First time build advice required!

Vogelbekdier

Vogelbekdier

Vogelbekdier

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First post, and first time ever building a Gaming Computer so posting on here looking for some advice from more experienced builders!

Context: Currently own a 2015 MacBook Pro, but unfortunately it's a struggle to game on as the storage and capabilities are very limited.
Been looking around for pre-build gaming desktops but I'm not a big fan of the LED disco's they usually come with and the lack of customization / extreme pricing.
Been doing research for the past few days and decided I wanna take the risk and build my own Desktop instead, this will be my first build so any tips and tricks are highly appreciated!

Budget is £1500-2000 and the Desktop will be primarily used for gaming.

Current setup I've come up with is as following:

CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K
MOBO: MSI Z270 Gaming Pro Carbon
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX (2x 8GB) 3000Mhz DDR4
GPU: Zotac GTX 1080 AMP Extreme
SSD: Samsung 960 EVO 250 M.2 250GB PCI Express SSD
HDD Toshiba 3TB HDD 7200RMP
PSU: EVGA SuperNova G2 650W 80+ Gold rated
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 (Comes with thermal paste)
Case: Corsair 400C Black Window
OS: Windows 10

This total setup would cost me around £1600 and I'm pretty much ready to order but wanna double check before making any obvious mistakes.

Few Questions I currently have in regards to this build:

Q1: Would it be worth the extra £300-400 to upgrade the CPU to an AMD Rayzen with compatible MOBA and what would be the benefits? (As It's designed as a gaming computer I figured I might as well go with the i5 and spend extra on the GPU instead?)
Q2: Is the Zotac GTX 1080 AMP Extreme worth the extra £100 over the standard Zotac GTX1080 AMP (from my understanding the AMP Extreme is an OC version.)
Q3: I calculated the load Wattage to be 399W and the PSU recommendation to be 449W is the 650W PSU overkill and will this have any negative effect on the setup?
Q4: Are the parts I picked compatible with each other and will they fit the casing? (couldn't find much information about compatibility of different parts with the case and the PSU does not have an ATX specified on the box)
Q5: EMD, in my research I've seen very mixed comments on EMD precautions and the possible side effects of EMD. I'm planning on fitting the PSU in off mode first and taking out the Fuse of the power connector to ground the casing as wel as using an EDM wrist strap connected to the casing and the use of an EDM matt. Wil this be sufficient?

Any other first time tips (common mistakes) would be greatly appreciated!

(Apologies for my poor English I'm not a native English speaker)
 
Hi,

1) yeah Ryzen is doing well and you can now get Ryzen5 which is quad core+Hyperthreading compared to just quad core for the i5.

2) get this 1080 - https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...-graphics-card-gv-n1080d5x-8gd-gx-18t-gi.html - spend anymore and you might aswell get a Ti

3) no negative with that PSU and a 550w will also do fine, but for sli if you wanted a 2nd card then look at 750W+

4) yes

5) dont worry too much about it, if you want you can touch exposed piping on a house radiator to earth yourself.


For example,

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,582.99
(includes shipping: £13.20)



​
That is the cheapest 1080Ti listed, perhaps you would want one with a custom cooler.
 
stulid said:
My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,582.99
(includes shipping: £13.20)



​
That is the cheapest 1080Ti listed, perhaps you would want one with a custom cooler.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot,

So with this build, I have a better CPU and GPU for roughly the same price and a MOBO that is compatible with AMD Ryzen?
Do you have any experience with KFA2 (haven't come across them personally) or would it be worth spending the extra buck on a different brand?
 
Yes you do get a better CPU over all and will outlast the i5 due to the extra threads, the 1080Ti is a sizeable performance difference again over the regular 1080.

I have never used KFA2.
 
stulid said:
Yes you do get a better CPU over all and will outlast the i5 due to the extra threads, the 1080Ti is a sizeable performance difference again over the regular 1080.

I have never used KFA2.
Click to expand...

If I have the spare money would it be worth the Extra £140 for the Zotac GeForce GTX 1080Ti AMP Extreme Spectre? It comes with 3 additional years of warranty and seems to run more quietly. I did notice that the AMP Extreme exhausts into the case rather than out of the back will this cause any additional issues for the case and setup you suggested?

Also curious to as why you suggested a different type of DDR4 is this a personal preference or is Corsair Vengeance LPX not compatible with the AMD MOBO/CPU?
 
The case should have decent enough airflow and number of fans to quickly shift any hot air.

I picked that ram as it's like one of the cheaper sets, you might find 3200MHz kits aren't much more than the Corsair one.

As for cards that's up to you, but you also have many other decent ones available from gigabyte+Aorus, Asus etc.
 
stulid said:
The case should have decent enough airflow and number of fans to quickly shift any hot air.

I picked that ram as it's like one of the cheaper sets, you might find 3200MHz kits aren't much more than the Corsair one.

As for cards that's up to you, but you also have many other decent ones available from gigabyte+Aorus, Asus etc.
Click to expand...

Been looking into the AMD Ryzen 5 1600 and everything seems to be very promising!

However, I noticed that the MOBO's that support AMD AM4 seem to have many issues with the BIOS and support for the DDR4 resulting in lots of trouble shooting.
As this is my first build I'm afraid this will potentially be a big issue. The only AM4 MOBO that seems to have a good BIOS and Customer support comes at a hefty price it's the ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Professional Gaming AM4. (£267 on OC) I would be willing to invest the extra money but would appreciate your opinion on this.
 
stulid said:
Thats why I picked Gigabyte rather than ASUS board.
Click to expand...
Even the Gigabyte seems to have an outdated BIOS and a lot of issues with DDR4 from what I can find online. The Asrock x370 Professional Gaming AM4 seems to be one of the few AM4 MOBO's to live up to its expectations without many issues.
 
Its last BIOS was just 3 days ago.

Not sure what you think outdated is.

Also Gigabyte support is the best amongst mob manufacturers with a UK based RMA center, last time I had Asrock and it failed I had to send it to Netherlands.
 
Last edited:
stulid said:
Its last BIOS was just 3 days ago.

Not sure what you think outdated is.

Also Gigabyte support is the best amongst mob manufacturers with a UK based RMA center, last time I had Asrock and it failed I had to send it to Netherlands.
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot for all your help just ordered all the parts! Unfortunately, some are out of stock so might take a while until i can start building.
 
icey_haj said:
Yeh, don't worry too much about the BIOS being old, you will have to update to the latest regardless of which manufacturer you choose.
Click to expand...
Ended up ordering the Asrock X370 as it seems to future proof me would I ever wanna run 2 GPU's in my built and seems to have superior support over the other MOBO's.
 
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