Intel Gaming PC build advice

[Ricky Fleet]

Hi everyone.

I purchased a Titan Goliath from Overclockers 8 years ago and it has done me proud. With the new games coming out the old girl is starting to show her age. I think it's finally time to treat myself to a new system and I need advice. I'm looking for something that will play all recent games on max settings for around £1000-£1500. (I'm happy to go over a little if it ensures a great machine.

I've been looking at the Titan Virtual Force because of the solid reviews - https://www.overclockers.co.uk/tita...a-geforce-gtx-1070-8gb-graphic-fs-002-og.html

What I'm looking for is advice for addons and amendments to the basic spec, or if I should just leave it alone because of my lack of system knowledge. (When I say I'm computer illiterate I mean I can turn the power button on and double click on the games icon, that's pretty much it, so please be kind.) VR is not really a concern for me as far as gaming goes.

If anyone has opinions on the Titan or advice on different machines, I'd be really grateful to hear them.

Thanks.

Rick.

 

[Danny75]

Hi Ricky, welcome to the forum.

You want the new 8th Gen Intel chips (i5-8600K for example). But a cheaper AMD Ryzen spec with a more powerful video card could also be an option, depending on which monitor (resolution/refresh rate) you're planning on using.

Also 16GB RAM, preferably 3000-3200 for AMD, or 3200-3600 for Intel.

 

[orbitalwalsh]

personally would go intel i5 8400 chipset as best bang for buck and matches overclocked ryzen 1600... but prices are creeping up, and like ryzen, loves ram speeds! z370 boards does add a cost over incoming B360 budget boards but they are ram locked!

ryzen 1400/600 , intel 8400 could be a good shout for yourself

 

[Aneskimo]

The system in your link is an older gen (skylake) for the money that is you can grab yourself the newer coffelake or Ryzen chips that are out other than that the 1070 is a good card but if your only gaming at 1080p you could drop down to say the 1060 6gb model and save some money there

 

[orbitalwalsh]

@Ricky Fleet

personally would choose the 8400 over the 8600k- chip games better then Ryzen unless you want to stream or do a tone of multitasking and you can have a gtx 1070 instead of 1060 which will last a lot longer, can driver a 1080p 144hz easily or 1440p 144hz monitor nicely over 60hz

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x OcUK Gaming Gallium Overclocked Gaming PC - Intel Core i5 8600K @ 4.8GHz = £1,508.99
  • Memory:Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30
  • Graphics Card:Asus GeForce GTX 1060 Dual OC 6144MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
  • Solid State Drive (Primary):Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E250B/EU)
  • Solid State Drive (Secondary):Unwanted
  • Operating System:Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)
  • Security Software:Bullguard Anti-Virus 2017 - 1 PC 1 Year **Offer Price**
  • Casehanteks Enthoo Pro M Glass RGB Special Edition - Black/White
  • Lighting:Bitfenix Alchemy 2.0 Magnetic RGB LED Strip - 30cm
  • Storage Drive:Unwanted
• 1 x OcUK Gaming Chromium ATX Gaming PC - Intel Core i3 8100 / i5 8400 = £1,255.97
  • CPU:Intel Core i5-8400 2.8GHz (Coffee Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail
  • Memory:Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30
  • Graphics Card:Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 Windforce 2x OC 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
  • Solid State Drive (Primary):Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E250B/EU)
  • Storage Drive:Seagate BarraCuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD
  • Wireless Networking:Unwanted
  • Lighting:Unwanted
  • Operating System:Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)
  • Security Software:Bullguard Anti-Virus 2017 - 1 PC 1 Year **Offer Price**
  • Case:Kolink Refractor RGB Midi Tower Gaming Case - Black Window

Total: £2,788.06
(includes shipping: £23.10)




like ryzen, seems coffee likes its ram speed, even calling ocuk to have 3600 hz ram chucked in would help since it seems overclocking yourself is not desired

If you drop the bottom one to gtx 1060- can pick yourself up a 1080p 144hz G-snc monitor if you havent got one already

Delivery does bring it slightly over

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x OcUK Gaming Chromium ATX Gaming PC - Intel Core i3 8100 / i5 8400 = £1,120.97
  • CPU:Intel Core i5-8400 2.8GHz (Coffee Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail
  • Memory:Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30
  • Graphics Card:Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 AMP Edition 6144MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
  • Solid State Drive (Primary):Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E250B/EU)
  • Storage Drive:Seagate BarraCuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD
  • Wireless Networking:Unwanted
  • Lighting:Unwanted
  • Operating System:Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)
  • Security Software:Bullguard Anti-Virus 2017 - 1 PC 1 Year **Offer Price**
  • Case:Kolink Pitch Midi Tower Case - Black
• 1 x Acer Predator XB271Hbmiprz 27" 1920x1080 TN G-Sync 144Hz Gaming Widescreen LED Monitor - Black/Red= £389.99

Total: £1,534.06
(includes shipping: £23.10)



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[Ricky Fleet]

Thank you to everyone who has given me their advice. It shows just how uneducated I am that I'm Googling every single term mentioned. My monitor is a 1920x1080 60hz so I will need to upgrade that to take advantage of the increase in power. My goal is purely gaming, TW - Warhammer 2, CoD WW2 etc.

I 've seen the new coffee Lake mentioned quite frequently in recent posts, so it seems that is the way to go. The Gallium looks like a solid bet even though with a suitable monitor it would put me over budget. The only thing I was wondering is when the spec loads it has 'not wanted' under the storage device, only a 250 SSD?

However, if I choose to go for the Chromium instead, would the power be noticably different? I would probably fork out for the £1,255 spec and add a decent monitor to that.

Thanks again. I really appreciate your time and effort.

 

[Danny75]

If possible, hold out 2 weeks. Two things will happen - Coffee Lake will/should come down to normal price again, retailers are admitting raising the price as supply is low/non-existent. Word is they'll receive more stock on 1st November. And there may be more news on the GTX 1070Ti (which could drive down GTX 1070 price). I think you'll be able to get a better balanced build then.

 

[orbitalwalsh]

Thank you to everyone who has given me their advice. It shows just how uneducated I am that I'm Googling every single term mentioned. My monitor is a 1920x1080 60hz so I will need to upgrade that to take advantage of the increase in power. My goal is purely gaming, TW - Warhammer 2, CoD WW2 etc.

I 've seen the new coffee Lake mentioned quite frequently in recent posts, so it seems that is the way to go. The Gallium looks like a solid bet even though with a suitable monitor it would put me over budget. The only thing I was wondering is when the spec loads it has 'not wanted' under the storage device, only a 250 SSD?

However, if I choose to go for the Chromium instead, would the power be noticably different? I would probably fork out for the £1,255 spec and add a decent monitor to that.

Thanks again. I really appreciate your time and effort.

those builds above are own reference , feel free to adjust as you wish or with others inputs or someone may come out with a cracker !
I would personally go for the Chromium , even though its i5 8400 and not a K version like the i5 8600k and i7 8700k- with some googling you'll see if just behind the i5 8600k at stock and overclocked .
in 2/3 years you can always pick up someones i7 k 8700K that has jumped onto the latest thing for extra few years out of the rig

gtx 1060 6GB is great for 1080p gaming with a G-sync monitor at 144hz- might not hit 144 frame per second but the screen will have some good life in it compared to the rest. a GTX 1070 will power that 144hz to full FPS or come close at high resolution - though you may encounter some CPU bottleneck in some games - worth a google on the term.

key for the i5 8400 chip is getting good speed ram- faster the better, even if you call OCUK to see if they can install faster kit then sold by default- this will combat the lack of ability to run the core faster then its stock/boost speeds

£1200 for gtx 1070 and i5 does seem nice - thought have a feeling member might put across a good few gtx 1070 could be a little powerful .
a way to get around CPU bottleneck is by upscaling the games resolution...

some games like BF1 and WW2 allow you to set your screen res which would be 1080p, then set your in-game res higher, say 1440p . this will get your GPU to work harder and take pressure off the CPU

 

[Ricky Fleet]

Thanks again everyone, I've been doing a lot of research following your advice.

In response to Danny, I'm more than happy to wait to get a slight upgrade on the Coffee Lake and graphics card. I'd much rather be certain of my purchase as I'd like it to last me for a few years before starting to show it's age.

In response to Orbitalwalsh, thanks for the pointers.
I was looking at the Chromium with a spec similar to this. I'll wait until November to see if anything else comes along as Danny suggested, but is this kind of configuration on the right track?

CPU Intel Core i5-8400 2.8GHz (Coffee Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail
Memory Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30
Solid State Drive (Primary) Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E250B/EU)
Storage Drive Seagate BarraCuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD
Wireless Networking Not wanted
Lighting Not wanted
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)
Security Software Not wanted
Case Kolink Refractor Midi Tower Gaming Case - Black
Graphics Card Asus GeForce GTX 1070Ti Strix 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Cheers.

 

[orbitalwalsh]

Looks solid, 3 weeks and prices should be getting to normal ( allocation still going on for next 2 weeks)
Careful of the Strix 1070Ti, price of it is high, almost full blown Gtx 1080 price and 11Gbps versions can be had for £512 . Mine clocks just under 12gbps
But , it is a lovely card, can't tell if they have used the 2.5 slot cooler on it or standard 2 slot

 

[southernorth]

Thanks again everyone, I've been doing a lot of research following your advice.

In response to Danny, I'm more than happy to wait to get a slight upgrade on the Coffee Lake and graphics card. I'd much rather be certain of my purchase as I'd like it to last me for a few years before starting to show it's age.

In response to Orbitalwalsh, thanks for the pointers.
I was looking at the Chromium with a spec similar to this. I'll wait until November to see if anything else comes along as Danny suggested, but is this kind of configuration on the right track?

CPU Intel Core i5-8400 2.8GHz (Coffee Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail
Memory Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30
Solid State Drive (Primary) Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E250B/EU)
Storage Drive Seagate BarraCuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD
Wireless Networking Not wanted
Lighting Not wanted
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)
Security Software Not wanted
Case Kolink Refractor Midi Tower Gaming Case - Black
Graphics Card Asus GeForce GTX 1070Ti Strix 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Cheers.

I would go for a GTX 1080 over that 1070ti Strix. Prices are very similar, but you get Destiny 2 for free with the 1080. You can either keep the game, or sell it for £30 which would further reduce the cost.

 

[Ricky Fleet]

Apologies, I meant to click on the GTZ 1080 8MB below it. In your learned opinion, is the £200 extra worth it for the 11MB Ti version of the cards?

I also note that the selected RAM is 3000mhz but Danny recommended 3600mhz for the Intel chips. I've just had a look through the components and I'm mindblown. How on earth do you go about picking one out of the huge selection over another? Vengeance, Trident, Raiden, Dominator, Predator?

 

[Danny75]

Apologies, I meant to click on the GTZ 1080 8MB below it. In your learned opinion, is the £200 extra worth it for the 11MB Ti version of the cards?

I also note that the selected RAM is 3000mhz but Danny recommended 3600mhz for the Intel chips. I've just had a look through the components and I'm mindblown. How on earth do you go about picking one out of the huge selection over another? Vengeance, Trident, Raiden, Dominator, Predator?

3200 CAS 14 or 3600 CAS 16, is the sweet spot. Digital Foundry found that a stock i7 with fast memory was as fast as an overclocked i7 with slow memory, in some games. The more important of the two (frequency v CAS timings) is frequency though. So if you like the looks/price of a 3200 CAS 15 or 16, or a 3600 CAS 17 or 18, it won't make much difference.

 

[orbitalwalsh]

Ti is great if your pushing 4k or 3440x 1440p ultra wide screens. 1440p 144hz screens gtx 1080 should do you well

 

[Pocah]

I would be a little careful of overdoing it on the graphics card. A standard 1070 is more than able to run anything for a 1080p 60hz monitor. The step up in power with the ten series wasn't a step up at all, it was a leap. Most folk a 1060 is fine, only the most demanding peeps want a 1070. The 1070 is also supremely quiet for most games at 1080p 60Hz because its really not stressed at all! If you intend to go 4K, then sure, but for now it's an option to save a little.

 

[mistersprinkles]

I would go for a GTX 1080 over that 1070ti Strix. Prices are very similar, but you get Destiny 2 for free with the 1080. You can either keep the game, or sell it for £30 which would further reduce the cost.

Also 1080 is a more beefy GPU.