Opinion on gfx cards(rookie)

dchrome

Distinguished
Jun 15, 2010
11
0
18,510
Not gonna lie, I've been a console gamer all my life. Never pc gamed a lot besides CS: Source back in the day with onboard video. Anyway, I'm kinda interested in pc gaming, considering the cost-to-perfomance, it just seems more logical than console gaming. This is my rig as of this moment. Yes it's already built and sitting next to me. I have no gfx card.

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/j3KY9W

Firstly, is my setup ready to go for a gfx card?

Secondly, what gfx card do you recommend? My budget I would say is nomore than $600. I want great quality, and ultra settings is what I would really like. I also would like to game at 144hz. I'm fairly inclined to pc's, built this rig myself and what not but a newbie when it comes to pc gaming. Just looking for some opinions and insight from the fellow pc gamers out there! Thanks for looking. I know the H440 isn't the best for airflow, which is why I swapped the fans out for SP fans. Please chime in! :)
 
Solution
ACX 3.0 is the cooling technology on that card (http://www.tomshardware.com/news/evga-acx3-gtx-1080-cooler,31909.html), SC (from EVGA) means superclocked which means the card will be clocked faster than the factory speeds. Founders Edition basically means it is a slightly better "reference" card, meaning only one intake cooling fan that blows air through the card and out the back of the case, this usually means higher temperatures and slower speeds than cards from other manufacturers like MSI or EVGA with their non-reference cooling designs (2 fans, 3 fans...etc.).

dchrome

Distinguished
Jun 15, 2010
11
0
18,510


Just updated it. Sorry about that. No more than $600.
 

iyzik

Distinguished
Jun 1, 2012
901
0
19,160
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($240.98 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z170 PRO GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($142.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($157.79 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($196.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Video Card ($449.94 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.69 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($88.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1496.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-05 21:02 EDT-0400
 
Phanteks or Noctua fans will provide the same or better airflow at significantly lower noise (though not looking as good as the Corsair)

also unless you already got your RAM or your board there's no reason not to go for a skylake build.

a 1070 would be great, if you don't have the cash, a 1060 will be sufficient

here's my suggestion, which, without the video card is actually some bucks cheaper than yours
I assumed you already got the HDDs (otherwise the 500GB HDD seems odd) and you wanna stick with the H440, so here we go:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($227.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($138.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($88.48 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital WD Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.60 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB SC GAMING Video Card ($429.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT H440 (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($118.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit ($125.94 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Phanteks PH-F140HP_BK 2 88.6 CFM 140mm Fan ($17.98 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Phanteks PH-F140HP_BK 2 88.6 CFM 140mm Fan ($17.98 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Phanteks PH-F140HP_BK 2 88.6 CFM 140mm Fan ($17.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1491.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-05 21:02 EDT-0400

if the 1070 is too pricey, go with the EVGA 1060, it's @250$ instead of 430$

 

dchrome

Distinguished
Jun 15, 2010
11
0
18,510
Thanks for the input. I built this rig earlier this year so not really looking to swap out a lot of the hardware. What I really would like to do is slap a gfx card in it. I may upgrade to 16gb of ram(would that be beneficial?) Would the 1060 help me wanting to achieve ultra settings? I want the best pc gaming experience along with 144hz.
 
oh you already got the rig?
okay then it's different.
(again if you haven't bought the additional fans yet, go with Phanteks. better airflow while lower noise)

for ultra, 1080p, 144Hz I'd get a 1070 at least. or rather even justify spending on a 1080 (the ASUS Strix seems to be the cheapest viable option at 630$ @pcpartpicker, if you look around you might find it for 615 somewhere)
 

dchrome

Distinguished
Jun 15, 2010
11
0
18,510
@iyzik @Isokolon Alrighty. Getting a lot of 1070 votes in here. I have no knowledge on the different types of 1070s(founders edition, SC ACX3.0, etc.) What would be the differences and what's a good recommendation as to which brand? I've heard multiple times EVGA is pretty good. Although my build theme color is white, black, and red lol
 

iyzik

Distinguished
Jun 1, 2012
901
0
19,160
For black red and white I would go MSI Gaming X, that is what I have with the same theme and it fits in perfectly. EVGA and MSI are my personal favorites for NVIDIA cards, ASUS and Gigabyte are good as well.
 

dchrome

Distinguished
Jun 15, 2010
11
0
18,510


Gotcha. Thanks. So as to which models to choose from, what's the difference with the founders editions and the other ones like SC ACX3.0? I have no clue what any of that means. Just trying to figure out why there's different models of the 1070 and what they mean.
 

iyzik

Distinguished
Jun 1, 2012
901
0
19,160
ACX 3.0 is the cooling technology on that card (http://www.tomshardware.com/news/evga-acx3-gtx-1080-cooler,31909.html), SC (from EVGA) means superclocked which means the card will be clocked faster than the factory speeds. Founders Edition basically means it is a slightly better "reference" card, meaning only one intake cooling fan that blows air through the card and out the back of the case, this usually means higher temperatures and slower speeds than cards from other manufacturers like MSI or EVGA with their non-reference cooling designs (2 fans, 3 fans...etc.).
 
Solution

iyzik

Distinguished
Jun 1, 2012
901
0
19,160
I don't really favor one model or another. I just go with whatever I think looks like the best card at that specific time. I chose the MSI because I've had good experience with them in the past and am absolutely loving my MSI 1070, hands down the best card I've owned. I'm sure EVGA's and ASUS's are equally as good.