Looking for guidance on first PC build.

[foreksgotmail]

Hello there. I am looking for some advice, guidance, and recommendations for my first PC build. It would be a gaming PC so keep that in mind. I have 2 different build selected but I am not sure which one will be more worth it in the end. I also am not 100% sure if any of the parts I have chosen are good or will work well. I just started trying to learn about hardware a couple months ago so all of this is still new to me. I will link the 2 builds below. Any advice would be appreciated. The budget I have for this build is no more than $1500 if I can help it. Let me know if the links don't work. Thank you.

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Forek/saved/#view=TxP4CJ
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Forek/saved/#view=wqQ4CJ

 

[vapour]

First one will work but gpu is too weak for the mighty 8700k CPU, Cooler too weak for ocing. Are you going to OC?
What Adobe work will you do? Please be as detailed as possible. Any other usage like streaming?
Ryzen is better bang for the money for productivity work but will trail in gaming compared to coffee lake.

 

[foreksgotmail]

The use would primarily be for gaming and computer science work for my Major. I play mostly esports titles(League of Legends, Overwatch, etc.) and usually play any AAA titles on console. I am hoping to do some video editing or streaming but that is not a major concern. I am not familiar with overclocking so I would probably have to look into that more. Any graphics card upgrade recommendations to do with the 8700k? How big of a difference is there between the Ryzen CPU and the 8700k when it comes to gaming?

 

[foreksgotmail]

First one will work but gpu is too weak for the mighty 8700k CPU, Cooler too weak for ocing. Are you going to OC?
What Adobe work will you do? Please be as detailed as possible. Any other usage like streaming?
Ryzen is better bang for the money for productivity work but will trail in gaming compared to coffee lake.

The use would primarily be for gaming and computer science work for my Major. I play mostly esports titles(League of Legends, Overwatch, etc.) and usually play any AAA titles on console. I am hoping to do some video editing or streaming but that is not a major concern. I am not familiar with overclocking so I would probably have to look into that more. Any graphics card upgrade recommendations to do with the 8700k? How big of a difference is there between the Ryzen CPU and the 8700k when it comes to gaming?

 

[vapour]

A more balanced build with your budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($346.69 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370 Extreme4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($147.18 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team - 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Samsung)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB GAMING Video Card ($294.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT - S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer - GN246HL 24.0" 1920x1080 144Hz Monitor ($189.99 @ B&H)
Total: $1511.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-19 12:41 EDT-0400

 

[foreksgotmail]

A more balanced build with your budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor ($346.69 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair - H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370 Extreme4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($147.18 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team - 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Samsung)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB GAMING Video Card ($294.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT - S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer - GN246HL 24.0" 1920x1080 144Hz Monitor ($189.99 @ B&H)
Total: $1511.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-19 12:41 EDT-0400

Ok, thank you. Just a couple of questions and concerns though. Like I said this is my first PC build ever and am very new when it comes to hardware. That being said I am a little nervous about the liquid cooling see as I have never done anything like this before. I am just worried that I am investing so much into this PC I don't want to accidentally ruin the hardware that I spent so much money on. So is there a different cooler that could potentially work for this PC? Am I just overthinking this and being irrational for worrying about this? I don't really know how difficult it is to install a liquid CPU cooler. Also is there any areas that you think would be ok replacing just to make this build a tad bit cheaper. If not that's fine just wanna try and make this thing as efficient as I can. For both use and for my wallet. Again thank you for the help on this, it is very much appreciated.

 

[vapour]

If so, I will do this then:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8600K 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor ($237.59 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370 Extreme4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($147.18 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team - 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Samsung)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB GAMING Video Card ($294.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT - S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer - GN246HL 24.0" 1920x1080 144Hz Monitor ($189.99 @ B&H)
Total: $1327.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-19 15:35 EDT-0400

8600k is close to 8700k in gaming, but will lose in streaming and video editing. If you want to keep 8700k, get R1 universal or Noctua NH-D15 as cooler and a larger case. Good water cooler will usually have insurance that covers your damage. Leaking is kind of rare nowadays.

 

[foreksgotmail]

If so, I will do this then:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8600K 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor ($237.59 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - Z370 Extreme4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($147.18 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Team - 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Samsung)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB GAMING Video Card ($294.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT - S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer - GN246HL 24.0" 1920x1080 144Hz Monitor ($189.99 @ B&H)
Total: $1327.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-04-19 15:35 EDT-0400

8600k is close to 8700k in gaming, but will lose in streaming and video editing. If you want to keep 8700k, get R1 universal or Noctua NH-D15 as cooler and a larger case. Good water cooler will usually have insurance that covers your damage. Leaking is kind of rare nowadays.

Are both builds capable of overclocking? Is overclocking worth doing?

 

[vapour]

Yes, worth or not is up to you. Just go easy on voltage. To me, it is free power but need caution.

 

[foreksgotmail]

Yes, worth or not is up to you. Just go easy on voltage. To me, it is free power but need caution.

What is the SSD for? Is it necessary? Also would it be worth to do liquid cooling for the i5 build?

 

[vapour]

I7 is much hotter than I5, and that is why high end water cooling is needed for I7. Air is fine for I5.
SSD is for faster booting and game loading + faster response of OS. Not impacting FPS but very good to have.