The High End Build

So 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 R5 2600X

We loved the 8600k, and you can read our review of this excellent processor here. It's a fantastic choice for high refresh rate gaming, and is offered at a very reasonable price. It has massive overclocking potential and can push very high frame rates at 1080p 144hz or 1440p.

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, AMD for high refresh rate gaming? Well, yes. Certainly. By moving up to the R5 2600X, you gain clock speed and support for AMD's Precision Boost 2 technology, which does a fantastic job of dynamically adjusting CPU clock rate on a per-core basis depending on load, thermals, and power. You can read our review of the 2600X here. Prices of this CPU have dropped ever since release, and it can now be found for 190 EUR, give or take. It is not as strong a gaming CPU as the 8600k, but for the price, it is a very compelling option, and will still provide excellent frame rates when paired with one of the below GPUs when using appropriate settings.

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 R5 2600X can do high refresh rate gaming very well, but in an outright battle, the 8600k will usually win by a small margin. It is all about choice, and that is what AMD's Ryzen CPUs have brought back to the table. I also felt that the extra money spent on something like the 8 core/16 thread R7 2700 would be wasted for a purely gaming orientated machine.

Motherboard - Z370 or...

Intel first, and the choice is easy. The Z370 chipset provides solid features at a decent price. Now, the same could be said of virtually any Z370 board from ASUS, MSI, AsRock, Gigabyte/Aorus (and so on). You can check out our review of this board here. One particular 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. If this board doesn't fit your aesthetic, or you want something else, we have an extensive mainboard review list for you to check out.

With Ryzen+, we also got a new generation of X470 chipset motherboards. We don't want to spend too much here, but a higher end CPU like the 2600X deserves a nicer motherboard, we think. Therefore, as a bit of a cop-out, we will very much leave this segment for you to decide. AMD is readying B450 mainboards (i.e. the sequel to the mainstream B350 chipset of last generation Ryzen), and we have this advice. It is up to you whether you go for a cheaper B350 board to pair with your 2nd generation Ryzen CPU, or you invest in the higher end X470 chipset. Realistically, B350/B450 boards are all that most people need. However, we are at a price point now where you can afford to invest in a nicer motherboard with a stronger VRM, more connectivity, support for multiple M.2 drives, and so on. If it were me, I would probably look toward the higher end of the B350/450 chipsets, and reserve the top-end X470 line for Ryzen 7 CPUs.

CPU Cooling - BeQuiet! Dark Rock 4 or 240mm AIO

Now is the time to recommend aftermarket cooling for all systems. Whilst AMD's R5 2600X does come with a decent stock cooler (note, Intel's 8600k doesn't come with a cooler), 6 cores and 12 threads want cooling and can run warm and hungry. Furthermore, the Precision Boost 2 algorithm relies on having thermal headroom to push cores as far as they can be pushed. Think of it as helping your CPU out? Therefore, our recommendations are twofold, as there are considerations to take into account when looking at air vs. liquid cooling solutions.

1. Performance: Unless you are looking at the very high end of air coolers, their AIO counterparts perform better. It is that simple.
2. 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.
3. 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 - in 2018 - 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. I would err on the liquid side of things for the 8600k, and you will likely be a-ok with a mid to higher end air cooler (such as the Dark Rock 4) for the 2600X.

GPU - Nvidia GTX 1070, GTX 1080, or AMD Vega 56.

Since we last wrote this guide, GPUs have largely returned to normal in terms of pricing. Hallelujah, right?

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, and so remains our choice for this level of PC. 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 and fancy lights. There is also 'better cooling,' which can legitimately affect the way these new Pascal GPUs perform, but as they're fairly efficient anyway, heat really shouldn't be an issue.

I should briefly mention the 1070 Ti. 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... If you find yourself nearly having the budget for something like a 1080, then find the money, or opt for a cheaper case/motherboard, etc. The 1080 can be found for very reasonable new prices in July 2018, so it's well worth your time to look around.

What about AMD? Well, now we can mention Radeon RX Vega. The direct alternative to Nvidia's 1070 is Vega 56. Both offer excellent high refresh 1080p or 1440p performance, but there are problems. First up, Pricing and availability of these GPUs is still, even now, affected by cryptocurrency mining and demand. Getting your hands on Vega at a decent price is easier than it used to be, but you will need to be very savvy. Should you wish to check out AMD's Vega 56, then the review of it is here.

So why would you consider RX Vega? The 1070 is notably more power efficient, more readily available (at decent prices), and performs just as well. Well, some considerations are below:

1. 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.
2. 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').
3. 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, which is still providing solid 1080p performance even when using very high quality textures), it is by no means a true basis to make a decision on. It is, at best, a 'consideration' to have.

Realistically, we think that most users will end up going for Nvidia's offerings here, and I cannot say I would disagree. Go for what suits you, however, and nobody can say fairer.

System Memory - 16GB DDR4 @ 3000-3200Mhz

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. This bit remains unedited from the spring version of this guide because... well, it's still relevant.

Luckily, that also means that the advice I listed in 'mainstream' build still applies. 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 (ahem, cryptocurrency mining, *cough*), 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, 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). 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).
• Corsair TX-M 650W-750W
• EVGA Supernova G2/G3 650-750W.
• Seasonic Focus Plus 650W.
• Bitfenix Nova Gold
• Odds and Ends

There is, actually, some advice we can give on case choice, now we are getting to the 'big leagues.' 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 notice 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 any budget out of the window, caution to the winds, and build a god-tier PC.