The Byte - The High End Build

The Byte - Our 'High End' Build

You want more power? Ok, duly noted. You're here because you want one of two things. Either a step up to the world of 1440p gaming, or even the beginning of high refresh rate 1080p gaming (i.e. at frame rates in excess of 60). Now, to be clear, a lower end video card like a 1050 Ti or 1060 will be able to produce very high frame rates in lower end games at 1080p. Here, I am talking about high refresh rates in more demanding titles. Games where high FPS (e.g. racing, shooters) is often more important than 'eye-candy'!

CPU - Intel Core i5 8600k (high refresh) or AMD Ryzen 7 1700

Now, for the purposes of high refresh rate gaming, there can only be the choice of Intel Coffee Lake. Higher clock speeds, massive overclocking potential, and a small (5% or so) IPC bump over AMD Ryzen is crucial for higher frame rates, and when paired with our chosen GPU, you will be having a truly excellent 1080p 60+ FPS gaming experience. We loved the 8600k, and you can read our review of this excellent processor here.

Paired with a solid cooling option (these chips get hot) and a quality Z370 motherboard, it'll ensure a solid and stable gaming platform for quite some time, especially when you consider that some people are still holding onto Sandy Bridge (Intel 2nd Generation, so nearly 6 years old) i5 2500k and i7 2600k processors!

However, perhaps you're not interested in high refresh rate gaming? Perhaps you'd like to sample the higher end of AMD Ryzen? Well, look no further than their 8 core/16 thread R7 1700. The chip comes unlocked, ready for overclocking, is power efficient, and provides excellent multi-threading support for heavy multitasking work. You can read our review of the R7 1700 here. Prices of this CPU have dropped ever since release, and AMD are readying their 'Ryzen 2' optimisation, due later this year. It is not as strong a gaming CPU as the 8600k, but for the price, it is a very compelling option. I happen to have a 1700X, and like it very much.

NB: Before you move on, I need to clarify why there are two CPU choices above, beyond what I have listed. It is to give you options! The R7 1700 can do high refresh rate gaming, just not as well as the 8600k. It is all about choice, and that is what AMD's Ryzen CPUs have brought back to the table!

CPU Cooling - BeQuiet! Dark Rock 3 or CoolerMaster Master Liquid 240

Now is the time to recommend aftermarket cooling! Whilst AMD's R7 1700 does come with a decent stock cooler (note, Intel's 8600k doesn't come with a cooler), 8 cores and 16 threads (when overclocked, and you should certainly overclock the 1700) can run warm and hungry, so good cooling is recommended. Therefore, our recommendations are twofold, as there are considerations to take into account when looking at air vs. liquid cooling solutions.

• Performance: Unless you are looking at the very high end of air coolers, their AIO counterparts perform better. It is that simple.
• Reliability: On the flipside, AIO's have more moving parts and thus more natural points of failure. Failed AIO's can be anything from a dead pump (not a huge issue, just replace) to a leak (more of an issue). You have to decide if it is worth it.
• Looks: Whilst nothing to do with performance, the fact is that most AIO coolers look a lot less bulky (and therefore 'cleaner' than air coolers of any size). Add to that that - in 2017 - most AIOs come equipped with at least basic lighting (and, more often than not, RGB lighting), and you can understand why aesthetics are a consideration.

My choice of coolers comes down to price, brand, and performance. Both units are excellent choices for both CPUs, and the decision will come down to you - the buyer - weighing up the considerations I have listed above.

GPU - Nvidia GTX 1070

Since we last wrote this guide, GPUs have been even more affected by pricing and availability issues. Even Nvidia cards like the 1070 are grossly overinflated. If you are going to buy a GPU, please do not overpay, and follow what I said in the guide intro.

The 1070 has been out for a fair while now, but it still provides a highly capable 1440p 60 FPS or 1080p high refresh option to new builders. Again, you can check out a list of our GPU reviews here. At this price point, you can feel a little more justified in spending a bit more money on a nicer version of the 1070, as long as you bear in mind that performance differences are fairly negligible, and all you are paying for is (likely) an over-engineered VRM (yes, GPUs have VRMs as well) and fancy lights. There is also 'better cooling,' which can legitimately affect the way these Pascal GPUs perform, but as they're fairly efficient anyway, the heat really shouldn't be an issue. I should briefly mention the newly released 1070Ti. Yes, it is an option. No, you shouldn't buy it. Why? Well, if you're going to spend money extra on a 1070Ti, then is it really a stretch to get a 1080? In most cases, no, and therefore the only reason the 1070Ti exists is to edge out my next mention...

The alternative to Nvidia's 1070 is the RX Vega 56 from AMD. There is little doubt that Vega 56 is a direct competitor to the 1070, but whilst they are compelling options, the same issue that affected the RX 570 and 580 also plagues Radeon Vega. Pricing and availability of these GPUs is affected by cryptocurrency mining and demand. Getting your hands on Vega at a decent price is very difficult. Should you wish to check out AMD's Vega 56, then the review of it is here. So why would you consider RX Vega? 1070 is notably more power efficient, more readily available (...sort of), and performs just as well. Well, some considerations are below:

• FreeSync: This is a huge 'lure' for Vega buyers. AMD's adaptive refresh rate technology is much cheaper than Nvidia's G-Sync, and provides an entirely comparable experience.
• API support: Like it or not, AMD's cards perform very well in titles that support (properly) the Vulkan and DX12 APIs. This is entirely due to the way AMD GPUs are built (i.e. their 'architecture').
• AMD 'Finewine': No, that is not a typo. Some people have true belief in the concept that AMD GPUs age particularly well, due to their architecture and driver support. Whilst there is some credence to this theory (e.g. AMD's HD 7000 and R9 200 series have aged extremely well, and the same will likely apply to the 300 series, as well Polaris), it is by no means a true basis to make a decision on! It is, at best, a 'consideration' to have.

Motherboard - Asus 'TUF' Z370 Plus or Asus Prime X370 Pro

Intel first, and the choice is easy. Asus' 'TUF' board on the Z370 chipset provides solid features at a decent price. Now, the same could be said of virtually any Z370 board from MSI, AsRock, Gigabyte/Aorus (and so on). You can check out our review of this board here. The board earned our recommendation, and our only real reservation (aside from no Wi-Fi, which is still relatively common) was it's... ahem, 'TUF' aesthetic! For most regular builders, it contains everything you need.

On the AMD side of things, it is time to take a step up to the flagship 'X370' chipset. Here, we can recommend (again, balancing price/features/performance) the MSI X370 Krait Gaming, review here. The AM4 platform has matured greatly since launch, and updates to it are incredibly regular. Increasing memory speed and compatibility is fairly essential, and I am glad to say (both in my personal experience and from what I have garnered online) this has been achieved. The higher end X370 boards offer more connectivity, support for multiple GPUs, and a better quality VRM to handle the higher power draw 8 core CPUs. Again, this is a guide, and please feel free to pair any 'well-known brand' 130-150 USD/EUR X370 motherboard with Ryzen 7, even more, if you want to.

System Memory - 16GB DDR4 @ 3000-3200 MHz

Memory recommendations here are getting trickier, as you want to get what - today - you are likely paying double what you would have done this time last year! With that, 16GB is the recommended amount here, end of discussion! The advice I listed in 'The Nibble' build still applies, however. Get memory at the speed listed above from any of the reputable manufacturers (though for sure compatibility, I would stick to GSkill, Corsair, Crucial, or Kingston here. They are the 'big' brands, and are likely to have an easier time of being both compatible and reaching the rated speed listed. At this price range, getting your hands on higher quality Samsung 'B-Die' memory sticks might well be to your advantage, especially on Ryzen where memory speeds matter so much more. As for what kits actually contain said 'B-Die' Samsung chips, a quick online search will tell you this more often than not.

Storage - 2TB 7,200rpm HDD + 256-512GB SSD (SATA or M.2 NVMe)

Whereas I merely mentioned the existence of M.2 drives before, I'm now going to flat out recommend them. As long as you buy the NVMe drives (be careful here, look online if you are not sure about the difference between a regular 'SATA' drive in the M.2 form factor, and an NVMe drive in the M.2 form factor). However, if you cannot fit an NVMe drive into your budget, then do not feel as though a SATA SSD is a poor replacement. They're still plenty fast and for every Joe Bloggs (Average Joe, to any American readers here) user, hence they're fine.

Our recommendations for M.2 drives will be hard to narrow down on here, so please check out our storage reviews page (linked here for more information. Generally, however, M.2 drives from the likes of Samsung, Adata, Western Digital, and Crucial are solid choices.

A small word on HDDs here. We are getting to the price point where you could (legitimately) consider a single large SSD over a multiple drive configuration (or even all SSD, but that can be expensive, especially in 2017 with the price of NAND Flash memory being higher than normal). However, I would advise sticking to the accepted 'SSD + HDD' formula, and simply upping the amount of storage available on both.

Power Supply (PSU) - 650-750W, 80+ Gold

As the rest of the build has jumped up in spec and price, might as well take the PSU with it! Being realistic, however, this build would run find on a quality 550W PSU without any difficulty. However, there is also the consideration of PSU longevity and efficiency to take into account. PSUs (generally) run best when they are approximately 45-55% loaded. Furthermore, pushing a PSU to close to its rated wattage draw will make it work unnecessarily hard, make it produce more noise, and likely age it prematurely. As this system - to my calculations - will draw around 350W from the wall when heavily loaded, that puts it around 45-55% of 650-750W. Linked here is the PSU review list done by this website. However, I can imagine that some reasons perhaps want some specific recommendations? Well, whilst we have not personally reviewed all of the units listed below, they are from well-trusted vendors who use quality OEM's to make the PSUs in question:

• BeQuiet! Pure Power 9 CM 700W (Reviewed).
• Corsair RMx/RMi 650-750W (Reviewed).
• EVGA Supernova G3 650-750W.
• Seasonic Focus Plus 650W.
• Bitfenix Formula Gold

Odds and Ends

Much the same of what I said regarding 'The Nibble' also applies here! Please do not cheap out on a case. Get a sound card if you need one (again, you need a sound card if you are the type of person to know you need one. Linked here is our list of speaker/soundcard reviews, if you are curious as to what is on offer, or simply what they do!

Finally, a word on case choice. As the components we are using for this build are now definitely drawing notably more power and heat than the cheaper builds, a case that isn't entirely closed off or starved of airflow is a good idea. To that end, you do not, here, need to worry that much. Most modern ATX mid-tower cases have decent ventilation. If you are curious, you can check out our list of chassis reviews here, where airflow is always mentioned in the case's stock configuration.

Finally, a word on monitors. Now, whilst this choice is up to you, I can offer some very limited advice:

• Going for 1440p 60 FPS? Get a 2560 x 1440 panel, IPS is nice (usually better colours and accuracy), 27'' is ideal, and really that's it.
• Going for 1080p high refresh? Again, simple. 1920 x 1080, refresh rate of 120-144Hz, TN is better here (lower input lag, though honestly, you'd have to be a pro-gamer to noice the difference between 1ms and 4ms of input lag), and G-Sync/FreeSync support is nice for smoothing out gameplay. Again, that's it.

You want MORE??. More?? Ok then, time to throw the budget out of the window, caution to the winds, and build a god-tier PC?