Best build for set budget

[Dean_Moriarty]

Hi all,

Is this the best gaming PC I can build within a budget of £2,500?

I'm essentially looking for top performance without the need to upgrade over the next 5 years+

Some of the things I require / would like.

SSD, Bluetooth + Wi-Fi, Micro SD Card reader, Blu-Ray drive, Cooling and noise is also a high priority.

Specs

Case COOLERMASTER CM690 III ADVANCED CASE (GREEN)
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-8700k (3.7GHz) 12MB Cache
Motherboard Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Ultra Gaming: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM) 32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card 11GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 Ti - HDMI, 3x DP GeForce - GTX VR Ready!
1st Hard Disk 960GB KINGSTON UV400 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (540MB/R, 500MB/W)
2nd Hard Disk 2TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 64MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Memory Card Reader USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER
Power Supply CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling Corsair H80i V2 Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Liquid Series Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste EK-TIM ECTOTHERM THERMAL COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans 2x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card Asus Xonar DGX 5.1-Channel Gaming Audio Card
Wireless/Wired Networking WIRELESS 802.11 AC 867Mbps + BT4.0 + Intel Wi-Di PCI-E CARD
USB Options 2 PORT (2 x TYPE A) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
Operating System Language United Kingdom - English Language
DVD Recovery Media Windows 10 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve

Currently priced £2,503

 

[Stephen M]

You are wasting money on RAM as 16GB is easily enough and will be for five years, probably more as games run easily on 8GB at the moment, The best SSD option is a Samsung m2, either the SM, PM or EVO as they are miles faster than the Kingston. Most people only go for 256GB of SSD space but if you have the money then get more but it is not essential.
I will leave comments on the mobo, case and stuff as am a laptop user.

 

[ubuysa]

I would second everything that Stephen M has said. I have that case and it is extremely good for cooling, though I have a Noctua air cooler in mine. The case has grills on all four edges for excellent airflow and the standard two fans work extremely well, they're quite too (as is the Noctua fan).

I would definitely swap that SSD for an M.2 SM or PM 961......

 

[Oussebon]

Agreed with all the above.

Cooling and noise is also a high priority.

In that case I'd suggest the Fractal R5 case, the Noctua cooler, and the RM850x PSU.

without the need to upgrade over the next 5 years+

That'a an unrealistic expectation - and it's a poor use of money to try to realise that expectation.

Games will get progressively more demanding, and you will want to upgrade your graphics card in due course. I'm assuming you're gaming at 1080p as you've not said otherwise.

Buying a super expensive graphics card to 'futureproof' doesn't really work, as you're paying a huge premium for performance you don't get any benefit from now - and by the time you need the performance, something more powerful and cheaper will be available. e.g. if one bought a GTX 780 ti for futureproofing and then a GTX 970 came out. Or a 980 ti, and then the 1070 came out.

A GTX 1070 is generously more than enough for 1080p. A 1080 is overkill - so if overkill it what you're after I'd suggest sticking to that.

For a high end gaming PC you should expect to upgrade the GPU every few years.

Motherboard Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Ultra Gaming: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
...
Wireless/Wired Networking WIRELESS 802.11 AC 867Mbps + BT4.0 + Intel Wi-Di PCI-E CARD

The Z370E has built in 867mbps wifi and BT 4.1 - which keeps an expansion slot free.

USB Options 2 PORT (2 x TYPE A) USB 3.1 PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS

The motherboard already has a lot of USB ports. Why the extra ones? If you don't have a very specific need of more, then don't buy this as it just means more things sitting in the case possibly affecting airflow.


Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R5 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™ i7-8700K Six Core (3.7GHz @ up to 4.8GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z370-E GAMING: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1080 - DVI, HDMI, 3x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
Get Destiny 2 with select GTX 10 Series GPUs! ** Limited Codes Available **
1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
NOT REQUIRED
M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG PM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3000MB/R, 1700MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Memory Card Reader
USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W RMx SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
EK-TIM ECTOTHERM THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price £2,134.00 including VAT and delivery

Unique URL to re-configure : https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z370-overclocked/gaYmqQPD8S/

 

[Dean_Moriarty]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

Appreciate the case recommendation and the clarification regarding the motherboard and Wi-Fi / Bluetooth.

Main reason for adding the extra USB ports was because I'd need, at a minimum, 4x USB 3.0 due to the number of external USB 3.0 devices I have.
How many USB 3.0 ports would the above build have?

To clarify the above, when I said without the need to upgrade I'm more referring to the CPU. Would upgrade the graphics card or RAM if needed as that's not that complicated and is something I've done before. In essence though I'd want to keep this PC for 5 years+ and have it remain good enough for professional and gaming use.

Cooling is probably more of a priority than noise but both would be nice.

Gaming at 1080p would be fine.

Does the above info change anything or would the build that Oussebon put together be sufficient?

Thanks.

 

[ClarkF1]

Can attest to the i7-8700K, Fractal R5 and Noctua combo

Can barely hear my PC even when fully at load.
Temps max at about 60C under load and about 33C at idle.

I didn't get the overclocked version and it seems to run at a min of 4.3GHz rather than the 3.7GHz advertised, which has been mentioned in Eurogamer's review.



Sometimes it jumps to 4.7GHz!

 

[Oussebon]

To clarify the above, when I said without the need to upgrade I'm more referring to the CPU. Would upgrade the graphics card or RAM if needed as that's not that complicated and is something I've done before. In essence though I'd want to keep this PC for 5 years+ and have it remain good enough for professional and gaming use.

A GTX 1080 is way more than enough for 1080p gaming. The 8700k is currently the best gaming CPU money can buy.

How many USB 3.0 ports would the above build have?

The Z370-E would have 4 USB 3.0 ports (2 back, 2 front), and a USB 3.1 (Gen 2) port at the back, which would also work with USB 3.0. Plus a USB 3.1 (Gen 2) Type C connector at the back.

The Z370 Aorus Ultra Gaming would have 6 USB 3.0 ports (4 back, 2 front). Plus a USB 3.1 (Gen 2) Type C connector at the back.

Cooling is probably more of a priority than noise but both would be nice.

The Fractal R5 and Noctua cooler both offer very good thermal and acoustic performance.

Does the above info change anything or would the build that Oussebon put together be sufficient?

You may want to switch back to the Aorus Ultra Gaming motherboard, and get the wifi + bluetooth addin card, if you want the extra USB ports. But you shouldn't need an extra USB port card as well.

 

[Dean_Moriarty]

Thanks again for the replies.

This has been extremely useful for me. You all do a great job on this forum!