Need expert advice on building a rig better than the Alienware area 51 threadripper edition.

[Vergil]

As the title says, need to gather as much data on preducing a gaming rig that operates/performs better than the Alienware area 51 threadripper editon, prefessional/Expert knowledge wanted on this subject.

 

[Vergil]

Well as far as the specs go, I want it to perform for gaming, so for gpu I want 2 1080 ti's sli (not the founders edition version)
Budget? Not looking at limitations, want top of the line stuff.

I want it to run 4k Res gaming 60fps.

Want the best cooler for the job and basicly I want top 2 maybe 3 choices for each part going into this rig. I also need to jot down names for my notepad

if i can get a list of names for parts (every part of the rig, including the best case to put all this in.) would be appreciated.

Just a reminder, I'm not looking at budget, so don't include/recommend anything low/mid tier, high only. Only exception would be if something outperforms a high tier part.

Note- This rig is looking for ultimate performace for ultimate 4k-60fps+ and anything under that gaming without selfdestructing or turning into a jacket potato.

So no silly pointless RGB aesthetic stuff but if it comes with it, so be it.

what's your budget? If you feel like throwing a ton of money at it a custom water cooled i9 7980xe and a couple Titan Xp would beat it for only 3 times the price.

and if you're looking at just gaming performance a 8700k with a nice overclock will give you higher FPS in most cases.

Though if you're just talking about similar but better, if you copy the spec but use a better motherboard and better cooling and a little overclocking you'll be able to sneak ahead. If I remember correctly the area 51 threadripper's cooling is only just about up to the task so that will be the easiest way to improve it.

Whats the name of the best CPU cooler? is it liquid or air?

 

[Vergil]

8700K + Titan V + 16GB DDR4 @ 3200MHz

Build done

I don't think the Titan V is very optimal despite how good a card it is, 16gb DDR4? I think I'd like 32

Thanks for the input so far, I still need a lot more data as I'm having second thoughts on some stuff now.

Gathering data to build an ultimate gaming rig.

 

[Vergil]

You said best gaming performance. 32 GB will make ZERO difference to performance in gaming. The Titan V is the best card for 4K60 on the market. 8700K has significantly better IPC than the threadripper CPU.

Sources:

https://youtu.be/HnuNs_Nu46Q
https://hothardware.com/reviews/nvidia-titan-v-volta-gv100-gpu-review?page=3
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/intel-coffee-lake-i7-8700k-cpu,review-34037-5.html

forgot to mention im looking to be on par or better than an alienware area 51 threadripper and I still want 32GB for some other stuff. I also need to look into what IPC is, no idea what that is.

 

[Vergil]

What im looking to spend is definately above 3k and I want to be well prepared for future stuff, i need more data but a lot to take in.

Instructions per core. Basically means it can get more done.

Like having a sports car and a saloon. Both might be 2.0 litre but the sports car is just tuned to go faster. Think of it like that.

ok, but the 8700k just seems kinda dated to whats available or will be in the future. I'm most likely wrong, is there anything better than the I7 8700k cpu?

 

[Vergil]

Also intel is better than amd for gaming in the long run right? With compatability issues.

Now I'm 100% sure troll post.

I am legit not trolling, I'm researching this as Im typing right now on the details, this is all new to me, since ive never made my own rig before and tripple checking stuff and opinions.

 

[Vergil]

I'll look into that. I also need the best chassis

He should wait for the i7 9790k. That thing will do 6.2GHz out of the box.

whens that coming out?

Ah. The guy from the Alienware thread.

Honestly, right now, you'd be WAY better off getting one of 8Packs delidded 8700k chips that are guaranteed to hit 5.0GHz than go out and buy a Threadripper for gaming.

Everyone has a budget. Whether it's £600 or £3000+ there is always a better way to spend that amount of money. My advice is to concentrate on the graphics card. Best on the market right now is GTX 1080Ti but consider that in spring we will be expecting the next gen graphics cards so it might be wise to put a placeholder card in until the new ones launch.

Where gaming is concerned, if you are looking at spending £600 on a CPU and £300 on a GPU or £300 on a CPU and £600 on a GPU then the most expensive GPU will grant FAR better gaming experience than the CPU.

Is there really a cpu called the I7 9890k coming out soon?

This is what I got so far in terms of parts data...

Gaming desktop rig parts

Motherboards
Rog Strix Z370 series <----is there anything better than this for?

GPU
(minimum will be a 1080 ti) SLI I wanted before but i hear its not getting much support in the future so a lot of controversy there and I hear theres a new card coming winter?

Hard drive
512GB M.2 PCIe SSD (Boot) + 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)

Monitor
(ive done little to no research here)

Memory
32GB Quad Channel DDR4 at 2666MHz
32GB Dual Channel HyperX™ DDR4 XMP at 2933MHz

Cooler
(looking to buy the best thing, I hear air is better than water, is this true?)

Power supply
(Centauri 1500W High Voltage Chassis R6 or 850W) < Im hearing some controversy with watts)

Keyboard
Corsair Strafe RGB, MX-RGB

Mouse

(least of my concerns at the moment.)

Desktop case

(really want the best/ideal case for this rig)

Processor
AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper 1950X (16-Core, 40MB Cache, Overclocked up to 3.6GHz on all cores)
Intel Core i7-8700K


So you see, theres a lot I have missing, previous choices i'm looking to replace. If there is anything conflicting please let me know as I'm new to this.

 

[Vergil]

It isn't.

It was a joke?

 

[Vergil]

Afraid so.

Shame.

 

[Vergil]

So the I7-8700k is the best thing at the moment then? Whens the next better one coming out if anyone knows?

 

[Vergil]

Not for a while yet. And when it does the extra 2 cores are unlikely to have a big effect in games.

Ok good to know.

 

[Vergil]

Need the best cooler for this rig setup


Motherboards
Rog Strix Z370 series <----is there anything better than this for?

GPU
(minimum will be a 1080 ti) SLI I wanted before but i hear its not getting much support in the future so a lot of controversy there and I hear theres a new card coming winter?

Hard drive
512GB M.2 PCIe SSD (Boot) + 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)

Monitor
(ive done little to no research here)

Memory
32GB Quad Channel DDR4 at 2666MHz
32GB Dual Channel HyperX™ DDR4 XMP at 2933MHz

Cooler
(looking to buy the best thing, I hear air is better than water, is this true?)

Power supply
(Centauri 1500W High Voltage Chassis R6 or 850W) < Im hearing some controversy with watts)

Keyboard
Corsair Strafe RGB, MX-RGB

Mouse

(least of my concerns at the moment.)

Desktop case

(really want the best/ideal case for this rig)

Processor
AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper 1950X (16-Core, 40MB Cache, Overclocked up to 3.6GHz on all cores)
Intel Core i7-8700K


So you see, theres a lot I have missing, previous choices i'm looking to replace. If there is anything conflicting please let me know as I'm new to this.

 

[Vergil]

This, its idiotic to put everything into the CPU when the CPU makes little difference, especially if you're not getting an £800 GPU, the best CPU will make no difference from one costing half as much.

A GTX 1070 with a Ryzen 1600 has much higher gaming performance than a GTX 1060 with an 8700K.

As long as the CPU is actually a slow one the only thing that matters is the GPU.

Im preping for future too, heres the data i got so far.


Motherboards
Rog Strix Z370 series <----is there anything better than this for?

GPU
(minimum will be a 1080 ti) SLI I wanted before but i hear its not getting much support in the future so a lot of controversy there and I hear theres a new card coming winter?

Hard drive
512GB M.2 PCIe SSD (Boot) + 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)

Monitor
(ive done little to no research here)

Memory
32GB Quad Channel DDR4 at 2666MHz
32GB Dual Channel HyperX™ DDR4 XMP at 2933MHz

Cooler
(looking to buy the best thing, I hear air is better than water, is this true?)

Power supply
(Centauri 1500W High Voltage Chassis R6 or 850W) < Im hearing some controversy with watts)

Keyboard
Corsair Strafe RGB, MX-RGB

Mouse

(least of my concerns at the moment.)

Desktop case

(really want the best/ideal case for this rig)

Processor
AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper 1950X (16-Core, 40MB Cache, Overclocked up to 3.6GHz on all cores)
Intel Core i7-8700K


So you see, theres a lot I have missing, previous choices i'm looking to replace. If there is anything conflicting please let me know as I'm new to this.

 

[Vergil]

Can't offer a massive amount of help but the reason this is mostly said is because a high end air cooler is usually better than most of the AIOs on the market. Maybe not in outright performance but better when considering noise/performance/cost

If you're after the best cooling, then a custom water loop is the way to go. However a high end air cooler will perform more than adequately.

Im after the best cooling so tell me the name of this thing so i can look it up.

 

[Vergil]

The 1950X has 16 cores 32 threads, its massive overkill and the 8700K would be better for gaming because it has higher clock rates, the 1950X is for productivity workloads.

Right now the 8700K is the best CPU to pair with a 1080TI, anything less than that i would recommend a Ryzen 1700 or a 1600, spend the difference on an M.2 driver or something.

However, Ryzen 2 is out in a few weeks, i think you should wait until then.

so you're saying the Ryzen 2 is going to be better than the I7 8700k? And if so, completely in every way?

 

[Vergil]

No, we don't yet know how good, or bad its going to be, but if its good an 8 core 16 thread Ryzen 2 would be better future proofing than a 6 core 12 thread 8700K.

I'm saying wait and see.

Ok, but what about the motherboard? is the one I suggested the best one?

 

[Vergil]

If you are waiting.... then you also have to wait on the motherboard given that Ryzen and Intel don't use the same boards.

If you're not going to wait the ROG Strix Z370 is a good board.

I can definately wait to see what is required for the new chips.

 

[Vergil]

• CPU: So honestly right now the 8700k is the best gaming CPU. However AMD have the refresh for Ryzen/Threadripper on way. It would be worth waiting accordingly. It is likely that longer term if games go how expected to support greater core count then something like a Threadripper would be more ideal but that is only on the hope of games developing how the developers have suggested. There is no way to suggest which will be best and certainly neither would be best in every way compared to one another.
  
• Motherboard: The motherboard you mention honestly is fine. Any of the brands top end are comparable so go for what you like the look off as there is minimal/no difference with them. However you will need to decide on CPU brand first and thus wait for AMD refresh before being able to suggest best mobo.
• GPU: 1080Ti would be fine unless you hold out for the next Nvidia series. Unfortunatly AMD are not competing at the top end and what they do have is too expensive right now. Don't go multi GPU, not worth the expense.
• Drives: If you are going for ultimate build and just want best then I wouldn't even worry about any mechanical drive now and go for large SSD storage drive or actually 2x1TB in RAID for instance to maximise performance if that is your aim
• PSU: Don't need more than an 800 watt PSU these days. They run so efficiently and a PC power drawer even with high overclocks and similar will never get anything close to this.
• Keyboard: Avoid corsair for keyboard is my honest view. They are fine in quality however the software is a buggy peace of rubbish and never works properly.
• Case is dependent on looks more than anything tbh. The motherboard you are looking at are ATX so case to suit that size. Although personally an MATX board would be better in a top end selection and you could get smaller footprint.

That is honestly the best I can say with the idea of what is happening in the next month in terms of hardware. You don't mention budget but that will define a lot of the selection in how far you want to push things for yourself. Also are you interested in 4K gaming and what refresh rate as no point getting all this if you only going to play at 1080p 60hz because you not worried about more resolution.

Well, i'm trying to be on par/Better with the Alienware Area 51 threadripper edition when it comes to gaming etc so I'm not letting the budget mess with my rig potential.

GPU- Whens the next series coming out?

Hard Drives- SSD is what Im planning to get, no smaller than 512GB M.2 PCIe

PSU- I will definately be overclocking everything i can so I want the best exactly.

Keyboard- Thanks for that, I'll consider changing that for something else.

Case- I don't really care about looks, thats a bonus. I want in depth analysis on space, air flow and all that jazz catering to performance of the overall rig I'm trying to build.

 

[Vergil]

The 8700k will destroy threadripper in gaming.
I'm not sure why you alienware is the benchmark for pc gaming....

Because I originally was going to buy an Alienware Area 51 Threadripper Edition desktop and I heard it was the best pre-made desktop money can buy.

 

[Vergil]

I can tell you that it really isn't..........

Ok thats fine and all but its pretty much up there with the best maxed out. Now I need data on the ultimate water cooler since now im hearing thats the best. Know anything on that?