SPCR

Hi guys,

This is my first build. The budget is around $1500. The rig is meant for gaming and I do plan to overclock though not heavily. For now I would use it with 60Hz WUXGA (1920x1200) monitor, but eventually I'm going to update to 1440p down the road, 144 or 60 Hz (haven't decided yet). Also I will probably add M.2 NVMe drive in the future and may go for SLI setup, hence 750W PSU (would it be enough or better to get 850W?). But I'm not entirely sure about SLI at the moment so feel free to share you thoughts. Generally any advice on this build configuration or particular gotchas I might encounter while building/configuring/overclocking it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-7600K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.49 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($57.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME Z270-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($149.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($126.59 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($169.99 @ Dell Small Business)
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1070 8GB AMP! Extreme Video Card ($421.52 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design - Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA P2 750W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($122.49 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1430.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-02 16:31 EDT-0400

Welcome to SPCR.

The biggest variables are monitor resolution/Hz, types of games played, and quality setting in the games.
- does"1440p down the road" means this year, or next year, or two years from now?
- 144Hz or 60Hz: that's a potential 2.4x increase in gfx horsepower needed.
- what games/types of games do you play? For example an eSports game can be very lightweight in gfx power needed, while Witcher and others need heavy lifting.
- Do you want to play games at Ultra settings or willing to dial back a bit to save $'s?

The build as is will use ~300W under stress load, and closer to 250W with heavy gaming.

SLI isn't worth it from a noise pov, honestly its best to remain single card for as long as you can. The GTX1070 is no slouch, it should be fine on a single screen at 144hz. That said i wouldn't plan for second, but to change toward a GTX2070 in a year or so when volta is released, it would end up better in noise than adding a second gpu. I would suggest to go with 550/650W PSU, Corsair RM550X would be a good match for your build or if you want EVGA 650P2.

On the CPU Cooler, i would suggest to go with Scythe Kotestu half the price of the noctua.

I would add a 3rd fan as intake to end up with positive pressure. I would move the back fan to the front, and add a Antec TrueQuiet 140 140mm Cooling Fan as the back case fan.

Witcher 3 on ultra would be a good benchmark. I guess I'm going to have to get a better GPU if I want to upgrade the monitor and continue to play at ultra settings. So let's say I stay with single GPU setup and get a newer GPU and 1440p 144Hz monitor in a year or so. Would a 650W PSU be good if I choose GTX 1080 Ti for example?

A GTX 1060 like the MSI Gaming X 6GB or Gaming X Plus 6GB would yield >60fps @ 1080p Ultra (Hairworks off) with Witcher III. A GTX 1080 Ti gets you 110fps @ 1440p. So, waiting to buy the high end card when you get the monitor is a good path.

650W PSU is fine for a 250W class xx80 Ti.

pickmenot wrote:Would a 650W PSU be good if I choose GTX 1080 Ti for example?

Good for what? Quietness?

The most demanding 1080Ti will draw around 400W at most: but the most demanding 1080Ti would be noisy as hell (Zotac, I'm looking at you), so the only answer is: it depends, but power wise 650W are way more than fine under any scenario.