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"I Need a New PC!" 2015 Part 2. Read the OP. Rocking 2500K's until HBM2 and beyond.

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RGM79

Member
Could I please get some feedback on this build?

I haven't built a PC in ~15 years so most of my experience is likely not applicable anymore. Never dealt with liquid cooling before so that is my main concern. Is the H60 sufficient or should I go with something better? Also, do I need to add additional fans or are the stock fans and CPU cooler good enough? Don't plan on doing any overclocking. Is there anything else I'm overlooking?

Also, is it a good time to buy these parts or is it worth waiting a few months? I'm not so much concerned about the price as I am better hardware. I'm not in a big rush now, but ideally would like to do this build over the next 2-3 months.

Thanks!

Not bad, but there are better options for some choices. The Corsair H60 isn't that great, for the same amount of money you could get a more effective air cooler that puts the H60 to shame.

I wouldn't advise getting a graphics card with a reference style blower cooler unless you really want it for those looks. A non-reference open cooler is what you want for better cooling and lower noise. This Techreport article will tell you exactly how much the GTX 980 Ti with a reference style cooler lags behind the ones with open-type coolers.

Otherwise, there are other changes to make that would be more about saving money will virtually keeping the same level of performance.

Stock fans should be fine. You can put together the computer and then monitor temps while you use it and play games and do work. If the temperatures are uncomfortably high then you can see about adding more fans if needed.

Given how prices can change, you're better off revisiting prices and parts availability a week or two before you plan to buy and build the PC. It's still early and prices are somewhat variable for things like RAM, motherboard, SSD, power supply, cases, etc. There's also holiday sales like black friday or the Christmas season to think about.

Here is my current build. Look good? I'm shooting for a very small but powerful system.

QUESTION: if I install the OS to an SSD now, can I add a second SSD in the future in RAID mirror configuration?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($369.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 120XL 76.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($90.98 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Prolimatech PK-1 5g Thermal Paste ($9.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($248.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($230.83 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Constellation ES.3 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($373.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1881.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-03 18:19 EST-0500

That's very high end. You could get away with going with some cheaper parts and keep nearly the same performance. I'm not sure if you'll need that $250 motherboard when a cheaper one will be just as effective, for example. It might be possible to fit a GTX 980 Ti into that price budget, even.

Also, are you limited to ordering from Newegg only or are other retailers ok?
 

cHinzo

Member
Hey guys,

A friend of mine is looking for a new PC, because he got one with ancient specs atm and is still stuck playing CS 1.6 lol. Could someone help me out on a full build with a €500~€600 budget? Thanks!
 
Not bad, but there are better options for some choices. The Corsair H60 isn't that great, for the same amount of money you could get a more effective air cooler that puts the H60 to shame.

I wouldn't advise getting a graphics card with a reference style blower cooler unless you really want it for those looks. A non-reference open cooler is what you want for better cooling and lower noise. This Techreport article will tell you exactly how much the GTX 980 Ti with a reference style cooler lags behind the ones with open-type coolers.

Otherwise, there are other changes to make that would be more about saving money will virtually keeping the same level of performance.

Stock fans should be fine. You can put together the computer and then monitor temps while you use it and play games and do work. If the temperatures are uncomfortably high then you can see about adding more fans if needed.

Given how prices can change, you're better off revisiting prices and parts availability a week or two before you plan to buy and build the PC. It's still early and prices are somewhat variable for things like RAM, motherboard, SSD, power supply, cases, etc. There's also holiday sales like black friday or the Christmas season to think about

Thanks.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-06gp44995kr

Is this an open type card or still a reference card?

Also, should I swap out the cooler for the H105 or would you recommend a different brand altogether?
 

aravuus

Member
My computer's been randomly freezing for the past year or so, and it's starting to get on my nerves. I've tried almost everything but changing the motherboard so it's starting to look like the mobo is the reason. The thing is, I've got i5-3570k, so it's an LGA1155 mobo, and they pretty much don't sell those anymore in Finland.

So I was wondering if I should upgrade my CPU while I'm at it. Are either an i5-4690k or an i5-4570 reasonably big upgrades from the old 3570k? They cost around 260 and 240 euros respectively, which isn't THAT much but, you know, it's still money. And I gotta get another mobo on top of that, which I guess would be around 70 to 80 euros.

Probably won't be doing any overclocking, and the 3570k paired with GTX970 still destroys pretty much any game I throw at it, so... I dunno.
 
My computer's been randomly freezing for the past year or so, and it's starting to get on my nerves. I've tried almost everything but changing the motherboard so it's starting to look like the mobo is the reason. The thing is, I've got i5-3570k, so it's an LGA1155 mobo, and they pretty much don't sell those anymore in Finland.

So I was wondering if I should upgrade my CPU while I'm at it. Are either an i5-4690k or an i5-4570 reasonably big upgrades from the old 3570k? They cost around 260 and 240 euros respectively, which isn't THAT much but, you know, it's still money. And I gotta get another mobo on top of that, which I guess would be around 70 to 80 euros.

Probably won't be doing any overclocking, and the 3570k paired with GTX970 still destroys pretty much any game I throw at it, so... I dunno.
No, you wouldn't see any difference.

What about if you boot from an Ubuntu live cd/usb stick. Does it still freeze occasionally? I doubt it's the motherboard.
 
Hey PCgaf, what's the best way to prep a laptop for selling?

It has Windows 10 now, but came with Win8 and no install media. Should I do a full wipe and sell it with stock settings (no accounts created, Win8)? Wipe it and reinstall W10? Just delete my info and uninstall programs and let it be?

Any advice appreciated.
 

RGM79

Member
Thanks.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-06gp44995kr

Is this an open type card or still a reference card?

Also, should I swap out the cooler for the H105 or would you recommend a different brand altogether?

Yes, that's a open type cooler. Reference blower coolers are boxy and almost entirely covered except for a small spinning part located near the end of the card that sucks in air. Open type coolers have a more exposed design where you can usually see the metal fins and pipes of the heatsink, and usually have more than one fan. You can see the difference in this example.

Are you sure you're set on water cooling? The H105 is ok, but loud as most professional reviews from Guru3D, TechPowerUp, and HardOCP seem to agree. Look for Corsair's newer H110i GT, H100i GTX, or Noctua's NH-D15.
 
My computer's been randomly freezing for the past year or so, and it's starting to get on my nerves. I've tried almost everything but changing the motherboard so it's starting to look like the mobo is the reason. The thing is, I've got i5-3570k, so it's an LGA1155 mobo, and they pretty much don't sell those anymore in Finland.

So I was wondering if I should upgrade my CPU while I'm at it. Are either an i5-4690k or an i5-4570 reasonably big upgrades from the old 3570k? They cost around 260 and 240 euros respectively, which isn't THAT much but, you know, it's still money. And I gotta get another mobo on top of that, which I guess would be around 70 to 80 euros.

Probably won't be doing any overclocking, and the 3570k paired with GTX970 still destroys pretty much any game I throw at it, so... I dunno.

Any overclocks on the CPU/RAM/GPU? Reset those if you have any. Try also checking your memory health (something like Memtest86) and your hard drive health (Windows built in chkdsk). Failing those, maybe try a complete reinstall of Windows if you haven't already.
 

aravuus

Member
No, you wouldn't see any difference.

What about if you boot from an Ubuntu live cd/usb stick. Does it still freeze occasionally? I doubt it's the motherboard.

I could give it a try, but it'd be hard to say, really. It can go for weeks without a single freeze and then start suddenly freezing every day, then go back to freezing very rarely. Mobo, CPU and ram are the only components I haven't upgraded, I think, and I've ran a bunch of memtests which all reported that there's nothing wrong with the ram either, so I'm really confused.

I can get an old LGA1155 mobo from a friend though, might give it a try first

Any overclocks on the CPU/RAM/GPU? Reset those if you have any. Try also checking your memory health (something like Memtest86) and your hard drive health (Windows built in chkdsk). Failing those, maybe try a complete reinstall of Windows if you haven't already.

No overclocks, memtests done (like I mentioned above) and I literally just got a new SSD a couple of days ago, so I'd imagine it's not that, either.
 

Vitacat

Member
That's very high end. You could get away with going with some cheaper parts and keep nearly the same performance. I'm not sure if you'll need that $250 motherboard when a cheaper one will be just as effective, for example. It might be possible to fit a GTX 980 Ti into that price budget, even.

Also, are you limited to ordering from Newegg only or are other retailers ok?
Prefer Amazon and Newegg. Price-wise, wanted to stay under $2000 total.

What other mobo would be good? And would the 980 be that much better?

THANK YOU! Really appreciate the help.

EDIT: how about the Asus Z170I PRO GAMING mobo instead? And is an M.2 SSD worth the extra money?
 
Are you sure you're set on water cooling? The H105 is ok, but loud as most professional reviews from Guru3D, TechPowerUp, and HardOCP seem to agree. Look for Corsair's newer H110i GT, H100i GTX, or Noctua's NH-D15.

No, not at all. I just thought it was required based on similar builds I've seen posted here and in the OP. What heatsink solution is recommended for someone who isn't interested in overclocking?
 

VillageBC

Member
My computer's been randomly freezing for the past year or so, and it's starting to get on my nerves. I've tried almost everything but changing the motherboard so it's starting to look like the mobo is the reason. The thing is, I've got i5-3570k, so it's an LGA1155 mobo, and they pretty much don't sell those anymore in Finland.

So I was wondering if I should upgrade my CPU while I'm at it. Are either an i5-4690k or an i5-4570 reasonably big upgrades from the old 3570k? They cost around 260 and 240 euros respectively, which isn't THAT much but, you know, it's still money. And I gotta get another mobo on top of that, which I guess would be around 70 to 80 euros.

Probably won't be doing any overclocking, and the 3570k paired with GTX970 still destroys pretty much any game I throw at it, so... I dunno.

I'd go with RAM as a first guess, then PSU. But you say you've tried almost everything so you have reinstalled the OS, updated the BIOS and reset it to defaults, tried it with different RAM and swapped out the video card?

Have you noticed to freeze more often running any particular program or when it's doing something in particular?
 

MisterNoisy

Member
No, not at all. I just thought it was required based on similar builds I've seen posted here and in the OP. What heatsink solution is recommended for someone who isn't interested in overclocking?

Hyper 212 is kind of my 'default' pick, unless there's a deal going on other similar parts.
 

InfernoNR

Member
Pascal's still a long way off, so don't feel guilty about wanting a GTX 980 Ti if it's within your reach. If you do want to get into VR gaming, the more graphics power you have, the better. The Asus Z170-A is fine.

Thank you for the reply! It reduced my paralysis quite a bit
 

paskowitz

Member
Could I please get some feedback on this build?



I haven't built a PC in ~15 years so most of my experience is likely not applicable anymore. Never dealt with liquid cooling before so that is my main concern. Is the H60 sufficient or should I go with something better? Also, do I need to add additional fans or are the stock fans and CPU cooler good enough? Don't plan on doing any overclocking. Is there anything else I'm overlooking?

Also, is it a good time to buy these parts or is it worth waiting a few months? I'm not so much concerned about the price as I am better hardware. I'm not in a big rush now, but ideally would like to do this build over the next 2-3 months.

Thanks!

Liquid cooling is simple as long as you go with an All In One (AIO) solution like Corsair. Plug and play. No need to worry.

I do not think the H60 would be a wise choice. IMO unless you go to 240mm (or more) of radiator, all in one water cooling just isn't worth the price premium. Go all the way, or just stick with air. If you go with a 280mm rad, you won't need extra fans (more radiator > more fans). Stock Corsair fans do the job just fine (they can be a little noisy).

In terms of waiting... there isn't much reason. You may get better deals during Black Friday / Cyber Monday so if you are going to wait, look at that time window.

Here is the route I would go if I was building a ~$2,000 system.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i GT 113.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.99 @ B&H) (More radiator = cooler system or lower fan speeds/quieter)
Thermal Compound: Noctua NT-H1 3.5g Thermal Paste ($9.89 @ OutletPC) (Don't forget this!)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VIII GENE Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($216.99 @ SuperBiiz) (I personally like Asus motherboards)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($99.99 @ Amazon) (No need to pay for high memory speeds as there is almost no performance gain)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($163.75 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($65.88 @ OutletPC) (By the time this drive gets close to dying, Tb SSDs will be cheap)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB HYBRID Video Card ($699.99 @ Amazon) (Water cooled out of the box. As long as you don't loose the silicon lottery this is one of the best cards you can get. Combined with the Corsair AIO your case temps will be nice and cool)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($124.99 @ NCIX US) (Phanteks makes some of the best cases out there next to Fractal Design.)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg) (Cheap price ATM and the extra wattage will give you the future expandability to do SLI where the 750w PSU would not. For $30 extra bucks, this is no brainer.)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 industrialPPC-3000 PWM 109.9 CFM 120mm Fan ($22.98 @ OutletPC) (This is for the EVGA GPU. The stock fans is a POS and this will greatly improve acoustics and performance)
Total: $2094.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-03 21:16 EST-0500

The main reason I changed things from ATX to mATX is ATX is not really necessary anymore. With SSDs, M.2 drives, DVD being a thing of the past, etc there isn't any need for all that space. SLI beyond 2 cards is basically pointless. Unless you plan on doing a custom water loop or a RAID array of mechanical drives, there isn't much use for all that space. Next, going AIO water cooling on both the CPU and GPU will keep your temps very low which in tern will keep noise down. For the GPU EVGA is releasing a new shroud that looks much better than the original. Finally, the PSU choice is will give you the headroom for SLI, should you choose to go that route in the future (also a second hybrid will be great in SLI since heat will leave the radiator not the GPU).
 
Hello, a couple of years ago I built my first PC...

620W PSU
i5 3570K
16 GB DDR3 RAM
GIGABYTE GTX 660
1080p Monitor

...and I'm looking to upgrade the graphics card for Fallout 4/XCOM 2/Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (staying at 1080p). My choice is between this GTX 970 and this R9 390 as a replacement for my GTX 660. After reading through Kotaku's recent Graphics Card Battle article and the R9 390 vs. 970 thread it sounds like the 390 has a ~10% performance advantage on the 970 at 1080p with the cost of higher power consumption. I'm leaning towards the 970 since it's cheaper with a rebate (and consumes less power).

Does anyone think the R9 390 would be the better buy for my PC? I'd be grateful for any suggestions, thanks in advance.
 

MisterNoisy

Member
Hello, a couple of years ago I built my first PC...

620W PSU
i5 3570K
16 GB DDR3 RAM
GIGABYTE GTX 660
1080p Monitor

...and I'm looking to upgrade the graphics card for Fallout 4/XCOM 2/Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (staying at 1080p). My choice is between this GTX 970 and this R9 390 as a replacement for my GTX 660. After reading through Kotaku's recent Graphics Card Battle article and the R9 390 vs. 970 thread it sounds like the 390 has a ~10% performance advantage on the 970 at 1080p with the cost of higher power consumption. I'm leaning towards the 970 since it's cheaper with a rebate (and consumes less power).

Does anyone think the R9 390 would be the better buy for my PC? I'd be grateful for any suggestions, thanks in advance.

There's a MSI GTX970 for $270 right now that you might want to consider.
 

Vitacat

Member
Here is my updated build.

Please comment if you see anything you think is dumb or overpriced etc. :p

I want a small but very fast PC for gaming, emulation, and photo edits, so chose a very fast CPU (i7 4700k), a good value fast GPU (970), a very fast M.2 SSD for programs and OS, and two 3.5 inch drives in RAID mirroring for files. What do you think of this spec:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Prolimatech PK-1 5g Thermal Paste ($9.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($164.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung XP941 Series 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($312.90 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.66 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.66 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($318.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1724.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-03 23:31 EST-0500
 
Question about installing the OS:

I have a family member who works in education and is going to give me a Windows 10 Education key. To install from usb, can I download a regular Windows 10 iso and create the boot drive, then activate it with the Windows 10 Education key? Or do I have to find an iso of Windows 10 Education?
 

dmr87

Member
Hello, a couple of years ago I built my first PC...

620W PSU
i5 3570K
16 GB DDR3 RAM
GIGABYTE GTX 660
1080p Monitor

...and I'm looking to upgrade the graphics card for Fallout 4/XCOM 2/Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (staying at 1080p). My choice is between this GTX 970 and this R9 390 as a replacement for my GTX 660. After reading through Kotaku's recent Graphics Card Battle article and the R9 390 vs. 970 thread it sounds like the 390 has a ~10% performance advantage on the 970 at 1080p with the cost of higher power consumption. I'm leaning towards the 970 since it's cheaper with a rebate (and consumes less power).

Does anyone think the R9 390 would be the better buy for my PC? I'd be grateful for any suggestions, thanks in advance.

Fallout 4 is also in bed with Nvidia (GameWorks). I don't know about Deus Ex and XCOM off the top of my head.
 

paskowitz

Member
Here is my updated build.

Please comment if you see anything you think is dumb or overpriced etc. :p

I want a small but very fast PC for gaming, emulation, and photo edits, so chose a very fast CPU (i7 4700k), a good value fast GPU (970), a very fast M.2 SSD for programs and OS, and two 3.5 inch drives in RAID mirroring for files. What do you think of this spec:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Prolimatech PK-1 5g Thermal Paste ($9.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($164.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung XP941 Series 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($312.90 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.66 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.66 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($318.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1724.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-03 23:31 EST-0500

First thing, go with the Samsung 950 vs the XP941. Faster, newer, cooler, cheaper, better.


I would go with cheaper ram. It won't effect your performance


Just know that a 970 will only take you as far as 1080p/60fps, high settings.
 

Vitacat

Member

Great, thanks! I will upgrade to that better M.2 SSD. I also dropped my RAM down to 2800Mhz. Should I go even lower? Small amounts of money either way really.

As for 60fps @ 1080p, yeah, that's fine. That's the resolution I will be running anyway.
 

RGM79

Member
Prefer Amazon and Newegg. Price-wise, wanted to stay under $2000 total.

What other mobo would be good? And would the 980 be that much better?

THANK YOU! Really appreciate the help.

EDIT: how about the Asus Z170I PRO GAMING mobo instead? And is an M.2 SSD worth the extra money?

Ok, those retailers and budget is definitely doable for a GTX 980 Ti. I was thinking of a more "mid-range" Gigabyte or Asus motherboard. Yes, the GTX 980 Ti is very strong, it's pretty much the strongest graphics card you can get today. To spend $2000 but only get a GTX 970 instead of a GTX 980 Ti is a little silly. As a loose analogy, it's like spending a lot on a sports card with 300 horsepower when for the same amount of money you could have gotten one with 500 horsepower. You can see from these graphs that the GTX 980 Ti is a chart-topper and offers considerably more power than a GTX 970.

The Asus Z170I Pro Gaming looks nice, but I'd wait for more professional and user reviews before recommending. The Gigabyte GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 motherboard I'm recommending first seems to be reliable. Although there are only a handful of reviews on Amazon and Newegg, all of them are positive which means buyers haven't run into any issues so far.

M.2 is nice if you don't mind the higher cost, but for consumers most won't be able to tell the difference from a regular 2.5" SSD because both already have great seek times. The higher read/write comes more into play if you're doing intensive work, like some need for computation or video editing or whatnot.

Anyway, here's my version of your parts list. See if it looks ok to you?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($369.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i GT 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($164.60 @ Amazon)
Memory: Team Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX200 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($168.11 @ Amazon)
Storage: Toshiba 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1872.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-04 00:37 EST-0500

I'm looking to buy LGA 1155 mobo for less than 200, and I found an Asrock Z75 Pro3 for 84.99 after rebate. The reviews are good and I read another that said it OCed fairly well, which I don't plan to do right away anyway. Anything I should know before I buy it?

Edit : http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157304

ASRock Z77 motherboards have faulty voltage readings which may be an issue if you're overclocking. Potentially harmful to the motherboard if more voltage is going to the CPU than there should be, of course. Not sure if that applies to their Z75 motherboards.
 

LilJoka

Member
Here is my current build. Look good? I'm shooting for a very small but powerful system.

Please comment, because this is my first build in many years! =P


QUESTION: if I install the OS to an SSD now, can I add a second SSD in the future in RAID mirror configuration?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($369.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Prolimatech PK-1 5g Thermal Paste ($9.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($248.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($230.83 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Constellation ES.3 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($353.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1881.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-03 18:19 EST-0500

EDIT: changed graphics card to Mini ITX version.
EDIT 2: read reviews of the Mini ITX version and sounds bad? I believe the case will take a full size card up to 12 inches so I may change the card...
EDIT 3: changed graphics card to full size (11 inches long) Asus 970 with Gsync support (may want this someday). Changed cooler to Seidon instead of Nepton to save some space and ensure compatability.

My recommendations
Go for a Node 304, more premium feel.
Drop the water cooler, stick to air it'll be quieter. Node 304 can fit very large air heatsinks.
MSI Gamer 970 if possible as it has better power circuitry for bigger overclocks.
Toshiba 3TB is fine, don't need to spend that much on a HDD, constellation is server grade (has extra features for raid etc).
850 evo SSD to save some money with negligible difference.
TIM will arrive with the heatsink.
Motherboard is silly money, only buy if that board has a specific feature you require that cheaper boards don't.
 

Vitacat

Member
Thanks RGM79 and LilJoka.

QUESTIONS:

RGM79,
If I will only be running at 1080p for the next few years, will the 980 really make a difference for me? I'm having trouble wrapping my head around that $650 price!

LilJoka,
(1) So, you don't think the M.2 SSD is worth it for me? I was thinking it would speed up load times a lot, and also be good for photo editing. I don't do much video editing, so if that's all it would be good for then perhaps there is money to be saved. Also note I do kinda want the 3TB RAID setup to store my personal files and photographs in case of HDD failures.
(2) What air coolers are good?
(3) I will look at the Node.

I will evaluate everything you guys suggested. Hopefully I can decide and place orders tomorrow. Here is my current build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($164.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($347.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.66 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.66 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($318.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1739.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-04 00:58 EST-0500
 

LilJoka

Member
Thanks RGM79 and LilJoka.

QUESTIONS:

RGM79,
If I will only be running at 1080p for the next few years, will the 980 really make a difference for me? I'm having trouble wrapping my head around that $650 price!

LilJoka,
(1) So, you don't think the M.2 SSD is worth it for me? I was thinking it would speed up load times a lot, and also be good for photo editing. I don't do much video editing, so if that's all it would be good for then perhaps there is money to be saved. Also note I do kinda want the 3TB RAID setup to store my personal files and photographs in case of HDD failures.
(2) What air coolers are good?
(3) I will look at the Node.

I will evaluate everything you guys suggested. Hopefully I can decide and place orders tomorrow. Here is my current build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($164.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($347.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.66 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.66 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($318.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1739.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-04 00:58 EST-0500

M.2 is nice to have especially for space constraints and wiring in itx builds, concerning speed, it'll be a bit quicker so could help with boot times by a a couple of seconds but I don't see it worthwhile if a lot more expensive.

The z170 board you've picked is better value than the first post of yours. I was referring to that build btw.

For air cooler look at something from Noctua with 120mm fan.

Your HDD choice makes more sense now.

Get an MSI 970, overlock to match the 980, 980 is not so good value now. MSI should easily hit 1400mhz core, 3800mhz memory.
 
M.2 is nice to have especially for space constraints and wiring in itx builds, concerning speed, it'll be a bit quicker so could help with boot times by a a couple of seconds but I don't see it worthwhile if a lot more expensive.

The z170 board you've picked is better value than the first post of yours. I was referring to that build btw.

For air cooler look at something from Noctua with 120mm fan.

Your HDD choice makes more sense now.

Get an MSI 970, overlock to match the 980, 980 is not so good value now. MSI should easily hit 1400mhz core, 3800mhz memory.

He meant the 980 Ti, not the regular 980.
 

Vitacat

Member
Thanks again everyone for the help.

Did some research, and yeah, I am going with a Noctua cooler instead of the water cooler. I think I will like that better, so great tip there.
 

Wag

Member
I have that 3rd 980Ti sitting here but I can't afford to buy a EVGA 1600w PS yet. Damn Antec for upgrading me to their crappy 1300w PS. It can't handle 3 980Ti in SLI. Their 1200w could tho.:(
 

RGM79

Member
Thanks RGM79 and LilJoka.

QUESTIONS:

RGM79,
If I will only be running at 1080p for the next few years, will the 980 really make a difference for me? I'm having trouble wrapping my head around that $650 price!

LilJoka,
(1) So, you don't think the M.2 SSD is worth it for me? I was thinking it would speed up load times a lot, and also be good for photo editing. I don't do much video editing, so if that's all it would be good for then perhaps there is money to be saved. Also note I do kinda want the 3TB RAID setup to store my personal files and photographs in case of HDD failures.
(2) What air coolers are good?
(3) I will look at the Node.

I will evaluate everything you guys suggested. Hopefully I can decide and place orders tomorrow. Here is my current build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($164.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($347.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.66 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.66 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($318.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1739.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-04 00:58 EST-0500
Thanks again everyone for the help.

Did some research, and yeah, I am going with a Noctua cooler instead of the water cooler. I think I will like that better, so great tip there.

Well, all of the builds so far have been in the ~$1800 range. The GTX 980 Ti isn't quite as good a value proposition as the GTX 970, but I'm just saying it can fit in your budget and it'd stay stronger for a few years longer than the GTX 970 before needing to be replaced. Either way, all of the builds so far are quite strong and capable.

Keep in mind that the Cooler Master Elite 130 has very little space for an effective air cooler, so maybe consider another case (like that Fractal Node 304 mentioned already) if you want to use a Noctua air cooler.
 

industrian

will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
Zalman CNPS8900 Quiet is probably the best smallest model

I've got one of these in my Antec NSK 1380, which is a really compact case. The cooler does a good job.

I've used a lot of Zalman coolers before, and my main gripes with them are:

1) The included installation instructions could be better.
2) Your hands may will get cut to shreds.
 

snack

Member
Looking for a white atx case that is quiet and anti dust. Any suggestions? Saw the ones on first post, but none really look nice except the corsair 540.
 
Please forgive me if I'm shitting up the thread with an irrelevant post, but I'm trying to either buy a pre-made or build a decent desktop PC, but it will not be for gaming.... not exactly anyway.

I plan to use it to broadcast/stream to Twitch and Youtube, but it will be streaming XB1 and PS4 gaming via HDMI passthrough (presumably on the videocard?). I won't be doing any PC gaming at all on it.

However, it needs to be decently robust power-wise so that it doesn't take ages to edit footage and create videos from said footage. I'm currently using my POS Toshiba satellite laptop for that, and let's just say I dread the days where I'm going to be editing hours' worth of footage. Takes forever.

Location: USA
Budget: Would prefer to stay around $500 but can spend up to $1000
Requirements: media editing and uploading, streaming console gameplay via HDMI pass through, needs to be horizontal orientation to fit into my entertainment center, will be connected to an LG OLED as the primary display (4k capable, but 4k capability on the computer doesn't matter as I'm playing console games at 1080p).

I'm hoping to build something with Windows 7, as I dislike 8.1 and am not going anywhere 10 until the bugs are sorted out. I don't care if it's a pre-made one or if I buy parts and build it with a friend of mine who is used to building PCs himself. Only problem with premades is that most of them are vertical, and the ones that are horizontal tend to be low-end browser-focused stuff... from what I've seen anyway.

If it's possible to do all of the above in a $1000 laptop, that would be even better.
 

aravuus

Member
I'd go with RAM as a first guess, then PSU. But you say you've tried almost everything so you have reinstalled the OS, updated the BIOS and reset it to defaults, tried it with different RAM and swapped out the video card?

Have you noticed to freeze more often running any particular program or when it's doing something in particular?

You know, I'm not actually sure I've tried updating BIOS. I remember trying to do it, but I can't recall if I actually managed to. I'll give it a try.

And no, it's completely random. It's frozen a ton of times during night, when I've left the PC on and it's idle.

e: okay so this is a stupid question, but I'm gonna have to re-install Win 10 if I change the motherboard, don't I?
 

pislit

Member
Hi my PC keeps on restarting everytime I play certain games (Insurgency, for example) but I can play NBA 2K15 with no problems,

What are the usual suspects for these?

I just transferred my rig into an ITX form using Alienware X51 R1 mobo, heat is not the problem per HWMonitor.

Complete specs: i7-3770, GTX 760 4GB, 1TB WD Blue, 8GB Ram, 550w Corsair, Win10

PS: In my previous form, everything is fine.
 

LilJoka

Member
Hi my PC keeps on restarting everytime I play certain games (Insurgency, for example) but I can play NBA 2K15 with no problems,

What are the usual suspects for these?

I just transferred my rig into an ITX form using Alienware X51 R1 mobo, heat is not the problem per HWMonitor.

Complete specs: i7-3770, GTX 760 4GB, 1TB WD Blue, 8GB Ram, 550w Corsair, Win10

PS: In my previous form, everything is fine.

Post the temps.
PC reboots without BSOD?
 
I most likely, probably, need transport my rig over to London, from Portugal. Anyone ever did something similar? My tower case is huge, and I got an SSD, which I assume would be the main worries on transport?
 

pislit

Member
Post the temps.
PC reboots without BSOD?

Yes it reboots without BSOD. So far, it is not rebooting when I set Maximum Processor State at 80%. Below is temp at 90% while playing Insurgency, after a few minutes it restarts,

nxMYK0D.png


Games tested are only Insurgency and NBA 2K15 (at 100% is fine).
 

LilJoka

Member
Yes it reboots without BSOD. So far, it is not rebooting when I set Maximum Processor State at 80%. Below is temp at 90% while playing Insurgency, after a few minutes it restarts,

nxMYK0D.png


Games tested are only Insurgency and NBA 2K15 (at 100% is fine).

Can you get a CPUz screen shot while prime95 is running? The CPU vcore looks incredibly high.
 
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