TombstoneTV wanted to build a gaming rig primarily for Rainbow Six Siege. This was TombstoneTV’s first build: he received significant input from Rainbow Six Siege gamers on the /r/Rainbow6 Discord server.
He initially approached me with a build list totaling $921.21, inclusive of a Logitech G303 Daedalus Apex (Amazon.com)
I offered my feedback for his consideration, details of which accompany the final parts list provided below:
Final Parts List
CPU: Intel Core i5-7600
Intel’s Core i5-7600 (Amazon.com) is a Kaby Lake processor built on the 14nm manufacturing process. This part was retained from initial parts list to final build.
Motherboard: MSI B250 PC MATE
The MSI B250 PC MATE (Amazon.com) made it from initial parts selection to final build. I considered cutting it for a cheaper board if needed. Note that the Intel B250 chipset is designed for Kaby Lake processors
RAM: 8GB Kingston HyperX Fury Black DDR4-2133
Initially, TombstoneTV’s build was specced for 16GB (2*8GB) Team Dark DDR4-2400 with timings of 14-16-16-31 (TDGED416G2400HC14DC01, Newegg.com).
I advised TombstoneTV to right-size his build. I suggested 8GB (2*4GB) of DDR4-2133 with tight timings, and found a suitable kit from Kingston (HX421C14FBK2/8, Amazon.com, Datasheet).
He ultimately selected a single 8GB module (HX421C14FB/8, Amazon.com), losing the benefits of running dual-channel 🙁 Live and learn, I suppose…
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5″ 7200RPM HDD
TombstoneTV’s build sheet initially featured a PNY CS1311 120GB SSD (Amazon.com) in addition to a Seagate FireCuda 1TB 7200RPM Hybrid HDD (ST1000DX002, Amazon.com). I knew that he would be better-served by a higher-capacity SSD. The only question was finding the room to upgrade the SSD given budgetary constraints, and I eyed the Seagate FireCuda for the chopping block. I asked whether the FireCuda could go, given that TombstoneTV wasn’t intending to use the rig for media storage (he streams most of his content).
Fortunately, TombstoneTV told me that he already had a 2TB external drive hooked up to his Xbox One, and that he could pull the drive for use in his build. He was certain that his external drive was an SSD (I thought it highly implausible).
His rig is running on spinning disks only at this point, but so be it. An SSD and a clean OS installation can always come later.
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
Not much to say on this one – the PNY GeForce GTX 1060 6GB (VCGGTX10606PB, Amazon.com) came recommended to TombstoneTV, and I left it alone. If I were selecting a graphics card for personal use, I’d research more deeply into which GTX 1060 6GB were best – at this time, I don’t know how PNY’s GTX 1060 6GB compares against the field.
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT BF ATX Mid Tower Case
TombstoneTV picked out the Deepcool TESSERACT BF (Amazon.com) in his initial parts listing. I’ve never used Deepcool in the past, but it looked alright from the pictures, so I didn’t push him towards any of the established players. I personally feel that a solid computer case is worth investing in, because it can always be recycled for a future build.
PSU: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular
The SeaSonic G 550W (SSR-550RM, Amazon.com) power supply made it to the final parts list. Given that the build is going into a mid-tower case, I didn’t push for a fully-modular PSU.
Post-Build
TombstoneTV reported, “I’m genuinely happy. This runs Siege in 100fps on high”
The machine is outputting to an ASUS VG248QE 24″ 1080p 144Hz monitor (Amazon.com).
I asked that TombstoneTV run 3DMark – he came back with 3DMark Time Spy results:
3DMark Time Spy Results
Graphics Test 1: 33.45 FPS
Graphics Test 2: 30.43 FPS
Graphics Score: 4027
CPU Test: 22.10 FPS
CPU Score: 3951