Latest Gaming Build - Any advice?

S

Spinlock

New member
Hi Guys!

First off, sorry if I am posting this in the wrong place; not sure at all where this should go since I'm not the most active forum member here...
Secondly, I haven't built my own rig (from scratch) before so I thought I'd follow all the steps I've heard so many times before: Do your homework, shop around, ask for advice - this last one is where you guys come in :)

Lastly, I'd like to stipulate a few things:
  • I'm looking to budget specifically for a high-end rig and at the moment this budget is sitting at 35k so saving R100 here or there is rather pointless (although if it all ads up then sure, that's something I'd listen to) - In other words I'm looking for the most cost effective build without compromising on function at all.
  • I am planning on having this rig last me 4-5 years at least; in this time I foresee VR taking off so I'm aiming for something that can hit the ground running really hard right now and then be expandable in the areas that count over this time (RAM, Graphics)
  • As mentioned above, VR capability is important to me
  • Looks are not very important
  • I will be doing some modest (ahem) overclocking (see CPU and GPU)
  • The PC will be in a room where noise output is a consideration

So here we go (prices are as current as listed on websites this morning):
[table="width: 500, class: grid"]
[tr]
[td]ITEM[/td]
[td]DETAIL[/td]
[td]PRICE[/td]
[td]VENDOR[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Case[/td]
[td]Cooler Master Trooper, Full Tower, Black, ATX[/td]
[td]R1879[/td]
[td]RebelTech[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]PSU[/td]
[td]EVGA SuperNOVA G2, 850w, 80 PLUS Gold, Modular[/td]
[td]R2596[/td]
[td]Wootware[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]CPU[/td]
[td]Intel i7-6700k[/td]
[td]R6199[/td]
[td]Evetech[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]CPU cooler[/td]
[td]Corsair Hydro H100i V2 240mm High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler[/td]
[td]R1799[/td]
[td]Evetech[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Motherboard[/td]
[td]MSI Z170A Gaming M5 Intel Z170 Chipset LGA1151 Skylake ATX Desktop Motherboard[/td]
[td]R3726[/td]
[td]Wootware[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]RAM[/td]
[td]G.Skill F4-2400C15D-16GVS Ripjaws 16GB (2 x8GB) DDR4 2400MHz CL15 1.20V Desktop Memory[/td]
[td]R1069[/td]
[td]Wootware[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]GPU[/td]
[td]MSI GeForce GTX 1080 GAMING X 8G, 8GB, GDDR5X, PCI-Express 3.0[/td]
[td]R14899[/td]
[td]Wootware[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Storage 1[/td]
[td]Samsung MZ-75E250BW 850 EVO 250GB SATA6Gb/s 3D V-NAND 2.5" Solid State Drive[/td]
[td]R1699[/td]
[td]Wootware[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Storage 2[/td]
[td]Western Digital AV-GP, 3TB, 3.5", 5400-7200rpm[/td]
[td]R1791[/td]
[td]RebelTech[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

Total:R35657
I do think this is quite a lot for a gaming rig, but also I know the ZAR is about as strong as a drugged ferret right now so I realise this is the kind of price that I'm going to have to deal with if I want a solid rig that I can be proud of.

So to give you some details on why I chose what I did:

The case is something where I decided I would go with the cheapest full ATX case I could find - I'm not interested in messing with cables and drive bays in a Midi tower that insists on your finger's blood offering in order to allow that last stand-off to fit right. I don't plan on moving the PC often and I like the idea of my components having some breathing room around them...

The PSU is something I did a considerable amount of research on; I loaded all my planned settings and components (including adding in a 2nd GPU and additional RAM in the future) in at http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator and it told me I needed: "Load Wattage: 799 W, Recommended UPS rating: 1440 VA, Recommended PSU Wattage: 849 W" - additionally johnnyguru.com reviewed this PSU and gave it a great review and 9.9/10 and at this price for a Gold rating I reckon this is a winner. I know how important PSU's are and how much foolishness lies in skimping on them so I've tried to do the right thing with this guy.

The CPU is is overclockable which I plan on cranking up to 4.8GHz at 1.35V; not much more to say here - I do run quite a few games that are very CPU intensive so I'm not really willing to mess around with this. Also I dislike AMD because they don't feature an integrated PCI express controller and ain't nobody got time for a North Bridge controller! :P

The cooler is something that I really don't know much about... So as I stated, I want a relatively quiet rig - at least while it's idle; so here I figured the H100 with the 2 fans should be able to cool the CPU running at 4.8GHz when at half power; ie. double the cooling at half the noise... I know air cooling could be quieter but I'm not THAT much of a stickler for noise and I'm worried the overclock might be a bit too much for just air cooling.

The mobo is something I did research but maybe not as much as I could have; it has all the supported busses I could need. I don't know really if there is maybe a better option in SA but MSI is about all I could find... I think as long as I get what I need from the board and it supports SLI for a second GPU later and more RAM then I'm fairly happy. Also apparently the new Z170A range features the Realtek 1150 audio chip instead of the 898 so... I guess there's that...? :P

The GPU I picked firstly as a GTX 1080 - right off the bat I'll say I'm not willing to look at anything other than this; its the heart of the whole point of the rig so just chucking in a 1070 or a Radeon RX 480 skedonk would defeat the whole point. (also crossfire/SLI I regard as an upgrade option right now so while 2 RX480's with crossfire may be faster than a 1080, later on 2 1080's in SLI will undoubtedly be better. Now in terms of the card itself; I'm not too experienced with OC'ing GPU's so I like that MSI has done it for me and even more I like that their fans spin down when the temp goes below 60 degrees C - silent!

The storage drives are pretty boring; SSD for the OS to load nice and fast and maybe my favourite games; and the rest can go on the 3TB. I did choose WD because I've generally had a nicer experience with them at the coast (I live in Cape Town) than Seagate and apparently Samsung makes the best SSD's and this one was on special.


So that's basically it guys; those are my choices and my reasons for them. I'd very much appreciate any constructive comments since I've made these choices based on a crash course I've given myself through vigorous internet usage this passed week :P
Obviously I'd prefer to buy from someone in CT because I *abhor* waiting (I think that's something I'll never grow out of) but I mostly just want to look back at the purchase when it's all done and not have any massive regrets - so in terms of Vendors it's much of a muchness for me.

Maybe if there's a glaring mistake I've made somewhere or a choice that I could change that would crank our far better performance for a similar price range then please let me know.

Thanks a million guys!
 
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If noise output and silence is a concern, why not go for one of the Fractal Design cases? I'm using the Define R5, it's a great case. Not sure where you can get them locally right now, as both Raru and Rebeltech are out of stock.

If you always want something that's very quiet, I'd recommended replacing the CPU cooler and system fans with something from Be Quiet or Noctua. Personally, I'm using Be Quiet, but once again, it's quite difficult to find those products locally any more. Only option is importing via Raru, it seems. :/

If you really want a silent machine, ditch the HDD too. :P I know a guy who has four SSD's in his main system, and a File server / NAS in another room for his storage needs. Something to think about.
 
The_Imp_ZA said:
If noise output and silence is a concern, why not go for one of the Fractal Design cases? I'm using the Define R5, it's a great case. Not sure where you can get them locally right now, as both Raru and Rebeltech are out of stock.

If you always want something that's very quiet, I'd recommended replacing the CPU cooler and system fans with something from Be Quiet or Noctua. Personally, I'm using Be Quiet, but once again, it's quite difficult to find those products locally any more. Only option is importing via Raru, it seems. :/

If you really want a silent machine, ditch the HDD too. :P I know a guy who has four SSD's in his main system, and a File server / NAS in another room for his storage needs. Something to think about.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice - Indeed it's difficult getting these brands here; it's a bit of a catch-22 situation now since I'm serious about getting the rig and am now trying to finalize the the build with some advice and pull the trigger on getting it so having to take what I can get locally in SA is about the best I can do...

I went with the CM Trooper case and specifically the one without the window since I don't care for looks and it should close it up nicely (also the price is pretty good) - the Noctua fans are definitely something I'd have gone with; but I also couldn't find them locally. I'm not looking for an entirely silent build, I think that as long is it quietens down when I'm not using it (i.e. the MSI GTX 1080 should spin down and the liquid cooler should be quiet when handling the CPU at idle) then that should be ok. I'm not worried about it making a bit of noise while actually using it.

HavocXphere said:
Bigger SSD. You'll regret the 250gb. Cheaper brand if you have to...
Click to expand...
Ok cool, that's something I'm def going to look into then; I had thought 250gb for just the OS drive should be ok but also I'm not that clued up on what else you'd want to put on a SSD either; actual game installs? I'd have thought that as long as your RAM is big enough that shouldn't be a factor? Would you maybe recommend a 512GB? And also is getting an m.2 ssd drive better? Seems a bit extreme...


Thanks for the advice guys!
 
Ton of changes I would make.


1st off drop the i7 6700K and Msi board and pick up this bundle.

MSI X99A Gaming 7 + Intel Haswell-E i7-5820K

http://www.rebeltech.co.za/home/9-m...ming-7-with-the-intel-haswell-e-i7-5820k.html

6 Core cpu that generally overclocks really well and a great x99 motherboard.

Seasonic X, 850w

http://www.rebeltech.co.za/800w-150...-full-modular-cable-management-80-plus-g.html

Thermaltake Core X31

http://www.rebeltech.co.za/midi-tow...0m1wn-00-midi-tower-windowed-side-panel-.html
 
Spinlock said:
Ok cool, that's something I'm def going to look into then; I had thought 250gb for just the OS drive should be ok but also I'm not that clued up on what else you'd want to put on a SSD either; actual game installs? I'd have thought that as long as your RAM is big enough that shouldn't be a factor? Would you maybe recommend a 512GB? And also is getting an m.2 ssd drive better? Seems a bit extreme...
Click to expand...
I generally try to keep the game I'm currently playing on SSD. Doesn't affect the framerate, but makes a big difference on load time & in some games how fast "distant" objects are drawn.

Despite the framerate comment above on some games - specifically Skyrim - I found it also makes a noticeable difference in how fluid the game feels. Not sure why.

Look you definitely can do 256gb...its not an issue...but for an almost 40k build I'd definitely want a 512 or 1TB. (Saw a 1TB for like 1.7k on Amazon the other day, ZA pricing will probably be more so shoot for a 512).

Spinlock said:
And also is getting an m.2 ssd drive better? Seems a bit extreme...
Click to expand...
Opinions on this vary hugely. Personally I go for the cheapest/special I can find reason being:
1) The perceived difference between a top end brand's speed and a "normal" one is zilch - they're both plenty fast
2) Sizes are shooting up, so this is not something you'll keep for years and years

The speed diff will definitely show up on benchmarks, but I doubt anyone could pick up a difference between 2 SSDs purely by using the computer.
 
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