Question Want to Build a new Gaming PC

[Kh.Ali Abbas]

Hey Guys,
I'm new to Computer building(and also on AnAndTech Forum) but been gaming since PS1 and Xbox. So this is the 1st time I want to build a PC Gaming setup. My requirements are Fast 4k Gaming and Future proofing a system for atleast 5 years.
Here's what I found so far to build my PC:
Motherboard; Gigabyte Z390 Aorus MASTER.

CPU; Intel Core i9-9900K.

RAM; "Corsair Vengeance LED" or "Trident Z RGB" 32 GB(2×16GB).

GraphicCard; Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti.

HDD; Seagate FireCuda2TB (×4 cuz I do photography and stuff so I need more hard drive space).

SSD; Samsung SSD 970 EVO PLUS and WINDOWS 10PRO on same SSD.

PowerSupply; Corsair RM850x.

I would really appreciate if anyone can help/guide my build. My Budget is 5grand(can go bit higher if needed).
Thank You!

 

[Arkaign]

Fwiw the side channel vulnerabilities are basically theoretical at this point, but so unbelievably specific in terms of needing a bunch of things to be exactly in place, and then wait an interminable amount of time to see if anything you're targeting shows up in the unbelievably slow transfer comes through, that it's of little practical use. It's like worrying about different levels of UV protection on your sunglasses instead of your body armor before going into combat. There was the recent AMD vulnerability article, and it's the same old nonsense in terms of practical value to normal users. Of all the things that systems and users get hit with these days, these particular aspects aren't even a minute fragment of the overall deluge.

/FireEye contractor and infrastructure analyst, look into the stuff from Shadow Brokers for some fun reading on nation state and organized crime tools and techniques.

 

[Kh.Ali Abbas]

Fwiw, if you want a mixed use pro + gaming PC, 3900X is fantastic.

If you are primarily gaming, the 9900K/KS even without overclocking are just outright better than the Zen2. It's the only thing they're really better at IMHO.

However, this only matters if you will use a variable refresh high performance display. 60hz it doesn't matter. Even an i5 or Ryzen 3600 is more than enough for 60fps gaming.

I have a 3700x build and a 9900KS build. With Gysnc 144hz I see dramatically better performance with the i9 + 2080ti AMP build.

It's not like either of these choices will disappoint of course. I mainly upgrade to push things further and further. From 2700X to 3700X to a test and sold 3900X, and from 4790k to 8086k to 9900KS. 1080ti, Titan XP, 2080ti.

And all the while, CPU is consistently letting me down in the search for high FPS. Even with all low details and disabled AA, many of the most demanding titles get stuck at 70-90fps on my Ryzen, and 100-115fps on my i9. Not good enough.

This is the newest game out to show similar gaps, the new Ori. Now of course it's not anything that demanding. Cyberpunk is coming later this year, and I'm thinking it will absolutely crush slower CPUs though, hopefully something comes out that's way faster than anything currently available. View attachment 18167

"9900K:
+Fast
-Expensive for what it offers compared to the competition
-Needs exotic cooling. 280mm - 360mm or custom loop if overclocking. Top of the line air coolers can barely keep it in check.
-Sucks power

9900KS:
+Fast
-Just as expensive
-Exotic cooling still recommended. A top of the line air cooler would have an easier time with it though, sans overclocking.
-A little more power efficient than the 9900K, but still a power hog.
-Is currently price gouged to the moon due to supply shortages"

I've heard these two clams somewhere, what would you say on that? How was your experience with i9900k?

 

[Arkaign]

I never had a regular 9900K, but helped a number of people who had the 9700/9900 K models. Noctua DH12/14/15 are all quite sufficient for 5Ghz operation as long as you're sane with voltages. I have a DH15U Carbon, and it runs quite cool even at 5.2Ghz. Granted, this is a HUGE air cooler, but I find it pretty good value when compared to AIOs, and a bit more peace of mind.

I think it is worth expressing that the 9900K/KS are poor value unless you meet a series of criteria :

1- Want the absolute best gaming performance for the majority of titles, especially those heavy AAA ones.

2- Have a build in mind which pairs it with at least a 1080ti/2080/2080S/2080ti. 1080/Vega/5700XT are around the range which would mask the benefits due to GPU bottlenecking holding down the max fps to a point where the difference would not be achieved. Only caveat here is future GPUs, the next gen GPUs will simply reveal more performance potential.

3- Have a high refresh adaptive sync display of 1440p or 1080p. Now 1080p is less logical unless you want 240hz and use for esports. So, 1440p is the more sensible target for most high end users that want high framerates. It offers considerably more detail than 1080p, with higher framerates and refresh rates vs 4k with current GPU capabilities. There are a handful of 144hz 4k displays, but they are incredibly expensive, and GPUs don't currently exist which can push demanding games at that resolution. If you wanted to run older titles, then it would be more achievable.

However, this doesn't mean set 1440p all ultra everything, even with 2080ti or Titan RTX. That will result in many titles becoming GPU bottlenecked and chocking the FPS a bit. Rather it makes sense to carefully tweak a couple of the most wasteful settings down a notch to get much closer to 144fps without sacrificing very much visual detail whatsoever. Scaling back on AA and shadows a notch or two generally pays massive dividends in this regard. In a still screenshot, you may see minute differences here and there between high and ultra AA/shadow settings. But the difference can be going from 85fps to 125fps, thus an enormous increase in pixel per second count and motion image clarity.

If sticking with 60fps display or TV, then it makes little sense in my mind to go with the i7 or i9 options. Better with a Ryzen 3600 or i5 build. If gaming is only a side concern and more content creation, editing, etc is the primary use, then it makes more sense to look at 3700X/3900X/3950X. The particular niche for 9900K/KS requires that list of particular things above to be in place to be the logical path, which while it's certainly excellent in that context, makes little sense for the overall bulk of builders and gamers.

So, if and only if all of these are yes answers, the i9 makes sense, otherwise it's a poor match :

Gaming mainly/only?
Match with very high end GPU?
Match with high refresh Gsync/Freesync?

 

[Kh.Ali Abbas]

I never had a regular 9900K, but helped a number of people who had the 9700/9900 K models. Noctua DH12/14/15 are all quite sufficient for 5Ghz operation as long as you're sane with voltages. I have a DH15U Carbon, and it runs quite cool even at 5.2Ghz. Granted, this is a HUGE air cooler, but I find it pretty good value when compared to AIOs, and a bit more peace of mind.

I think it is worth expressing that the 9900K/KS are poor value unless you meet a series of criteria :

1- Want the absolute best gaming performance for the majority of titles, especially those heavy AAA ones.

2- Have a build in mind which pairs it with at least a 1080ti/2080/2080S/2080ti. 1080/Vega/5700XT are around the range which would mask the benefits due to GPU bottlenecking holding down the max fps to a point where the difference would not be achieved. Only caveat here is future GPUs, the next gen GPUs will simply reveal more performance potential.

3- Have a high refresh adaptive sync display of 1440p or 1080p. Now 1080p is less logical unless you want 240hz and use for esports. So, 1440p is the more sensible target for most high end users that want high framerates. It offers considerably more detail than 1080p, with higher framerates and refresh rates vs 4k with current GPU capabilities. There are a handful of 144hz 4k displays, but they are incredibly expensive, and GPUs don't currently exist which can push demanding games at that resolution. If you wanted to run older titles, then it would be more achievable.

However, this doesn't mean set 1440p all ultra everything, even with 2080ti or Titan RTX. That will result in many titles becoming GPU bottlenecked and chocking the FPS a bit. Rather it makes sense to carefully tweak a couple of the most wasteful settings down a notch to get much closer to 144fps without sacrificing very much visual detail whatsoever. Scaling back on AA and shadows a notch or two generally pays massive dividends in this regard. In a still screenshot, you may see minute differences here and there between high and ultra AA/shadow settings. But the difference can be going from 85fps to 125fps, thus an enormous increase in pixel per second count and motion image clarity.

If sticking with 60fps display or TV, then it makes little sense in my mind to go with the i7 or i9 options. Better with a Ryzen 3600 or i5 build. If gaming is only a side concern and more content creation, editing, etc is the primary use, then it makes more sense to look at 3700X/3900X/3950X. The particular niche for 9900K/KS requires that list of particular things above to be in place to be the logical path, which while it's certainly excellent in that context, makes little sense for the overall bulk of builders and gamers.

So, if and only if all of these are yes answers, the i9 makes sense, otherwise it's a poor match :

Gaming mainly/only?
Match with very high end GPU?
Match with high refresh Gsync/Freesync?

Gaming "Mainly" Yes
For GPU I thought of 2080ti MSI or Gigabyte.
And I don't know the display tho, can you suggest higher refresh rate displays? Cuz I personally don't know any. Only 4k 60fps ones.

 

[Arkaign]

I find the Ultrawide Gsync probably the best all around experience for gaming. It blows away the 60hz experience, and isn't SO big that you need to sit way back from it. Response time and refresh rate is ideal for gaming, and the Ultrawide curved aspect is really engrossing, almost all current and recent titles support it.

 

[Arkaign]

For the 2080ti, I got hands on with a number of different models. After the Aorus 1080ti by Gigabyte, I expected similar robust quality from their 2080 ti Aorus, but they really scaled it back. Check out the Asus Strix, or if you want a better value and still outstanding build quality, I went with the AMP OC 2080 ti for personal rig.

 

[Kh.Ali Abbas]

For the 2080ti, I got hands on with a number of different models. After the Aorus 1080ti by Gigabyte, I expected similar robust quality from their 2080 ti Aorus, but they really scaled it back. Check out the Asus Strix, or if you want a better value and still outstanding build quality, I went with the AMP OC 2080 ti for personal rig.

Thank you and can you tell me do I need anything "Special" like More GPU or anything like that for Multi Display setup? I want one extra display with that Alienware one So I can have something else like Chrome open separately while playing games?

 

[Arkaign]

Thank you and can you tell me do I need anything "Special" like More GPU or anything like that for Multi Display setup? I want one extra display with that Alienware one So I can have something else like Chrome open separately while playing games?

Ah, if you have the room for it, a 43" or do HDR 4k TV that supports 10-bit color depth makes a nice display for general work. Maybe wall mount one off to the side, or on another table, which is basically what I have right now in this pic. Everything running off the PC with single 2080ti.

 

[Kh.Ali Abbas]

Ah, if you have the room for it, a 43" or do HDR 4k TV that supports 10-bit color depth makes a nice display for general work. Maybe wall mount one off to the side, or on another table, which is basically what I have right now in this pic. Everything running off the PC with single 2080ti.

View attachment 18192

Will there be 2 Ports for 2 HDMIs on the Back from GPU or 1 port?

 

[Arkaign]

Will there be a Port for 2 HDMIs on the Back from GPU or 1 port?

So here's the trick with that. The 9900K/KS has a pretty good built in GPU. Not for gaming beyond fairly basic stuff, but completely fine for 4k/60hz HDR regular desktop apps and web browsing. So good that unless you're gaming, you won't be able to tell the difference. So, you just leave it enabled, and use the motherboard's onboard HDMI port for one of your non gaming displays. In my case, I don't care about gaming on my 2nd 24" 1080p monitor, so that has Intel HDMI to run it. From the 2080ti, I have displayport to Gysnc Ultrawide, and HDMI to 4k HDR TV (via an Atmos Home Theatre Receiver for big audio).

Thus if I have a rare strategy game or something like that which I feel like playing on the TV, I can. In practice I almost never do this however, but throwing a movie or YouTube on the big screen while doing something else with my other two displays is pretty convenient.

The 2080ti I have I think has 3 or 4 displayport outputs, and a single HDMI. The Mobo itself has HDMI and Displayport outputs. I set up a similar system for a guy who uses 6 4k displays to buy cars for his dealership viewing live streams of the auctions, so it's pretty flexible in that regard.

 

[Kh.Ali Abbas]

So here's the trick with that. The 9900K/KS has a pretty good built in GPU. Not for gaming beyond fairly basic stuff, but completely fine for 4k/60hz HDR regular desktop apps and web browsing. So good that unless you're gaming, you won't be able to tell the difference. So, you just leave it enabled, and use the motherboard's onboard HDMI port for one of your non gaming displays. In my case, I don't care about gaming on my 2nd 24" 1080p monitor, so that has Intel HDMI to run it. From the 2080ti, I have displayport to Gysnc Ultrawide, and HDMI to 4k HDR TV (via an Atmos Home Theatre Receiver for big audio).

Thus if I have a rare strategy game or something like that which I feel like playing on the TV, I can. In practice I almost never do this however, but throwing a movie or YouTube on the big screen while doing something else with my other two displays is pretty convenient.

The 2080ti I have I think has 3 or 4 displayport outputs, and a single HDMI. The Mobo itself has HDMI and Displayport outputs. I set up a similar system for a guy who uses 6 4k displays to buy cars for his dealership viewing live streams of the auctions, so it's pretty flexible in that regard.

Oh, So that means I'll plug my "Gaming" display cable/HDMI in GPU port directly, and the "Other" display cable in Motherboard HDMI port?

 

[Arkaign]

Oh, So that means I'll plug my "Gaming" display cable/HDMI in GPU port directly, and the "Other" display cable in Motherboard HDMI port?

If you only have two displays total, and one is the Alienware Ultrawide, then it will go like this :

1- 2080ti Displayport to Alienware

2- 2080ti HDMI or Displayport to whichever 2nd display

If you end up needing a third display via HDMI, and the 2080ti HDMI is already taken, that's when you should use the onboard motherboard HDMI

 

[Kh.Ali Abbas]

If you only have two displays total, and one is the Alienware Ultrawide, then it will go like this :

1- 2080ti Displayport to Alienware

2- 2080ti HDMI or Displayport to whichever 2nd display

If you end up needing a third display via HDMI, and the 2080ti HDMI is already taken, that's when you should use the onboard motherboard HDMI

Ohhh Now I got it. Thanks 😊

 

[Kh.Ali Abbas]

T

If you only have two displays total, and one is the Alienware Ultrawide, then it will go like this :

1- 2080ti Displayport to Alienware

2- 2080ti HDMI or Displayport to whichever 2nd display

If you end up needing a third display via HDMI, and the 2080ti HDMI is already taken, that's when you should use the onboard motherboard HDMI

Thats what I was worried about that in order to hook to display I might need another GPU cuz 1 would be busy in games so it might not open Google or search as normal with 1 GPU.

 

[Arkaign]

T
Thats what I was worried about that in order to hook to display I might need another GPU cuz 1 would be busy in games so it might not open Google or search as normal with 1 GPU.

If you are concerned about that, then using the 2080ti Displayport to Alienware and then motherboard HDMI/Displayport to second display will leave 100% of the 2080ti for your main display.