PC Pc Gaming/building thread

[Gold Member]

If I was building today then I absolutely could not go past the Fractal Meshify C.
Tinted tempered glass, can't see in if no lights. Can see in with a couple of white led strips.

 

[dwwaino]

Of the mobo features you've outlined, are there any you'd recommend as being worthy investments?

To be honest, my case browsing so far has been limited to, "Which one looks good and has enough of a window to make LEDs effective?"

I have 0 recommendations on mobos. Best thing to do is sort Scorptec's list by best selling or most popular or what ever it is and the best ones are at the top and just go through them, google each one if need be. In my case the only feature I must have is an optical audio port as believe it or not even in 2017 some of the budget models don't have one. I just an Astro headset so I need that port. Other than that I guess just look at the number of USB ports including the headers (they're the ones that will connect to front/top ports on your case) and obviously check if the mobo and your case match USB 3.0 headers if that's what you want. Once the mobos for 8th gen intel are out what I will be looking for is digital optical, dust shielding, over clocking and RGB support and isolated audio circuit.

 

[dwwaino]

If I was building today then I absolutely could not go past the Fractal Meshify C.
Tinted tempered glass, can't see in if no lights. Can see in with a couple of white led strips.

I'm aroused. On the list.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

If I was building today then I absolutely could not go past the Fractal Meshify C.
Tinted tempered glass, can't see in if no lights. Can see in with a couple of white led strips.

This was the one I was looking at! I like it a lot; even moreso now that I see the USB ports on the top (wasn't sure if they were all at the back or not). Thinking of going with this one without knowing much else about it haha - will have to see if it works with what I'm planning.

I have 0 recommendations on mobos. Best thing to do is sort Scorptec's list by best selling or most popular or what ever it is and the best ones are at the top and just go through them, google each one if need be. In my case the only feature I must have is an optical audio port as believe it or not even in 2017 some of the budget models don't have one. I just an Astro headset so I need that port. Other than that I guess just look at the number of USB ports including the headers (they're the ones that will connect to front/top ports on your case) and obviously check if the mobo and your case match USB 3.0 headers if that's what you want. Once the mobos for 8th gen intel are out what I will be looking for is digital optical, dust shielding, over clocking and RGB support and isolated audio circuit.

Thanks, appreciate it. As a matter of interest, if I happen to look for Bluetooth/wifi, does it tend to be more cost effective to buy mobos with it already, onboard cards, or plug-in adaptors?

 

[Gold Member]

This was the one I was looking at! I like it a lot; even moreso now that I see the USB ports on the top (wasn't sure if they were all at the back or not). Thinking of going with this one without knowing much else about it haha - will have to see if it works with what I'm planning.



Thanks, appreciate it. As a matter of interest, if I happen to look for Bluetooth/wifi, does it tend to be more cost effective to buy mobos with it already, onboard cards, or plug-in adaptors?

If you want a feature get a mobo that has it onboard. Cheaper long run and you won't clog up all your USB or pcie slots.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

The only AM4 B350 motherboards I can find are mini-ITXs (e.g. https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Motherboards/AMD-Socket-AM4/68978-GA-AB350N-Gaming-WIFI) - that's going to be a problem, yeah? Particularly with the Fractal case above? The only ATX ones I can see are B370Xs meaning the price is...well, it's exorbitant. Dongle wifi might be the go.

 

[Gold Member]

The only AM4 B350 motherboards I can find are mini-ITXs (e.g. https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Motherboards/AMD-Socket-AM4/68978-GA-AB350N-Gaming-WIFI) - that's going to be a problem, yeah? Particularly with the Fractal case above? The only ATX ones I can see are B370Xs meaning the price is...well, it's exorbitant. Dongle wifi might be the go.

Are you filtering search by onboard wi-fi?
Maybe I gave you bad info earlier and on-board wi-fi has not been implemented onto the larger mATX and ATX boards yet. I had assumed it had...

 

[dwwaino]

The only AM4 B350 motherboards I can find are mini-ITXs (e.g. https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Motherboards/AMD-Socket-AM4/68978-GA-AB350N-Gaming-WIFI) - that's going to be a problem, yeah? Particularly with the Fractal case above? The only ATX ones I can see are B370Xs meaning the price is...well, it's exorbitant. Dongle wifi might be the go.

Fitting wise, the case apparently has mounts for ATX, mATX and ITX. Not sure if mini ITX is different mount?

As for the wifi I have only seen it on the boards with all the bells and whistles. Worst case is a USB dongle. They're pretty cheap and you'll probably have 4-6 ports on the back with at least 2 headers anyway so it shouldn't be an issue taking up a spot.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Are you filtering search by onboard wi-fi?
Maybe I gave you bad info earlier and on-board wi-fi has not been implemented onto the larger mATX and ATX boards yet. I had assumed it had...

Yeah when I filter by AM4 and onboard wifi it only comes up with three options - all X370, two of them over $400, and this one for $289 which is probably still a little too expensive for me, but we'll see how I go.

It's all good though, I'll figure it out either way. Needing to know how many of each types of port I need on the motherboard is bogging me down at the moment.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Any thoughts on this board? https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Motherboards/AMD-Socket-AM4/68726-STRIX-B350-F-GAMING

It's probably a tad more expensive than I was thinking, but I like the three PCIe ports (especially since I'm considering a TV Tuner so I can do away with the TV in favour of the monitor - although are three really necessary regardless?) and I'm budgeting for an "ideal" setup for now anyway - will downgrade if I need to once I get the final price.

Fancy colours help too.

 

[Gold Member]

Any thoughts on this board? https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Motherboards/AMD-Socket-AM4/68726-STRIX-B350-F-GAMING

It's probably a tad more expensive than I was thinking, but I like the three PCIe ports (especially since I'm considering a TV Tuner so I can do away with the TV in favour of the monitor - although are three really necessary regardless?) and I'm budgeting for an "ideal" setup for now anyway - will downgrade if I need to once I get the final price.

Fancy colours help too.

The 3 pcie slot are the big ones with are pcie x16 referring to it's bandwidth. These slots are generally for graphics cards.
You'll come across x8 slots which are the same size but only have half the pins.
The 3 shorter slots are either pcie x4 or x2 of which a tv tuner will fit into.

Bear in mind a graphics card is usually 2 slots high so it will consume the slot you put it into and the slot below it.

It is highly unlikely you run 2 graphics cards. If you need more graphics I would typically sell on Ebay and replace with a single card that's newer & better.

I'm quite partial to the Asrock stuff for value for money. the Pro4 and Fatality AB350 boards look like they have all the features you'd typically need.. https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Motherboards/AMD-Socket-AM4

TV tuner? stream stuff for free!

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

The 3 pcie slot are the big ones with are pcie x16 referring to it's bandwidth. These slots are generally for graphics cards.
You'll come across x8 slots which are the same size but only have half the pins.
The 3 shorter slots are either pcie x4 or x2 of which a tv tuner will fit into.

Bear in mind a graphics card is usually 2 slots high so it will consume the slot you put it into and the slot below it.

It is highly unlikely you run 2 graphics cards. If you need more graphics I would typically sell on Ebay and replace with a single card that's newer & better.

I'm quite partial to the Asrock stuff for value for money. the Pro4 and Fatality AB350 boards look like they have all the features you'd typically need.. https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Motherboards/AMD-Socket-AM4

TV tuner? stream stuff for free!

Thanks - think I like the look of the Fatal1ty one.

The build plan as it stands right now:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming K4
GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 8GB
RAM: HyperX Fury 2x8GB
SSD: SanDisk Ultra II 480GB
HDD: Seagate BarraCude 2TB
Case: Fractal Meshify C
Power Supply: SilverStone Strider Plus 600W SST-ST60F-PS

Based on Scorptec prices, just barely under $2,100 - but I still need to fit a monitor, keyboard and mouse, speakers (if needed) and OS/software into the budget.

Need to do some more checks on the stuff I have listed, as well - mostly the power supply (as I really don't know what I'm looking for there) and for general compatibility with each other. Wouldn't mind exploring some alternatives for the GPU either as $829 is a fair amount for one component.

 

[Gold Member]

Dannnnnnnnnn couldn't help myself from spending your money!
https://www.pccasegear.com/wish_lists/752505

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Dannnnnnnnnn couldn't help myself from spending your money!
https://www.pccasegear.com/wish_lists/752505

Jeez, you've done well there! Going the 1060 GPU really does open things up elsewhere - a little concerned by dwwaino's suggestion that that may not remain decent for 1440p for too much longer though.

 

[Gold Member]

Jeez, you've done well there! Going the 1060 GPU really does open things up elsewhere - a little concerned by dwwaino's suggestion that that may not remain decent for 1440p for too much longer though.

Yeah it's roughly the same as my card, an AMD RX480 4gb. I'm gaming at 1440p and I pretty much just drop all setting to low to chase a higher framerate. I'll probably get another year out of it before I get that itch. Depending on what's released, how much $$ and how well PUBG gets optimised...

What throws a curveball is the Vega 56's for $629 which is roughly the equivalent of a gtx1070 and currently cheaper. The beauty of AMD gear is the compatible Freesync monitors are generally $100-$150 cheaper than a nvidid G-Sync version of the same screen...

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Yeah it's roughly the same as my card, an AMD RX480 4gb. I'm gaming at 1440p and I pretty much just drop all setting to low to chase a higher framerate. I'll probably get another year out of it before I get that itch. Depending on what's released, how much $$ and how well PUBG gets optimised...

What throws a curveball is the Vega 56's for $629 which is roughly the equivalent of a gtx1070 and currently cheaper. The beauty of AMD gear is the compatible Freesync monitors are generally $100-$150 cheaper than a nvidid G-Sync version of the same screen...

That's interesting - I might have to play around with that.

Does that last sentence mean I have to match the monitor to the GPU somehow? What am I looking for?

 

[Gold Member]

Basically the monitors refresh rate (in hz) will become fluid to match what the graphics card outputs. The result is much sottger gameplay and less screen tears.
Any GTX designated card is from nVidia & can only work with a gsync enabled monitor. Any AMD card designated RX or Vega will work with a Freesync enabled monitor.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

I would have missed so much if not for this thread, haha. I know I've said it a lot, but I really appreciate all the help.

Think I need to make a few options from here - AMD GPU + Freesync monitor, 1070 nVidia + G-Sync and 1080 nVidia + G-Sync and see what total package I prefer/can afford. Outside of that I think I'm pretty happy with the way it's coming together at the moment.

 

[dwwaino]

Great thing about gsync/freesync is you don't need to hit the monitor's cycles for fluid play but it will definitely cost you. Currently I'm rocking a 27" Asus ROG Swift IPS (PG279Q if you want to looky) with gsync and with my 1080ti I can crank all the settings so even if I don't hit the 165mhz fps mark it is still silky smooth. If you want a tidy monitor but want to save a buck then a 1060 or AMD equivalent would suffice for now then grab a Volta in 12 months. IMO of course. Isn't this fun?

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Great thing about gsync/freesync is you don't need to hit the monitor's cycles for fluid play but it will definitely cost you. Currently I'm rocking a 27" Asus ROG Swift IPS (PG279Q if you want to looky) with gsync and with my 1080ti I can crank all the settings so even if I don't hit the 165mhz fps mark it is still silky smooth. If you want a tidy monitor but want to save a buck then a 1060 or AMD equivalent would suffice for now then grab a Volta in 12 months. IMO of course. Isn't this fun?

Hahaha, far too much fun. Although I just like spending money in general...

If I go nVidia/G-Sync, this looks the best monitor option:
https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Monitors/25plus-inch/68435-XB271HUA

If I go AMD/FreeSync, tossing up between these:
https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Monitors/25plus-inch/69582-LC32H711QEEXXY
https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Monitors/25plus-inch/68393-27UD69-W

I reaaaaally like the look of the Samsung there, but also prefer the nVidia GPU (although don't fully understand the advantages/disadvantages of AMD vs. nVidia - need to keep looking). It's a tough choice.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

So I'm revisiting GPUs alongside monitors. GTX 1080 8GB remains my top option, but if I go down one level, am I right in suggesting that my options are:

• GTX 1070 8GB
• RX 580 8GB
• Vega 56 8GB

Are they all in the same sort of ball park of performance, in between the GTX 1060 6GB and GTX 1080 8GB?

One more question: is there much difference between the likes of MSI/Gigabyte/ZOTAC/Asus etc or should I just pick the cheapest option of each?

Sorry, I'll shut up soon.

 

[E92_]

I bought the Dell S2417DG roughly a month ago when it was about $250 off. Haven't been able to test it yet as I'm still waiting for parts for my build, but I've read great things about it. My Xbox looks pretty damn good on it.


One thing I like about it is that is doesn't look like an alien spaceship like the majority of gaming monitors.

http://accessories.ap.dell.com/sna/...&cs=audhs1&l=en&s=dhs&sku=210-AKPU&redirect=1

 

[dwwaino]

Hahaha, far too much fun. Although I just like spending money in general...

If I go nVidia/G-Sync, this looks the best monitor option:
https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Monitors/25plus-inch/68435-XB271HUA

If I go AMD/FreeSync, tossing up between these:
https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Monitors/25plus-inch/69582-LC32H711QEEXXY
https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/Monitors/25plus-inch/68393-27UD69-W

I reaaaaally like the look of the Samsung there, but also prefer the nVidia GPU (although don't fully understand the advantages/disadvantages of AMD vs. nVidia - need to keep looking). It's a tough choice.

As for the Predator I nearly got that myself being $100 cheaper than the Swift but I looked up heaps of reviews and they all said it had a bit of wobble. When I was making the purchase I ran it by the guy at Scorptec and he said that was correct but not as bad as some have made out. The panels are almost identical in every aspect but together with the wobble, a clunky OSD (the Swift uses a handy little joystick behind the panel) and the design probably a little over the top I went for the ROG Swift instead.

As for the nvidia vs AMD thing it is just preference. I'm an nvidia man, have been since I started learning about building in the 90s (we always had prebuilt Commodores, Amiga... an IBM Aptiva ? and got a Voodoo 2 before 3dfx were taken over by Nvidia but for about 6 or 7 years I rocked a number of different Athlon XP CPUs until Intel blew them out of the water. So definitely not a nvidia/intel fanboy but I just stick with them now as they receive the best support and stuff is optimised best for them (imo of course). As for GPUs though AMD are still playing catch up and imo you are getting what you are paying for there. The Vega was underwhelming enough that Nvidia pushed back Volta to mid 2018, there are even some rumours of a 1070ti now so definitely no threat from AMD.

Just noticed that Fractal case also has room for 3x 120mm fans on the front so I'm sold on that. Might go grab one in the next week or two in case I can't find it later. Can get my positive pressure wank on with that setup. Just have to make sure 240mm AIO radiator goes on top otherwise graphics card might not fit.

I'm the same with spending money! Married, no kids, decent middle class income that I'm always looking to buy stuff whether it's upgrading my guitar rig (usually extra guitars I don't need) or gaming/computer (if it's not parts it's something I don't need like another controller or high end headset). Money is for spending

 

[BEaston]

With my iMac (I know, I know, lynch me if you must) starting to look very old I'm beginning to look into PC builds, whether they're pre-built or a project for me.

The problem is I have no idea what I should be looking for or what the various numbers and letters people keep throwing at me mean.

I've been a Mac & console guy for most of my life because you just plug it all in and it works and I've never felt the drive to commit to learning more. So as you'd expect, I'm coming from a very low knowledge base.

With that said, I don't want to skimp on a PC, and if I'm going to spend a bit of money on a build I'd very much like to learn and research it thoroughly before I pull the pin.

Console will remain my gaming platform of choice for a number of reasons, so high-end gaming machines aren't really for me. However, I'll probably dabble from time-to-time, so something capable of playing most things at a good, stable level is important. I'm not chasing the best possible settings - more looking for the best I can get and the knowledge that I can play pretty much anything if the temptation strikes without blowing out the price. I mean if you can keep the price reasonable I'm not going to complain about great visuals/performance for gaming, but it's not an absolute necessity.

Primarily, day-to-day use will be dedicated to streaming, browsing, word processing, researching and the like. With that said, I'm also starting to learn the Unreal Editor as a hobby and would like to get into that more. I've also been known to fool around with other forms of editing/designing software, programming, and I imagine with a good PC there I would seek to open myself up to PC gaming more, as outlined above. I do tend to multitask and run a bunch of programs at once as well.

In essence what I'm looking for is a good quality workstation that can dabble in gaming, editing and other more intensive operations without having to worry about checking specs and contemplating whether I can run what I'm trying to all the time.

One of the biggest things for me is longevity. I don't want to feel pressured to replace everything in two years, nor do I want it falling apart or slowing down considerably in this period of time. I'm not an idiot, I know I'm going to have to deal with it at some point, but if I can prolong that as much as possible without breaking the bank it would be a major plus.

I love the idea of building my own PC but admit I'd have to learn a lot more before I'd be capable - so I suppose the question is whether what I save in cost, and gain in personalisation and other advantages (versus pre-built / custom builds professionally done) is worth the loss of convenience and the increased risk of me blowing up my house.

In terms of cost I don't really know what to expect. I would suggest that my absolute hard cap is $3k (including monitor) but if we can keep it closer to $2k my bank account would shed far fewer tears. I don't want to say "the cheaper the better" for obvious reasons, but I'm not interested in mindless additional upgrades just to get to my hard cap, if that makes sense.

To summarise my questions:

1. Would you recommend a pre-built PC, a custom-built one, or to build one myself?
2. Any recommendations for any of the above options, given what I need it for?
3. On the other hand, if recommending I build one or get one custom made, can you recommend some resources to help me figure out what I need / choose parts?
4. How much is it likely to cost?
5. Any recommendations for monitors?
6. What other things do I need to consider before making decisions?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

(PS: thanks for the thread - please do feel free to create more PC gaming related threads as you think of them, as we are seeking to grow in this area - we are at present quite a console-centric board and would like to change that.)

Welcome to the master race Danx10

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

As for the Predator I nearly got that myself being $100 cheaper than the Swift but I looked up heaps of reviews and they all said it had a bit of wobble. When I was making the purchase I ran it by the guy at Scorptec and he said that was correct but not as bad as some have made out. The panels are almost identical in every aspect but together with the wobble, a clunky OSD (the Swift uses a handy little joystick behind the panel) and the design probably a little over the top I went for the ROG Swift instead.

As for the nvidia vs AMD thing it is just preference. I'm an nvidia man, have been since I started learning about building in the 90s (we always had prebuilt Commodores, Amiga... an IBM Aptiva ? and got a Voodoo 2 before 3dfx were taken over by Nvidia but for about 6 or 7 years I rocked a number of different Athlon XP CPUs until Intel blew them out of the water. So definitely not a nvidia/intel fanboy but I just stick with them now as they receive the best support and stuff is optimised best for them (imo of course). As for GPUs though AMD are still playing catch up and imo you are getting what you are paying for there. The Vega was underwhelming enough that Nvidia pushed back Volta to mid 2018, there are even some rumours of a 1070ti now so definitely no threat from AMD.

Just noticed that Fractal case also has room for 3x 120mm fans on the front so I'm sold on that. Might go grab one in the next week or two in case I can't find it later. Can get my positive pressure wank on with that setup. Just have to make sure 240mm AIO radiator goes on top otherwise graphics card might not fit.

I'm the same with spending money! Married, no kids, decent middle class income that I'm always looking to buy stuff whether it's upgrading my guitar rig (usually extra guitars I don't need) or gaming/computer (if it's not parts it's something I don't need like another controller or high end headset). Money is for spending

Yeah see I'm really torn because I much prefer the nVidia GPUs but that Predator monitor doesn't sell me - even less so now - and I adore that Samsung FreeSync model. I might look around for other options as the ROG Swift is nice but sort of pushing how much I wanted to spend...

Nice! Yeah the support/optimisation is why I wanted to go nVidia in the first place. I'm pretty sure I'll go for either the 1070 or 1080, I just need to find a monitor that sells me on it.

By the end of the year, everybody in the thread will have a Fractal case hahaha. It looks fantastic. Do you think I'd need to buy any extra fans/coolers?

Hahaha I'm pretty good with money (read: stingy) except when it comes to gaming. I have absolutely no impulse control for games.