Build Log - Building a seriously upgradable pc

NLC1072

Hi there,

I am building a new PC for the first time in about ten years and today I took the plunge and ordered some new parts.

To date I already have;

ATX case
900w PSU
500GB SSD
2x 1TB HDD
all from an old build.

So with that in mind, I ordered;

Asus Strix z270-e motherboard €214 - this was to keep the rig highly upgradable!
A Pentium G4560 3.5Ghz €74
16GB (2x8GB) 3200Mhz DDR4 Corsair Vengeance RAM €99

The idea is to get a good GPU in the next pay cheque - any ideas what I should be looking at and when will this cryptocurrency boom end so we can get cheap GPUs again!, and then sell and upgrade the CPU in three months time to an intel i5/i7 7600k or a 7700k.

Is there anything anybody can spot that I have missed?

Will keep you all updated!

NLC1072.

K.O.Kiki

I hope that 900W PSU was a decent brand.

Also LOL pairing a 900W PSU with a Pentium G4560 :pac:

Mickeroo

Going AMD Ryzen over Intel would be better in terms of upgradeability as Intel tend to change the socket on their processors a lot more often.

Also you're spending too much on the motherboard imo, shave €100 off that to put towards a better CPU now.

TerrorFirmer

Yeah, the motherboard is a mistake I feel, a basic B250 board is exactly as upgradable in terms of CPU/RAM, unless by upgradable you mean you plan on overclocking - otherwise there is no real difference and a B250 + i5 or Ryzen B350 + 1600 for the same price would absolutely cripple that G4560 performance wise.

The G4560 is a good budget CPU if funds are very tight but it's not a good CPU compared to Ryzen 1400/1500/1600 or an i5 if you actually afford one (which you can ) and it's pretty horrible for some of the latest CPU intensive games like BF1 online.

K.O.Kiki

Guys, I think OP ordered the parts already...

====
What's your current monitor? What games?

NLC1072

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Guys, I think OP ordered the parts already...

====
What's your current monitor? What games?

I have ordered the strix mobo specifically for the future purchase of a 7600k or 7700k intel processor with the unlocked multiplier to overclock. I will be playing FPS such as battlefield 1 and eventually cities skylines (hence the large amount of ram) when I get the unlocked intel processor.

I will be selling the g4560 for around 40 euro at that time to put towards it

Thank you for your input so far guys!

TerrorFirmer

Overclocking an i5 shows benefit in something like BF1 online but unless you have a 144hz monitor and/or something like a GTX1080Ti overclocking a skylake i7 is essentially pointless from a games POV.

Billy86

Mickeroo wrote: »

Going AMD Ryzen over Intel would be better in terms of upgradeability as Intel tend to change the socket on their processors a lot more often.

Also you're spending too much on the motherboard imo, shave €100 off that to put towards a better CPU now.

I'd have to agree - you could get a solid, upper end 350 motherboard for that price, or even a 370 motherboard for only about €30 more (which could probably be saved by going for a 650ish watt PSU because 900W is only going to be needed for a 7700K/1080 TI SLI type of setup as best I'm aware).

BloodBath

You could have got a 6 core 12 thread Ryzen 1600 + B350 board for pretty much what you paid for that Pentium + board and then you wouldn't have to upgrade at all. You should ask for advise before ordering really. I don't understand why people are still ordering these pentiums.

Spending over €200 on a board to pair it with a pentium is madness. Is there any way you can cancel or change that order?

Billy86

BloodBath wrote: »

You could have got a 6 core 12 thread Ryzen 1600 + B350 board for pretty much what you paid for that Pentium + board and then you wouldn't have to upgrade at all. You should ask for advise before ordering really. I don't understand why people are still ordering these pentiums

Because they're exceptional for the price in budget builds. But they have no place with a Z270 motherboard as has been mentioned, would definitely tell the OP to seek a refund, especially as the same retailer likely does Ryzen 1600s and 350/370 motherboards which would make the whole process quick and easy for all involved.

BloodBath

Billy86 wrote: »

Because they're exceptional for the price in budget builds. But they have no place with a Z270 motherboard as has been mentioned, would definitely tell the OP to seek a refund, especially as the same retailer likely does Ryzen 1600s and 350/370 motherboards which would make the whole process quick and easy for all involved.

Yes I understand that but again this isn't a budget build.

NLC1072

OK so here's an update, I managed to come in to some money yesterday - before amazon shipped my order, so I've swapped the g4560 for an intel i5 7600k and a cooler master hyper 212 evo air cooler to stick on top as the K series does not come with an oem cooler

K.O.Kiki

Much better balance, that.

Billy86

Yeah, excellent call and you'll see a tonne of performance from it - I'm on an i5 6600K so assuming the 7600K is an upgraded/updated version of the same you'll be laughing.

Redfox25

Would have been better off rocking a ryzen 1600 chip and be done with it. Get a new ryzen mark 2 chip two years down the line and still be laughing.

BloodBath

Yeah that upgrade path seems better. Ryzen 1600 6 core gen 1 now. Then a Ryzen gen3 8 core down the line. The 7600k will do better in some games atm though. You won't be disappointed.

NLC1072

Ok so now for a little update;

Intel i5 7600k
Asus Strix z270-e
16GB Corsair Dominator 3200Mhz
Zotac GTX 1080 TI 11GB (I managed to get this at a price that was cheaper than a GTX 1070 due to the cryptocurrency boom)
Samsung 960 Evo 250GB M.2
Crucial MX300 525GB SATA SDD
Seagate 1TB 7200rpm (x2)
Corsair RM750 Gold rated PSU (I didn't trust my old PSU any more)
Noctua U12S CPU fan - The hyper 212 seller didn't want to deliver to Ireland!

I know it was supposed to be upgradable but ... I've just gone all out as I managed to get the hardware at very competitive prices!

Now the motherboard matches the components!

BloodBath

Looks good, now you just need a 144hz 1440p monitor to make good use of that 1080ti.

NLC1072

BloodBath wrote: »

Looks good, now you just need a 144hz 1440p monitor to make good use of that 1080ti.

That is my next purchase next month... what do you guys think of curved screens?

Specifically I want to go with a 27" monitor

Any suggestions?

TerrorFirmer

With the i5 in a lot of games you'll want to be playing at 4K in order to make full usage of the power of the 1080Ti. You'll still get a pretty good framerate in most games but i5+GTX1070 is a better combination for 1440p 144hz generally speaking as the i5 will hit a ceiling far sooner than something like an i7 or one of the faster Ryzens would in games that can use extra threads - and your 1080Ti will often sit far from 100% usage at 1440p ultra in these scenarios and you won't see much if any gain over a GTX1070/1080 in some scenarios.

Not fatal but I think 4K is a better choice with that specfic setup.

uck51js9zml2yt

NLC1072 wrote: »

Ok so now for a little update;

Intel i5 7600k
Asus Strix z270-e
16GB Corsair Dominator 3200Mhz
Zotac GTX 1080 TI 11GB (I managed to get this at a price that was cheaper than a GTX 1070 due to the cryptocurrency boom)
Samsung 960 Evo 250GB M.2
Crucial MX300 525GB SATA SDD
Seagate 1TB 7200rpm (x2)
Corsair RM750 Gold rated PSU (I didn't trust my old PSU any more)
Noctua U12S CPU fan - The hyper 212 seller didn't want to deliver to Ireland!

I know it was supposed to be upgradable but ... I've just gone all out as I managed to get the hardware at very competitive prices!

Now the motherboard matches the components!

Can I ask what price it was? Why all the Hard drives:)

NLC1072

Aleah Huge Weekday wrote: »

Can I ask what price it was? Why all the Hard drives:)

The hard drives I got from a previous system I had (I upgraded a factory built PC)
These are all prices including delivery of each item (each item I think had to be shipped separately to get what I was after.)

CiT G Force ATX Case - Already owned but paid €29 back in December.
Intel i5 7600k - €244.95
Asus Strix z270-e €214.98
16GB Corsair Dominator 3200Mhz - €174.90
Zotac GTX 1080 TI 11GB (I managed to get this at a price that was cheaper than a GTX 1070 due to the cryptocurrency boom) - €500 Spoilt box discount
Samsung 960 Evo 250GB M.2 - €129.10
Crucial MX300 525GB SATA SDD - Already had this
Seagate 1TB 7200rpm (x2) - Already has these
Corsair RM750 Gold rated PSU (I didn't trust my old PSU any more) - €60 Spoilt box discount
Noctua U12S CPU heatspreader/fan - €59.90 - this is the only thing still in the post from Noctua via Amazon.de

€1383.83 Total - So far.

27" curved screen is the last thing I am going to order, but I am researching it first.