[Official] EHW Contest Giveaway: Best $1500 build specifications - Vote Now!

[UltraMega]

 

 

Hello and welcome,

 

EHW is hosting a friendly competition where you get to flex your PC-building skills! The goal is to design a gaming rig within a fixed budget. Contestants will provide a list of parts, people will vote on the best gaming PC build submission, and the winner will walk away with a free game! This is a casual contest for fun, you do not need to build a real PC, just put together a list of parts.

 

The winner will be able to choose from ONE of these four Steam games:

 

 

 

 The Rules:

-Design the best gaming focused PC within a $1500 budget!

-You cannot go over budget.

-Tax will not be included in the total.

-Parts must include everything needed for the PC to be fully functional, including the case.

-No used parts or local deals, parts must be sourced from places anyone can access.

-You cannot vote for your own build. 

-Submissions must include any screenshots of any relevant shopping carts, or lists from PCpartpicker.com

 

Timeframe:

The contest will be open for one week.

 

Winner Selection:

A winner will be chosen based on the greatest number of votes. Anyone can vote for their top 3 picks and points will be awarded based on these votes!

 

Top Pick - 3 points

Second Pick - 2 points 

Third Pick - 1 point

 

The winner will be sent a Steam key for their chosen game, so please ensure you have a Steam account or Sign Up for one. Please note that we will not supply keys for any other platform.

 

If we see a decent amount of interest, we will look to host these competitions semi regularly.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Edited July 16 by UltraMega

[ENTERPRISE]

Released

[damric]

Would you like this advertised on other like-minded tech forums to generate traffic?

[Sir Beregond]

Does Micro Center count?

[UltraMega]

3 minutes ago, Sir Beregond said:

Does Micro Center count?

Only if it's available on the online store, not if it's only an in store deal. 

[ENTERPRISE]

38 minutes ago, damric said:

Would you like this advertised on other like-minded tech forums to generate traffic?

Sure, more the merrier!

[Sir Beregond]

37 minutes ago, UltraMega said:

Only if it's available on the online store, not if it's only an in store deal. 

Not really how Micro Center works, so guess the answer is no.

[damric]

Here's my 1st attempt, and I'm including a screenshot because that 4070Ti Super thingie looks like a hell of deal, and yes today it is in stock!

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/YDYVN6

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($364.99 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright AXP90-X47 42.58 CFM CPU Cooler  ($35.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock B650 LiveMixer ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($149.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Silicon Power XPOWER Zenith Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($94.97 @ Newegg Sellers) 
Storage: Silicon Power UD85 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($109.97 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: PNY XLR8 Gaming VERTO EPIC-X RGB OC GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16 GB Video Card  ($479.00 @ Amazon) 
Case: Cooler Master QUBE 500 Flatpack Macaron Edition ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Enermax Revolution D.F. X 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 PST 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fans 5-Pack  ($32.61 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1477.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-07-01 15:13 EDT-0400

 

[UltraMega]

7 minutes ago, Sir Beregond said:

Not really how Micro Center works, so guess the answer is no.

Just want to make sure everyone is on equal footing. Microcenter deals would be pretty advantageous. 

[Sir Beregond]

1 hour ago, UltraMega said:

Just want to make sure everyone is on equal footing. Microcenter deals would be pretty advantageous. 

Mainly the combo deals, everything else isn't anything special.

 

But just wanted to check.

Edited July 1 by Sir Beregond

[Slaughtahouse]

2 hours ago, damric said:

Here's my 1st attempt, and I'm including a screenshot because that 4070Ti Super thingie looks like a hell of deal, and yes today it is in stock!

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/YDYVN6

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($364.99 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright AXP90-X47 42.58 CFM CPU Cooler  ($35.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock B650 LiveMixer ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($149.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Silicon Power XPOWER Zenith Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($94.97 @ Newegg Sellers) 
Storage: Silicon Power UD85 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($109.97 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: PNY XLR8 Gaming VERTO EPIC-X RGB OC GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16 GB Video Card  ($479.00 @ Amazon) 
Case: Cooler Master QUBE 500 Flatpack Macaron Edition ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Enermax Revolution D.F. X 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 PST 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fans 5-Pack  ($32.61 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1477.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-07-01 15:13 EDT-0400

 

 

Something is off with that GPU price. Link won’t open and when I search it’s at ~$800 USD on Amazon . com

 

If that deal is real… what a steal

[damric]

15 minutes ago, Slaughtahouse said:

 

Something is off with that GPU price. Link won’t open and when I search it’s at ~$800 USD on Amazon . com

 

If that deal is real… what a steal

just like that the sale evaporated

[UltraMega]

12 minutes ago, damric said:

just like that the sale evaporated

That would have been one hell of a sale. Seems like it was probably a listing error. 

Edited July 1 by UltraMega

[damric]

38 minutes ago, UltraMega said:

That would have been one hell of a sale. Seems like it was probably a listing error. 

it was there on amazon. I should have bought it!

[Fluxmaven]

Went a similar route as Damric but with a white aesthetic. If we could have done microcenter in store deals, it would have a been a 5800X3D combo with a 4080 super lol 

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fWfKjH

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($384.99 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($17.91 @ Newegg Sellers) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX ICE ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Silicon Power XPOWER Zenith Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($92.97 @ B&H) 
Storage: Kingston NV2 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($114.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Sapphire PURE Radeon RX 7900 GRE 16 GB Video Card  ($544.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: MagniumGear Neo Air 2 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: MSI MPG A750GF 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1495.82

[UltraMega]

3 hours ago, Fluxmaven said:

Went a similar route as Damric but with a white aesthetic. If we could have done microcenter in store deals, it would have a been a 5800X3D combo with a 4080 super lol 

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fWfKjH

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($384.99 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($17.91 @ Newegg Sellers) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX ICE ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Silicon Power XPOWER Zenith Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($92.97 @ B&H) 
Storage: Kingston NV2 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($114.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Sapphire PURE Radeon RX 7900 GRE 16 GB Video Card  ($544.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: MagniumGear Neo Air 2 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: MSI MPG A750GF 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1495.82

Your build would definitely have a solid look to it. 

 

 

I was determined to go for a 4080 Super. Sacrifices had to be made, but here's what I got:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/VXxhQP

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D 3 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($192.98 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9X Performa ARGB 61.36 CFM CPU Cooler  ($19.98 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550M K Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: PNY XLR8 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  ($56.99 @ Walmart) 
Storage: Kingston NV2 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($57.77 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: PNY VERTO OC GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER 16 GB Video Card  ($959.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake Smart BX1 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($74.98 @ Newegg Sellers) 
Total: $1452.68

 

Then for the case which was not on PCPartPicker for some reason, I went with a RAIDMAX Vector V100 - $44.99

RAIDMAX Vector V100 Gaming Case with 4 Pre-Installed Rainbow Fans, ATX Mid Tower Case, Gaming PC (Black) - Newegg.com

 

Grand Total: 1,497.67

 

I had to cheap out on pretty much everything to get a 4080 Super and a 5700X3D in there. The motherboard does have 2x m.2 slots. The SSD is over 3000mb/s. Standard black color scheme with black glass panel case, good airflow design. 

[damric]

11 hours ago, Fluxmaven said:

Went a similar route as Damric but with a white aesthetic. If we could have done microcenter in store deals, it would have a been a 5800X3D combo with a 4080 super lol 

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fWfKjH

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($384.99 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($17.91 @ Newegg Sellers) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX ICE ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($199.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Silicon Power XPOWER Zenith Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($92.97 @ B&H) 
Storage: Kingston NV2 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($114.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Sapphire PURE Radeon RX 7900 GRE 16 GB Video Card  ($544.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: MagniumGear Neo Air 2 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: MSI MPG A750GF 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1495.82

yeah I was also looking at those GRE cards last night since that 4070ti super already went back up to 900 bucks. that's really solid build and I strongly feel that 2TB nvme drive is the minimum these days.

[Slaughtahouse]

Trying to min/max in ITX format, prioritizing a 7900 XTX.

Total: $1499.80

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Ptw7VW

 

Notes:

• Like Ultra, cheaped out where I could to get best GPU/CPU combo.
• Edit: Updated with NVME in-lieu of SATA, only 512gb storage.
• No additional fans
• Edit 2: Swapped memory from GSkill to Silicon Power.
• Edit 2: Peerless Assassin didn't fit in budget, swapped to AXP90, which is more tailored for SFF / low power CPUs. 
• Edit 2: Deleted table

 

Edited July 5 by Slaughtahouse
Edit #1, Updated with NVME drive. Edit #2, Swapped memory, CPU cooler. See notes above.

[Sir Beregond]

Slightly different strategy here. Video cards are easily upgraded down the line. With this, have the great gaming CPU/platform, but I think you do it a disservice opting for cheap QLC storage, so this at least has a 2TB TLC with DRAM cache drive. For additional storage drives? Sure go cheap. Just saying if I was actually trying to build a system for $1500, there are certain baselines I want and for a single drive (for now) system, better start with a good drive. Better video card down the line? Easy to do. For now? 7800 XT is only single digit FPS slower than a 7900 GRE. Case comes with 3 fans.

 

EDIT: RAM also not quite as good as some of the other entries here at 48 CAS vs 30, but again, easy to upgrade down the line if really needed. Probably can tune it if inclined. Doubt it really matters all that much for an X3D based platform.

 

Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Rmv8VW

 

 

EDIT 2: So not for the contest, but just saying if you do have a Micro Center semi-close to you, nice deals....

Edited July 2 by Sir Beregond

[Slaughtahouse]

1 hour ago, Sir Beregond said:

 Just saying if I was actually trying to build a system for $1500, there are certain baselines I want and for a single drive (for now) system, better start with a good drive. 

Respectfully, disagree. 

 

If the objective is a gaming only system, I would prioritize everywhere possible on the GPU/CPU. I don't believe the type of storage (TLC vs QLC) is really all that important. Formatting the OS or cloning a drive without important data (projects, personal files, private media etc.) isn't really at risk if you ever wanted to swap out the drive.

 

I'd treat drive quality as a nice to have. Even PCI-E (speeds) aren't technically necessary when many games work fine with SATA SSDs but I can concur, it's better to have PCI-E where possible considering how cheap a good drive can be. More important would be storage (quantity) depending on the users network speed. With gigabyte fiber becoming more accessible these days, it's really not all bad to delete, remove games, and reinstall others. Games do require faster storage these days but I've yet to see a game struggle on a SATA SSD. Hard drive would be a no-go. I tried installing Alan Wake 2 on my 7200rpm HDD and it would have large, massive stutters during cutscenes.

 

I still use a Samsung 840 (non PRO) 250gb sata drive for my OS with a Steam library for context. TLC from 2012... and still healthy. 

 

I'll update my post with a NVME (3.0) drive in an effort to improve the build. Don't get me wrong, for a more balanced system, I 100% agree with your logic. 

[Sir Beregond]

11 minutes ago, Slaughtahouse said:

Respectfully, disagree. 

 

If the objective is a gaming only system, I would prioritize everywhere possible on the GPU/CPU. I don't believe the type of storage (TLC vs QLC) is really all that important. Formatting the OS or cloning a drive without important data (projects, personal files, private media etc.) isn't really at risk if you ever wanted to swap out the drive.

 

I'd treat drive quality as a nice to have. Even PCI-E (speeds) aren't technically necessary when many games work fine with SATA SSDs but I can concur, it's better to have PCI-E where possible considering how cheap a good drive can be. More important would be storage (quantity) depending on the users network speed. With gigabyte fiber becoming more accessible these days, it's really not all bad to delete, remove games, and reinstall others. Games do require faster storage these days but I've yet to see a game struggle on a SATA SSD. Hard drive would be a no-go. I tried installing Alan Wake 2 on my 7200rpm HDD and it would have large, massive stutters during cutscenes.

 

I still use a Samsung 840 (non PRO) 250gb sata drive for my OS with a Steam library for context. TLC from 2012... and still healthy. 

 

I'll update my post with a NVME (3.0) drive in an effort to improve the build. Don't get me wrong, for a more balanced system, I 100% agree with your logic. 

So most of your post is about speeds, and I am talking more the underlying technology, for example the drive having DRAM cache or not, and TLC vs QLC. Personally I'd never install my OS on a QLC drive. The difference between QLC and TLC is quality, longevity, reliability of the drive. As for DRAM cache, you want that if you do any decent amount of workloads that do writes to the drive. Admittedly, strictly gaming, maybe not as important a feature, but again single drive system, rather put in the good drive. But that's just me.

 

Also, timing of this contest. Why would I buy a high end GPU now when next gen is right around the corner. Personally I think my config makes perfect sense for a $1500 1080p/1440p rig that with a single GPU upgrade in 6-12 months can easily be a very good 1440p/4k rig, sell the 7800 XT to offset some of the costs.

 

Anyway, different strokes different folks. That's just my thinking. I was looking for how best I could balance it without having to resort to the cheapest of the cheap for storage, motherboard, RAM, etc.

Edited July 2 by Sir Beregond

[Slaughtahouse]

9 minutes ago, Sir Beregond said:

So most of your post is about speeds, and I am talking more the underlying technology, for example the drive having DRAM cache or not, and TLC vs QLC. Personally I'd never install my OS on a QLC drive. The difference between QLC and TLC is quality, longevity, reliability of the drive. As for DRAM cache, you want that if you do any decent amount of workloads that do writes to the drive.

 

Also, timing of this contest. Why would I buy a high end GPU now when next gen is right around the corner. Personally I think my config makes perfect sense for a $1500 1080p/1440p rig that with a single GPU upgrade in 6-12 months can easily be a very good 1440p/4k rig, sell the 7800 XT to offset some of the costs.

 

 

Nothing wrong your build at all, just saying people have different priorities

[Sir Beregond]

1 minute ago, Slaughtahouse said:

 

 

Nothing wrong your build at all, just saying people have different priorities

Agreed  

 

I mainly was trying to look for a balance. I think it's easier to swap out RAM or a video card down the line than it is to clone drives and fiddles with M.2 storage. But that's just me.

[UltraMega]

All good stuff! Having some serious variations among builds here is great, seeing all the different options and preferences people have is exactly what this is all about. Winner will be decided by votes, so any style can win, it's not just who can put the best CPU and GPU. 

 

Kinda interesting thst no one has gone with Intel so far.

[damric]

YES the trash talking has begun which is the fun part I was waiting for!

 

But yeah my opinion it better be a 2TB drive if you expect to have games actually fit

 

My secondary consideration is a drive with DRAM and then lastly TLC, but those two can be skippied if absolutely necessary.

 

Waiting to see some builds with Intel CPUs, but I doubt we will see ARC graphics