Time for an upgrade - Suggestions please

[DaTT]

Well, time to upgrade the PC. I haven't really been following current technology as much as I would like to, thus why I am asking for suggestions.

My build will be primarily gaming. Budget $1000. No need for Overclocking capabilities.

Resolution - Currently 1080p, but would like the option to upgrade in the future - NO Monitor Required
CPU - Intel please - Current gen.
Motherboard - Don't want a mini-atx board, full size...as fancy as we can afford
Video Card - nVidia - Current gen.
RAM - Whatever can work, suggest amount

I have a case and Power supply (ThermalTake 750W I believe, I can upgrade this if required), will also be re-using all of my Hard Drives (all are SATA). My monitor is sufficient for now (1080p), but as mentioned, I may want to upgrade in the future.

I am in Canada, so if possible, please provide in CAD.

My current PC has lasted me about 6 years (Intel i5 2400, GTX 680 Ti, 8GB RAM)

 

[UsandThem]

If you are going to build and keep it for a while, you really would want either an 8th gen Intel i5 or i7 (Coffee Lake). Since you aren't overclocking, I'd suggest the i7-8700 (6 cores + 6 Hyperthreading). When you go "down" to the i5, you still have 6 cores but with no hyperthreading.

However, they are selling selling for over MSRP right now since they just launched, so if you can wait a couple months, you will save some money. Plus, Intel only release their Z370 (overclocking) chipset right now as well, so you will be paying an additional premium for that as well. Early next year, they will release their H370 and B370 motherboards which will save you money.

As far as a video card, once again they are all over MSRP due to the mining craze. That being said, the prices have started to come down over the last few months, and you can get a card like the GTX 1070 for around $50 over MSRP right now. For gaming at 1080P, you can go with a card like the GTX 1060 6GB, or a card like the GTX 1070 (or the recently launched GTX 1070ti) that should serve you a little longer before you have to upgrade.

As far as RAM, you want 16GB, but sounding like a broken record once again, DDR4 is at all-time highs right now, and will set you back $140 - $200 depending on the speed. Most people go with DDR4 3000 or DDR4 3200. Higher speed RAM than that will really go up in price.

So basically, if you need to build now, go for it. But if you can hold off for a few months, prices should come down on all the components. Lastly, when you do build, do yourself a favor and use an SSD for your operating system drive. It is that important and it will make your PC "feel fast" compared to a hard drive.

 

[DaTT]

Thank you for the reply. Most of my drives are SSD currently.

So, if I understand you correctly, the only available chipset for the i7 is the Z370?

 

[Not So Mild]

Thank you for the reply. Most of my drives are SSD currently.

So, if I understand you correctly, the only available chipset for the i7 is the Z370?

For right now, yes, Z370 is all you can use.

 

[UsandThem]

Thank you for the reply. Most of my drives are SSD currently.

So, if I understand you correctly, the only available chipset for the i7 is the Z370?

For right now, yes, Z370 is all you can use.

Correct. If you want to build an 8th gen Coffee Lake system right now, your only option is a Z370 motherboard. You can always build with a 7th gen Kaby Lake CPU (i7-7700) and the motherboards are a lot more reasonable (H270, Z270), but I'd advise against doing that since they are "only" 4 core + hyperthreading. In all honesty, the 7700 would keep you nice and happy for several years, but now that both AMD and Intel have 6 core+ CPUs out for the mainstream, the developers will begin to utilize the extra cores over the coming years.

 

[DaTT]

I guess I should also include that the purchase will have to be made before the new year, as I am compiling a Christmas list for the wife to buy me.

 

[DaTT]

I assume "K" still represents unlocked?

 

[UsandThem]

I assume "K" still represents unlocked?

Correct. They are also the highest default clocked CPUs as well (the 8700k is clocked higher than the 8700 even without overclocking). But right now, the 8th gen "k" CPUs are hardest to come buy (especially the 8700k which sells out in minutes). Heck, there's a guy in the for sale sub-forum here asking $500 for his, but retailers like Newegg are also selling them for well over MSRP when they get a shipment in.

 

[DaveSimmons]

If you will not be overclocking, you want the 8700 non-K for 2 reasons:
- $60 cheaper but only 100 MHz slower at stock speed
- 65 watt TDP instead of 95 watt for the K so cooler and/or quieter. Get a nice 120mm air cooler and you're done

Sadly, you'll pay a $40 gouge fee if you buy it now ($360 instead of $320). Supply might improve before xmas, but waiting until January would be better.

You could always get a $200 PS4 or $190 Xbox 1 Black Friday deal to tide you over until the price goes back down.

 

[Black & White]

Here's my go at it:

• Intel i7-8700 (6c/12t) ~ $425.00
• Nvidia GTX 980 Ti (used) ~ $350.00
• MSI Z370-A Pro ~ 175.00
• 8GB PC3200 DDR4 ~ 125.00

TOTAL = $1,075.00 CAD


The i7-8700 has the clock speed and threads to last you the next 5 years. A used GTX 980Ti is the best value in a GPU right now. It's 30% faster than a GTX 1060 for close to the same price.

I chose the least expensive motherboard I could find, but it should suffice since you won't be doing any overclocking.

We're still a little over budget, and you'll have to get a CPU cooler. But if your wife is contributing $1,000.00 I'm sure you can pony up an additional $100.00 on your own.

 

[DaTT]

CPU's don't come with stock cooling anymore?

 

[UsandThem]

CPU's don't come with stock cooling anymore?

The non-K models come with a cooler. But if it's anything like the one that came with the i5-7500 I installed in my son's computer, you'll be getting an aftermarket one because it is noisy (constantly spins up and down). It seems Intel went with an all aluminum build instead of having the copper core.

 

[DaTT]

Here's my go at it:

• Intel i7-8700 (6c/12t) ~ $425.00
• Nvidia GTX 980 Ti (used) ~ $350.00
• MSI Z370-A Pro ~ 175.00
• 8GB PC3200 DDR4 ~ 125.00

TOTAL = $1,075.00 CAD


The i7-8700 has the clock speed and threads to last you the next 5 years. A used GTX 980Ti is the best value in a GPU right now. It's 30% faster than a GTX 1060 for close to the same price.

I chose the least expensive motherboard I could find, but it should suffice since you won't be doing any overclocking.

We're still a little over budget, and you'll have to get a CPU cooler. But if your wife is contributing $1,000.00 I'm sure you can pony up an additional $100.00 on your own.

Thank you for your suggestion, however I am pretty adamant on getting a current gen graphics card.

 

[DaTT]

As far as motherboard manufacturers, is MSI reputable? I remember way back in the day, I had nothing but problems with their mobo's

 

[UsandThem]

As far as motherboard manufacturers, is MSI reputable? I remember way back in the day, I had nothing but problems with their mobo's

In my personal opinion, they have improved quite a bit over the last 10+ years, but while I like their video cards, I tend to look elsewhere for motherboards. I tend to stay with Asus, Asrock, and Gigabyte boards. A really nice board across multiple platforms (Intel 7th and 8th Gen, AMD Threadripper and Ryzen) is the Asrock Taichi. Another well reviewed mid-range board is the Asus Prime Z370-A.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I plan to buy ASRock for my upcoming Coffee Lake build. My last Gigabyte died early (this was Core 2 days though) while my 2011 ASRock Z68 is still going strong.

Of course you'll get different anecdotes from all of us since every manufacturer makes some defective boards.

 

[DaTT]

So far this is what I have chosen, please advise.
Core i7 8700
Asus Prime Z370-A
Team T-Force Dark 16GB DDR4 3000
Asus GTX 1070 8GB

Let me know how I did, how I can improve, how I can save $$$.

 

[UsandThem]

So far this is what I have chosen, please advise.
Core i7 8700
Asus Prime Z370-A
Team T-Force Dark 16GB DDR4 3000
Asus GTX 1070 8GB

Let me know how I did, how I can improve, how I can save $$$.

You could buy cheaper RAM. There's nothing really too special about the RAM you selected outside of its looks. If you watch for a sale from a place like Newegg, you can get a 16GB of Corsair or G Skill in the neighborhood of $140 - $155. This set of RAM on sale right now is certified to work with the Asus board:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...st-_-DesktopMemory-_-20232181-S0C&ignorebbr=1

You can look at the RAM compatability buy entering your motherboard model here:

https://www.gskill.com/en/configurator

 

[UsandThem]

I also just noticed you linked to Newegg.ca when I saw the price of the GTX 1070 I was what the heck? I was what happened where they all increased by $100 overnight?

Maybe plan a vacation to the good 'ole U.S. and get stuff for cheaper.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm not sure that I'm that happy with my Team DDR4 RAM. I've got a 16GB 2400 kit ("Dark"), and a couple of 16GB 3000 kits ("Vulcan"), and the 2400 kit will not clock higher than 2400 reliably, and the other two kits won't clock above 2667, all in Ryzen R5 1600 rigs. (Whether or not the CPU is overclocked.)