New Build using some existing parts

[chnsawalex]

Hi brilliant people of AnandTech forms,

I'm building a new PC with in the next week or so as my ~7-year-old PC's MB is dying. I mostly do development work, data analytics and some gaming (Diablo 3, SC2). I stopped by Microcenter, and have now decided to go with a i7 7700k considering its $300 and I can get $30 off with a motherboard combo. I need help selecting a quality and reliable MB that is relatively future proof for under $200, but closer to $150 is preferable. I don't plan to overclock but since it’s a possibility with this processor I'm looking at the z270 chipset MB. Help selecting RAM (16gb) for this build would also be appreciated too. I plan to reuse my current video card (for now), power supply, case, and hard drives (though I might upgrade to m.2). Lastly, I'd prefer that I can turn off any LEDs on the motherboard and keep the PC quiet.

1. Power Supply - Reusing - Antec BP550 PLUS 550W
2. Case - Reusing
3. Motherboard - New under $200 - Need advice, preferably z270 chipset board at Microcenter unless cheaper online with the $30 combo deal and the Mass 6.25% sales tax. I hard wire my internet connection so no need for wifi.
4. CPU - New $300 - i7 7700k (Microcenter)
5. Heatsink/fan for the CPU - New ~$30 - I'm looking at CRYORIG H7 Tower Cooler For AMD/Intel CPU
6. Memory - New ~$100 - Need advice (16gb 2 sticks so I can upgrade to 32gb in the future)
7. Primary hard drive - Reusing - Intel 330 SSD 180gb, but might upgrade to an m.2 drive or Samsung 850 Evo
8. Primary optical drive - Reusing - DVD burner
9. Video card - Reusing - ASUS GeForce GTX 650 TI, will upgrade in the future
10. Monitor(s) - Reusing - 24inch 16:10 Dell
11. Mouse/keyboard - Reusing
12. Operating System - Reusing - Windows 10 Pro (will figure out how to transfer the license to new board)
13. Speakers - Reusing - Logitech X-220

Thanks everyone for reading this long post and providing any feedback that you can!

 

[lehtv]

1. Is the BP550 Plus 7 years old? I would replace it. 7 years is a good age for a lower mid range unit that's only 80+ efficient and was originally covered by 3 year warranty. EVGA 650 GS $100 ($70 after rebate) @ microcenter, or if you don't think you'll ever need that much power, Superbiiz has Bitfenix Whisper 450M for $67 (+$5 shipping, and $5 off with promo code SPRINGBREAK valid 17/4)
2. What case?
3. Would probably pick the Asus Z270 TUF Mark 2 $120 after combo discount. It's not much of an overclocker board but Asus picks good quality VRM components for boards that have few CPU power phases. It has a decent enough feature set, and the TUF series carries with it 5 year warranty.
4. OK
5. Not bad! Not a lot of overclocking headroom with that one but it's very, very quiet. And pretty.
6. Corsair 2x8GB LPX DDR4-3000 $110 @ amazon
7...13. OK

Newegg's combo deal isn't too bad either: Intel i7-7700K, Asus Prime Z270-A, Corsair LED 2x8GB DDR4-3000 $620. Z270-A is a bit better for overclocking than TUF Mark 2.

Also, why not go Ryzen? Hexacore processor and a top quality overclocker board for $90 less than i7-7700K + TUF Mark 2:
Ryzen 5 1600 $220
Asus X370 Pro $160
-$50 off with combo deal @ microcenter
= $330 (before tax)

Plus, Ryzen 5 1600 comes with a quiet stock cooler, so you save another $35 on not having to buy the Cryorig H7. You'd only have to buy a better cooler for overclocking. And you can shave another $50 off with Gigabyte B350 Gaming-3 that's perfectly fine for mild overclocking (e.g. boosting the Ryzen 5 1600 to 1600X speeds).

 

[chnsawalex]

1. Thank you lehtv for the response. My PS is about 4-5 years old and I don't have a lot of hours on it. The past couple of years I'm maybe turning that PC on for 4 hours a night max if that. Its not nearing its 100,000 hour lifespan.

2. The case is an Ultra Aluminus Case.

3. I like the sound of the 5 year warranty. This mobo wasn't even on my radar. I like the Mark 1 better because of the better sound card and usb-c. I'm already building up USB-C cables and my phone is usb-c.

6. looks good thanks.


I'm going to stick with Intel, my PC's have always mostly stable and the single thread clock speed of the 7700k is what is appealing. I also never overclock, I might have messed around with it a hand full of times in all my years building PCs. The cost isn't an issue for me this time around I just don't want to go overboard unnecessarily. My original plan was to wait till black Friday sales to build a new PC but it failing is forcing my hand.