My current rig is starting to shows it age. Looking for suggestions for a new build. Budget of 2k. Thanks in advance.
Hi, Sorry, only just seen this. I'm actually in a similar position myself, though it's more about the itch than absolutely needing something. For reference, my current main gaming rig: 2600k @ 4.4ghz - cooled via an AIO 32gb DDR3 1600 - useful, I like RamDrives GTX 1070 - the newest part of the system 2x Samsung 850 EVO 500gb SATA SSD's in RAID0 - also quite new. Windows 10 Pro I only game at 1920x1200 Currently and the overclocked 2600k and GTX 1070 seem like a nice pairing. If anything, the 1070 is the one that runs out of puff first in most titles. I do wonder why people often say "1070 is overkill for 1080p" as I'm only 1200p bu even Empyrion can max it out - and I only use a 60hz monitor. Anyway, it's a good system. For my new build I'm looking at the following basic specs: 8700k + Water Block 32gb DDR4 3200 GTX1080Ti + Water Block ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero Motherboard M.2 SSD - was looking at Samsung, but will investigate the new Intel Crosspoint Drives, if they go M.2 form factor. Pair of SATA SSD's for Data, likely RAID0 for speed - I have servers for the important stuff Regarding water cooling, I already have an external 1080 Radiator assembly with high-end Res & Pump and Fans. It's connected to my other build (2500k @ 4.6ghz + 2x GTX 680's) via quick disconnects, so could readily be moved to a new build. I'll likely be stripping the 2500k system and either popping in a cheaper bay res & pump combo with an internal radiator, or popping it back to air cooling. Not sure on that one yet. I've not confirmed pricing on all this yet, things are in flux with the 8700k not being available, so I didn't want to price things up to simply have things change. I'll wait until everything is available. As well as the Radiator, Res and Pump etc. I also have a decent high-end PSU I can use, but will need to replace it with a cheaper model to keep that rig going. I will likely buy another case, but need one with the holes for my pipes ideally, if not, Dremel time. So here are my more general thoughts on what I'll buy and why: CPU - Intel 8700k: This is a pure gaming rig. That's it. If this remains current as long as my 2600k has then I'll be laughing. I could go for the cheaper 8600k, bt as this is a long-term proposition, I'll get the best I can in that regard. Over my 2600k I'm gaining the obvious two additional core and four threads, as well as more cache, slightly better IPC and they appear to OC more readily. Of course I'll benefit from various architectural improvements since my 2600k too. Motherboard - ASUS High-end I've had nothing but perfectly reliable and stable performance from all my ASUS Motherboards over the years. The two times - in 20 years of PC building - I've ventured to another brand things haven't gone so well. Plus, ASUS Motherboards are, statistically speaking, about as reliable as they get. I'll likely be looking at the latest "Hero" board, but not 100% set on that yet. RAM - Corsair I'll grab 32gb of 3200 Ram. Never had any compatibility issues with Corsair stuff, so I'll stick with them, unless something changes. Drive - Samsung possibly Intel. I'll get a 512gb M.2 Drive and a couple of SATA SSD's in RAID0. Samsung stuff has proven its self to me, but I will look at the new Crosspoint drives from Intel if they go M.2 form factor - I'm not wasting a PCIe slot on one. I'll still snag a pair of SATA SSD's though, regardless of my M.2 choice. PSU - Corsair Got a few Corsair PSU's, so while I'll rob my best one from the 2500k build for the new system, I'll replace it with another, albeit lower-end, Corsair no doubt. GPU - nVidia Current the 1080Ti appears to be about as good as it gets, near double the raw GPU grunt vs. my 1070, that's quite a jump. Case - not a clue currently However, I like and use both Fractal Design and Coolermaster cases in other build and like them, so I'll likely see what they have to offer. I even have a few old Antec cases (100, 900 and 1200) still in use. Not sure how current Antec are though. So, while not a "buy this" guide, this is just my thinking regarding my own impending upgrade. Not knowing what you have currently, nor whether your a pure gamer, streamer, renderer or whatever it's difficult to discuss the finer points of your decision making at this time. So, feel free to share Scoob.
I guess I was being lazy when I posted this. I have built a few pcs over the years as well, first one early 90s or there abouts. It has been about 10 years since I did so and everything has changed multiple times over in that time. I really appreciate you taking the time to provide your thoughts and ideas, and this will give me a starting point for research. I have never dealt with any type of cpu cooling other than fans so that is going to be all new.
My last big build was over five years ago - the fully water-cooled 2500k system, though it originally had two GTX 570's as 680's didn't exist yet. I've done quite a lot of smaller builds since, so I've kept my hand in so to speak The closed-loop liquid coolers aren't anything particularly difficult to fit, just need to make sure you have space, run the pump at 100% - fan headers on motherboard can provide variable voltage of course. Feel free to post back here and we can discuss things further - don't hesitate to PM me if I got quiet for a bit....I sometimes miss thread updates Scoob.
Good luck getting one of the new I7 8700ks before sometime next year. You probably won't be able to get your hands on an I5, either. I'm in desperate need of a CPU + Motherboard upgrade. My I5 2500k isn't hacking it for gaming anymore, even OC'd. It bottlenecks my R9 390 in most games I play, including Empyrion. The 2600k isn't really much better than my I5 is for gaming, and isn't any better in games that don't support hyper threading. The first notable game my I5 2500k started to bottleneck in was Witcher 3, and CPU bottlenecks have grown greater in number since 2015. My I5 2500k bottlenecks Empyrion so hard in 7.0, that I get a more stable frame rate by turning the settings up. I can't hit stable 60hz refresh rate with an I5 2500k @ 4.2ghz. I got the game installed on an SSD, have 16gbs DDR3 1600mhz ram + R9 390. CPU frequently hits 100% load. Bottlenecks every time textures load, which guarantees less than 60fps regardless of the settings when textures load. With a more powerful CPU that might not happen. Not at 60hz at least. I don't know if Empyrion supports HT or not, but if not an I7 2600k isn't gonna do any better. I don't know what sorta impact faster ram might have on this game, but generally it's not significant. Etc, 1600mhz DDR3 vs 2400mhz DDR3.
I think Overclockers UK had the 8600K's in stock for a while, not checked for a few days though. In the current market, I'd suggest patience is key. So, hopefully 8700k, and Coffee Lake in general, availability will have improved by the start of next year. Plus, predictions are that RAM prices will start to fall too, as they're quite insane currently Regarding a 2500k being bottlenecked in Empyrion, I'm really surprised by that. During normal Single Player gameplay - where my PC is both the server and client of course - my 2600ks is usually hovering around the 20 to 25% CPU load, which is fairly even over all cores. When I turn the 70+ lights on at my base at night (High Shadows) this can jump to 40% load and my GPU (1070) can often hit 99% load. So, my CPU is no where near its limit in this regard. Sure, a better CPU might do better - generational improvements and all that - but I continue to be impressed just how well both my 2600k and 2500k CPU's cope with modern titles. Both are overclocked of course, but that's pretty much a given with a k series CPU. Oh, regarding 2500k vs. 2600k - it never used to make any difference, well, other than some titles being worse on the HT CPU. However, over the past couple of years, I'm regularly seeing the 2600k performing better than a slightly higher clocked (just 200mhz) 2500k. Whether this is down to improvements in the W10 Scheduler or better programming techniques I don't know. However, before I got the 1070 I was seeing better results on a 2600k @ 4.4ghz with a GTX 680 as I was on the 2500k @ 4.6ghz + GTX 680. It surprised me too. FYI: I use max settings in Empyrion, bar reflections which I don't like, at 1920x1200 and my CPU doesn't see over about 45% load. I did get higher CPU load during the v7 Experimental phase, but that was a bug that was fixed. So, yeah, while I continue to lust after new hardware myself, I'm more than happy to wait. Oh, friend just got a 1080Ti to add to his water cooled system....sorta jealous. As a response I overclocked my 1070 slightly, so now I'm a solid 2ghz on the core and 4,500 MHz (effective) on the vRam. It's actually funny that this has made a difference in Empyrion, and I'm now more likely to stay at a solid 60fps, where I was dipping to around 57 from time to time before. I do of course still see the odd drop to lower than this, though I usually take that as a sign to save/exit/relaunch and reload - something is still leaky methinks Scoob.
Something else about the K model CPUs (post sandy bridge) is Intel uses complete bird poop under the lids, and people are reporting up to 25C cooler temps after a delid. That's certainly the case with the new CPUs. It's such an extreme that an 8700k with a delid on air (etc, cooler master 212+ evo) is going to run cooler than 240mm AIO with no delid. My I5 2500k almost never breaks 50C (52-53C tops) during gaming on a 212+ evo. Prime 95 12hr stress test, highest temp was like 63C on one of the cores. LinX or IBT push it to high 60s. These newer CPUs run insanely hot with no delid. Considerably hotter than my I5 2500k does on any sort of comparable cooling. There isn't much OCing headroom on the 8700ks, either. You're unlikely to get an 8700k that will hit 5.3ghz. Although most of them will probably hit 5-5.1. And considering BCLK overclocking got improved starting with Skylake and newer, you could easily bump the BCLK on an I7 8700 model from 100-110 with some minor voltage changes, and the increase will apply to all of the turbo frequencies, and you could get 4.7-4.8 all core turbo just by bumping up the BCLK on a non-K model. And with 65w TDP, it'll run cooler than the K model. Most I7 8700ks won't hit 5.3ghz. Pretty much any of them will do 5 though. You could possibly get 5ghz with a non-K model with BCLK. BCLK OCing is about the easiest type of OCing you can do now. It'll easily get you an extra 400mhz. And this is why most gamers should get the I7 8700 (non-K) over the K model. In previous gens where BCLK OCing was harder, and there was more OCing headroom, it was worth getting the K model. Not so much anymore.
