New Photography/Gaming/Streaming Rig Proposal

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Snipeye

EGO Is My Life!
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May 6, 2009
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Looking for some feedback in addition to some help. Trying to keep everything under a certain limit (less than $3k) but cheaper is always nicer. Been doing a lot of photo editing and I expect to do more video editing as well. I also would like to do some twitch streaming in addition to my regular gaming so this proposed build is what I'm envisioning. One question I would ask is how much of a performance difference would there be between a 8700K, 8700, 8400, or the AMD 1800X/1700X series of CPUs.

Forewarning: This was built off of Newegg's site as I typically try to buy all my parts from one area (makes financing easier, though I do watch pccpartspicker for better deals elsewhere)

CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K $414.99
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix Z370-E Gaming LGA 1151 $209.99
GPU: EVGA Geforce GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 $769.99
RAM: 32GB (16x2) G.Skill RipwJaws V Series $369.99
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 850 $155.99
OS Drive: Samsung 960 Evo M.2 500GB NVME $251.45
Editing Drive: Samsung 850 Evo 500GB SSD $149.99
Storage Drive: WD Black 4TB Performance HDD $184.99
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro Series $94.99
OS: Windows 10 Home $99.99
CPU Heatsink: Corsair Hydro Series H75 $74.99
Monitor: BenQ GW2765HT $249.00

Total Build: $3,026.35

Notes about this: The monitor I am not 100% certain on as I am looking to likely end up with two 27" monitors, but may have to be done over time. I need one monitor with as much 100% AdobeRGB color for my photo editing, though that usually comes at the cost of refresh rate which I would need for gaming. So the only solution I see is having one dedicated monitor for gaming and the other for photo/video editing.

Three obvious places for cost savings: 1) CPU. I want the i7 Coffee Lake for future proofing, as well as the additional cores to help with photo/video editing. However, is the premium worth the additional speed over the i5 series, or compared to the AMD Threadrippers?

2) GPU: I figured since I'm already at this high end, and I see this build lasting for me at least 5 years, may as well get the best I can afford. However, I have teased with the idea of simply settling for a 1080 or 1070 Ti, saving between $150-300.

3) Storage: This is the one area I don't want to cut down on as I do need the sheer amount of storage because of my photo and video editing (Almost maxed out 2TB backup storage, and barely have much room left in my laptop's 500GB SSD) Open to suggestions on a way to deal with this cost issue as storage is right now $586.43, or almost 20% of my proposed build's total cost.

4) Side note: I still need to get a new mouse and keyboard in this (Razer Deathadder definitely for mouse). Not sure about keyboard just yet...

Thanks in advance, and if there's additional info you may need from me, I'll be sure to respond ASAP.
 
Had to do some price adjustments to not kill my budget. Reasoned a smaller OS drive is acceptable. Went with a different CPU cooler for about half the cost. Decided I didn't need to have THE BEST GPU on the market, and going one step down saves about $250. Switched motherboards to my preferred Gigabyte brand (for about $10 less). Switched out the RAM for 4x8GB, and a different speed set which saved about $70 on the above listed price (new actual price is close to $450!)

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jFx6TH
 
Snipeye said:
1) CPU. I want the i7 Coffee Lake for future proofing, as well as the additional cores to help with photo/video editing. However, is the premium worth the additional speed over the i5 series, or compared to the AMD Threadrippers?
Click to expand...

For video editing, yes, it's worth it. I have an i5 and do a LOT of editing and when you get to the point of rendering and previews, it flops hard. I have an i7 in my laptop and it outstrips my i5 when it comes to render times, so I actually do the bulk of my editing on my desktop, then render on my laptop generally.

2) GPU: I figured since I'm already at this high end, and I see this build lasting for me at least 5 years, may as well get the best I can afford. However, I have teased with the idea of simply settling for a 1080 or 1070 Ti, saving between $150-300.
Click to expand...

Up to you on that one. I think a 1070 TI will last a very long time right now though.

3) Storage: This is the one area I don't want to cut down on as I do need the sheer amount of storage because of my photo and video editing (Almost maxed out 2TB backup storage, and barely have much room left in my laptop's 500GB SSD) Open to suggestions on a way to deal with this cost issue as storage is right now $586.43, or almost 20% of my proposed build's total cost.
Click to expand...

For what you want to do, your storage selection is a healthy option I think, and one I wish I had haha. You'll probably still want to get an external device for back ups too.
 
Hey Simon,

Quick update on the build as I noted above:

I switched out the GPU from a 1080 Ti to just the 1080.
I kept the i7-8700K because of the rendering.
I reduced the OS drive from a 500GB M.2 to a 256GB M.2
Kept the 500GB SSD and 4TB HDD
I also got a 2TB and 4TB external hard drives.

Random fact: was at wal-mart today and I saw they had 1TB externals for $45 (and 32GB Sandisk cruzers for $5 apiece after 6PM) for Black Friday shopping.

Price dropped roughly $500-600 from the original build (and its later price increase) to about $2600 now, which includes a monitor and mouse (but not a keyboard yet).
 
Snipeye said:
Hey Simon,

Quick update on the build as I noted above:

I switched out the GPU from a 1080 Ti to just the 1080.
I kept the i7-8700K because of the rendering.
I reduced the OS drive from a 500GB M.2 to a 256GB M.2
Kept the 500GB SSD and 4TB HDD
I also got a 2TB and 4TB external hard drives.

Random fact: was at wal-mart today and I saw they had 1TB externals for $45 (and 32GB Sandisk cruzers for $5 apiece after 6PM) for Black Friday shopping.

Price dropped roughly $500-600 from the original build (and its later price increase) to about $2600 now, which includes a monitor and mouse (but not a keyboard yet).
Click to expand...

Good plan! I actually still use a 120GB SSD for my OS/programs, still haven't managed to fill it even with various video software and healthy cache's, so 250GB is great. Definitely grab a few Black Friday deals! Sadly we don't see much of the same pricing up here in Canada so definitely take advantage of it if you can :) Looks like a good build to me!

Side note, I picked up an EVGA Supernova 750 a few months ago, so just a step down from yours there. Great choice. Also glad to see you switched out the RAM for 4x8 - definitely will help max out rendering performance (Every little bit counts)
 
Bestbuy has a 8tb EasyStore for $149 right now for Cyber Monday. I use a 256gb m.2 for temp 4k video cache/editing and the EasyStore for storage.
 
Kendle said:
Bestbuy has a 8tb EasyStore for $149 right now for Cyber Monday. I use a 256gb m.2 for temp 4k video cache/editing and the EasyStore for storage.
Click to expand...

These are one of those moments I wish we had more of a Cyber Monday in Canada... same thing is well over $300 here :(
 
Still waiting for the credit card for the arrive so I can purchase the build. Frustrating when the original price was $2418 with a monitor included ($250) and mouse ($75). I got a hell of a steal on a Asus PB328Q monitor for $150, and I bought a Razer Deathadder Elite from Target for $50 so I crossed those two off my list.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7Mt9sJ

Current price: Total: $2343.95
 
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Simon said:
Buy up! Get those boxing day sales.
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Just being patient and waiting for a "reasonable" price. Half-tempted to go ahead and buy the storage and CPU though as it's unlikely they will get any cheaper. The motherboard and RAM though... The price has risen almost $250 from my original cost-cutting build, and I got the monitor now (32" Asus monitor for $150, 100% sRGB color accuracy).
 
Question: For a CPU Cooler, what's best for a 4-6 year life span? I've had several people suggest getting watercooling for the CPU, but I've got concerns about the reliability of them for over 2 years. Any suggestions on what is a good, reliable water cooler; or would you have a better CPU air cooler suggestion over a Hyper 212X?
 
Snipeye said:
Question: For a CPU Cooler, what's best for a 4-6 year life span? I've had several people suggest getting watercooling for the CPU, but I've got concerns about the reliability of them for over 2 years. Any suggestions on what is a good, reliable water cooler; or would you have a better CPU air cooler suggestion over a Hyper 212X?
Click to expand...

I used the stock CPU cooler for years and only got a Hyper212 in the past 2 or 3 years. My PC was running for basically 2 years straight and I had no issues. I?ve always sort of been of the mindset water cooling was only extremely necessary if you were over clocking or didn?t have very adequate case airflow. This is just my take on it. I also fear water coming out when I?m not around :P.
 
First piece ordered. Saw a great deal on a 500GB 2.5" Samsung 860 EVO for $20 less than usual (and about $10 cheaper than the 850 EVO). Snapped that up now before the sale ends in about 2 hours from now.

Eyeing a purchase from Microcenter for the CPU and Mobo; combo deal for a i7 8700K + Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Gaming 7 motherboard for about $530. My PCpart build uses the Gaming 5 motherboard, and the total price of the CPU+Mob would be about $506. Newegg has the Gaming 7 retail at a $80 premium over the Gaming 5 version. Only major price difference is that Newegg has the Gaming 5 with a $15 rebate so the actual price would be about $491 vs $530, about a $40 difference. Though with how I am nickle-and-diming myself at this admittedly high budget price point, it's still a valid debate whether the $40 premium is worth the additional "bling" the Gaming 7 board has over the Gaming 5 version.
 
Hey, $20 here and $40 there does add up after a while.

I?m still kicking myself for not getting a bigger SSD when they were really on sale at Christmas.
 
Snipeye said:
whether the $40 premium is worth the additional "bling" the Gaming 7 board has over the Gaming 5 version.
Click to expand...

Comparing the two, I would go for the 5 for the savings for sure.

Also as Simon said, the savings add up substantially over time. I spent 3 months building my last major build and it saved me several hundred dollars, with the only thing I didn't buy at a discount was the GPU because it had just been released.

Set up alerts for all of the parts on Slickdeals + CamelCamelCamel and wait.
 
So the purchasing of parts is going in 1s and 2s as I find parts at the price I think are the best it will get, or before it will higher. The one part that I have no problems of sitting on is the GPU. No hurry really for that. Hell, I wish I bought 2 of the cards when they were selling for about $660 apiece; could have resold one for like $780 on ebay most likely and make a hundred profit. Anyways, an update on what I have purchased:

1) Case: Locked it in now at Amazon for $98.99. Unlikely it will get lower, and even if it did, would only be about $10 cheaper at best (versus going up $20 possibly). Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower
2) SSD Storage: Instead of the Samsung 850 EVO 500GB for $157, I went with the 860 EVO 500GB for $149.99 (yay sales!)
3) Hard drive: WD 4TB Caviar Black has been sitting at almost $185 for some time. Newegg through up a promo code so I went for it at $175.
4) OS Storage: Samsung 960 EVO M.2-2280 for $120. Cheaper for $111 at Superbiz, but via Amazon, saved the cost of shipping and handling.

So got all 3 pieces of storage and the case purchased. Looking at the CPU Cooler, Memory, PSU, and OS to be purchased via OutletPC most likely. Sitting on that for any possible sales. Microcenter I will be using to buy the CPU: $339 cheapest online price before tax. MC has it for $329.99 so I'll take that later. Waiting to see if I can get a cheaper bundled price with the Gigabyte Gaming 5 mobo, though I'll likely buy it online once I see it hit the $150-160 price range.
 
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