New PC build for gaming

Damage Limitation

Looking to build a new computer essentially from scratch to do me the next few years at a reasonable performance level. Have had a look through recent suggestions and come up with what is hopefully a decent starting point.

1. What is your budget? €1000-1200

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming (will be working through backlog of games but will likely pickup Battlefield 1 and similar over summer).

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? Have HDD storage (and happy to expanded separately as required in the future).

5. Do you need a monitor? Yes, probably 24 inch, open to recommendations.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? No
7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Yes
8. How can you pay? Card
9. When are you purchasing? Within a month, preferably 1-2 weeks.
10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Can build it myself.

PCPartPicker part list (commas instead of periods: de,pcpartpicker,com/list/cghnhq):

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor (€223.54 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: MSI - B350 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (€69.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€92.88 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: Gigabyte - Radeon RX 580 8GB Gaming 8G Video Card (€253.14 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Zalman - Z11 NEO ATX Mid Tower Case (€45.51 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (€74.42 @ Mindfactory)
Monitor: Asus - VG248QE 24.0" 1920x1080 144Hz Monitor (€269.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €1028.48

Any suggestions? Parts that are over- or under-spec relative to rest of build?

Serephucus

I'm not super fond of that case (though aesthetics might well play a part, so that's another story). Might be worth looking into something a bit more high-end. You get nice things like fan filters, modular internal bits, and sound proofing.

A case I really like for its wonderful use of space is Fractal Design's Define C. Usually goes for about €100 on Amazon.

The only thing that sticks out is that monitor. That's a 3D ready monitor by the looks of things, which you pay through the nose for, and can't use because you haven't specced an NVIDIA card (never mind the fact that it's dead tech that's basically useless). For the same money you can get an equivalent monitor that's equipped with Freesync, which will make a big difference to your gaming.

The rest looks pretty solid. One 8GB RAM stick means it's trivial to add more later on, definitely enough CPU power there. GPU looks good (a GTX 1060 is also an option, if you wanted to go NVIDIA. They perform pretty similarly).

Hope that helps.


Edit: Here's a video comparing a 570 and a 1060 across a ton of games. Might be useful for ya.

Damage Limitation

Good spot on the monitor, have done a straight swap for the one you suggested.

As for the case, I've also stuck in your suggestion. I'm not bothered by aesthetics, but simpler is generally better.

New list (de,pcpartpicker,com/list/KqMPd6):

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor (€223.54 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: MSI - B350 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (€69.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€89.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: Radeon RX 580 8GB Gaming 8G Video Card (€253.14 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Fractal Design - Define C ATX Mid Tower Case (€82.91 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (€74.42 @ Mindfactory)
Monitor: AOC - G2460PF 24.0" 1920x1080 144Hz Monitor (€253.89 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €1046.89

Thanks for the video on the cards as well, interesting to see them so evenly matched over the range of games. Is the RX 580 worth the extra over either of those, and is 8GB on a card redundant? Would a RX 570 just make more sense?

Samuel T. Cogley

Memory speed is an issue for Ryzen, 2400 is a bit low although you can over clock it I'd look for a faster rated kit. I'm not sure is dual channel makes a difference with Ryzen, I'm not 100% sure single channel (one stick) has been extensively tested.

AMD vs nVidia on GPU - If you're going for high refresh you might as well go Freesync as well. Freesync is the AMD standard and much more appropriate to this budget, so for that reason alone I suggest the 580 (and a compatible monitor) over the 1060.

PSU is overkill - should be able to get a 500w EVGA unit cheaper.

SSD - would go with an NVME M.2 drive personally (That mainboard doesn't have optimal placement of the m.2 slot though)

Serephucus

A 570 is probably slightly better value, but to be honest, they're both pretty good from a perf/€ standpoint.

Another option is getting a cheaper GPU for the moment, and picking up a more powerful card later on. AMD is set to show off their Vega architecture next week at Computex, launching some time in June or early July. We don't know much about it, other than it should be very powerful, as it's targeting the high-end segment.

I mention this because you'll probably get better long-term value out of the machine if you go with Vega over the current cards. The 500 series is just a rehash of the 400 series, which was always only a stop-gap money earner until Vega was ready. Just something to think about.

Samuel makes some good points, though I'd disagree on the M.2. The on-paper performance is excellent, but almost all of that goes completely unnoticed unless you're really pushing the drive. Gaming, and the vast majority of user stuff just doesn't.

Damage Limitation

Was able to get the PSU down, and will stick with the RX 580 for the time being. Don't think I can wait for the Vega release.

I've also split the RAM into 2x4GB @ 3000. Have memories from my previous build (long time ago) of 2 sticks almost always being preferred over 1, so happy to switch this.

New list:

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor (€223.54 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: MSI - B350 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (€76.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€89.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: Gigabyte - Radeon RX 580 8GB Gaming 8G Video Card (€253.14 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Fractal Design - Define C ATX Mid Tower Case (€82.91 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: EVGA - 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (€56.15 @ Mindfactory)
Monitor: AOC - G2460PF 24.0" 1920x1080 144Hz Monitor (€253.89 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €1035.52

Samuel T. Cogley

Looks good to me, I don't think the monitor is freesync though - maybe look for a 144hz free sync panel. Honestly I don't know much about monitors as I tended to go for larger panels, but to me it seems worth having it if it's only a minor cost difference.

8GB RAM - maybe, just maybe a bit small also?

Serephucus

Double-checked monitor. It's Freesync alright. 35-144Hz.

8GB is an annoying amount now-a-days. Might be too little, but 16GB might be too much for most things. But it's extremely easy for OP to add another 8GB later on, so wouldn't be too worried.

Here's a 550W 80+ Gold PSU for €10 more, if it's of any interest to you.

TerrorFirmer

At that price range I would also give consideration to a 1440P monitor or perhaps even an ultrawide.

Depends on the games you're playing - something like Overwatch would benefit from it immensely on that setup - but heavy hitters like BF1 I'd personally take the higher resolution and sharper image quality over the 144hz.

Entirely a personal choice, just depends on your preferences. I had a 144hz monitor but now on ultrawide 60hz and I find the ultrawide is also far more beneficial to games like BF1 than the 144hz is.

Samuel T. Cogley

I'd be a bit dubious of the GPU driving a 1440p (UW) display without quite a bit of tweaking of game settings. I run a 2.0+Ghz watercooled 1080 and I have to say I sometimes struggle to keep 60FPS. Now I am using an older platform (4970K 4.7Ghz and 2000Mhz RAM) but I would see some frame rate dips in certain games.

TerrorFirmer

It doesn't have to be a 3440x1440 UW. It can be 2560x1080, which an RX580 is pretty much perfect for

Damage Limitation

Early on I did consider a 1440p, but decided that the investment (personally) would probably not be worth it at the minute. This new setup will be a nice step up for me and a great way to get back to playing the games I want to, so if in a couple of years I start getting the itch to upgrade, I'll be happy to then.

The 8 GB vs 16 GB was playing on my mind as well, but RAM is one of the easiest things to upgrade so it would be an even quicker solution if I needed that extra capacity.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, will be looking to buy hopefully before the start of next week now.