First time building a Gaming Rig, would love some advice!

Redtama

Redtama

Redtama

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8 May 2017
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Ok so I've never built a gaming rig before. I'm a complete noob but I have been given some advice by a friend and his top tip was to come here and ask the wonderful people on the overclockers forums for some feedback on my basket :). I'm going for a high-end rig solely for gaming.

Currently in my basket I have:
Total: £1341.54

Before I even set about picking parts I had already decided that about £1300 would be my budget, so I'm not far off. But obviously I would love to save money wherever I can.

Some specific questions I have:

1. I gather that the RAM and CPU don't matter that much for gaming so I perhaps I can save money there by getting some cheaper parts. Are the CPU or RAM overkill? If so, what would you recommend?

2. With the RAM, is it fine to get just 1x8GB? Or should I buy in pairs so 2x4GB for example? Somewhere in the back of my mind I feel like I've been told that RAM works best in pairs but I might be imagining it. :p

3. I am totally clueless when it comes to motherboards. I have pretty much just arbitrarily picked a reasonably priced one that's compatible with the CPU. What should I be looking out for here? My friend mentioned something about whether or not the motherboard comes with good audio capabilities but honestly I am just overwhelmed by all the acronyms and technical jargon at this point! xD If anyone can recommend a more suitable/cheaper motherboard that would be great!

4. I've also got no idea about cooling but after reading around a bit it sounds as if the cooling that comes with the case (2 fans) and the cooling in the GPU should suffice as long as I don't overclock like a crazy man. Is that right?

5. I've left the SSD there on its own with a HDD because I just don't think I'll need more than 250GB for quite some time. If I ever do need more space I can always add a HDD or another SSD in the future right. Does that sound reasonable?
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I don't need a keyboard and mouse as I already have them.

Any further comments or suggestions are more than welcome. I need all the information I can get before I part with this rather large sum of cash.

Thank you in advance! :)
 
Hi, welcome to the forum.

What type of games will you be playing mostly? FPS or other? A higher refresh rate monitor would help with FPS games.

Will you need a copy of Windows 10?

1/2. CPU and RAM aren't overkill. 16GB RAM (2x8GB) would be preferable nowadays, and I would go with AMD Ryzen 1600 over 15-7600K.

3. That mobo is compatible but doesn't allow overclocking the 7600K which is one of that processor's best assets. You'd want a Z270 for that, if you stick with the 7600K.

4. You will need an aftermarket cooler if you go with i5-7600K, doesn't bring a cooler. Case fans should be ok, just add more in future if you need.

5. Yes.

Don't you dare buy that thing passing itself off as a Power Supply. :)

Overall, I see that you might be reaching a bit too high GPU-wise, for a GTX 1080 (an expensive one at that, very close to the price of some 1080Tis), and it's impacting on the rest of the build. A GTX 1070 with a nice 1440p 120+Hz monitor, 16GB RAM and a better PSU, might be best here.

Will do a spec once we know whether you need Windows included and what type of games you're mostly going to play.
 
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Danny75 said:
Don't you dare buy that thing passing itself off as a Power Supply.
Click to expand...

As above - but with nobs on.

You have a £1300+ build coupled with a scary PSU - that PSU couldn't power that setup for long (despite whats written on the box) and would probably wipe out the components when the wind changed direction.

Whatever you decide on (Ryzen is a solid choice) - you will need to put a minimum of £60 - £80 of your budget towards a quality 550W - 650w PSU.
 
Plec said:
As above - but with nobs on.

You have a £1300+ build coupled with a scary PSU - that PSU couldn't power that setup for long (despite whats written on the box) and would probably wipe out the components when the wind changed direction.
Click to expand...

^ In three shops, the specification for the same PSU differs wildly. One says it has 44 amps on single 12v rail. Another that it has dual 12v rails of 18 amps each. Another that it has single 12v rail of 18 amps. I'm thinking the latter is the more accurate, or possibly the second but likely with less total combined output than 18+18. Only 2 Satas, apparently. Just one PCI-E 6-pin connector. Plenty of buyer testimonies about it blowing up shortly after installing, or their new rig not even starting.
 
As mentioned above that psu is awful. Don't risk your components with a time bomb like that.

The Antec psu below wouldn't be my 1st choice (EVGA G2/G3 or SuperFlower Leadex/II would be better) but it is pretty cheap at present on here and it is a Seasonic made unit, so 1 million times better than the not so Ace 600W.

The spec below is just a guideline of what you can get if you go for a Ryzen build. Obviously if you are shopping around you might find better deals, but we can only advise you on parts selected from OCUK.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,336.82
(includes shipping: £15.90)



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lee32uk said:
As mentioned above that psu is awful. Don't risk your components with a time bomb like that.

The Antec psu below wouldn't be my 1st choice (EVGA G2/G3 or SuperFlower Leadex/II would be better) but it is pretty cheap at present on here and it is a Seasonic made unit, so 1 million times better than the not so Ace 600W.

The spec below is just a guideline of what you can get if you go for a Ryzen build. Obviously if you are shopping around you might find better deals, but we can only advise you on parts selected from OCUK.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,336.82
(includes shipping: £15.90)



​


​
Click to expand...
I think this is a much more rounded build than OP's original build. Easily be able to drive a 1440p panel at 60fps no problem. This could be swapped out with the i5 and a Z270 board + an aftermarket cooler for maybe around £50-60 more. It's just a matter of preference. But this is definitely a better build.
And +1 on spending more on the power supply. It's not something you want to save money on. If anything it's somewhere you want to SPEND money. The last thing you want is it to die and throw the whole system in the trash with it because it was cheaply and badly made
 
What is your budget?

For maybe £150-£200 more you could upgrade to the next 'tier' of performance (a GTX 1080). Also, for the monitor you intend on getting, do you play a lot of fast-paced fps games? If so, a 1080p/144hz monitor could be beneficial. Or you could choose a 1440p/60hz monitor if want better visual fidelity instead of higher refresh rates.
 
Looks awful to me,

Asus board doesn't have any VRM heatsinks, so god knows how good it will be in the long run, plus Asus boards haven't been getting much love on the AM4 side.

Plus EVGA had massive VRM cooling issues on that ACX cooler, basically there was zero contact between the heatsink and the VRMS.
 
stulid said:
Looks awful to me,

Asus board doesn't have any VRM heatsinks, so god knows how good it will be in the long run, plus Asus boards haven't been getting much love on the AM4 side.

Plus EVGA had massive VRM cooling issues on that ACX cooler, basically there was zero contact between the heatsink and the VRMS.
Click to expand...
Those EVGA issues have been resolved. Any units now shipped, ship with heat pads on the VRM to touch them to the heat sinks, and any older units which shouldn't be available for sale anymore anyway, can get the pads ordered and fitted free of charge anyway. The ACX issues are a null factor these days
 
stulid said:
Looks awful to me,

Asus board doesn't have any VRM heatsinks, so god knows how good it will be in the long run, plus Asus boards haven't been getting much love on the AM4 side.

Plus EVGA had massive VRM cooling issues on that ACX cooler, basically there was zero contact between the heatsink and the VRMS.
Click to expand...


It was only posted as a guideline, hence me saying 'The spec below is just a guideline'

The Asus board will be fine running the 65W cpu.

I am aware of the EVGA issue but they addressed it with the vbios update, as well as the thermal pads.
 
So glad I asked here! Can't believe how great this feedback is!

Thank you so much for pointing out the problem with the PSU. I wouldn't have known based off the reviews on the shopping site I was looking at.

To answer some of your questions:

I will be playing FPS games but I'll be playing anything and everything to be honest. I'm especially looking forward to Red Dead Redemption 2! Typically I've played a lot of DOTA 2, CS:GO and Rocket League but I have often tried to play more taxing games but have given up because I can only get 20FPS. I'm currently playing a lot of the early access of Player Unknown's Battlegrounds (very similar to ARMA 3 since it originally started as an ARMA 3 mod). I'' also be playing Star Wars Battlefront 2 when it's out.

One crucial thing I forgot to mention is that I would really like this thing to be capable of handling VR games for an HTC Vive which I plan on buying down the line (maybe when they release the Vive 2 if that happens within the next couple of years). So I think that's one reason to go with the 1080 over the 1070. Or would the 1070 still be fine for that? I don't wanna spend the extra £150-200 if it's really not that worth it but I feel like for VR games it might be.

I suppose my budget is £1500. But if I can get something really solid for less then I'm not going to push the price up to my £1500 budget for just marginally better results. I would prefer to put any money saved toward something else.

lee32uk said:
As mentioned above that psu is awful. Don't risk your components with a time bomb like that.

The Antec psu below wouldn't be my 1st choice (EVGA G2/G3 or SuperFlower Leadex/II would be better) but it is pretty cheap at present on here and it is a Seasonic made unit, so 1 million times better than the not so Ace 600W.

The spec below is just a guideline of what you can get if you go for a Ryzen build. Obviously if you are shopping around you might find better deals, but we can only advise you on parts selected from OCUK.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,336.82
(includes shipping: £15.90)



​


​
Click to expand...

Thanks for this suggested build. I do actually really like the white case I put in the OP but the case size is another thing I'm clueless about seen as I've never done this before, I don't know how well everything fits in and, whilst smaller seems better, I think I would prefer to have a bit more room to work with cables 'n' stuff. Plus, did I mention that I really like that white case? :D

I'm not romantic about Intel so I'm perfectly happy to go with the AMD Ryzen CPU and Motherboard you've suggested, but if I'm getting an ATX case instead of a Micro-ATX then should I get a different motherboard? I only ask cuz it says Micro ATX in the motherboard's name but maybe that's still fine to put in an ATX mid-tower.

Thank you so much for all your help. What an amazing community!
 
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Redtama said:
So glad I asked here! Can't believe how great this feedback is!

Thank you so much for pointing out the problem with the PSU. I wouldn't have known based off the reviews on the shopping site I was looking at.

To answer some of your questions:

I will be playing FPS games but I'll be playing anything and everything to be honest. One crucial thing I forgot to mention is that I would really like this thing to be capable of handling VR games for an HTC Vive which I plan on buying down the line (maybe when they release the Vive 2 if that happens within the next couple of years). So I think that's one reason to go with the 1080 over the 1070. Or would the 1070 still be fine for that? I don't wanna spend the extra £150-200 if it's really not that worth it but I feel like for VR games it might be.

I suppose my budget is £1500. But if I can get something really solid for less then I'm not going to push the price up to my £1500 budget for just marginally better results. I would prefer to put any money saved toward something else.



Thanks for this suggested build. I do actually really like the white case I put in the OP but the case size is another thing I'm clueless about seen as I've never done this before, I don't know how well everything fits in and, whilst smaller seems better, I think I would prefer to have a bit more room to work with cables 'n' stuff. Plus, did I mention that I really like that white case? :D

I'm not romantic about Intel so I'm perfectly happy to go with the AMD Ryzen CPU and Motherboard you've suggested, but if I'm getting an ATX case instead of a Micro-ATX then should I get a different motherboard? I only ask cuz it says Micro ATX in the motherboard's name but maybe that's still fine to put in an ATX mid-tower.

Thank you so much for all your help. What an amazing community!
Click to expand...

That Ace power supply would probably be fine if you were building a basic pc with no gpu and a pentium cpu. It wouldn't be something I would use though, especially on a build like this. A bad psu can take out your entire system.

A GTX 1070 is good enough to run 1440p resolution. Of course if you are shopping around and have the money for a GTX 1080 then yeah go for that. I can only link to parts on Overclockers as mentioning competitors is against the forum rules :)


The case is personal preference so go with the NZXT if you like that. There is also a Tempered Glass version of the S340 if you like a max size window.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £106.69
(includes shipping: £11.70)



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You can fit micro ATX board in an ATX case. It will just look a bit smaller.

If you want ATX size board and are not going for a particular colour scheme, then the Gigabyte B350 Gaming/Gaming 3 would be a good choice for a budget board. They do have better warranty support than Asus as well.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £228.04
(includes shipping: £11.10)



​
 
Redtama said:
@Danny75 Ahh sorry missed that. No I don't need Windows 10 because I am a student I can get a free version I believe :)
Click to expand...

Nice.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £1,513.94
(includes shipping: £14.10)



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Case is cheap but has a PSU compartment to help with cable management.

It would be nice to spend extra (or shop around) to get a case you really like, an even better SSD if possible (along the lines of Samsung 850 EVO/Crucial MX300 if not the more expensive M.2 EVO Polaris or SM961), and an even better PSU if possible (it's Bronze but does have a 5 year warranty, and isn't the old CX which I wouldn't recommend for this). Point being, I wouldn't ditch a 165Hz Gsync or a 1080 in this situation, if they were within budget, and the rest of the stuff was at least capable/acceptable.

If you wait till tomorrow, the Weekly offers change, who knows if a better SSD will fall in price, or GTX 1080 be available for less than £500, etc.
 
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