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$2500 Gaming Build

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J

jackkanehann

New Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2016
Hi,

Thanks in advance for looking at my post! I am building my first computer and have a lot of money to spare - my budget is capped at around $2600. I need all new parts, and a new 120hz or 144hz monitor for gaming. Primarily, I will use this computer to play CSGO and some other games, but I want it to be top of the line so it will last me for college and beyond. I got this build from a website called techbuyersguru.com and they had a $2500 gaming build very similar to this one. I have swapped the '512gb samsung ssd m.2 pcie' for the '1tb samsung ssd'; to sacrifice some extra memory for extra performance. Will this change make a noticeable difference in performance?

I have never used liquid cooling before, is there anything I should know before I install it? My friend who is helping me with the build has also never installed a liquid cooling for CPU, so am wondering if there is any difficulty here for a newbie.

Also, if someone can recommend a good 144hz monitor for gaming that would be a good value, that would be a great help as well. Also, I may swap out the case for something different - does this build require a 'Full Tower' case or can it fit in a 'Mid-Tower?'

Any advice and help here is greatly appreciated, I am extremely new to building computers and am open to any advice on this build.

Here is the build list I have so far:

CPU
Intel Core i7-6700K ($330.00)

Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 6 ($170.00)

Video Card
Asus GeForce GTX 1070 Strix 8G ($450.00)

Memory
Corsair 2x16GB Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 Black ($190.00)

Solid-State Drive
Samsung 950 Pro M.2 PCIe 512GB drive

Hard Drive
Toshiba P300 3TB ($95.00)

Case
Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 5 ($125.00)

Power Supply
EVGA Supernova P2 850W ($140.00)

CPU Cooler
Corsair Hydro H100i v2 Liquid Cooler ($97.00)

Optical Drive
LG 24x DVD Burner GH24NSC0B ($14.00)

Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 ($100.00)


Thanks in advance and looking forward to reading any responses you guys have for me! Cheers!
 
I think it's a pretty solid build.

I think you went over board on mempry, 16Gbs should be more than enough.
I bought the m.2 and the 1tb SSD, but really you should be good with just the SSD for quite some time.
The diference is the SSD Reads and writs somewhere around 600Mbs give or take
and the m.2 reads at 2.5Gbs and writes at 1.5Gbs So it's faster, but I think you could just go with the 1 TB for the same price.

Installing an AIO Watercooler is simple, mount the fans and radiator and the block goes on just like a regular CPU Cooler.

- - - Updated - - -

The m.2 and the 1Tb SSD are roughly the same price.
 
I would swap you 32 gb of ram out for 16gb with something like this kit for about $80
http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16820231929

I would also go with a 650 watt psu like a EVGA g2 series psu. I linked a 750w below Just because it is currently on sale cheaper than the 650w unit. $95 currently

http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16817438017


I would also recomend going with a good air cooler like a noctua nh-d14 or something similar instead of an aio water cooler in that price range.


I would use the money you saved from the ram and psu to invest in a 1080 over a 1070 or put it towards your monitor.


As to the 512gb m2 ssd vs a 1tb ssd I would either go with the 1 tb ssd or get a 512gb 850 evo if you are looking to save money. The slight performance gain from the 950 pro is not highly noticeable and is not worth the cost. I would either prefer to have the space of the 1tb or the extra cash from the 850 evo.

I'm not real good with monitors so I will let others chime in there.
 
Thanks for the replies! The reason I have decided to go all out with the SSD and memory, in the original build, was because my budget was so big that I figured I might as well put the extra dollar forward and get nicer parts. But, if you guys think 16gb and the regular 850 Evo will be fine, then I guess I will have more $ left over to spend on the gaming monitor.

Also, just theoretically, if I plan on overclocking this machine down the road, should I get the 850W just in case for the extra couple bucks? I figure it's a small investment in case I upgrade the ram, video card, or anything else down the line and want to overclock the machine. I know nothing about PSU's and wattage though, so let me know if I am completely off here. PSU's are cheap, and I always end up overpaying a bit just to protect myself from undershooting. Does the 1080 take significantly more wattage than a 1070, or is it similar? What about two 1080s vs two 1070s?

You guys are saying that the air cooler is fine - is there a big improvement with performance with the water cooler? It doesn't seem to make much of a difference price wise to me and if the performance is significantly better, I'd still prefer to stick with the water cooler. Also, as a sidenote, I am not one to clean my computer all that often. Is the dust buildup any different with a water cooler vs air cooler? I know this may seem like a dumb question, but it's relevant to people like me who don't clean the insides of their computer very often.

Again, sorry if these questions are very newb. I am not an expert builder but appreciate any advice you guys are throwing my way. Thanks again!
 
I put a heck of a gaming monitor into the build in my post... 27" 1440p 144Hz G-Sync.

The EVGA 550W G2 I suggested can more than handle an OC'd 6700K with an OC'd GTX 1080.

With an AIO you might pick up 100-200MHz on an overclock, but you have more reliability with the air cooler.
 
ATMINSIDE said:
Here's where I'd go with it:
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/CdndD8
Click to expand...
This...

As others have said... no need for 32GB... if in a few years you need it, get it. PSU was good for 3 1080's, lol, 550W is perfect for single card intel rigs with overclocking offering plenty of headroom. Hell I would happily run 2 1080's and Intel CPU with some overclocking. ;)

1080 is 180W GPU
1070 is 150W GPU
 
After taking in all the advice, this is the altered build I have put together.
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/4YddD8

I am gonna go with 32GB of ram off the bat, despite what others have suggested. Didn't see a better place to spend the ~$80 I would have saved.
The last places I think I need advice on are the monitor and case. Will the cooler fit in that case? Critiques on monitor choice? Thanks a bunch!
 
jackkanehann said:
After taking in all the advice, this is the altered build I have put together.
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/4YddD8

I am gonna go with 32GB of ram off the bat, despite what others have suggested. Didn't see a better place to spend the ~$80 I would have saved.
The last places I think I need advice on are the monitor and case. Will the cooler fit in that case? Critiques on monitor choice? Thanks a bunch!
Click to expand...

The RAM is slow, the monitor is small, SLI for no reason whatsoever, smaller SSD... Not sure why you'd go that route.
 
ATM,

Sorry if I'm frustrating you. My parents are paying for the comp, so paying for the 32gb now makes more sense for me, even if it won't add any extra performance in the short term. As for the monitor, I need it to fit in a dorm room comfortably. the 144hz will be a big positive change for my gaming experience. If you think that 27" will be better, I will definitely consider some of those options. The dell one I saw on newegg looks nice.

With the GPU, you think I should just go with one 1080 instead, and possibly upgrade to SLI later when the price comes down? I just can't fathom the need for *two* 1080s at a price of $1400 for casual gaming. But, I do want to get an ultra fast PC and spend a lot of the budget now, if reasonably possible. Also, can I run multiple monitors (2-4) with just one 1080? Or would there not be enough ports?

As for the memory, can you recommend a set of ddr4 32gb that would be faster, for the price? I know the g-skill are typically faster than the corsair at a cheaper price point, just not sure which ones to buy.

Smaller SSD doesn't bother me. Even though the performance difference now between this one and the 850 EVO may be small, I enjoy buying the new technology when it comes out if I have a large budget. 512gb is plenty for what I use it for (games) and the 3TB will be plenty, plenty extra. 1TB ssd would be a bit overkill, believe it or not (I don't use much space.)

Again, any other suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
jackkanehann said:
ATM,

Sorry if I'm frustrating you. My parents are paying for the comp, so paying for the 32gb now makes more sense for me, even if it won't add any extra performance in the short term. As for the monitor, I need it to fit in a dorm room comfortably. the 144hz will be a big positive change for my gaming experience. If you think that 27" will be better, I will definitely consider some of those options. The dell one I saw on newegg looks nice.

With the GPU, you think I should just go with one 1080 instead, and possibly upgrade to SLI later when the price comes down? I just can't fathom the need for *two* 1080s at a price of $1400 for casual gaming. But, I do want to get an ultra fast PC and spend a lot of the budget now, if reasonably possible. Also, can I run multiple monitors (2-4) with just one 1080? Or would there not be enough ports?

As for the memory, can you recommend a set of ddr4 32gb that would be faster, for the price? I know the g-skill are typically faster than the corsair at a cheaper price point, just not sure which ones to buy.

Smaller SSD doesn't bother me. Even though the performance difference now between this one and the 850 EVO may be small, I enjoy buying the new technology when it comes out if I have a large budget. 512gb is plenty for what I use it for (games) and the 3TB will be plenty, plenty extra. 1TB ssd would be a bit overkill, believe it or not (I don't use much space.)

Again, any other suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I'm not frustrated at all, just showing the weak points in the build. I didn't say not to go for the 32GB, I said it was slow. Right above me is a link to a great kit which isn't slow. A 27" monitor isn't THAT much bigger on a desk and, IMO, 1440p is a waste at 24" because of pixel density.

Yes, you can run four monitors off of a 1080.

Games are getting bigger and bigger, I wish now my 500GB was 1TB+ to hold everything I want for games. You're talking multiple years, get the 1TB since you have the budget. The 850 EVO will be plenty fast for you.
 
Games are getting bigger and bigger, I wish now my 500GB was 1TB+
Click to expand...

My World of Warcraft folder is 43.4 GBs!. And I haven't added any expansion packs over the free version yet. I mentioned somewhere recently that the three games I have on my SSD are at just shy of 100 GBs. Windows 10 and the Windows.old folder it seems to want to keep put me at 29 GBs just for the OS. I'm seriously considering a 1 TB SSD myself so I'm going to call ATM's words good advice.
 
jackkanehann said:
32gb now makes more sense for me, even if it won't add any extra performance in the short term.
Click to expand...

I went with 32GB as well and don't regret it.

If you're getting Corsair LPX Memory I'd suggest the 3200MHz versions.

I got mine for 77 bucks for each kit at Micro Center - they often go on sale just below 80 dollars a kit. You'd spend less or just about the same for much faster memory than what you have listed in your part picker.

I have these and so far they have been fantastic. The timings aren't perfect, but you won't notice a difference unless you're looking at benchmarks.

It's hard to find a sweet spot for DDR4 memory in terms of bang per buck IMO - there is a lot of good stuff out there, but finding a sale on the right speed/brand of your choice is a little tough. You'll just have to watch the sales for a few weeks.
 
It's hard to find a sweet spot for DDR4 memory in terms of bang per buck IMO - there is a lot of good stuff out there, but finding a sale on the right speed/brand of your choice is a little tough. You'll just have to watch the sales for a few weeks.
Click to expand...

This is becoming the New Truth. Just in the month or so since I bought my RAM I'm seeing some smokin' deals on faster stuff, and 32 GB kits that would be worthwhile because I could stash half of it "just in case". I don't know what's going on with DDR4 but I suspect this is the "Golden Age" of RAM. :)
 
I can have 51 tabs open in my browsers and play a game like BF4 and only use 8GBs out of my 16GBs of RAM.
 
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