Building a PC for my birthday. Judge my build.

Undercover_Man

[H]ard Surgeon
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
1,314
You guys talked me into ditching my laptop idea to build a PC instead.
2/20 is my birthday
Sick of not having a gaming computer
Need at least:
1080p/1440p gaming capable
25"
Oculus ready (too much to ask?)
Able to record smooth 1080p gaming with not much sacrifice to quality
Live stream HD gaming
Budget will probably be about ~$2500 - ~$3250
Audio/photo/video/3D editing with render speeds that don't take forever
Live about an hour away from Little Rock, AR
Starting completely from scratch
Zero to little over clocking

This is what I have so far:
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K - $389.99
CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 - $24.88-$28.65
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 (3.5g) - $4.58
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VIII Hero Alpha - $298.99
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 14-14-14-34 - $264.99
Video Card: STRIX-GTX980TI-DC3OC - $668.99
Power Supply: SeaSonic X-850 - $89.99
Optical Drive: - LG GP60NB5​0 External​ DVD Rewri​ter - $23.99
Storage: SAMSUNG 512GB 950 PRO MZ-V5P512BW - $327.99
Case: Corsair 750D Airflow Edition - $119.99
Monitor: QNIX QX2710 Evolution II Matte 60Hz 27.0" - $214.99
Keyboard: Corsair K95 RGB - $179.99
Mouse: Corsair M65 RGB - $59.99
Speakers: Genius SW-​G2.1 - $51.99

Total: $2700.86

No need for anything else. Got the hookup on Windows OS.

Future upgrades:
Internal/external BluRay drive
Case fans
Fan controller maybe
Sound card when I get a new guitar
Double memory for 64GB total
UltraWide Curved 1440p G-SYNC Monitor(s)
UPS
Second video card
SSD'(s)

Will upgrade all that later on after a couple months from first build little by little.

I know I maxed out my budget at $3250, but I'm trying to stay close to $2500-$2750. If it's super worth it I'll go as far as $3260 though otherwise I'll upgrade it in a couple months.


Thoughts??? Criticize, analyze, and judge as much as you like. This needs to be perfect.

THANKS!!!
 
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You need to build a PC around Skylake. Go with a 6700k processor instead of the 4790k. It's faster and the newest tech. Motherboard price should be around the same sans with DDR4.

Ditch that Titan X. You don't need it. Go with a 980 Ti.
 
You need to build a PC around Skylake. Go with a 6700k processor instead of the 4790k. It's faster and the newest tech. Motherboard price should be around the same sans with DDR4.

Ditch that Titan X. You don't need it. Go with a 980 Ti.

This.

Solid and perfect advice.

Add another 980ti or wait for the next big card to come out and get that instead. Titan X can't really justify it's cost over the performance over a 980ti. The money you save on going a 980ti over a titan could be used for other upgrades.
 
Able to record smooth 1080p gaming with not much sacrifice to quality
Live stream HD gaming
Audio/photo/video/3D editing with render speeds that don't take forever

For the money I would go with a 5820K. CPU price is the same and you can find a good motherboard for the same price as the current Z170 board.

Depending on the game you will sacrifice a couple FPS but nothing of note and will greatly reduce rendering times.

The rumored release of Broadwell-E is supposed to happen farily soon and it should come with new revisions of X99 boards. So my opinion would be to wait for Broadwell-E to release with the new motherboards and buy that instead.
 
The motherboard is a good quality motherboard. However, it's not worth the money at all as you can get more RAM and PCI-E lanes with the X99 platform. If you are going to stick witht the 6700K route, find a solid motherboard under $200. Any more than that and you might as well go with X99.
 
That PSU is just a TAD too low if you want any OC potential. I say 650w is fine for an entry level gaming machine, but splurge for a 750w just for that extra level of coverage.

Also, nothing wrong with the Hyper 212. Even if you want a modest OC on the i7, the 212 will keep things cool. I love that cooler, got one on my home server. You have to spend nearly double before you get anything that is even remotely better.

Edit: Also avoid Asus unless you like to gamble. They have great hardware, but IF you get a dud, expect to be in talks with their RMA service for literally months before you get your issue resolved.
 
Yeah, I s thinking about a 750-850 watt PSU. Thoughts between the Seasonic and EVGA?

Seasonic, at least in my opinion. Others can disagree, but I've said this in other threads:

There is no 'golden brand' when it comes to PSUs. A shitty brand can put out an amazing PSU, and an amazing brand can put out a shitty PSU. ALL the PSU's 'innards' are manufactured by one of three completely faceless OEMs, and many PSUs from completely different brands will use the same exact innards.

PSUs are a pain in the ass.
 
Changed to SeaSonic X-850 as the EVGA cost more at that wattage.

What about storage? Am I doing that wrong?
 
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Changed to SeaSonic X-850 as the EVGA cost more at that wattage.

What about storage? Am I doing that wrong?

Hah the 950 pro is a great drive. Super fast, and enough space to have a few games on there. Do you have a backup solution? I wouldn't keep family photos on a m.2 drive (or in one location for that matter).
 
Looking into a backup solution. I'll need it once I start doing videos. A backup solution or additional SSD will be in following upgrade.
 
Looking into a backup solution. I'll need it once I start doing videos. A backup solution or additional SSD will be in following upgrade.

Yeah if you're doing video editing, you'll need a lot more space. Probably an SSD for a cache drive. I think everything looks good, you could always save some money on the MB though.
 
If I use the M.2 as a stand alone storage and an SSD as cache, is that SSD only used as cache or can I store stuff on it too?
 
I'd recommend the 5820k for a streaming gaming system. Games are starting to use more than four cores, so if you want to encode with your CPU, you're going to need more cores available. You can use NVENC (included video encoder in your GTX 980 Ti), but most people complain about the image quality.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Twitch/comments/2sul6x/will_using_the_nvenc_hardware_encoder_affect_the/

NVENC is really, really poor at the bitrates that Twitch requires (below 3500)

Fact is that the NVENC algorithm is far, far less efficient. 1080p/30fps takes x264 (software) only 6200kbps to have top-notch quality. The exact same resolution/framerate takes NVENC almost 10x as many bits (~50,000) to get the same picture quality.

NVENC is fine when you don't care about the resulting bitrate. But for live streaming (where bit rate is important if you want viewers), you're going to want the spare CPU cycles for x264 software encoding.

And while the encoder on Maxwell may be significantly improved over the original, it's still going to be worse than software encoding. The 5820k gives you the flexibility to make choices like that!
 
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5 things

1: those are the 3200 MTs 14 CAS Gskill right? If not get those.
2: I would get the ASRock OC formula board personally.
3: check guru3D to make sure thats a good PSU. There reviews are awesome
4: use the M.2 as main storage as in OS and programs and use another quality SSD for bulk storage.
5: do you want to wait on the GPU? or do you have the budget to upgrade GPU in 6 months? Next gen GPUs are coming out and they will blow the 980TI out of the water. So just keep that in mind.

PS never save money on the MB...shit MBs suck and can be super annoying down the road especially if you build a high end PC. I never cheap on the MB because its a critical part if you plan on making the PC last or utilizing all tech available.

god damn squirrels messing up forum.

I edited with something like:
Do you really need the extra cores? How much encoding or rendering do you plan on doing? Is the wait an issue? Nearly every program is single thread limited and basically every day to day used program is single thread limited too so is the OS. A 4.8 GHz SKL vs a 4.5GHz HW has a 13% difference on average in single thread so thats a substantial amount.
 
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Skip the Kingpin and get the regular 980Ti classified. The regular classies now also all come with Samsung DDR5 memory, and unless you really plan to LN2 cool your card in order to bench it, there really is no reason to pay the extra coin for the Kingpin edition. Note, the Kingpin Edition of the 980Ti Classified runs more like $850, not $624.99.
 
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Skip the Kingpin and get the regular 980Ti classified. The regular classies now also all come with Samsung DDR5 memory, and unless you really plan to LN2 cool your card in order to bench it, there really is no reason to pay the extra coin for the Kingpin edition. Note, the Kingpin Edition of the 980Ti Classified runs more like $850, not $624.99.

kingpins maybe able to push 1600MHz though but as i stated above its really pointless given its a small performance boost and next gen is around the corner so its like throwing money away.

BTW I would really consider OCing...its really a waste not too and major gains can be had especially in regards to single thread. (~14-16% boost in single and multithread for a 6700K)
 
Ah yes, I think I grabbed the price for the non "ti" 4GB version. Reconsidering GPU.
 
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Do I need a 64GB cache SSD if I don't plan on getting a HDD? Just plan on having my M.2 and SSD's. Eventually, I will create a separate backup system with HHD's for backup, but not in this system.

OMG, I just learned about PCIe SSD's. That's a future upgrade.
 
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Do I need a 64GB cache SSD if I don't plan on getting a HDD? Just plan on having my M.2 and SSD's. Eventually, I will create a separate backup system with HHD's for backup, but not in this system.

OMG, I just learned about PCIe SSD's. That's a future upgrade.

A cache drive is old and obsolete and would be counter productive. cache drivers were good for OS on HDDs or something. They are now pointless even if you had HDD mass storage.

The 950 PRO is your best option unless you have to have 1TB drive then its the 750 but thats a waste of money to be honest.

The only thing that is going to be game changing in XPoint and that may require Kaby Lake but the word isn't in for sure on that.

And yes don't get a 980...its over priced. If you must have the best GPU a standard(gigabyte EVGA..non kingpin) 980TI is what you want. Or get a 970 to have something decent til the next gen comes out in 6 or so months. It depends on current needs and budget and that is on you.
 
I have a LOOOOOOOOOONG back log of games to catch up on. I'll be playing some current gen games, but mostly catching up on the old games. Minecraft will destroy my having time too. A 980 Ti or two should be good enough for now.
 
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I have a LOOOOOOOOOONG back log of games to catch up on. I'll be playing some current gen games, but mostly catching up on the old games. Minecraft will destroy my having time too. A 980 Ti or two should be good enough for now.

2 would be very wasteful....get 1 and upgrade in 6 months.

Also for a case get the Core x9...its awesome....assuming you got the sapce for the massive thing :D
 
OK, I'm starting to purchase my build. Goodbye money. Goodbye potential dating life (no single girls here anyways :confused:).

Are there any adapters, special tools, cables, anything else I'll need before everything arrives? I feel I'm forgetting something.
 
OK, I'm starting to purchase my build. Goodbye money. Goodbye potential dating life (no single girls here anyways :confused:).

Are there any adapters, special tools, cables, anything else I'll need before everything arrives? I feel I'm forgetting something.

did u update list? i'll make any comments on potential misc thigns after its uopdated
 
3K budget... I know I'm late to the party, as you're already buying, but I hope someone convinced you to tone that down. Reading the backlog and judging your life-choices now.

Also, the 900D is too goddamn big, and overpriced. You'll regret it. Get something sanely sized like a NZXT S340. (no one uses 5.25" bays these days)

Also, I agree with Ocellaris, get a better HSF than the 212 Evo. It's not that it's bad, it just doesn't belong in anything more than a budget OC built -- Noctua, Thermalright, or Prolimatech, any of their big towers. Can't go wrong. Expect to spend $80 or so, but believe me it's worth it -- my Megahalems is still perfectly capable and I got it back when LGA755 / Q6600s were the shit.

PCIe SSDs aren't worth it. M.2 if your motherboard supports it, sure... but PCIe card based deals, don't bother. They come with their own problems (I used to have one) and aren't that much faster than current SATA3 drives. If you want more speed (and you won't need it) running RAID 0 is way, way easier.

You don't need a 950 Pro either, go with the EVO, save the money, never notice the difference.

Overpriced $300 ASUS top end board... and a single card. No, not unless you're planning on SLI in the future. You can save $150 here easily with zero quality of life reduction. I'm upset with the people who replied for not steering you away from it.

Do you need 32GB of RAM for anything in particular? 16GB is more than is needed by 99% of people now; unless you're a coder or dev you can cut that in half and never miss it.

For speakers consider the Swan M10s or Corsair SP2500s.
 
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You can go for a H100i GTX. Its only 100 bucks and does great for anything sub 170 w TDP. Or get the Noctua D15 or whatever.

I would disagree he wouldn't notice the 950 PRO if he is doing editing especially of videos. The 950 PRO would be good for that.

Hey I said the ASRock OC Forumla its only 230 and feature rich :D

He said he was editing earlier and PS, video, rendering, and so on extra RAM is nice. I noticed a huge difference when i went from 16-28GB in the past. I used to get memory errors with 16GBs and could use RAM as a cache either.
 
I started off with the Noctua, but the brown/beige is SO UGLY. A better CPU Cooler will be an early upgrade.

Most of my stuff ended up the the same price or slightly more as other merchants than Newegg so 95% came from them. I made my purchase and then my card got locked up. Highly unusual that my card gets such a huge purchase so I guess I am glad my back temp froze my card. At least I didn't have any rebates on their last day from the second merchant.
 
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