Building new 2000$ gaming pc

kezzzz911

Prominent
Feb 11, 2018
7
0
510
Hello!
My gaming laptop broke and I found this to be the perfect opportunity to build my first PC.

I was looking at gpu's and really felt like i wanted to go just a bit overkill because i really like smooth graphics and hate fps drops (don't we all).

The pc will be mainly used to play League of legends and a couple of other pc exclusives (PUBG, RTS like AoE, halo wars2) , since i'm a ps4 player (for now), but I would like to get into pc gaming and would like to run most games on max without fps drops. How demanding are these games compared to the most demanding games out there? The most demanding game i have would be Ark survival i think, but i dont really play.

Of course there will also be a bit of web surfing and maybe a bit of streaming, but just for fun and I wont change my build for that.

With that said, I realise what I ask for might not fit into my budget. I would like the build to be under 2000$CAN, including the monitor if possible, but it can also wait, I have a spare one
Also, if you guys think I should invest less, go ahead and help me save money :)




Didn't see the sticky, so i'll paste that right here... :


Approximate Purchase Date: In the next week or two

Budget Range: under 2000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: League of legends, PUBG, websurfing, .... maybe streaming and ARK survival

Are you buying a monitor: Yes, but if it doesn't fit the budget it can wait.


Parts to Upgrade: Full PC!

Do you need to buy OS: No I'll take care of that

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: None but i'd really like a pcpartpicker parts list if possible

Location: Im in Montreal, Canada

Parts Preferences: I would choose intel but i know nothing about this.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future? is that a goid idea to leave room for upgrade?

Your Monitor Resolution: I'm really not sure, is 1440p worth it? wouldn't be down to pay for 4k

Additional Comments: A bit of portability would be nice if possible.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My laptop's motherboard fried :(
 
Solution
Merchants: Price list is for Newegg and Amazon. You may be able to get lower prices if you use more vendors. Don’t forget shipping.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($234.99 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H5 Universal 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($62.75 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - Z370 HD3P (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($209.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($164.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Toshiba -...

kezzzz911

Prominent
Feb 11, 2018
7
0
510
I forgot to add that if possible, i would like some portability to it, so I can bring it to my friends house without too much of a hassle... it is replacing my laptop after all...! If it can't be done, no problem.

I am feeling like I still forgot something, but oh well, i'll post if it comes to my mind.
Thank you all in advance!
 
Well...you could invest a bit less and still be OK...but your machine won't be as future proof.

As far as parts lists....do some research on this site...there are whole articles on gaming builds for different price ranges on this site with component prices and everything.
 


depends on what kind of portability you would be comfortable with. you could pickup a mini PC case and build a computer around but it has it limits on power and what kind of GPU's you would be able to use with it plus you would also have to carry around peripherals like monitor, keyboard and, mouse. you could go for a gaming laptop but laptops are still not the best for gaming and with what your looking to for a decent gaming laptop may well be out of your budget

 
Merchants: Price list is for Newegg and Amazon. You may be able to get lower prices if you use more vendors. Don’t forget shipping.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($234.99 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H5 Universal 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($62.75 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - Z370 HD3P (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($209.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($164.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Toshiba - 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB G1 Gaming Video Card ($479.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400S TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($94.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Monitor: BenQ - GW2765HT 27.0" 2560x1440 60Hz Monitor ($349.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Keyboard: Cooler Master - Devastator II Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($34.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $1984.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-03-09 09:40 EST-0500


CPU: The Core i5-8400 is an excellent gaming CPU. Much better than other options in its price range.
Heatsink: The CPU cooler is optional. It won't really affect performance as testing shows the stock heatsink can maintain near full turbo boost with good case cooling. The Cryorig H5 will run quieter and won't have any trouble with full turbo boost.

Motherboard: The motherboard is basic but isn't the cheapest. I chose it since it has some premium features. Such as USB 3.1 Gen 2 and higher end Realtek ALC1220 audio. There’s no reason to go insane on the price.

RAM: The RAM is just a decent price for 16GB memory. It was too close to the 2666Mhz to not upgrade.

GPU: Prices are insane right now. You'd have to sacrifice too much for a GTX 1070. For the games you are playing it isn't necessary.

SSD: As there was room in the budget. I selected the larger option. So you have room to store multiple games. SSD greatly reduce load times and make Windows feel snappier.

HDD: Toshiba is a good brand. 2TB is too close to 1TB in price not to step up.

GPU: Gigabyte is a good brand. This was the highest end in stock unit I could find for your budget. The GTX 1070 is just too much of a cost increase.

Case: Nice quality case. It is quiet and has good air flow.

PSU: A high quality PSU is important for system stability. The Seasonic Focus Plus Gold is a top-quality unit with very high marks on JohnnyGuru. JohnnyGuru is a well-regarded website for in depth PSU testing.

Monitor: Very nice picture quality and detail at 2560x1440. IPS panel provides excellent colors, contrast and view angles. I’d take a nice high resolution and high-quality panel over some lower resolution but high refresh rate 1920x1080 TN panel any day. Colors are richer, and detail is finer. Others prefer high FPS. It makes a good price place holder.

Keyboard and Mouse: Decent entry level combo for gaming. If you get into it you can go for a high quality mechanical keyboard and high end mouse later. As you are used to console gaming. I would consider getting an Xbox One controller. That’s what I use most of the time.

OS: You make no mention. So, I did not list one. You need Windows 10 for a modern CPU.
 
Solution
Portability:

Make your life a whole lot easier buy a gaming laptop. Use an external monitor, keyboard and mouse at home. It will have similar gaming performance to the above build in most games (not all). Since the CPU is nowhere near as fast. That's the price you pay for portability. A portable gaming desktop is a bad idea. It will be a pain in the butt to move around. I don't care how portable the case is. You still have cables, monitor, keyboard and mouse to lug around then setup.

Laptop: https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834154702
Monitor: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/YZn2FT/benq-monitor-gw2765ht
Keyboard + Mouse: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/tzfmP6/cooler-master-keyboard-sgb3031kkmf1
HDD: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/bZH48d/seagate-barracuda-1tb-25-5400rpm-internal-hard-drive-st1000lm048 (This laptop should have an available 2.5" HDD bay)
 

-HH-

Dignified
Just gonna leave this here.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($232.75 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Asus - Prime Z370-P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($171.99 @ PC-Canada)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($209.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($112.25 @ shopRBC)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Founders Edition Video Card ($592.99 @ PC-Canada)
Case: Enermax - OSTROG ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ PC-Canada)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Monitor: HP - OMEN 25 24.5" 1920x1080 144Hz Monitor ($306.72 @ Amazon Canada)
Keyboard: Logitech - G610 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Mouse: Logitech - G502 Proteus Spectrum Wired Optical Mouse ($66.98 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $1951.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-03-09 10:22 EST-0500
 

kezzzz911

Prominent
Feb 11, 2018
7
0
510
thanks velocityg4, thats a good looking build. Only thing is i'm hesitating for the monitor. How much does it affect FPS? You say others choose fps, I am not sure what I choose. Will I still get over 60 (90?) fps?
Also, i can use my ps4 controller on pc :)
 


It is 60Hz. So you can do 60FPS. Most games will go higher but the most you'll see is 60FPS. Which is quite smooth. I don't get the obsession with going higher. If you prefer a higher FPS. $350 will get you a nice 144hz 1920x1080 monitor. As you needed something I placed my personal preference resolution and image quality over higher max framerates. You just make sacrifices in detail and color quality with a 1920x1080 TN panel. Of course I'm not a big gamer anymore. I'm more concerned with how it will look watching movies and using Photoshop.
https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236313&nm_mc=AFC-C8JunctionCA&cm_mmc=AFC-C8JunctionCA-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10592396&PID=3938566&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_source=afc-PCPartPicker%2C+LLC
 


i don't beleve there are any official USB drivers to get a PS4 controller fully working on a PC but 8bitdo just released this USB dongle that will let you use almost any game console controller with a PC:

http://www.8bitdo.com/wireless-usb-adapter/

 

kezzzz911

Prominent
Feb 11, 2018
7
0
510
ok, i did not realise the screen was 60 hz and thought you meant the fps would drop because of perfomance. If the rig can run 60 fps on 1440p constantly then I think we have a winner
 


Hz equal maximum FPS. As long as the rest of the hardware can keep up. A 60Hz screen will display 60FPS. If you go above 60FPS. You get no more benefit just tearing. So, I turn on VSync to prevent that.

For the most part you'll be able to do max settings with that GPU at 2560x1440 and get 60 FPS. There are a few of the most demanding games where you may have to turn the settings down a little. There aren't huge performance differences between a 2560x1440 and 1920x1080. Unlike stepping up to 4K which is a huge difference.

The only game I see in your list where settings would need to be turned down is ARK Survival. That game is just poorly optimized. Looking at reviews. A GTX 1080 won't even push it at max settings at 1920x1080 and hit 60FPS.