First PC build $1200 budget

matt875687 · May 24, 2018

Hey all, trying my hand at my first PC build exclusively for gaming. So far I have decided to design my build around:
Intel core i5 8400
MSI GeForce gtx 1070 ti Titanium

I’m looking at 16gb DDR4 ram as well. Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated. My goals for this gaming pc are to run 1440p smoothly, with at least 60fps. My price range for the pc build is max $1200 (not including keyboard/mouse/monitor) cheaper is better.
Still an amateur when it comes to all the parts, I have a general idea of what I need but I’m not looking to spend more than I have to to achieve my goal.

g-unit1111 · May 25, 2018

I went slightly over budget but here you go:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($178.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus - Prime H370-Plus ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($105.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($188.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.95 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($42.99 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB DUKE Video Card ($474.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT - S340 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($88.52 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1235.29
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-25 01:37 EDT-0400

Lucky_SLS · May 25, 2018

White build with monitor :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - X370 KILLER SLI/ac ATX AM4 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: GeIL - SUPER LUCE RGB SYNC 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($170.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($72.27 @ Amazon)
Storage: Toshiba - 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.00 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB Titanium Video Card ($479.99 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT - S340 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: AOC - C3583FQ 35.0" 2560x1080 160Hz Monitor ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1549.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-25 03:35 EDT-0400

Turbo of 2600X is 4.25 compared to 4 of 8400.

King Dranzer · May 25, 2018

Here is the list:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($298.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B360M DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($72.27 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($42.99 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB WINDFORCE OC 8G Video Card ($519.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair - 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1245.19
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-25 03:34 EDT-0400

I know you wanna build around i5-8400 and MSI GTX1070Ti. But you are getting better performing build for same budget I don't see the reason to limit yourself to that combo. i7-8700 and GTX1080 combo is around 20-25% better in performance in games which is decent performance increase for same budget.

matt875687 · May 25, 2018

Yeah I had been contemplating the 1080 just recently after seeing the prices come wayyy down from what they were a month ago. What are the pros of the i7-8700? Is the performance difference worth double the price? I’m still trying to figure out cpu’s And what I’m looking for in them, and I’ve spent about 80% of my time looking at Intel haven’t actually given the Ryzen much thought. Last thing, for an ssd would you say 250gb is plenty to cap that at? I was originally looking at the Samsung 850 Evo 500gb ssd but if that’s too much I won’t get it (I also didn’t include an internal hard drive to pair with it). Thanks for all the recommendation!

matt875687 · May 25, 2018

Side note* I want this rig to last me years so if that means the i7 is the way to go to stay on top I will definitely swing my decision that way

Lucky_SLS · May 25, 2018

If suppose you split ur ssd into 2 volumes : 100gb for os and the rest for games, will the 130gb space be enough for ur games? If so, 250gb is enough.

The ryzen 2600X with 12 threads will last you long before it needs replacement. Although it's difficult to maximize the 160hz, I think the white build will be perfectly fine for 120hz.

King Dranzer · May 25, 2018

Yes as Lucky_SLS said 250GB SSD will be enough.

Intel i7-8700 comes with 12Threads which will help you get through any kind of load you throw at it without a problem for longer period of time. Compared to i5 which is limited to 6Threads it will perform and handle games more smoothly over longer period of time. In comparison to Ryzen R5 2600X OC the i7-8700 performs still better by around 5% on overage whereas i7-8700K OC is around 15% better on average. That is the reason I wen't with i7-8700 and GTX1080 combo.

matt875687 · May 25, 2018

Hmm I think I’ll end up doing the i7 8700 with the 1080. Thank god the prices are back down on the 1080. I’ll probably wait a few months and see where it’s at with the release of the 1180 coming soon

matt875687 · May 25, 2018

Is there a specific 1080 I should choose? Not really sure what the differences are between the different kinds

matt875687 · May 25, 2018

Also, will I need a cooler?

Lucky_SLS · May 25, 2018

Better to get a cooler. Like the cryorig h7

g-unit1111 · May 25, 2018

matt875687 :

We should start seeing the benchmarks on the 1180 relatively soon. So you could always buy everything else and run off the onboard GPU until you decide what GPU to buy.

Lucky_SLS · May 25, 2018

True that. And if you feel you need better cooling performance than the stock founders / blower gpu, u have aftermarket coolers like the nzxt G12, raijintek morpheus and artic accelerato.

King Dranzer · May 25, 2018

It comes with a decent CPU cooler in box. You won't be facing any problem with temps. The only problem is that it becomes bit noisy under load. If you care about noise level then yes I would recommend Cryorig H7 otherwise you are good to go with stock cooler.

matt875687 · May 25, 2018

Yeah I was thinking about just picking up a cooler master hyper 212 evo, cheap and should do the trick right?

matt875687 · May 25, 2018

Not super worried about noise. I’ll pretty much use this rig only for gaming and I’ll have headphones on 95% of the time

Lucky_SLS · May 25, 2018

Cryorig H7 is much better and costs about the same

King Dranzer · May 25, 2018

Very valid point made by g-unit1111. It is better to get the build and skip on GPU for now as GTX1180 is only months away. On paper it is 50% more powerful than GTX1080 which is a huge performance jump. I would recommend waiting for it.

matt875687 · May 25, 2018

I’ll check that cooler out. And honestly I’m just looking for a build that will run 1440 smoothly, the only thing I’m waiting for is to see if the 1080 price will drop under the release of that 1180

g-unit1111 · May 25, 2018

matt875687 :

No. You don't want "cheap and does the trick" when it comes to cooling. The 212 Evo *USED* to be a good cooler, maybe 6 years ago, but plenty have come along since then that are far better. And if you are not overclocking you don't necessarily need it, you can run off the stock cooler and be perfectly fine. Cryorig and Noctua make far better coolers for not that much more money if you really insist on one.

matt875687 · May 25, 2018

Yeah I just saw that. Only $15 more so I’m not too worried about that

First PC build $1200 budget

Titan

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Titan

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