Looking to build a high-end gaming rig

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Drollgar

Drollgar

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Hey all,

I'm looking for input and/or suggestions on building a high-end gaming rig. I'm current playing Ark and playing/testing Star Citizen with my sights set on Camelot Unchained in the future. I've looked at the 4k monitors but they do not seem to have the refresh rates for seemless gaming as of yet so I'd probably forgo one of those for now.

Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: Within the next couple weeks, sooner the better

Budget Range: $2,500 without the monitor

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Are you buying a monitor: Yes / Looking for a 30+ inch model with g-sync, high refresh rates. Priced seperately.

Parts to Upgrade: Everything but the case and PSU. PSU is a new EVGA supernova 850 G2. Can be replaced if necessary.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I use Newegg but I am open to other sellers.

Location: Birmingham, Alabama USA

Parts Preferences: Best I can afford

Overclocking: Maybe, only ever tried to OC a system once and never got very good at it.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe. If the experts think its the way to go and I can afford it when why the hell not.

Your Monitor Resolution: The higher the better. I currently game at 1920 x 1080 on a 27" ASUS.

Additional Comments: This is the case I have: http://nanoxia-world.com/en/products/cases/deep-silence-series/deep-silence-1-rev.-b/206/deep-silence-1-rev.-b-dark-black?c=40, and the PSU: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438018

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Looking for a better gaming rig than I currently have as this one is a bit old.


Thanks in advance for the help.
 
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RCFProd

RCFProd

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Dec 8, 2013
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Here's something I would suggest for 2000-2500. PSU is great, no need to buy a different one.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($399.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: NZXT - Kraken X62 Rev 2 98.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($148.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - Z370 AORUS Ultra Gaming (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($139.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Hitachi - Ultrastar 7K3000 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($73.09 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB K|NGP|N GAMING Video Card ($999.99 @ B&H)
Total: $2061.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-11-29 09:25 EST-0500
 
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hdmark

hdmark

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i was playing around with a build on pcpartpicker but honestly im not sure of the qualities outside of the reviews there. but my suggestions:

CPU - 8700k . its currently the best mainstream CPU on the market for gaming (there are better i THINK but you end up wasting money imo)
Cooler - one of the big noctua air coolers (unless you dont mind liquid)
Motherboard - z370 ( i wouldnt spend more than 200$ unless you need the extra bells and whistles, which you shouldnt for gaming)(im liking my asus)
Ram - 16gb of 3000+ ddr4
SSD - Samsung 960 evo 500gb - 1tb
HDD - 2tb western digital blue
GPU - gtx 1080 ti - im a fan of asus and evga
 
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King Dranzer

King Dranzer

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Aug 16, 2016
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Here is the list:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($399.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z370-F GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($194.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($41.89 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB DUKE OC Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($709.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB DUKE OC Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($709.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair - 270R ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.37 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($128.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $2554.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-11-29 10:12 EST-0500
 
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O

ohenryy

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Nov 16, 2014
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Good balanced rig, the OS you can buy online cheap for 30$

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mtxYVY
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mtxYVY/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($414.00 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: NZXT - Kraken X62 Rev 2 98.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($148.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370 Taichi ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($211.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($284.00 @ B&H)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB SC2 Video Card ($769.99 @ B&H)
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Evolv ATX Glass ATX Mid Tower Case ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($139.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $2365.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-12-01 01:12 EST-0500

For the monitor, couldnt help much, not sure about Gsync. Im more a AMD friendly Freesync.
 
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FD2Raptor

FD2Raptor

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Mar 5, 2014
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Not a random selection of parts:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($414.00 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Scythe - Mugen 5 51.2 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Thermal Compound: Thermal Grizzly - Kryonaut 1g 1g Thermal Paste ($10.87 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Motherboard: Asus - ROG STRIX Z370-E GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($189.89 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($223.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: MyDigitalSSD - BPX 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 1.1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($270.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB FTW3 GAMING iCX Video Card ($799.99 @ B&H)
Case: Phanteks - Enthoo Pro M Tempered Glass (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home Full - USB 32/64-bit ($135.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Scythe - Gentle Typhoon 57.7 CFM 120mm Fan ($22.90 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Scythe - Gentle Typhoon 57.7 CFM 120mm Fan ($22.90 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Noctua - NF-F12 PWM chromax.black.swap 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($22.90 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Noctua - NF-F12 PWM chromax.black.swap 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($22.90 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Noctua - NF-F12 PWM chromax.black.swap 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($22.90 @ Amazon)
Other: Phanteks PH-PWHUB_01 PWM Fan Hub ($16.78 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Other: Phanteks SSD Bracket for Single SSD Enthoo Series Cases (PH-SDBKT_01) ($15.23 @ Amazon)
Other: Phanteks SSD Bracket for Single SSD Enthoo Series Cases (PH-SDBKT_01) ($15.23 @ Amazon)
Other: Rosewill RCFC-16002 Case Fan Splitter, PWM Fan Splitter Cable, 1 to 2 Black Sleeved Computer Fan Splitter Cable, Supporting Both 3 Pin Fans and 4 Pin PWM Case Fans ($4.39 @ Amazon)
Total: $2488.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-12-01 05:28 EST-0500

Three Noctua 120mm front intakes supported by the Phanteks PWM fan hub to connect to MB's CHA_FAN1 header (UEFI: PWM mode); two GentleTyphoon replacement/upgrade for the Scythe Mugen 5 connected to CPU_FAN and CPU_OPT header (PWM mode), two F140SP included with the PRO M case connected to the Rosewill fan splitter and then connected to CHA_FAN2 (UEFI: DC mode) for cooling setup. This is a 100W CPU and 300W GPU config, overlook cooling and there'll be performance and/or stability deficit.

The Mugen 5 is a very good tower, it's just that the included 120mm KazeFlex fan is a more silence oriented model that only spin up to 1200rpm (for comparison sake, the 120mm included with the CM 212 Evo spins up to 2200rpm); the two 120mm GentleTyphoon will remedy that, providing good cooling, zero-intrusion on RAM slot and low-maintenance.

A 256GB NVMe drive for OS, and 1.1TB SATA SSD for games. No spinning disk of waiting time.

W10 on USB for both speedy and easy installation. Do not buy those $30 Windows licences unless you like spending your hard-earned money supporting thieves. Those licenses are bought using stolen credit cards/bank accounts/etc and the act of reselling them on grey market is the criminal's money laundering activities, so again for emphasis, do not support them.

With Volta set to arrive early next year, big investment on SLI-ing 1080Ti at the cost of other components is not recommended (especially since that's a total of ~700W of heat that need to be dealt with, blowing the budget on those GPU and leaving none for cooling would prove to be disastrous).

That being said, you will have to temper your expectation. A single 1080Ti will "only" do ~100-120 fps @1440p Ultra/Highest settings on the more demanding titles out there. If you're looking to build a new PC soon and wanting to game at high fps and settings, 1080p is recommended, go with 1440p only if you can/willing to tone the settings one level from the highest to maintain 144fps+ from time to time for the more demanding released titles (or is willing to upgrade GPU in about a year time).

Ex:
aHR0cDovL21lZGlhLmJlc3RvZm1pY3JvLmNvbS9WL1gvNjk3MTAxL29yaWdpbmFsLzAxYS1CYXR0bGVmaWVsZC0xLVdRSEQucG5n

aHR0cDovL21lZGlhLmJlc3RvZm1pY3JvLmNvbS9XLzUvNjk3MTA5L29yaWdpbmFsLzA1YS1HaG9zdC1SZWNvbi1XUUhELnBuZw==



As for monitors: ViewSonic - XG2703-GS or Dell - S2716DG for 1440p and AOC - G2460PG for 1080p are my go-to recommendations for 144hz screens.

 
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Drollgar

Drollgar

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sczvanguard

sczvanguard

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The 30+ monitors at 100hz gsync etc.. cost a fortune and 100hz is not worth the price, maybe consider Asus rog swift 27" it has gsync and works at 165hz at 2560 X 1440p which runs really smooth, I have one gaming is great stutter free, no lag, also If you are going sli, which still works fine in 85% of games, try and go with liquid cooled one's or you will have heating problems with two cards sitting on top of each other, the Evga gtx 1080 FTW hybrid 8GB is liquid cooled for about $750 or less, any liquid cooled 1080Ti version is likely to be around $1200.
 
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RCFProd

RCFProd

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I personally noticed a very small bit of microstutter with SLI configurations and I tend to avoid them nowadays, for that reason. The pattern of power used between each other isn't perfectly in line, hence why that tends to happen in most games. SLI performance wasn't too bad, but I was dissapointed plenty of times when it didn't work. In Ubisoft games and some of EA games you can just forget about SLI scaling, It's poor in those particularly Ubisoft ones.
 
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Drollgar

Drollgar

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Thanks for the input. I'm leaning towards FD2Raptor's build right now. I may hold off on a monitor for a bit as I really would like to get into the 30"+ sizes with g-sync. That is unless someone comes up with one on here that I don't have to pawn one of the kids to get. :)
 
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sczvanguard

sczvanguard

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The new big HDR monitors running at 200hz in 3 & 4K will cost you riduculous amount of money, is it really necessary to run everything in 4k to have a good gaming experience...no, I play most games in 2k and can see everything just fine, it also gives me between 100-200 fps in most games without lag or stutter, nvidia inspector has an sli config for most games (not all) I get no bottlenecking with both gpu's optimizing between 90-100%, only game I get jumps on was fallout 4, but hey almost everyone had problems with FO4, badly coded & poorly optimized, also nvidia have many irons in the fire at the moment, so don't expect its "a given" that Volta will turn up in 2018 it might not, as AMD are no threat to nvidia at the moment.
 
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Drollgar

Drollgar

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FD2Raptor's build looks like the way I am going to go. The information he proved with the parts was very helpful.
 
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