Building first PC, need a lot of advice!

korakk

n00b
Joined
Jan 17, 2016
Messages
38
Hi all,

First post here. I woke up yesterday morning and decided it was time I built a gaming PC. It's been a long time since I had a PC, the graphics card in the last one I had was a X1900XT or something like that. I changed to console gaming due to a chronic back injury preventing me from sitting at my desk but thats improved. I've been out of the game so long I'm quite lost at the moment though. I never really knew a LOT about PCs so please use layman's terms as much as possible!

There was a spanner thrown in the works of my plan when I rang my brother up to tell him my great idea. He told me about Pascal and how it will be out soonish and it is a massive jump in technology. I initially thought I'd hold off but it looks like it mightn't be out til the end of the year, and if I buy it as soon as it comes out it would blow the budget, so I probably would be looking at early next year to build at best, and that's too long a wait.

So my new plan is to build a computer relatively cheap now and then upgrade all the parts needed to switch to Pascal in about 1.5-2 years. That will give the prices some time to go down, and reviews and different models would be available. For the build now I plan to get 2nd hand parts (or cheap new parts) where possible for the pieces that will be upgraded for Pascal and then spend top dollar on important parts that I can keep when moving to Pascal.

So first question is just if this sounds like a smart idea?
2nd is what parts can I keep for Pascal? (the Pascal build will be 4k resolution, this one 1440 or 1080) I'm thinking only the Case, Keyboard and Mouse, Speakers, maybe SSD, Hard disk, DVDRW?


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming. Specifically, I'd like to play Fallout 4 at 1440 on max settings if possible (can lower to 1080 if 1440 blows the budget a lot). I'm not too fussed about future games cos I have quite a backlog to get through that will keep me occupied til my Pascal upgrade.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Hoping to spend about AU$2000-2500 (US$1400-1700) with tax and shipping included. Can spend more if a lot of parts can be kept for a Pascal build. I was hoping to spend 6-7k in total over both builds.

3) Which country do you live in?
Australia

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
Case, PSU, Basic Cooling?, Motherboard, CPU, RAM, GPU, SSD, Hard disk, DVDRW, Sound Card, Speakers, Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Windows 10 64bit home. Not sure if I've missed any other essential parts for a PC build. I don't really need advice on Speakers, Keyboard, Mouse, DVDRW, Hard disk, I can find reviews online for things like that. Mainly looking for advice on the big things like GPU needed for Fallout, Motherboard, CPU, RAM, PSU etc. that will get me to Pascal.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
Starting from scratch.

6) Will you be overclocking?
I've never done it before so probably not.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Need to buy one for the build. Hopefully 24-27" 1440 resolution (but 1080 if need be) and then 27"+ 4k resolution when I upgrade to Pascal.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP!

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Nothing special because I'm assuming I'll need an upgrade for Pascal.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Want to buy Windows 10 64bit for the build.



So I'm just basically wanting to build something that will run Fallout 4 on max settings at 1440 resolution, only spending good money on parts that will survive the move to Pascal.

Sorry for the long winded post, just quite excited about building this PC and didn't want to miss anything.

Cheers
 
Wasting your money up front going this route. You could build a 4K capable rig with your budget now and when pascal comes out just replace the GPU if you want more.

Also do you really need a sound card? I'm thinking the on board sound will suffice just fine.
Do you really need a DVD-RW? Meh, they're cheap so why not I guess.

For the CPU, MB and RAM you should be going with a Skylake Intel processor. The i7 comes at a premium so go with an i5. Don't bother with the i5 6600k if you're not overclocking. Additionally, due to your projected high resolution I would opt for a motherboard that's SLI capable (multiple GPUs). A decent one here in the States will run ya around $100 - $120 USD. DDR4 memory is cheap. Go for 2x8GB (16GB Total) kits in the 2400+ Range.

Case is almost purely cosmetic, but a good case will have adequate cooling without the need for additional fans and great cable management.

For a GPU @ 4k resolution you're looking at no less than a 980 Ti. Do note these are ~$600 in the States. So most of that $1700k (USD) budget will be spent on the GPU. RAM, MB, CPU will run ya less than $500. Good case should be around $100 USD. Good PSU will be around $150 USD.

Where are you buying these parts from? An online retailer? Give us some links to where you'll be purchasing and we might be able to find all the parts for you.
 
Hey, thanks for the help. I've quoted your reply below and added in some responses.

Wasting your money up front going this route. You could build a 4K capable rig with your budget now and when pascal comes out just replace the GPU if you want more.

This is kind of what I was originally thinking but I thought I read somewhere you will need new motherboards with Pascal, is that not the case?

Also do you really need a sound card? I'm thinking the on board sound will suffice just fine.
Do you really need a DVD-RW? Meh, they're cheap so why not I guess.
I don't think I need a sound card, I just put that in when getting a template for a new build. Don't really need the DVDRW but they are really cheap so thought I'd throw one in

For the CPU, MB and RAM you should be going with a Skylake Intel processor. The i7 comes at a premium so go with an i5. Don't bother with the i5 6600k if you're not overclocking. Additionally, due to your projected high resolution I would opt for a motherboard that's SLI capable (multiple GPUs). A decent one here in the States will run ya around $100 - $120 USD. DDR4 memory is cheap. Go for 2x8GB (16GB Total) kits in the 2400+ Range.
I like these suggestions but I had worries about when switching to Pascal, would the i5 still be good enough? SLI capable motherboard sounds like a good idea for sure. Will DDR4 still be used with Pascal? And is 4x4GB better than 2x8GB?

Case is almost purely cosmetic, but a good case will have adequate cooling without the need for additional fans and great cable management.
Sounds good, I won't get any additional fans and just pick a decent case for my budget

For a GPU @ 4k resolution you're looking at no less than a 980 Ti. Do note these are ~$600 in the States. So most of that $1700k (USD) budget will be spent on the GPU. RAM, MB, CPU will run ya less than $500. Good case should be around $100 USD. Good PSU will be around $150 USD.
I'll go into detail regarding this below, as this is big changing point to my original plans

Where are you buying these parts from? An online retailer? Give us some links to where you'll be purchasing and we might be able to find all the parts for you.
Will most likely be buying from ( https://www.umart.com.au/umart1/pro/index.phtml?bid=7 ) or ( http://www.centrecom.com.au/ ) both reputable stores that I've dealt with in the past and have always been well priced.

After reading your responses my opinion of what I should do now I think has changed. Originally when I decided to build this PC (before knowing about Pascal) I planned to build a really great rig for about AU$5-6k ($3.5-4k USD). But I thought moving to Pascal REQUIRED you to buy new Pascal compatible motherboards, CPUs and RAM and PSU. If that's not the case then I'm happy to go ahead and spend my whole budget now and build a great rig capable of 4K and getting a good monitor to go with and then decide when I need to add Pascal to the build. My worry after finding out about Pascal, was spending all my money then having to spend a whole lot more moving to Pascal because all new games will be based on that tech and my build won't handle things (If I only need to upgrade the GPU than its not that bad cos I can sell whatever card I have to minimize the costs). I'm just worried that with Pascal coming all games graphic requirements will go up and whatever I build now will need to be upgraded.

It's obviously hard to predict the future, but spending $5k on a great rig now, with a near top range GPU, i7 instead of i5 etc. How long do you think it will play games at max settings at 4k resolution? (I know this is a pretty broad, tough question, so just a ballpark guess would be good, I've just been out of PCs for so long I'm not sure how they age).

Thanks again for the response, was very helpful.
 
As far as I know, Pascal will still be a PCI-compatible card.

There are some rumors about "NVLink" with Pascal - that sounds like it's geared more towards the supercomputer market than gaming right now.
 
Also, I'd say, it's generally a bad idea to try to "future proof" too much.

Get something that runs the stuff you are playing now well. And then upgrade as needed, when needed.
If you do the first build right, you'll be ok.

If your planning on playing at 1440 now, that's an entirely different animal than 4k. I wouldn't go out, build a rig that can play at 4k, then throw it on a 1440 monitor - that's a waste of money that could have gone to something else in the budget. I do understand your talking about going to 4k with Pascal - honestly, I wouldn't worry about Pascal until Pascal is out. It's not out yet. It may not be out for a while, and once it does come out you may have an entirely different set of priorities.
 
Thanks for the replies Brian, that helps a lot.

Just been talking to my brother and trying to summarise my options I have now.

Option 1) Go all out and spend all my money on a 4K capable rig with a 4K monitor.
Not a huge fan of this option, as by the sounds of things from my brother a 980TI is still not going to run 4K at max settings so I'd be having to get 2 cards and they go for about $1000 here. Also getting it to run at 120+hz might be tough, and by the sounds of things gaming at 1440p with 144hz is better than gaming at 4K with 60hz.

Option 2) Buy top range CPU, Motherboard, Ram, PSU with a cheap GTX960 card and game at 1080p with max settings with a cheap 120hz monitor til Pascal comes out, then get a new card and a top quality 4K monitor and hopefully all the other parts work fine. Sell my 960 and 1080 monitor for a small loss.
Like this option, gaming in the now at a fair compromise (but cos I haven't gamed on PC for such a long time and coming from console it should still be awesome to me). But, with Pascal things might not just be as easy as just buying a new card and monitor with all the other things I buy now. This would be my number 1 option if I knew it would be as simple as just getting a Pascal card and 4K monitor when it comes out.

Option 3) Spend pretty much all of my budget on a great system to game at 1440p on a ASUS PG278Q ROG Swift 27in 144Hz G-Sync or similar monitor. Have the option to get a Pascal card a few months into release and then sell my card for a decent loss.
I quite like this option because gaming at 1440 on that monitor at 144hz should be fantastic. Would probably get a 980TI and that should be able to run 1440 on max settings for a good couple of years? If I need a little boost, once Pascal comes out a 2nd 980TI shouldn't set me back too much. My biggest concern with this option is that I'm thinking when Pascal comes out 4K gaming at 120hz+ will be the norm but I'll be stuck on 1440 but to upgrade to 4K I'll take a big hit on selling my monitor and getting a new one, also selling my card and getting a Pascal. I think with this option I have to make a decision that I'll be gaming at 1440 for at least 2 years and have to hold off going to 4K because it will cost too much to move to it after I spend a lot of money on a great 1440 build now.

Option 4) Buy nothing and wait for Pascal to come out and build a PC then. Cry myself to sleep for 6+ months and get by with my PS4.

I think they're my main options. I'm in a bit of a tough spot, still unsure what to do. I'm worried that if I buy top of the range core parts now they may need to be upgraded for a Pascal build. I think I'd prefer to game at 1440 with a 120+ refresh rate rather than 4k at 60 refresh rate. But I also could probably happily game at 1080 for a year because I'm coming from a console, than jump straight to 4K with Pascal but this route may be risky because I'd be buying parts now that I hope will be future proof.
 
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...I'm worried that if I buy top of the range core parts now they may need to be upgraded for a Pascal build.

That's not the case, 'top of the line' may end up being the exact same parts depending on pascal release timing and if new cpus drop first there would be negligible gaming performance gain over a current skylake chip.

Personally i would build the system you want now save for the graphics card - a 380/390 or 960/970 to hold you over until new cards come out later this year. That's what i ended up doing with my skylake upgrade except i had an graphics card to begin with (280x). Of course i would appreciate a bit more gpu power but with an upgrade around the corner i'm happy to wait and spend a bit bigger then.
 
This is kind of what I was originally thinking but I thought I read somewhere you will need new motherboards with Pascal, is that not the case?

Not sure where you read that. Pascal is just a new family of GPUs from Nvidia. Nothing special about them. Sure they're claiming they're gonna be so much better than Maxwell based cards, but they say this every time a new family of GPUs are released. I'll believe it when they're in [H]ardOCPs hands and fully benchmarked. Pascal will run on any system with 16x PCI-e slots. Current cards don't even come close to saturating the bandwidth so it's not going anywhere anytime soon.

I don't think I need a sound card, I just put that in when getting a template for a new build. Don't really need the DVDRW but they are really cheap so thought I'd throw one in

You'll most likely only use that drive to install Windows. After that it will just collect dust. So if you have a SATA DVDRW drive laying around then just use it to install Windows and toss it back in the box you found it in.


I like these suggestions but I had worries about when switching to Pascal, would the i5 still be good enough? SLI capable motherboard sounds like a good idea for sure. Will DDR4 still be used with Pascal? And is 4x4GB better than 2x8GB?

I am not sure why you are so fixated on Pascal. It's not out yet and there's no telling when it will come out. It's a GPU. It wont have anything to do with what's running in the core of the system. Yes an i5 will be plenty. So will an i3. Even a Pentium. AMD's CPUs. It wont matter. They'll run a Pascal GPU just fine. However, at your project resolution I do recommend no less than an i5. The RAM used in the system has nothing to do with the GPU. Again.

Sounds good, I won't get any additional fans and just pick a decent case for my budget

I'll look over your options and let you know what I think is the best choices and why.


After reading your responses my opinion of what I should do now I think has changed. Originally when I decided to build this PC (before knowing about Pascal) I planned to build a really great rig for about AU$5-6k ($3.5-4k USD). But I thought moving to Pascal REQUIRED you to buy new Pascal compatible motherboards, CPUs and RAM and PSU. If that's not the case then I'm happy to go ahead and spend my whole budget now and build a great rig capable of 4K and getting a good monitor to go with and then decide when I need to add Pascal to the build. My worry after finding out about Pascal, was spending all my money then having to spend a whole lot more moving to Pascal because all new games will be based on that tech and my build won't handle things (If I only need to upgrade the GPU than its not that bad cos I can sell whatever card I have to minimize the costs). I'm just worried that with Pascal coming all games graphic requirements will go up and whatever I build now will need to be upgraded.

Pascal is just a GPU. Just like Maxwell. Just like Kepler. Just like Fermi. It's not the game changer you're making it out to be. My rig will run a Pascal GPU just fine. It's last generation's CPU and RAM. Buying the rig you want NOW makes more sense because chances are when the first few cards from Pascal come out it wont be much faster than a 980 Ti. In fact, some might not even be close to being as good as a 980 Ti. It's one helluva card to start with.



It's obviously hard to predict the future, but spending $5k on a great rig now, with a near top range GPU, i7 instead of i5 etc. How long do you think it will play games at max settings at 4k resolution? (I know this is a pretty broad, tough question, so just a ballpark guess would be good, I've just been out of PCs for so long I'm not sure how they age).

Thanks again for the response, was very helpful.


Impossible question is impossible to answer. What you should ask is how long will your 980 Ti play games? For a good 4 - 5 years before it's too slow to play them even at the lowest settings. Playing games in 4K alone will increase the visuals beyond what even high settings at 1080P can do. In fact, I play games in medium settings on my 4K TV and it still looks better than playing those same games on the highest settings on my 1080P monitor. Like noticeably better at 4K. This is on a single 980 NON Ti model.

What I recommend you do is to build the gaming rig of your dreams now. 4K monitor. The works. Go with a single GPU. If it's not running as fast as you hope and you have more money to spend then go with a second 980 Ti. I'd be willing to be you'll be skipping the first and most likely the second generation of Pascal cards with SLI 980 Ti GPUs.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I think I've been so fixated on Pascal because I was told that the jump in tech would be potentially 10 times better than current top cards. I'm guessing this isn't the case from your responses, I probably should have done a little more research before posting but I got excited and wanted to get started asap.

I like the idea of building the rig of my dreams now with a 4k monitor but I read from a few different people that gaming at 1440 with 144hz is much better than 4k at 60. I think if that's the case then maybe it's best to wait to jump to 4K until some better monitors come out? That could potentially be around Pascal?

I'm torn between building a great setup with an i5 and top MB and RAM etc but with a 960 GPU and running at 1080p on a 2nd hand monitor until 4K monitors improve and Pascal comes out, then selling the 960 and monitor and spending the rest of my money on a Pascal card and top 4K monitor.

Or building a great rig now, either 4K with 4K monitor or 1440 on a ROG Swift 27" 144Hz with one 980TI and then having the option to move to SLI (the price of 980TIs should drop a bit when Pascal comes out so that's a good time to do it). I don't mind this option now, when I was first told about Pascal I was told that dual 980TIs wouldn't be close to a single Pascal card (my brother did mention that he hadn't looked into Pascal much at all and said I should do some research on them before doing anything, so maybe he was off a bit with his info!?). If this is wrong, and dual 980TIs would be better than the first couple of generations of Pascal then I like this option more (how long is there roughly between generations of cards?).

With building a great rig now a big decision is to decide whether I go with 4K 60hz or 1440p 144hz, what do you think about the differences there? I've never even looked at a 4K monitor and I've never seen a game play at more than 60hz so it's hard for me to make a call on this. I might need to try and see some examples of them to make up my mind.

Thanks again for all your help
 
I have heard from people who have had 4K @ 60Hz, 1080P @ 120Hz and 1440P @ 120Hz + 144Hz.

They claim that the higher refresh rate makes the gaming experience much more enjoyable, however I have only gamed at 60Hz from 1680x1050, 1920x1080, 1920x1200 to 3840x2160. I can say the first jump was slightly noticeable, the two in the middle you can't tell the difference but going to the last one it's a major step up. Like my mind was blown step up. I will admit though my gaming on 4K is on my TV. Simply because I haven't found any worth while 4K monitors in the 30" or less size that is worth it to me. With that alone I would vote goign to 1440P @ 144Hz. Just because of what people say about it. Plus the extra pixels should be noticeable over 1080P.

No way on this Earth will Nvidia's next generation GPUs known as Pascal have 10X the performance of current top tier cards. That's marketing poppycock at it's best! No one knows what Pascal will bring to the table and listening to the propaganda that Nvidia is feeding it's marketing department is not a reliable source. Hell, when they "revealed" a Pascal GPU it was debunked as being a Maxwell GPU. Go figure.

Build the system of your dreams now. There will ALWAYS be something "better" right around the corner. Welcome to PC gaming my friend.
 
Just wondering about thoughts on this setup I made from www.umart.com.au

Intel CPU
Intel Core i5 6600K Quad Core LGA 1151 3.5GHz Unlocked CPU P
$358

Intel MotherBoard
Asus Z170 Pro Gaming LGA1151 ATX Motherboard
$259

DDRIV RAM
GeIL 16GB Kit (2x8GB)GLWB416GB3000C16DC DDR4 Super LUCE C16
$220

Hard Disk1
Seagate ST4000DX001 DESKTOP SSHD 4TB SATA 6GB/s NCQ NAND 8GB
$225

SSD
Kingston 240GB HyperX Savage SSD SATA 3 2.5( read @ 560MB/s
$148

Graphic Card
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti G1 Gaming 6GB Video Card
$1059

LCD Monitor
Asus ROG SWIFT PG279Q 27 inch 2K-QHD
$1199

DVDRW
LiteON IHAS124 SATA DVD-RW 24X Black OEM
$16

Speakers
Creative GigaWorks T40 Series II Speakers, 2 channel, Power
$133

Case
Thermaltake VN300M1W2N Chaser MK-I Full Tower Case No PSU
$225

Power Supply
SeaSonic Snow Silent 1050 platinum plus PSU
$329

Keyboard
Cougar 700K Cherry Blue Mechanical Keyboard
$155

Mouse
Cougar 700M-ES-WHITE ADNS-9800 8200DPI Precision Gaming
$99

Mouse mat
SteelSeries 63100 9HD Professional Gaming Mouse Mat
$45

Software
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64bit OEM DVD
$139


Total: $4689 ( $3215 USD. I think parts in general cost more in Australia compared to US )

A lot of the core things like MB SSD PSU etc I just picked off price and tried to get premium pieces but not sure if they are good or not. With the CPU I know you mentioned not to get the overclocking one but it is only an extra $19 and the more I think about it, I think I'll eventually get into overclocking my stuff, that's why I picked a pretty strong PSU.

Are there any things I should look at changing in the build? I think all parts are compatible.

One thing I'm not sure on is monitors. Particularly Acer xb271hu vs ASUS pg279q, but thats something I can do my own research on. Seems the negatives about them are all relating to backlight bleed.
 
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That PSU and SSHD are a waste of money. You get an SSHD when you can't afford a SSD. Just get a regular 4TB HDD. You only need a 650-750W PSU for one 980Ti.

It is a shame that prices are so high outside the US even after the exchange rates (Canada isn't too bad) but here in the States I could get 3 980Tis in a system for $3k. It might be about the same price to get a plane ticket to fly over here and buy it and then take it back. :(
 
[21CW]killerofall;1042091682 said:
That PSU and SSHD are a waste of money. You get an SSHD when you can't afford a SSD. Just get a regular 4TB HDD. You only need a 650-750W PSU for one 980Ti.

It is a shame that prices are so high outside the US even after the exchange rates (Canada isn't too bad) but here in the States I could get 3 980Tis in a system for $3k. It might be about the same price to get a plane ticket to fly over here and buy it and then take it back. :(

Thanks for the help. Yeah it's a shame about the prices :(

I'll change the sshd, I didn't even know what it really was, I just picked it quickly off a list, I'm not great with a lot of the individual parts, there are so many similar abbreviations and codes.

The power supply I picked was based on most likely getting a 2nd 980ti when prices drop after Pascal release. Do you think this is a bad idea? Will 1050w be enough for SLI anyway?

Also, for anyone really, the other thing I'm not sure on is the GPUs themselves, so many different models of similar cards with minor price differences I don't know which one to pick. ( http://www.umart.com.au/umart1/pro/Products_list.phtml?id=10&bid=7&id2=521&name=GeForce GTX 980 Ti ) That is all the 980ti's available from this store. Anything that stands out as being the best purchase?
 
I can't speak as to EVGA in Australia, but their tech support is generally viewed as good in the US. Generally, GPU cards are the same from each manufacturer (once you've decided on which card you want) unless you want better cooling or get an overclocked card (where you would definitely want better cooling).

And I'll also vouch for everything Skillz said about Pascal. I've heard "X card is going to be a bazillion times better than Y card" so many times it's lost all meaning. lol

As for hard drives, I'd go with this one: http://www.umart.com.au/umart1/pro/Products-details.phtml?id=10&id2=129&bid=7&sid=131405

Seagate 4TB for $185. You could also go for the Western Digital Blue 4TB for $202 if you're so inclined.

I would also recommend the Samsung 250GB Evo 850 for $135 over the Kingston. I've owned a few Samsung SSDs, they're great.

http://www.umart.com.au/umart1/pro/Products-details.phtml?id=10&bid=7&id2=159&sid=228462
 
If you have this sort of cash available:

PC Hound Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 8M ($409.97 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII HERO ($219.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.SKILL 32GB (4 x 8GB) Ripjaws 4 Series ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: ASUS GeForce GTX 980 Ti STRIX-GTX980TI-DC3-6GD5-GAMING ($629.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 860W Platinum SS-860XP2 ($160.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: HGST 4TB Deskstar NAS H3IKNAS40003272SN (0S03664) ($159.99 @ B&H)
Storage #2: SAMSUNG 512GB 950 PRO MZ-V5P512BW ($328 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake Chaser Series Chaser MK-I (VN300M1W2N) ($159.9 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: CORSAIR H110i GTX ($121.99 @ Amazon)
Windows: Microsoft Windows 10 Home - 64-bit - OEM ($89.99 @ NCIX)
Mouse: COUGAR 700M ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: COUGAR 700K ($0 - Unavailable)
Speakers: Creative GigaWorks T40 Series II ($115.54 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: SAMSUNG SH-224FB ($9.99 @ TigerDirect)
Total: $2,616.31 USD ($3,790.59 AUD)
Price may include shipping, rebates, promotions, and tax
Generated by PC Hound




Even if you don't OC, you have the highest possible base clock and boost clock on 4 hyperthreaded cores.
32 gigs of RAM
A decently sized SSD
A better hard drive for secondary storage. If you care about your data, don't use consumer-grade Seagate. Their non-enterprise stuff bites dirty monkey crank.
If you're going to drop $1200 on the monitor (which I didn't include), feel free.
 
The problem with that PCHound list is that he literally lives in AU. Non of those retailers will ship to him.

Also those prices do not reflect actual prices in AU. For example: The 6700K is $525 which is over $100 more than the USD price from Amazon.

korakk,

980 Ti SLI GPUs do not consume that much power. HardOCP did a benchmark and measured less than 600W at the wall. Basically they could have ran that system on a 600W PSU and still had over 60W+ to play with. A good 800 - 850W PSU will be more than plenty for SLI 980 Ti GPUs.

EVGA is a really good brand. All my GPUs are EVGA.

I also recommend going with a regular HDD if you need the extra storage, but realistically you have the budget for a 1TB SSD. I'd go that route. Then buy a second HDD or SSD down the road when you fill it up. My gaming rig only has a 500GB SSD and it's got room for PLENTY of games + software.

Also make sure that 6600K has a heatsink/fan for cooling. I know the one sold here doesn't include one.
 
Thanks Fix Me, Chas and Skillz again.

I'm taking note of this info and putting together a build that I will post here shortly. And yes, Skillz is right about Australia, it's hard to get good prices on a lot of things but I'm pretty good at hunting bargains here, that's the easy part for me, knowing the best parts to get is very difficult for me.

Just one quick question about the SSD, I'm thinking of going 500gb Samsung Pro now. My worry about storing all my games on the SSD is with Steam, if you install Steam on the SSD you have to install ALL games on the SSD right? If that's the case, is it easy to delete installed data if you aren't gonna play for a long time, then reinstall the game and keep all saved game data etc? If it's easy, then I might go the 1TB and install steam on it.
 
You can install games in multiple locations with Steam now.

It is easy to delete installed games installed via steam. Simply clicking "delete local content" will uninstall the game. Some files/directories will remain, but for the most part the game will be uninstalled.
 
Re Steam.... you can put the client on your C drive (SSD) and install the games on another drive....ie a HDD.
Thats what I do.
 
Cheers. If the games are installed on HDD but steam is on the SSD will the games load quick? Or would they be faster installed on SSD? (I'm thinking like in Fallout when going to a new area, loading a save etc) If there is not much difference between having the games on SSD compared to HDD I can save a bit of money getting a 500GB SSD compared to 1TB. (Samsung Pro 512GB $315 compared to 1TB Samsung Pro $656) I could then install my most played games on SSD and other not so important games on HDD.

Finalizing build now, will post shortly, the help here has been great.
 
Some games load faster with an SSD and some do not. The difference normally isn't noticeable.
 
Cheers. Will have a think about 1TB or 512GB, I'm leaning to 512 because if I want to install ALL my future games on my SSD I'll eventually fill 1TB anyway. So if I install just my main few games on the SSD then delete or move after finishing with them 512 should be enough.

One other final thing regarding PSUs. I'm not sure why some are priced different to others and how to tell whats better. I've narrowed my choice down to 2 I think, whats better out of;

http://www.i-tech.com.au/seasonic-p...tinum-860w-psu-version-2-psuseap860v2new.html
It's 860W platinum and $315. Cheapest price in Australia for that model.

or

http://www.umart.com.au/umart1/pro/Products-details.phtml?id=10&bid=5&id2=140&sid=237177
It's 1050W platinum and $329.

Price difference is nothing, and I know I don't need 1050W, so what is actually a better PSU if you don't factor in Watt difference? (Snow Silent is US$220 on PC Hound and the first one is US$161)
 
Alright so I think I have my final build in mind, just deciding on 2 different PSU's and 2 different SSDs. Thanks again to everyone, especially Skillz, wouldn't be able to fine tune this build without the help. Learnt a lot, and got up to date again with the PC gaming world! Also, I think I'll be overclocking some things, especially CPU, so made some changes to accommodate for that.

Monitor: Asus ROG SWIFT PG279Q 27 inch 2K-QHD - $1199
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX980Ti 6GB SuperClocked + ACX2.0+ 16X - $997
CASE: Thermaltake Core V71 Full Tower - $235
PSU: SeaSonic Snow Silent 1050 Platinum - $329 (or Seasonic Platinum Series 80Plus Platinum 860W PSU (Version 2) - $315 or Seasonic SnowSilent (Limited Edition) 80Plus Platinum Series 750W $277)
SPEAKERS: Logitech Z623 - $129 EDIT: Think I might go for Swan M10 - $179 and add Creative Sound Blaster Z - $120
CPU: Intel Core i5 6600K - $358 (Doesn't come with heatsink. Is the cooler below what you mean when you say make sure it has a heatsink/fan?)
CPU COOLING: Corsair Hydro Series H110i GTX 280mm AIO Liquid CPU Cooler - $185
MB: Asus Maximus VIII Hero LGA1151 ATX Motherboard - $369
RAM: G.Skill Trident Z 3200 2x8GB - $198
HDD: Western Digital WD40EZRZ Blue 4TB SATA 6Gb HDD 64M - $202
SSD: Samsung SSD 2.5" 7mm SATA 512GB 850 PRO - $335
DVDRW: LiteON IHAS124 SATA DVD-RW 24X Black OEM - $19
MOUSE: Logitech G502 - $61
KEYBOARD: Logitech G910 Orion Spark RGB Mechanical Keyboard - $179
MAT: SteelSeries 63100 9HD Professional Gaming Mouse Mat - $45
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64bit OEM DVD - $139
Microsoft Office 2016 Home&Student - $135

TOTAL $5094 ($5435 with 1GB SSD)


Some things I changed from original: Went with Logitech mouse/keyboard, they seem to have better reviews. Went with a much better MB. Added good CPU cooling.

Any thoughts on this build? Anything I should change? Want to double check, is everything compatible? Will the CPU cooler fit in the case? Any benefit to getting 32GB ram over the proposed 16GB? Spending all this money, should I add a sound card as well? (I really appreciate good sound while gaming) Anything else a noob should be aware of with this build? I'm going to be putting it together myself, have built a computer before so should be ok, I'll take it slow, think the CPU cooler might be the only tough part. Any other general thoughts/tips?
 
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In looking at the 980 Ti, have you looked into the MSI/Corsair watercooled AIO model?

I realize these are AU prices, but the watercooled one might be just a bit more and well worth it.:D

Also, if you aren't going to OC the CPU at all, you could spend a lot less on an air cooler and apply the money saved elsewhere.

The sound on the ASUS Hero boards is quiet good BTW. I would not think an add-in card would be necessary at all.
 
Thanks Fix Me, Chas and Skillz again.

I'm taking note of this info and putting together a build that I will post here shortly. And yes, Skillz is right about Australia, it's hard to get good prices on a lot of things but I'm pretty good at hunting bargains here, that's the easy part for me, knowing the best parts to get is very difficult for me.

Just one quick question about the SSD, I'm thinking of going 500gb Samsung Pro now. My worry about storing all my games on the SSD is with Steam, if you install Steam on the SSD you have to install ALL games on the SSD right? If that's the case, is it easy to delete installed data if you aren't gonna play for a long time, then reinstall the game and keep all saved game data etc? If it's easy, then I might go the 1TB and install steam on it.

If you're going with a newer Z170 board, look at the Samsung 950 Pro PCI-Express instead of the 850 Pro. Take advantage of the M.2 slot and greater bandwidth than SATA.

Is it more expensive than the 850 Pro? Yeah. If your budget is that big, I wouldn't worry about it too much.
 
Cheers. Will have a think about 1TB or 512GB, I'm leaning to 512 because if I want to install ALL my future games on my SSD I'll eventually fill 1TB anyway. So if I install just my main few games on the SSD then delete or move after finishing with them 512 should be enough.

One other final thing regarding PSUs. I'm not sure why some are priced different to others and how to tell whats better. I've narrowed my choice down to 2 I think, whats better out of;

http://www.i-tech.com.au/seasonic-p...tinum-860w-psu-version-2-psuseap860v2new.html
It's 860W platinum and $315. Cheapest price in Australia for that model.

or

http://www.umart.com.au/umart1/pro/Products-details.phtml?id=10&bid=5&id2=140&sid=237177
It's 1050W platinum and $329.

Price difference is nothing, and I know I don't need 1050W, so what is actually a better PSU if you don't factor in Watt difference? (Snow Silent is US$220 on PC Hound and the first one is US$161)

In this case, if you're spending that much, the 1050 is a better bang for your buck (as both are Platinum-rated) and will grant you slightly greater growth potential (in case you decide to go hog-wild and SLI the crap out of things later).
 
And last thing. When it comes to discrete sound, save your money.
On-board sound nowadays is generally more than good enough.
 
Hold off on the audio portion. Your options are kind of meh, and not really fitting of the behemoth you're building. If you want to keep it in budget, grab a pair of JBL LSR305's. I don't know if they're available there. They didn't work out for me because I'm really sensitive to hiss, but otherwise they're probably the best deal you can get in the audio category. You can start out using onboard for them, and move up to a dedicated DAC later.

The motherboard seems a bit pricey... but I don't know what options you have. Why are you getting an i5 instead of an i7? Seems kind of pointless.

I believe the monitor is plagued with QC issues, but that's not an uncommon story at 1440p in general. If you wanted to knock the price down a bit, you could possibly try the TN variants. Not sure if the Dell TN is available over there. The TN variants have their own advantages.

I'm just a bit wary of choosing ASUS for anything considering the regular RMA horror stories, but whatever.
 
Thanks for the replies.

In looking at the 980 Ti, have you looked into the MSI/Corsair watercooled AIO model?

I realize these are AU prices, but the watercooled one might be just a bit more and well worth it.

Also, if you aren't going to OC the CPU at all, you could spend a lot less on an air cooler and apply the money saved elsewhere.

The sound on the ASUS Hero boards is quiet good BTW. I would not think an add-in card would be necessary at all.

I had a look into that model, they don't seem to be mainstream here, only a couple available and a good $300 more. I think I probably should hold off spending that much more.

If you're going with a newer Z170 board, look at the Samsung 950 Pro PCI-Express instead of the 850 Pro. Take advantage of the M.2 slot and greater bandwidth than SATA.

Is it more expensive than the 850 Pro? Yeah. If your budget is that big, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Hmmmm.. I didn't even know what these we're before your post, thanks for suggesting! I looked into them and there are various reports about them in turns of gaming performance. Some initial tests done by reliable sources say that load time in games is only 1-2 seconds better but there are a lot of people stating that SOME games have a bigger advantage and have seen load times go from 30 seconds to 10 seconds. Fallout 4 is one game people mentioned seeing a good improvement so I'm intrigued. If I put a big session of gaming in, and fast travel or load my game 100 times, if it even saves 10 seconds per time it's saving 17 minutes, if it ends up saving 20 seconds thats half an hour saved, and if I fast travel/load 200 times (not out of the question I don't think) that's an hour extra, that's huge. Even if these numbers are way off, any improvements good though, and spending this much on a rig, why not go a little bit more right :D

Samsung 950 Pro Series 512GB M.2 SSD is $485 here, compared to $335 for 850 pro, probably worth the upgrade.

Hold off on the audio portion. Your options are kind of meh, and not really fitting of the behemoth you're building. If you want to keep it in budget, grab a pair of JBL LSR305's. I don't know if they're available there. They didn't work out for me because I'm really sensitive to hiss, but otherwise they're probably the best deal you can get in the audio category. You can start out using onboard for them, and move up to a dedicated DAC later.

The motherboard seems a bit pricey... but I don't know what options you have. Why are you getting an i5 instead of an i7? Seems kind of pointless.

I believe the monitor is plagued with QC issues, but that's not an uncommon story at 1440p in general. If you wanted to knock the price down a bit, you could possibly try the TN variants. Not sure if the Dell TN is available over there. The TN variants have their own advantages.

I'm just a bit wary of choosing ASUS for anything considering the regular RMA horror stories, but whatever.

I'll be honest, I know nothing about speakers, specifically PC speakers, and even more specifically PC speakers for gaming (it seems there is a difference for gaming and music?). I changed my original choice to Swan M10, they seemed to have pretty good reviews. I added the sound card because a lot of people said there will be a noticable improvemant for gaming sound with the Sound Blaster Z, but again I have no idea myself.

Looked into those speakers you mentioned and they look pretty good. https://www.jbhifi.com.au/headphone...bl/jbl-lsr305-powered-studio-monitors/999305/ $458 delivered here. That's $279 more than the Swan M10, do you think they are worth that much more? Do they just hook straight up to PC? the Swans are 2.1 compared to 2.0, would the sub make much difference for gaming? Doubt you need a lot of bass for games? I'm quite stuck for audio as the reviews and peoples opinions about different options vary so much more than with standard computer parts.

Regards to the monitor, I've read about a lot of the issues with that model but I believe if you get a good unit it's the best monitor for gaming at 1440p. I'll definitely speak to the store before buying, making sure if it suffers from backlight bleed I can return it.


EDIT: From some research into those speakers, some people are suggesting a DAC to go with it, because of a lot of static noise from the PC. Can get a cheap one (https://www.videoguys.com.au/Shop/p/20249/behringer-uca202-usb-2-ch-interface-beuca202.html $61) but that might not be good enough. I don't even really know what a DAC is, think it's an amp, and it reduces interfering noise? Audio seems to be stressing me out the most about this build, I'm a bit stuck here.
 
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Both of those Seasonic PSUs are excellent PSUs. Due to the pricing go with the 1050W. It's okay to have a little too much power, sometimes.
 
No, a DAC is simply a digital to analog converter. The music files that reside on your computer are encoded in a digital format. They're a string of ones and zeroes with some sort of pattern associated with them (there might be some set of bits that reveals what the format is or what have you). That's the really short version. An amplifier is usually put after the DAC in order to amplify the signal for a pair of passive speakers or earphones. These speakers contain the amplifier within the speakers. Sometimes people put a preamp after the DAC and before the amplifier, but that's kind of out of the ballpark for this.

Anyway, long and the short of it is that the JBL speakers are extremely detailed, high-end, high fidelity speakers. For the price, they can't be beat in any of those departments. Considering you're using them for computer speakers, they'll have a decent amount of bass for nearfield listening, too. At the very least, the bass that does come out of them will likely be leagues more articulate than the Swan speakers. If you EVER listen to music, they're especially worth it. For strictly gaming, it's a bit more of a tossup, but you will appreciate the soundtrack more...

Initially, you don't really need a DAC.
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_...tkOjrJqy1FH8pVURMxXviyDbfm0Z46I_ygaAupf8P8HAQ
Get something like this cheap cable and use it with them and see if it works out. You'll have to be careful with the setup, though. You'll get a lot of noise coming from the PC unless you hook them into a separate power strip.
If you want to eliminate any noise entirely, this is a solution:
https://www.storedj.com.au/products/LEX-ALPHASTUDIO
With some of these (get wherever you can get them cheapest, it doesn't matter):
http://www.swamp.net.au/trs-cable-stereo-cable/

I suggest trying out the JBL's at the very least (preferably from somewhere with a good return policy), and then seeing if you can appreciate what they put out. If so, they're probably the last speakers you'll ever need, realistically. If not, just return them and get the Swans. I had a pair, and I was impressed with them. It's just that my pair hissed (most people don't have that problem) and I felt like trying out the Vanatoo T1's anyway. Shrug.
 
Thanks for the explanation. I think I'm going to go with these JBLs, I will listen to music occasionally too. Do you think getting http://www.soundblaster.com/products/sound-blaster-z.aspx is worth it? Suppose to be specific to gaming and generally good reviews elsewhere.

So just to make it clear, at first I just get that cable and hook them up (http://www.swamp.net.au/insert-cable.html), if I have issues with noise then I get something like that device you linked.

One thing I just want to check, is;
You'll get a lot of noise coming from the PC unless you hook them into a separate power strip
What do you mean by hooking into different power strip?

Thanks again for the help.
 
I think I'm going to start buying the core PC parts now, unless there are any things I should change?
 
Thanks for the explanation. I think I'm going to go with these JBLs, I will listen to music occasionally too. Do you think getting http://www.soundblaster.com/products/sound-blaster-z.aspx is worth it? Suppose to be specific to gaming and generally good reviews elsewhere.

So just to make it clear, at first I just get that cable and hook them up (http://www.swamp.net.au/insert-cable.html), if I have issues with noise then I get something like that device you linked.

One thing I just want to check, is;

What do you mean by hooking into different power strip?

Thanks again for the help.

I don't think the sound blaster will be immediately worth it. It's only worth it if you want to start doing surround setups and actually need all of the inputs and outputs it offers. You're only going to be using it for the DAC (and some slight preamp). I would try out the DAC on the motherboard first.

As for the power strip, I meant exactly what I said. Hook them into a separate outlet from your computer. The reason is if you use that 3.5mm to dual 1/4th inch plug, you'll get noise from your computer on the ground line (or something like that), so every time you move your mouse you'll hear it on the speakers. If you hook them into another outlet, it should be fine. At least it was for me.
 
So everything went great with the build, thanks everyone for the help.

The only issue I'm having is with loud noise from the speakers. The cable I am using is; https://www.swamp.net.au/mini-jack-to-dual-1-4-mixer-to-pc-audio-cable.html

When I plug the 3.5mm end into my phone and play music they work fine, so it's got to do with the PC. I think I need to get one of the devices mentioned above, but the one linked is out of stock and I just want to check if this is a suitable alternative; https://www.jbhifi.com.au/headphone...o/m-audio-m-track-mk2-audio-interface/330033/ EDIT: This is also available; http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/252...=true&hlpv=2&chn=ps&lpid=107&ops=true&viphx=1 (from this site in the US; http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MTrack , the ebay one costs more but is cheaper in Australia.

Also, I'm guessing I'll need different cables to make it work?

Will this get rid of the noise completely or is there something better I should be getting? I don't really want to spend too much more money but I will if I have to because I want nice sound!
 
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Did you try switching the outlets the speakers plug into? Does the noise subtly change when you move your mouse? Like try getting a power strip or something and then just plugging them into a totally different plug. I know it sounds like it won't do anything but it totally fixed the issue for me. If you try that and it doesn't fix it, we'd probably like a post over in Computer Audio to evaluate your DAC options.
 
I'll have a play around with different outlets and see how I go. I tried one speaker in a different outlet but the other didn't reach, I'll get some extension leads and try it out properly.

I'm not sure if there were noises when I moved my mouse, there definitely wasn't any obvious noises when I did. There was some noise when just working around in windows but the noise was really loud when I loaded up games, as soon as they got going there would be constant interference type buzz noise that was very loud.

On the plus side, the speakers sound fantastic when not getting interference!
 
Changing the power outlet helped it a lot but the noise is still very loud, it's still mainly in games. I think the mouse movements has an effect on the sound, but even with the mouse still the noise is very loud.

I'll make a post in the computer audio section of the site.
 
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