4k PC suggestions

Hi folks :^)

[image: media.giphy.com]

I'm thinking to upgrade from my current setup to play the latest and greatest (PUBG, Monster Hunter) games in 4k (3840x2160p).

My base assumption is i'll require an SLI setup of 2x GTX 1080 ti

- but Idk what mobo and cpu to pair it with. Coffee lake? How many cores? Is single core clock speed preferable to less cores?
- how many PCIe lanes do I need to do SLI effectively, plus SSD, and what mobo can achieve it?
- apparently "u.2" PCIe ssd cards use PCIe 4x at 3.9GB/s so should be simple to calculate turns out
- water cooling? AIO? Compatible cases?
- rgb ?

If anyone has a 4k setup pls post ur specs, any suggestions good.

Current setup -

1st gen Intel Core i7 950
GTX 960 4gb (was GTX 460 SLI)
16 GB ddr3
2.5" 750gb Crucial MX SSD
Gigabyte LGA 1366/Socket B/Bloomfield

- should I just cut the BS and buy a pre-built - maybe Alienware Threadripper (area 51 model)

Prebuilds are a waste of money, especially crapware.

You can nearly always find better specs for the same price or the same specs for a lower price.

Not to mention that with crapware you get a huge number of unknowns, such as which exact PSU and they like to use retarded formfactors, making future upgrades a bitch, as most motherboards simply wont even fit.



Having that said, dual card setups are dying. There never was much support, and its even dwindling down now.

Not to mention you can run into issues such as tearing and microstutter. Which is why SLI/CrossFire never got as big as they could have.

A single 1080ti is enough to run just about anything these days.

So in 13 days since i posted this; I learned that the costs of a single 1080ti go up to 1k, and the cost of a pre built custom machine is pretty much the same as DIY, except plus building and shipping - which are basically negligable when you're already spending so much.

I decided after looking at the prebuilds from alienware and razer and others ( i found the Originpc "millenium" to be p much exactly what i want ! )

The prices for a full-fat custom are about 9k give or take, which is essentially a years wages lol.
So unless i do some dodgy side jobs cash in hand i dont see me getting a shiny new pc anytime soon.

Which also is kind of fine, i prefer to watch my 4k HDR TV rather than game on it, cause im too lazy to put in effort these days.
I think the use case that got me starting this thread is all but gone tbh.
In the unlikely event my PC is destroyed, and it's not a case of replacing any single component, I can afford a lower grade PC.

A watercooled i7 8700k build is only 3.4k which is comparably affordable.

Thanks for the input.
I'm not worried about strange cases and upgrades since I plan to use the device till the end of its life as I have done with my previous machine (DIY build).

It's true that the brand names put in crapware, but custom pc gigs will dodge all of that which is what I think I was really aiming for anyway. My main gripe with the brand names, was the presence of usb 2.0, or one novelty usb-c. Only alienware had thunderbolt 3 support. It's just usb - if you've got one you could have six, surely, they don't pay a premium license to anyone for using more than one connection on a board. It's absurd to have less/inferior connectivity imo.

When you consider the upper limit to CF/SLI being full market saturation, and a situation where nobody is using single graphics card builds, I guess you could say it never really took off lol. I never had any problems with my GTX 460-SLI thru its whole run.

A 1080ti is enough to run just about anything at 4k like you say, but not everything not at Ultra without any hiccups ever.
Dual GPU 1080ti on the other hand, is future proof for as long as the rest of the kits lifespan, godwilling.
My ideal threadripper pc at 9k monies is fully kitted out; sure the performance gain is broadly negligable, but this is about spending money only once and riding it off into the sunset, rather than chasing that sweet spot for budgeted gains.