October Upgrade - Spec me - ~£1500

[Fanaticjam]

Looking at getting a new rig next month, budget around 1500, bit over is fine, under is welcome too!

I usually go with intel/nvidia. Dont need a case, perephials, monitors or storage hdds. Am interested in getting a m.2 or whatever is the current go to OS drive. Though last i heard they had issues with heat?

Uses : Gaming, Media/Browsing, and some video editing - in that order

I do need a copy of windows

Currently use 2x1920x1200 60hz monitors but planning to upgrade to 4k or 144hz, or both

 

[Fanaticjam]

Yeah.

Main usage is gaming, followed up by media and browsing.
Planning to get more into video editing, but by far main use is gaming at the moment.

I use 2 1920x1200 IPS screens but I'm either going to get a high refresh monitor or high res one sometime after getting the PC, or both(high refresh for competitive and high res for other games).


I just saw OC3D's news about coffee lake too ( https://www.overclock3d.net/news/cp..._to_launch_in_early_october_-_leaked_prices/1 )
No actual stats yet? Do we have any idea when they might get out to reviewers?


Oh also i'm using a Bitfenix Shinobi XL
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk...l-full-tower-gaming-case-black-cm-194-tl.html
This case minus the noise dampening

 

[Fanaticjam]

If gaming is 90% of what you do, get coffee lake. If you have a more balanced workload where multi-threaded is key, consider a Ryzen 1700. Both options are similarly priced, with the Ryzen chip being somewhat cheaper.
It's 6c/12t vs 8c/16t with Intel having the higher overclockability and stock clocks and an advantage in gaming, but 2 less cores.

You will have to OC the 1700. You won't have to OC the 8700K as its fast as hell out of the box. But it's still an option to OC if you want insane speeds.

Also with Ryzen you need 3200Mhz RAM for best results which can require significant screwing around in BIOS. With Intel, you can get faster RAM than that, set XMP in bios, and away you go. Intel has better memory controller. There is a chance you'll get a 1700 with a ballin' memory controller and you can set 3200Mhz in bios and go, but its hit and miss.

Whats with it needing specifically 3200mhz ram?

Finding it a bit odd that these are all the same price, also heard there have been thermal issues with the latest chips? I'm quite keen to overclock, so I'm wondering/hoping coffee lake is better

 

[Fanaticjam]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfNMn7RWgLw

Thats insane! I'm assuming this guy is mostly unbiased as he claims. it's hard to know who to trust!

 

[Fanaticjam]

If you buy a decent motherboard and quality Samsung b-die ram like the 8 pack memory I have it will run at 3200 or more without problems. Mine runs at 3466 c15 and is completely stable. Unlike intel , ryzen cpu performance is linked to ram speed.

Hynix based ram does not work as well with ryzen. I had corsair lpx 3200 ram before on same motherboard which was only stable at 2933.

I would wait for the coffee lake reviews and see what you think. On bf1 @ 1080p my cpu averages 30% / Gpu at around 100% , with fps 100-144(max refresh rate of monitor).

Also consider saving money going for ryzen means more money for the Gpu if that works for your usage. Check ryzen v intel comparisons in games for recent reviews. The older ryzen reviews used very slow memory dragging results down.

I'm a bit lost when it comes to different ram types, not had to deal with that before.

Could someone spec me a good AMD build for 1600/1600x or 1800/1800x?
Also is the X version just at a higher clock or is there reason to spend the extra money?

Thinking of going the 1600/x route to get the extra money for a 1080ti in the build and upgrade cpu later

 

[Fanaticjam]

165Hz when he now has two 60Hz Full HD screens? Why?
Well, he can save from the graphics card and redirect the investment to other premium components in his build.

Or better go for two RX Vega 56 8GB HBM2 (that's 2 times £390) in CrossFire then?

800 quid for driver issues and all sorts of other issues? I'm good thanks. I'll be sticking to a single GPU.

While vega 64 costs about %30 less than the 1080ti, the benchmarks seem to show that it's not an extortionate price on the ti, high end gpu's usually fall far off on the performance per £, so this seems like pretty reasonable gains to me.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1937?vs=1939 T

He didn't mention the games but I am going to assume he will be playing some AAA titles or no point spending £1500 in the first place.

The op will need to decide if he wants Nvidia/G-Sync or AMD/FreeSync. As he stated a preference for Nvidia then the 1080 ti is the obvious choice for high end gaming at 1440p/165Hz or 4K as long as it doesn't impact any other areas of the build (Which it doesn't).

Mostly playing siege right now, but I want this rig to be good for like 5 years. Future wise - I will likely pick up arma 3 again when I get this new rig, plus WH:TW2, PUBG/ME:A (both don't run on current rig), new Metro <3, Stellaris, plus I'm sure more will pop up in the future. I don't tend to follow game dev/hype train.

 

[Fanaticjam]

A GTX 1080 ti will be a waste though unless you buy a high refresh rate 1440p monitor (Or a 4K one).

If you decide on 1440p then you could drop down to a B350 board and 550W psu.

You will also need to make sure your current case will support the parts i.e You will need an ATX case for the motherboard, and also clearance for the gpu length.

What case do you have by the way ?


My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Gigabyte Aorus GA-AX370-Gaming 5 AMD X370 (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £179.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Six Core 1600 3.60GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £188.99
• 1 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080Ti Gaming OC BLACK 11264MB GDDR5X PCI-Express Graphics Card= £679.99
• 1 x Team Group Dark T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TDGED416G300= £119.99
• 1 x Microsoft Windows 10 32/64-Bit - USB Pen Drive - Retail (KW9-00017)= £104.99
• 1 x Samsung 960 EVO Polaris 250GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £149.99
• 1 x Bitfenix Whisper M Series 750W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £99.95

Total: £1,535.59
(includes shipping: £11.70)



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Thanks for that build, the mobo being listed as max 2666mhz ram won't matter? Seen this on all mobo's so guessing not.


That's pretty much what I was thinking, though I'd normally go for an aftermarket aircooler, was thinking dark rock this time round unless there's something better on the market, issue with that is the ram will be too high for it.

Also, how can you tell what ram is samsung b-die? I can't see it listed anywhere.


Are bitfenix psu's good? I was thinking of going with superflower/evga

 

[Fanaticjam]

slightly over but 144hz 1080p Freesync monitor - flash the Vega to 64 Bios and undervolt with OC and you'll save yourself £200+ and be inline with a GTX 1080 performance whilst saving on the GPU as well as G-Sync monitor

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Not looking to grab a monitor/ HDD or watercooling with this build, but looks like a well rounded build!

 

[Fanaticjam]

Okay, so now coffee lake is here I've been looking at this again.

This is what I have in my basket at the moment, could do with some feedback. For one thing, I want to try and get a 5ghz overclock, hence the ugly CPU cooler. Would like to know if there's anything that rivals the noctua and looks better? From OC3D's vids and others it seems to be the way to go.

Also which mobo should I go for? Does it matter? The gigabyte one in the basket gets £20 steam credit with it so that's as good as actual cashback to me.


black+green is my general aesthetic for the computer, already have black case with green fans etc.

Budget went out the window a bit, but if you could skimp on something in this what would you recommend?

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Intel Core i7-8700K 3.8GHz (Coffee Lake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail= £359.99
• 1 x Noctua NH-D15 Dual Radiator Quiet CPU Cooler with two NH-A15 Fans= £82.99
• 1 x Zotac GeForce GTX 1080Ti AMP Edition 11264MB GDDR5X PCI-Express Graphics Card (ZT-P10810D-10P)= £659.99
• 1 x MSI Z370 Tomahawk Intel Z370 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £133.99
• 1 x Samsung 960 EVO Polaris 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £209.99
• 1 x Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit DVD - OEM (MS-KW9-00139)= £94.99
• 1 x Super Flower Leadex Platinum 850W Fully Modular "80 Plus Platinum" Power Supply - Black= £139.99
• 1 x Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Ultra Gaming Intel Z370 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £179.99
• 1 x Team Group Dark Pro "8Pack Edition" 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-28800C16 3600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/= £199.99

Total: £2,073.61
(includes shipping: £11.70)



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[Fanaticjam]

The D15 is one of the best high end coolers. You could look at the D15S as an alternative as it has better compatibility with Ram and top pcie slot. Some big coolers can block the top slot. I haven't seen any reviews of the 8700K so no idea what thermals are like.

I have always been a Gigabyte buyer myself so if I had to chose it would be Gigabyte > Asus and then MSI/ASRock. The Gigabyte Z170/270 boards were good so I don't see Z370 being any different.

If I had to skimp on something it would probably be cheaper Ram (3000MHz - 3200MHz kit) or a cheaper non NVMe SSD such as the 850 EVO/Crucial MX300. You could also go with a Gold psu such as the Bitfenix Whisper (If you don't mind the ugly 24 pin cable).

Cheers for the feedback again, the whisper is rated well on jonnyguru atleast. Would you say 850W is about the sweet spot for a build like this?

 

[Fanaticjam]

Had I realised they would have such bad stock issues I would have ordered when it went live on the site. Put an order through early today so hopefully I'm somewhere high up in the waitlist lol

 

[Fanaticjam]

Why? According to the same logic, he should jump on the next-greatest components as quickly as they will be released.
Remember that i7-8700K is as if literally SOLDERED to the motherboard. You can't upgrade it with anything that will be released later.

In several months, Intel will release new montherboards with new 8-core i7-9700K processors.

I'm seriously telling you that in 2-3 years, that 6-core configuration will become low-end already.

Terrible investment. Forget Intel, buy Ryzen, is the best advise.

How much is AMD paying you to spam this thread?

I'm not interested in buying mid tier parts and replacing them year on year, the cost is just spread over the years and it's not going to work out any cheaper. Same reason I while I'll just wait for the i7K to come into stock instead of ordering a non K one and selling it at a loss in one month. My i5 2500K has lasted 6 years and I can still play games like BF1 on reasonable settings, game looks damn great considering its a 6 year old mid range rig.

We all know moores law is dead and its highly unlikely that there will be anything that is *really* worth upgrading to in the next 3 years. Hell, if you check youtube, there are tons of videos comparing the i5 2500K to current CPU's and its matching low tier ryzens in gaming. So sure, this mobo will last 1 launch, but by the time I consider an upgrade, AM4 is likely going to be old news too.

 

[Fanaticjam]

That was back then when there was no competition from AMD. Now with AMD at their full force, things will be very different. Don't expect history to repeat.
In 2-3 years, your 8700K will be offered by Intel as either a Pentium or Core i3. Just get it!

I hope you're right, but I doubt it. We'll see in 3 years, until then, I'll still have a decent PC.

 

[Fanaticjam]

^^^^ that chart has now been replace- i5 8400 and i3 8100 are by far the most cost effective CPU - but is seriously hampered currently with z370 mobo's till next year

@Fanaticjam seen from a distributor i use- expecting i7 K in tomorrow - hopefully this might stem news for OCUK- whether they get them directly from larger Global distribution or can get one locally

Do you know if they got it in?

 

[Fanaticjam]

not looking good- can see on Binned 8700K thread on the CPU section ETA in December !
i dont think OCUK gets it from there- but in theory they could use smaller distributors like them as well to get numbers - but hopefully being such a larger reseller they'll find a way easily before December

Hmm, can't see that, guess I'm being blind!

I just noticed hovering over the Pre order icon says it's ETA is tomorrow though.

 

[Fanaticjam]

thats good, i was stating from a distributor - different to reseller not sure where OCUKget theres but sure its from a much larger source

have you already pre-ordered ? most likely will be a list up

Ordered last friday, but thinking of cancelling the order unless there's a reasonable ETA soon. If it's not going to arrive till december I'll just wait till January or so

E: and yeah, I realised you were talking about a 3rd party, just interesting to see if anyone is getting stock soon!

 

[Fanaticjam]

So after a few snaggles with GPU/PSU it's all arrived. Probably going to build over sunday + overclock/benchmark monday unless something comes up!

The noctua box is HUUUUUUUGE good lord.

 

[Fanaticjam]

Did you get every component separately just to get more Haribo?

Ahah no, but I was tempted to ask for more, didn't want to be rude

 

[Fanaticjam]

Well its alive! All done except HDD/SSD swap over.

Doesn't look like I'm going to be hitting 5ghz without delidding which is pretty annoying, although my overclocking ability is way out of date so I'll probably be posting in the overclocking forum soon.

I assume this is happening due to one core not getting enough power, system doesn't crash, but that core is always the one that the test stops for.
Also, TMPIN4 is always super toasty, but theres no reference to what it is in the mobo manual

 

[Fanaticjam]

22 threads? that would be something! Thanks for that info, might contact gigabyte to check, dont want the mobo melting. Do we have an active gigabyte rep on the forum?

Not sure about what to do for the overclock final settings right now, still tinkering around with it. Testing with MT off and think I can get 5ghz under 85c - might offer better performance than MT at a lower multiplier for gaming.
Also letting the core hit 90's probably isnt a good idea, though I never see anything else getting so much heat as prime95, so I'd guess its fine for day to day use


Edit, 10 mins of prime at 5ghz averaged 84c but peaked at 85c - close enough for me