Topic: Urgent PC upgrading question! Please advise!

[Beorning]

So... I have managed to secure enough money to buy a completely new PC. I'm tweaking my desired configuration and I have some questions... Would you guys be able to help?

The first question: as for the CPU, I'll be buying i7-7700. The question is: what motherboard to choose? Initially, I went all-out and selected Z270. But I was told that this is a motherboard more appropriate for the "K" i7s. So, would a H270 or B250 motherboards be enough? Are these good types of chipset?

The second question: GPU. Specifically, GTX 1070 vs GTX 1080. Which one to choose? Is GTX powerful enough to remain viable in a few years time? This would be my third PC and I finally want to have a rig where my GPU will shows wonders!!!  As well not turn out to be too weak after a few years...

The third question: storage. I'm planning on getting 500 GB SSD + 2 TB HDD. Do you think it will be enough?

The fourth question: cooling. Do I need to worry about cooling issues with this kind of setup? Do I need to look for some special kind of cooling?

Please advice, fellow gamers!

[AmberStarfire]

I really don't know enough about the technical side to be of much help, but I would say make sure you have a good enough power supply to adequately support your machine/the graphics card. I've run into problems with that before and it led to overheating issues.

500 GB SSD + 2 TB HDD sounds like plenty to me. I'd make sure you have at least one external hard drive to back up your documents etc too.

[Beorning]

Do you think that a 600 W PSU would be enough? I initially ordered 650 W, but the guy at the shop proposes 600 W...

[AmberStarfire]

Do you think that a 600 W PSU would be enough? I initially ordered 650 W, but the guy at the shop proposes 600 W...

I'm not sure. I asked Hairy and he said he's seen anywhere from 350W upwards and that if the guy in the shop builds them for a living, he ought to know what will work well. Personally, I'd say do a little research online.

I found a similar discussion about one here online (though it dates from 2010):
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/283644-28-600w-650w
it might contain some useful info though.

[CuriousEyes]

Been a while since I've built a PC or used for anything more intensive than web browsing/casual gaming. But are you overdoing it on the two drives? It would seem like 2TB should be sufficient, and I don't think you're likely to see significant load time difference between SSD and a good traditional drive. Especially considering at 500gb that SSD is only going to hold maybe 15 AAA titles it seems like misplaced resources.

Maybe consider buying a case big enough to hold another drive in the future, but delay the SSD. You could buy a second 1-2TB traditional drive if you really felt like you need the storage and still save $100 for other components (or a couple games), or spread all the money around to other parts.

My experience is a bigger power supply doesn't hurt, especially to future proof, so if the cost is nominal I'd probably go bigger.

[Life in Color]

So... I have managed to secure enough money to buy a completely new PC. I'm tweaking my desired configuration and I have some questions... Would you guys be able to help?

The first question: as for the CPU, I'll be buying i7-7700. The question is: what motherboard to choose? Initially, I went all-out and selected Z270. But I was told that this is a motherboard more appropriate for the "K" i7s. So, would a H270 or B250 motherboards be enough? Are these good types of chipset?

The second question: GPU. Specifically, GTX 1070 vs GTX 1080. Which one to choose? Is GTX powerful enough to remain viable in a few years time? This would be my third PC and I finally want to have a rig where my GPU will shows wonders!!!  As well not turn out to be too weak after a few years...

The third question: storage. I'm planning on getting 500 GB SSD + 2 TB HDD. Do you think it will be enough?

The fourth question: cooling. Do I need to worry about cooling issues with this kind of setup? Do I need to look for some special kind of cooling?

Please advice, fellow gamers!

Honestly, I'd get an i5 - the performance between the i5 and the i7 for gaming isn't really that noticeable and it saves you some money. As far as the Kaby Lake Processors go, there haven't been motherboards put out for them yet, so you'll need a 5th processor to boot your computer and then download the bios update for the Kaby Lake Processors or flash the bios onto the motherboard via a flash drive. I just went through this process with my new build that I put together a couple weeks ago.

I have the same feelings about the 1080 vs the 1070 - the big jump is from the 1060 to the 1070, so if you'd like to save money, I'd stick with the 1070. It's what I have in my case currently and it's fantastic.

I run an SSD with two 1 TB harddrives and it's been great - I'm nowhere near filling them.

Cooling! The Kaby Lake processors run hot, so I'd suggest getting something above the CPU fan that comes in the box with your processor.  I bought a fan that was suggested as a bundle when I bought my i5 from newegg and it's been great with keeping my processor cool.


If you decide to go the budget route (i5 and 1070), I'd suggest getting a really large case with some great airflow - I have an NZXT that's almost 2 years old now, and I'd suggest spending a bit more on your cooling for your processor. I saved some money on my new build this time around and got the CPU cooler and some new lightning for my case.

Definitely worth it!

Oh, and I run on 650W with no issues.

:]

[Beorning]

Okay! Thanks for all opinions :)

Today... the awesome deed was done (as Jack Kirby would have his characters say)! I ordered the new rig. The finished configuration is:

CPU: i7-7700
Motherboard: Z270
Memory: 16 GB
GPU: GTX 1070
Storage: 500 GB SSD + 2 TB HDD
PSU: 650 W

I hope that this PC will turn out to be as amazing as I want it to be! :)

One thing I am a bit worried is cooling, but the PC case has two fans installed, there's going to be some special fan for the CPU, so I hope it'll be alright...