This is the best CPU on the market. No Intel Meltdown woes, for my work I was seeing up to a 30% performance deficit with IO intensive work on Intel. For Ryzen processors, I had the 1800X and 1700 in this system before putting in the 2700X.

I had the C7 Al before this and this is better, but not worth it if you're on a budget. I'd buy this again myself. It needs a high pressure fan to take advantage of the copper so I'd try to use the stock fan if possible.

I've mostly been using Asus motherboards for 20 years now, and they're not perfect but overall they're the best. They're wavering in quality a little bit these days. I got this one because it's the only X470 ITX board with front-mounted M.2. I wouldn't have M.2 on an ITX board with an M.2 on the back of the board, they get pretty warm if you track the temps.

Otherwise, the AI Charger software isn't really included as Asus advertises. If you download it from the site, it's either not implemented correctly or they have the wrong upload listed as AI Charger on their site. Unacceptable fail for a $220 board.

Dual-rank Samsung B-die memory. I swapped a FlareX 16GB kit (F4-3200C14D-16GFX) for this because I use more than 16GB of RAM on a daily basis. The FlareX is a single-rank kit so you might get better speeds with it. With the GSkill I use the XMP profile and get the full 3200MHz and good timings without having to knock the frequency down to AMD's official Ryzen spec for dual channel, dual rank memory (2666 on X470, and it's 2400 on X370). I recommend you use either the XMP profile or bone-stock default settings if you want a rock solid stable machine. That's what I do these days because my stuff has to work with zero issues.

Fast storage with a 5 year warranty with high TB write limits. I've always bought MLC memory drives such as the 960 Pro, as I needed what was going to last the longest, be the most reliable and not let me down.

Cool and quiet. Founders Edition because I wanted the hot air out of the case and want the premium build quality. More GPU power than I needed, but was the lowest end Founders Edition that they made. The Founders Edition cards all use Samsung memory, which is the highest quality available. This means better overclocking and higher resale value if you ever get rid of one.

This was my favorite case on the market, but I would now by the Cryorig Tatu. I'm tired of towers after 20 years of them, and wanted to return to my 1980s roots with a true desktop. This case isn't as good of quality as my preferred brand, Lian Li, but it does work. I'd prefer they made it a little higher build quality, tweaked the oddball design choices, made it just a bit taller to fit 65mm coolers such as the Noctua NH-L9x65 SE-AM4 with the filter in and raised the price. Consider about 58mm your max heatsink/fan height in this case with the filter.

Cool and quiet. Corsair has great warranty service and this is a solid PSU for SFX.

These are decent monitors for work and play. They're IPS and 24" 1080P is the best size. I've had larger 1080P monitors (27") and they look horrible. Gamers will want higher refresh than this, but work is priority for me over gaming. NV Surround (triple monitor) gaming is fantastic though.

I've had this keyboard for a number of years now, it's my favorite on the market. Clicky MX Blue switches with volume scrolling and just the right media keys. Very well done by Corsair. I have 0.4mm dampeners on this to prevent some of the plastic clacking.

As a lefty, I can easily use the Logitech Trackman Marble on the left side of my keyboard to give my right side a break. This does the job well.

I'm a Zowie diehard, best mice on the market. ZA13 is perfect, give it a try.

Not perfect, but if I didn't do any competitive gaming, I would only have this and the Logitech Trackman Marble. Much easier on the wrists longterm.

As long as you don't use wifi, which no self-respecting PC gamer should use, this is a very underrated piece of hardware to pair with your elite gaming rig.

Removes the clack from mechanical keyboards as the plastic keys hit the base, while leaving the click from the switch intact.

It's a mousepad, I've always used Steelseries pads because you can get old school thick rubber mats like this one just like we had in the 80s and 90s.

Lets you use the two USB 2.0 headers on this motherboard. I use those two ports for my Bluetooth and Steam Controller adapter. You want to put any wireless adapters on USB 2.0 ports to reduce interference from USB 3.0+ spec and increase your range.

One of the few class 1 Bluetooth adapters on the market. That means it's the high power spec, something around 100ft range vs 30ft. Works well for me, but I also have it on a USB 2.0 port and isolated from other components inside my case.

These are just the best gamepads to use with a Steam Link. No cheap build quality as Microsoft's Xbox gamepads have and the d-pad is in the right spot.

These are good gaming headphones, because using the mic puts the audio into a lower quality mode due to bandwidth issues.

But they are incredibly handy for every other purpose. The features are great, you can plugin a second set of headphones into these so someone else can daisy-chain and listen to what you are (great for traveling), they have a serviceable microphone and if the battery dies you can plug them in with a 3.5mm cable. Strong Bluetooth reception enables me to be listening to a podcast and walk into another room, putting walls between these headphones and the computer without issue.

I love this. Temps the same as good pastes like IC Diamond, but reusable. This is the reason I'll be buying a Ryzen3 to replace my 2700X. No mess, adding this was easily worth it when I did my 2700X/X470/C7 Cu rebuild in May 2018.

This is my favorite gaming headset. Tough to find good sounding, open back headphones for a good price. These are it. They have the same 60ohm Koss driver from the KSC75. It's not the exact same one as the one in the PortaPro, but still good. These sound similar to the Koss UR40, a headphone that unfortunately isn't popular enough to be a good reference point.

Koss headphone fan for decades. If you've never tried the PortaPro, you're missing out on some of the best bang for buck audio that there is. I do prefer the GMR-545 over-ear form factor rather than on-ear of the PortaPro.

It does help to have a little amplification, my Asus SupremeFX does a good job but they sound good without it too.