Advice for value gaming PC

[Despic]

Hi all, I'm thinking of building a gaming pc after only using a laptop for a long time. The last time (and first time) that I had built a pc was 14 years ago to play WoW (Radeon 9600 gpu lol) so I'm out of touch with the market now (and also how to build a computer), so many new brands have appeared since then (zotac, palit, galax).

I have a rough budget of around 2.5k (can be more) for a computer with monitor. Singupingu and Psycovirus bros have been helpful over pm and so I have a rough build drawn up. My aim is to build a computer which is value for money, so even if it is more expensive I can consider as long as it is good value. I was advised that it would be better to post here because more bros would come forward with advice. At the moment it seems to me that the monitor seems to be the weak link.

Games that I will be playing will be strategy games, shadow of war, witcher 3, shooters etc (and all the other good games which I missed out on because I only had a macbook air).

• CPU+MB*AMD Ryzen R5-1600X +
Asus ROG STRIX B350-F GAMING*-*$569
• RAM*Crucial 16GB Ballistix Elite -*$235
• GPU*MSI 1080 8GB Gaming X -*$761.60 (saw a promo to redeem Destiny 2 in the forum, more value)
• SSD*- WD M.2 Blue SSD, 500 GB -*$225*
• CPU Cooler*- Cryorig H7 + AM4 Bracket (Free, Get from Corbell) -*$65
• Power Supply*- Seasonic Focus Plus 550W -*$145
• Case*- Either Phanteks P400 or Fractal Design Define C -*$139/149
• Case Fans*2x 120mm Case Fans - ~$40
• Windows 10 Pro - Carousell - $8
• Monitor -PRISM+ W270 - $375
Total Damage -*$2572~

 

[Hailgod]

think i5 8400 > ryzen for pure gaming purposes if u have no use for the 12 threads.

 

[Neptunes43]

Looks okay, except that i'm a bit uncomfortable with a 550w psu, given that 1080 draws power close to 200ish or even 250W under load. I'd go with a 650W psu; the extra headroom makes me less anxious. moar power pls

I'd reconsider the monitor for something else as you've pointed out. The response time seems a bit slow. but 1440p monitors looks pretty damn expensive. Could be looking at the wrong place tho

 

[Koenig168]

You can also consider the P400s. It costs a few dollars more than the P400 but comes with a built-in fan controller.

You might want to budget for a HDD.

 

[Psycovirus]

think i5 8400 > ryzen for pure gaming purposes if u have no use for the 12 threads.

It's good to recommend i5-8400 but when considering the prices of the Motherboards, which non is B360/H370, add on too much of the cost to be worth the money. No more value.

And stocks are also limited. Last saturday, when I went SLS, most shops only have the i3s for coffee lake.

Looks okay, except that i'm a bit uncomfortable with a 550w psu, given that 1080 draws power close to 200ish or even 250W under load. I'd go with a 650W psu; the extra headroom makes me less anxious. moar power pls

I'd reconsider the monitor for something else as you've pointed out. The response time seems a bit slow. but 1440p monitors looks pretty damn expensive. Could be looking at the wrong place tho

Just a quick calculation using Outervision. OC-ed both Processor and GPU. Recommended 504W. A 550W Gold standard is more than sufficient for the build. However, for more breathing space, a 650W is not a bad consideration.
OuterVision PSU Calculator part list

Motherboard: Desktop
CPU: 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
CPU Speed: 4000MHz
CPU Vcore: 1.3V
CPU Utilization: 90%
Memory: 1 x 8GB DDR4 Module
Memory: 1 x 8GB DDR4 Module
Video Card Set 1: 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
Core Clock: 2000MHz
Overvoltage: 10%
Memory Clock: 2500MHz
Storage: 1 x M.2 SSD
Keyboard: 1 x Standard Keyboard
Mouse: 1 x Standard Mouse
Fan: 3 x 120mm
Computer Utilization: 4 hours per day
Gaming/Video Editing/3D Rendering Time: 4 hours per day

Load Wattage: 454W
Recommended Wattage: 504W
Amperage: +3.3V: 10.1A, +5V: 7.8A, +12V: 35.9A
Recommended UPS Rating: 850VA
Generated by OuterVision PSU Calculator 2017-11-15 07:42:30


To OP. Thanks for consulting with me. I am a bit bias towards AMD due to their value offering so do try to consider Intel if you wish.

 

[produde1999]

If you want value for money,

I highly recommend watch over amazon.com on black friday for all kinds of parts

Especially zotac gpu.

Sent from Xiaomi MI MAX 3 using GAGT

 

[produde1999]

And personally I wouldn't spend so much on case and case fans but that's just me. But if you want value budget build, I would suggest reducing on that.

Sent from Xiaomi MI MAX 3 using GAGT

 

[12122012]

Looks okay, except that i'm a bit uncomfortable with a 550w psu, given that 1080 draws power close to 200ish or even 250W under load. I'd go with a 650W psu; the extra headroom makes me less anxious. moar power pls

I'd reconsider the monitor for something else as you've pointed out. The response time seems a bit slow. but 1440p monitors looks pretty damn expensive. Could be looking at the wrong place tho

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1080-pascal,4572-10.html

"Bottom Line

The 180W boundary is never crossed without overclocking. In fact, exceeding it would be impossible according to the engineers we asked."

 

[Hailgod]

It's good to recommend i5-8400 but when considering the prices of the Motherboards, which non is B360/H370, add on too much of the cost to be worth the money. No more value.

And stocks are also limited. Last saturday, when I went SLS, most shops only have the i3s for coffee lake.



Just a quick calculation using Outervision. OC-ed both Processor and GPU. Recommended 504W. A 550W Gold standard is more than sufficient for the build. However, for more breathing space, a 650W is not a bad consideration.
OuterVision PSU Calculator part list

Motherboard: Desktop
CPU: 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
CPU Speed: 4000MHz
CPU Vcore: 1.3V
CPU Utilization: 90%
Memory: 1 x 8GB DDR4 Module
Memory: 1 x 8GB DDR4 Module
Video Card Set 1: 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
Core Clock: 2000MHz
Overvoltage: 10%
Memory Clock: 2500MHz
Storage: 1 x M.2 SSD
Keyboard: 1 x Standard Keyboard
Mouse: 1 x Standard Mouse
Fan: 3 x 120mm
Computer Utilization: 4 hours per day
Gaming/Video Editing/3D Rendering Time: 4 hours per day

Load Wattage: 454W
Recommended Wattage: 504W
Amperage: +3.3V: 10.1A, +5V: 7.8A, +12V: 35.9A
Recommended UPS Rating: 850VA
Generated by OuterVision PSU Calculator 2017-11-15 07:42:30


To OP. Thanks for consulting with me. I am a bit bias towards AMD due to their value offering so do try to consider Intel if you wish.

adds too much cost? 8400+ cheap 370 is ~460 and u dont need a cooler. that's 160 cheaper than your current choice and u say adds cost.

 

[Psycovirus]

adds too much cost? 8400+ cheap 370 is ~460 and u dont need a cooler. that's 160 cheaper than your current choice and u say adds cost.

That is true. An 8400 + MSI Z370-A Pro is only $451. Cheapest board there is.

Then I could argue the same for R5-1600 + ASRock AB350M is only $436 and it has a more capable cooler than the one provided by intel.

I have mentioned that in my PM to OP but his request was to use an Asus board with a good quality built-in sound and easy to use UEFI.

For a similar board from Intel Z370 chipset, i5-8400 + Asus Z370 Strix-F would become $612. A cooler is still recommended for intel's boost to work better.

Please continue to provide options to OP.

Also, do note, i5-8400 is out of stock most of the time. Hopefully OP is able to obtain one when he build his PC. If not, R5-1600, 1600X isn't a bad choice.

 

[Neptunes43]

tomshardware is a great site! they've got really good info in there. I think the link posted (on gfx 1080) might be the founders edition? msi version of it seems to draw a bit more wattage.

i second the amd option, since 8400 appears to be increasing in price, in addition to the low stocks on coffee lake cpus. I'd like to think pairing a 8600k cpu with a z370 board makes better sense with overclocking abilities, altho the cost does add up.

on monitors, a viable option is to downgrade the 1080 gfx to a 1070 to get a good 1080p 144hz monitor such as the asus vg248qe (which cost less overseas *hint hint*). just putting it out there

 

[Hailgod]

That is true. An 8400 + MSI Z370-A Pro is only $451. Cheapest board there is.

Then I could argue the same for R5-1600 + ASRock AB350M is only $436 and it has a more capable cooler than the one provided by intel.

I have mentioned that in my PM to OP but his request was to use an Asus board with a good quality built-in sound and easy to use UEFI.

For a similar board from Intel Z370 chipset, i5-8400 + Asus Z370 Strix-F would become $612. A cooler is still recommended for intel's boost to work better.

Please continue to provide options to OP.

Also, do note, i5-8400 is out of stock most of the time. Hopefully OP is able to obtain one when he build his PC. If not, R5-1600, 1600X isn't a bad choice.

cooler is not needed for turboboost lol. and even oced 1600 is not up to 8400 in gaming performance.

 

[Psycovirus]

cooler is not needed for turboboost lol. and even oced 1600 is not up to 8400 in gaming performance.

I am not denying the fact that i5-8400 is better in gaming.
But considering the price of the motherboard OP wants and the illusive i5-8400 in Sim Lim Square, AMD R5-1600X is not a bad alternative.

i5-8400 is a great gaming chip, if you can find one. But that doesn't make the AMD Ryzen chip bad either. It can still hold on its own, especially at higher resolutions where GPU starts to be the bottlenecking factor.

For the cooler, I believe it's up to OP preference. There are many who don't use the included stock coolers and use aftermarket options.

 

[archyng]

even its a budget build, additional cooling is required for better airflow (just buy cheap and good one dun need to fk for rgb fan). case like p400tg comes with only 2 fan i doubt its enough. better to take care of thermals by spending a bit more than end up overheating.

And personally I wouldn't spend so much on case and case fans but that's just me. But if you want value budget build, I would suggest reducing on that.

Sent from Xiaomi MI MAX 3 using GAGT

 

[Despic]

Hi all, I appreciate the opinions given and it seems that a large part of the discussion is focused on the CPU. I would take the i5 8400 if there was stock, but am quite happy to take the Ryzen 1600X.

Can the bros around advise me regarding the monitor. Should I get a more expensive monitor so that I can continue using the monitor after my rig is upgraded, and so that I can also immediately enjoy the benefits of my current specs now? Or will that jump in price not be worth it for the slight improvement?

Another question is regarding where to buy the parts. I have been looking at amazon now and possibly holding out for black friday sale like what produde1999 had advised. I have some questions though, some of the items on amazon have additional charges of import fees on them and the increase in price then makes it less worth it. Is the import fee on amazon a normal phenomenon?

Will be holding out to get my build on black friday in order to get the most value out of it, so will appreciate all advice to prepare for it.

Thanks!

 

[produde1999]

Hi all, I appreciate the opinions given and it seems that a large part of the discussion is focused on the CPU. I would take the i5 8400 if there was stock, but am quite happy to take the Ryzen 1600X.

Can the bros around advise me regarding the monitor. Should I get a more expensive monitor so that I can continue using the monitor after my rig is upgraded, and so that I can also immediately enjoy the benefits of my current specs now? Or will that jump in price not be worth it for the slight improvement?

Another question is regarding where to buy the parts. I have been looking at amazon now and possibly holding out for black friday sale like what produde1999 had advised. I have some questions though, some of the items on amazon have additional charges of import fees on them and the increase in price then makes it less worth it. Is the import fee on amazon a normal phenomenon?

Will be holding out to get my build on black friday in order to get the most value out of it, so will appreciate all advice to prepare for it.

Thanks!

Take note that there's different sellers in amazon.
Best is to buy from seller: amazon.com
They're normally the cheapest for us as no import tax, free global shipping tho sometime it depend on what item u buying

For eg, gtx 1060

For monitor, what area u want to upgrade? the aftershock u mentioned has 100%srgb, 1440p, IPS panel. Quite good already.

Sent from Xiaomi MI MAX 3 using GAGT

 

[barok]

I can only suggest to upgrade the monitor to Acer Predator X34A to do justice for the GTX1080. It is costly but it will serve you well knowing that you seldom upgrade. Just wait for Black Friday and maybe qoo10 has some vouchers to reduce the cost.

 

[Despic]

Hi all, can I know what is a good price for the i5 8400 and ryzen 1600x?

 

[Neptunes43]

Not sure about ryzen side of things, but if you can get an i5 8400 for <= 270ish bucks, that's a pretty good deal I think. The lowest I've seen is about 258(source: pricelist). The real cost is on the mobo tho.

 

[tmfwy]

I can only suggest to upgrade the monitor to Acer Predator X34A to do justice for the GTX1080. It is costly but it will serve you well knowing that you seldom upgrade. Just wait for Black Friday and maybe qoo10 has some vouchers to reduce the cost.

Its an ACER ..