A 120GB SSD actually ends up being cheaper than a 500GB HDD ($103), then you've got the motherboard and CPU at $179, the case at $28, the PSU at $36, and the RAM at $50. I guess that’s where 😛 comes from
The NVIDIA GTX 1060 seems to hold a slight edge on average in DirectX 11 titles, though it tends to lag behind once you switch over to DirectX 12 / Vulkan / Mantle.
You aren't actually going to gain anything from water cooling. Since you can't overclock the CPU and the motherboard isn't built for it anyway, it feels like a waste of money.
The case, fans, SanDisk X400 256GB, and that 2TB HDD should be plenty. As for the i5 3450 and GTX 970 combo, I guess the power levels are perfectly balanced.
You’d only really need another SSD if your current one is maxed out and you have specific programs (or maybe games) you want to move over to solid state storage.
There isn't much point in upgrading the motherboard since you won't find an LGA 1155 socket anymore, and I guess you wouldn't see much of a benefit from a different board anyway.😉
The total with SSD would run you just a little bit more than $667.
EDIT:
Seagate Barracuda 7200 ST2000DM001 (3.5", 2TB, 64MB, SATA III-600) Phanteks Enthoo Pro Black window Midi-Tower case without PSU, P/N: PH-ES614P_BK 2x BitFenix Spectre 140mm fan - white (BFF SCF 14025WW-RP)
Total: $740 on financing through Wells Fargo - no SSD included$503
You can't really use the 5.25" cage (for optical drives) if you go with those 2x140mm fans, because you'll probably end up mounting both of them on the front panel.
I usually try to aim for High/Very High settings without using things like MSAA, TXAA, soft shadows, or blur. Instead, I just crank up the AF and AA as far as they'll go while keeping things above 60FPS. That’s assuming I’m only playing three specific games, one of which is actually somewhat demanding 😬
I'm guessing the CPU isn't overheating? It seems unlikely the power supply is the culprit since the build isn't even pulling half its capacity under full load. Is there any warranty left? I wouldn't recommend buying this blindly. Anyway:
I’d probably lean toward an RTX 3060 (those Nvidia cards tend to play a bit nicer with AMD processors) and an SSD, even with $1,000 sitting there to spend.
How is the NVIDIA GTX 1060 considered overkill when it’s actually about 10% faster than the NVIDIA GTX 1060 3GB in DX11 titles, and usually just slightly slower in DX12? 😬 Or are you strictly talking about the 6GB VRAM version? I don't think it's really overkill for 1080p.
You could probably snag an overclocked CPU (~4.3GHz), a GTX 1070, and a WQHD IPS monitor for under $1,000.
Tyler Booth7 said:I just heard from CNN that this motherboard isn't being stocked by importers anymore, so I can't get it ordered. It looks like Best Buy pulled it from their site too. Does anyone know what I should pick up instead? Thanks.
Most of the reviews out there cover the older version of the Raiders, which has the 80+ Bronze rating. I haven't seen much coverage specifically for these 80+ Silver models yet. It seems slightly less efficient when it comes to voltage regulation and ripple, though honestly, it stays well within the ATX specs. At the end of the day, it’s just a standard midrange unit, but it offers pretty solid value for the money.
Personally, I’d lean toward the EVGA FTW or maybe the Black Edition... EVGA offers a three-year warranty and their cooling solutions have been pretty solid lately, so I might actually grab one of those before looking at the Black Edition.
Are you planning on picking something up from Newegg, Amazon, or somewhere similar?
Right now, I think the best value you'll find is the Radeon VII at $375.
As for the GeForce GTX 1060, I suspect the Dell model is probably the quietest or most efficient, though EVGA and ASUS are both solid choices too. They’re all pretty much within 40MHz of each other when it comes to overclocking, so 😬