Summer PC upgrading guide

Summer is always a pleasure. We get more time to think and explore new ideas to improve our performance in all areas. Sometimes we only need to enjoy freely without concerns and worrying about future. In other situations just to spend time with our beloved ones. Anyway it is a nice spot to plan our next upgrade plan. And for gamers and simracers, a PC upgrade is always a must.

Today I bring you a list with three well tested configurations using last Intel CPU generation: Kaby Lake. This is 7th generation and I’ve chosen those CPU what are largely tested and ready for the domestic gaming market. Of course you can choose I9 or X processors but we are trying to get a nice gaming-power to price ratio using 7700K series and locked alternatives like 7700 and 7600. These are combined with Asrock motherboards using Z270 and H270 chipsets allowing K series to unleash its potential and not spending more for those people who are not ready to push their CPUs with Silver and Bronze configurations.

GPU are also a bit new. Nvidia has a new monster on the market with 1080 Ti variant and prices have been lowering a little bit. Now 1070 and 1080 are more affordable to the “regular” simracing user. As always I recommend you to combine all these components with a good SSD (M.2 if you are not planning to reuse it) and a nice PSU to enjoy the whole pack. Finally I added some stylish cases from swedish manufacturer Fractal.

All elements in the list are interchangeable, but of course has nonsense running a K series CPU with a chipset H270 mobo, so be careful with that. That it is maybe the only one limitation to use it.

I wouldn’t go with anything lower than Silver to race with Oculus or Vive VR. Bronze will get you an incredible quality if you run triples.

	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Mobo	ASROCK Z270 PRO4 S1151 ATX Intel DDR4 Elegant Motherboard - Grey	ASROCK H270 PRO4 ATX DDR4 DVI/HDMI Elegant Motherboard - Grey	ASROCK H270 PRO4 ATX DDR4 DVI/HDMI Elegant Motherboard - Grey
CPU	Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2 GHz QuadCore 8MB Cache Processor	Intel Core i7-7700 3.6 GHz QuadCore 8 MB Cache CPU - Black	Intel Core i5-7600 3.5 GHz QuadCore 6 Mb Cache CPU - Black
Cooler	Cooler Master Hyper 212X Air CPU Cooler "RR-212X-17PK-R1, 4 x Heatpipes, 1x 120mm PWM Fan, Intel / AMD"	Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo Air CPU Cooler "RR-212E-16PK-R1, 4 x Heatpipe, 1x 120mm PWM Fan, Intel/AMD"	Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo Air CPU Cooler "RR-212E-16PK-R1, 4 x Heatpipe, 1x 120mm PWM Fan, Intel/AMD"
RAM	Corsair CMK32GX4M2B3200C16 Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4 3200 MHz C16 XMP 2.0 High Performance Desktop Memory Kit - Black	Corsair CMK16GX4M2B3000C15 Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4 3000 MHz CL15 XMP 2.0 High Performance Desktop Memory Kit - Black	Corsair CMK16GX4M2A2666C16 Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 2666Mhz CL16 XMP 2.0 High Performance Desktop Memory Kit, Black
SSD	Crucial MX300 525GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive - CT525MX300SSD1	Crucial MX300 275GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive - CT275MX300SSD1	Crucial MX300 275GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive - CT275MX300SSD1
GPU	Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti GAMING OC 11G 11 GB GDDR5x 352 Bit Memory PCI Express 3 Graphics Card - White	GIGABYTE NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 G1 GAMING	Gigabyte Nvidia GTX 1070 G1 8GB GDDR5 PCI-E
PSU	Corsair CP-9020091-UK RM650x 650 W 80 Plus Gold Certified Modular 135 mm Thermally Controlled Fan Power Supply Unit - Black	Corsair CP-9020103-UK CX Series CX650M ATX/EPS Semi-Modular 80 Plus Bronze 650 W Power Supply Unit	Corsair CP-9020098-UK VS Series ATX/EPS 80 PLUS Power Supply Unit, 650 W
Case	Fractal Design Define R5 Black ATX Midtower Silent PC Computer Case	Fractal Design Define S ATX Computer Case	Fractal Design Core 2300 Series ATX Case - Black/Pearl