Spec Me a £2400 Gaming Rig

Arthalen · 25 Sep 2017 at 18:05

Ok, my Stubborn Intel Bone was making me really look at a 7820x, but there's too much coverage on its short comings in terms of Power Draw, heat output and also those VRM temperature issues the X299 boards have / are suffering.

I was willing to pay the price premium for the 7820x and its board, but not with all these cooling issues too, especially if it means more money spent on a cooling solution and a less than stellar case.

So my Reasonable Bone has kicked in, and I'm re-evaluating Ryzen. Besides speedy memory (thank you for the previous explanation), what else do I need to keep my eyes open for? I assume Nvidia cards are perfectly fine, or would Vega be worth looking at again?

I'm looking particularly at the 8 core 1700/1800 parts...

orbitalwalsh · 25 Sep 2017 at 18:10

I think the Apex, Extreme and Aorus Gaming 7 have the coolest VRMs but having to de-lid as expensive CPU :/

Arthalen · 25 Sep 2017 at 18:12

orbitalwalsh said:
I think the Apex, Extreme and Aorus Gaming 7 have the coolest VRMs but having to de-lid as expensive CPU :/

Delidding isn't really an option for me, I'd rather have the warranty :/

orbitalwalsh · 25 Sep 2017 at 18:17

Totally understandable

Arthalen · 25 Sep 2017 at 18:20

Mhhhm.

I got a nice reply from Mr. 8Pack regarding cooling a 7820X, but still thinking Ryzen is the way forward..

orbitalwalsh · 25 Sep 2017 at 18:49

Arthalen said:
Mhhhm.

I got a nice reply from Mr. 8Pack regarding cooling a 7820X, but still thinking Ryzen is the way forward..

Thread ripper ever tempt you ?

lee32uk · 25 Sep 2017 at 18:50

Arthalen said:
Ok, my Stubborn Intel Bone was making me really look at a 7820x, but there's too much coverage on its short comings in terms of Power Draw, heat output and also those VRM temperature issues the X299 boards have / are suffering.

I was willing to pay the price premium for the 7820x and its board, but not with all these cooling issues too, especially if it means more money spent on a cooling solution and a less than stellar case.

So my Reasonable Bone has kicked in, and I'm re-evaluating Ryzen. Besides speedy memory (thank you for the previous explanation), what else do I need to keep my eyes open for? I assume Nvidia cards are perfectly fine, or would Vega be worth looking at again?

I'm looking particularly at the 8 core 1700/1800 parts...

The Vega 56 cards have just shot up in price by £100ish so not that attractive any more.

Arthalen · 25 Sep 2017 at 19:37

orbitalwalsh said:
Thread ripper ever tempt you ?

Perhaps, but the 12C and 16C parts are certainly out of my budget range, and does the 8C part really offer that much more than a 1700/1700X/1800X ?

lee32uk said:
The Vega 56 cards have just shot up in price by £100ish so not that attractive any more.

Noted, thanks.

maltrabob · 25 Sep 2017 at 20:07

Arthalen said:
Perhaps, but the 12C and 16C parts are certainly out of my budget range, and does the 8C part really offer that much more than a 1700/1700X/1800X ?

ThreadRipper: quad-channel and 64 PCIe lanes
Ryzen: dual-channel and 24 PCIe lanes

Arthalen · 25 Sep 2017 at 20:40

maltrabob said:
ThreadRipper: quad-channel and 64 PCIe lanes
Ryzen: dual-channel and 24 PCIe lanes

Gotcha. So not a huge deal of true use to myself, then.

I've been reading up on a lot of problems about Ryzen related to VMware Workstation, some with workarounds and some issues with no fixes at present. It's enough to start putting me off Ryzen.

Arrgghh.

It seems like every corner I turn there's drawbacks and issues and problems with any of my possible choices.

BongoHunter · 25 Sep 2017 at 20:50

maltrabob said:
ThreadRipper: quad-channel and 64 PCIe lanes
Ryzen: dual-channel and 24 PCIe lanes

+128gb rather than 64gb memory limit as well as better M2 optons

maltrabob · 25 Sep 2017 at 20:56

@Arthalen: if Ryzen isn't compatible with your application than you have no choice - it has to be Team Blue CPU

. The only AMD CPU that is compatible at the moment seems to be their Epyc one.
@BongoHunter: yes, there will be more differences than just those two I listed, good you mentioned it

Arthalen · 25 Sep 2017 at 21:00

maltrabob said:
@Arthalen: if Ryzen isn't compatible with your application than you have no choice - it has to be Team Blue CPU . The only AMD CPU that is compatible at the moment seems to be their Epyc one.
@BongoHunter: yes, there will be more differences than just those two I listed, good you mentioned it

Oh-tay

Time to suck it up then, and stay with the corporate giants of Intel & Nvidia. *Le Sigh*.

BongoHunter · 25 Sep 2017 at 21:36

Just out of interest, as Ive got a licence for vmware workstation - what doesn't work with it?

Arthalen · 25 Sep 2017 at 22:10

BongoHunter said:
Just out of interest, as Ive got a licence for vmware workstation - what doesn't work with it?

The main culprit seem to be Linux distros, which I'm forseeing problems with typical enterprise OVF deployed appliances - like VCentre! I have other linux distro-based appliances to test in the home lab as well, including a Meru wireless controller, Citrix Netscalers and some HP JetNexus load balancers. So I don't want to really take that risk and end up waiting on either a BIOS update or for Vmware to update Workstation.

Arthalen · 25 Sep 2017 at 22:15

On a seperate note, I think I have a spec I'm reasonably happy with (for now) and the-power-that-be* could be reasoned with to allow the extra budget (£2K for the PC alone) to still get my monitor of choice.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Intel Core i7-7820X 3.6GHz (Skylake X / Basin Falls) Socket LGA2066 Processor - Retail= £499.99
1 x Asus TUF X299 Mark2 (Socket 2066) Intel X299 ATX Motherboard= £229.99
1 x Team Group Night Hawk LED 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - White Light (THW= £124.99
1 x Samsung 960 EVO Polaris 250GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £149.99
1 x Inno3D GeForce GTX 1080Ti Gaming OC 11264MB GDDR5X PCI-Express Graphics Card (N108T-1SDN-Q6MNX)= £709.99
1 x Corsair TX750M 750W 80 Plus Gold Semi Modular Power Supply (CP-9020131-UK)= £102.95
1 x Noctua NH-D15 Dual Radiator Quiet CPU Cooler with two NH-A15 Fans= £82.99

Total: £1,912.59
(includes shipping: £11.70)

A couple of notes:

Yes, it only has 16GB of RAM in Dual Channel. That will be remedied immediately at the next pay-day to 32GB, and then gently grow upto 64GB using 2x8GB kits.
The RAM is on the QVL list for the board - hurrah
The PSU got a stunning review by JonnyGuru
Is there a better Cooler? Will I have clearance issues with populating all the ram slots eventually?
About £100ish left for a case .. I could squeeze £130-50ish if I'm really cheeky. Suggestions?

Thoughts?

maltrabob · 25 Sep 2017 at 22:51

Case really depends on what you prefer - looks, silence, airflow, midi tower or bigger etc. I ended up buying Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Glass because of its great airflow and reviews. But I really like the looks of Phanteks Enthoo ATX Glass and Raijintek Asterion Classic. Unfortunately it's more looks than airflow so I had to pass those two. Dozens of cases to pick from, just go through them all and if something catches your eye read a review. Corsair Obsidian or Crystal Series are popular too.

Arthalen · 25 Sep 2017 at 22:54

maltrabob said:
Case really depends on what you prefer - looks, silence, airflow, midi tower or bigger etc. I ended up buying Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Glass because of its great airflow and reviews. But I really like the looks of Phanteks Enthoo ATX Glass and Raijintek Asterion Classic. Unfortunately it's more looks than airflow so I had to pass those two. Dozens of cases to pick from, just go through them all and if something catches your eye read a review. Corsair Obsidian or Crystal Series are popular too.

I think Airflow is my first priority - perhaps something with three fans in front for maximum airflow input? The Corsair Crystal 460X has caught my eye, as has the Fractal Define Meshify C. Checking out the Phantek cases now though...

maltrabob · 25 Sep 2017 at 23:01

Yes, 460X is a great looking case and was on my list too. I just didn't like that PSU cover. I like the cutout in it so you can see your PSU.

lee32uk · 25 Sep 2017 at 23:10

Arthalen said:
Is there a better Cooler? Will I have clearance issues with populating all the ram slots eventually?

The Noctua D15S has better Ram compatibility up to 65mm. You can move the fan up on the D15 although you would need a case big enough to allow for the extra fan height. There are other coolers such as the Alpenfohn Brocken 3 and Cryorig R1 Universal that have good Ram clearance.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Cryorig R1 Universal Dual Tower CPU Heatsink with 140mm Fan - White = £62.99
- Coloured Trim:Unwanted
- AM4 Bracket:Unwanted
1 x Alpenfohn Brocken 3 CPU Cooler - 140mm= £42.95
1 x Noctua NH-D15S Dual Radiator Quiet CPU Cooler= £72.95

Total: £189.39
(includes shipping: £10.50)