New Gaming-PC Build Advice and Opinions

[needsata]

1 hour ago, Circaflex said:

That is your opinion, and to be honest, you are grossly misinformed. Pre-built units are no longer the crap they used to be, there are companies that specialize in pre-built gaming rigs. Nothing wrong with a pre-built and to be honest, unless you really want to tinker, I think a pre-built is the better choice. Warranty support is so much easier, going to one company (the one that built it) compared to ripping it apart and testing each piece to see which one has gone bad, then dealing with that company.

You have any preferences of late? Recommendations, et cetera?

[Circaflex]

4 minutes ago, needsata said:

You have any preferences of late? Recommendations, et cetera?

Everyone's time has a different value, but here is my input. If I were building a rig specifically for gaming, I'd go pre-built at this point. I've custom built computers for close to 20 years now, while I do agree you get more bang for buck, the time I have spent troubleshooting just isn't worth it anymore. When I was in high-school and college, I had more spare time and enjoyed tinkering. Now that I work anywhere from 8 to 12 hours a day, on computers dealing with troubleshooting, it is the last thing I want to do when I get home. Pre-built rigs can potentially cost more than building your own rig, but to me the warranty is the deal breaker, you go directly to the OEM that built your machine. As I mentioned before, a custom rig would require you to troubleshoot and narrow down the exact piece, then deal with shipping that to said company. If you enjoy tinkering, have the time or are interested in building a bench-rig, I'd probably recommend a custom rig.

 

A few notable companies that specialize in gaming rigs:

Ibuypower

maingear

digitalstorm

origin

[needsata]

Just now, Circaflex said:

Everyone's time has a different value, but here is my input. If I were building a rig specifically for gaming, I'd go pre-built at this point. I've custom built computers for close to 20 years now, while I do agree you get more bang for buck, the time I have spent troubleshooting just isn't worth it anymore. When I was in high-school and college, I had more spare time and enjoyed tinkering. Now that I work anywhere from 8 to 12 hours a day, on computers dealing with troubleshooting, it is the last thing I want to do when I get home. Pre-built rigs can potentially cost more than building your own rig, but to me the warranty is the deal breaker, you go directly to the OEM that built your machine. As I mentioned before, a custom rig would require you to troubleshoot and narrow down the exact piece, then deal with shipping that to said company. If you enjoy tinkering, have the time or are interested in building a bench-rig, I'd probably recommend a custom rig.

Yes I am in agreement, work takes so much of my time and mental energy I can't stress that enough. Not to mention I currently have no adequate work-space at home to build a machine from the ground up. So as far as pre-built brands that are out there, what's your opinion? I have a former-contact that went with an under 1,000 dollar Ibuypower setup, plays everything at 1080p pretty flawlessly (everything being a figurative word here). I just keep hearing the naysayers and because I am so detached from the PC hardware world these days I hesitate.

[Circaflex]

1 minute ago, needsata said:

Yes I am in agreement, work takes so much of my time and mental energy I can't stress that enough. Not to mention I currently have no adequate work-space at home to build a machine from the ground up. So as far as pre-built brands that are out there, what's your opinion? I have a former-contact that went with an under 1,000 dollar Ibuypower setup, plays everything at 1080p pretty flawlessly (everything being a figurative word here). I just keep hearing the naysayers and because I am so detached from the PC hardware world these days I hesitate.

Ibuypower seems to be a good one, I have a friend who uses their units and loves it, another friend of mine has a cyberpowerpc and it is a nice unit.

[needsata]

Just now, Circaflex said:

Ibuypower seems to be a good one, I have a friend who uses their units and loves it, another friend of mine has a cyberpowerpc and it is a nice unit.

If it isn't to much of an imposition and you have the time/inclination, I really would appreciate your looking at maybe a couple of offerings on say Cyber and Ibuypower and just pointing me at some that you think look like good-deal/not a rip off, maybe meets some of my expectations I listed. Like two from each site comparably priced or something.

 

No worries if you don't feel like it, I will find something soon, I'm just getting as informed as I can get before I take the plunge.

[needsata]

Biggest places I can see saving through customization is reducing the capacity of the SSDs they are putting in. Just need enough room for the OS and a couple choice games, the rest can go on the ol' record player.

[T3X4S]

OK, how about this

https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=1651791

 

If you click on the link, it will put you @ default HW for that model.  I upgraded the SSD, PSU, RAM and it added $350.

But, they are highly regarded.

[Nerd Rage]

10 hours ago, needsata said:

I've heard some negative reviews from on cyberpower, you have any experience with them? Quality?

 

Thanks

Yup!  I can't speak to anything recent, but about a decade ago I purchased from there.  It was a good experience from both a technical and customer service perspective.  That said, I will always build my own computers moving forward.  I've built my last 5 or so, plus my wife's and my families' computers.  You just get much more bang for your buck and get all the exact component you want.

[needsata]

1 hour ago, T3X4S said:

OK, how about this

https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=1651791

 

If you click on the link, it will put you @ default HW for that model.  I upgraded the SSD, PSU, RAM and it added $350.

But, they are highly regarded.

What about the video card at that price when looking at competitors? Ive seen some 1080 cards in a few 1700 dollar builds from ibuypower. Let me know what you think if you take a gander. I will take another look at digital storms offerings. 

[Mockingbird]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($197.65 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: *ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($73.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: *GeIL - EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: *SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($83.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: *Western Digital - RE4 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($41.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: *EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB GAMING Video Card  ($269.89 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Corsair - SPEC-03 White ATX Mid Tower Case  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($41.89 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $964.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-18 20:05 EDT-0400

[needsata]

2 hours ago, Mockingbird said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($197.65 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: *ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($73.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: *GeIL - EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: *SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($83.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: *Western Digital - RE4 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($41.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: *EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB GAMING Video Card  ($269.89 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Corsair - SPEC-03 White ATX Mid Tower Case  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($41.89 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $964.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-18 20:05 EDT-0400

I will review this one thanks! Do you know if it covers everthing, cooling, fans all cables, et cetera? Anything missing? How would you rank this build? 1080p 60 fps highest settings current games? Touch 4K, or out of reach?

[needsata]

What do you think about these?

[Mockingbird]

40 minutes ago, needsata said:

What do you think about these?

Yawn

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4GHz 8-Core Processor  ($329.59 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake - Water 3.0 Riing RGB 240 40.6 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($115.01 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: *ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($73.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: *GeIL - EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: *SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($83.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: *Western Digital - RE4 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($41.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: *Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB AORUS Video Card  ($708.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Corsair - Crystal 460X RGB ATX Mid Tower Case  ($139.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: Rosewill - Capstone 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1758.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-18 23:34 EDT-0400

[Mockingbird]

1 hour ago, needsata said:

I will review this one thanks! Do you know if it covers everthing, cooling, fans all cables, et cetera? Anything missing? How would you rank this build? 1080p 60 fps highest settings current games? Touch 4K, or out of reach?

Yes, this has everything. It can play most of the games at 1080p, probably not at the highest settings. 4K is out-of-reach.

 

If you want to pay at 4K, take a look at my other build.

[needsata]

*BASE_PRICE: [+1515] 1658 final price

 

CARE1: Cooler Master Thermal Fusion 400 Extreme Performance CPU - Thermal Compound Optimized for Thermal Dissipation [+10]

CAS: Syber M ATX Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ USB 3.0, & Side-Panel Window

CPU: Intel® Core™ Processor i7-7700K 4.20GHZ 8MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1151 (Kaby Lake)

CS_FAN: Default case fans

FAN: CyberpowerPC Asetek 550LC 120mm Liquid Cooling CPU Cooler (Single Standard 120MM Fan)

FREEBIE_CU: Intel Summer Software Starter Pack - Corel Painter Essentials 5, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dreadnought, MAGIX Fastcut 2.0, MAGIX Youcast, MAGIX Samplitude Music Studio 2016, Virtual DJ 8.1 & XSplit Gamecaster

HDD: 240GB WD Green SSD + 3TB SATA III Hard Drive Combo (Combo Drive)

IUSB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports

KEYBOARD: CyberpowerPC Multimedia USB Gaming Keyboard [+6]

MEMORY: 16GB (8GBx2) DDR4/2400MHz Dual Channel Memory (Performance Memory by Major Brands)

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS TUF Z270 MARK 2 ATX w/ USB 3.1, 3 PCIe x16, 3 PCIe x1, 6 SATA3, 2 M.2 SATA/PCIe [Intel Optane Ready]

MOUSE: CyberpowerPC Standard 4000 DPI with Weight System Optical Gaming Mouse

NETWORK: Intel EXPI9301CTBLK Network Adapter 10/ 100/ 1000Mbps PCI-Express [+34]

OS: Windows 10 Home (64-bit Edition)

POWERSUPPLY: 1,000 Watts - Standard 80 Plus Gold Power Supply [+16]

PRO_WIRING: Professional Wiring for All WIRING Inside The System Chassis - Minimize Cable Exposure, Maximize Airflow in Your System [+19]

RUSH: Standard processing time: ship within 5 to 10 Business Days

SERVICE: 3 Years FREE Service Plan (INCLUDES LABOR AND LIFETIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT)

SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

VIDEO: GeForce® GTX 1080 8GB GDDR5X (Pascal)[VR Ready] [+117] (Single Card)

VIVE_HEADSET: None

WARRANTY: STANDARD WARRANTY: 1 Year Parts WARRANTY

_PRICE: (+1658)

Edited August 19, 2017 by needsata

[needsata]

3 hours ago, Mockingbird said:

Yawn

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4GHz 8-Core Processor  ($329.59 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake - Water 3.0 Riing RGB 240 40.6 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($115.01 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: *ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($73.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: *GeIL - EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: *SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($83.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: *Western Digital - RE4 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($41.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: *Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB AORUS Video Card  ($708.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Corsair - Crystal 460X RGB ATX Mid Tower Case  ($139.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: Rosewill - Capstone 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1758.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-18 23:34 EDT-0400

Did all these prices actually include shipping and taxes? Or were any unavailable? Otherwise nice list.

[Mockingbird]

48 minutes ago, needsata said:

Did all these prices actually include shipping and taxes? Or were any unavailable? Otherwise nice list.

That includes shipping, but not taxes.

[needsata]

8 hours ago, Mockingbird said:

That includes shipping, but not taxes.

Okay thanks.

 

So I've got your 1,000 dollar option and your roughly 2k option.

 

Can I task you with something?

 

Go to cyberpower and do your best to build what, in your opinion, is the best option for roughly 1600.

 

Post it back here, be sure to grab any of the so-called "free upgrades" for this and that if you do.

 

No worries if you don't feel up for it!

 

Thanks for all your posts.

 

 

[Mockingbird]

2 hours ago, needsata said:

Okay thanks.

 

So I've got your 1,000 dollar option and your roughly 2k option.

 

Can I task you with something?

 

Go to cyberpower and do your best to build what, in your opinion, is the best option for roughly 1600.

 

Post it back here, be sure to grab any of the so-called "free upgrades" for this and that if you do.

 

No worries if you don't feel up for it!

 

Thanks for all your posts.

 

 

Well, I am not going to do that because I don't believe in buying a pre-build for such an expensive PC, but I will show you what you can build for $1600

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4GHz 8-Core Processor  ($329.59 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($34.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: *ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($73.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: *GeIL - EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: *SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($83.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: *Western Digital - RE4 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($41.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: *Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB AORUS Video Card  ($708.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Corsair - SPEC-03 White ATX Mid Tower Case  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - G-750 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.90 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1598.09
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-19 14:06 EDT-0400

[needsata]

1 hour ago, Mockingbird said:

Well, I am not going to do that because I don't believe in buying a pre-build for such an expensive PC, but I will show you what you can build for $1600

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 1700X 3.4GHz 8-Core Processor  ($329.59 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($34.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: *ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($73.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: *GeIL - EVO POTENZA 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: *SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($83.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: *Western Digital - RE4 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($41.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: *Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB AORUS Video Card  ($708.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Corsair - SPEC-03 White ATX Mid Tower Case  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - G-750 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.90 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1598.09
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-19 14:06 EDT-0400

Thanks, I like this build you have put together. I am really considering this one. I loathe the idea of dealing with four different   Merchants, ten different warranties and return policies and whatever unaccounted for costs. But i will be making a decision soon.

 

O.

[Mindovermaster Moderator]

1 hour ago, needsata said:

Thanks, I like this build you have put together. I am really considering this one. I loathe the idea of dealing with four different   Merchants, ten different warranties and return policies and whatever unaccounted for costs. But i will be making a decision soon.

 

O.

Was that sarcasm?

[Mockingbird]

2 hours ago, needsata said:

Thanks, I like this build you have put together. I am really considering this one. I loathe the idea of dealing with four different   Merchants, ten different warranties and return policies and whatever unaccounted for costs. But i will be making a decision soon.

 

O.

Most of the components come with three years warranty.

 

Power supply has five years warranty.

 

Memory has lifetime warranty.

 

With a pre-build, you only get one year warranty.

[Mindovermaster Moderator]

1 hour ago, Mockingbird said:

Most of the components come with three years warranty.

 

Power supply has five years warranty.

 

Memory has lifetime warranty.

 

With a pre-build, you only get one year warranty.

Or maybe 2 years in some businesses, but, yeah, that's about it for prebuilds.

[needsata]

4 hours ago, Mindovermaster said:

Was that sarcasm?

No, where were you pickinlg up the sarcasm?

 

I definitely like the build, going with another one I will post soon.

 

But i don't know who WOULD like dealing with mutliple merchants if avoidable.

[Mindovermaster Moderator]

16 minutes ago, needsata said:

No, where were you pickinlg up the sarcasm?

 

I definitely like the build, going with another one I will post soon.

 

But i don't know who WOULD like dealing with mutliple merchants if avoidable.

I'd go with better warranty, even if it is different companies.