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Looking for recommendations on high-end system, starting with pcpartpicker's guide

NiKeFiDO

NiKeFiDO

Diamond Member
I've kept my eye on PCPart Picker's "Magnificent Intel" build for some time. Right now it's recommending a the i5-8600K.

However, I have some cash to spare, and am looking to base off that build and add/improve to:
  • i7-8700K (+ motherboard)
  • *maybe* 32GB RAM
  • 1tb SSD

Based on those updates, I'm hoping for recommendations on:

  • Mother board
  • CPU cooler
  • RAM
  • Anything else? Need a larger PSU?

Uses:

Web dev with multiple VM's and Docker, plus gaming

Budget:

~$2000


Appreciate any ideas or suggestions!
 
I'm most stuck on the motherboard - hoping for a good quality one to overclock a bit (likely won't push the OC too much thought).

PCPart Picker has a nice list compatible with 8th gen i7's: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/?compatible_with=sxDzK8

Anyone have an opinion on a quality upper-mid-range motherboard? (Bonus points for wifi until I get the office setup with a physical write to the router)

This one looks like a decent pick (other than one or two bad reviews): https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
 
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If I were to build a Z370 based system I would want the motherboard you're looking at, but it's pricey and what I would consider a high end board for sure, not mid range. If you want an Asus board take a look at the Prime Z370-A and ROG Z370-E too, theyre both about $100 less than the Hero and the E has wifi.
 
Most mid-range motherboards will clock as well as the high-end boards. Like said above, the Asus Z370-A (or E) are good choices. The Asrock Z370 Taichi and Fatal1ty Z370 Gaming K6 are good choices as well .

The problem with dropping below boards in the price range are they quickly start dropping features like using lower quality VRM, audio, and connections. For example, Asrock has a $130 board that sits below the above mentioned Asrock boards that only has ALC892 audio, which was considered low-end once the Z170 motherboard launched in 2015.

Now, if you want the Asus ROG Maxiumus motherboard, it's not a bad choice at all. It's a good board for sure, but you do pay a premium for it, and if all you care about is moderate overclocking, you can put that money elsewhere (better video card, more RAM, NVMe drive, etc.)
 
At that price I would replace the i5-8600K with the i7-8700 and just use the stock cooler. I would get 2 1TB SSDs as well. Also replace the PSU with a SeaSonic 550 Gold. Plus a few other major changes I'll have to think about.
 
no dont get 2x1tb ssd, get a single 2tb ssd instead.

Dont raid them either, because you most likely wont notice any difference unless u like to watch high numbers in crystalmark. Raid 0 is stupid and pointless on SSD, and carries a higher risk of losing everything should a SSD randomly die. In short, you just get the largest single SSD u can possibly afford.

Also make absolutely sure your boot/os is a Sammy 960 NVMe drive as they are worth every dollar as a bootup drive, however u probably dont want more then 2 NVMe drives as they use up sata lanes, having more then 2 will probably mean you losing half your sata ports on your board.

Also depending on the case, i would probably recommend a Noctua NH-C14 cooler as well.

PSU will factor heavily on what GPU you intend to use for the system...
If your going to use a 1080Ti... meh... if this is gaming machine, i would find a way to squeeze in a bit extra and upgrade that founder edition style with a aftermarket version, like a strix or gigabyte Auros or even a Zotac extreme amp edition.
 
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Thanks all!

Man a 2TB Samsung 960 NVMe is $1200 alone.... (right?). 1TB at $600 is..uh..more "reasonable". That's a lot of cash on a drive!

If I get a 1080TI GIGABYTE AORUS, how much power in the PSU would you recommend?
 
aigomorla said:
no dont get 2x1tb ssd, get a single 2tb ssd instead.

Dont raid them either, because you most likely wont notice any difference unless u like to watch high numbers in crystalmark. Raid 0 is stupid and pointless on SSD, and carries a higher risk of losing everything should a SSD randomly die. In short, you just get the largest single SSD u can possibly afford.

Also make absolutely sure your boot/os is a Sammy 960 NVMe drive as they are worth every dollar as a bootup drive, however u probably dont want more then 2 NVMe drives as they use up sata lanes, having more then 2 will probably mean you losing half your sata ports on your board.

Also depending on the case, i would probably recommend a Noctua NH-C14 cooler as well.

PSU will factor heavily on what GPU you intend to use for the system...
If your going to use a 1080Ti... meh... if this is gaming machine, i would find a way to squeeze in a bit extra and upgrade that founder edition style with a aftermarket version, like a strix or gigabyte Auros or even a Zotac extreme amp edition.
Click to expand...
One for the OS/applications/data and the other one for games.
 
NiKeFiDO said:
Thanks all!

Man a 2TB Samsung 960 NVMe is $1200 alone.... (right?). 1TB at $600 is..uh..more "reasonable". That's a lot of cash on a drive!

If I get a 1080TI GIGABYTE AORUS, how much power in the PSU would you recommend?
Click to expand...

i dont mean get a 2tb 960 Pro....

lol...

Unless ur doing something IO intensive, i dont think you will notice a difference in speed on a NVMe vs SATA for programs.

So i would recommend something like a 512GB 960 NVMe for OS, and a 2TB Sammy 850 / crucial MX300 for everything else..

OS:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820147596

Programs:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA12K63S8305&cm_re=2tb_ssd-_-20-156-149-_-Product
Also SSD's do not like to be full.
Ideally u should not ever use up more then 80% of the total capacity, so a 2TB SSD would last you quite a long time with a abundant game library without having to delete old stuff for new content.

However i think u will run out of budget quick if your spending almost 1/3rd of you budget on SSD, so maybe it might be a better idea to think of the 2tb ssd later as a future upgrade.

As for the PSU, i would recommend at least a 650W, with around 700-850W being more then ideal....

I assume this is going to be a gaming machine?
The reason why i emphasize 2TB is because AAA title games these days are quite large.
approx 60gb-110gb for the insane ones, so you will run out of strorage space quick.
 
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NiKeFiDO said:
Here's a super tentative and definitely over-budget build (that SSD kills me!)

https://secure.newegg.com/Wishlist/MyWishlistDetail?ID=3843517

Any thoughts/recommendations on where to save some cash (ram!?) is appreciated, along with recommendations for:

  • PSU
  • Cooler + case that will fit with it (regular ATX generally safe?)
Click to expand...

I can't access that list.

If you're overclocking the cpu and gpu(1080Ti) heavily, I would recommend a high quality psu rated for 750-850w or greater. If you're doing cpu overclocking or not overclocking at all a quality 650w unit is fine.
 
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