December 2017 Gaming PC Build of the Month

December 2017 Gaming PC Builds for Under $600, $1000 & $1800

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December 2017 Gaming PC Build of the Month

Building Your Own Custom Built Gaming PC Build: December 2017

Welcome to the December 2017 PC Builds of the month over here at Newb Computer Build. We have seen several changes to these builds over the last several months due to many releases of CPUs, and lots of changes in the pricing of graphics cards.

To bring the community up to speed with regards to changes coming into December 2017, we have recently saw receding graphics card prices, as the cryptocurrency mining craze seems to have slowed right down, resulting in the resurgence of the higher memory performing graphics cards seeing the light of day again. There has also been a new graphics card come climbing into the market, the GTX 1070 Ti — which beefs up the previous GTX 1070 with some fancy GTX 1080 vapor chamber cooling and the GTX 1070’s memory subsystem to match up to the it’s current competition. It turns out though, that by doing this NVIDIA has simply confused consumers based on the similarities between the three GTX 1070, 1070 ti and 1080 graphics cards and their performances.

And what the heck is up with the prices on memory in the last half of 2017? Every month prices seem to be rising on PC memory, so do try to get the best deal possible. I’m not exactly sure of the reason other than basic supply and demand, but really what’s gone weary with the supply.

If you are looking to build your custom built pc this December 2017 for anywhere between $600, $1000 to $1800, then you have come to the right place. There have been several updates reflected for the pc builds this month, especially with the cpus. We now have a brand new Intel Coffee Lake i7 8700K in the high-end build this month as it’s not available, and it has benchmark really well. And yes if you have been popping into these pc build update month-to-month then you will realize that the high-end build costs more than the usual $1500. This is because some costs have risen (ie. RAM) and we have switch the cpu (which is slightly more expensive) and with the new cpu comes a new cpu socket. With that being said this build is newer, faster, but more expensive. I was going to keep the same

Each of the custom pc builds below are in the budgets of $600, $1000 or $1500 and there are even budgets available everywhere in between. If you are looking for the very best December 2017 gaming pc build then all you have to do is choose a build based on your available budget, the games you want to play and at what settings / resolutions. The following builds are updated monthly in order to bring you the most up to date hardware possible at the best possible cost per gaming performance. You can still and try to get last months cheaper high-end pc build, which can be found in the November $1500 PC Build of the Month. The $1000 build has had some new hardware additions this month, but none of which change the performance too much. And finally, the $600 PC build for December 2017 features a Ryzen 5 1400 versus last months i3 Coffee Lake cpu. This is a much better choice in terms of cost per performance.

Thank you everyone for tuning in for December 2017. Have a great holiday season and a happy new year!


Click here to view all the previous 2017 Gaming PC Builds of the Month

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Gaming PC Builds 2017 - High End Level

December 2017 $1800 PC Build

Performance: Game with Extreme settings and High FPS at resolutions of 1920×1080 (1080P) & 2560×1440 (1440p) + good gameplay at 4K

*This PC Build is powered by the new Intel Coffee Lake i7-8700K CPU

Hardware Link Price Image
Processor

Intel BX80684I78700K 8th Gen Core i7-8700K Processor

$414.99
Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO – CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan $30.99
Motherboard GIGABYTE Z370 AORUS Ultra Gaming (Intel LGA1151/ Z370/ ATX/ 2xM.2/ Front USB 3.1/ RGB Fusion/ Fan Stop / SLI / Motherboard)ASUS PRIME Z270-A LGA1151 DDR4 DP HDMI DVI M.2 USB 3.1 Z270 ATX Motherboard $137.99
Graphics Card GTX 1080: ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Turbo Graphic Card TURBO-GTX1080-8G  $519.99
RAM $173.99
SSD SanDisk SSD PLUS 480GB Solid State Drive (SDSSDA-480G-G26) [Newest Version] $129.99
Power Supply Corsair RMx Series, RM750x, 750W, Fully Modular Power Supply, 80 PLUS Gold Certified 

OR

EVGA Supernova G2 750W 220-G2-0750-XR Fully Modular Power Supply ($89.99 with Amazon Prime)

$109.98
Computer Case NZXT S340 Mid Tower Computer Case, Matte Black/Blue (CA-S340MB-GB) $69.99
Estimated Price : $1760 – (December 2017)

 

Overview: Gaming PC Build for $1500

The high-end gaming pc build for December 2017 has seen several changes. The CPU is probably the biggest change as we are now using an Intel Coffee Lake i7 8700K CPU rather than the previous Intel I7 7700K. You can still purchase a build with the i7 7700K for cheaper if you look at lass months $1500 build, however they are slightly low in supply in some places right now (my assumption is that they are trying to sell out and the big Black Friday & Cyber Monday sales have recently completed). The Intel i7 8700K has two additional cores vs the previous generation i7, bringing it up to six cores on a 12-thread processor with a 3.7 GHz base clock.

The high-end graphics card included is the GTX 1080 (the ASUS GTX 1080 TURBO). This graphics card is made to max out games at 1400p resolutions. As a plus the GTX 1080 has also proven to be very playable on VR platforms if you are ever interested. If you are looking to beef up this build further, you could also consider the GTX 1080 Ti.

We have switched the motherbaord to another Z370 variant. Included int eh above build is a GIGABYTE Z370 AORUS Ultra Gaming, which comes in at a modest cost with everything you need, including (learn more about the motherboard at gigabyte.com):

 

  • Supports 8th Gen Intel® Core™ Processors
  • Dual Channel Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 4 DIMMs
  • Intel® Optane™ Memory Ready
  • ASMedia 3142 USB 3.1 Gen 2 with USB Type-C™ and Type-A
  • Front USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C™ Header
  • Multi-Way Graphics Support with Dual Armor and Ultra Durable™ Design
  • ALC1220 120dB SNR HD Audio with Smart Headphone AMP and WIMA audio capacitors
  • Intel GbE LAN Gaming Network with cFosSpeed Internet Accelerator Software
  • RGB FUSION with Multi-Zone Digital LED Light Show design, support digital LED & RGB LED strips
  • Swappable Overlay for Accent LED
  • Smart Fan 5 features Multiple Temperature Sensors and Hybrid Fan Headers with FAN STOP
  • Dual Ultra-Fast M.2 with PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA interface
  • USB DAC-UP 2 with Adjustable Voltage
  • Anti-Sulfur Resistors Design
  • Ultra Durable™ 25KV ESD and 15KV Surge LAN Protection
  • Lightning-Fast Intel® Thunderbolt™ 3 AIC Support
  • APP Center Including EasyTune™ and Cloud Station™ Utilities

 

RAM prices are very sporadic at the moment, and are a much more expensive than they should be. My suggestion is to search for a cheap 16Gb kit of 2X 8GB sticks that you find at the lowest cost. The included RAM/memory, we have 16GB (two 8GB sticks) of Ballistix Sport LT 16GB Kit, which is a good healthy amount of memory for this high performing December 2017 $1800 gaming pc build.

Our storage solution, is a SanDisk Plus 480 GB SSD – plenty of space to get started with your build. If you think you want to milk as much speed and performance as possible you could also opt for a PCIe SSD, for a bit of a premium (as shown in the hardware upgrades/alternatives below).

For the PSU / Power Supply Unit for this build we have a total of 750Watts with a Corsair Rm750X. The PSU is a new change this month only because the usual PSU I recommend was only available through Amazon Prime, which I didn’t fully approve of. But if you are willing to purchase Amazon Prime, you can get the  EVGA Supernova G2 750W psu instead currently for $89.99 saving you some on your PSU.

The included pc case is the smae as last months, which is the NZXT S340 (specifically, the Matte Black/Red color scheme). I absolutely love the aesthetic of this case (and all the S340’s), one that just boasts confidence in style and quality. To learn more please visit the product page at NZXT.com.

December 2017 $1800 PC Build Upgrade Suggestions

PSU UPGRADE
EVGA SuperNOVA 750 P2, 80+ PLATINUM 750W , Fully Modular , EVGA ECO Mode, 10 Year Warranty , Includes FREE Power On Self Tester, Power Supply 220-P2-0750-X1
– Higher Efficiency Power Supply
$139.99
GRAPHICS CARD UPGRADE GTX 1080 Ti: MSI GTX 1080 TI GAMING X Video Graphic CardsGigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GAMING OC 11GB Graphic Cards N108TGAMINGOC-11GD  **For the best possible 4K gaming experience $769.99
CPU COOLER UPGRADE 
Purchase a liquid CPU cooler (*Highly recommended for Overclocking the CPU to it’s potential): Corsair Hydro Series H100i v2 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler CW-9060025-WW
$109.99
STORAGE UPGRADE
PCIe SSD (faster): Plextor M8Pe 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid-State Drive with Heatsink (PX-512M8PeG
$269.99

The hardware upgrades you see above are recommendations for the above December 2017 $1800 gaming PC build. You can choose one or all of the hardware and it will be compatible with the above build and improve it’s performance in some way.

For those who are concerned about or want a highly efficient power supply, you could go with the Platinum rated EVGA SuperNOVA 750 P2 — just a little bit more than the G2 EVGA psu included in the main high end pc build.

The above pc build does include an SSD, which is perfectly suited for most gamers and pc builders, but if someone were searching for the fastest and one of the most efficient methods of storage, you could consider a premium PCIe Solid State Drive, such as the Plextor 512Gb M.2 PCIe SSD above.

(*Highly recommended for high-end overclocks). If you want more than the included air cpu cooler included in the main build, then above is the Corsair Hydro Series H100i V2 liquid cpu cooler. This cooler would be a substitute for the above included Hyper 212 EVO air cpu cooler and would provide a quieter, more efficient / more customized cooling experience. This option would be best purchased now rather then later so as to save on buying only one cooler for your PC.

The final upgrade you see above is a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti, which perform really well for those high-end resolutions, and is said to have “epic 4K performance”, as stated by Trusted Reviews in their GTX 1080 ti Review.

Gaming PC Builds 2017 - Mid Range Level


December 2017 $1000 Gaming PC Build

Capability: Game with Extreme settings at 1920X1080 resolutions up to Higher Settings at 2560×1440 (2K)

Hardware Link Price Image
Estimated Price: $973 (December 2017)
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 1600 Processor with Wraith Spire Cooler

$189.99
Cooler *Free — Wraith Spire Cooler included with the Ryzen 5 1700 $
Motherboard $102.54
Graphics Card

RX 580 8GB: MSI VGA Graphic Cards RX 580 GAMING X 8G $336.97
RAM $91.99
SSD $92.75
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G1, 80+ GOLD 650W, Fully Modular, 10 Year Warranty, Includes FREE Power On Self Tester Power Supply 120-G1-0650-XR $96.58
Computer Case $62.24

Overview: $1000 December 2017 Gaming PC Build

The $1000 gaming pc build is for those who want to game at resolutions of 1080p into 2K  well for under $1000. This budget PC build that will probably cover most of any average gamers needs, those pc gamers who want an affordable pc that they get to custom build and play the most modern games at the highest settings on the most used gaming resolutions.

The included processor is a an AMD Ryzen 51600 cpu. Another option one could consider is the Ryzen 1600X, but you can overclock the 1600 up to 1600x levels, plus the 1600 comes with its own cpu cooler; you can see the hardware alternative table below for an even better upgrade choice as well.

For the graphics card we have included again a RX 580 8GB. Now that the cryptocurrency mining craze has subsided, we can now included this marvelous card once again at its normal cost.

We have also switched up the motherboard din the $1000 gaming pc build to a GIGABYTE GA-AB350-Gaming 3, which afford all its amenities for a great price, which only reinforces the choice to go with a Ryzen cpu for this build. Gigabyte.com outlines the specifications for this motherboard as follows: (They even include a Quick AM4 Overlcocking Guide):

  • Supports AMD Ryzen™ & 7th Generation A-series / Athlon™ Processors
  • Dual Channel Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 4 DIMMs
  • Fast 2 USB 3.1 Gen 2 with USB Type-A
  • 2-Way CrossFire™ Multi-Graphics Support with Ultra Durable™ Metal Shielding over PCIe Slots
  • Ultra-Fast PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 with PCIe NVMe & SATA mode support
  • ALC1220 120dB SNR HD Audio with Smart Headphone Amp
  • Realtek® Gigabit LAN with cFosSpeed Internet Accelerator Software
  • USB DAC-UP 2 & 2 Front USB 3.0 Ports with Adjustable Voltage
  • RGB FUSION with Multi-Zone LED Light Show design
  • Swappable Overlay for Accent LED
  • Smart Fan 5 features 6 Temperature Sensors and 5 Hybrid Fan Headers
  • GIGABYTE™ UEFI DualBIOS™
  • APP Center Including EasyTune™ and Cloud Station™ Utilities

The RAM included is the affordable kit of Ballistix Sport LT 8Gb kit, which is enough memory for most gaming pc builds, and you always have the option to upgrade more in the future if need be with the extra couple of slots on the included motherboard. RAM prices are a little unpredictable these days, so you can try to look for the best deal on a 8GB kit of 2X 4Gb sticks of ram and you will be fine.

For this pc builds storage, we have a SK Hynix 256GB SSD, which is a great value SSD. Should you want more than the 250GB, then you can look at the high-end build for another SSD option as well or in the hardware alternatives table below.

The included power supply unit used in this months $1000 pc build is the EVGA SuperNOVA G1 650W power supply, which is a great PSU , which is fully modular.

Now for the PC case for the $1000 gaming pc build is the MasterBox 5 by Corsair. This case has a very straightforward design, which makes it super easy to build your pc build with.  Read the full specifications for the MasterBox 5 over at corsair.com.

December 2017 $1000 PC Build Upgrade Suggestions

CPU UPDGRADE Add a Better CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 1700 Processor with Wraith Spire LED Cooler $269.99
GRAPHICS CARD UPGRADE GTX 1070: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti SC GAMING ACX 3.0 Black Edition, 8GB GDDR5, EVGA OCX Scanner OC, White LED, DX12OSD Support (PXOC) Graphics Card 08G-P4-5671-KR $469.99
PSU UPGRADE  Upgrade to a Platinum efficient power supply – EVGA SuperNOVA 650 P2, 80+ PLATINUM 650W , Fully Modular , EVGA ECO Mode, 10 Year Warranty , Includes FREE Power On Self Tester, Power Supply 220-P2-0650-X1 $129.99
CPU COOLER UPGRADE Corsair Hydro Series H80i v2 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler , Black- Add a liquid CPU Cooler for quieter, more customized and efficient cooling *Note you will need to go to Corsair’s Website to purchase an AM4 bracket if you get this cooler.
$86.50

Above are the upgrade ideas for the December 2017 $1000 gaming PC build, these are recommended in case you have a larger budget or want some upgrade suggestions later on.

There is a CPU upgrade included this month for those who have a tiny bit more to spend on more performance, more specifically for someone who also using their PC as a workstation. If you want to boost up your performance you can upgrade your cpu to an AMD Ryzen 7 1700.

For the best in terms of a performance boost, you could consider going straight for a GTX 1070 graphics card, which could max those games out in 2K without a problem, which will enable higher frame rates in more demanding games.

You could also go with a liquid cpu cooler such as the Corsair Hydro Series H80i V2 in place of the included air cooler already included in the above build above. This could help keep things quiet and a tad cooler when overclocking and it offers a more customize cooling experience.

I have also included a PSU upgrade this month – that is the EVGA 650Watt P2, which is a Platinum rated Power Supply Unit giving you an extra boost in power efficiency, which could save a tad on power as it uses it more efficiently.

Gaming PC Builds 2017 - Entry Level

December 2017 $600 Gaming PC Build

Capability: Game at Smoothly with High settings and FPS at 1920X1080 resolutions in most games.

Hardware Link Price Image
Estimated Price: $645 (December 2017)
Processor
$145.00
Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-AB350-Gaming AMD RYZEN AM4 B350 SMART FAN 5 HDMI M.2 SATA USB 3.1 Type-A ATX DDR4 Motherboard $95.97
Graphics Card GTX 1050 Ti: Gigabyte Geforce GTX 1050 Ti OC 4GB GDDR5 128 Bit PCI-E Graphic Card (GV-N105TOC-4GD)

 

$154.99
RAM Ballistix Sport LT 8GB Kit (4GBx2) DDR4 2400 MT/s (PC4-19200) DIMM 288-Pin – BLS2K4G4D240FSB $91.99
SSD Kingston Digital, Inc. 120GB A400 SATA 3 2.5 Solid State Drive $59.99
Power Supply Corsair CX Series, CX500, 500 Watt (500W) Power Supply, 80+ Bronze Certified $46.99
Computer Case VIVO ATX Mid Tower Computer Gaming PC Case w/ Glass Window, 4 Fan Ports, USB 3.0 (CASE-V10G)BitFenix Computer Case Cases BFC-NEO-100-KKWSK-RP Black $49.99

Overview: $600 Gaming PC Build

The $600 gaming PC build is able to game smoothly at 1080p resolutions in most games on higher settings. Most general gamers will most likely be gaming on a 1080p monitor and this will actually be all they need to play the games they want to play.

We have switched the CPU for the December 2017 $600 PC build to a Ryzen 5 1400. This is currently the best cost per performance solution.

For the graphics card we have a GTX 1050 Ti graphics card. This is a very affordable gpu that provides you will good 1080p game play. If you need to further boost your graphics performance, check out the alternatives tables below where we include an AMD RX 580 4GB graphics card, likewise you could also get a GTX 1060 3Gb card if you don’t have as much to spend.

For the motherboard we had to include a new one to accommodate the inclusion of our Ryzen CPU, so this month we have gone with the plain GIGABYTE GA-AB350-Gaming. This motherboard is a variant of the one included in the $1000 pc build above and has the following specification (Gigabyte.com):

  • Supports AMD Ryzen™ & 7th Generation A-series/ Athlon™ Processors
  • Dual Channel Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 4 DIMMs
  • Fast 2 USB 3.1 Gen 2 with USB Type-A
  • 2-Way CrossFire™ Multi-Graphics Support
  • Ultra-Fast PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 with PCIe NVMe & SATA mode support
  • High Quality Audio Capacitors and Audio Noise Guard with LED Trace Path Lighting
  • Realtek® Gigabit LAN with cFosSpeed Internet Accelerator Software
  • Smart Fan 5 features 6 Temperature Sensors and 4 Hybrid Fan Headers
  • GIGABYTE UEFI DualBIOS™
  • APP Center Including EasyTune™ and Cloud Station™ Utilities

The RAM included is a kit of Ballistix Sport LT 8Gb kit (the same as in the $1000 pc build) which is enough memory for most gaming pc builds, and you always have the option to upgrade more in the future if need be with the extra couple of slots on the included motherboard.

The storage included is a Kingston Digital 120GB solid state drive SSD. This is a great start in terms of storage speed and capacity, however if you do think you’ll need more storage right away, you could consider a 256Gb or larger SSD as well (look at any of the builds in this article or in the hardware alternatives table for suggestions).

To actually provided power in this pc build, we have the reputable and affordable Corsair CX Series, CX500, with enough juice to power this build and for a good cost.

For the gaming PC case we have a brand new budget case that was just released, the VIVO V10G. This is a surprisingly great value new case that has three blue 120mm LED fans. Learn more about this case’s specifications on VIVO’s website:

• ATX Mid-Tower
• Supports ATX, Micro ATX, and Mini ITX motherboards
• Color – Matte black with tented tempered glass front and side (full black interior)
• SPCC 0.5T steel with plastic front bezel, tempered glass front and left side panels
• Top mounted ATX power supply (not included)

December 2017 $600 PC Build Upgrade Suggestions

CASE UPGRADE  Upgrade your case: BitFenix Enso Black, ATX/mATX/Mini ITX Mid Tower Case – Tempered Glass Window, Alchemy 3.0 Addressable Asus AURA SYNC RGB LED Design with Controller -BFC-ENS-150-KKWGK-RP $79.99
GRAPHICS CARD UPGRADE GTX 580 4GB: ASUS Radeon RX 580 O4G Dual-fan OC Edition GDDR5 DP HDMI DVI VR Ready AMD Graphics Card (DUAL-RX580-O4G) $249.99
CPU UPGRADE  AMD Ryzen 5 1600 $189.99
STORAGE UPGRADE SK Hynix Flash Memory 2.5″ 250 GB Internal Solid State Drives HFS250G32TND-N1A2A
$92.75

Above you will find upgrade suggestions should you have more to spend or want ideas for hardware upgrade when you have the need in the future for the December 2017 $600 gaming PC build.

If you are wanting a different style to your pc case we have included yet another newly released PC case, the BitFenix Enso. This case can be a worthy upgrade that has RGB lighting functionality, a windowed side the view your superb hardware and it is painted black inside and out.

One of the more important performance upgrade solutions could be to the AMD RX 580 graphics card (4GB version), for a little bit more than the included GTX 1050 ti already included. Previously we would have recommended the GTX 1060 3GB which is still an option and more affordable, so I’ll leave the choice up to you based on your available budget for your pc build.

You can increase your storage space by going with a larger capacity SK HYNIX 256Gb SSD or even the 500GB oneThis would be recommended if you think you will need more than 120GB as included in the SSD in the base build above.


Operating Systems for the December 2017 Gaming PC Builds

You will need an operating cpu for your gaming pc build and If you don’t already have one laying around, then you’re going to have to purchase a standard OS such as Windows 10 or check out some free alternatives that you could consider. Keep in mind that it is recommended to purchase Windows online or as a USB stick and install it that way as optical drives are not included in any of these builds and nor would you generally need one for any modern gaming pc.

Included below is a USB copy of Windows 10, which is probably what most people need. I have also included two other operating systems that are both currently free – so could be worth the time trying out. Ubuntu is a Linux based operating system. The last OS is SteamOS, which is also a Linux OS being developed by Valve Corporation.

OS Link Price Image
Windows 8.1 Microsoft Windows 10 Home USB Flash Drive

*This is the USB version, you can also purchase the DVD (which requires an Optical Drive) or purchase a downloaded copy, which would require you to install on to a USB or hard drive from another PC.

$99.99  
Ubuntu Ubuntu – Desktop Free Ubuntu Logo
SteamOS SteamOS – “Build your own Steam Machine” Free Steam Operating System OS

Best of luck Building Your Gaming PC Build!

Thanks for visiting us for the best December 2017 gaming pc builds of the month over here at Newb Computer Build. These gaming pc builds are updated every month to give you the most up to date builds in and between three main budgets giving you a range of the best gaming pc builds to choose from.

If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below and best of lucking building your best gaming PC this December 2017.

Comments 2

  1. Hey Corey, thanks a lot for continuing to do this! I have a couple of questions about the 600$ build:

    – Is it possible/useful to switch out the motherboard in that build for the GIGABYTE GA-AB350-Gaming 3 version, as the price difference doesn’t seem that substantial

    – As the PC is going somewhere with difficult access for ethernet cables and I haven’t been able to find any wifi capability for the MOBO, could you recommonend a wifi card (or other wifi solution) that would fit well with this gaming build?

    1. Post
      Author

      Hi Maarten,

      Not a problem! You are right at the moment both of the boards really are negligible in cost and are very similar, at least for the moment. The first difference would be in the Realtek audio drivers, with the Gaming 3 being slightly better. It’s easier to set up 7.1 surround as well in the Gaming 3 and some other minor differences. Here is a link to a side by side at newegg if you like: https://goo.gl/FXX7Gi

      As for wifi, you have the option between a USB solution or a PCIe wifi card. I tend to like PCIe cards as I find them more discreet, but USB works just as well. Something like a TP-Link N300 or TP-Link N900.

      Let me know if you have any further questions, best of luck!

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