Hey guys, just about to dip my toes into PC gaming.. So far this is what I have.. Thinking about adding a 144HZ Monitor. At some point.
My primary uses for the PC will be multitasking, use as a streaming platform for my PS4, gaming (CS:GO, Stardew Valley, Civ V, Cities Skylines, The Witcher 3, Newer RPG's, maybe VR?)
Would love some input on my build.
PCPartPicker part list:
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/88HrJx
Price breakdown by merchant:
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/88HrJx/by_merchant/
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.98 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i GT 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.98 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($229.98 @ NCIX)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($115.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.35 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($417.25 @ Vuugo)
Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ NCIX)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($122.98 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: BenQ GL2460HM 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($189.99 @ NCIX)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($162.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Mouse: Logitech G303 Daedalus Apex Wired Optical Mouse ($72.05 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $2005.65
CPU Cooler: Get the Noctua D15.
GPU: Pascal is soon? But you should be able to find a much better deal if you want a 970 now. I'd buy the other components now, and wait a few months for the new GPU to ship. If it turns out to be a big disappointment, then 970 prices will still go down. However, I highly recommend the msi twin frozor 305 dollars currently with rebate (
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-gtx970gaming4g ) It's an amazing card. The fans are insane. Super Silent. So cool, and 110 dollars cheaper than your Asus version.
RAM; Get the low clearance DDR4 from Kingston;
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-hx421c14fbk216
MOBO; How about a Asus Z170? Gonna save you some money at 160 Dollars. Seem really solid; (
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z170a )
CASE; I'd go with a Fractal Define R5 as I love their minimalistic cases, good noise dampening and cooling. At 110 dollars it is more expensive than your option but I think its worth it;
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-case-fdcadefr5bk < It has a removeable ODD cage which I love. Fuck optical drives in the dick!
If you have money left over, I'd replace the fans with high quality fans with silent dampeners like these;
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-case-fan-nfa15pwm < You could fit a whole bunch in a case like Define R5. I'd go 2 front, 2 top, 1 exhaust, one side. you can fit more in there though if you want, but not sure if that would benefit airflow. and at 20 dollars a pop, good high quality silent fans are expensive. quickly ads up. I love Noctua though! Was glad to find out the hype was not unjustified
)
PSU; Go a bit lower like with a 650 Watt PSU and save some money;
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cp9020091na
Storage; I did the same as you do. 256 for main C Drive, and a 1TB Mechanical for main stuff. I regret that choice now. Your workflow is so much better off if you get the mechanical spinning drive out of your PC.
For main storage, get a m.2 SSD. Remember there are different kinds of m.2. And for your main drive, get a 500GB Evo. Get a NAS down the road, rely on the cloud. Don't pollute your system with slow shitty mechanical drives. they bog down everything;
https://pcpartpicker.com/parts/internal-hard-drive/#m=32&t=0
If all you have is SSD grade stuff then nothing can slow it down. But even if your main C drive is on an SSD, the fact is that your mechanical 7200 rpm drive has to wake up. The downside? It's not fun or practical to put lots of editing material or consumeable content on a SSD. Like with a HardDrive you dont want to fill it up. It performs better and faster if its not totally full.
I don't know much about m2 SSD other than they are supposed to be beyond the sata limitations of the regular sata SSDs. It confuses me that there is several kinds of m.2 and I dont know why they have this weird naming confusing. Make sure your m2 type fits your motherboard.
Ideally, if money was no issue I'd imagined you would have wanted a 500 GB M.2 SSD, and a 512 x2 in raid Samsung Evo. And then have a NAS or a an external Western Digital hard drive.
Milage may vary, but it annoys me that my harddrive is slowing down my computer. SSD age makes people very impatient. :3
Monitor; I'd hold off on that BenQ and save up for a better monitor. I highly recommend investing in a 21:9 34-inch. They are expensive, but they are a total game changer. 144 Mhz I honestly cannot really tell a difference in games. After 70 mhz, I just don't notice it anymore. It just doesn't add anything for 98% of all gamers. A good IPS panel, with good colors, viewing angles, contrast and a format takes up your entire peripheral vision. That is the most dramatic experience you can have when gaming. From a productivity stand point, they are also amazing.
Even if this is out of your budget, I wouldn't recommend buying a 200 dollar monitor. I mean, it's not terrible, but it's a shame to pair this great hardware with such a mediocre display.
If I were you, I'd save money elsewhere, like with the keyboard and the mouse. I'd go for something miniscule and affordable like a Cooler Master Rapad-i TKL Keyboard for 70 dollars. A good price for a mechanical without a lot of garbage accessories attached to it. Small footprint, good build quality, no invasive logo, looks good in every set up, and a lot more expensive than the Corsair. Almost 100 dollars less expensive;
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-keyboard-sgk4040gkcl1us < If Multi color is the thing, then you could go with one of the chroma Razers which also can be found for around 70-80 dollars. Razer is not as high quality Corsair, but Corsair ain't exactly Filco either.
So to recap;
These are just my thoughts. I don't know your specific needs, but I know that long term streaming and VR is gonna lead anyone to want a cool system. I think it is good to be anal about temperatures and go a bit crazy. Noctua D15 is fucking amazing. It really is a showstopper without any of the poopy leftovers.
It's a big cooler but it fits in cases like the Define R5 (not sure if it fits in the nzxt one). You can mount a fan on either side, but you really need to install the low clearance (not tall ram) first. The d15 is actually smaller than the d14 I hear which sounds outragous. Wonderful cooler. Makes you happy about aircooling
)
I also think you should really wait with buying a graphic card until pascal. It seems to be really close now. The 970 is wonderful. It's the best card I have owned since a 8800 GT. The value for money is incredible. And it runs so cool and is so power efficent. That is what is so amazing about it. But they say Pascal even better. And frankly, while Nvidia and Intel often exaggerate the performance gains, their claims on power consumption and heat dispensing are more accurate.
And if you do choose to go with a monitor that is 3440 x 1440 < You have to see the genius of it. 3440x1440 only has a 20% performance penalty over 1440p. What does this mean?
Well- You know how they say you need really really powerful hardware to drive 4k games at max settings? Not true of 3440x. You get a lot of bang for more pixels and it looks sharp as hell. 4K is still way sharper of course, but it also cost a lot more. its possible that pascal is just stupid powerful, but you'd probably still need the new equivalent of a 980 ti, and so, we're talking about a different ball game. 970 today is an amazing card because it is a wonderful value. You just get a lot of amazing power for a good price. by contrast the 980 ti is wayyyy better but it is less of a good bargain, and to be frank, I think for most people its all about getting a build that gets them the most for their money.
21:9 monitor is amazing. Do yourself a favor and optimize your build to allow for this. Linus has some videos about how big a deal they are. Some of the models he has looked at are;
LGUM95;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnrxNfxRK_4
LGUC97;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcaktV1iiGk
Acer Predator;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_GXkjPAkDw
Compared to 3D and 4k... I wasn't sold on those technologies but I am totally sold on 21:9 monitors. Every part of your vision, even the corner of your eyes and enveloped and it goes along way in making the games more immersive. It feels natural because you're not watching the corners of your screen. Tricks the brain into being more real. They still aren't cheap, but fuck me crabtastic if they aren't incredible. The top dog Asus one with G-Sync is stupid expensive. prices on these will go down over the next 24 months. The thing about good monitors is that they can last a very long time. Its not often you need to upgrade it, if you get a good one.
Storage without mechanical drives is the future. Its not common, but I think its the way to go if your building a computer in 2016. I think having a fast nas or fast external drive is a better investment of your computers speed and long term health. Cloud storage helps to. With google drive, dropbox, icloud and so on, there is no shortage of just how much stuff you can save these days. a slow harddrive paired with a fast SATA based SSD is like putting wooden wheels on a ferrari. the engine can go from 1 to 100 in six seconds, but the wheels...
Asus motherboards are really solid, and their 5-way optimization is a stupid easy way to auto overclock your CPU. anyone can do it. even your mother. it tests, benches and does everything for you. Asus mobos also comes with pre-defind headers for the usb, lights, power, led which is a small but nice thing for time builders that make it easy. Asus are also just solid as hell when it comes to mobos. Not saying, msi isn't, but yeah. Mobo troubleshooting is not fun.
is the cpu enough? For VR? It's hard to say but perhaps I would get the 6700k if I were you, but its not going to be a big deal.
