Building new setup £1000/$1500 opinions welcomed

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Killavuulken

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Hi all,

I'm building a new setup and I'm just looking to try and future proof it best I can on my budget, there's no game right now that I want to play apart from EvE Online which this setup will run on max settings no problem. I'm hoping to get to around 2020 with little or no upgrades but I'm sure that won't happen :). My real quandary is weather to go modern i5 or older i7 and if I'm getting enough for the money I'm spending.

Approximate Purchase Date: In the next 2 weeks

Budget Range: 1000£ | 1500$ | 1360€

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming 95% and the rest sits in the 5% range

Are you buying a monitor: I don't intend to.

Parts to Upgrade: Buying a full new setup so all parts need to be purchased.

Do you need to buy OS: No, I'll be putting Windows 7 on it I think.. I have Windows 10 on a laptop and I'm not a huge fan.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon UK mostly, I'd like to keep everything together but if it can't be got at all on Amazon UK then I don't mind going to other sites in the UK.

Location: Northern Ireland, UK (so many UK mainland offers for free postage don't cover us)

Parts Preferences: Nvidia/intel combinations never let me down so I'm sticking with them when it comes to GPU and CPU but otherwise I'm open-minded.

Overclocking: Maybe, I've never done it nor have I ever done watercooling.. I wouldn't be totally against trying something new but my preference is to stick with what I know but ultimately I need to go with the best option available.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, again never done this but it's always something I would try.

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 I've never considered going higher to be honest. This resolution always seemed to be good enough for the eyeballs :).

Here is what I'm currently looking at: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/ZdjJhM If you have any suggestions or comments please leave them and I really appreciate the response.

I'm not concerned about the noise of the PC, as long as it doesn't sound like a F15 on take off. Energy usage isn't really that important either as long as it's not going to drain massive amounts of electricity.


Thanks all for reading and taking the time to respond.

- Killa
 
Solution
Chayan4400
Sorry, I was out for a bit :). If that cooler costs £65 then it isn't worth it! You can have better coolers for the same price. The 2TB you have at home is fine, and much better than the WD Blue I had in my original build. The 500GB SSD should a nice addition.

Back to business, the cooler; for that price you can get the Noctua NH-D14, one of the best coolers on the market (Second only do the newer NH-D15). The downside is you'll also have to upgrade your case, as the S340 is too small to fit it:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£200.95 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler (£56.90 @ Amazon UK)...
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BadActor

BadActor

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Your build is very, very good. I only offer this as an alternative because it uses the latest generation CPU and chipset. The Z170 Gaming 5 has some great new features and really good onboard audio, dual NIC, and uses DDR4. I think it would last you for a number of years, especially with an upgrade here or there. Performance in games for the two will be nearly the same.
 
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Killavuulken

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Hi BadActor,

I took a look here but that Z170 board (If I got the right one on part picker) is causing plenty of problems with compatibility. I changed the board but then ofc this means the ram goes to DDR4 which is ok but this takes me back to my original quandary about i5 vs i7 because the i7 wouldn't go onto that board so I changed it to I5-6600K.

Did I make a mess or get this right?

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/8jNF7P

And if I did get it right then we now have this question..

i7 setup vs i5 setup

Thanks

PS. I know the build I've got atm misses things like a large hd for storage and disc drives etc, those I have already purchase and won't really matter in the grand scale.
 
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BadActor

BadActor

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This is the board I was suggesting. I changed the RAM also, it doesn't scale well past 2666 and IMO, not worth the extra money.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£189.99 @ Dabs)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.98 @ Novatech)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£131.99 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£42.28 @ More Computers)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£55.71 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (£268.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (£75.49 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£87.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £877.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-02 03:49 GMT+0000

For gaming they are virtually equivalent, the 4790K would be a little better for multitasking, editing and so forth. If you wanted, you could even go for an i5 6400/6500 and overclock it with an Asrock Z170 motherboard. Gaming performance would still be about the same but would be quite a bit cheaper.
 
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Chayan4400

Chayan4400

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If you aren't going to be upgrading your monitor any time soon, a 980 is best suited to your needs. 1080p doesn't use more than 4GB or vRAM, and the added power of the 980 will allow you to max out games for quite some time; substantially longer than a 970. There's no reason to get a 6600K now that the 6500 is overclockable, the two are almost identical side by side. An i7 is not needed for gaming, it will have no additional benefit over an i5. Your original system a is bit unbalanced; this system will ironically have more power for less. Upgrade the RAM to 16GB if you want, but 99% of games run happily on 8GB; besides, RAM is the easiest thing to upgrade and you can also add some later on should the need arise. Here is my recommendation:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£200.95 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler (£27.72)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory (£49.76 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£55.71 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.98 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 4GB STRIX Video Card (£379.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case (£59.98 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£74.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £887.08
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-02 04:17 GMT+0000

Cooler: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Computers-Cryorig-CR-H7A-H7-alle-Sockel/dp/B00S7YA5FQ/ref=sr_1_sc_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1451708023&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=cryogig
 
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Killavuulken

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Hi BadActor,

Thanks again for your time spent on this.

I'm just sitting here considering my options now, I'm concerned about buying something which turns out to be lacking in the processor field. I'm probably going to have open multiple game clients at the same time to play multiple accounts concurrent. I've been also looking at overclocking the i5 6600k should issues creep in and use the cryorig r1 ultimate cooler on it .. I don't know how beneficial the OC would be on it.. I mean does it give you 10-20-30% when OCed to the max? then how much is the lifespan shortened xD ahh my brain is frying :p
 
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BadActor

BadActor

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If you don't go crazy with the overclock, it really won't shorten it's useful life because it will become obsolete first. Any of the three builds suggested will overclock to similar levels and will be relatively equal in performance. I suggested, like Chayan4400, that going with the locked processor and Asrock would give the same performance and save you money, or allow you to put more money in to the graphics card. Overclocking any of them is a pretty good deal as it is effectively a free upgrade, and the extra performance is pretty substantial.
 
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Killavuulken

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Oh thanks Chayan also for your response, much appreciated.. gonna take a few mins to go over your responses but I'll say this, I've been up all night going over this hahaha 5am now and I'm glad to have 2 people who know their stuff :) cheers guys
 
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Killavuulken

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Ok so Chayan4400, I took out the standard hard drive because I have a 2TB brand new sitting here, changed the SSD up to 500 from 250 and that cooler is very difficult to source in the UK, your link works fine just it will cost 67£ to buy that cooler in the UK vs 47 from spain but IF I had to return it then it would cost plenty so 67 it is..

I came up with this: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/L6tBMp and then the CPU can be overclocked up to 4.5 ghz I believe? Oh and I changed the case to the black version, that's minor..

What do you guys think?
 
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Chayan4400

Chayan4400

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Sorry, I was out for a bit :). If that cooler costs £65 then it isn't worth it! You can have better coolers for the same price. The 2TB you have at home is fine, and much better than the WD Blue I had in my original build. The 500GB SSD should a nice addition.

Back to business, the cooler; for that price you can get the Noctua NH-D14, one of the best coolers on the market (Second only do the newer NH-D15). The downside is you'll also have to upgrade your case, as the S340 is too small to fit it:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£200.95 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler (£56.90 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory (£49.76 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£111.49 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 4GB STRIX Video Card (£379.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: NZXT H440 (Matte Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£74.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £964.07
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-02 08:33 GMT+0000

If you want to keep the S340, then the Noctua NH-U14S is very good and quieter than the Hyper 212. It isn't listed in PCPartPicker however.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£200.95 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory (£49.76 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£111.49 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 4GB STRIX Video Card (£379.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£59.45 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£74.99 @ Amazon UK)
Other: Noctua NH-U14S (£49.99)
Total: £926.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-02 08:50 GMT+0000

Cooler: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Noctua-NH-U14S-Ultra-Quiet-Cooler-NF-A15/dp/B00C76WV3O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1451724541&sr=8-2&keywords=nh-u12s

Since you have some extra cash though, why not go watercooled? It'll be a nice change and will make your build look cleaner and run a bit cooler. It won't make a huge difference, but it will help when overclocking. The NZXT Kraken X61 is one of the best:

EDIT: See posts below.

It's compatible with the S340, so the total will be around ~£940. And finally, because I like the inside of the PC to look good, I'll suggest adding an LED strip to light it up subtlety. It isn't necessary at all, of course, but it makes the PC look much better and if done right more refined.

IMG_20140228_074337_zpsa558c14a.jpg


You can do something as simple as a single colour strip:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NZXT-2m-LED-Cable-Black/dp/B0046Y5Z92/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451725580&sr=8-1&keywords=nzxt+led

Or go all out with NZXT's Hue+, which gives you full control over the lighting through NZXT's CAM software. That allows for crazy effects like this:

[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7Uvex2PxDk"][/video]

Definitely something to impress the mates :). Again, it isn't required at all, but since you have some extra cash, why not?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NZXT-Colour-Changing-Internal-Controller/dp/B017LOXRAC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451726043&sr=8-1&keywords=hue%2B

Even with the watercooler and the Hue+ you'll still be under your £1000 budget!
 
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Chayan4400

Chayan4400

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Yikes, did I link the X31? I meant to link the Kraken 61. Sorry! I did wonder why it was so cheap.

The X61 unfortunately costs substantially more: http://www.amazon.co.uk/NZXT-5060301691203-X61-Kraken-Watercooler/dp/B00N2A0FU0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451743776&sr=8-1&keywords=x61

It will give you lower temps than any air cooler, and will also make the PC cleaner inside if you are trying to make it so; the difference in temps isn't huge though. Under overclocked load the CPU stays 5C cooler than the NH-D14 with the X61. It's up to you if it's worth it.

6803_44_nzxt_kraken_x61_280mm_aio_cpu_cooler_review.png


If you consider the X61 too expensive, then the X41 is an alternative. It's slightly more expensive than the X31, but performance is markedly better.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/NZXT-X41-140mm-Kraken-Cooler/dp/B00MA5V72I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451744239&sr=8-1&keywords=x41

Other than that, everything looks good! That's a very powerful PC you're getting :).
 
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Killavuulken

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Alright :D well I went 95% of the way with your advice and BadActor's and I won't go cheap on the last bit :p so here we go http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/t42LMp

I think the build came a long long way.. however I learned a lot by going through this process. I've never used overclocking and never used watercooling but I'm all for jumping in at the deep end so here we go haha, I suppose nobody really does jump in at the deep end anymore since there's a whole archive of guides called youtube. Cheers again!!!

PS. For anyone reading this thread, I need to request for the 'solution' post to be changed, since we went with a build further on down the page. Please see the NZXT picture featuring post for the end result and below is what I went with.
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/t42LMp
 
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Chayan4400

Chayan4400

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Superb build you have there. Be sure to mount the radiator with the fans as intakes in the front. Also, when you get the motherboard, make sure the BIOS version is L2.23 or higher; that's the one that has Sky OC. If it is an older version, you need to update it.

How to update the BIOS: http://www.asrock.com/support/BIOSUI.asp?cat=BIOS8

IMPORTANT NOTE: These instructions are only for the ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4 Motherboard. Instructions, BIOS updates and BIOS versions may / will differ for other models!

Other than that, you're good to go! If you have any further questions, please do ask!

EDIT: To unselect the current solution, simply click the white button that says "Unselect Current Solution" right under the best answer. To select a new one, hit the green button that says "Pick as Solution" under the post that helped you. The best answer has been unselected for you already.
 
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Killavuulken

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Thanks so much once again,

Fingers crossed I get it all done smoothly but if I get caught up I'll hit you guys up via this thread so anyone else trying this build can see any troubleshooting completed.
 
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Chayan4400

Chayan4400

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No problem! Glad to help :) . Post back here if you have any further questions or problems. One more thing, when you get the build up and running install NZXT's CAM software. It allows you to change the color of the light up logo on the Kraken and more importantly allows you to control the fan speeds of the water-cooler, so you can adjust them if they are too loud.
 
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Killavuulken

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Hey again :)

I'm searching on ASRock's website for the bios version you said but I can't find anything above 2.20

http://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/Fatal1ty%20Z170%20Gaming%20K4/index.asp?cat=Download&os=BIOS


ps. I already forgot about the bios update when I go it all hooked up, went in gungho and set the block to 1.40 and the system wouldn't restart so I had to reset by popping out the battery.. it pays to listen haha


//EDIT Found it.. it's in beta, http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Fatal1ty%20Z170%20Gaming%20K4/?cat=Beta
 
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Killavuulken

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Thanks BadActor,

I'm just trying to find a good guide now on how to do it step by step.. I've no clue now what I'm doing as far as overclocking goes. :(

Do you have any suggestions for a guide to do this?

PS. I'm now on 2.23, I used the link from the ASRock site earlier, sorry forgot to mention that.. now I'm looking to find the settings to set everything to in the bios.

PSS. I also didn't go with the watercooling in the end, instead I have the
Noctua NH-U14S fan so I think Chayan was saying there's a 5 degree difference or so .. so I gotta keep that in mind whilst overclocking
 
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Killavuulken

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Yea looking at that myself, cheers mate.. but I don't know now what to set the numbers to, I guess I could match the 6400 numbers?

I'm going to wait and see if Chayan has some numbers before I do anything, don't wanna break something now haha
 
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