Would love some advice for a brand new build

[SmAsH2003]

Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP

Budget Range: ~$1,600

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Shoutcasting, & Streaming

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: EVERYTHING!

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Either all parts on Amazon or Newegg (0% financing for the win)

Location: Southern California, USA

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: Most likely

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 @ 144z (FreeSync)

Additional Comments: I have my case picked out, which will be an ATX-Mid Tower. My current monitor uses FreeSync, but if Nvidia seems like the better option, I don't mind losing out on my FreeSync ability. Also I play Rocket League, First Person Shooters (CS:GO, PUBG, ETC.), and at times MOBA's.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My current PC is roughly 5 years old, the HDD is slowly fading, and I can't play most games smoothly. I am looking for a PC that can run games on Very High/Ultra settings with ease, have the ability to stream while gaming, and have multiple programs open in the background without causing any noticeable lag.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

Additional Comments: I have my case picked out, which will be an ATX-Mid Tower. My current monitor uses FreeSync, but if Nvidia seems like the better option, I don't mind losing out on my FreeSync ability. Also I play Rocket League, First Person Shooters (CS:GO, PUBG, ETC.), and at times MOBA's.

Good groundwork. I'll flesh this out after work. But... to be helpful a little more info is needed.

You state you have a case picked out already. What is it and is it included in the given budget?
When you say everything, does that include keyboard and mouse too?

With your selected level of graphics, an RX-580 will work very well AND keep your freesync abilities. The other option is the GTX-1060 6GB... they trade blows pretty well and whichever one is purchased will satisfy your needs. (differences include DX11 vs DX12/Vulkan performance)

 

[pohemi]

I would go with a Ryzen build, probably a 1700x or 1800/1800x. More cores and threads for multitasking while gaming.
For that resolution, an Nvidia GTX 1070 should be plenty of power to run games on ultra, but you could always step up to a 1080 if your budget allows.
I would buy an SSD for your OS and maybe some of your games, and a larger HDD for storage. A good motherboard will likely have M.2 slots onboard if you wanted to go that route, they tend to be a little faster than a SATA SSD.
The rest is just filling in the blanks, but I recommend a higher quality power supply, one with a gold or platinum rating, and at least 600W or more, depending on how many drives you will have.

 

[SmAsH2003]

The case I'm going to go with is the Phanteks Eclipse P400S https://newegg.com/products/N82E16811854050
I just love the look, and I am a sucker for the RGB. The $90.00 is included with my overall budget, so with the case taken out of the equation, my build budget is roughly $1,500. I'm planning on reusing my current kb/m so no worries there.

I currently have an rx 480&h 8gb. Should I save this for now and wait for Vega to roll out?

Ryzen has been looking more and more tempting, especially with how many people seem to like it. If I go Ryzen, I think the 1700 (non x) would give me the best bang for my buck once it's overclocked, right?
I was planning on going with an SSD for my OS and games, and an HDD for storage. But I have no idea what an M.2 is.. Should I do that over sata?
And I'll definitely go with a modular gold 650w or higher

 

[pohemi]

Yeah M.2 NVMe SSDs are card-type drives that mount directly on the motherboard. You definitely could hold off for now on the gpu, if you want to see how Vega rolls out. The 480 isn't a bad card for 1080p gaming by any means.

 

[Insomniac Jack]

The case I'm going to go with is the Phanteks Eclipse P400S https://newegg.com/products/N82E16811854050
I just love the look, and I am a sucker for the RGB. The $90.00 is included with my overall budget, so with the case taken out of the equation, my build budget is roughly $1,500. I'm planning on reusing my current kb/m so no worries there.

I currently have an rx 480&h 8gb. Should I save this for now and wait for Vega to roll out?

Ryzen has been looking more and more tempting, especially with how many people seem to like it. If I go Ryzen, I think the 1700 (non x) would give me the best bang for my buck once it's overclocked, right?
I was planning on going with an SSD for my OS and games, and an HDD for storage. But I have no idea what an M.2 is.. Should I do that over sata?
And I'll definitely go with a modular gold 650w or higher

Yes the 1700 non X is definitely the bargain. OC'd it'll match the 1700x and if you win the lottery it may even exceed it. I am happy with my 1700x and a GTX 1080. While recording on ultra settings I'm getting 100 Fps in ME: Andromeda and 144 FPS(max for my monitor) in Prey so the gaming performance is dang good.

 

[Insomniac Jack]

On another note about Ryzen. Since it's still an early and evolving platform make sure to find compatible RAM. When you choose a motherboard check the manufacturers website and find a compatible kit. If not you're rolling the dice on whether it'll run at it's rated speed. For example I have the Corsair Vengence LPX 3000Mhz 16Gb kit and it's only running a 2400Mhz due to this issue. RAM support is getting better by the day but there's no guarantee that all the kits will end up certified.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

As Promised:

Intel build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($337.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: NZXT - Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-Z270X-Ultra Gaming ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Team - T-Force / Night Hawk 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - SM951 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Video Card ($408.80 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400S TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Rosewill - 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1480.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-08 20:42 EDT-0400


AMD Build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($313.49 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: NZXT - Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - X370 KRAIT GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston - Predator 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - SM951 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Video Card ($408.80 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400S TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Rosewill - 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1492.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-08 20:55 EDT-0400


The GTX-1070 is more than willing to give you 1080p 144Hz on high and ultra settings at the sacrifice of Freesync. We'll probably be hearing something next month on Vega. If you stick with the ASAP decision... You'll have to go with the nVidia option. If you can hang in there at 1080p 60Hz, your RX-480 will get you through until then.


NOTE: a good 550W PSU will power either build even with a single GTX-1080Ti... You'll want around 850W though if you ever decided to change your mind and SLI that thing. Otherwise a 650W PSU will provide enough juice for 1070s in SLI. I only mention this to emphasize that a solid 550W PSU will be fine for your build although 650W will give a bit more headroom for overclocking.

EDIT: M.2 is a form-factor. It is available in SATA and PCIe (NVMe) interfaces. This board supports both. M.2 has the benefit of being installed right on the motherboard, no extra power or data cables needed, unlike 2.5" counterparts that are only available in SATA, or PCIe types that take up a PCIe slot.

The RAM chosen has been tested with this AMD AM4 socket motherboard and was able to reach its rated 3200 speed with a Ryzen 1700x (review here) Ryzen benefits from giving it the fastest RAM possible. As stated, RAM may have issues reaching rated speeds, but improvements are being made all the time, including on how the CPU handles multi-threading.

 

[Karadjgne]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($313.49 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool - CAPTAIN 240EX WHITE 153.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME X370-PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 525GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case: Phanteks - ECLIPSE P400S TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.92 @ Amazon)
Total: $1053.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-08 21:16 EDT-0400

Keep your 480 for now, it'll handle 1080p/144Hz just fine, see what Vega brings. Then either a Vega gpu or a gtx1080 will be good to get ultra settings on just about anything and still record.
With Ryzen current ram issues, best to stick to Samsung B-die, which among a few others, is mainly Avexir or G-skill Trident - Z and Rip jaws V. Plus the RGB ram looks cool as 's.. t anyways.

 

[SmAsH2003]

You guys are AWESOME! Thank you so much for all of your help. I'm going to pull the trigger on this before the week is over... I'm SO excited!

One last question, and I'm going to direct it towards shrapnel_indie... since both builds you recommended for me are pretty similar... what benefit would I get with going Intel or AMD? I know Intel is pretty solid and should run without hiccups... is AMD worth the "risk" essentially?


Oh, and I think I'll stick with my RX-480 for now, and see what Vega brings at what price point. It won't hurt to see I suppose

 

[Karadjgne]

If you don't mind my answer to that. The 7700k is as good as it gets. It's 2nd tier lga1151, essentially (if Intel stays true to form with their 'tick-tock' lga aporoch) it's now a dead platform. You can't upgrade, you already got the best there is. AM4 is brand new and is just about the same, except double the threads (again). And AMD loves to beat a horse to death. You'll get this gen, then the next gen, then the AM4+ (Ryzen+ has already been approved, back when it was still Zen), so AMD has nowhere to go but up. Games are already setting minimums of quad core cpus, making use of 8 threads, just how long before someone actually starts producing games like Ashes of the Singularity (really has to be 8 thread or won't play) that can use more than 8 threads. If Intel doesn't pull a rabbit out of their (hat) soon, AMD stands a very good chance of turning the tables and going back to being #1 cpu for pc's in general as they already stomp anything but a 2011-3/x99 now in productivity apps.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

You guys are AWESOME! Thank you so much for all of your help. I'm going to pull the trigger on this before the week is over... I'm SO excited!

One last question, and I'm going to direct it towards shrapnel_indie... since both builds you recommended for me are pretty similar... what benefit would I get with going Intel or AMD? I know Intel is pretty solid and should run without hiccups... is AMD worth the "risk" essentially?


Oh, and I think I'll stick with my RX-480 for now, and see what Vega brings at what price point. It won't hurt to see I suppose

The 480 is no slouch for certain. It will get you through.

Now, as to AMD vs Intel. CPU wars can be easily waged over this one. Toms here has a good workup on the comparisons between the two.AMD shines best in multi-threaded loads. Intel still holds an edge in gaming, although not the large gap it had before. AMD is still new and still has a few wrinkles to work out. I don't believe we have seen Ryzen's full potential yet.

Now as to the question itself... is AMD worth the "risk" essentially? I believe it is. The more the wrinkles are ironed out, the better it shows itself. As to picking the parts, with a little planning and research, wrinkles can be minimized.

 

[Karadjgne]

+1^

 

[SmAsH2003]

The 480 is no slouch for certain. It will get you through.

Now, as to AMD vs Intel. CPU wars can be easily waged over this one. Toms here has a good workup on the comparisons between the two.AMD shines best in multi-threaded loads. Intel still holds an edge in gaming, although not the large gap it had before. AMD is still new and still has a few wrinkles to work out. I don't believe we have seen Ryzen's full potential yet.

Now as to the question itself... is AMD worth the "risk" essentially? I believe it is. The more the wrinkles are ironed out, the better it shows itself. As to picking the parts, with a little planning and research, wrinkles can be minimized.

Thanks for taking your time to help me out with everything, and feel comfortable with going AMD. Double the cores, double the threads... and a minimal impact on gaming... it almost seems like a no brainer. Thanks again!!!

 

[SmAsH2003]

Oh and ONE last question... I see on the builds that you have suggested that you included a Liquid CPU cooler. Is this necessary for a conservative OC?

 

[shrapnel_indie]

Oh and ONE last question... I see on the builds that you have suggested that you included a Liquid CPU cooler. Is this necessary for a conservative OC?

No, an AiO (All in One) liquid cooler isn't necessary. A good HSF (heasink & fan) cooler will work fine. For a mild overclock, there are several options... The Cryorig H7 or the DeepCool GamMAXX 400 are good coolers for the money and are inexpensive. They should handle a mild overclock just fine.

I wasn't aware of the level of overclock you was planning on. the AiO coolers don't harm anything when care is taken in the handling of the units (don't kink the hoses, don't smash the radiator fins.) Decent to excellent HSF coolers can be anywhere from around the same price to much cheaper too.

 

[Karadjgne]

There's several reasons ppl choose aios over air, and just as many ppl choose air over aio. Common perception has it that aios are loud and air is quiet. This is false. That's a generality assumed from Corsair units (70+% of the sales) having very crappy, loud fans when put up against Noctua air coolers. Duh! No brainer there, Noctua makes some of the best pc fans there is, put some Noctuas on an aio and bye bye argument. Then comes price, we'll that's the Corsair h-60 at $70 put up against a CoolerMaster hyper212 at under $30. Nobody seems to remember then that the Noctua NH-D15 they were just bragging about matches up in price vrs a compatible aio. Aircoolers can and do have issues with case compatibility, the better coolers simply do not fit inside some of the smaller popular cases, whereas there's always a spot for an aio, somewhere. So all that aside, it really boils down to looks. Some just prefer the open looking motherboard that's available with any aio setup, some prefer the 'centerpiece' look of a well designed air cooler. It's all just aesthetics, needs, and specs because in the end aircoolers and liquid coolers do the same job, and do it equitably according to sizing. I happen to prefer aios, but there are several aircoolers I'd be just as happy to own, like the Cryorig H7 or Noctua NH-C14S or Phanteks PH-TC14PE.

Once you figure out just exactly how much cooling capacity you need, then figure on a cooler as large as necessary, if not slightly larger, and get a list of exactly what fits inside, what it's credentials are and what preferences you have.

 

[SmAsH2003]

There's several reasons ppl choose aios over air, and just as many ppl choose air over aio. Common perception has it that aios are loud and air is quiet. This is false. That's a generality assumed from Corsair units (70+% of the sales) having very crappy, loud fans when put up against Noctua air coolers. Duh! No brainer there, Noctua makes some of the best pc fans there is, put some Noctuas on an aio and bye bye argument. Then comes price, we'll that's the Corsair h-60 at $70 put up against a CoolerMaster hyper212 at under $30. Nobody seems to remember then that the Noctua NH-D15 they were just bragging about matches up in price vrs a compatible aio. Aircoolers can and do have issues with case compatibility, the better coolers simply do not fit inside some of the smaller popular cases, whereas there's always a spot for an aio, somewhere. So all that aside, it really boils down to looks. Some just prefer the open looking motherboard that's available with any aio setup, some prefer the 'centerpiece' look of a well designed air cooler. It's all just aesthetics, needs, and specs because in the end aircoolers and liquid coolers do the same job, and do it equitably according to sizing. I happen to prefer aios, but there are several aircoolers I'd be just as happy to own, like the Cryorig H7 or Noctua NH-C14S or Phanteks PH-TC14PE.

Once you figure out just exactly how much cooling capacity you need, then figure on a cooler as large as necessary, if not slightly larger, and get a list of exactly what fits inside, what it's credentials are and what preferences you have.

My apologies for reviving a basically dead thread... but one last question before I hit purchase... and it involves the memory.

Both memories suggest were used with the MOBO that you recommended. My question is which one do I go with? I was told the timing on the G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 16GB isn't the greatest, but I can't seem to find what it is on the HyperX Predator 16GB. Which one do I go with???

 

[Karadjgne]

Predators, 2x8Gb kit
2400) 17-17-17 @ 1.20v
Xmp#1 3200) 16-18-18 @ 1.35v
Xmp#2 3000) 15-17-17 @ 1.35v

I still prefer the Trident-Z. As an end user, not a benchmarker, there's no discernable difference in the timings.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

There's several reasons ppl choose aios over air, and just as many ppl choose air over aio. Common perception has it that aios are loud and air is quiet. This is false. That's a generality assumed from Corsair units (70+% of the sales) having very crappy, loud fans when put up against Noctua air coolers. Duh! No brainer there, Noctua makes some of the best pc fans there is, put some Noctuas on an aio and bye bye argument. Then comes price, we'll that's the Corsair h-60 at $70 put up against a CoolerMaster hyper212 at under $30. Nobody seems to remember then that the Noctua NH-D15 they were just bragging about matches up in price vrs a compatible aio. Aircoolers can and do have issues with case compatibility, the better coolers simply do not fit inside some of the smaller popular cases, whereas there's always a spot for an aio, somewhere. So all that aside, it really boils down to looks. Some just prefer the open looking motherboard that's available with any aio setup, some prefer the 'centerpiece' look of a well designed air cooler. It's all just aesthetics, needs, and specs because in the end aircoolers and liquid coolers do the same job, and do it equitably according to sizing. I happen to prefer aios, but there are several aircoolers I'd be just as happy to own, like the Cryorig H7 or Noctua NH-C14S or Phanteks PH-TC14PE.

Once you figure out just exactly how much cooling capacity you need, then figure on a cooler as large as necessary, if not slightly larger, and get a list of exactly what fits inside, what it's credentials are and what preferences you have.

My apologies for reviving a basically dead thread... but one last question before I hit purchase... and it involves the memory.

Both memories suggest were used with the MOBO that you recommended. My question is which one do I go with? I was told the timing on the G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 16GB isn't the greatest, but I can't seem to find what it is on the HyperX Predator 16GB. Which one do I go with???

Predators, 2x8Gb kit
2400) 17-17-17 @ 1.20v
Xmp#1 3200) 16-18-18 @ 1.35v
Xmp#2 3000) 15-17-17 @ 1.35v

I still prefer the Trident-Z. As an end user, not a benchmarker, there's no discernable difference in the timings.

All things considered, I would go for the cheaper cost of the two.

RAM is RAM is RAM when it comes to quality in recent years and the only real differentiation comes in speed and timing (in addition to some other electrical characteristics that can come into play when mixing/matching RAM modules)

 

[SmAsH2003]

So either one of those choices would work well with Ryzen? That's my main concern.

And sidenote, WHY IS RAM SO EXPENSIVE NOW?! It seems like it has almost double in price in the last month or two

 

[shrapnel_indie]

So either one of those choices would work well with Ryzen? That's my main concern.

And sidenote, WHY IS RAM SO EXPENSIVE NOW?! It seems like it has almost double in price in the last month or two

Either one would work. They've both been used in testing Ryzen CPUs and motherboards.

As to why RAM has gone up in price? It could be due to demand, especially with many AMD users upgrading to Ryzen. It could be production yields are, or production in general is, down. It also could be a bit of both.

 

[Karadjgne]

New ram is going to be expensive. Supply and demand all the way up the chain. Right now there's an actual shortage of ram, so manufacturers are charging premium prices, especially for ssd related stuff, and this price hike is being passed on to vendors like g-skill and corsair, who then pass it on to retailers, who gouge your wallet. Your best pricing will be from ppl like Crucial, which is the public retail brand of Micron who makes their own ram. Thus skipping the middle ppl, keeping prices lower.

 

[SmAsH2003]

Well guys, I ordered all of the parts! I went with the AMD Ryzen 7 1700 + MSI X370 Krait MoBo... now is there somewhere that has everything I need to do to OC properly? I'm basically looking for something that can spoon feed me all of the settings so I don't risk blowing something up.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

Well guys, I ordered all of the parts! I went with the AMD Ryzen 7 1700 + MSI X370 Krait MoBo... now is there somewhere that has everything I need to do to OC properly? I'm basically looking for something that can spoon feed me all of the settings so I don't risk blowing something up.

This might help:
How To Overclock AMD Ryzen CPUs