Gaming Build under $700 - please help

[LaskoAA]

Hi All,

I'm in the process of building a gaming PC for my nephew for under $700 (already above budget). Can you please let me know your thoughts on the below?


Motherboard: $98.99

GIGABYTE GA-Z270P-D3 (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel Z270 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 ATX Motherboards - Intel

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128975



Processor: $214

Intel Core i5-7600K Kaby Lake Quad-Core 3.8 GHz LGA 1151 91W BX80677I57600K Desktop Processor

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...ProcessorsDesktops-_-19117728-S0F&ignorebbr=1



Video Card: $169.99

EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti FTW GAMING ACX 3.0, 04G-P4-6258-KR, 4GB GDDR5, DX12 OSD Support (PXOC)

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487294



Cooler: $34.99

CRYORIG H7

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4UF2DZ6565&ignorebbr=1



Memory: $121.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Intel Z170 Platform Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C16D-16GVRB

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820231977



Power Supply: $69.99

EVGA SuperNOVA 550 G2 220-G2-0550-Y1 80+ GOLD 550W Fully Modular EVGA ECO Mode Includes FREE Power On Self Tester Power Supply

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438053



Thanks!


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[Johan45]

First thing I see is the ram. That platform requires DDR4

 

[LaskoAA]

First thing I see is the ram. That platform requires DDR4

What makes the platform require DDR4? The motherboard?

Thanks



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[Johan45]

That and the CPU since it requires that level of motherboard. DDR4 is slightly more expensive that's all.
How much horsepower is the nephew going to need?

 

[LaskoAA]

That and the CPU since it requires that level of motherboard. DDR4 is slightly more expensive that's all.
How much horsepower is the nephew going to need?

ok perfect, I'll update the memory to use this instead:

Memory: $121.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Intel Z170 Platform Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C16D-16GVRB

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820231977


Enough power to run games like Battlefield at high / ultra (like I can with my current PC). My PC is still using a 2010 cheap Gigabyte mobo, an overclocked i7-2700K + Evga 970 FTW+.



Would this motherboard work with my build or should I look into something else? I think i'd prefer Intel over AMD am I correct?

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Thanks!



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[Johan45]

That motherboard is actually for an AMD Ryzen CPU not Intel.
The 1050Ti isn't quite as good as your 970 but should be fine, maybe not ultra though.
You might want to check this PSU if you're buying right away it's $10 off + a $10 rebate and that's a great price for this PSU https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438053

 

[LaskoAA]

That motherboard is actually for an AMD Ryzen CPU not Intel.
The 1050Ti isn't quite as good as your 970 but should be fine, maybe not ultra though.
You might want to check this PSU if you're buying right away it's $10 off + a $10 rebate and that's a great price for this PSU https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438053

Ok awesome, thanks so much for your help, I'll get that PSU!

I thought the 1050 TI would be better than my 970... Ok, let me find a better graphics card.

Which motherboard should I go for?

Thanks!!


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[Johan45]

I'd go with that Gigabyte you listed, Z270 is built for the 7600K so no BIOS worries and it's overclockable. As long as it has all the connectivity you need for drives etc..

 

[LaskoAA]

I'd go with that Gigabyte you listed, Z270 is built for the 7600K so no BIOS worries and it's overclockable. As long as it has all the connectivity you need for drives etc..

Ok perfect, I prefer Gigabyte to Asus anyway.


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[Johan45]

By the time you're done your nephews PC is going to be better than yours ha ha

 

[LaskoAA]

By the time you're done your nephews PC is going to be better than yours ha ha

hahaha, I know i'm excited to put it together!

The Evga 970's are super expensive for some reason. Is there another graphics card I can get that's better than the 1050 TI but not too expensive?


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[Johan45]

I was looking earlier and not really if you need to stay in that price range.. Like I said he should be able to game just fine. Your only alternative would be used and still a 970 won't be that cheap. Maybe keep your eyes open for a sale on the 1060

This is the cheapest one I found at newegg https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814137036

 

[LaskoAA]

I was looking earlier and not really if you need to stay in that price range.. Like I said he should be able to game just fine. Your only alternative would be used and still a 970 won't be that cheap. Maybe keep your eyes open for a sale on the 1060

This is the cheapest one I found at newegg https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814137036

Do you think I should bother overclocking my 970 FTW+? I never did anything to it other than install it and I think it's overclockable.


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[Johan45]

They're all overclockable. Do you think you need too. If gameplay is fine then.......

 

[LaskoAA]

They're all overclockable. Do you think you need too. If gameplay is fine then.......

Yeah gameplay is good. I overclock my i7-2700K to 4.2 and my temps stay between 50 - 60 degrees. Only problem with my overclock is that I haven't been able to set up my bios so that it only overclocks when needed as opposed to being overclocked 100% of the time (even when in idle). I still need to figure out how to make my CPU not overclock while computer is in idle mode.

I'm using this ancient motherboard: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128538

*edit, I found instructions online on how to do the above so please don't waste your time trying to find a solution, you have already helped me a ton!


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[||Console||]

Sell him your 970 and get your self a 1070 =)
a 1060 should be pretty close to your 970 ( a bit faster )
GFX cards are hard to get right now miners are buying every thing and driving up the prices of new and used cards .
But the New AMD gfx cards will be out in 2-4 weeks I would wait my self even if they arent better it might help with prices ( that suck right now )

and a FYI if you have a good HSF you can probably take your current CPU to 4.5-5ghz

 

[Johan45]

Funny console I was thinking he should sell the whole PC to his nephew and keep the new parts for himself ha ha

 

[LaskoAA]

Sell him your 970 and get your self a 1070 =)
a 1060 should be pretty close to your 970 ( a bit faster )
GFX cards are hard to get right now miners are buying every thing and driving up the prices of new and used cards .
But the New AMD gfx cards will be out in 2-4 weeks I would wait my self even if they arent better it might help with prices ( that suck right now )

and a FYI if you have a good HSF you can probably take your current CPU to 4.5-5ghz

GPU's are so expensive right now it's crazy, way over my personal budget.

I can definitely overclock to 4.5-5ghz but I never overclocked before and my quick overclock wasn't done efficiently (it overclocks in idle mode). When I have the time to fix that issue i'll push for the 4.5-5ghz overclock.



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[Johan45]

Typically with the Intel if you set an offset voltage to make up for what auto can't give you then enable speedstep and power savers you should idle down in speed and voltage. Remember to set Windows to balanced

 

[LaskoAA]

Typically with the Intel if you set an offset voltage to make up for what auto can't give you then enable speedstep and power savers you should idle down in speed and voltage. Remember to set Windows to balanced

Ok thanks, I'll give that a try.


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