Help me build my gaming PC.

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max_willems1

Prominent
Jan 9, 2018
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510
Hey guys,

I've been eager to get get into PC gaming for the longest time now, and it looks like that day is drawing nearer and nearer. I've built several PC system builds, but my knowledge on PC's isn't "good" in any way, so I could use some real help when it comes down to actually deciding how to spend my money. With that having said, let's take a look at what I've assembled and give me your opinions. Get ready for quite a long thread!

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
Cooler: CRYORIG H7
Motherboard: MSI B350 TOMAHAWK
Memory: G.Skill Flare X 16GB
Storage: Seagate Barracude 2TB + Samsung 850 EVO-series 250GB
GPU: MSI GTX 1070 GAMING X
Case: NZXT S340
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA G3 650W

This is what my build is looking like right now. I'm definitely not confident enough to do this on my own, hence why I also have a few (alot, actually) specific questions:

Q1: Should I go with the Ryzen 5 1600X or should I pick something like an i5 8600K (keeping in mind that Intel is dealing with some software issues right now), and should I worry about these CPU's reaching 100% usage while gaming? I don't want anything to explode in my PC, of course.
Q2: Does the CRYORIG H7 suffice in overclocking to around 3.8GHz, or do you guys recommend picking up something else (I might go a little bit higher than 3.8, yes).
Q3: I've always had trouble with picking the right mobo, because there's so much to look at. The ones that got recommended the most are the B350 TOMAHAWK, the ASRock AB350 Pro4, the Gigabyte GA-AB350 GAMING 3 and the Asus Prime Z370-A. Which do you recommend?
Q4: There's this compatibility issue with my cooler and mobo. Should I pick a different cooler then, or get a different mobo? (I could also buy a separately available mounting adapter, yes).
Q5: I'm gaming on 1080p, so maybe a GTX 1070 would be a little bit overkill. I also considered a GTX 1060 (I really don't mind turning the graphics a notch lower to high/medium for really graphic-heavy titles in the future, I prefere a smooth gameplay over ultra settings).
Q6: How's the case? I heard it got alot of good reviews, hence why I chose this one. But is the airflow decent? How about the space and cable management? Should I buy extra fans?

These were all my questions, assuming 650W is more than enough for this system. Keep in mind that I really can't stretch my budget more than around $1500. As you guys can already tell, I'm really unconfident in my own knowledge. I'm terrebly sorry for this long thread, and I greatly appreciate anyone who read through this all the way and decided to help a fellow out.

(P.S.: I'm sorry for any weird or grammatically incorrect sentences, as I'm not English but Dutch :p)
 
Solution
Zerk2012
You will need one fan splitter cable for the 2 front fans.
https://www.amazon.de/EK-Water-Blocks-3831109867860-Power-Kabel/dp/B00K2F8PFA/ref=sr_1_4?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1515539467&sr=1-4&keywords=pc+fan+splitter+cable

1. In your price range the 1600 they OC about the same and all of them hit a wall in the 4.0 area.
2. The H7 is fine might need the AM4 mounting hardware depending on when it was shipped from the factory.
3. Listed below.
4. Answered in Q2. The 1600 comes with a cooler so it can be used if you need to get the mounting hardware for the AM4 socket.
5. Nothing wrong with a bit of overkill. If you need to save a bit of extra money then the GTX 1060 6GB is still a nice card.
6. Good case and yes it comes with a back and top...
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jr9

jr9

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Dec 6, 2017
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Built looks OK

- NZXT S340 as the tempered glass side panel is known to sometimes shatter.

- X series Ryzens aren't that great value for the extra money IMO. You can overclock non X processors. I'd get a regular 1600 or regular 1700 if you are doing things like encoding streaming etc.

- If you are getting a 16GB of RAM, make sure it is a 2x8GB kit. A single 16GB DIMM is bad on Ryzen. Also make sure the RAM you pick is on your qualified vendor list or it might just not work at all even if the speed matches. If you give a link to the exact RAM kit you are thinking of we can check the motherboard's QVL to see if it's tested and 100% guarenteed to work unless it's defective.

- Storage combination is solid, as is the graphics card at 1080p. For 1440p or 4k, I would opt for a 1080 or 1080Ti.

Q1: The 8600K a stronger chip in gaming than any Ryzen chip. All CPUs are effected by the CPU bug and for consumer computing the impact is minimal. Intel will eventually fix this.

Q2: That big cooler should be able to handle light to moderate overclocks but not extreme ones. Your motherboard also only supports moderate overclocks but doesn't have what it needs for high overclocking.

Q3: I'd go with the Gigabyte board. They are all B350 with similar features. MSI, Gigabyte, and ASUS are good board makers. Sometimes the only deciding factor is what board do you like the look of more.

Q4: With that cooler and most CPU coolers you will need to request a special AM4 bracket from the cooler maker to install it. This is an issue with AM4 for many of these big coolers. One workaround is buy an AM4 ready cooler like the TX3 evo.

Q5: 1070GTX is the perfect card for 1080p. Get it if you want to play at near max for AAA titles. If you play esports titles mainly get a 1060 and save some money.

Q6: Case is fine but I am weary with tempered glass cases. 2 times now I've seen posts of the side panel shattering into a million pieces when removed. NZXT makes cases with plexiglass side panels that don't have this issue. It's rare but it can happen. It's a fantasitc case though
 
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max_willems1

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Jan 9, 2018
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Thanks man! I appreciate the effort. I'm building this rig with one thing in mind: playing games. I guess I should go with the i5 8600K then. I think I'm going to stick with the S340 case though. I'm not planning on breaking the window after all :p. Getting another mobo also solves the cooler issue. Why did you choose this one though? Any special features I missed? And which cooler should I get to ensure good temps and safe moderate/heavy OC? I've heard of the Noctua D15, but that one doesn't quite fit in the case. And yes, I'm going to get 2x8 GB RAM anyways. I can't quite send a link to where I'm going to buy my stuff from, as it's in Dutch, of course. It was the G.Skill Flare X 2x8 DDR4-2400 RAM.

Again, thanks for the reply!
 
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vapour

vapour

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Aug 28, 2017
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It is all about balance of the budget and what you want to do with it. 1600 is close to 8400 in gaming and many report Ryzen has smoother gaming experience despite lower FPS.
1. 550 is more than enough for the build.
2. I will get Ryzen 1600 and oc it with stock cooler, mine is running @ 3.8 without issues. Most coolers now come with AM4 mounting bracket or you can order them, no issues.
3. Tomahawk is a good mb, but many B350 MBs perform similarly
4. Depends on how much you want to spend on monitor, if 1080p 60 Hz, 1060 6gb is good enough. If 1080p 144+ Hz, get GTX 1070 if you want ~100 FPS for AAA titles.
5. I am using S340, no idea what the glass breaking jr9 is referring to.
6. 500 gb ssd is better, games nowadays are huge, my 250 gets filled up really quick, only 3-4 games.

Two routes if I were you:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($198.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($139.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.68 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Video Card ($589.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: NZXT - S340 (Black/Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair - TXM Gold 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($89.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1437.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-01-09 17:24 EST-0500

Or:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8600K 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor ($249.95 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.90 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - Z370 AORUS Gaming 5 (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team - Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.68 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Video Card ($589.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: NZXT - S340 (Black/Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair - TXM Gold 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($89.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1536.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-01-09 17:27 EST-0500
 
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jr9

jr9

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Dec 6, 2017
2,212
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I like that case, it's very nice. Don't throw things at it though.

i5 8600k is the best everyman gaming chip IMO. It reminds me of the 2500k, well priced and trumps anything AMD has in gaming for that price. Also more motherboards that are 1151 (coffee lake) are supported by CPU cooler makers, but doublecheck before you buy.

If you want to do heavy overclocking you'd want a Z370 motherboard. You can overclock on these boards fine. Stick to the premium boards like GIGABYTE's Intel Z370 AORUS Gaming 7 as a cheap board below $200 wont have the quality VRM you need for overclocks.

I picked the TX3 out because it has native AM4 support. Pretty much every cooler will have 1151 support thought if it is recent.

The CRYORIG - H7 will be fine for overclocking. I opted against it if you are going AM4 because getting AM4 brackets is a pain. I had to do with with a dark horse cooler and I didn't like having to jump through hoops and wait for the bracket to arrive. CRYORIG - H7 will fit in your case just. That noctua is gigantic, no way it would fit.

If you are getting a 2x8GB kit generally most of them will work. Once you decide on your motherboard then after that you look at its QVL for memory on the website, google the part number until you find one that is suitable. On intel builds though this is much less important as Intel CPUs aren't anywhere near as picky with their RAM as Ryzen. It should work fine as long as the frequency matches and most coffee lake boards support 2400MHz no problem.

 
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Zerk2012

Zerk2012

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Oct 6, 2014
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You will need one fan splitter cable for the 2 front fans.
https://www.amazon.de/EK-Water-Blocks-3831109867860-Power-Kabel/dp/B00K2F8PFA/ref=sr_1_4?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1515539467&sr=1-4&keywords=pc+fan+splitter+cable

1. In your price range the 1600 they OC about the same and all of them hit a wall in the 4.0 area.
2. The H7 is fine might need the AM4 mounting hardware depending on when it was shipped from the factory.
3. Listed below.
4. Answered in Q2. The 1600 comes with a cooler so it can be used if you need to get the mounting hardware for the AM4 socket.
5. Nothing wrong with a bit of overkill. If you need to save a bit of extra money then the GTX 1060 6GB is still a nice card.
6. Good case and yes it comes with a back and top 120mm fan add 2X 140mm to the front blowing in.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor (€185.00 @ ARLT)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler (€35.81 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard (€89.59 @ Alza)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (€209.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€89.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€48.84 @ Mindfactory)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Video Card (€459.18 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: NZXT - S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (€79.90 @ Caseking)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (€82.74 @ Mindfactory)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit (€96.88 @ Mindfactory)
Case Fan: Fractal Design - GP14-WT 68.4 CFM 140mm Fan (€15.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case Fan: Fractal Design - GP14-WT 68.4 CFM 140mm Fan (€15.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €1409.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-01-10 00:22 CET+0100
 
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Solution
M

max_willems1

Prominent
Jan 9, 2018
4
0
510


Thanks for the reply, my man!

This is my first PC build, and I'm quite unfamiliar with overclocking. I've heard that the Ryzen 1600 can oc further than 3.5GHz, but I thought is was very luck based. A few people have pointed out that their overclocking experience was a complete failure. What do you reckon? Should I go with thid build (which is slightly more affordable) or should I go with an i5 8600K - Asus Prime Z370-A - GTX 1070 build?

Again, thanks for the effort!

 
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vapour

vapour

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Aug 28, 2017
12,398
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If you don't want to try OCing, just go with I5-8400 (with stock cooler) + cheapest Z370 MB. Then you can get 500 gb ssd.
 
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max_willems1

Prominent
Jan 9, 2018
4
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510


That's just the thing, you see?
Of course I want to get into overclocking. It will improve performance and it will make the cpu more valuable for the price. But from what I hear, buying the 1600X is more secure for overclocking, as it's less likely to fail on you. AMD recommends not going any higher than 3.5 on the regular 1600, which concerns me a bit. That's why I'm also not sure on which mobo to buy. Which one has the best OC potential? And about storage, I'm going to put the OS on the SSD and the majority of games on the HDD, hence why I chose a 2TB drive.

Thanks for the reply!
 
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