At long last it's time to build a new PC
What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.
Hi guys, I want to play current gen games and not have to upgrade for a few years. I want to play VR so I need a VR capable GPU, but there's a lack of games for it still, so I'll hold off on getting the actual headset until some good games come out like Contagion VR.
What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?
About $1600 USD or $2000 AUD. Give or take a couple of hundred I can probably scrounge up. Because of the cryptocurrency mining craze I understand high end GPU's are currently extremely expensive. Nevertheless I need a high end GPU so if it goes over budget so be it.
When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.
In about 2 weeks.
What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (Tower/OS/monitor/keyboard/mouse/etc)
Tower, Case, OS, Monitor, Keyboard. Already have a mouse and headphones. I have a 1080p monitor so I can hold off on buying 4K if it's not cost effective.
Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?
Australia. I usually shop at MSY or CPL.
If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.
Gaming mouse, possibly 1080p monitor.
Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?
No
Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)
Smallish SSD sufficient for the OS, 1TB would be nice but anything smaller would be ok since I won't be putting anything else on it, large HDD to store all my steam games. At least 4TB but preferably more.
Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-tower/full-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?
A cool case would be nice but it doesn't really matter. I'd like it to be easy to clean because cases get dust in them and dust is bad.
Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?
I will reluctantly get Win10 because it's required for a lot of games I want to play. I hate win10 because it doesn't ask for permission before restarting or installing things. I hate that OS's nowadays are trying to be a service instead of just an OS. Dual booting with win8 (so I only have to use win10 for State of Decay and other win10 games) would be absolutely fantastic but I know nothing about dual booting and how feasible it is
Extra info or particulars:
I'd really like this PC to not be obselete for at least a few years. Thanks in advance for the help, I really appreciate it, you guys are doing the Gods's work.
Posted Mar 29, 2018, 3:16 PM UTC
I've mocked this PC build up for you. I should note it's over your budget, by quite a lot. I would love to tell you it's due to inflation on the GPU, but it's only gone up $100 since it's lowest average price. RAM prices have also increased $100 recently: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/shJpGG
Here's my reasoning for choosing the parts I chose:
CPU: i5-8600K - I chose this CPU as it has 6 cores (something that'll more than likely be required for a smooth gaming experience in the future) and has a high enough boost clock of 4.2Ghz so you won't see much of a performance impact on previous generation games that require less threads and rely more on core clock.
Cooler: Noctua - NH-U12S - I generally know of Noctua as a company who make great air based cooling options. The NH-U12S just so happens to be in their mid range set of coolers. (You can swap this out for another cooler if you wish).
RAM: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 16GB - Many recent games require >8GB of RAM, so I went with 16GB. The intel platform sees a performance boost from dual channel RAM so I went with the 2x8GB option. The timings and speed of this RAM is generally speaking, good enough for most, if not all games. And it has RGB if you want it. (I would recommend going with a cheaper model if you want to save money)
GPU: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1070 - I would recommend a GTX 1070 or higher for a consistent 60fps, max settings, 1080p gameplay in current games and a few future games. A GTX 1080ti is recommend for 4k, but even it has trouble maintaining 60fps on max settings in some games. As for AMD options, a Vega 56 will probably get you performance similar to a GTX 1070, but nothing from AMD yet can compete against the GTX 1080ti in gaming.
SSD: Samsung - 960 PRO 512GB - Samsung is a large manufacturer of NAND storage used by many large companies. This would suggest their NAND storage would be good for speed and reliability so I chose a Samsung SSD.
HDD: Seagate - BarraCuda 5TB - You wanted 4TB+, here's 5TB in a 2.5inch form factor. Feel free to switch to another drive or a 3.5inch drive as it'll probably save you money.
Case: Fractal Design - Meshify C - Entirely up to you on what case you want, I chose this one for the 'high' airflow through the case.
OS: Windows 10 - You wanted it to play specific games.
Thanks man I'll take a look and see if I can scrounge some extra cash up
I would also suggest taking a look at other components that may better fit your needs as I threw this build together using mostly mid range parts just to show you how expensive a computer can get.
The first thing I would suggest is shifting the CPU to an intel i7-8700 or i7-8700k if you can afford it. If you don't think you'll be playing games at high framerates (>100fps), then you could take a look at an AMD Ryzen processor such as the R7 1700X or the soon to be announced R7 2700X (The R7's have a larger number of cores than the i7's, but a lower clock speed).
Feel free to continue asking me for advice at any point to help determine exactly what you wish to purchase.
Note: Sorry, I forgot to include a PSU in the original pricing, it'll add ~$100 to the build