New Gaming PC Build (Compatibility Check and Comments Please!)

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BurgerandChips66

BurgerandChips66

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Jan 11, 2016
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Hello All,

I am putting together parts for a new Gaming PC that will also be used for a bit of music and video editing. It will be 80% used for gaming. My monitor will be 4K. I like to game with the highest graphics settings and highest framerates/refreshrates possible within my budget (see below for budget).

I need plenty of space for good air flow as I will overclock the CPU, Ram and gfx card at some stage in the future and I'd like it to be fairly quiet. I will also add several SSD's and other items into the 5.25" bays over time.

I want to go with the latest Skylake architecture as it gives me more chance of uprgading the CPU to something more powerful in the future. I may also add a second gfx card in SLI somewhere down the line. Most likley the same as in the list below.

Budget is around 2,500€ (Euro)
My list currently costs 2,391€.

Here is the list.......

Case Corsair Obsidian 900D ATX
PSU EVGA SuperNOVA 1000Watt G2 80+ GOLD
Motherboard ASRock OC Z170 ATX
WiFi Adaper TP-LINK TL-WDN4800
CPU i7 6700K 4GHz
CPU Cooler NZXT Kracken X61
RAM Vengeance LPX 3200MHz DDR4 (2 x 8GB sticks)
GFX Card Inno 3D ichill Nvidea Geforce GTX 980 Ti 6GB
SSD and OS From old PC (Samsung 850 Evo 1TB with Win 10 64-bit)
Optical Drive From old PC (LG Bluray)
Multi Card Reader From old PC for 5.25" bay

I have included some parts I already own so that you can see the full extent of what I'll be putting together.

My Questions

1. Will this all fit together with no issues in terms of space and fitting the cpu & gfx card water coolers?

2. Is everything compatible in the list?

3. If I use my exisitng SSD with Win 10 already installed, given that the new build will use a UEFI bios, will there be any issues? (Will it set up and boot okay as my old PC is a legacy bios?)

4. I don't build PC's very often (last build was in 2008) so I want to ensure future upgradeability that's hassle free and can be put-off as long as possible. Are any changes recommended to my list?

Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any comments/answers.....

:D
 
Solution
M
1. It should fit fine in that case, it's really good quality.
2. everything is compatible.
3. You can most likely boot but I recommend doing a clean install or at least refreshing as windows has to install around your motherboard and CPU. If you have the disk it should be easy to reinstall, just backup your files, wipe the drive, and reinstall.
4. That PC should last for a while, that i7 just came out so it will be 5+ years before it gets outdated, and your motherboard supports up to 4 graphics cards, so you could add up to 3 more in the future.
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mason marnell@1457018692

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1. It should fit fine in that case, it's really good quality.
2. everything is compatible.
3. You can most likely boot but I recommend doing a clean install or at least refreshing as windows has to install around your motherboard and CPU. If you have the disk it should be easy to reinstall, just backup your files, wipe the drive, and reinstall.
4. That PC should last for a while, that i7 just came out so it will be 5+ years before it gets outdated, and your motherboard supports up to 4 graphics cards, so you could add up to 3 more in the future.
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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First off don't buy a Kraken X61 if you can help it - get an air cooler instead.

To answer your questions:

1. Yes
2. Yes - the only time you won't have to worry about compatibility is by processor selection and maybe RAM. But everything you have should work fine.
3. You will have to buy a new software key although I'm not entirely sure about that.
4. As I said don't buy a Kraken X61. You could probably get a smaller case than a 900D too, and swap that GPU for the MSI Twin FROZR V model.
 
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BurgerandChips66

BurgerandChips66

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Jan 11, 2016
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Thanks for the tips.

Why isn't the Kraken X61 recommended? Is it noisy or just overkill? Any recommendations for the air cooler (I will overclock in the future so it needs to be a good one).

I was wondering about the MSI 980 Ti version..... I have an MSI 750 Ti Twin Frozr in my old PC at the moment and it's been great in terms of performance and is very quiet - even under extreme overclocking. Great cooling by MSI.

As for the case, I agree. Something smaller would be ok, but I can fit it in my budget and I may be happy for the expansion space a few years down the track - so what the hell!!

Cheers :D
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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1. They're just not good coolers - they're based on the same radiators that are used in just about all closed liquid loops and they're known to be problematic. If you're going liquid cooling I say either do the real thing or don't do it at all. Most of the time just about any strong air cooler like a Noctua D15 will beat a closed loop without worrying about whether or not CLLs are going to leak on you.
2. I have the GTX 970 ME and it's easily one of the best cards I've ever owned.
3. What are your long term expansion plans? Custom liquid cooling? 4-way SLI? You only need a case that huge if you're planning on doing one or more of those things. But the trend in towers is going smaller and not bigger. The days of gigantic full towers are at an end. micro ATX and mini ITX are going to be the new trend definitely this year and probably in future years. You would be surprised at how much PC you can pack into not a lot of space these days.
 
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BurgerandChips66

BurgerandChips66

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Jan 11, 2016
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3. What are your long term expansion plans? Custom liquid cooling? 4-way SLI? You only need a case that huge if you're planning on doing one or more of those things. But the trend in towers is going smaller and not bigger. The days of gigantic full towers are at an end. micro ATX and mini ITX are going to be the new trend definitely this year and probably in future years. You would be surprised at how much PC you can pack into not a lot of space these days.
Click to expand...

I will go 2-way SLI eventually. I would do it now but I need to save up a few more €'s first.

The choice of an ATX case was because I am considering a multi-monitor setup in the far future and it might benefit from having 3-way SLI. I also expect to add a number of drives to the case over time - as at present I have a whole bunch of USB drives (movies and huge music collection) that are a pain to manage and it would be better to copy everything to multiple HDDs or SSD's and do away with the USB's. But if a slightly smaller case will still give me the option of 3-way SLI and another 3 or 4 HDDs/SSDs then any suggestions are welcome.

For cooling, I don't fancy the hassle of doing custom liquid cooling (building it all and then there's maintenance) so it will either be CLL or air. The reason I was looking at CLL for this build is that I have had issues with overheating in the past after processor upgrades and overclocking etc. I had to change fans and heatsinks a few times to find the right combination and it was a real pain.
So I was looking for something that will take the heat load and also cope with some overclocking. The plan is to run at stock frequencies initially, then overclock when necessary, then get a new CPU when that's no longer enough either.

If that air cooler (Noctua D15) will do the job then great - I certainly don't want the hassle of a leaking water cooler. I assume the same thing could happen with the water cooled 980Ti? In which case I'll take the advice and avoid it.

I have always used air in the past - so I have no bias either way. Just want good cooling, as where I live gets very hot in summer!
 
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