building a pc

so i know that there have been a few different threads like this in the past and i've looked online and seen some great advice, but i thought i'd just throw this out here in hopes that someone can help me (especially with a new LW chapter coming around the bend). i'm looking to build a pc specifically for guild wars & guild wars 2. i don't wvw much, if at all. i don't pvp. i rarely raid. but i am hooked on the story and i do like having the nice shiny graphics so it all looks beautiful. so i thought i'd just post here and ask what's the cheapest way to make that happen? realistically my budget is easily within $1400 - looking at a build like this even:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7jVpD2

but i mean...i want to try to get cheaper? but i have no real idea how good/bad the game runs. i used to own an i5-4690k/gtx960 rig and it didn't feel like it could support the game on max settings. i will point out though that the game was installed on a harddrive at the time and the ram was not very good, so that may have played a bigger role than the cpu/gpu. so that's where i'm thinking like...how cheap can i actually get and have max settings on throughout? especially textures and shadows and highlights.

i'm not worried about making it very "future proof" except in terms of guild wars 2. my main gaming rig is a PS4 (i know, console peasantry, but i like the exclusives). i've just been a guild wars fan for like...over a decade. but i don't want to drop $1400 in a rig just to keep playing it when all i really need is a machine that can do some basic work tasks and browse the internet...and also play guild wars 2 on max settings.

This PC is okay for GW2 as you can never have enough single threaded performance for this game while its GPU demands are almost non-relevant these days as long as you don't crank up the resolution to 4K or activate super-/downsampling.

Just for the case that you plan to use this PC for other games:In most games you will be heavily GPU bound as you are pairing a high end CPU with an entry level GPU. Most of your CPU performance will remain unused. That's a waste of money.

If you want a homogenous rig you should pair that 8700K with at least a GTX 1070 or - if you don't want to spend more money - take a cheaper CPU (like an i5 8400) but a better GPU - at least a GTX 1060 or RX 580. (If you just want to run GW2, forget what I said.)

@KrHome.1920 said:This PC is okay for GW2 as you can never have enough single threaded performance for this game while its GPU demands are almost non-relevant these days as long as you don't crank up the resolution to 4K or activate super-/downsampling.

Just for the case that you plan to use this PC for other games:In most games you will be heavily GPU bound as you are pairing a high end CPU with an entry level GPU. Most of your CPU performance will remain unused. That's a waste of money.

If you want a homogenous rig you should pair that 8700K with at least a GTX 1070 or - if you don't want to spend more money - take a cheaper CPU (like an i5 8400) but a better GPU - at least a GTX 1060 or RX 580. (If you just want to run GW2, forget what I said.)

I don't intend to ever run another game, tbh. Most games I look at are on PS4 or Nintendo which is why I want to try to make this PC as cheap as possible while still being able to crank out a solid graphical experience.

It's a hard to be specific and 'correct' in threads like these! Do you happen to know which resolution you will be playing at?

At the widely favored 1080p (or 1920x 1080) you will not need such a pricey cpu.Also, please keep in mind that if you do end up really wanting that caliber of cpu, Intel is about to release a superior version (expected) in October. So, for single thread performance (specific to GW2) it would be best to wait a few weeks. (Try searching for i7 9700k)

If you are not overclocking, no reason to get K series.Also, is there a reason you need additional threads since i5 already has 6 cores.

If you are not overclocking and no reasons for additional thread, those money can be directed to getting a better gfx.

Likewise, even if you are overclocking, if not mistaken, 8600k and 8700k have the same thread to thread performance thus again, if you don't utilitize the additional threads, is wasteful money. Furthermore, 8600k is moer manageable when come to heat for overclocking. Honestly, I doubt that fan can oc 8700k to 5ghz without too much heat that will burn the lifespan faster.

You can drop your cpu down to an i5 8400, and then pick a cheaper motherboard. You would also be able to drop the amount of memory from 16GB [2x8] down to 8GB [2x4].Doing so brings the cost from ~$1156.79 down to ~$848.37.

@Maze.3825 said:It's a hard to be specific and 'correct' in threads like these! Do you happen to know which resolution you will be playing at?

At the widely favored 1080p (or 1920x 1080) you will not need such a pricey cpu.Also, please keep in mind that if you do end up really wanting that caliber of cpu, Intel is about to release a superior version (expected) in October. So, for single thread performance (specific to GW2) it would be best to wait a few weeks. (Try searching for i7 9700k)

my monitor is 1920 x 1080 and has freesync if I went for an amd graphics card. i could maybe drop down to even an i3-8350k?

for sure the most intensive task i'll ever run is gw2. but i do want it to really run. not budget run. like i want to have the same experience as if i was playing one of my ps4 games. so i don't have to cut a lot out of the price, but just as much as possible to have the desired results.

What case do you have? That is a mini itx board and it does not fit in a standard case. Also, that video card doesn't really fit in a mini itx board/case most of the time.

@"SkyShroud.2865" said:If you are not overclocking, no reason to get K series.Also, is there a reason you need additional threads since i5 already has 6 cores.

If you are not overclocking and no reasons for additional thread, those money can be directed to getting a better gfx.

Likewise, even if you are overclocking, if not mistaken, 8600k and 8700k have the same thread to thread performance thus again, if you don't utilitize the additional threads, is wasteful money. Furthermore, 8600k is moer manageable when come to heat for overclocking. Honestly, I doubt that fan can oc 8700k to 5ghz without too much heat that will burn the lifespan faster.

i've read around that some of the earlier i5s do about as well as i7s for GW2 because of how the devs can make it run. although i do have some future proofing concern that possibly gw3 could be in the pipeline within the next 5 years (although i'm skeptical).

anyway, assuming that's true and that i might be able to do it - here's where i've managed to budget it down all the way to $760: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/F4cCMZ

definitely unsure about the microbudgeting though. part of me is worried because i never felt like my i5/970 performed very well but i'd probably be shocked how much of it was the old hdd and having low ram. i might end up picking it up from 8gb to 12 or 16.

@"Ellieanna.5027" said:What case do you have? That is a mini itx board and it does not fit in a standard case. Also, that video card doesn't really fit in a mini itx board/case most of the time.

fractal node 202 or sugo sg13b. node 202 can fit 12" graphics

I personally use i5 8400, 1070gtx, 2666mhz ddr4 16GB @ 1920x1080 and can utilize many high settings in GW2.Also, my last 980 GTX was quite good too & same setup.

@goodgrief.1382 said:

@"SkyShroud.2865" said:If you are not overclocking, no reason to get K series.Also, is there a reason you need additional threads since i5 already has 6 cores.

If you are not overclocking and no reasons for additional thread, those money can be directed to getting a better gfx.

Likewise, even if you are overclocking, if not mistaken, 8600k and 8700k have the same thread to thread performance thus again, if you don't utilitize the additional threads, is wasteful money. Furthermore, 8600k is moer manageable when come to heat for overclocking. Honestly, I doubt that fan can oc 8700k to 5ghz without too much heat that will burn the lifespan faster.

You will want to get 2 stick of ram instead of a single ram. This allow you to utilize dual channel. While the performance gain from dual channel is minimum for intel, one can also consider this as a precaution incase one ram fail and end up not able to use your pc though it very rarely will happen but just incase.

For supposedly future proofing, I would recommend i5 instead of i3, that two additional cores should be sufficient future proofing. Multithreading is the future, especially with upcoming intel 9000 series coming up with 16 threads, pretty much signs of what the future computing will be about.

As for gw2, gw2 is IPC dependent aka single thread performance. On layman terms, the higher your ghz, the better the performance.

@goodgrief.1382 said:

@"SkyShroud.2865" said:If you are not overclocking, no reason to get K series.Also, is there a reason you need additional threads since i5 already has 6 cores.

If you are not overclocking and no reasons for additional thread, those money can be directed to getting a better gfx.

Likewise, even if you are overclocking, if not mistaken, 8600k and 8700k have the same thread to thread performance thus again, if you don't utilitize the additional threads, is wasteful money. Furthermore, 8600k is moer manageable when come to heat for overclocking. Honestly, I doubt that fan can oc 8700k to 5ghz without too much heat that will burn the lifespan faster.

If you don't overclock the i5-8400 is a better deal. It costs slightly more for pretty much the same performance while providing 2 additional cores.

GW2, and many games, prefer a single core, with only a few things used on a secondary core, this means if you don't have any thermal issues the 8400 will generally be at 4.0Ghz, or 3.9Ghz. Providing the same fps as the 8350k, but has 6 cores instead of 4, allowing you to freely do things in the background, and the future ends up less of a concern for you too.

https://twitch.tv/videos/311015099Fx6300 AM3+8gb ddr3R9 380I lowered setting to capture that video at 4k resolution. but once, uploaded on Twitch it reduced itself to 720p.Change the GTX 1050ti to a Rx 570 4gb ; if your gonna be paying that much for it.Rx 570 More better Performance at same/similar price, Supports Freesync(match your monitor) and it will help enable VSP(Virtual Super Resolution) which you can then set your Resolution to 4k using said Monitor.

the Rx 570 about 10-15fps faster then my R9 380. I would show you my current in-game settings(no reflection, Anti-aliasing, post processing, shadow) but doing some stuff right now. I can run it in a mostly stable locked 30fps only drops to like 24fps in local Events and up to 8-12fps in 40+ groups. If i had my old MSI Gaming X Rx 580 8gb model... i'd be close to the 60fps mark. the Rx 570 should be enough to game at high settings and Record the gameplay if your into that.

I would stick with the 16gb ram kit, i tried to link the picture to the 40+ group, i maxed out the 8gb. I only hit 3,100MB Vram on my R9 380... Sooo guess your within range of the GPU... Sapphire makes a ITX version of the Rx570 in either 4gb or 8gb. P#11266-34-20G (Hard to get a new one though, 6-pin power by the way)

Not sure if i would stick with the Quad CPU though, Upcoming future Games are harsh on them now. maybe get one with the Hyperthreading ability. 4cores 8threads.

GV-RX570GAMING-4GD (Cheapest Rx570 on pcpartlist; 8-pin i think) $171F4-2800C17D-16GIS (Cheapest Memory 16gb Aegis g.skill 2800mhz 2x 8gb) $138

Hope this info helps, Intels are more faster due to their better IPC performance, the closest AMD gotten to them is the lates Ryzen+ 2000 series. Not sure if cheaper but, you can check them out as well, their cheaper Ryzen 5 2500x 4core 8threads is coming soon too... You can check them out. https://www.techradar.com/news/amd-introduces-two-new-mid-range-ryzen-cpus-you-cant-buy-yet Would be compatible with the Ram kit i think.Either way hope this helps you decide.

@Yamazuki.6073 said:

@goodgrief.1382 said:

@"SkyShroud.2865" said:If you are not overclocking, no reason to get K series.Also, is there a reason you need additional threads since i5 already has 6 cores.

If you are not overclocking and no reasons for additional thread, those money can be directed to getting a better gfx.

Likewise, even if you are overclocking, if not mistaken, 8600k and 8700k have the same thread to thread performance thus again, if you don't utilitize the additional threads, is wasteful money. Furthermore, 8600k is moer manageable when come to heat for overclocking. Honestly, I doubt that fan can oc 8700k to 5ghz without too much heat that will burn the lifespan faster.

cool, i didn't think the 8400 would continue to get that high up. i think i'll just spend the extra bit of money anyway here for some top of the line stuff, although not so top of the line that i'll look at a 9700k unless the price is only within 50-80$ of what i'm already looking to spend. i'll skimp out mostly on storage & the mobo for now by sticking with the b360 boards since i don't care to oc.

something like this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2vJVLJ

unless the 9th generation has price points similar to that of the i7-8700k

@"jishi.7568" said:https://twitch.tv/videos/311015099Fx6300 AM3+8gb ddr3R9 380I lowered setting to capture that video at 4k resolution. but once, uploaded on Twitch it reduced itself to 720p.Change the GTX 1050ti to a Rx 570 4gb ; if your gonna be paying that much for it.Rx 570 More better Performance at same/similar price, Supports Freesync(match your monitor) and it will help enable VSP(Virtual Super Resolution) which you can then set your Resolution to 4k using said Monitor.

the Rx 570 about 10-15fps faster then my R9 380. I would show you my current in-game settings(no reflection, Anti-aliasing, post processing, shadow) but doing some stuff right now. I can run it in a mostly stable locked 30fps only drops to like 24fps in local Events and up to 8-12fps in 40+ groups. If i had my old MSI Gaming X Rx 580 8gb model... i'd be close to the 60fps mark. the Rx 570 should be enough to game at high settings and Record the gameplay if your into that.

I would stick with the 16gb ram kit, i tried to link the picture to the 40+ group, i maxed out the 8gb. I only hit 3,100MB Vram on my R9 380... Sooo guess your within range of the GPU... Sapphire makes a ITX version of the Rx570 in either 4gb or 8gb. P#11266-34-20G (Hard to get a new one though, 6-pin power by the way)

Not sure if i would stick with the Quad CPU though, Upcoming future Games are harsh on them now. maybe get one with the Hyperthreading ability. 4cores 8threads.

GV-RX570GAMING-4GD (Cheapest Rx570 on pcpartlist; 8-pin i think) $171F4-2800C17D-16GIS (Cheapest Memory 16gb Aegis g.skill 2800mhz 2x 8gb) $138

Hope this info helps, Intels are more faster due to their better IPC performance, the closest AMD gotten to them is the lates Ryzen+ 2000 series. Not sure if cheaper but, you can check them out as well, their cheaper Ryzen 5 2500x 4core 8threads is coming soon too... You can check them out. https://www.techradar.com/news/amd-introduces-two-new-mid-range-ryzen-cpus-you-cant-buy-yet Would be compatible with the Ram kit i think.Either way hope this helps you decide.

To add, Ryzen uses infinity fabric, in laymen terms, ram speed affect ryzen's performance greatly.

@SkyShroud.2865 said: if not mistaken, 8600k and 8700k have the same thread to thread performance thus again, if you don't utilitize the additional threads, is wasteful money. Furthermore, 8600k is moer manageable when come to heat for overclocking. Honestly, I doubt that fan can oc 8700k to 5ghz without too much heat that will burn the lifespan faster.

Approximately 30 points difference(208vs 178) in Cinebench single threaded testing at stock speeds, which is comparable to the difference between the FX8350 and the i5 2500k(96vs 127).

Hey, similar situation, can't decide between r3 1300x, i3 8100, r5 1500x to pair with a 1050ti.Just for gaming mmorpg, gw2 and teso.

Which one would you suggest?

@MrFayth.3546 said:

@SkyShroud.2865 said: if not mistaken, 8600k and 8700k have the same thread to thread performance thus again, if you don't utilitize the additional threads, is wasteful money. Furthermore, 8600k is moer manageable when come to heat for overclocking. Honestly, I doubt that fan can oc 8700k to 5ghz without too much heat that will burn the lifespan faster.

8700k is faster in stock speed. 4700ghz vs 4300ghz. If you put both at 5ghz, the thread to thread is the same, iirc, according to some reviews. IIRC. People should be oc-ing to 5ghz if they buy the k version anyway.

@shoegaze.3482 said:Hey, similar situation, can't decide between r3 1300x, i3 8100, r5 1500x to pair with a 1050ti.Just for gaming mmorpg, gw2 and teso.

Which one would you suggest?

Always intel for gaming, not just because of single thread performance but majority of the gaming community use intel (base on steam hardware survey) thus you can be sure many games would be optimized to intel. Also, why not try add a bit more for 8400? The additional threads would be more worthwhile if you are not gonna upgrade computer for years.

The 8400 it's almost double the price of an 8100 so yeah, out of budget :/

The only concerns regarding the 8100 is about having only 4c/4t. At the same price i could get the 1500x 4c/8t.

Do you think the performance would be significantly worse?