[gjunki]

My 3770k just isn't what it used to be, and some CPU intensive games are taking hits and not able to use my GTX 1080 to its fullest extent. I've seen benchmarks for the new 8700k and its pretty much blowing most CPU intensive games out of the water compared to the 3770k when paired with a 1080 @1440p.
I have about $1500 budget and I have to buy a new motherboard and RAM for the upgraded CPU, plus I'd like to get a good liquid cooling system so I can OC to 4.8-5Ghz (optimistically).

Here are my suggestions so far:

CPU: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIABT16MV1065&cm_re=8700k-_-19-117-827-_-Product

Motherboard: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813119032

RAM: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820233853

Cooling: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181100

Is there anything you would change on my list or are those good products to pair with a 8700k? I don't know much about liquid cooling and the 8700k can only handle up to 2666mz RAM as far as I'm aware so I think that's good for now? All that adds up to $1260 so I have some wiggle room if you guys have better suggestions.

 

[MSim]

Before you buy the hardware, take a look on Amazon. If the same hardware is shipped and sold by Amazon, i would buy it from Amazon over Newegg. Amazon is known for taking care of customers and they have a better return/exchange policy.

8700k can handle faster memory. I'm using DDR4 3200mhz on my i7-7700k.

 

[kd5151]

The 8700K isn't sold and shipped by newegg.
Noctua cooler. Air over clc.
3200mhz of ram with 16-18-18-38 timings or better. 32gb...yikes!
You can save a few bucks on the mobo if you don't need wifi.

 

[Solarity]

I was looking at the 8700k, though after looking at benchmarks, you are paying a huge premium for hyper threading and few to no games are optimized. 8600k has done higher clocks speeds in some benchmarks over the 8700k. If you are doing more than gaming and doing stuff like hosting VMs it might make sense to go with the 8700k. The 8600k is the gamer's cpu. For $10 more than a 8700k, I got the 8600k and the Gaming 7 motherboard. I do have an i7 at work, though I have a lot of browser tabs, excel sheets, documents, outlook, putty, RD, VMs, and other apps running. My gaming rig I have a game running and maybe a browser. A good system is a balance that matches your needs. Having 32gb is great at work, though 16 is more than you need for gaming. I have a m.2 NVMe for my gaming rig and the bootup/load times are awesome. Buying the most expensive items are not always the best for your needs.

Lastly you could try out a custom loop, this was my first after having an AIO. If you do go with an AIO, I was looking at the EVGA CLC 280. Ended up with a 360mm +240mm for a gpu and cpu loop

 

[chessmyantidrug]

The i7-8700K comfortably fits in the budget. Its gaming performance is negligible over the i5-8600K, but it is the superior processor and the additional cache will allow the CPU to age better.

Is there a reason you need 32 GB RAM? It's always nice to have more than you need, but for most cases 16 GB is plenty. If you're doing RAM-intensive tasks that benefit from more RAM, then I would suggest getting RAM guaranteed to clock a bit higher. You can always overclock the kit you selected, but there's no telling how much higher it can go. Alternatively, you can get a more affordable 16 GB kit.

I have a hard time suggesting AIO coolers. They aren't better than premium air coolers, produce more noise, and always have the risk of leaking liquid onto your components. I'd much rather spend money on a delid kit than trust an AIO cooler.