New Gaming PC Advice

[Devastator0]

Hi All,

So, I'm at a point now where I think I'm ready to build a new PC to replace my aging Z87 platform. I'll start straight off with specs of the current rig:

CPU: Intel Core i7 4770K @ 4.4Ghz 1.20V
CPU Cooler & System Fans: NZXT Kraken X52 in Push Config (Getting load temps on CPU of roughly between 70c-80c) & 3 Corsair AF140 Case Fans
Mobo: ASUS Maximus VI GENE Z87
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro CMY16GX3M2A1600C9R 8GB (2x8GB) DDR3 x 2
GPU: Asus Strix GTX 1080Ti ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Storage: 2 x 1TB Samsung 850 Pro SSD / Seagate Barracuda 2TB ST2000DM001
Case: Corsair Obsidian 350D with Window
PSU: Corsair AX860i Platinum Power Supply /w Red Sleeved Cabling

The system has served me well for it's life but I'm certainly seeing the core of the system as being a bottleneck for me. GPU is fine (for the 1440p resolution I'm at) so I don't think I'll be replacing that, but I think I'll be doing everything else. The rough list that I've put together for the replacement is as follows:

System Builder

au.pcpartpicker.com

I haven't selected a PSU replacement yet as I haven't really had a look into what is a solid choice yet. System is primarily a gaming rig, but I do run VM's on it for a few things (hence additional RAM) and video encoding from time to time. As mentioned previously, I'm gaming at 1440p and (currently) playing Star Citizen (needs quite a beefy system atm to get solid performance), GTA V, Witcher 3 but I'm also wanting to try and bump things up for when Cyberpunk does arrive. I'm in Australia (if the PCPP link didn't give it away) and I'm reasonably flexible on the budget but I don't want this to blow out to like 5 grand or something lol.

I welcome any feedback/suggestions that may help me refine the build and give me the best possible system & if more details are needed from me, please do let me know and I'll reply.

 

[biffzinker]

This PCPartpicker build is worth a consideration.

Enthusiast Intel Gaming/Streaming Build

au.pcpartpicker.com

 

[Lorec]

All nice and dandy, cpu,mobo,cooler, but:

but I do run VM's on it for a few things

and the fact You literally have 64gb of ram in Your list is a bit unclear to me.

also those two 1tb nvme drives? is something wrong with Your 850pros?
If You really need absolute speed for everything how about You switch to ryzen 3000 for that juicy pcie 4.0... jk

its all good parts, just rethink if You really need to go balls deep just because You can

This PCPartpicker build is worth a consideration.

Enthusiast Intel Gaming/Streaming Build

au.pcpartpicker.com

^this

 

[Devastator0]

This PCPartpicker build is worth a consideration.

Enthusiast Intel Gaming/Streaming Build

au.pcpartpicker.com

I'll def have a look at that. Cheers for that!

and the fact You literally have 64gb of ram in Your list is a bit unclear to me.

That was actually an error, I was messing around with the build list and I thought I had removed the additional set. Was a my bad.

also those two 1tb nvme drives? is something wrong with Your 850pros?
If You really need absolute speed for everything how about You switch to ryzen 3000 for that juicy pcie 4.0... jk

Nothing is wrong with the 850 Pro's but they are actually going to be remaining in that original system. I need new drives and I figured I'd go all in for those. Also lol, nah nah, no Ryzen setup for me...I don't NEED that PCIe 4.0. The 2x970's will carry me for a long time.

 

[biffzinker]

I'll def have a look at that. Cheers for that!

I'd swap the 16GB of RAM for 32GB, and leave out the Nvidia 2080 since your keeping the 1080 Ti.

 

[ne6togadno]

System Builder

au.pcpartpicker.com

 

[biffzinker]

System Builder

au.pcpartpicker.com

Nice build you put together but I assume the OP wants Intel even though the Ryzen 7 3800X would be the way to go. The 3900X however might be more CPU than he needs although it would be nice to have in the future.

 

[ne6togadno]

i think more threads will do better with VMs.
3900x is 23% ahead over 9700k in productivity tasks (vms are not tested thou) while in gaming is only 1.6% short from 9700k
imho 23% more perofrmance is worth ~100$ more in price.

AMD Ryzen 9 3900X Review

The flagship of AMD's new Ryzen 3000 lineup is the Ryzen 9 3900X, which is a 12-core, 24-thread monster. Never before have we seen such power on a desktop platform. Priced at $500, this processor is very strong competition for Intel's Core i9-9900, which only has eight cores.

www.techpowerup.com

if intel is that important then your's and op's builds are solid enough. i would get at least 650W psu to replace 550w corsair unit in your build thou

 

[Deleted member 67555]

Just my opinion...
You should just wait for DDR5.
I see Intel needing something exciting and what would be more exciting than the same thing but with DDR5!

I do see some massive performance increases in the new build.. Just not sure if it's worth it.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I would not worry about picking a PSU until you have finalized your list of other components. Then size and pick a good one (don't try to trim the budget with a budget PSU).

I say if you are ready to buy now, buy now. Don't wait for DDR5. There is ALWAYS something better, flashier, shinier, faster, more efficient, more powerful just around the next corner. If you take the philosophy of waiting for something to arrive, you may always be waiting.

When it comes to consumer electronics, we all just need to accept that it is just a fact of life as soon as we buy something brand new, it will be superseded with something better tomorrow. Okay, maybe not tomorrow, but for sure, before your current purchase gets old and dies.

Another problem with waiting for some new technology - especially one that requires a new motherboard platform (including compatible CPU and chipset) is that it is not always a good idea to jump on the "first generation" bandwagon. Besides costs typically being higher (often much higher), first generation products often have performance and/or reliability problems.

I do agree DDR5 does promise to bring some exciting performance advantages ("IF" not bottlenecked by other less capable components). But I feel one should think long and hard about waiting (and the potential costs of going with a first generation DDR5 platform) if ready to buy now.

 

[64K]

I would not worry about picking a PSU until you have finalized your list of other components. Then size and pick a good one (don't try to trim the budget with a budget PSU).

I say if you are ready to buy now, buy now. Don't wait for DDR5. There is ALWAYS something better, flashier, shinier, faster, more efficient, more powerful just around the next corner. If you take the philosophy of waiting for something to arrive, you may always be waiting.

When it comes to consumer electronics, we all just need to accept that it is just a fact of life as soon as we buy something brand new, it will be superseded with something better tomorrow. Okay, maybe not tomorrow, but for sure, before you current purchase gets old and dies.

Another problem with waiting for some new technology - especially one that requires a new motherboard platform (including compatible CPU and chipset) is that it is not always a good ideal to jump on the "first generation" bandwagon. Besides costs typically being higher (often much higher), first generation products often have performance and/or reliability problems.

I do agree DDR5 does promise to bring some exciting performance advantages ("IF" not bottlenecked by other less capable components). But I feel one should think long and hard about waiting (and the potential costs of going with a first generation DDR5 platform) if ready to buy now.

Excellent advice.

 

[Deleted member 178884]

even though the Ryzen 7 3800X would be the way to go.

3800x is a waste of money - the 3700x provides better value and is barely slower to justify the cost difference.

 

[EarthDog]

Just my opinion...
You should just wait for DDR5.
I see Intel needing something exciting and what would be more exciting than the same thing but with DDR5!

I do see some massive performance increases in the new build.. Just not sure if it's worth it.

he'll be waiting a while... and that impact likely isnt worth it... similar tonddr4 over ddr3. A voltage drop and some bandwidth increases.

But... it's like hooking up a firehose to your kitchen faucet and expecting more flow... only these HCC chips can utilize the bandwidth from what I understand. Ddr5 is nothing to wait for.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

he'll be waiting a while... and that impact likely isnt worth it... similar tonddr4 over ddr3. A voltage drop and some bandwidth increases.

But... it's like hooking up a firehose to your kitchen faucet and expecting more flow... only these HCC chips can utilize the bandwidth from what I understand. Ddr5 is nothing to wait for.

I get it..I do... But we're talking about 17- 22fps max @1440 ultra/high
I think his setup is gonna be good for awhile..
I'm also just being the devil's advocate.

If I had the money right now I'd buy the system he wants.
I'd keep the 1080ti as well... The next best card isn't worth it...imo

 

[cucker tarlson]

he'll be waiting a while... and that impact likely isnt worth it... similar tonddr4 over ddr3. A voltage drop and some bandwidth increases.

But... it's like hooking up a firehose to your kitchen faucet and expecting more flow... only these HCC chips can utilize the bandwidth from what I understand. Ddr5 is nothing to wait for.

memory is not just about bandwidth pal.

if you want it for cp2077,why don't you wait for cp2077.it might turn out it's better to get a 3700x over 9700k.

 

[EarthDog]

memory is not just about bandwidth pal.

Pal?

And, no shit.

 

[biffzinker]

memory is not just about bandwidth

Is that a hint at latency I hear?

 

[cucker tarlson]

Your 4770k is good for 60 fps.No need to upgrade until it isn't.

 

[dirtyferret]

memory is not just about bandwidth pal.

if you want it for cp2077,why don't you wait for cp2077.it might turn out it's better to get a 3700x over 9700k.

this is the machine CD projekt ran their cp2077 E3 demo on, not saying it won't run just as good on AMD, just an FYI

• CPU: Intel i7-8700K
• Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming
• RAM: G. Skill Ripjaws, V 2x16GB, 300MHz, CL15
• GPU: GeForce GTX 1080TiGeForce GTX 1080Ti
• SSD: Samsung 960 Pro 512 GB M.2 PCIe
• PSU: Corsair SF600 600W

 

[EarthDog]

@cucker tarlson - Here's the change from DDR3 to DDR4...

Intel Skylake DDR3 vs. DDR4 Comparison - Page 6

Conclusion Although the DDR4 standard was established all the way back in 2012 , nobody really cared about it until its appearance on the Haswell-E

www.hardwarecanucks.com

Outside of the typical meager voltage reduction and bandwidth increases... what is going to make DDR4 to DDR5 some sort of large leap? I see you believe it is so... but what is that belief it rooted in?

(and that's that for me as I've been a bit off topic all day today).

EDIT: On topic... just saying DDR5 isn't likely worth the wait. If the OP is ready now, get the best you can/want to afford. If this means a 3900x or a 9900k, either will be pretty awesome for the next 5 years. The intel may show its age sooner if all the multi-threading people think will starting happening yesterday gets moving.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

this is the machine CD projekt ran their cp2077 E3 demo on, not saying it won't run just as good on AMD, just an FYI

• 
  
• CPU: Intel i7-8700K
• 
  
• Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix Z370-I Gaming
• 
  
• RAM: G. Skill Ripjaws, V 2x16GB, 300MHz, CL15
• 
  
• GPU: GeForce GTX 1080TiGeForce GTX 1080Ti
• 
  
• SSD: Samsung 960 Pro 512 GB M.2 PCIe
• 
  
• PSU: Corsair SF600 600W

The most recent Demo ran on Titan RTX.

Cyberpunk 2077 demo was running a NVIDIA Titan RTX

The one title that made a lot of news was Cyberpunk 2077 demo'd in an RTX optimized version. Would the game be playable with say an RTX 2070? Well, the E3 2019 demo for Cyberpunk 2077 was running o...

www.guru3d.com

 

[64K]

The most recent Demo ran on Titan RTX.

Cyberpunk 2077 demo was running a NVIDIA Titan RTX

The one title that made a lot of news was Cyberpunk 2077 demo'd in an RTX optimized version. Would the game be playable with say an RTX 2070? Well, the E3 2019 demo for Cyberpunk 2077 was running o...

www.guru3d.com

But bear in mind that it is common to run these demos on high end hardware for the press. The Publisher doesn't want to have any presentation issues or glitches so they go for overkill just to make sure and the demo being shown might not be fully optimized as well.

 

[moproblems99]

There is no point to upgrade that psu unless it is really old or the tolerances are slipping.

Buy the best cpu you can afford with the motherboard that has the features you want/need. Add ram accordingly.

You can easily get out of this for less than $1k us. No idea what you will need to spend in AU though.

Edit: Shoulda looked at you build as there is no psu there. Not sure why you would buy another 1080ti if you already have one in your current rig. Also, I would get the Evos as I don't think the pros are really worth the extra money. The Adata xpg 8200 or something like that is also a really good drive.

 

[Devastator0]

I'd swap the 16GB of RAM for 32GB, and leave out the Nvidia 2080 since your keeping the 1080 Ti.

Good advice, cheers!

Just my opinion...
You should just wait for DDR5.
I see Intel needing something exciting and what would be more exciting than the same thing but with DDR5!

I do see some massive performance increases in the new build.. Just not sure if it's worth it.

Not sure if I'm keen to wait until DDR5 is released, especially down here in AU. I'm sure we'll get hit with an Australia Tax on that.

he'll be waiting a while... and that impact likely isnt worth it... similar tonddr4 over ddr3. A voltage drop and some bandwidth increases.

But... it's like hooking up a firehose to your kitchen faucet and expecting more flow... only these HCC chips can utilize the bandwidth from what I understand. Ddr5 is nothing to wait for.

Yeah, I'm most likely going to do it sooner than a DDR5 launch.

Your 4770k is good for 60 fps.No need to upgrade until it isn't.

Well, you're assuming I am gaming at 60fps. I have a 165Hz refresh rate panel so I do like me the high fps gaming.

There is no point to upgrade that psu unless it is really old or the tolerances are slipping.

Buy the best cpu you can afford with the motherboard that has the features you want/need. Add ram accordingly.

You can easily get out of this for less than $1k us. No idea what you will need to spend in AU though.

Edit: Shoulda looked at you build as there is no psu there. Not sure why you would buy another 1080ti if you already have one in your current rig. Also, I would get the Evos as I don't think the pros are really worth the extra money. The Adata xpg 8200 or something like that is also a really good drive.

Yeah, ok, so let me just clarify this a little. I am going to transfer my existing 1080Ti from my current system into the new one I intend on putting together. The existing PC will be relegated to a spare or one for my wife to use. I have another GPU (an R9 280X) ready to take it's place. I will definately keep in mind your comments about the 970 Pro's...I've done a bit more of a look at the drives and you are right, the Evo's seem like a good option.

Revised/Updated Build at this stage:

System Builder

au.pcpartpicker.com

 

[moproblems99]

I will definately keep in mind your comments about the 970 Pro's...I've done a bit more of a look at the drives and you are right, the Evo's seem like a good option.

I used to buy the pros but my next one will be an Evo. If I even buy Samsung.