New Gaming Rig Build

[DarkStar_WNY]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, with the occasional minor photo editing. If I get time I would like to start messing around with video editing, but not in a major way.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around $3.6k

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Western NY USA

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Case and everything that goes inside it, mobo, CPU, RAM, GPU, SSD, PS, CPU cooler, OS, etc...

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
No, starting fresh and will be redoing my current rig for my wife to use.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes.

The case I am planning on, a Caselabs SMA8 in gunmetal grey is currently unavailable. My plan is to air cooled this build for now and then build a custom loop for it once Caselabs starts offering the gunmetal grey again and I get an SMA8.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Currently 1080p but once I order the parts for this rig I will be shopping for a 1440p monitor, preferably an ultrawide.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Ordering parts within the next two weeks and building before Sept 30 (I am have back surgery on that day and want the PC ready to go before that as my recovery will be 6-8 weeks, which should allow me to make some progress on my game backlog)

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.
Probably the only "need" would be SLI, as I plan to add a second GPU at some point

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No


There used to be a question about having a Micro Center nearby, and while there isn't one in town there is one about two hours away that I want to check out, so I will probably get my motherboard and CPU there, assuming the pricing is good when I'm there.


This is the build I'm been considering - I plan on getting a Caselabs SMA8 in gunmetal grey as soon as they are available again, SMA8 is not included in my prices below or in the budget above.

Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
Corsair H100i GTX 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Asus MAXIMUS VIII HERO ATX LGA1151 Mobo
G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8) DDR4-3000 Memory
Samsung SM951 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Western Digital Black 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal HDD
EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+
EVGA SuperNOVA P2 1200W Modular ATX Power Supply
Microsoft Windows 7 Pro OEM (64-bit)

The above comes to about $2875


I've also been considering changing out the CPU and mobo for the following

Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor
Asus RAMPAGE V EXTREME/U3 EATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard

This would raise the price to about $3259 ($400 extra to move up to the 5960X)


Finally, since the case I planned on using for this build will not be available for at least a couple months I need to decide on a temporary case for this rig, which once I get the SMA8 I would reuse the temp case to build my wife a system in using parts from my current rig.

What are your thoughts on this build and the 6700K vs 5930K/5960X for a gaming rig?

 

[Dangman]

Unless you're already in the area for other reasons beside MC, MC isn't worth that 2 hour drive (4 round trip) as any savings you get is pretty much eaten up by gas, time, and tax costs. Hell, my Microcenter is 45 minutes away and I still don't think it's worth that round trip unless I'm rolling with three other people that day for a simultaneous group buy.

So your best bet is online.

There's really only three issues with your setup:
1) That RAM is not really needed. I haven't seen anything, in either or with my own testing, where a 6700K will provide performance with a high speed RAM set like DDR4 3000. At best, DDR4 2400 is all that you need.

2) If you're looking for better reliability, you're looking at a Toshiba ACA hard drive or a Hitachi hard drive.

3) Why Windows 7 Pro?

As for which base platform to go with, stick with the 6700K. You're not going to see enough of a performance increase in really heavily threaded games that'll justify an $400 to $800 price increase.

As for cases, I recommend the following:
$70 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Case
$70 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black w/ Window ATX Case
$90 - NZXT Source 530 Full Tower Case
$100 - Thermaltake Core V51 Black ATX Case
$100 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$100 - Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower Case
$110 - Phanteks Enthoo Pro PH-ES614P_WT White Full Tower Case
$103 - Antec 1100 V2 ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Gunmetal Black ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Obsidian Series 450D ATX Case
$136 - NZXT Phantom 530 Black Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Corsair Obsidian Series 750D ATX Case
$140 - Corsair Graphite Series 730T ATX Case
$150 - NZXT Phantom 630 White Windowed Full Tower ATX Case
$150 - Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Full Tower Case
$158 - NZXT Phantom 630 Gunmetal Full Tower Case
$170 - Corsair Graphite Series 600T Arctc White Full Tower Case
$180 - Corsair Graphite Series 760T Black Full Tower Case
$180 - Corsair Graphite Series 760T White Full Tower Case
180 - Corsair Graphite 780T Black ATX Full Tower Case
$190 - Corsair Graphite 780T White ATX Full Tower Case
$230 - Phanteks Enthoo Primo Full Tower Case

 

[DarkStar_WNY]

There's really only three issues with your setup:
1) That RAM is not really needed. I haven't seen anything, in either or with my own testing, where a 6700K will provide performance with a high speed RAM set like DDR4 3000. At best, DDR4 2400 is all that you need.

Okay, I wasn't really sure about the memory, so I just went a couple steps below the fastest. Thanks!

2) If you're looking for better reliability, you're looking at a Toshiba ACA hard drive or a Hitachi hard drive.

Thanks, I will look into them.

3) Why Windows 7 Pro?

Just selected it as a space holder, what little I worked on Win 8 I didn't care for it, and I really haven't had time to look into Win 10 that much.

As for which base platform to go with, stick with the 6700K. You're not going to see enough of a performance increase in really heavily threaded games that'll justify an $400 to $800 price increase.

Thanks, that's what I thought as well, although that little voice in the back of my head keep saying "don't you want an extreme edition CPU?" lol!

 

[rive22]

You've picked out good parts.

 

[defaultluser]

Yeah, looks good, but I don't think you need the SM951.

It doesn't help with game launch times or basic application usage versus the EVO, and it's way too expensive right now for little benefit.

http://techreport.com/review/28446/samsung-sm951-pcie-ssd-reviewed/5

You already have a killer SSD in the EVO, and the hard drive provides plenty of storage. I'd wait to grab a later-generation NVMe drive when you finally decide you want to do serious video editing.

 

[Dangman]

Just selected it as a space holder, what little I worked on Win 8 I didn't care for it, and I really haven't had time to look into Win 10 that much.

Well unless you have Windows 7 specific programs, I recommend at least Windows 8.1. Maaybe Windows 10 if you don't mind doing a little extra beta testing.

Thanks, that's what I thought as well, although that little voice in the back of my head keep saying "don't you want an extreme edition CPU?" lol!

We all have that voice.

 

[Deleted member 126051]

If you're looking to build a gaming rig, stick with the 6700K. Most CPU scaling doesn't go beyond 4 cores. And you'll see more out of higher CPU clocking.

The PSU is overboard. Your config is pulling down less than 600W. I'd look at something in the 800-850 range.

Maybe something like: http://www.amazon.com/SeaSonic-Platinum-PLATINUM-860-SS-860XP2-Supply/dp/B00608MP5E/

 

[DarkStar_WNY]

Well unless you have Windows 7 specific programs, I recommend at least Windows 8.1. Maaybe Windows 10 if you don't mind doing a little extra beta testing.

We all have that voice.

I had hoped that Skylake would give a large enough boost over the 4970k, and even over the 5920K/5930K for gaming so that the little voice would shut up, but so far the reviews seem to be split with some showing decent gains while others show the performance being about on par with each other.

If you're looking to build a gaming rig, stick with the 6700K. Most CPU scaling doesn't go beyond 4 cores. And you'll see more out of higher CPU clocking.

The PSU is overboard. Your config is pulling down less than 600W. I'd look at something in the 800-850 range.

Maybe something like: http://www.amazon.com/SeaSonic-Platinum-PLATINUM-860-SS-860XP2-Supply/dp/B00608MP5E/

What is the sweet spot for power supplies? I seem to recall it being 60-80% usage?

Would and 850 watt give me enough head room to add a second 980 Ti as well as a custom water cooling loop with 2 pumps and maybe up to a dozen fans?

 

[DarkStar_WNY]

Yeah, looks good, but I don't think you need the SM951.

It doesn't help with game launch times or basic application usage versus the EVO, and it's way too expensive right now for little benefit.

http://techreport.com/review/28446/samsung-sm951-pcie-ssd-reviewed/5

You already have a killer SSD in the EVO, and the hard drive provides plenty of storage. I'd wait to grab a later-generation NVMe drive when you finally decide you want to do serious video editing.

Thanks, maybe I'll replace teh 951 with a second 1TB EVO. Would it be worth going with the Pro model over the standard EVO?

This raises a couple more interesting questions, If I go with 2 1TB EVO should I do they separately or in RAID 0? Also if I put them in a raid 0 array would I then mirror them to a single 2TB standard HDD or would that require another pair of 1TB SSDs?

Although I guess I could back it up to my 4 bay Qnap NAS, but if could have it done automatically within my rig,for the low cost of a 2TB drive that might be better.

 

[defaultluser]

Thanks, maybe I'll replace teh 951 with a second 1TB EVO. Would it be worth going with the Pro model over the standard EVO?

This raises a couple more interesting questions, If I go with 2 1TB EVO should I do they separately or in RAID 0? Also if I put them in a raid 0 array would I then mirror them to a single 2TB standard HDD or would that require another pair of 1TB SSDs?

Although I guess I could back it up to my 4 bay Qnap NAS, but if could have it done automatically within my rig,for the low cost of a 2TB drive that might be better.

Yeah, I recommend you continue to use hard drives for backups. SSD space is cheap compared to a few years back, but still expensive.

You won't notice the difference if you RAID 0 two SSDs, unless you're copying 10+GB files around all the time. It's the access time that you notice, not the throughput (unless you're copying lots of data constantly).

You notice the difference when you raid 0 two hard drives because both the access times AND throughput suck on hard drives.

If you want more capacity, why not get the 2TB EVO?

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E2T0B-AM/dp/B010QD6W9I

Also, unless you have a PS/2 mouse/keyboard, and an SATA DVD drive, you're going to have trouble installing Windows 7 on Skylake:

http://wccftech.com/intel-skylake-remove-support-usb-based-windows-7-installation-platform-specs/

USB will work fine once it's installed, but not DURING the install.

I would go with Windows 10. There's compatibility options for running games in previous Windows modes that still work just fine.

 

[DarkStar_WNY]

Yeah, I recommend you continue to use hard drives for backups. SSD space is cheap compared to a few years back, but still expensive.

You won't notice the difference if you RAID 0 two SSDs, unless you're copying 10+GB files around all the time. It's the access time that you notice, not the throughput (unless you're copying lots of data constantly).

You notice the difference when you raid 0 two hard drives because both the access times AND throughput suck on hard drives.

If you want more capacity, why not get the 2TB EVO?

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E2T0B-AM/dp/B010QD6W9I

Also, unless you have a PS/2 mouse/keyboard, and an SATA DVD drive, you're going to have trouble installing Windows 7 on Skylake:

http://wccftech.com/intel-skylake-remove-support-usb-based-windows-7-installation-platform-specs/

USB will work fine once it's installed, but not DURING the install.

I would go with Windows 10. There's compatibility options for running games in previous Windows modes that still work just fine.

Oh yeah I would never do a backups to an SSD, I just wasn't sure if I got say a 2TB SDD and a 2TB HDD if I could RAID them so the SSD is mirrored to the HDD?

I may grab the 2TB Evo, after it first came out the price was considerably higher then it is now and wasn't worth it, but now it's just a little more than a pair of 1TB Evos.

My thinking with Win 7 was that I would grab the free upgrade to 10 and if I didn't like it I would switch back to Win 7, which I know is good for gaming. So the Win 7 was simply to give me a fall back position in case I hate 10.

I didn't know that about the Win 7 install, thank you very much for pointing that out, so would you suggest I just buy a copy of Win 10?

Also what are your thoughts on RAM disks? If I could double up on RAM to 32GB and use some of it for a RAM disk. I haven't done this in ages and ages, not sure if there is still a significant increase because of the speed of SSDs..

 

[Deleted member 126051]

I had hoped that Skylake would give a large enough boost over the 4970k, and even over the 5920K/5930K for gaming so that the little voice would shut up, but so far the reviews seem to be split with some showing decent gains while others show the performance being about on par with each other.




What is the sweet spot for power supplies? I seem to recall it being 60-80% usage?

Would and 850 watt give me enough head room to add a second 980 Ti as well as a custom water cooling loop with 2 pumps and maybe up to a dozen fans?

If you're staying with a single Ti, 750-850 would be your sweet spot.

If you're planning to go dual 980 Ti, 1000W at least.

A couple years ago, I'd have launched into a schpiel about how the majority of SLI/CFX implementations happen when the machine is built. Not after.

While that's STILL true, the percentage of after-build SLI/CFX upgrades has climbed steadily.

So, if you're SERIOUSLY planning for SLI 980 Ti, I'll retract my statement about the PSU being overkill.

 

[defaultluser]

Oh yeah I would never do a backups to an SSD, I just wasn't sure if I got say a 2TB SDD and a 2TB HDD if I could RAID them so the SSD is mirrored to the HDD?

I may grab the 2TB Evo, after it first came out the price was considerably higher then it is now and wasn't worth it, but now it's just a little more than a pair of 1TB Evos.

My thinking with Win 7 was that I would grab the free upgrade to 10 and if I didn't like it I would switch back to Win 7, which I know is good for gaming. So the Win 7 was simply to give me a fall back position in case I hate 10.

I didn't know that about the Win 7 install, thank you very much for pointing that out, so would you suggest I just buy a copy of Win 10?

Also what are your thoughts on RAM disks? If I could double up on RAM to 32GB and use some of it for a RAM disk. I haven't done this in ages and ages, not sure if there is still a significant increase because of the speed of SSDs..

I would just install Windows 10. For a basic gaming system, it's ready to go. The only thing that's broken is mixing in web search results with local search results, but otherwise it''s just Windows 7 with a more customizable start menu.

The ramdisk would make no difference because you have the SSD. In addition, Windows will preload the three applications you're most likely to use into ram, making it even less relevant.

Just get as much ram as you want to, and Windows will use it however you need it.

 

[DarkStar_WNY]

If you're staying with a single Ti, 750-850 would be your sweet spot.

If you're planning to go dual 980 Ti, 1000W at least.

A couple years ago, I'd have launched into a schpiel about how the majority of SLI/CFX implementations happen when the machine is built. Not after.

While that's STILL true, the percentage of after-build SLI/CFX upgrades has climbed steadily.

So, if you're SERIOUSLY planning for SLI 980 Ti, I'll retract my statement about the PSU being overkill.

When I rebuild the system in the gunmetal grey SMA8 I will definitely be adding a second GPU, as that is when I'll be making the customer water cooled loop for everything.

I would just install Windows 10. For a basic gaming system, it's ready to go. The only thing that's broken is mixing in web search results with local search results, but otherwise it''s just Windows 7 with a more customizable start menu.

The ramdisk would make no difference because you have the SSD. In addition, Windows will preload the three applications you're most likely to use into ram, making it even less relevant.

Just get as much ram as you want to, and Windows will use it however you need it.

Okay, thanks. But of course for gaming 16GB is already overkill correct, so going beyond that at this time would be a waste? Or am I missing some information?

 

[defaultluser]

Yeah man, 16GB is plenty for now.

 

[chenw]

RAM is amongst the easiest part of the computer to upgrade should the need arise (only plugging in external USB harddrive is easier), so it's definitely a "get-them-as-you-need-them" part. 16GB is plenty, and if games start to chew through RAM in the future, getting extra RAM sticks and plugging them in is quick and easy.

Not to mention RAM should become better/cheaper as time goes.

 

[DarkStar_WNY]

RAM is amongst the easiest part of the computer to upgrade should the need arise (only plugging in external USB harddrive is easier), so it's definitely a "get-them-as-you-need-them" part. 16GB is plenty, and if games start to chew through RAM in the future, getting extra RAM sticks and plugging them in is quick and easy.

Not to mention RAM should become better/cheaper as time goes.

Yeah, that's why I'm going 2x8GB instead of 4x4GB. Every computer I've ever bought had plenty of RAM and hard drive space..................... but only doe awhile. lol!