Very light issues this time, and it mostly revolves around value.

-CPU: I rarely recommend X SKUs for Ryzen, largely because you can overclock the non-X to the same clocks in almost any circumstance. But, if you don't want to mess with clocks, it's a good enough CPU for what it is. Since your initial post, though, 3rd-gen Ryzen (aka Zen 2) CPUs have come out and the 3600 has emerged as one of the best value gaming CPUs. If you could spare another $25, that'd be a much better option. Otherwise, I'd step down to the 2600. Keep in mind that you might have to request a boot kit from AMD to use 3rd-gen Ryzen with B450 boards.
-CPU Cooler: The Wraith cooler in box is actually just fine and if you want to save $40 you can drop the cooler entirely, but having seen the Deepcool Gammax GT BK in person I have to say it's a downright gorgeous cooler if you're into the RGB craze. It's about on par with the often-recommended Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, with roughly the same design, just prettier RGB lights vs, for example, the Hyper 212 Black RGB.
-Motherboard: Your case can support full-ATX, and the full-ATX version of the motherboard you picked is $10 cheaper after rebate. The Pro4 has some of the better VRMs for B450, making for some decent overclocks, but the king of B450 boards is still the MSI B450 Tomahawk.
-RAM: No complaints here. You could step down to a brand like XPG to get RGB cheaper, but Corsair RGB is typically less fuss.
-Storage: The drive you've picked is a SATA M.2, and is honestly a great drive that I'd recommend. Still, considering you can step up to PCIe for $5 cheaper, that's probably what I'd suggest. Given how much I've hocked this drive lately I feel like people are wondering if I'm paid off by Sabrent, but it's just a really good value, using a top-tier controller with top-tier flash from Toshiba. Just remember to register it so you can get a five-year warranty, it's three years otherwise.
-GPU: I just about had a heart attack, thinking that AMD GPU prices had gone up again, but it turns out this one is just overpriced. The best RX 580 on the market is $220 right now, but I'd actually probably suggest going for Nvidia with a GTX 1660 or even 1660 Ti, both much better graphics cards for the money these days.
-Case: The airflow on this one is kind of meh thanks to the glass front panel, making air have to turn to get in, but it's a great looking case. Honestly, for the parts you have it's probably fine. Just keep in mind that it only comes with a single fan at the back, you'll want to buy some more for at least the front for some air intake.
-PSU: The trade war is unfortunately hitting power supplies hard, so just about any suggestions I could give for this are pricey. Still, at the price you're buying this, it looks like the EVGA G1+ is a better deal at $80 with no rebate for a fully modular PSU on a slightly better FSP platform vs. the CX550M's Great Wall platform. It's also 650W vs 550W.

Putting all of this together makes for a build that's barely more expensive, about $7 more at time of writing. (Note the incompatibility warning - as I mentioned, third gen Ryzen might need a boot kit from AMD so you can update the BIOS.)

BenQ PG2401PT - a bit over your budget bracket, but I think I would go for it personally if I could afford it. Reason for it being the 10bit panel (my new favorite). However, as with everything it has its drawbacks and for that monitor it's the size, only 24inches.

The PG monitor features a 10-bit IPS panel that uses a 14-bit 3D Look Up Table (LUT) to guarantee silky smooth color gradation on any image. The 10-bit panel can create more than one billion colors--64 times the amount of color available on an 8-bit panel, and with 14-bit processing capability, generates crisper definition and improved gray-level distinction. The 14-bit 3D Look Up Table (LUT), monitors improves RGB color blending accuracy, resulting in impeccable color and gray tone reproduction. Rated to 350 cd/m2 brightness, the monitor’s Brightness Uniformity Function enables PG series monitors to certify a consistent image across the entire display.

ASUS PB278Q 27-Inch - Almost 600 reviews and still sitting at 4.5/5 stars. Pretty lucky for you as the price on amazon.co.uk and amazon.com is almost the same, but the UK one is priced as £ (£465) instead of $($469). People who own it state its a good multi-purpose monitor. So even though it is a PLS monitor it should be fine.

ASUS PB287Q 28-Inch 4K - 4K version of the above monitor. 100 reviews, 4/5 stars.

Samsung 28-Inch 4K LED Monitor (U28D590D) - pretty decent looking monitor, but has mixed reviews so could be a gamble.

That's roughly it for now. Here's a pretty nice IPS monitor list with USD prices and some helpful notes. I got a few more monitors noted down, but they are gaming monitors with 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, G-sync etc.

I think it's worth checking out NEC monitors, which seem to be mega expensive, but offer amazing specs. As to Korean brands, I haven't looked around, have you found any good looking ones with decent specs?

As it stands the BenQ BL2710PT or Asus PB278Q are best choice for you, both 27 inch and 1440p. Also, since you aren't gaming then maybe have a look at 4K monitors? Obviously 4K requires a bit more powerful pc.

Let me go over my picks for you.

Number 1 best value: Acer 240HY. 23.8", IPS, and almost no bezels. 60hz, so pretty great for the price, with HDMI.

Number 1 best 144hz gaming monitor: Viewsonic XG2401/2701. It has freesync, the best color of all sub $300 monitors, and can rotate into portrait mode if needed. This monitor is fantastic if you have an AMD graphics card. If you do not, however, you'll either want a G-sync monitor (Much pricier) or go for a Benq and save money, since those lack freesync (Which doesn't benefit Nvidia cards anyway) but still have fantastic ratings.

Speaking of which, this is the best 144hz monitor without Freesync or Gsync. BenQ XL2411Z

Want a fantastic cheap Freesync monitor? Look no further than any size of these Viewsonics. Viewsonic VX series. All are 60hz but overclockable to 75hz (Nice!) and they all have freesync. I'd still recommend the #1 monitor I listed first, since IPS will probably be a lot better on your eyes, but these are great alternatives if you want a cheap gaming monitor and have an AMD card.

Want 144hz gaming but you're a cheapskate? No problem. Either buy the AOC G2460PF (Freesync!) which doesn't look quite as good as the Viewsonic I mentioned second but is $60 cheaper, or go for the Atron Vision AVF24 for an alternate, highly rated but lacking Freesync monitor. You can even get them used off Amazon for $150ish too!

Personally, I think for you, the first monitor I listed is your #1 best bet, BUT you can, if you really want to pinch pennies, go for the Acer H236L 23" monitor and buy it refurbished for almost exactly $100. It's also a bezel-less monitor, looks okay, and has high ratings. Personally, based on my research though, if you're going to buy this one new, go instead for the Acer I listed at the top, since it's IPS and this one is LCD. It still seems the better deal.

Happy shopping!

No problem. I really don't know what monitor, but I HIGHLYYY suggest and almost as this point require you to get an IPS display lol...its BEAUTIFUL. There are some high end gaming ones(qniq or something) which are 1440p, IPS, 27", 120hz refresh rate gaming monitors. I think you can only buy them online though, never used or seen one.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CIZZ0QO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I have this monitor as well as another older 24" TN monitor and the difference is night and day. I really like the one on that amazon page although I wish I had gone 27"(mainly because I have the space for it). I prefer matte finish over gloss, 2-5ms reponse time is the best you can get, and 60hz refresh is the standard(gaming monitors go to 120, but I dont think we have any besides the qniq that are IPS as well).

I7's are fine for multithreaded stuff(photoshop, video processing, animation, etc) and while some games may take advantage, it depends on what games you play. Most of the games right now utilize the GPU more so than the cpu(may change in a few years, nobody knows; i heard witcher 3 recommends an i7). If you WANT to spend the money, an i7 is fine to get. It might come in handy later, it might not which is why I didn't add it. It's not a bad idea, it's just that you may never utilize it fully. The i7 is on sale at microcenter right now so you'd be adding about 80$ to your build which at this point would probably be worth it(normally it's $339). I have a feeling you really want to spend the money and get something that will last so in that case getting 2x8gb of RAM would be worth it as well.

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-4790K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-4690K

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2187021/true-4790k-4690k-dont-benifit-gaming.html

With the i7 4790k and now I upped you to 16gb of 2x8gb RAM:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor | $279.99 @ Micro Center
CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler | $99.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard | MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | $99.99 @ Newegg
Memory | Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $119.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $188.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $44.99 @ Amazon
Video Card | MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Twin Frozr Video Card | $549.99 @ SuperBiiz
Case | Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case | $107.99 @ SuperBiiz
Power Supply | SeaSonic M12II 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply | $114.99 @ Amazon
Case Fan | Noctua NF-A14 PWM 82.5 CFM 140mm Fan | $23.99 @ Amazon
Case Fan | Noctua NF-A14 PWM 82.5 CFM 140mm Fan | $23.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1674.89
| Mail-in rebates | -$20.00
| Total | $1654.89
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-13 21:20 EDT-0400 |

edit: http://www.amazon.com/BenQ-GW2765HT-27-Inch-LED-Lit-Monitor/dp/B00KYCSRSG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1426296104&sr=1-1&keywords=benq+27+inch+monitor+2560x1440 This is a decent monitor, I've heard good things about BenQ but never used one myself.

http://www.amazon.com/PB278Q-27-Inch-LED-lit-Professional-Graphics/dp/B009C3M7H0/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1426296300&sr=1-1 This is another Asus one you can look at.

You could also consider getting 2x24" IPS displays and setting them up side by side. The two I've listed below here are 2560x1440p so the resolution is much more than the 24" ones.

Just my opinion, I am no expert, but these seem like the best choices as they are popular, and consideration how much work it would take to design them.
Also check the most popular on Amazon, Newegg and PC part picker.

CPUs from one socket look almost the same right?
So a LGA 1151 and AM3+ CPUs.

For RAM, classic PCB with black chips, maybe another one with a very simple heatspreader in different colors, as it would take quite a lot of work to create realistic heatspreaders for little benefit IMO.

Any HDD, they all look similar.

For SSDs, Samsung are the most popular and very simple to do.

Three most popular CPU coolers prolly are CRYORIG H7, Hyper 212 EVO, and Corsair H100i, maybe with addition of a single fan AIO like Corsair H55.

GPUs are tougher:

• definitely MSI twin frozr, they use them for most cards
  
• ASUS new strix
  
• Gigabyte G1 Gaming as for 1070 and 1080 and Windforce for smaller cards
  
• EVGA hates you, it seems like they have a different design for every card, but the most popular for enthusiasts could be ACX 3.0 used with 1070 and 1080
  
  Motherboards and cases: the hardest parts to pick, almost every one part is completely different from the other.
  Just go by the most popular.
  
  Anything I forgot?

> The mobo supports SLI but at 8x PCIe 3.0, that should be fast enough if I ever want to add another GPU, right?

Yes. If the mainboard is specified for SLI, that will work. From the mainboard layout there should be no problem, though I can't be sure.

> Hopefully it's a bit more future proof with the extra power from hyperthreading.

It will help a bit, but for gaming only I'd save the money and go with the i5.

> I should be able to use and benefit from the faster RAM after changing BIOS settings, right?

Yes, no problem there.

> Couldn't really find any real comparison between different manufacturer GTX 1080s

Do you speak a bit of german? Computerbase tested many of them, see https://www.computerbase.de/2016-07/geforce-gtx-1080-partnerkarten-vergleich-test/. The Inno is okay, the Phoenix is nice, and the Gigabyte G1 is quiet. I'd value that most. If you gofor SLI later, a blower cooler would be nice though.

> As a last point, the CPU cooler isn't the greatest (CM 212X), but on the other hand its not terribly expensive and as far as I can tell it's easily good enough even for some overclocking, or am I mistaken?

Some overclocking will work, yes, but a better cooler like the Macho Rev.B does not cost that much more and is quite a bit better.

Please note also that the NEX psu is not really good for its high price.

This would be my build:

pc-kombo shared list

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-6600K | EUR 235,16 @ Amazon.de
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z170XP-SLI | EUR 138,60 @ Amazon.de
Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws DDR4 3000 (2x8) (16 GB) | EUR 74,77 @ Cyberport
Storage | WD 3TB Blue (3 TB) | EUR 94,90 @ Caseking
SSD | OCZ Trion 150 (256 GB) | EUR 63,89 @ Amazon.de
Video Card | GeForce GTX 1080 | EUR 739,00 @ Mindfactory
Case | Nanoxia Deep Silence 3 | EUR 69,90 @ Cyberport
Power Supply | COUGAR GX800V3/R (800 W) | EUR 103,57 @ Amazon.de
CPU Cooler | Thermalright Macho Rev.B | EUR 46,99 @ Amazon.de
| Total | €1581.75
| Generated by pc-kombo 08.07.2016 |

Note that the case is purely a suggestion, it is very close to the R5 but cheaper.

Alright, I see that the GPU handles 1440p @ close to 60 FPS in most newer tripple A titles & handles games on ultra setting ^1. It also handles tripple A games at a much higher FPS(75-100~) with 1080p, and by extension, esport games (dota 2, cs:go, overwatch etc) at more than 144fps. So the way I see it is that you have two choises:

• Option one: If you care about High details & high resolution in single player games, I'd most def go for a 1440p ISP monitor. This is gonna give you a very gorgeous & detailed look in-games. It's also gonna be very great watching movies on. Something like this monitor, it's around 200 euro on Amazon, but I would try to find it locally to save on the shipping cost.
  
  
• Option two: If your only experience gaming has been on a lapop the first option might sound tempting, but if you wanna play some competative games such as Fortnight, Cs:go, Pubg or Mobas a 144hz, 24 inch monitor with low responds time (1MS) is the way to go. It's kind of hard to explain just how significant the change from 60 to 120&144hz can be, but everything will look way smoother & the gameplay will seem more immersive. In general you're just gonna have a better experience. The details arent gonna be as clear as with a 1440p ISP panel, but it makes up for that with the fluidity of the gameplay itself. For a more thorough explanation, check out this video. This is a really good 144hz, 24 inch, 1MS, 1080p monitor
  
  
• Option three : If you wanna have the best of both worlds, save up more money & buy a 1440p, 144hz monitor. This will give you the benifits of both, but this comes at more than double the cost of what you had in mind for the budget. Something like this should give you the best gaming experience.
  
  Hope that gave you some insight into getting a monitor.
  
  

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-3820 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor | $229.99 @ Microcenter
CPU Cooler | Swiftech H220 55.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler | $139.99 @ Microcenter
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard | $248.49 @ Newegg
Memory | Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $126.99 @ Best Buy
Storage | Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk | $219.99 @ NCIX US
Storage | Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $85.99 @ NCIX US
Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) | $663.98 @ Newegg
Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) | $659.99 @ Amazon
Case | NZXT Switch 810 (Black) ATX Full Tower Case | $152.95 @ Amazon
Case Fan | Noctua NF-P12-1300 54.4 CFM 120mm Fan | $22.99 @ NCIX US
Case Fan | Noctua NF-P12-1300 54.4 CFM 120mm Fan | $22.99 @ NCIX US
Power Supply | XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply | $119.99 @ Newegg
Optical Drive | Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer | $49.99 @ Amazon
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (64-bit) | $130.55 @ Amazon
Monitor | Samsung S23B300B 60Hz 23.0" Monitor | $179.99 @ Newegg
Monitor | Samsung S23B300B 60Hz 23.0" Monitor | $179.99 @ Newegg
Monitor | Samsung S23B300B 60Hz 23.0" Monitor | $179.99 @ Newegg
Keyboard | Ducky DK9087S2 Shine II Wired Standard Keyboard | $137.00 @ Mechanical Keyboards
Mouse | Logitech G500 Wired Laser Mouse | $52.49 @ Amazon
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $3584.33
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-26 01:43 EDT-0400 |


Replaced the 4770k with the 3820 and a gigabyte up4. They're better for sli set ups, especially with your budget.The 840 pro is a better option for an ssd than the 830. I took out the network adapter, because it shouldn't be needed. The 32 gb of ram is pointless, and dominator platinum is way overpriced, 16 gigs should work fine. A 850 watt power supply will work fine with your setup. The asus blu-ray reader is cheaper, but you should also consider a regular $17 dvd reader, as it will do everything perfectly, unless you want to watch blu-rays on your computer.

With the sound card and speakers, I'm fairly certain you don't need $400 speakers, unless you are an audiophile, but you can add them back if you do want them. Without the speakers though, you shouldn't need the sound card, as the mobo's sound should be fine. If you want to get a good headset or speakers, you can add the sound card back in, or go for one of asus's xonar sound cards.

Instead of 2 144hz monitors, I gave you 3 60hz monitors for if you want to go with a multi-monitor set up. I would highly recommend going with this 1440p monitor instead, but either monitor set up should work.

I wasn't sure about the mouse, but the logitech G500 is supposed to be a very good mouse, but I recommend you do a bit of research to find out what you want. The Ducky shine 2 is a very good mech keyboard at the same price as the k95. I do recommend checking out /r/mechanicalkeyboards to do some research on some good mech keyboards, and to decide what kind of switch you want for it.

Let me first say im not an expert in Air coolers for cpus, I have always used All in one(AIO) water coolers. AIO are definitely more expensive, but easier to install, have better cooling ability, but can be louder than Air coolers.

Air coolers tend to have better price/performance and are cheaper but tend to be harder to install.

These two below are two of the most popular due to price/performance so they are worth looking at on the AUS side of things to.

https://www.amazon.com/CRYORIG-Tower-Cooler-Intel-CPUs/dp/B00S7YA5FQ
https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R2/dp/B005O65JXI

This article also has some good info on both types and good suggestions at different price points
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-cpu-coolers,4181.html

The only other thing would be to try and get a EVGA G series psu or a Seasonic G series(What i have, caught it on sale tho). If you cant find one of them Corsair makes some cool ones too. You want to get a Bronze 80 rated PSU at the very least. They are one of the most important parts of the pc and one going bad can cause damage or a lot of instability once your gpu/cpu starts kicking in.

Im not familar with the cases you choose but its important to look at the manufacturers website of the case to see how much clearance each case provides for air coolers since they can be big as hell.

That all being said I think the UMART build is the best out of the three with the PC CASE GEAR coming in second.

The UMART is only $100 AUS more than the others according to the image but with that build you get better performance with the ability to overclock later down the line if you need more power eventually.
Plus you get slightly faster ram so overall it looks better.

Remember that you can upgrade to a better case, GPU or cpu fan etc down the line if you outgrow your current selection but the CPU/PSU, and Motherboard will be fine for a lot of years so its worth spending a little more on them now.

Also sheesh man those AUS prices are no joke, that 470 would only be around $160-180 in the states

i'll save you some time.

 

the top 1080p 144hz 1ms TN Panel they recommend over there on every post that asks, #1 is the Viewsonic XG2401

& #2 is the LG 24GM77-B

they say these two have the best color accuracy for a tn.

 

i recommend the Samsung CFG70

it has better color accuracy than both of those monitors above (because it's a VA panel and not a TN) and colors look as good as on my other IPS display IMO. (IPS panels have the best color accuracy)
and it has great viewing angles unlike a TN panel.
also it's $70 off rn. i really wouldn't pass this offer up as you're getting better color accuracy and better viewing angles for only $20 more than the Viewsonic.

 

good luck (:

I haven't looked at the website you linked, but just right off the top :

1. You can definitely go for a cheaper CPU cooler. For example, the Cryorig H7 is plenty good for a lower price (assuming you can get that where you're located). The Hyper 212 EVO is also a very popular budget option.
   
   
2. You don't need 3200 RAM. RAM speed will typically be one of the last things to affect your computer's performance (in terms of bottlenecking). The usual advice is to go with the cheapest set of RAM that matches what you want in number of RAM sticks, amount of memory, and aesthetics.
   
   
3. You'll hear this often, but you should definitely look into getting an SSD for your OS and main programs/games. It's the #1 contributor to making your computer FEEL fast. Load times in games will be much, much quicker, you'll boot your PC up in seconds, and moving around files/copying/installing/etc will be much faster as well.
   
   Basically, I'm recommending you save money by getting a cheaper CPU cooler and cheaper RAM, then putting that towards getting a solid SSD. I'd recommend ~250GB minimum, but 500GB SSDs on sale often offer more storage per dollar and would therefore be a better value. Plus you'll be sad if you run out of space on your SSD for your most often used programs/games.
   
   Good luck!

FreeSync doesn’t affect Nvidia cards, it just doesn’t work with them. You’ll get the same framerates on a FreeSync monitor as with no sync monitor, you just can’t enable the FreeSync feature for use, the monitor will just work as a regular monitor. G-Sync is a nice feature but it usually adds $50-100 to the price tag so be cautious. Tearing can occur regardless of monitor depending on your framerates and the game, but with 144hz you should be relatively fine unless you’re playing at 160+ FPS.

That ASUS is overpriced for a TN monitor, if you don’t mind TN go for the Acer XFA240 which does have FS. But with your 1070Ti you may want to consider 1440p, especially since you were considering a $350 ASUS, you can get the Dell S2417DG which isn’t much more, has G-Sync and is the best value 1440p 144hz on the market currently. A 1070Ti will play most games in 1440p admirably and it will be great for a long time. I know neither is 27” but you’re gonna have to compromise somewhere, and 24” is still a great size.

I have an use a Predator XB1.. IPS 1440p +144/165hz & Gsync.

Before that I've always been accustomed to TN 60hz or IPS 60hz. Off the bat I will say if you like content creation and consumption (watching beautiful movies and photographs etc) the IPS is the way to go.

Also, if you value how something looks much greater than its utility, then trading a 1ms response time to a 4ms response time is practically an easy trade for the great picture and color reproduction.

I always wondered how it was to be above 60hz.. When I actually began playing I was amazed at how noticed it actually was going from 60 to 165 (I OC'd mine). It was extremely evident in my gameplay experience. I'll use battlefield 4 to explain this. Whenever there's an explosion it's not much more fluid than being a completely blurry mess, when I'm running I have to advantage of being served the latest frames directly from the GPUs (I use 2 980s), when I'm sprinting to approach a target I can much more easily depict whether if in the distance it's a person or am object (because as you run you naturally see some things in the distance as tiny aberrations, which you must react and identify quickly otherwise you may be shot at first). It definitely improved my game play and my server rank statistics substantiated this claim as there was a significant improvement across the board.

1440p. I love it. It's nice for viewing things on the Web and being able to have my editing tools and thumbnails spread out nicely. Most importantly I have 2 980s so this would be the highest resolution I can play games at maximum graphical settings without AA. Another neat thing is that because it's 1440p it naturally removes the need for any MSAA, you can turn it up to 2x but I doubt you'll noticed anything, which is awesome. I have my 24" 1080p IPS monitor right next to it because I've always preferred 2 than 1 or 3.

Here's my use case: Spend hours in Photoshop/Lightroom, spend hours watching Netflix, spend hours playing games (bf4, mostly competitive or RPG /twitch games).

Why do I stress the hours portion? Well throughout all this I'm changing positions on my chair, with a TN panel that'd be pretty terrible because if you look at the display other than directly from the front you get distorted colors, while as with IPS you can view it from multiple angles (think of reclining your chair and watching a movie as an example).

Please bear in mind what power you have to drive the display you want. If you want 1440p of 4k do you have the card/s to play games at the settings you want? I'm an edge case, I wanted to be able to max out every piece of eye candy and keep my fps always higher than 120-150.

Here's an Amazon link to the actual display I have:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0173PEX20/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1464209928&sr=8-3&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=Acer+predator&dpPl=1&dpID=41LRxNywlpL&ref=plSrch

> Should I add a sound card to improve upon the crappy audio?

first of all, audio is subjective so what I say here might not entirely apply to you.

Internal sound cards don't really improve over onboard and there are a few reasons for it.

• Soundcards get rarely updated or new ones get launches so most option are outdated.
  
  
• They still have to deal with interference with the desktop components.
  
  
• Are marketed towards headsets
  
  Most headsets are marketed for gamers, which don't really need the audio quality. They want rather the surround sound en precision over quality of the audio itself. Meaning the DAC (Digital to audio converter) is usually a hold back. Especially as it can get interference from other components. Amplifiers on onboard solutions are hold back as well as they need power (preferably direct form the source) to amplify the input, which it receives from the DAC.
  
  Without going into it too much I advise you checking out external audio interfaces. While onboard audio might be enough for you, you'll notice a big difference when going on external DACs and amplifiers! I highly recommend these:
  
  
• The Fiio E10K. It's a cheap ($75) DAC and Amp together, but produces some amazing sound! It does rely on onboard audio and might hold back the amplifier. Amazingly well suppressed distortion and crosstalk.
  
  
• The Shiit Modi DAC and the Shiit Magni Amp are probably the best value options on the market right now. A total price of $200 is very reasonable.
  
  
• The Objective2 DAC + Amp. This is a great $300 DAC and amp combo. This one stand really out for the bit of customization you can do before ordering. You can say whether you want you 3.5mm audio jack in the front or back for example. It has better distortion and crosstalk suppression as the Shiit combo, but outputs at slightly lower volumes.
  
  > How is the overclocking on this board compared to the others?
  
  The X99S SLI Plus does very well on performance part. Outperforming most Gigabyte, ASRock and asus boards! Although the difference is minor.

144hzmonitors.com has a pretty good buyer's guide. Since you're Nvidia, the Acer XB271HU is probably your best bet: 27", 1440p, IPS, 144-165Hz, ~$700. I believe Acer and ASUS have the only offerings with all these specs in IPS, but lots of people have had backlight bleed issues. The newest versions like the one I leaked supposedly have better quality control though and lots of people love them.

Dell and BenQ also have similar but in TN panels, and I'd probably recommend them if you don't want IPS or would rather spend less. I have a Dell S2716DG primarily for gaming and it's great. But if you can afford it, then IPS is definitely nicer.

I know the Samsung EVO ssd's are widely recommended on this sub. I'm not sure why they are preferred, maybe someone else can chime in on that.

As for the GPU, you won't get more performance per dollar out of SLI. A single powerful card will almost always offer more value. However, one thing I've seen is that you can get an extra boost for free if you're upgrading your GPU by using your old GPU as a dedicated PhysX card. I was just reading an article on it here: http://volnapc.com/how-much-difference-does-a-dedicated-physx-card-make. The improvement is apparently quite substantial, though this will only benefit games that use PhysX.

I've heard that the GTX 770's are a great buy. I'm waiting for my 770 to be delivered tomorrow. I plan on using my old GTX 560 TI as a dedicated PhysX card to see if it has any benefit. I would avoid the AMD R9 cards as they're still inflated due to miners snatching them all up.

Everything else looks pretty solid.

For budget level I've seen in person the Viewsonic XG2401 , Acer XF24H (Roommate owns this one) , and Samsung C24FG70 (I own this one) and they're all really good budget monitors. If I had to rank them in terms of display it would be Samsung->Viewsonic->Acer. The Samsung is the only one that is not a TN pane but it is also the priciest. I bought it because I got it on a huge deal at Fry's. the curve is negligible. All 144hz, all 1 ms response time, all 1920x1080 which is all we can hope for at this level of GPU really, maybe a little 1440 but not a whole lot. I would recommend any of the three. We were cautious about the Acer due to lack of reviews but has really impressed us so far. Just have to a do a little fiddling with colors out of the box. Another bonus the Samsung has is the quality as it comes out of the box. It also produces the largest reproduction of color gamut. In my opinion all are very good value and fantastic 144hz entry level monitors. They're no 144hz IPS GSync monitor or anything but they definitely get there job done!

CPU Cooler: Buy the Cyrorig H7. It's the best in it's price point at the moment, and looks amazing. You won't need a better cooler for anything unless you want to overclock, which you really don't need to do with a CPU as good as yours.


Video Card: For 1080p@60fps, I would advise the GTX 1060 or the RX 480. Both will crush 60fps at 1080p, but if you want extra future-proofing at a higher price, go for the GTX 1070. The 1060(try for 6GB), and the RX 480(try for 8GB) are excellent cards that will run any modern game well, even at 1440p. The 1070 is even better, but only really needed if you want something like Hairworks for The Witcher 3 or intensive mods for Skyrim.

RAM:Since you have a motherboard with 4 RAM slots, get another 2 4GB sticks of your current RAM and run it in quad channel, 16GB in quad channel is amazing for modern games, although your RAM's speed isn't probably high enough nowadays.

PSU:Upgrade if you want to(I'd advise it), but I won't go advising you on any because PSU's can be so inconsistent. Just try for one above 600w that gets good reviews and few failures, unless you feel OK about your current one.

Trying to decide what to get for Christmas. Budget is probably in the less than $400 range. I want a 1440p G-sync monitor but I figure that is probably out of my budget. So I am trying to decide if I should go with a 25" 1440p monitor without g-sync or a 24" 1080p monitor with g-sync. I'm upgrading from a regular 24" 1080p monitor (which I will probably keep for a dual monitor set-up). I would be fine with staying in the 24"-25" range.

So basically I'm trying to decide what is more important, higher resolution or g-sync. I like to play modern fps games as well as lots of other types of games, but I'm not really that competitive or anything, if that matters. I linked two possible monitors above but if you can suggest something better please let me know! Thanks.

Here is my build for reference (already built):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor | $257.98 @ Newegg
Motherboard | Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard |-
Memory | Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $61.73 @ Amazon
Storage | Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $89.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $69.00 @ B&H
Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB FTW ACX 2.0 - GS Video Card | $503.98 @ Newegg
Case | NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case | $45.99 @ Directron
Power Supply | Corsair Builder 750W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | $74.99 @ Newegg
Optical Drive | Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer | $18.88 @ OutletPC
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) | $89.88 @ OutletPC
Wireless Network Adapter | Rosewill RNX-N180UBE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter | $19.45 @ OutletPC
Monitor | Asus VS248H-P 24.0" Monitor | $147.99 @ SuperBiiz
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1419.86
| Mail-in rebates | -$40.00
| Total | $1379.86
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-15 22:24 EST-0500 |

3- wd blues are great drives, and i've been running one solo for the past 2 years, but about to buy an ssd for my os and important programs. 1tb and 2tb. also note that the 1tb drive is 7200 rpm vs 5400 rpm in the 2tb, but since you aren't running the OS on that and just using it for storage, it's nothing to worry about.

4- stick everything in here. that's there recommended wattage psu to get, but its probably worth it just to get something 50 watts over that.

5- obviously, ethernet is the best choice, but if that's not available you can get something like this. one of my friends has powerline, and its really weird for him. some outlets he gets good speeds, and others are absolute trash. turning off and on the lights repeatedly causes a little lag while gaming, but overall he still likes it and uses it.

6- 27 inches is really huge, and you're not going to find a 1440p, 144hz, 27in, and gsync monitor for less than that.

Not who you asked, but in my experience and my opinion, it won't be an issue for most people. There's a tiny bit of visual blur on fast full screen movements, especially when it's shifting wildly between bright and dark. For myself, the difference in cost - and I love the IPS color rendition, though other techs are close now - is worth the tiny bit of blur. If you're playing competitively, yeah, probably not what you want, but for everything else it's probably fine.

This is likely what /u/cloudaura1234 is talking about - we use them at work and I've recommended them to other people. https://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-21-5-Inch-Monitor-22cwa/dp/B015WCV70W They're common enough there might be one on display at a Best Buy or something to try out first. Worth looking, maybe.

That said, Amazon mentioned that there's a larger Acer with a slightly faster response time for only a few bucks more. https://www.amazon.com/Acer-R240HY-bidx-23-8-Inch-Widescreen/dp/B0148NNKTC/ I do not have experience with this monitor, unlike the HP, but IMO it might be worth a shot. Do note that it likely gets its higher response from overdriving the panel, which can cause ghosting as noted in the reviews. This can apparently be turned off.

​

​

​

Is there any monitor better than these ones at the same price? I know it's a vague noob question to ask but I read online that a higher resolution doesn't mean it has better image quality.

This monitor reaches my max size and max resolution. I'll be happy with a 2k monitor as well, i'm not looking for a 1080p monitor.

The monitor in the link is 4k, 1ms, Freesync, 60hz. Is this a bad combination? I've seen TONS of deals out there with 1080p 144hz specs, but doesn't 1080p seem a bit low resolution for monitors larger than 22" ??

https://www.staples.com/Dell-S2817Q-28-Ultra-HD-4K-LED-Monitor/product_2629483

This other monitor looks great as well.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QS0AKVK/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1QXN34V76623K&colid=355WIX6N4FF37

I'm planning on using a 2nd monitor for my laptop (970m) that will help me do architecture programs, movie watching, and videogame playing. So I care a lot about image quality and performance. Let me know what you think.

5820k is still a good CPU no doubt, but it's a couple generation old now. For around the same money, you can get 8700k if you can find one. Even if that's not available, you can also go 7800x, as that's the most recent in the similar lineup. 8700k is the best choise right now though.

Maybe you have the motherboard and the CPU, in which case, just stick with those two and you'll be fine.

And don't aim for 30+ fps at any resolution. I highly suggest aiming for at least 80~100+ fps with that kind of budget. GTX 1080 will do its job just fine.

GPUs have their own VRAM, and GTX 1080 has 8GB on its own. Your 16 GB ram choise is fine, and that's independent of what GPU you go for.

And lastly, get a differernt CPU cooler. I see that Hyper 212 EVO recommended to everyone and their brothers and sisters, but there are better coolers for the same money. I actually hate people going for that one with a budget closing in on $2000. Get a better one. Your budget is not a 600~800 range which would make me understand for that cooler.

Get something at least like this thing for i7 CPUs that can overclock. Better thermals, better acoustics, and better looks. Or you can also choose this if you still want to cheap out on cooling.

The only thing that stands out negatively is the SSD. There's no need for a 850 Pro version that costs twice as much as another manufacter 250 GB SSD and doesn't provide enough benefits. Get the 840 Evo if you want to stick with Samsung:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E3W1726

If you want to spend around 200 $ get this Crucial 500 GB SSD:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KFAGCUM

The most external 780Ti will blow hot air on the one closer to the CPU with that cooler. My advice is to buy this 780Ti to put near the CPU:

http://www.ncixus.com/products/?usaffiliateid=1000031504&sku=93804&vpn=GTX780TI-DC2OC-3GD5&manufacture=ASUS&promoid=1009

And a reference 780Ti to put closer to the PSU:

http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/zotac-video-card-zt7050210p

If you're wondering why I chose a reference card it's because they're the only cards (as far as I'm aware) that blow out air outside the case instead of a pull/push system like the custom versions. This means that the first card will pull air from the bottom and push it outside the case instead of blowing it on the other card pulling fans.

Also you have to keep in mind that there's a risk of bottlenecking the 2 780Tis with an i7 4790k. I know it sounds crazy but some games like Arma require a lot of CPU power and that i7 could bottleneck the 2 GPUs if you'll run them at 4k/triple monitor (which I hope you'll do with 2 780Tis). If you can, my advice is to wait until september when the new Enthusiast level CPUs will come out. The i7 5930k will be a 6 core/12 threads that has HUGE overclocking capability and will be sold for around 500$. The i7 5960x will be a 8 core/16 threads CPU that will ship for 1000$. Not only you'd get a better CPU that has better overclocking capatibility (the i7 Extreme series doesn't feature an integrated GPU), but you'll have a platform that will support the next 3-4 generations of CPUs, support for DDR4 RAM and Quad SLI. If you're building a future proof machine wait until september and get an enthusiast level MoBo + CPU and DDR4 RAM.

So yeah, basically you have it all right about ips and TN. I don't know what they stand for, but all I know that it's just the type of panel on the monitor. And the ips is just going to have way better color reproduction than a TN panel. I would go for IPS if you want better colors. And a cheaper all around cost. You can find any IPS monitor for easily around $150-200.

I will say that I find DELL monitors to run a little higher than most, but they still compete for the most part. I like this one cause it has a small bezel http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=24-260-217 it would be great for dual monitors with a nice dual monitor stand.

I like ultrawides too http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=24-025-212

Another slim bezel http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=24-236-583

Budget ips http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0148NNKTC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1451334778&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=ips+monitor&dpPl=1&dpID=519rzl-wIQL&ref=plSrch

If I got anymore questions I can answer here, and you do have my steam and I could answer on there too.

Check the reviews and so on, but my recommendation would be to go with a non-x570 board if the money that would go to the x570 could be better spent.

You might look at https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-Rocket-Internal-Performance-SB-ROCKET-1TB/dp/B07LGF54XR

but if ssd performance is a big concern for you I'd recommend thinking about the new pci express 4.0 ssd, and, something to note, reviewers have been getting pci express 4.0 ssd performance on non-x570 motherboards...

RAM... Hard to say, I'd recommend maybe two 16GB sticks of good, low latency samsung B-die (google bdie finder), or, if you want, four sticks. You might lose some frequency and latency, but you'd gain in banks and ranks which have a large effect on performance. Banks and ranks operate independently. The more banks and ranks you have, the more operations your RAM is performing in the background... Also you might want to think about ECC, but that's up to you.

I'll guess you use CUDA, so just do your research. Nvidia doesn't give out a lot of free lunches. Particularly if you want DPFP do your research.

https://www.jonnyguru.com/blog/2018/07/30/evga-supernova-750-g1-750w-power-supply/6/

https://www.jonnyguru.com/blog/2018/07/03/seasonic-prime-ultra-750-titanium-power-supply/6/

https://www.jonnyguru.com/blog/2018/05/08/corsair-rm750x-2018-750w-power-supply/6/

Get a well reviewed power supply. I guess the one you picked is probably pretty good.

> I know I at least want an 144 Hz monitor and have heard disagreement as to whether a higher refresh rate would lead to any significant difference in performance.

>I was originally leaning towards 1440p monitors but my friend said that it's not worth the price and is not supported as much as 1080p. He also said that 1440p can distort certain programs' UIs and create unwanted problems. Is this a correct assessment?

Virtually every game on the market that isn't trash shovelware (and even some/most of those do, too) will support 1440p.

And the distortion your friend is talking about, I *only experience it on Spotify where some of the text on the 'friend activity' sidebar becomes blurry. Here's the Windows UI that some complain about being too small. I don't really mind it, but to each their own. I wouldn't allow it to influence my choice in monitor, personally.

The best resource for monitors is NCX. Dude is fantastic when it comes to monitor recommendations. Out of that selection of monitors (plus 1), I'd personally go for either the S2417G or the XG2401.

I don't like VA monitors because, while they're in the middle of IPS and TN for color accuracy while still having low input lag, they can be bad when it comes to ghosting. Immediate no-no from me.

If you have any questions, or you'd like some help with your PC build, let me know! Always happy to help. :)

https://www.amazon.com/CRYORIG-H7-Tower-Cooler-Intel/dp/B00S7YA5FQ

Can't tell you why it says preorder I bought mine from amazon and it's been out since last year but yea amazon has it for 35 which is what I paid for it. To give some context on its efficiency my cpu at idle sits at 25-30c which is amazing. When under a heavy load like watching a stream and playing a triple A title game at max settings I haven't seen it get past 60c which is super amazing.

If you do have the money now I would pull the trigger on this build its very solid. If you only have enough to get a few parts now and the rest in a couple weeks immediately get the 1070 because that will be the first thing out of all those parts to go out of stock. I've been watching the 1070/1080 stock get demolished as soon as a store has some.

I don't know about the AOC, but I have the 1440p version of the Acer (every other spec the same, even same case/bezel) and two KN242HYL 60hz IPS panels (also same case/bezel) and they are fantastic.


Worth noting that CamelCamelCamel tracks third party sales of that Acer as being 195ish and sold from amazon for a few bucks less. This isn't much of a deal so much as it's normal price. link here


Personally I think monitors are one thing that is pretty safe to buy used. They are pretty stationary, people don't modify them, they have a very long life expectancy. If you're okay with that try checking ebay for it or make a post on /r/hardwareswap . Craigslist and facebook marketplace also work, these are very common models.


If you're specifically looking for new, check /r/buildapcsales - If you filter for posts tagged "monitor" and sort it by top for the past month, you will find what sort of deals are possible. Usually deals repeat themselves I find, just be patient.

Build looks very strong. The case is 9.21" wide and the cooler is 6.42" tall, it may be a bit cosy but the cooler will fit without a problem.

The only thing I can somewhat recommend is that for $100 more you can get the Acer Predator XB271HU (27", 144hz, 1440p, IPS). If you are fine with a TN panel then stick with what you've selected but when buying a high end monitor like this I feel that you might as well get the best you can. Other than that you are good to go. Gl building

Here is my recommendation

This is exactly what I would do... its a bit over $300 but is generally one of, if not THE, most recommended 1440p, 144hz monitors.

I know that you said that refresh rate isn't huge for you... but with having a 2070 super, I would go for 144hz that way you've got the ability to have higher refresh rates with other games, if/when you play them.

If you ABSOLUTELY CANT go over $300, let me know and I can probably find you something else... but the monitor that I included here is quite a great one... I dont have it personally, but ive got probably 5 friends with it and they all love it.

EDIT: it's actually being sold directly from Dell right now for $299.99

Here is a slightly cheaper Sandisk with twice the capacity, the X300 is their "premium" branding, so it runs a little bit faster but costs almost double, just for consideration! (I currently have the 1tb version of this drive in my PC!)

M.2 and Sata are essentially physical connections that can be used for connecting from the motherboard to something. The something is typical a storage device (SSD's). This is a pretty in depth video explaining the differences between the types of connections, but is a bit lengthy. What makes M.2 special is size and speed. M.2 drives are less than half as large as their equivalent Sata3 drives, but at the same capacity. The downside to this is that most motherboards will only have 1 or 2 M.2 slots to connect to. The speed part comes in to play with NVMe drives only. NVMe is just a fancy word that means it uses PCI lanes for data transfer. Drives that use this are much faster, and typically more expensive but have the same physical connection. Also, motherboards will typically only support standard M.2 or NVMe, not both. The motherboard you have selected has the NVMe offering, so to use an M.2 drive you would need to make sure it says NVMe or "pci-express" somewhere on its description. Non NVMe drives use the Sata 3 speeds, but still get the benefit of small size, and Sata 3 is the term that will describe pretty much any 2.5in SSD as its the physical connection they use as well as the protocol for reading data!

I am not familiar with the Team Vulcan RAM listed, but I would suggest a CAS latency of 8 for DDR3-1600. I also would suggest scrapping the Hybrid drive for a SSD, such as the Samsung 840 EVO 250GB with a storage drive like Seagate Barracuda 1TB.

What kind of display are you using, what resolution do you plan on playing at? Are you determined to get the Windforce model? There are options just as good for $100 less, or in most cases a 970 is the better buy which could save you even more...

You definitely will not need a 750W PSU, a 500W will certainly suffice.

Not a monitor but if you haven't built yet you could save some coin by getting two 2x8 ram sets. They're around $110 each so you'd be looking at $220 for 32gb instead of $290.

Also: TITAN X? Jesus. I'd go 1080 and save your money if you're only doing 1440p at 144hz that'd still be more than enough horsepower and the cost difference alone would save the money so you wouldn't have to chip in for the monitor. But, you do you.

As for a monitor: best option in my opinion.

You get 1440p, a hella high refresh rate, gsync, a good screen size, IPS with great colors and picture, and its reputable with a good warranty.

ah ok, just wanted to make sure the server wasn't on your system while having a bunch of people streaming off of it.

A 600w power supply is more than enough to drive an i7 and a 1080, you could just get better quality atx units.

When it comes to motherboards, all the major brands (ASUS, MSI, Gigabtye etc..) have great products.. so it's pretty much going to come down to what specific features you're looking for. I wouldn't bother paying extra for a good built in dac, especially when you're paying that type of money for a higher end build. Get an external dac if you're looking for good sound quality, along with some headphones. Depending on what you need, a Scarlett solo or FILO E10k are pretty good for the money. You also have a ton of options in the $100 - $200 when it comes to headphones.


IMO, this would be a better option.

Just seen that you're waiting for the monitors to go on sale. If you're tired of waiting, these ASUS panels are IPS, have small bezels and are Vesa compatible (100x100).

Changes;

• Swapped the ASUS board for a Gigabyte board. Pretty much has the same features, but it's cheaper.
  
  
• Went with some low profile memory. I don't know what your PS workload is, but 32gb's may be overdoing it a bit. I suggest dropping down to a 16gb kit if you're not a "power user".
  
  
• IMO the Noctua C14S is probably the best air cooler you're going to get under 143mm. It's powerful and quite. Although i would suggest getting a 240mm AIO since it's compatible the BH4.
  
  

• The 960 PRO is a tough sell considering its price, but i left it since you'll probably utilize it with your workload.
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
  

  
  

  Type|Item|Price
  

  ----|:----|:----
  CPU | Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor | $343.89 @ OutletPC
  CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-C14S 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler | $78.94 @ Newegg
  Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z270MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $160.98 @ Newegg
  Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory | $204.99 @ NCIX US
  Storage | Samsung 960 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive | $329.00 @ B&H
  Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card | $594.89 @ B&H
  Power Supply | Corsair SF 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply | $117.11 @ NCIX US
  Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit | $88.58 @ OutletPC
  Monitor | Asus VP239H-P 23.0" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor | $124.99 @ B&H
  Monitor | Asus VP239H-P 23.0" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor | $124.99 @ B&H
  | Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
  | Total (before mail-in rebates) | $2178.36
  | Mail-in rebates | -$10.00
  | Total | $2168.36
  | Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-30 13:52 EST-0500 |
  
  
  
  

RAM speed is negligible, at best, in terms of performance. I'd suggest getting a 512 or 1TB SSD, personally. The cost difference is worth it to ensure you have plenty of room for any future needs. The motherboard you have should be fine, I think.
Cooler-wise, is this going to be in your bedroom? If so, even watercoolers aren't necessarily going to be silent under a full load. The key to quieter fans is larger fans moving more slowly. Water coolers may allow that, but I doubt they're going to be silent under a major load.

Moving above a 1080 monitor should be a priority. That's what'll allow you to fit more on the screen, rather than simply have it be bigger. I don't know about a 4K screen, but a 1920x1200 model would probably do nicely in a 24" size. IPS is well worth is for good color reproduction, as I understand it. I have a professional photographer client who uses 3 of these Asus monitors and swears by them. They're pricey, but have excellent color fidelity, apparently. (I wouldn't know, having difficulty distinguishing many different hues.)

What is the build's purpose? This is a pretty imbalanced gaming build but could be good for general use with some productivity and light gaming.

You're overspending on RAM, you're better off with a lower timings and lower speed sticks, for example this kit at 3200MHz CL16.

You should be going with an NVME drive at that price/GB, here is a great option by Sabrent.

For $84 you do have some other good cooler options, the Dark Rock Pro 4 and Noctua NH-D15S are other comparable options. The Noctua is the best for performance/noise by a small margin.

Also instead of spending $170 on an H500 and fans, just get the H510 Elite with the same fans and controller included, and you get a nicer glass front panel to show them off.

Here's a build. One thing you really need to look for is that your motherboard supports x8 dual channel PCI-e slots because that's the standard for crossfire. Don't buy a cheaper MoBo if it doesn't have that because in that case you might as well not crossfire.

I've added one that will work well in crossfire. I downgraded the PSU to save cash but the first you picked is great. 750W should be enough for crossfire. And really, you can look at the 840 EVO SSDs for a better value/performance. Just $10 more and you get much better performance than the 840s. Though I do have the 840 250 GB and it's great. It's not on PCPartPicker from what I see:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7TE250BW/dp/B00E3W1726/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1377307697&sr=1-1&keywords=Samsung+840+evo

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor | $229.99 @ Newegg
CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler | $29.99 @ Microcenter
Motherboard | ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | $129.99 @ Newegg
Memory | Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $49.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk | $176.98 @ Newegg
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $59.98 @ Outlet PC
Video Card | MSI Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) | $299.99 @ Newegg
Video Card | MSI Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) | $299.99 @ Newegg
Case | Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case | $57.99 @ Microcenter
Power Supply | XFX ProSeries 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply | $109.99 @ Newegg
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) | $85.99 @ NCIX US
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $1517.87
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-23 21:35 EDT-0400 |

So yeah you have three ports available to plug fans directly in to the motherboard. What I would recommend over a Molex adapter would be a hub like this.

SilverStone PWM Fan Hub System Cables, Black (CPF04) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VNW556I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rh0Zxb68PGZVT

Still plug your cpu fan directly into the cpu fan hub on the mobo, but plug all the other fans into the hub, with the hub plugged into one of the system fan ports. And voila, now you have support for 7 more fans.

Glad I can help, feel free to ask for clarification on anything else.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel - Core i5-9600K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor | $259.89 @ OutletPC
CPU Cooler | Scythe - Mugen 5 Rev. B 51.17 CFM CPU Cooler | $54.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard | *ASRock - Z390 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $99.89 @ OutletPC
Memory | G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory | $85.98 @ Newegg
Storage | ADATA - Ultimate SU800 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $94.99 @ Amazon
Storage | *Hitachi - Ultrastar 7K3000 3 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $52.33 @ Amazon
Video Card | EVGA - GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB Black Video Card | $479.99 @ B&H
Case | NZXT - H500i ATX Mid Tower Case | $99.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | $89.99 @ SuperBiiz
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1352.94
| Mail-in rebates | -$35.00
| Total | $1317.94
| *Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-18 17:48 EDT-0400 |

Stuck with Intel because that was your initial choice, didn't want to jump straight into a different platform on you.

Far better performance for your dollar. You will not notice a difference in gaming performance between the 9600k and 9700k because they got rid of the hyperthreading advantage on i7 CPUs. Now the only difference is 6 vs 8 core which again will do nothing in games.

I have this cooler on my 9600k @ 5ghz/1.35v and it keeps it around 55-60c in games. Other options are the scythe ninja 5, dark rock 4, dark rock pro 4. The corsair h100i is a massive waste of money.

Switched ram to 16gb because 32gb will do literally nothing for you if you're gaming and doing office work.

Swapped to a different 1tb SSD with the same performance without the samsung upcharge. If you wanted to get a much faster drive for the same price as the 860 evo check out this and this, but a sata SSD is more than enough. The su800 is a great drive.

2070 with the leftover budget because it is a massive upgrade from the 1660ti. However if you're only gaming at 1080p just stick with a 2060 and save some money.

Swapped to a better PSU, and 750w was overkill. This and the rm650x(2018) are both top tier options.

The mobo is fine but now you have money for a slightly nicer one if you need any extra features or want to go for bigger overclocks.

Well, under $400, you have some of these options (TN Panels):

• Asus 24" 1080p 144Hz
  
• Acer 27" 1440p 144Hz FreeSync
  
• Viewsonic 27" 1080p 144Hz FreeSync
  
• AOC 24" 1080p 144Hz G-Sync
  
• BenQ 24" 1080p 144Hz
  
  Obviously there are more options, but all of those have the 144Hz, some are 1440p, while others are not.
  
  If you wanted an IPS one:
  
  
• Asus 27" 1440p 60Hz IPS
  
  The TN Panels still have fantastic pictures so, it's not a bad choice and would be good for gaming. If you can save up another $400, you can go with the Asus ROG 27" 1440p 144Hz IPS. Just got this about a week or so ago and it is just fantastic. 100% worth the extra money.

So i made an alternate pcpartpicker list for you that is more focused on intel. the 9600k is much better for gaming than 2700x, just keep that in mind (Despite it having less cores)

Here are my thoughts. Just know im a little biased towards intel over ryzen at this budget

would you consider a slightly faster processor. My build was the same except I got a 9700k with a noctua nh-d15

the 9700k will make your computer much more upgradeable in the future and you wont have to rebuild as often


Other notes: Powersupply is def too expensive

if you are student try and see if you can get student version of office. all you need is a .edu address

Big One: CHECK AMAZONWAREHOUSE for used monitors. A lot of times they run the used price -20% of base price of total monitor after you put it in shopping cart. i got ASUS ROG PG279Q for like 280 on there. the ASUS ROG PG279Q does not have that special deal right now but another 1440p 144hz+ monitor might.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00N2L5CXO/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all

for monitor you picked on amazon used deals (there is no special 20% off on that monitor right now)

Ram: Your RAM is massively overkill but it is a good choice for 2700x.. Only get that RAM if you get an AMD. I still would recommend 9700k or 9600k imo over that, but i am biased towards intel so keep that in mind. just remmeber you can save some money on ram if you get intel. Also, I only have 8 gb of ram and it works fine with my build and things i do (Gaming)

-That motherboard seems a bit pricey for ryzen, but I dont really know about ryzen boards. I just know that htey are generally cheaper than intel boards and that MB is running hte same price as my intel board

-don't get that cooler. just use stock cooler. I think someone else already said it but the stock cooler is fine with ryzen. only get a cooler for ryzen if you get a good one

Note: power supplies are really cheap on amazon warehouse right now

check out used version of this power supply
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IKDETOW/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=A2L77EE7U53NWQ&psc=1#

it is much higher quality and is same price as your power supply but is

Overall pick this build if you are primarily gaming imo

This is a nice looking build. It will definitely outperform the PS4 and Xbox 1. [Here is a side by side comparison with a gtx 760 build, the ps4 and the xbox 1] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4z4igRnlLQ#t=130).

Looking at GPU benchmarks for the 760 will give you a good idea of what framerates to expect. [Tom's Hardware] (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-760-review-gk104,3542.html) has a great review with some benchmarks. It looks like you should be able to max out pretty much every game at 1080p and 60 fps except for the most demanding games out right now like Crysis 3 which are still playable. Turning down the settings a little on Crysis 3 gets it to over 40 fps, which is more than playable.

The only change I would suggest is adding a SSD if you can afford it. The [Samsung EVO 120GB] (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-EVO-Series-2-5-Inch-MZ-7TE250BW/dp/B00E3W1726) is on sale right now and is a great drive for the price. However, don't get it if it means that you need to downgrade your CPU or GPU.

Also, make sure you have a 1080p monitor. This the 760 will blow any game out of the water at less than 1080p, so there is no point in getting this card over the cheaper 750 ti. If you don't already have a 1080p monitor and don't want to get one, I would suggest you save money and downgrade to the 750 ti.

1. The water cooling fan header can be used for a case fan. I believe the pump fan header can too, but I'm not sure. Keep in mind that your motherboard may treat those headers as PWM controlled or DC voltage controlled, and you may have to change fan speed settings in the BIOS.
   
   
2. See 3.
   
   
3. See 2. Just kidding, see 4.
   
   
4. Easiest way would be to buy a fan splitter. Make sure that, if you have 4 pin PWM case fans, you get a 4 pin fan splitter. If you have a lot of fans, you can consider a fan hub. It can get power from your PSU via SATA or Molex, depending on the fan hub. Plus, if you get a PWM fan hub you can turn non-PWM fans into PWM fans, though all fans connected to the hub will run at the same speed.

I would spend less on the PSU. Yuo could dip down a bit on the motherboard side and still get quality, but not a lot. Jump down on the PSU and 2TB to 1TB and you can almost afford a 250GB SSD http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E3W1726/

Save 5 bucks on ram http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008XQEQT4/
Save 35 on motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157460
Save 25 on PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139050

That's 75 bucks, more than enough to cover the 250GB SSD. If you really like the mobo you have (I don't blame you), you can save almost 30 if you step down to the 1TB model of that HDD.

More quick googling...

>CPF04 is designed for enthusiasts with need for controlling numerous system fans.It is capable of expanding one motherboard PWM fan header to support up to eight fans. Powered directly by SATA cable from the computer power supply and filtered through a built-in 2200μF capacitor, the CPF04 can provide clean, stable voltage to any fan for optimal performance. Equipped with speed detection sensors for accurately controlling eight PWM fans simultaneously, it is an excellent solution for system fan expansion.

$13 USD on Amazon

Someone can correct me if i'm wrong, but that seems like what you're looking for. I think you just need to make sure that you plug that hub into the one controllable port.

I'd recommend doing a little research because i'm not 100% on that, though it sounds pretty good to me.

Edit: See my other comment. No PWM fans, no control.

Not a monitor expert but i can give some general advice. For 1440p 27" is generally considered the sweet spot. If you really want to cheap out you can find Korean monitors on sale for ~$200. Otherwise you can usually find nicer ones on sale for $300-400. Something like this would probably do you well. I would just say look for the trusted brands like Asus, Dell, Aoc, etc, and make sure to post here before you buy one. I don't game at 1440p so I'm not really the best one to ask, but there are plenty of people on this subreddit who could tell you a lot more.

Shipping a case is usually free through amazon or newegg.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor | $194.89 @ OutletPC
CPU Cooler | CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler | $34.88 @ OutletPC
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-H170-GAMING 3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $99.67 @ Amazon
Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory | $91.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $58.79 @ Amazon
Video Card | Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Windforce OC Video Card | $379.99 @ Newegg
Case | NZXT S340 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case | $66.99 @ SuperBiiz
Power Supply | SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply | $44.99 @ Newegg
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $987.19
| Mail-in rebates | -$15.00
| Total | $972.19
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-06 23:01 EST-0500 |

Made some changes for better value/performance.

Change cpu to 6500 instead of 6600k. You don't have a z170 board for overclocking so it's wasted. The 6500 is nearly identical unless you overclock with a 6600k+z170.

Changed psu to much better seasonic modular gold. It's on sale on Newegg for 60 bucks. A steal.

Changed gpu to more popular gigabyte model, cheaper.

Added case since I was still under 1k. Very popular s340 but you could use anything under 100 bucks and stay under budget.

Changed cooler to Cryorig H7. The 212+ is nice but needs a break and the H7 looks way better.

I know you mentioned staying with Amazon but much of this wasn't in stock and Newegg has free shipping. Just a thought.

Edit: The cooler is cheaper and is on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/CRYORIG-Tower-Cooler-Intel-CPUs/dp/B00S7YA5FQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478491544&sr=8-1&keywords=cryorig+h7

Yea this model? https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-XB271HU-2560x1440-Display/dp/B0173PEX20

Op you bought a 2080ti you might as well splurge on the monitor. Get two of these and call it a day, or go for one Dell Alienware 34in 1900r, 120hz IPS curved Gsync.

I have the Acer 1440p/144hz IPS Gsync and I agree with P1zza. It’s such a great monitor and often times Acer sells it for $499 out the door on their refurb site. Really great colors, angles are great, very little black light bleed on mine (right bottom very minimal), don’t have to calibrate it much out of the box, 165hz OC + gsync is really smooth. The Dell is nice if you are on a budget, pretty much the cheapest TN 144hz Gsync you can find when its on promo.

Here's a copy/paste of a PM I sent somebody yesterday in regards of building a budget build. It may be worded weirdly since it was a direct message to him, buy you get the idea

_____

CPU

(and motherboard)

Are you familiar with Sandy/Ivy bridge processors? They're a godsend for budget computers (2500k/3570k). At 1080p gaming they perform near all the newer generation Intel processors.

Best thing? You can easily grab a 2500k from /r/hardwareswap for ~$100-$110. Hopefully you could find a 2500k/3570k motherboard combo for ~$180 shipped.

Pair that with a Cryorig H7 from Amazon ($35) and overclock the processor to 4.0-4.5ghz and you have a processor booming in performance for cheap!

So, to recap, look into getting 2500k or a 3570k . Both are LGA 1155 processors and share the same motherboards. Buy from /r/hardwareswap and get your motherboard there, too

PSU

It's best to buy PSU new.

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
Power Supply | SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $61.99 @ SuperBiiz

Priced great for a terrific PSU.

#CPU cooler $35

Cryorig H7

Keeps my 2500k @ 4.5ghz cool at low temps at low noise. I can't suggest this cooler enough.

#Storage

Hopefully you can find a SSD on /r/hardwareswap. I suggest this route: Get a 250gb SSD now and hold off on getting a HDD. The 250gb will hold you for a while and the money you would have spent on the HDD can go elsewhere. You can add a HDD in a few months when you actually need more storage.

#Case

You're going to be hard pressed to find a case on /r/hardwareswap due to high price in shipping. Keep an eye out on /r/buildapcsales or take a look over at Corsair refurbished (notice the tabs on the left side for components) or just but new

#RAM

Ram is cheap enough. I've noticed RAM prices over at /r/hardwareswap is near the price of new. So, your call there. If you're using a case with a window, and since you'll be using DDR3 RAM, and want some type of color scheme I suggest these (and I do suggest getting 8gb of RAM, you'd be wasting money on more and you can always add more RAM later)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
Memory | Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $36.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Kingston HyperX Fury Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory | $34.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Kingston HyperX Fury Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $40.98 @ PCM
Memory | Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $29.99 @ SuperBiiz
Memory | Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory | $35.89 @ Amazon
Memory | Kingston HyperX Fury Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory | $33.99 @ SuperBiiz
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $212.83
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-03 00:49 EDT-0400 |

There is a 1600mhz and 1866mhz variant of the three colors. I linked all of them so you'd see all the prices. Right now the 2x4gb 1600mhz blue is $30 which is a nice price, and the 1866mhz 2x4gb Blue
is $34 (Sandy/Ivy bridge love fast ram, might be worth the extra $4)

#GPU

This is where things are kinda in the grey area. Current generation GPUs are about to fall in face value like the USA housing market did in 2009. I highly suggest building the entire computer first minus the GPU. Once AMD releases the Rx 480 at $200, all current GPUs will be forced to fall in price. If the Rx 480 performs like it is marketed to, we could see the R9 390 get sold on /r/hardwareswap for like ~$180, which is insane.

So, to recap, build the PC now taking your time on /r/hardwareswap scoping out for good prices on stuff, and by the time you have the PC built GPU prices should be in your favor.


Pretty sure I covered everything there. If I missed anything or if you have any questions let me know. Again, 2500k/3570k is your ticket to performance on the cheap.

You'd be surprised how close in performance the new Skylake processors are to the older Sandy/Ivy (2500k/3570k) are. Watch this video (note: those are the i7 variants, but makes the same difference with the i5's) Used 2500k/3570k (both basically sdame processor, the 3570k vbeing a little better) i5 is the best bang for buck processor on the market.

When it comes to gaming, DDR3 and DDR4 make almost no difference, in some cases DDR3 does better with gaming. Here is Linus saying so

Sounds good my friend! Yeah, hopefully the i7 Skylakes normalize.

I prefer Noctuas myself, and I'm not sure if you've heard of Cryorig, they're a newcomer in the CPU cooling business. I sound like a salesman but I'm actually considering one of their coolers called the H7, it's almost similar to performance to Noctua U12S, but priced close to the CM 212 EVO @ $34.99, while looking great with a black top-plate. I was browsing builds on PCPartpicker with the Cryorig and I've been drooling at the aesthetics. But you can't go wrong with Noctuas! I've used the L9i & U9S and they're amazing!

Cryorig H7 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S7YA5FQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=A2ZKSOM6XK2G3G

For the SSD, the Adata SU800 uses a reliable 40nm TLC flash like the Samsung 850 Evo and MX300. It's not as fast as the others, but that makes no real-world difference.

For monitors, I'd be looking at 1440p or 120Hz to pair with your 1070; that GPU will be a waste on a 1080p monitor. The Qnix 2710 is a very cheap IPS 1440p monitor that is known to overclock to 100Hz+ fairly commonly; however, it has a strong backlight bleed which many don't like. This Acer is 1440p IPS, doesn't overclock well, but has better picture quality than the Qnix. Depending on whether or not you want G sync, you can get 1080p 144Hz monitors for anywhere between $200 and $400.

The GPU you picked out also doesn't have a backplate. The front of it color matches great, but the back of it (the side you'll actually see through the window) is just a bare PCB. You can get EVGA's best 1070 variant with a backplate for the same price as that Asus; it's a much, much better idea from both a performance and aesthetic standpoint.

Here's what I would do: MSI Krait edition motherboard + Corsair Dominator Platinum Series RAM sticks. It is a better overclocking mobo and you get the style points for a black/white build. Also, the RAM is faster so you're a little bit more futureproofed. The Cryorig H7 is replacing the 212 in terms of the go-to air cooler, otherwise the Corsair water cooling kit is a great option as well (also fits color scheme). I'm personally recommending 240GB since I've filled up my 120GB with games and programs twice now before I had to do some cleaning. I also like this case better, plus you can remove drive bays to make room for larger GPUs, if you are still undecided about which one you want. I wouldn't worry about M.2, I got that SSD and never ended up using it. If you do end up building this, please do take pics :)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor | $345.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler | CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler | $34.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard | MSI Z170A KRAIT GAMING 3X ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $149.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Corsair Dominator Platinum Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz | $109.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $49.99 @ Amazon
SSD | Kingston SV300S37A/240G | 67.86 @ Amazon
Video Card | Sapphire Radeon RX 480 8GB Video Card |-
Case | Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case | $54.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $89.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | ~$903.80
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-14 19:36 EDT-0400 |

I think by FPS you're referring to how may it can show (Hz), which in that case possible to somewhat overclock monitors. If you're into FPS, I would recommend sticking with a higher Hz.

Third-Party 1080s are already coming out (IIRC) so you can probably find them in 1-2 weeks. The new AMD GPUS are being announced on the 1st, and will launch mid-summer (or earlier).

G-Sync and FreeSync do something different. Instead of limiting FPS, they actually adjust the Hz of the monitor. V-Sync is the original - what this did to reduce or eliminate tearing (when the monitor is receiving a new image before it can render the previous one, causing a de-sync image across the monitor) is simply make it so that your computer wouldn't output more than 60/120/144 FPS (depending on monitor Hz). G-Sync and FreeSync both actually move the Hz of the monitor around - if you're at 120 FPS, the monitor will display at 120Hz. 78 FPS? 78Hz. FreeSync works through mostly software, while G-Sync requires an expensive chip (sold by NVIDIA) to be implanted in the monitor (hence the price jump). This is a 27'', 1440p, G-Sync monitor...$$$ This doesn't have g-sync or a super-fast response time, but fits the size build otherwise. G-Sync is outrageously expensive (team red FTW, cfx, freesync).

Eh - You could go for that audio, and it would work. However, I really do think that people benefit from nicer audio. Gaming headsets are okay, but for the most part offer sub-par audio and a shitty mic for their price point, in exchange for "gamery" aesthetics. Something like the Audio-Technica M40X are around $70 and will give you very, very good sound. If you need audio to go along with it, you can either pick up a new audio cable with a built in mic (m40x have detachable cables) or something like the antlion mod-mic.

Thanks for the reply! I found the WD Blue for $95 on Amazon, but noticed there's also a Seagate 2TB for $90 that appears to be 7200RPM (at least accoring to pcpartpicker).

Any reason you think I shouldn't got for the Seagate? It looks like it gets good reviews on Amazon and PCPP. Though I'm familiar with WD having a solid reputation.

ha yeah 8gb of ram should be good, not 16 didn't notice that :)

Yeah I was trying to figure out if it was worth the xtra $70 to go from the I5 to i7.

Monitors yeah was looking at 2 price ranges here. For example a more budget level one like the http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B2HH7G0?ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&tag=ezvid02-20&creativeASIN=B00B2HH7G0

or a more higher end like http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009C3M7H0/?tag=bgm05-20

Just need to figure out if I'll get the benefit out of the nicer monitor for the level up comp build I'm making here.

Also will this build easily support a 2nd monitor if I decide to put one on it? I'm assuming it will with no prob.

Yeah, it would be best to stick with 1080/144hz.

Seeing your graphics card, I think the ViewSonic XG2401 would be the best choice then.
The monitor has really great reviews, saying that it has great colors, nice build quality, etc. Some cons I read up on though was that the monitor only supports 44-144hz for freesync, and the menu sucked.

Consider changing your SSD for one of these 1TB models--then you may be able to dump the HDD altogether unless you have lots of storage needs. Samsung tax means they're nearly the same price for double the size, and only slightly less performance in benchmarks (but in real world terms, you wouldn't be able to tell a side-by-side difference in boot times/game load times/etc.):

• Inland Premium
  
• Sabrent Rocket
  
  You would only lose on average about 3 FPS if you downgraded the 3600X to a 3600 (save $50).
  
  You would gain around 10-30 FPS by upgrading to the newly release 2070 Super (instead of a regular 2070) and the price is only $5 more, though lots of places are on back order for the next week or so.
  
  You could definitely save money on the PSU with something like this, which would still probably be overkill for your build, but I understand the will to not skimp on PSU quality.
  
  Edit: Oh, and don't forget to update your motherboard BIOS to a version that supports Ryzen 3000 before you put in the new CPU. And make sure your board has a stable BIOS that supports Ryzen 3000 -- I've been waiting weeks to upgrade to a 3600 so I don't buy an MSI B450 board and end up with BIOS problems, though they say they'll have a stable release with the latest AMD microcode by the end of the month :)

Yes, the motherboard audio goes unused. There is switch on the unit for a mild bass boost but I don't recommend using it. All you will do is add distortion to your sound. Headphones are not capable of even producing truly low frequencies, if you want that then use a subwoofer. Any sort of audio setting that claims to boost frequency is just dumping more power into a specific range, sacrificing clarity of everything else.

What headphones do you have? Chances are that if they have an attached mic they aren't really high-end. Check the impedance, anything between 5 and 35Ω doesn't need an amp. 35-150 is fine with a smaller amp like the one in the FiiO E10K. Anything above that calls for a dedicated unit.

This is the unit I linked in my original comment:

https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2

you are suppose to go there but, im just gonna help you anways with the setup, make a 600 pc and for th setup it self add a https://www.amazon.com/Acer-XFA240-bmjdpr-Response-Technology/dp/B06ZYHZ6R6/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=1ms+144hz&qid=1561946985&s=electronics&sr=1-3 as a monitor and for the setup its self buy a ducky and a good heaset like the cloudstinger or the razer kraken x i dont know and for wifi please buy a pci adapter or ethernet if your motherboard doesnt come with wifi and buy a good mouse like the g502 or gpro

There's a few things, first of all Intel K series cpu's don't come with a cooler in the box, so you will need one. A good (but pricey) cpu cooler is the Noctua NH-D15. If you would like something more affordable the Cryorig H7 will work, although the temps will be higher than the former.

Yes, all desktop ram will fit into all desktop motherboards (sodimm or laptop ram will not).

The hard drive you selected doesen't have great reviews, for $8 more you can get a [WD Blue](https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Cache-Desktop-Drive-WD10EZEX/dp/B0088PUEPK

/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1537074431&sr=1-1&keywords=western+digital+-+caviar+blue+1tb+3.5%22+7200rpm+internal+hard+drive) or a Seagate Barracudda, both more reputable.

The cases you linked are good for their price, but you will most likely need 1-2 more case fans as they only come with 1. If you would like some cheap fans these will do, but they wont be as good as something like the Noctua NF-F12

Dont worry about asking questions! It's what we are here for :) I'm sure I missed something, so if you have any other questions make sure to ask!

Edit 1: Do you already have windows? If not make sure to but it, as you wont have an Operation System without it (Unless you want to run linux).

Have you taken a look at the ViewSonic XG2401? From Tom's Hardware:

> It offers the best contrast we've measured outside of a VA panel. It has superb color accuracy; good enough to burn through graphics tasks if need be. And it's just as fast and responsive as more expensive monitors.

One thing I will mention is that backlight bleed is pretty much a luck of the draw thing, like coil whine on a graphics card (though it is typically not too terrible if it does happen). Really the only way to reduce the likelihood of backlight bleed is to buy an expensive panel.

Hey friends!
I found this pc at costco for $1299. Its the 16GB ram, 1TB HDD, 256GB SSD if that doesn't come over in link.

I tried to match the parts in it and couldn't come close. Its for a friend who wants to game the latest games at pretty high settings.

So is this a good buy? If so Whats a goof 1440p monitor to pair with it? I found this one to be pretty well rated, just worried about screen tear on FPS. This is the one they pair with it if you want to spend the dosh on it.


Any help would be appreciated!

You may have swapped his words.

It's best IMHO to put your OS and most-used applications on your SSD and put everything else on the HDD. This way, your OS boots extremely fast and your most used applications come up almost instantly.

Also, a 1-2tb SSD is extremely expensive. I find a 250GB SSD (Samsung 840 EVO comes to mind) to be a good sweet spot between cost and size.


Edit: Now you've got it correct :) I'd recommend the SSD I linked above then get a 7200rpm Western Digital 1-2tb HDD for everything else. That'd get you a pretty optimal setup as far as storage goes unless you planned on utilizing RAID.

What's more important to you -- 144hz or color accuracy? I would personally go with an IPS or PLS screen (I own the 27-inch PLS ASUS PB278Q @ 1440p/60hz) for my photography and photo editing/video editing needs.

I decided not to bother with 144hz because I don't play FPS games that much and honestly I find the price to performance ratio not that great for the wallet.

That said, you can go with something like the the 24-inch 144hz BenQ XL2420Z for gaming and run an IPS monitor like the 23-inch IPS [ASUS PA238Q] or the 24-inch IPS [ASUS VS248H-P] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005HIRG52/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005HIRG52&linkCode=as2&tag=red90-20&linkId=HHTQ3XDDRA7KHILJ).

Or if you want bigger, have a decent GPU and the money, get the 27-inch PLS ASUS PB278Q for your photo/color accurate work and the 27-inch 144hz G-Sync capable [ASUS ROG Swift] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MSOND8C/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00MSOND8C&linkCode=as2&tag=red90-20&linkId=OKZ5ODZGP45AXRIW) which is pricey but an excellent TN-panel LED-backlit monitor. The PLS-based PB278Q is fantastic for color work especially after proper calibration.

You're going to need an SLI setup for those two though so choose wisely!

Generally you only need to upgrade if it sounds bad, but a better set of headphones will make the biggest difference, then a headphone amp, then a dac.

What headphones are you using? And is your budget set at $50?

$76 will get you the fiio e10k, which is a good first-time dac/amp.

$110 gets you the fiio k3, which is the successor to the e10k and brings a ton of improvements.

The FX-Audio DAC X6 is a good budget option, especially if you just want to test the waters.

Lots of other options too; audio can become a slippery slope lol

for ssd my go to is the sabrent 1tb.

Otherwise it looks good. You don't need the aftermarket cooler as the stock one is quite good, but if you enable precision boost in ryzen master you might want the extra thermal headroom. It looks like you have the hyper 212 rgb added, I've used the non rgb one before, its total overkill for a 65w chip but its a great value.

I've got an i5-750 (yes old but it's doing well) with the stock cooler on it and I'd love a new aftermarket cooler so I can try some overclocking. Gigabyte P55A-UD3 mobo.

SHould I get this cooler? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S7YA5FQ/ref=psdc_11036281_t1_B01IBSR18G

I think it will fit my mobo socket and I think it should work well.

Or is there something of better value?

The GTX 760 would be a strong performer if you are targeting a $250 budget. Also take a look at the R9 270X which is marginally slower than the GTX 760 but is sometimes $30+ cheaper.

The i5-4670k or i5-4570 (if not overclocking) are definitely the best processors for pure gaming (aside from very expensive enthusiast CPU's) However they don't fit everyone's budget, which is why a lot of people go with i3's or AMD's FX-6300/FX 8350.

For a 1080p monitor I strongly recommend an IPS monitor for better viewing angles and colour reproduction. A sample monitor is this one: http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-VS239H-P-23-Inch-Full-HD-Monitor/dp/B008DWITHI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395883809&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+vs239

I've added a second fan to my build to help cool the lower half (the GPU is long enough that there isn't ample airflow between upper and lower) but my MOBO only has one system fan connection. I bought a fan hub (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VNW556I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) that says it supports fan control, but only monitors speed of 1 fan, it doesn't control speed at all and as a result both of my fans are spinning at 100% all the time. Does anyone else have this product and could give me some insight on how to control the fans with it, or have suggestions for another fan controller/method of controlling both fans with 1 sys_fan connection?

hmm well i have a viewsonic xg2401 and i love it but if you could do without freesync try something like ASUS VG248QE or the BenQXL2411Z. i've also heard great thing about the Nixeus vue24. Just giving a few options. I'll do some research and come back with some 60hz option with freesync.
Note: The Asus and the Benq dont support freesync.
The Viewsonic and the nixeus do support freezync.

You don't need an aftermarket cooler with the 3600, the stock cooler is great. For 144hz, the 3700x is going to be 5-10% better, but it will also cost another $130. Do yourself a favor and get an M.2 NVME SSD like an Intel 660p or HP EX920. The Dell S2719DGF is a fantastic 1440p 144hz Freesync monitor that doesn't break the bank. The next upgrade from there would be a nice IPS panel, but that will cost another $200-300 or so.

Looks great. As for the GPU, wait until the new GPUs are announced and to be honest, a 970 will be more than capable to run AAA games for a while. But, I would recommend the R9 390 because PCMR Hivemind.

For the monitor, if you want a cheap one, there is the BenQ XL2411Z for $274.19. It's 1080p 24" 144hz, but no G-Sync for your 970 I'm afraid. Your build should be able to run basically all games on ultra settings, even CPU intensive ones if you overclock the 6600k.

If you prefer higher resolution (not size) and good colours, I would recommend the Acer G257HU smidpx for $254.10. 25" 1440p IPS and 1ms response time.

If you want large monitors, purchase 1440p or higher as 1080p monitors start pixelizing around 27". But beware you might need to sacrifice fps or higher settings.

Please don't take my word for gospel, do some research and enjoy ascending.

I'm using if for a number of things, probably should've listed this in the original post. I only play one game, league of legends, and that doesn't take up much space. I used to be a digital artist, so I do some photoshop and illustrator design work for friends on occasion, but that's not really a priority. I am also in school, but I just use google docs for most stuff, so I won't have many other files or programs on the computer.

Almost all of the space on my current computer is taken up by movies and tv shows I've torrented, but I have no reason to keep any of it, I just haven't needed to delete anything yet so I haven't.

I guess I'll see how far I can negotiate the price down on #3 to decide if its worth it. If I don't decide to do that, though, I'll definitely take your advice on the i5 and 2 sticks of 4gb. Would that be more expensive? Also, what if I did a 500gb ssd? Do you know about how much more that would cost?

Thanks!

edit: looks like it'll cost about an extra $70 to jump up to an i5, not sure if it's worth it but I'll still consider it. It's only an extra $50 for the 480gb ssd so I might do that (although at that point I guess I could just get the 240gb ssd and the 1tb hard drive, thoughts?). The 2x4gb ram I'll definitely do though.

I'm thinking about getting a monitor to hook up my Dell XPS 13 to. Which one should I get? I was looking for monitors sub $150, and these four are what I've found so far:

Acer R240HY

ASUS VX228H

HP Pavillion 22CWA

ASUS VS228H-P

My thoughts about the monitors: I like the VX228H for dual HDMI (it'd be nice to be able to switch between laptop and switch without unplugging and switching cables from the monitor every time, but not having it isn't a dealbreaker), the Acer and HP both look nice too (I like me some small bezels), and the VS228H-P I'm not too sure about.

I plan on using this monitor for general use, slight gaming, and with the switch, so nothing too crazy.

ALSO, to connect the laptop to the monitor, do I have to buy this USB C to HDMI cable to connect the two? Or is there another, better way? Thanks!

Hmmm I wouldn't want to gamble with the hard drive reliability, thanks for that tip. I'd rather keep higher speeds though, since I work with largeish files pretty often. Do you know if the Sabrent Rocket is any good? Amazon Link

Looks like it's been around since December, and people on Amazon are pretty happy with it. But I've only heard of Sabrent in the context of things like hard drive enclosures and USB hubs, I didn't even know they make hard drives until recently.

For your graphics question, definitely wait on the reviews for the RX 480 to see if itll handle games at 1440p. If it doesn't then consider waiting for non-founders edition cards to be released closer to the $380 msrp.

One detail I noticed is that you are going to buy a haswell refresh CPU so you should purchase a Z97 chipset board instead. It supports Haswell refresh cpus out of the box and don't require a bios update like Z87s. Also, depending on the board you buy, Z97 also supports M.2 SSDs which could be useful for potential future upgrades.

As for your CPU cooler, while the D15 is very good for what it is, the Cryorig H7 will offer just nearly the same performance for a better value.

Or This one is the same price, 5ms instead of 1ms, but it's IPS (better color and viewing angles), it is mountable (vesa mount) and I've had one for years that's done me well (graphic designer, so color is a must)

1ms might be necessary for an intense FPS player, but I think (also as a Minecraft player) that better visuals are more important for creative types than a few ms. Besides, I used to do FPS games on 12ms just fine. So 5ms really isn't bad at all.

EDIT: And a surprisngly cheap 2560x1440 25" IPS if you really want to spoil the kid.

For video card I'm thinking around $550 and monitor maybe like $325ish. Like I said I can wait if needed which means if AMD releases a new Navi before Cyberpunk and it's around $600ish, I could save more and swing it. Don't really want to push on the monitor too much but would go up to $350 if it really was that much better.

Kinda been looking at stuff like: https://www.amazon.com/Dell-27-Inch-LED-Lit-Monitor-S2719DGF/dp/B00N2L5CXO/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=S2719DGF&qid=1569343954&sr=8-1

or

https://www.amazon.com/Pixio-Professional-FreeSync-Certified-Compatible/dp/B07CNDK2XG/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=S2719DGF&qid=1569343954&sr=8-13

​

Not sure if I want a 32 inch or 27 inch. 27 seems more common but I dunno, 32 would be nice but may be too big for sitting that close, still deciding on that, another reason video card would be first.

​

Thanks

IPS is super awesome. I edit video and colour accuracy is really important, and IPS is amazing at that. Combined with good viewing angles and good brightness, I'd get IPS. Totally worth the refresh rate sacrifice. But it is totally a matter of preference. If you want to be ultra edgy, get an ultrawide ips. The Acer G257HU is an excellent monitor. It's not ultrawide but it's 1440p. Cheers!

CPU: The i3-6100 is a general improvement over the FX-8320E, performing 30-50% better in games and ±10% in multithreaded applications. Plus, changing processors let's you upgrade to DDR4 memory.

Motherboard: Even through the i3-6100 is a locked processor, it can be overclocked (as long as you have a good cooler on it). But even without overclocking, this is a better choice of processors.

GPU: Same choice as yours.

Case: I think you forgot a case, so I chose an affordable but cool case.

PSU: The Thermaltake Smart 550W is a bit higher quality than the EVGA 600B.

Sound Card: If your friend is serious about music, you need to get him/her an external DAC. I suggest the Fiio E10K.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor | $147.98 @ DirectCanada
Motherboard | ASRock Z170A-X1/3.1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $89.98 @ NCIX
Memory | Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory | $69.99 @ NCIX
Storage | Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $57.98 @ DirectCanada
Video Card | MSI Radeon R7 370 4GB Video Card | $194.99 @ DirectCanada
Case | BitFenix Nova ATX Mid Tower Case | $34.99 @ NCIX
Power Supply | Thermaltake SMART 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | $64.99 @ NCIX
Optical Drive | Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer | $19.95 @ shopRBC
Wireless Network Adapter | TP-Link TL-WN722N USB 2.0 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter | $14.87 @ DirectCanada
Other| Fiio E10K| $109.99
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $805.71
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-24 16:19 EDT-0400 |

It’s a great monitor, but do you REALLY need 4K? Think this through because you are using just a CPU and no GPU so if you want to utilize and have more performance from the CPU when rendering, I would recommend a 25-27 inch 1440p, just as good but easier on the cpu so you have more to work with, even though the CPU does support 4K. Secondly you have PLENTY of room in that case, I don’t know what you’re talking about, especially the fact that it will not have a GPU. The case also supports up to one 2.5 storage mount.

Tip: Also if you did have Windows 7 or 8 in the past, that same serial key will work to activate Windows 10.

My suggestion to you:

• If you have money:
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P0EQD1Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_HraSBbXQPFFT2
  
• If you don’t:
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NZTKOQI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.taSBb21BK30Y
  
  My current monitor (calibrated):
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QS0AKVK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_DvaSBb10NCV63

This is the combo I'm about to roll with: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB G1 Gaming Video Card ($420) + ViewSonic XG2401 23.6" 144Hz Monitor ($260).

Thats $680 for my combo vs $850 for what you have right now. You'll get a much better experience out of that for almost $200 less. If that makes you feel cheap, then just splurge in other areas, but it doesn't make much sense to get such a high tier graphics card and couple it with a sub par monitor. It would be better to meet more in the middle.

Then again I chose high refresh rates over IPS for fast paced games such as FPS's, so you could try and find a monitor thats 60hz and IPS if you prefer other games that don't quite need that competitive refresh rate and response times

However, whichever card you get, definitely get a custom aftermarket card like EVGA's 1070 SC ACX 3.0 or Gigabyte's 1070 G1 Gaming OC, instead of a reference Founders Edition card.

This setup will do okay at 1440p/144hz, but unless you are really determined to go AMD I would recommend using a more powerful nvidia card.

I would start by calling my local costco and asking if any stores in my region have the Acer Predator xb271hu in stock. That monitor is currently on sale for $500 at costco because they are clearing out their inventory. If you can get that acer panel (its gsync) then use the money you saved to get a gtx1070 to go with it.

I currently have that acer predator monitor paired with a gtx 1070 and a 7700k. I get ~90-100 fps on BF1 64 player games with ultra settings, and ~140 fps on the mix of medium/high settings that I usually play with.

No problem :)
If it makes you feel better, I'm a projectionist and my grandmother owns this exact monitor. So I have had the option to see it in person. I do have to say it looks fantastic. Though I am a projectionist, I don't edit photo's where I need perfect colors. As a projectionist, we just have to get the colors almost perfect. So I have never had the chance to see a several thousand dollar monitor with perfect colors to compare this too. For me though, I feel this monitor looks absolutely stunning.
If you find a bit more money. This monitor has a big brother with 1440p and 27".
ASUS PB278Q 27-Inch WQHD LED-lit Professional Graphics Monitor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009C3M7H0/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_kHFGub0FM67EC

Ah! Yeah a hub is very different than a controller, and I'd definitely suggest going that route if you're using 4+ fans.

Here is the one I always use: http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-System-Cables-Black-CPF04/dp/B00VNW556I?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Useful Info:

• Hub gets its power from a SATA cable
  
  
• Easiest way to install is with Velcro on the back of the case
  
  
• One PWM cable connects from the hub, to a PWM header on your motherboard
  
  
• One of the PWM hub headers is the "control". It uses that fan to control all of the other fans connected to the hub.
  
  
• Worth mentioning, you do need to be using PWM fans to control the speed through this hub. 3 pin DC fans will work, you just won't be able to control their speed at all.
  
  For software, use SpeedFan if your motherboard manufacturer doesn't include software to do this already (most do). Also you can look into controlling from the UEFI based on temperature settings.
  
  The basics for all fan control software is:
  
  
• 'Once Y hits X temp, change fan speed to Z%'
  
  
• 'Manually change fan speed to Z%'

The Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO is basically the standard for air cooling, and cost $30. It'd be perfect for running at stock clock speeds and it should offer enough headroom for very mild overclocks.

The Cryorig H7 is extremely similar. I think I remember seeing a review that mentioned a better fin pattern or something like that so it's supposed to be marginally better than the 212. And the white fan looks pretty cool. I know that this one may or may not require an AM4 adapter kit depending whether or not it comes with the revised backplate. But you can just request that from Cryorig and they'll send on to you.