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Mad Cow's Build a Killer Gaming Rig on a Budget Thread (1 Viewer)

I decided I need to redo my home rig.

Going with:

Intel i7-8800 CPU
16GB DDR4 RAM
Gigabyte Aorus Gaming 7-OP mobo with Intel Octance memory integrated
Using my own 1080 GTX
1TB M.2 PCIe HDD
5 TB 7200rpm HDD
750 EVGA modular Supernova PSU
NZXT 440 Elite case

So basically flew in the face of the very essence of this thread. :shrug:

 
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I decided I need to redo my home rig.

Going with:

Intel i7-8800 CPU
16GB DDR4 RAM
Gigabyte Aorus Gaming 7-OP mobo with Intel Octance memory integrated
Using my own 1080 GTX
1TB M.2 PCIe HDD
5 TB 7200rpm HDD
750 EVGA modular Supernova PSU
NZXT 440 Elite case

So basically flew in the face of the very essence of this thread. :shrug:
You're reusing the card.  This build might as well be free.  

 
Mad Cow said:
I like your moxy!

I am excited to see the performance of these M.2 drives.  Supposed to be like so much faster than even SSD's.
I've only heard a little about them.  These are the SSDs that can use the PCI Express slots right?

How much faster are they?  

 
They are a solid order of magnitude faster.  I have a 512gb one in my comp that I just rebuilt.  Every think loads almost instantly.  Start up is 5-10 seconds.

 
I've only heard a little about them.  These are the SSDs that can use the PCI Express slots right?

How much faster are they?  
Crap ton faster from what I have heard.  And they use a PCIe slot, but many newer mobos have M.2 slots in them so you are not using an actual slot, just a lane.  You can buy a PCIe adapter for M.2 drives if yours does not have a slot for them, though.

 
Crap ton faster from what I have heard.  And they use a PCIe slot, but many newer mobos have M.2 slots in them so you are not using an actual slot, just a lane.  You can buy a PCIe adapter for M.2 drives if yours does not have a slot for them, though.
Does this mean you could rig it up to use multiple lanes and make it even faster?  Because now I'm really intrigued.

 
m.2 PCIE drives can currently use up to 4 pcie lanes for connectivity (vs 1 for sata), though it seems like a lot of the consumer ones only use 2 of the lanes.  The pcie lane is about 33% faster then a SATA lane, so you can get a good performance boost if your system can use all 4 lanes  There is another formfactor U.2 where it's basically the same type of PCIE SSD, but designed into a PCIE slot.  I'm not sure how consumer available those are right now.

Some new storage tech is just starting to come out from intel with smaller size then current SSD's but memory access speeds closer to DDR.  Will be really sweet when it can get onto gaming PC's. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/intel-optane-technology.html

 
m.2 PCIE drives can currently use up to 4 pcie lanes for connectivity (vs 1 for sata), though it seems like a lot of the consumer ones only use 2 of the lanes.  The pcie lane is about 33% faster then a SATA lane, so you can get a good performance boost if your system can use all 4 lanes  There is another formfactor U.2 where it's basically the same type of PCIE SSD, but designed into a PCIE slot.  I'm not sure how consumer available those are right now.

Some new storage tech is just starting to come out from intel with smaller size then current SSD's but memory access speeds closer to DDR.  Will be really sweet when it can get onto gaming PC's. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/intel-optane-technology.html
The mobo I just picked up for this build has 32GB of built in Intel Octane.  Excited to see how it goes.  Got the Aorus Gaming 7-OP mobo.  The Octane is a free add-on for a little while right now.

 
The mobo I just picked up for this build has 32GB of built in Intel Octane.  Excited to see how it goes.  Got the Aorus Gaming 7-OP mobo.  The Octane is a free add-on for a little while right now.
Nice, any idea what you plan to do with it?  Is that comfortably big enough for an OS partition?  Game installs?  (can't think of how big a new game install is right now).  Also it's Optane, not sure if that was a mistype or autocorrect, just figured i'd note it in case anyone wanted to look it up.

 
Nice, any idea what you plan to do with it?  Is that comfortably big enough for an OS partition?  Game installs?  (can't think of how big a new game install is right now).  Also it's Optane, not sure if that was a mistype or autocorrect, just figured i'd note it in case anyone wanted to look it up.
Yeah, you are correct, though Octane sounds cooler.  They should have gone with that. ;)

Not sure what I will do.  I might throw a few personal game files on there.  I have the 1 TB m.2 drive as well and then a 5 TB high RPM 128 MB buffer platter.

 
So....I built my current rig like 7 years ago (wow does time fly). Made a couple of upgrades since then (new vid card like 4 or 5 years ago plus added a 2nd SSD) but other than that, I'm operating with some pretty old tech. Tried my best to future-proof the last build, so I've been able to play any game that comes out with good enough performance. But with Battlefield V coming this fall, its probably time for some upgrades.

I'm wondering whether I can get away with just a new video card or whether my other stuff (MB, power supply, CPU) is going to prevent that from working out.

Current Motherboard.....

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157265

It has PCI-Express 3.0 which still appears to be the standard. But I'm not sure if there's something else I need to look at to determine if new vid cards will still be compatible.

Current PS

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

Seems like this should still be big enough (the 1018 TI only requires a 600 w) but I'm hoping the guys that are more up on the current tech ccan confirm

CPU-

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

I've got 16 GB of this RAM

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445

along with 400 GB of SSD space (plus 2  1 TB regular  hard drives). My case is a beast which should have plenty of room/airflow for any new card.

TIA for any input.  Just hoping I can just upgrade 1 or 2 components without needing to go through a whole new build.

 
So....I built my current rig like 7 years ago (wow does time fly). Made a couple of upgrades since then (new vid card like 4 or 5 years ago plus added a 2nd SSD) but other than that, I'm operating with some pretty old tech. Tried my best to future-proof the last build, so I've been able to play any game that comes out with good enough performance. But with Battlefield V coming this fall, its probably time for some upgrades.

I'm wondering whether I can get away with just a new video card or whether my other stuff (MB, power supply, CPU) is going to prevent that from working out.

Current Motherboard.....

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157265

It has PCI-Express 3.0 which still appears to be the standard. But I'm not sure if there's something else I need to look at to determine if new vid cards will still be compatible.

Current PS

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

Seems like this should still be big enough (the 1018 TI only requires a 600 w) but I'm hoping the guys that are more up on the current tech ccan confirm

CPU-

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

I've got 16 GB of this RAM

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445

along with 400 GB of SSD space (plus 2  1 TB regular  hard drives). My case is a beast which should have plenty of room/airflow for any new card.

TIA for any input.  Just hoping I can just upgrade 1 or 2 components without needing to go through a whole new build.
Bump for some help from those that are up to speed on this sort of stuff....

 
I'm in the same boat you are, have upgraded a few components over the years but really have been rocking along with a 6 or 7 year old rig.  I got the EA Origin Premier thing so I'm locked and loaded for Battlefield V.

 
Bump for some help from those that are up to speed on this sort of stuff....
I think you will be ok with one more new video card with that setup.  Only other upgrade I'd consider making is adding an SSD on there.  Besides that you'd be stuck upgrading everything.

I'd personally wouldn't recommend building a new system at this point.  Gen4 PCIe should be just around the corner and I assume that will be the standard interface for the next gen video cards, so I think a new build before that comes out (unless it's necessary to play something) would limit your future upgradability.  So I'd get the video card and give it a shot, if something else is killing the playing experience (I don't think it will), you can use that video card as the start of your new system if you just can't wait until the next gen hardware.

 
I think you will be ok with one more new video card with that setup.  Only other upgrade I'd consider making is adding an SSD on there.  Besides that you'd be stuck upgrading everything.

I'd personally wouldn't recommend building a new system at this point.  Gen4 PCIe should be just around the corner and I assume that will be the standard interface for the next gen video cards, so I think a new build before that comes out (unless it's necessary to play something) would limit your future upgradability.  So I'd get the video card and give it a shot, if something else is killing the playing experience (I don't think it will), you can use that video card as the start of your new system if you just can't wait until the next gen hardware.
Appreciate it. I actually already have 2 ssds. (I think they're 120 and 250 gbs)Definitely helps with boot speed but the boost to game loading speeds (mostly PUBG) isn't what it used to be.

Of course that might just be because pubg is buggy and unoptimized

 
UPGRADE DAY!  I managed to get my hands on a 2TB x4 PCIE NVMe SSD (at no cost even better).  I've held off using an any SSD as my games drive since affordable ones tend to be too small, so this will upgrade my Mechanical Hybrid games drive.

Should be a nice noticeable upgrade.  Pretty excited.

 
UPGRADE DAY!  I managed to get my hands on a 2TB x4 PCIE NVMe SSD (at no cost even better).  I've held off using an any SSD as my games drive since affordable ones tend to be too small, so this will upgrade my Mechanical Hybrid games drive.

Should be a nice noticeable upgrade.  Pretty excited.




2
Stealing is wrong :P

 
UPGRADE DAY!  I managed to get my hands on a 2TB x4 PCIE NVMe SSD (at no cost even better).  I've held off using an any SSD as my games drive since affordable ones tend to be too small, so this will upgrade my Mechanical Hybrid games drive.

Should be a nice noticeable upgrade.  Pretty excited.
Spoon!

 
Did my upgrade over the weekend, and it's pretty sweet.  I played around with Far Cry 4 and Witcher 3, and the load screens were down to almost nothing.  Now I still don't think an upgrade like this is worth the price it would cost for the large 1-2TB drives, but when you have one it's nice.  I'll get more of a feel for it when I dive back into a PC game full time, but i'm on a bit of a break right now.

 
Did my upgrade over the weekend, and it's pretty sweet.  I played around with Far Cry 4 and Witcher 3, and the load screens were down to almost nothing.  Now I still don't think an upgrade like this is worth the price it would cost for the large 1-2TB drives, but when you have one it's nice.  I'll get more of a feel for it when I dive back into a PC game full time, but i'm on a bit of a break right now.
Yeah, the NVMe drives are ridiculous awesome.

 
Hey guys,  I just found out one of my sons has a gaming PC at the top of his Christmas list.  I was pretty much blowing it off because they already have an XBOX One and a Nintendo Switch and I didn't want them gaming any more than the limited amount we allow them now.  I'd rather push them in the direction of less gaming than make it seem like we're enabling them to do more.  But, just heard that their cousins that they are close with and play online with all the time are EACH getting one for Christmas, WTF?  So I'm thinking its going to be a ####show I'm going to hear about all year if I don't get one... I mean, it will be a magical Christmas if the boys get ONE gaming PC.

Anyway, having not looked into this at all and having missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday, etc  :wall:  any suggestions for a good system to buy for kids that are basically going to use it mostly for Fortnight (but don't want it to be obsolete for the next fad either)?  Should I just get them boxes of components and let them figure out how to put it together on Christmas day?  :devil: (They're 12 and 10)

TIA! 

 
Hey guys,  I just found out one of my sons has a gaming PC at the top of his Christmas list.  I was pretty much blowing it off because they already have an XBOX One and a Nintendo Switch and I didn't want them gaming any more than the limited amount we allow them now.  I'd rather push them in the direction of less gaming than make it seem like we're enabling them to do more.  But, just heard that their cousins that they are close with and play online with all the time are EACH getting one for Christmas, WTF?  So I'm thinking its going to be a ####show I'm going to hear about all year if I don't get one... I mean, it will be a magical Christmas if the boys get ONE gaming PC.

Anyway, having not looked into this at all and having missed Black Friday and Cyber Monday, etc  :wall:  any suggestions for a good system to buy for kids that are basically going to use it mostly for Fortnight (but don't want it to be obsolete for the next fad either)?  Should I just get them boxes of components and let them figure out how to put it together on Christmas day?  :devil: (They're 12 and 10)

TIA! 
How would you feel about buying components and putting one together with him?   My son is alnost 19 and for his 14th Christmas I have him the parts and we put it together.  He still says that was the best Christmas ever.

 
Here's the deal.  Any more you can buy a built system the same or maybe even a bit cheaper,  but if you know how to put them together,  it's such a cool thing to do.  It's easy to learn,  and I still remember all the parts laying on the table as we put it together and I taught him how to do it. 

 
How would you feel about buying components and putting one together with him?   My son is alnost 19 and for his 14th Christmas I have him the parts and we put it together.  He still says that was the best Christmas ever.
I think it would be cool to put together as long as there was a low chance of us damaging anything.  I'd also be worried about forgetting a part we needed that keeps them from playing when we're home all day on Christmas day.  Not sure I'd know how to go about picking the right components that would work together though.

 
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I think it would be cool to put together as long as there was a low chance of us damaging anything.  I'd also be worried about forgetting a part we needed that keeps them from playing when we're home all day on Christmas day.  Not sure I'd know how to go about picking the right components that would work together though.
If you give us the budget, we can pick parts.  Tell us what you need and do not need.  And a step by step and troubleshooting guide is easy to create as well.  However, if you really just do not want to take any chances, give us a budget and we can find one for you.

 
It is easy for me to say do that for Christmas, since I have the know how and spare parts lying around.  It could be daunting.

 
This is what i did for my home PC this fall. i also did the opposite of what this thread is trying to accomplish. thoughts?

went with:

Intel i7-9700k CPU
32GB DDR4 RAM
ASUS maximus XI hero mobo
Using my old 1060 GTX
1TB M.2 PCIe HDD samsung 970 evo
3 TB 7200rpm HDD (holdover from previous build)
850 corsair modular PSU
NZXT H700i case

 it's not really for gaming; it's more like a hobby and some work from home stuff.

 
Spending 2 minutes looking for now, THIS is a little more than the latter but much better in the GPU and HDD seeing as it has a SSD.
Works for me I guess, hopefully they can use it for some school projects or something else too.  Do you need a special type of monitor for gaming?  Worried they're going to be disappointed after stepping down from sitting pretty close already to a 40" HDTV.  Times sure have changed since playing my Atari on a 16" tube TV.

 
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Works for me I guess, hopefully they can use it for some school projects or something else too.  Do you need a special type of monitor for gaming?  Worried they're going to be disappointed after stepping down from sitting pretty close already to a 40" HDTV.  Times sure have changed since playing my Atari on a 16" tube TV.
What all do you need then?  Just a monitor left to get? 

 
That PC that you linked includes a keyboard and mouse, it looks like the only thing left would be the monitor?
Speakers/headphones, gaming mouse, cherry keyboard, ninja branded mouse pad, streaming PC, studio lights, green screen.  You're almost there GB. 

 
How much do you want to spend there?
I don't know, probably already more than my wife was hoping for so around $200?  I figure this is probably my younger son's last "believer" Christmas so may as well go out with a bang.  I've been pretty clear that he wasn't going to get a gaming PC because we already have an XB1 and Switch so this should he should be pretty excited when he sees this thing.  Don't want to skimp on something that will screw it up.

What's more important for gaming?  Screen size?  Refresh rate?  HD/4K?  HDR?  I see the video card in that build has "G-sync", is it worth it to get a monitor that is also "G-sync" compatible or is that just a gimmick?

 
I don't know, probably already more than my wife was hoping for so around $200?  I figure this is probably my younger son's last "believer" Christmas so may as well go out with a bang.  I've been pretty clear that he wasn't going to get a gaming PC because we already have an XB1 and Switch so this should he should be pretty excited when he sees this thing.  Don't want to skimp on something that will screw it up.

What's more important for gaming?  Screen size?  Refresh rate?  HD/4K?  HDR?  I see the video card in that build has "G-sync", is it worth it to get a monitor that is also "G-sync" compatible or is that just a gimmick?
You know what I would do for them?  Get a cheap but huge LCD TV.  I have a 50 inch 4K LED and it is amazing for games.  Something like THIS for $339 or even $280 for the 43" would have them drooling to play Fortnite on it.

 
You know what I would do for them?  Get a cheap but huge LCD TV.  I have a 50 inch 4K LED and it is amazing for games.  Something like THIS for $339 or even $280 for the 43" would have them drooling to play Fortnite on it.
I don't love the big TV for a monitor especially for productivity stuff when you plan to be working at a desk (it can work if you have the perfect setup, but I don't think most people do).  Unfortunately you really can't get a budge g-sync monitor so you are probably just best off getting a decent 24 inch 1080P gaming monitor.  I'd bypass 4K, too expensive and mid to low end systems don't run 4K very well at this point IMO.  If you wanted to go beyond the basic I'd recommend a 1440P G-Sync monitor, but that's probably in the $350 range minimum.  I'm not sure what the recommend ones are right now, i'd look for a guide from Tom's hardware or IGN if you want to look for online recommendations.

 
You know what I would do for them?  Get a cheap but huge LCD TV.  I have a 50 inch 4K LED and it is amazing for games.  Something like THIS for $339 or even $280 for the 43" would have them drooling to play Fortnite on it.
Interesting idea, but I don't think we have the setup for that.  Planning on putting this at one of their desks in the "office"/homework/gaming room.

 
I don't love the big TV for a monitor especially for productivity stuff when you plan to be working at a desk (it can work if you have the perfect setup, but I don't think most people do).  Unfortunately you really can't get a budge g-sync monitor so you are probably just best off getting a decent 24 inch 1080P gaming monitor.  I'd bypass 4K, too expensive and mid to low end systems don't run 4K very well at this point IMO.  If you wanted to go beyond the basic I'd recommend a 1440P G-Sync monitor, but that's probably in the $350 range minimum.  I'm not sure what the recommend ones are right now, i'd look for a guide from Tom's hardware or IGN if you want to look for online recommendations.
Most recent on Tom's Hardware but FreeSync instead of G-sync...

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/dell-d2719hgf-144hz-monitor-deal,38138.html

"Dell’s D2719HGF FreeSync gaming monitor is on sale at Walmart right now for $179, a sharp drop from its original $279 MSRP.

27-inch Dell D2719HGF Gaming Monitor - FHD, FreeSync

The D2719HGF is a 27-inch display with Full HD (1920x1080 resolution). It has a TN panel, a display technology known for its speed. Indeed, the monitor has a 2ms response time; however, it's the FreeSync support (from 40 to 144Hz) and 144Hz refresh rate that make it special.

Dell’s D2719HGF is WLED backlit and monitor DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 2.0 connections, along with two USB 2.0 ports and one USB 3.0. The monitor also comes with two built-in 2W speakers and a headphone jack. But you might consider using a separate set of speakers, based on a few reviews we've seen at retailers; although, we haven’t had the chance to test this ourselves."

 
It's hard to imagine I'd ever need another computer beyond something top-end today.  I'm looking to spend about $2k on a killer machine and build everything from scratch.  I run a setup with two monitors, tons of browser tabs, video editing from time to time, usually have one or two game clients running.  Big things for me are obviously a killer graphics card (currently have a gtx 960), 2-3TB SSD for operating system and storage (probably starting with about 700/800 gigs with current games/files), and of course a godlike CPU.  I don't know what this NVMe thing is but I probably want that too.

Being strong enough and scalable for VR tech and 4K (if I ever upgrade my monitors- I've used the same ASUS gaming monitors ever since @theglorydays) is probably a good idea too.  Wouldn't mind some recommendations for an antivirus/cleanup program to keep things running smooth either.  Thanks brohans.

 
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