- Feb 4, 2012
- 11
- 0
- 18,510
Hello all,
Yet another PC build opinion thread. Sort of long winded, I really appreciate the time in considering my post.
Quick background, my first and latest build was April 2007. It's a bit of a franken-pc, but still runs games decently, save for the most recent and demanding games like Arkham Knight, Tomb Raiders, etc. Can't even play those. So it's time to upgrade.
I have a 680i, E6300, 9800 GT, 4 GB DDR2 1333 (possibly 800, can't remember). My intention for the build was to do a little "future proofing" and for my needs it worked out pretty well, I'd say. So I'm going for the same concept. Not sure if I need it to last nine years again since money is better now, but I don't want to have to upgrade for at least 1-2 years.
Been doing a lot of research trying to find the sweet spot between value and power for each component. Granted, I know my eyes are going to melt with joy no matter what I go with now, so I don't think it's necessary for me to spend ~$150 to go from i5 to i7, or ~$35 to go from 8GB to 16GB. On the other hand, I don't need to skimp and go i3 to save ~$100.
The future of Skylake and DDR4 seem to be a bit uncertain for investing towards them in a new build, but after a lot of reading it seems to be worthwhile. Worse comes to worse I can sell the components and take a loss on LGA1151, but it's doubtful that will happen, right?
On to the build I'm considering:
Mobos: GA-Z170X-UD5, MSI Z170A Titanium, ASRock Z170 Extreme7+
I want to splurge a bit here. I'm really interested in having multiple M.2 and I'm a data hoarder so the more SATA the better. The Titanium is there pretty much for aesthetics. If I have to bring the price down, I'm willing. I've heard crap about Gigabyte, but I've heard much more good. Also will want to be prepared to go VR, 3D, 4K down the road.
CPU: 6600K
I'm a bit of an enthusiast and will be overclocking. Will the performance increase yield noticeable real world results? Probably not, but I enjoy tinkering and learning how to OC and whatnot. So it's worth the price for the hobby of it.
RAM: 2x4 GB DDR4 3000
I've read recommendations that you should get RAM rated higher than what you expect to run it at for better stability. Benchmarks seem to show noticeable improvement in most areas when going from 2133 to 3000, and the price difference at kits I'm looking at is average $5-10, so why not go for 3000. Kind of stuck here though, I'm thinking Corsair, Crucial, G.Skill. Tridents look pretty sweet, I wouldn't mind a little red, but hoping to stay away from red tones as I want the build to be primarily black, silver, white, and blue. Any suggestions here?
GPU: GTX 970
Just trying to shave some $ off in this arena. I don't have to play everything at ultra max high super insane settings. As mentioned, I want to eventually have the ability to do VR, 3D, and 4K. GPU scaling interests me, and even if I would only see results in the Crysis franchise or 3D rendering, 3-way and 4-way SLI/Crossfire greatly interests me. Again, willing to spend a few hundred bucks down the road just for the fun of the hobby. I don't always have to squeeze out a few extra FPS, but I'll have a lot of fun trying. I've always used eVGA and wouldn't mind sticking with it, but I want to keep my mind open too, don't want to be ignorant when looking for a solid GPU. Need suggestions here too.
I figure the rest of the components are negligible. Most certainly going to save some money up front and go with a SSD, I'm looking at Samsungs 850 Pro. Performance is not as big of a concern for me here as is longevity, and I've read the Pros are essentially higher in cost for better longevity.
Lastly, I need a variety of suggestions and feedback on monitors, but I'll post there for that since that is going to be a large discussion on its own. I don't need 4K right now, doesn't seem worth it, especially with lack of media. I'm more than okay with 1080p gaming. If I can find a monitor for under $300 that supports 3D (just needs 120hz refresh rate, right?) I'll be happy. Don't really care on the size, but it has to be between 20" and 27". Even 25-27 might be too big to fit on my desk lol.
I don't have much research on cases yet, just watching reviews and deciding on colors/features. The gunmetal NZXTs look mighty pretty. Looking for full towers so I have room to play around. If everyone swears by some cases that are a plain black box, that's cool with me since later down the line I wouldn't mind doing some modding.
Thank you all! Love this community, I need to pick up and spend more time posting here.
Yet another PC build opinion thread. Sort of long winded, I really appreciate the time in considering my post.
Quick background, my first and latest build was April 2007. It's a bit of a franken-pc, but still runs games decently, save for the most recent and demanding games like Arkham Knight, Tomb Raiders, etc. Can't even play those. So it's time to upgrade.
I have a 680i, E6300, 9800 GT, 4 GB DDR2 1333 (possibly 800, can't remember). My intention for the build was to do a little "future proofing" and for my needs it worked out pretty well, I'd say. So I'm going for the same concept. Not sure if I need it to last nine years again since money is better now, but I don't want to have to upgrade for at least 1-2 years.
Been doing a lot of research trying to find the sweet spot between value and power for each component. Granted, I know my eyes are going to melt with joy no matter what I go with now, so I don't think it's necessary for me to spend ~$150 to go from i5 to i7, or ~$35 to go from 8GB to 16GB. On the other hand, I don't need to skimp and go i3 to save ~$100.
The future of Skylake and DDR4 seem to be a bit uncertain for investing towards them in a new build, but after a lot of reading it seems to be worthwhile. Worse comes to worse I can sell the components and take a loss on LGA1151, but it's doubtful that will happen, right?
On to the build I'm considering:
Mobos: GA-Z170X-UD5, MSI Z170A Titanium, ASRock Z170 Extreme7+
I want to splurge a bit here. I'm really interested in having multiple M.2 and I'm a data hoarder so the more SATA the better. The Titanium is there pretty much for aesthetics. If I have to bring the price down, I'm willing. I've heard crap about Gigabyte, but I've heard much more good. Also will want to be prepared to go VR, 3D, 4K down the road.
CPU: 6600K
I'm a bit of an enthusiast and will be overclocking. Will the performance increase yield noticeable real world results? Probably not, but I enjoy tinkering and learning how to OC and whatnot. So it's worth the price for the hobby of it.
RAM: 2x4 GB DDR4 3000
I've read recommendations that you should get RAM rated higher than what you expect to run it at for better stability. Benchmarks seem to show noticeable improvement in most areas when going from 2133 to 3000, and the price difference at kits I'm looking at is average $5-10, so why not go for 3000. Kind of stuck here though, I'm thinking Corsair, Crucial, G.Skill. Tridents look pretty sweet, I wouldn't mind a little red, but hoping to stay away from red tones as I want the build to be primarily black, silver, white, and blue. Any suggestions here?
GPU: GTX 970
Just trying to shave some $ off in this arena. I don't have to play everything at ultra max high super insane settings. As mentioned, I want to eventually have the ability to do VR, 3D, and 4K. GPU scaling interests me, and even if I would only see results in the Crysis franchise or 3D rendering, 3-way and 4-way SLI/Crossfire greatly interests me. Again, willing to spend a few hundred bucks down the road just for the fun of the hobby. I don't always have to squeeze out a few extra FPS, but I'll have a lot of fun trying. I've always used eVGA and wouldn't mind sticking with it, but I want to keep my mind open too, don't want to be ignorant when looking for a solid GPU. Need suggestions here too.
I figure the rest of the components are negligible. Most certainly going to save some money up front and go with a SSD, I'm looking at Samsungs 850 Pro. Performance is not as big of a concern for me here as is longevity, and I've read the Pros are essentially higher in cost for better longevity.
Lastly, I need a variety of suggestions and feedback on monitors, but I'll post there for that since that is going to be a large discussion on its own. I don't need 4K right now, doesn't seem worth it, especially with lack of media. I'm more than okay with 1080p gaming. If I can find a monitor for under $300 that supports 3D (just needs 120hz refresh rate, right?) I'll be happy. Don't really care on the size, but it has to be between 20" and 27". Even 25-27 might be too big to fit on my desk lol.
I don't have much research on cases yet, just watching reviews and deciding on colors/features. The gunmetal NZXTs look mighty pretty. Looking for full towers so I have room to play around. If everyone swears by some cases that are a plain black box, that's cool with me since later down the line I wouldn't mind doing some modding.
Thank you all! Love this community, I need to pick up and spend more time posting here.
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