What to improve on this selfbuild

DogeUsedWow

Reputable
Aug 3, 2017
14
1
4,515
Hi there,

I recently decided to build my own pc with a budget of 850 pounds. I was only wondering if my build is efficient enough and if there are any bottlenecks. I don't plan on overclocking and I'll mainly use the pc for playing games as The Witcher 3 and Skyrim on high settings.

Pcpartpicker: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Hkbwgw

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8500 3GHz 6-Core Processor
Motherboard: MSI Z370 Gaming Plus
Ram: Corsair CMK8GX4M2B3000C15R Vengeance LPX 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4 3000MHz
HDD: WD Black WD2003FZEX 64MB 2TB
GPU: Zotac Geforce GTX 1060 mini 6GB
Case: Cylon RGB MIDI TOWER - BLACK
PSU: Corsair CX550M 550W

Thanks in advance!
 

xhgaerlan

Great
Apr 26, 2018
26
0
60
I'd personally recommend using an Intel Optane Memory Module priced at only £52.29. With this, you can accelerate the HDD you currently have if you don't want to upgrade to an actual SSD which is rather pricey. Intel Optane acts like an advanced caching system which will boost your HDD's read/write speeds and boot times, especially for those games with large file directories.
However, one of the cons of Intel Optane is that the storage system is much more vulnerable to corruption since the two devices are combined into one comprehensive device, so if one fails, so does the other. This can happen from frequent forced shutdowns.
Everything else seems to be okay. :)
 
The rig lacks an SSD for a system drive, in 2018 it would simply be a shame to skip it. You can find a 250GB model for only 60GBP (such as Crucial MX500). RAM could use a bump to 16GB, although I understand that budget probably limits this and it is still quite expensive. Avoid Optane which is suggested above, this solution is not a true storage and as a home user you need one. Besides, price/performance ratio of 250GB SSD vs 32GB purely caching drive cannot even be compared.
 

WildCard999

Titan
Moderator
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor (£143.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: ASRock - H310M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£49.94 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£149.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£64.79 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£46.95 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB Mini Video Card (£249.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Aerocool - Cylon ATX Mid Tower Case (£35.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£68.39 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £810.02
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-25 13:07 BST+0100

A little bit more and you can get a GTX 1070.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor (£143.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: ASRock - B360M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£64.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£77.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£51.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£46.95 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Palit - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Dual Video Card (£365.99 @ Aria PC)
Case: Aerocool - Cylon ATX Mid Tower Case (£35.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£68.39 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £856.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-25 13:10 BST+0100
 
Solution
I see some good bundle prices on amazon.
Here is one for £309.99
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Components4All-Motherboard-2400MHz-Crucial-Pre-Built/dp/B07CNP88ZC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1527259802&sr=8-4&keywords=i5-8500+bundle


I will never again build without a ssd for the "C" drive. It makes everything you do much quicker.
240gb is the recommended minimum.

If you can go 500gb you may never need a hard drive.

You can defer on the hard drive unless you need to store large files such as video's.
It is easy to add a hard drive later.

Samsung EVO is a good choice for performance and reliability.