17, 2017

it's already in stores, but as it happens with all worthy new HW it's mostly out of stock for the sane priced ones.
So you might need to "hunt" yours or just wait a bit.
regarding CM 212, for i7-8700K (or even ryzen) a more advanced solution would be more appropriate if you intend to overclock.

Nanekud · Oct 17, 2017

n0ns3ns3 :

I keep reading that the 8700K runs extremely hot, like 90C. I don't know if I want that along with any other unknown issues with that socket's motherboards and such. I definitely don't want to be one of the first guinea pigs. Being that the 1700 has been out for a while now and seems to be stable, and can also OC to 1800X levels...I feel much more comfortable with that.

I do prefer Intel over AMD, but at the Ryzen point things seem to be swaying.

n0ns3ns3 · Oct 18, 2017

^ with AMD, you don't know the real temperature as it is "adjusted"

anyway, coffee lake runs cooler than kaby lake.

If you want to overclock 8 cores ryzen, you are going to need a decent X730 board as the VRM on B350 is a 3-4 phases joke. And you need to be very picky with RAM as ryzen is very sensitive to RAM speed and needs very specific modules to achieve even RAM rated values.

Nanekud · Oct 18, 2017

n0ns3ns3 :

Alright, I've made some changes. Let me know how this looks.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($289.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool - CAPTAIN 240EX RGB 153.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus - CROSSHAIR VI HERO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($233.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($179.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Video Card ($439.99 @ B&H)
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA P2 850W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($133.88 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($89.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1587.50

I checked on the Asus website and that RAM is good at 3200 in memQVL.

n0ns3ns3 · Oct 18, 2017

just make sure that this RAM is using samsung chips.
the most expensive noctua cooler will be cheaper, quieter and better performing than this wannabe liquid cooler joke.
as a side note, what is your monitor resolution and refresh rate ? 1070 is good for 1080p and for 1440p@60Hz

Nanekud · Oct 18, 2017

n0ns3ns3 :

When you say noctua, I've had problems with air cooler coils being too bulky and getting in the way of RAM slots. I don't know if I'll have that problem now... Could you post an example?

Right now I've got an old 60Hz monitor, I'll eventually upgrade to a 144Hz higher res monitor to make use of this PC's capabilities.

logainofhades · Oct 18, 2017

Wasting money on overly priced components, at the cost of performance.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($289.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool - CAPTAIN 240EX WHITE 153.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - X370 KILLER SLI/ac ATX AM4 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($168.15 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card ($509.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($92.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $1491.08
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-18 15:29 EDT-0400

n0ns3ns3 · Oct 18, 2017

Nanekud :

if you are going for the 144Hz , scrap that ryzen idea and aim at either 8600K or 8700K. unfortunately only intel can do those high refresh rates.
as for the cooler, a NH-U14s doesn't have the RAM clearance issues and yet outperforms 240mm AiOs at lower noise

logainofhades · Oct 19, 2017

Maybe 1080p 144hz. @ higher resolutions, the GPU is the more important factor.

n0ns3ns3 · Oct 19, 2017

^ true for now. 1080Ti is the only card right now that does the 1440p@144Hz. usually we do GPU upgrades more frequently than CPU as the later involves MB and may be RAM. not to mention that advances per gen are not that impressive. so in a 2-3 years OP can get double GPU performance for 250-450$ and will be stack with his CPU as the limiting factor. It's just more practical to have the CPU capable of 144FPS to begin with and that is 8600K / 8700K ATM.

Nanekud · Oct 21, 2017

n0ns3ns3 :

Alright, so the more I read about the 8700K, the more I want it. What's the best build with that and a GTX1080 for under $1500?

n0ns3ns3 · Oct 21, 2017

that would be something like this:
CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($389.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($63.75 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus - Prime Z370-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($171.39 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($162.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 1.1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($270.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB SC2 Gaming iCX Video Card ($529.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design - Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1745.07

I know it's above the target budget and you can shave off about 100-200 with compromises on storage or/and cooler. though if it was me, i'd go for a 1TB of 960 EVO which is even a bit more expensive. I'd simply use the storage I have now and upgrade later. If you can do that, the build will perfectly fit your budget.
If you wait about a month till the black friday on November 24, you might save a lot and have everything in that list fit into 1500 budget.

The parts are picked with overclocking in mind. if that is not your thing, a somewhat cheaper MB can be picked. same goes for the PSU and the cooler.

Nanekud · Oct 22, 2017

n0ns3ns3 :

that would be something like this:
CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($389.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($63.75 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus - Prime Z370-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($171.39 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($162.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 1.1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($270.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB SC2 Gaming iCX Video Card ($529.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design - Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1745.07

I know it's above the target budget and you can shave off about 100-200 with compromises on storage or/and cooler. though if it was me, i'd go for a 1TB of 960 EVO which is even a bit more expensive. I'd simply use the storage I have now and upgrade later. If you can do that, the build will perfectly fit your budget.
If you wait about a month till the black friday on November 24, you might save a lot and have everything in that list fit into 1500 budget.

The parts are picked with overclocking in mind. if that is not your thing, a somewhat cheaper MB can be picked. same goes for the PSU and the cooler.

This looks like a good build to me and with the prices coming down, I'll definitely end up waiting for black friday. Thanks for all the help everyone.

n0ns3ns3 · Oct 22, 2017

good luck

New Gaming PC build $1500 budget.

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