So I'm seriously considering building a monster PC in the next few months and I wanted to get some ideas of what I could do. I want this thing to stomp whatever I throw at it. Probably looking for at least 32 gbs of RAM, multiple terabytes of SSD space, and at least a 2080 Ti. Last I checked the nvidia 3000 series had been delayed to Q4, so I don't know if I should just wait for that or if the 2080 Ti would be just fine. I want to install ray tracing mods on pretty much every game I'll be playing, so there's that. Are prices for other parts good right now? Should I wait until later? Not sure what's going on with the economy being fucked.

Would anyone care to make a preliminary build? I'd also be looking for a 1440p 144 hz monitor as well. Budget is probably $4000 max. I'm just ball parking a number, so if it's much cheaper than that then cool.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Apr 14 2020, 7:46 pm by Dem0n.

You want a lot. You won't achieve all of it. With a single 2080 Ti and ray tracing you can expect to get minimum fps of 50-90 depending on the game. The average ranging from 90 to 140.

Ray tracing can drain your fps by up to 20%. I'd expect the next generation of GPU's (or the techniques) to be better in that regard. So personally, sitting on a 1070, I'll wait it out until the 3000 series comes.

I would say at most 32 GB RAM and that's only because it's cheap currently. Even 16 GB is more than you'll need for the next few years.

Other prices are steady. I'd go for a Ryzen 7 3700x CPU.

You seem to have a pretty good idea where you want to go with your build, so why don't you slap everything into pcpartpicker and we'll see where that gets us? Mainly to get an idea of the price point and kind/price of monitor you want.

Sorry I don't have much to add, but I'm interested to see what you come up with, because personally I think prices for everything is shit right now. The price differential between cutting edge chips/cards and high tier cards is complete garbage, $4000 will get you 2nd-tier hardware right now. Maybe I'm biased because I've been looking at a lot of corporate-aimed Nvidia cards which are like $2500-$5000 all by themselves, but shit's wack yo.

I bough 64GB of RAM for my current machine like 4 years ago, prices haven't dropped since then, I wouldn't say it's cheap right now.

Yeah I should've been more specific. I'm not expecting heavily modded games to run at 140 fps, but I'd like to be able to keep them above 60. Like right now, I have 250 mods on Skyrim and my computer struggles to hit 30 fps at 1080p.

Any particular reason to get that one over the i9-9700?

Aside from maybe knowing that I'd want a 2080 Ti and 32 gbs of RAM, I don't know what the best options are for the other parts. I'm pretty clueless on motherboards, fans, and cases.

Here's a bullshit build with all the things I could maybe pick without help. If I'm spending this much money, I want to make sure the parts I'm getting have as much speed/power as possible, and I don't really know exactly which things to get. Pretty sure the GPU is physically gigantic and requires some extra shit to prevent it from sagging, but I don't actually know what I need. The monitor listed isn't necessarily the one I want, but I do want an IPS with low response time.

Yeah market isn't stable for 4 years. That'S a price trend for one of the more popular DDR4's. But it's similar for the others as well.


Demon, I'll get back at you later.

Ok Demun, here we go:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($292.15 @ Walmart)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($91.88 @ Amazon)
Thermal Compound: Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut 1g 1 g Thermal Paste ($8.96 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock X570 Taichi ATX AM4 Motherboard ($304.93 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($314.56 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital WD Blue 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($224.99 @ Walmart)
Storage: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($460.08 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11 GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($1176.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define S2 Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case ($156.56 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS 750 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($144.43 @ B&H)
Case Fan: Corsair ML140 Pro LED 97 CFM 140 mm Fan ($32.08 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair ML140 Pro LED 97 CFM 140 mm Fan ($32.08 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair ML140 Pro LED 97 CFM 140 mm Fan ($32.08 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair ML140 Pro LED 97 CFM 140 mm Fan ($32.08 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair ML140 Pro LED 97 CFM 140 mm Fan ($32.08 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair ML140 Pro LED 97 CFM 140 mm Fan ($32.08 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Acer XB271HU bmiprz 27.0" 2560x1440 165 Hz Monitor ($636.65 @ B&H)
Total: $4004.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-15 08:57 EDT-0400
Your requirements are similar to my current build, so I'll be able to provide some very specific feedback in this instance.

First up, in current market just about anybody for any reasonable application is going to have a hard time arguing against going AMD. The Zen 2 architecture is offering a lot of performance at a great value and aside from Intel favoring edge cases in specific software or scenarios its pretty much the go to. For your uses 8 cores / 16 threads should be more than enough. We pair our CPU with ASRock's Taichi X570. The Taichi line has been making a great name for itself the last few generations and I use the X299 version of it in my current PC. Its solid, has plenty of features, and more than adequate power delivery should you decide to try your hand at some overclocking.

With that we move to the RAM and CPU cooler. On our RAM we have a very nice G.Skill kit sporting true 16 latency rather than the 16-18-18 crap some vendors are trying to pull and still call CL16, at a healthy 3600mhz. Zen 2 likes faster RAM and this should balance that out very well. To cool our CPU we have the Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4. Not a cheap cooler by any means but it fits the bill in just about every way. Its quiet, it has more than enough cooling to keep our CPU very chilly, and the black finish matches the general look of the rest of the build. I also added on some Thermal Grizzly compound as its the best on market and will possibly net you another few degrees in CPU temps.

For storage, the tried and true 970 EVO Plus will suit us just fine, in a high 2TB capacity. This will run your OS and let you install plenty of games with room to spare. Should you need some additional space for media or other things, we back this up with a WD Blue SSD. I'm personally starting to shift away from mechanical storage entirely, and I think I'd recommend you do the same if you're building anytime soon. The cost is definitely higher but unless we're going to build an actual RAID I have a hard time making an argument other than price for mechanical storage at this juncture. On the subject of NVME PCIE Gen4 should you wonder about it, I'm not convinced its going to make much of a difference for you or most people right now. If Samsung had their Gen4 products out I might recommend one, but depending on price differential, possibly not. I don't think its anything to hold the build up over.

You said you wanted a 2080Ti, and a 2080Ti it is. There isn't much to consider on the various offerings besides their included cooler, and I think a 3 fan windforce should do you fine.

To house this build I selected a Fractal Define S2 Blackout. If this isn't to your taste you're free to select something else. This is the case I use, I found it a pleasure to build in, and it fits plenty of fans. On the subject of fans, the case includes its own fan hub/controller and into it I recommend you place all these nice Corsair Mag Lev Pro 140mm fans. I have mine whisper quiet when idling and only moderately less quiet under load. You'll have to tune them to achieve the same but it took me maybe all of an hour to tune them exactly as I like them.

The powersupply is a SeaSonic. I don't think I should have to say more than that.

Finally, I selected you a 27" 1440p IPS monitor, clocking in at a generous 165hz. There are cheaper offerings than this one but for a confirmed GSYNC rather than the iffy 'GSYNC compatible' I personally don't mind the premium. You can take the gamble if you want however, or some shopping around outside PCPP might yield some results as well. As good of a tool as PCPP is, I think monitors are one of the few areas where I feel they aren't as on the mark with having a very complete picture of available products, so some legwork might be beneficial here. I'll review any monitor you find to see if its up to the task.

I just want to go on record cause I looked it up - I paid $288 for 64 GB of DDR4-2400 in Q4 2015.

How much GB per stick and what Mhz?

Best bang for the buck. And while gaming performance might be slightly better (5-10%) the performance for tasks that can use all threads are faster by 25-35%. This includes future games that are probably gonna saturate the cores better. Also Ryzen 3000 series is currently the only platform with PCIe 4.0 support. For now it doesn't do much, because there's not many devices that support it, but is probably important for a later upgrade to a better GPU.
Note that I upgraded to a 3800x. It performs only slightly better under medium gaming load but should be able to play out it's higher TDP under full load since your cooler will dissipate the heat like a champ.


That said I made 2 builds. First the Intel which I call
"I got money to burn, so why the hell not!" PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i9-9900K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($504.99 @ Best Buy)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($85.87 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX Z390-E GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($223.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($429.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($429.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11 GB ROG Strix Gaming OC Video Card ($1279.99 @ Amazon)
Case: In Win 909 ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS 750 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($134.99 @ B&H)
2x Case Fan: be quiet! SilentWings 3 pwm 59.5 CFM 140 mm Fan ($23.21 @ Amazon)
5x Case Fan: be quiet! SilentWings 3 PWM 50.5 CFM 120 mm Fan ($25.90 @ Amazon)
Monitor: LG 27GL83A-B 27.0" 2560x1440 144 Hz Monitor
Total: $3425.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-15 14:25 EDT-0400

The other AMD one is just as fast and ticks all the boxes, but isn't as reckless. It's called
"Meh, maybe I'm a decent human being afterall" PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 3.9 GHz 8-Core Processor ($338.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($85.87 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock X570 Steel Legend WiFi ax ATX AM4 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($259.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11 GB ROG Strix Gaming OC Video Card ($1279.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT H500 ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ NZXT)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS 750 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($134.99 @ B&H)
Case Fan: be quiet! SilentWings 3 pwm 59.5 CFM 140 mm Fan ($23.21 @ Amazon)
Monitor: LG 27GL83A-B 27.0" 2560x1440 144 Hz Monitor
Total: $2548.01
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-15 14:29 EDT-0400


Both come with a few caveats:

"I got money to burn, so why the hell not!"

• Both SSDs and all USB ports share one PCIe x4 lane, which can be saturated by just 1 SSD. So copying stuff between the SSDs will not be as fast as it could be. You could offload one SSD to dedicated PCIe which slows down graphics card by a few %. You'll need a PCIe variant for that.
  
• CPU cooler height is 162.8 mm - Make sure your tower supports it. I couldn't find that at a glance for the one I picked.
  
• Case has a panel on the bottom side so it should sit next to you on the table

"Meh, maybe I'm a decent human being afterall"

• Case+Fans might be shit. I haven't really checked.
  
• The mobo I picked supports no SLI. There would be (more expensive) options though if you need it.
  
• You'll have the same problem as with Intel about just one PCIe x4 lane for all the SSD and USB drives, but since there is only 1 SSD this will be a non-issue. (Unless you later install another NVMe drive. SATA HDDs would be unaffected.)
  
• I would suggest adding a large HDD. But you specifically requested SSD storage.

Pros: PCI 4.0 support.

Other notes:

• I have only little experience with cases. Don't trust my suggestions blindly.
  
• Similarly I haven't bothered looking into monitors. Just one hint for your research: IPS is slow. You want fast refresh rates. It's standard to counter the slowness with overdrive. But that can create artifacts like coronas. Make sure your monitor is well balanced in that regard.
  
• obviously you can mix all the parts around in the builds. Just stick to the respective CPU/mobo combo.
  

Isn't limiting one to SATA even slower than to pick 2 NVMes and let them share the interface? Or was that a decision with his budget in mind?

I didn't think about the difference in speeds between the two. I'd probably want to save money and go for a slower SATA SSD instead. I actually already have a 1 tb NVMe drive that I'll use for my next build, so I probably don't need the 2 tb one. I think I'd settle on just the 2 tb SATA SSD.

Budget minded, the SATA is 1/2 the price. I just can't in good conscience recommend mechanical storage outside of RAIDs in 2020. (Or maybe extreme edge cases.)

Nothing wrong with Nudes builds EXCEPT that he chose 16-19-19 RAM @ 3600 which while cheaper is bad news bears on the latency. Good RAM or no RAM!!

On the subject of monitors, there are very few, very expensive IPS panels that can move fast enough while looking good enough to justify going IPS over TN/VA. Hence the one I picked. Its my opinion that buying in a 4K price bracket and with a 2080Ti being put on display duty its a disservice to the build to cheap out on the display.

Yeah, I already took a mental note. I legitimately thought the CAS latency is the only value that matters of the 3/4.

Twice the cost is hefty. I'd probably stick to "regular" RAM for the Intel build because it almost doesn't benefit from it, unlike the AMD.

Would it be worth it to do the Ryzen 7 3800X? It's only ~$40 more, so the price isn't bad. I don't know how TDP would help with performance.

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Apr 16 2020, 10:28 pm by Dem0n.

It's your money. The answer is yes.

These CPUs have a lot of cores. Each core has their own power demand. Combined at full load they would exceed the thermal design power (TDP). Now CPUs are designed that they are allowed to go over for a few seconds (length depending on how much you go over) and then it throttles the CPU. With the 3800x you have a lot more headroom with is 105W instead of 65W TDP.

Now in reality games often utilize only 1-4 cores fully and the rest is dedicated to helper tasks that are not as demanding, which means the CPU as a whole may not exceed the TDP and you wouldn't notice a difference.
Unpacking smaller ZIP files might be fast enough that TDP doesn't kick in.
Video editing is a sustained full load so with that you're expected to see thermal throttling.

This is the principle. In reality you'll see a 1% - 5% percent increase in fps.

Then again, there's always the option to raise the TDP (overclocking). How close you can overclock a 3700x to the TDP of a 3800x depends on the quality of the chip. But you should get fairly close.

Put my computer together last week. Almost everything's working well. For some reason one of the USB 3.0 ports on the front panel of my case isn't working, but I'm getting a replacement cable for it sent to me, so hopefully that fixes the issue and there isn't something wrong with the pins on the motherboard.



I bought three of the white Corsair fans for now since they're so expensive. If they go down in price, I'll probably get three more and replace the ones that came with the case.

Looking cool. Got a an angle that shows the front as well?

What are the components you ended up buying?

So yeah, for the USB port it turns out one of the vbus pins on the board was bent so far that it wasn't even going into the connector. I tried straightening it and it just snapped off. I want to try sticking some wire into the connector hole and have it make contact with where the pin broke off to see if that gets power to the port. Does anyone know what thickness of wire I'd want to use and how much of it I'd want to stick into the hole? I can't find any info on how wide the pins are.