So a long time ago you guys helped me as I built my first PC. It lasted a pretty decent time dying after about 6 years or so - Think the GPU went, I ended up giving it away.

Since that time with my job I've migrated to pretty much Mac product using a 27" iMac and MacBookPro. I have a feeling that after 7 years my iMac is going to go up soon and I'm thinking about buying something new.

I sort of want to build but I'm pretty busy now with a family, house and other stuff to take care of so I'm seriously considering just buying pre-built.

I was looking at something like this - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=238-007E-00001

I'd prefer something that isn't ultra flashy but not a deal breaker. For something comparable what do you think a custom build would look like vs a turn key system?

When I first played around with a custom build this is what I had saved:

Case - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119323&ignorebbr=1

Motherboard - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130968

Processor - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117726

RAM x2 - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232465

CPU Fan - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4UF2DZ6565

PSU - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438010

SSD x 3 - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA12K2GN1590

GPU x 2 - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814137111

I'm not sure I need to go quite that crazy but if I'm going to build something I want a top tier unit. If I upgrade to a new iMac I'm probably a little over $3k for the build I want. However, I'm interested in playing some PC games you can't get on PS4 and although Mac has Steam now there's a bunch of stuff that isn't compatible still.

Looking for suggestions on a build (Intel) price not a big deal, trying to probably stay around 2-3k.
 
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You said gaming but didn't mention which kind of monitor you own. Is it 4K?

My setup with my current iMac is it as the main display which is 2560x1440 and I run 2 curved 27" monitors to each side running 1920x1080.

If I opt to buy/build a PC vs. another iMac I'll likely just buy another 27" curved 1920x1080 monitor. If I do that I wouldn't mind setting stuff up for racing games that give a 3 monitor view vs. 1 main display.


Has AMD overtaken Intel in performance? Last I knew Intel was still the champ but costs a little more than a comparable AMD chip.
 
Clearly, given that you have spec'd two 1080Tis - you're not really interested in good price to performance... and instead just want the best performance that you can get in the enthusiast market.

Wait a bit, and buy AMD Threadripper. 12 or 16 cores and it minces Intel's fastest desktop CPU in benchmarks. 12 Core is coming in at about $800 and the 16 Core will be $999.

https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/13/amd-threadripper-price/

Failing that, a Ryzen 7-1800X or 1700X is comparable to and (in multithreading) often better than the 7700k.

You're going to need a serious CPU to not bottleneck twin-1080 Tis, even a 7700k would probably be a bottleneck unless you only ever game at 4k.
 
Failing that, a Ryzen 7-1800X or 1700X is comparable to and (in multithreading) often better than the 7700k.

Not in gaming though. If you want a gaming CPU, the 7700K is the best option, not considering the Extreme I7s. The 1800X is more balanced, you'll get better results if you are streaming or editing video, but just gaming, the 7700K is still superior.
 
If you're going all out, why not look into an all in one water cooler for the cpu? it looks like the case should support a 240mm radiator. If you end up going with a 7700k it may help to get the most performance out of an overclock. I like my corsair h80, even if the pump is a little loud. And EK has a few kits if you're looking for something custom you can show off...
 
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With a build like that, you certainly don't need advise from us.

Killer build dude! :thumb:

You may want to look at better CPU coolers though.
 
If you're going all out, why not look into an all in one water cooler for the cpu? it looks like the case should support a 240mm radiator. If you end up going with a 7700k it may help to get the most performance out of an overclock. I like my corsair h80, even if the pump is a little loud. And EK has a few kits if you're looking for something custom you can show off...

Not worried about showing it off and I'm not sure I trust myself to do it right with water cooling. I've wanted to do it in the past but since I've never done it before I'm concerned I'd not have something tight and fry a bunch of stuff. My office is air conditioned and normally around 60-65 degrees so I'm not super worried about running it on air.

With a build like that, you certainly don't need advise from us.

Killer build dude! :thumb:

You may want to look at better CPU coolers though.

Thanks I mainly wanted to make sure everything was compatible or if people had suggestions on CPU/GPU choices. What would you recommend for the CPU side? My previous build I used a Zalman 9700 and it worked pretty good.
 
That's certainly a capable cooler and I guess if you like it, use it.

Mine a Xigmatek Gaia but I have a Xigmatek Gigas cube case.
 
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