Build Advice Edit: No longer Ryzen, still m-atx tho. Come banter - critique Welcome!

EDIT: shifted to an i7-8700! See post.


Hi all

Returning to the PC building game after a few years out, just been getting my head around the new state of the market. Interesting times, to say the least.

I've been trying to spec up a build that'll serve as a gaming/general purpose machine. Criteria are it needs to look nice (so I chose some shiny things), be fast, and be quiet. Budget can flex, but only if it's worth it.

CPU: Ryzen 7 1700. Because Coffee Lake isn't available yet and I don't fancy an i7-7700k
Mobo: MSI Mortar B350m. Seems to be nice. Red LEDs.
RAM: G Skill Trident Z (16GB 3200Hz @cl16) something fast and red.
Storage: NVMe Samsung 960 Evo 500GB. I have no idea what this is but the speeds. are. ridiculous.
GPU: I already have a bigass GTX 1080 I'll be using
Case: Inwin 301. I think I like the look (hard as it is to tell from online photos); the front panel is interesting, it has a window, it'll look cute on a desk... probably.
PSU: Corsair RM650x. It's supposedly silent as a grave.

Full list: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/hamza_tm/saved/yvdr7P

Anyone want to give me a yay or nay on all that? I feel there may be things I've overlooked. I'm not sure what I'll be doing about extra fans for the Inwin case.

Any suggestions/comments/shouting welcome

Hamza

 

Case looks lovely. Will you be using the stock cooler ? The RAM doesn't seem to be on the QVL list on the MSI site - Don't know if you were aware of that - so it might not hit 3200 (unless there's been an update and QVL not updated). 960 Evo seems to be the go-to drive on m.2 so that's a solid choice. 650W PSU, you could maybe have some wiggle room there for a smaller one, but then, why ?

 

Thank you sir - that's interesting about the RAM, I must look into this QVL list thing.

Yes stock cooler for now, no overclock. Will see how quiet and cool it is before deciding to upgrade or not (or buy more case fans). Noted RE the PSU, though there was only a tenner between this 650W and the 550W so I'll prolly roll with it

 

Good Call on the Inwin 301. I have just finished a build for my daughter and its a smart little case. Only have a G4560 in there so the CPU cooler doesnt even spin up though!

 

It is on the QVL list:
F4-3200C14D-16GTZ
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/B350M-MORTAR#support-mem-2

 

Looks neat Congrats on the build


In other news
I've found that the Core i7 8700 is in stock Nov 14th at Scan, I'm gone ahead and splurged - um, pre-ordered that instead of the Ryzen.

New build (new parts in bold):

CPU: Core i7-8700 (I'm not going to overclock, prefer a cool and quiet build)
Cooler: ?
Mobo: Asus ROG STRIX Z370-G Gaming
RAM: G Skill Trident Z (16GB 3200Hz @cl16) (it's on the QVL of the Asus!)
Storage: NVMe Samsung 960 Evo 500GB.
GPU: GTX 1080 Palit Super Jetstream
Case: Inwin 301
PSU: Corsair RM650x

Full list again: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/hamza_tm/saved/yvdr7P

Open to recommendations on mobo. The Asus above may be overkill for a non-overclock build, but it does look nice and seems to have good IO plus WiFi. Tbh I'm just tired of researching every little thing...

Problem now is what aftermarket cooler to go. Any recommendations?

 

Grab the K instead if it is only a tenner or so more. It'll hold far better value when it comes to resale.

 

Well it's £60 between the K and the non-K at the mo' - inflated prices due to availability (or lack thereof). Scan prices:
i7 8700 £330
i7 8700k £390

The non-K is supposed to be under £300

 

That's a huge difference. Damn!!

If you're not going to overclock, I'd recommend looking at an R7 1700X instead of the i7. You get two more cores and don't lose much speed at all.

 

No need for such a high-end Z series MB if you're not going to OC. But then again, H series boards aren't out until sometime next year...

 

glasses ... gotta remember glasses work better than squinting ... good spot.

Edit : The PC Partpicker basket showed F4-3200C16D-16GTZ (That's C16 i think) and the QVL is for the F4-3200C14D-16GTZ part number, so different somewhere.

And it doesn't seem to be such a big issue with intel with exactly what RAM you pick.