Which Gaming PC?

ThatZiast

Reputable
Jan 23, 2016
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I am building a gaming PC for 1080p. I have two builds, but am unsure which one to go with (assuming I don't get a Pascal card). The first build has more firepower with a 980 Ti and a G-Sync monitor. The second one is a little less powerful with a 980 and no G-Sync monitor, but instead has water-cooling and...wait for it... a 1TB SSD! And a cooler looking case as a side note. I'm really hoping that a 980 will still be enough to crush titles at 1080p for years to come, but I'm just not sure that is the case. And G-Sync would be amazing... But a 1TB SSD! Which build would you recommend and why? Thanks!
(I have added some custom parts to the lists because some of the prices aren't on pcpartpicker)

BUILD #1
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HsfxLk
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HsfxLk/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($233.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus Z170 PRO GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($127.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($56.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($149.45 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99 @ Micro Center)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card ($629.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define S w/Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 39.9 CFM 120mm Fans ($25.88 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Acer XB240H ABPR 144Hz 24.0" Monitor
Mouse: Logitech G502 Wired Optical Mouse ($49.99 @ Best Buy)
Other: Extended Mouse Pad ($15.00)
Other: Windows 10 ($29.00)
Other: Anti-Static Wrist Band ($1.96)
Other: CRYORIG H7 ($34.99)
Other: Monitor (Acer XB240H) ($415.99)
Total: $1968.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-23 17:36 EDT-0400

BUILD #2
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7sdGmG
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7sdGmG/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($244.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($104.44 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: EVGA Z170 FTW ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($56.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($68.89 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX200 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($281.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB XTREME GAMING Video Card ($489.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400S ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 37.9 CFM 120mm Fans ($26.49 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 39.9 CFM 120mm Fans ($25.88 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($250.32 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Logitech G502 Wired Optical Mouse ($49.99 @ Best Buy)
Other: Windows 10 ($29.00)
Other: Extended Mouse Pad ($14.00)
Other: Anti-Static Wrist Band ($1.96)
Total: $1981.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-23 17:41 EDT-0400
 
Solution
I say the 980 ti build, cause... 980 ti, duh. But seriously 980 ti is a beast, and one of the few cards that can run 144hz on ultra settings, and a 1tb ssd is cool, but won't really improve proformance, as long as you have your so on a ssd. BUT PLEASE WAIT FOR PASCAL.......

anti-duck

Honorable
A 980 would be enough for 60Hz @ 1080p, but personally, I'd buy neither at this point with new videocards from both vendors due to be released and because of the uncertainty of how any Maxwell videocard will perform with low level API's, especially considering the lack of hardware based asynchronous compute.

Oh, and the SuperNOVA NEX series is like the shitty PSU line that came before the SuperNOVA series.
 
I say the 980 ti build, cause... 980 ti, duh. But seriously 980 ti is a beast, and one of the few cards that can run 144hz on ultra settings, and a 1tb ssd is cool, but won't really improve proformance, as long as you have your so on a ssd. BUT PLEASE WAIT FOR PASCAL.......
 
Solution