Getting ready to build a pc need help before I buy

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bevo

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I'm getting ready to hit the buy button on a new PC build. I really need someone to look over my parts list and make sure everything is compatible and I'm not missing anything. The last one I built was I think 2011 so I'm wanting to make sure I'm getting the newest tech offered.

If you see anything that's not right or anything you would change let me know. I'm not sure at all on the RAM, SSD, MOBO or case. I'm pretty sure I have a complete build here but if I've left something out just say.

CPU I-7 6700k

mobo MSI MSI Gaming Z170A GAMING M7 LGA 1151 Intel Z170

gpu
MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti DirectX 12 GTX 980TI

psu EVGA 220-G2-0850-XR 80 PLUS GOLD 850 W

ram G.SKILL TridentZ Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200

cpu cooler CORSAIR Hydro Series H90 High Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler. 140mm

ssd SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5" 1TB

hdd WD Black 2TB Performance Desktop Hard Disk Drive - 7200 RPM

case Cooler Master HAF X - High Air Flow Full Tower Computer
 
Well obviously that is a nice set of parts but potentially overkill in some areas. What will the main usage be, gaming? If so, the i7 probably wouldn't be necessary, an i5 6600k would be fine, overclocked if you wanted.



Although as that video says, if the extra cash for the i7 isn't a problem, you might as well.

32GB RAM is definitely overkill, 8GB would probably be fine but might as well get 16GB.

For the SSD whilst there is nothing wrong with the Samsung 850 SSD you should also look at M.2 PCI-E NVMe options. They get past the limits of SATA to give crazy performance for not much more. You just have to make sure the Mobo supports it, which the one you selected seems to do.
 
It is indeed overkill but still, v jealous!!

As above, 16GB is plenty. Also a 1TB SSD is very expensive. I use one small one for OS, and another small one for my most played games.
 
Well obviously that is a nice set of parts but potentially overkill in some areas. What will the main usage be, gaming? If so, the i7 probably wouldn't be necessary, an i5 6600k would be fine, overclocked if you wanted.



Although as that video says, if the extra cash for the i7 isn't a problem, you might as well.

32GB RAM is definitely overkill, 8GB would probably be fine but might as well get 16GB.

For the SSD whilst there is nothing wrong with the Samsung 850 SSD you should also look at M.2 PCI-E NVMe options. They get past the limits of SATA to give crazy performance for not much more. You just have to make sure the Mobo supports it, which the one you selected seems to do.
The main use will be for VR. I figured 32gb was overkill but it seems like on my last build people were saying that you should use all of you ram slots. I didn't see any 4gb ddr4 sticks at that speed. I don't know how true using all slots is though.

I also know with my last build my ram didn't really love my mobo. One thing that worries me with this is that the ram and mobo won't get along that well. I've tried looking up what ram people are using in it but haven't found much.

I'm also not real worried about price. I start saving for my computer way ahead of time before I build it. These parts are falling right into my budget.

I'll look at the other SSD. If you have any ram suggestions I would appreciate it.
 
The main use will be for VR. I figured 32gb was overkill but it seems like on my last build people were saying that you should use all of you ram slots. I didn't see any 4gb ddr4 sticks at that speed. I don't know how true using all slots is though.

I also know with my last build my ram didn't really love my mobo. One thing that worries me with this is that the ram and mobo won't get along that well. I've tried looking up what ram people are using in it but haven't found much.

I'm also not real worried about price. I start saving for my computer way ahead of time before I build it. These parts are falling right into my budget.

I'll look at the other SSD. If you have any ram suggestions I would appreciate it.
I think it is worth waiting for Nvidia Pascal GPUs to come out as that will likely give you a much better VR experience and computer should stand the test of time better. Also would get a Samsung 950 PRO 512GB M.2 SSD.
 
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How 'bout reduce the SSD and RAM size and allocate your savings to make it an x99 build?
See this is the kind of advice I need. I assumed I was getting the go to cpu. Is x99 a step up for the cpu. I'm really wanting you go big with the cpu because that's the one piece you can't really upgrade over time with Intel.
 
I think it is worth waiting for Nvidia Pascal GPUs to come out as that will likely give you a much better VR experience and computer should stand the test of time better. Also would get a Samsung 950 PRO 512GB M.2 SSD.
Is there a time frame for when the next GPUs will release. I really don't need this build done until April when the rift is shipping.
 
If

See this is the kind of advice I need. I assumed I was getting the go to cpu. Is x99 a step up for the cpu. I'm really wanting you go big with the cpu because that's the one piece you can't really upgrade over time with Intel.
6700K is newer and should be better at gaming than even a 5960X.
Is there a time frame for when the next GPUs will release. I really don't need this build done until April when the rift is shipping.
AMD seems to be releasing lower end parts mid 2016 and plan to release a high end GPU this year. Not sure when Nvidia will release their high end GPU. It is massive leap in GPU technology though so IMO well worth the wait.
The problem is the "worth waiting for..." game can never end. By the time that new GPU is available, there will be a new mobo, new CPU, new something-or-other, just around the corner that'll be "worth waiting for".
Been at 28nm since 2011 for gaming GPUs. Finally getting to 14/16nm FinFET and HBM2. Massive power efficiency and performance improvements that are quite revolutionary. 980 Ti might look like an antique this year. :lol:
 
No one has mentioned the RAM I have listed. Does it seem to be fine?

I looked at the 950 pro SSD. Pretty expensive and not sure they have a 1tb version. I really need at least a 1tb one. I want to be able to put my OS and a decent chunk of my games on it.

I could probably still get a few bucks out of the 980 if somehow nvidia releases new some new gpu this year. Waiting very long on them really isn't an option. I really want to get this thing going and ready before April.
 
No one has mentioned the RAM I have listed. Does it seem to be fine?

I looked at the 950 pro SSD. Pretty expensive and not sure they have a 1tb version. I really need at least a 1tb one. I want to be able to put my OS and a decent chunk of my games on it.

I could probably still get a few bucks out of the 980 if somehow nvidia releases new some new gpu this year. Waiting very long on them really isn't an option. I really want to get this thing going and ready before April.
RAM seems reasonable enough although probably would get 2x16GB sticks vs 4x8GB.

They meant to have a 1TB version coming out this year, 512GB is currently highest available to buy right now. Worth it for the crazy fast speeds.

You could always wait and see up to the point where you need the GPU as price might potentially go down a lot or just order it now, take the hit financially but at least get to enjoy it sooner. It will be interesting to see if AMD and Nvidia price the new GPUs extortionately or at a low cost which would make older GPUs drop prices massively.
 
I looked at the 950 pro SSD. Pretty expensive and not sure they have a 1tb version. I really need at least a 1tb one. I want to be able to put my OS and a decent chunk of my games on it.

The boost from having your games on the SSD as well as the OS and programs is extremely minor. You aren't going to notice in the real world, you will notice the difference generally in a 500Mb/s SATA SSD vs a 2Gb/s NVMe PCI-E SSD though.

I don't know how true using all slots is though.

Never heard that myself. You should always run them in pairs, but I've never heard a need to fill them all. Perhaps that is what they meant, if you have four slots you don't use 3 sticks of RAM etc.

I'd just get a 2x8GB kit now and in the unlikely event you need more you can always buy another pair later.

See this is the kind of advice I need. I assumed I was getting the go to cpu. Is x99 a step up for the cpu.

x99 is the chipset, and no, not for gaming.

Here is what I'd change -

This combo for CPU/Mobo/RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.2466090

Same CPU/Mobo, similar RAM specifically optimised for Z170. Should work very well. 16GB.

The NMVe Samsung SSD, 512GB
This PSU - SeaSonic X Series X-850

Nothing wrong with the one you chose, just a preference for SeaSonic. Either will be great, you could probably even do with a 750W model if you're not planning to add a second GPU.

So just going by NewEgg alone your original items come to $2389.46, this lot:

i7 6700k
MSI MSI Gaming Z170A GAMING M7 LGA 1151 Intel Z170
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB
MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti DirectX 12 GTX 980TI
CORSAIR Hydro Series H90 High Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler. 140mm
Cooler Master HAF X - High Air Flow Full Tower Computer
SeaSonic X Series X-850
SAMSUNG 950 PRO M.2 512GB
WD Black 2TB Performance Desktop Hard Disk Drive

Comes to $2258.94. Both prices pre-shipping. Adding another 16GB RAM would add on $100 but totally not neccesary. If you did though the only real difference then would be the half-size, but 4x performance SSD.

I don't know enough about liquid cooling or cases to advise of those but both options seem well rated.
 
The more I think about it the more I want to go away from liquid cooling. I had a corsair Bust on me in my last pc. It ruined one of my GPUs. Corsair was great. They sent me a check for around $450 and a new cooler for it but it was a pain to deal with.

Also case recommendations would bed great. I've had a few people tell me the case I listed is older and there are better ones out there for the money now.
 
That build looks great to me, but there are a couple places that I think you could cut costs without sacrificing performance:

I'd echo what's already been said about RAM: 16GB is plenty at this point - especially when you're going with DDR4. Go with a 2x8 setup, and you've still got 2 slots left if your RAM ever becomes a bottleneck (I doubt it will). I've got 16GB of lowly DDR3, and I have no problems.

The 850W PSU is a little large, IMO, unless you have plans to run two GPUs. I run a single GTX980 on a 450W PSU, and at gaming load, I draw about 300W, putting it right in the efficiency sweet spot. Granted, the 980Ti that you're looking at draws quite a bit more power (it's a lot closer to Titan levels than a vanilla 980), but I think you'd be just fine with a 750, or even a 600W PSU. I plugged your parts into MSi's PSU calculator, and it looks like you'd draw a little under 400W during a typical gaming load. With the 850W PSU, you'd be under 50% capacity, and few PSUs are anywhere near their peak efficiency at that point (most seem to like running between 60-80% capacity).

A side note on the suggestion to wait for the Nvidia Pascal GPUs - don't. You can count on them being fairly expensive for the first couple years, and the 980Ti is a monster of a card already. You'll be fine for several years to come with that GPU.

(As always with custom PC discussions: stamp this post with a big IMHO ;) )
 
Thanks for the info. I do want to leave some headroom for the psu. Trying to maintain 90fps for VR is going to take a pretty powerful system. If they ever start to support sli I'm sure I'll get a 2nd card in the future.
 
Having used both that motherboard and gpu I have to ask a few things and say a few others:

1. I had to ditch that board as my kingston fury 8 x 4 GB 2133 kit did not play nice with it, i assume this was fixed in a more recent bios update but you never know. It ran fine with 16GB though and I know the memory was ok as it ran good in all slots and runs good running all 4 on my new board but i could never get 4 chips to run together on the msi board without blue screens all the time.

2. How much do you care about asthetics? The msi card is one of the cheapest around and there is a reason for this in my opinion. The cooler. It looks the exact same one from the 980 they sell, it's totally adequate for the job but you can tell they were holding back the good stuff for the lightning version of the card.

In the end i swapped both, i now have an asus z170 deluxe and a strix 980ti, no problems at all and better looking in my opinion.
 
Having used both that motherboard and gpu I have to ask a few things and say a few others:

1. I had to ditch that board as my kingston fury 8 x 4 GB 2133 kit did not play nice with it, i assume this was fixed in a more recent bios update but you never know. It ran fine with 16GB though and I know the memory was ok as it ran good in all slots and runs good running all 4 on my new board but i could never get 4 chips to run together on the msi board without blue screens all the time.

2. How much do you care about asthetics? The msi card is one of the cheapest around and there is a reason for this in my opinion. The cooler. It looks the exact same one from the 980 they sell, it's totally adequate for the job but you can tell they were holding back the good stuff for the lightning version of the card.

In the end i swapped both, i now have an asus z170 deluxe and a strix 980ti, no problems at all and better looking in my opinion.
I couldn't care less about the looks of my pc. I have though been reading more and more about mobos and the msi one I have listed here looks like it has alot of problems. I've been thinking about either the gigabyte or Asus in that price range. Both seem like a better option than the msi.

I've also been looking at other GPUs like you are suggesting. There are a ton of options out there. I'm going to go with a different one, I'm just not sure which one yet. I think I'm going to limit my parts selection to the microcenter that is closest to me. That way any problems I have will be much easier to deal with instead of RMAs.
 
^ That is the best plan, so much easier to be able to do that :)

Yeah, I think I was probably in amongst the early adopters crowd for skylake and it really bit me but I think most issues are solved now, I'll never go back to an msi motherboard though I don't think.
 
Ended up at microcenter the other day for work and pulled the trigger
Thanks for the help

Evga 980ti hybrid gpu
Asus maximus viii hero mobo
16gb 2666 corsair vengence lpx ram
Evga 850 psu
6700k cpu
Corsair 850t case.
Thermaltake air cooler
Samsung 1tb 850 evo ssd
WD black 4tb hdd

Runs great. Can max out most of my games at 1080. Arma 3, and golf club are the only ones I can't.

The one problem was with the hdd. Windows kept partitioning it as the master boot drive and giving it 3 partitions. That would only let me use about half of the drive since a master boot drive can't have a partition over 2tb and I think only 2 partitions. At least that's what I gathered from the internet.


I tried and tried to fix it. Microsoft couldn't get it right either so I reinstalled windows without the hdd in and put it in and formatted it after the install.

So if anyone trys and use an hdd over 2tb as a data drive I recommend not putting it in pc until after the windows install.
 
Looks like a good build, parts are all solid.

With any new build I always install Windows only with the intended boot drive installed, then add the storage drives later. Just avoids several problems like the one you encountered. Especially with the new NVMe drives it's important to do so, to make sure it boots correctly from it. So yeah, tip for the future I guess. :)
 
One thing I should add that I thought worked way better than in the past was the asus auto overclocking. The mobo has a scan it runs and keeps overclocking the cpu in windows. It got me to 4.7 from 4 in just a few minutes. It also got my ram to I think 2400 and I have a max of on it of 2666.

I think in total it said I got a 17% OC. It also has my voltage pretty decent and my temps max out running benchmarks at about 72 so it looks like it actually did a really good job on its own.

My gpu on the other is terrible at overclocking. I can't really raise it at all without crashing.
 
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