My first PC build, guidance appreciated

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
DJMothra

DJMothra

Commendable
Nov 30, 2016
6
0
1,510
Through a promotion with one of my credit cards I accumulated a large amount of points, of which I had some limited options for redemption, and I chose (with some reluctance) Staples gift cards. Then I had to find something I wanted at Staples and discovered they sell some good components online for too much money, but will price match Amazon if you're willing to deal with the process, which I am. This is something I've wanted to do for a while, but didn't think I'd start today. Yay spontaneity!

Got a Corsair Cube Air 540 case today and I should be able to get a 750w or 850w power source with what I have left, maybe a little extra, but the thing I'm most flummoxed by is choosing a motherboard. I'm sure this is not uncommon, even being new to this forum I see others with similar questions.

I'll be using this as a gaming/HT PC in my living room, currently with a 1080p display, but by this time next year it might be 4K. I'll probably want 1080s in SLI and an m.2 drive.

Whatever input you can give me is very welcome. Budget is somewhat flexible, but if I can get what I need in a MB for under $300, that would be great. With two 1080s, should I opt for more power?

Thanks in advance :)
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Multipack

Multipack

Honorable
Sep 5, 2016
4,283
3
9,960
What parts do you have in mind so far? Post a partpicker list.

And two 1080's for 1080p is serious overkill, but I guess you are getting 4k in a year. I'd get a 1060 then get a 1080Ti or an 11 series GPU closer to the time you get the 4k tv myself. Even 1080's are not well optimized for 4k DX12 gaming.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DJMothra

DJMothra

Commendable
Nov 30, 2016
6
0
1,510
You're right about two 1080s until I have 4K, but I'd be more inclined to start with a single 1080, then add another down the road, which would ultimately be cheaper anyway.

Here's my partpicker list, again, the MB is the part I'm least convinced about. I've been gaming on (what I consider high-end) laptops for the last six years, for some context.

Cube Air 540 case, which I already have on the way
https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-High-Airflow-Cube/dp/B00D6GINF4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483043624&sr=8-1&keywords=corsair+cube+air

EVGA SN 850 Platinum (should be plenty for my SLI plan)
https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-PLATINUM-Warranty-220-P2-0850-X1/dp/B010HWDOH6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1483043689&sr=8-2&keywords=evga+supernova+850

Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming MB
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H74VKKK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

i7-6850K
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FJLAITC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1FF9ODJZIUKGX

Corsair Hydro H100i
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019EXSSBG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

EVGA 1080 Hybrid
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LHYIFE0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Corsair Vengeance LPX 64GB DDR4 DRAM 2666MHz
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016ORTR1U/ref=crt_ewc_title_dp_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Won't bother linking thermal compound and whatnot.

Totally open to any suggestion, but this represents the type of system I have envisioned.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Multipack

Multipack

Honorable
Sep 5, 2016
4,283
3
9,960
Ok firstly that CPU isn't compatible with that motherboard. You need an x99 LGA-2011/3 socket board with Broadwell-E chips, not z170 LGA-1151. I agree it might be a good idea to get a Broadwell-E if you plan on SLI'ing two 1080's though.

Also, a hybrid card may not be necessary, especially with a 1080, as you'll be unlikely to really stress it at 1080p (and even two at 4k) and may be better off going for a regular FTW but either way it'll be a beast of a card and you will get mixed opinions on that subject. Whether it being a little quieter is worth the extra money to you is something you'd have to consider.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Isokolon

Isokolon

Judicious
Jul 24, 2016
6,369
112
34,390
Looking at your build:

A 6850k isn't really necessary. But if you wanna splash the cash, why not.
You'll need, as pointed out, a different motherboard.

64 GB DDR4 are complete overkill unless you do professional video editing. 16GB aren't really reached so far, if you really want to future proof and money is no issue, get 32GB.
64GB are only for bragging rights being able to say "I got 64 GB RAM".

Personally I like the Kraken coolers a bit better than the Corsairs. They tend to have less problems in the long run.

As for the PSU, the P2 is nice, I'd opt for the G3. It's not as efficient although the difference is minimal but is the best unit apart from the Seasonic Prime (at double the price) on the market right now. Test results are crazy for this unit.

As for the 1080 I'm not entirely sure you can ski 2x hybrids as they're usually a bit bigger (although on a x99 it should work).
However if you were to get a 4k next year, it'd be better buying a 1070 right now and buying a 1180/1080Ti/Rx590 when you get the screen. Single GPU setups are always preferable to sli setups and it'd be probably more cost efficient (especially if you sell the 1070 next year). But that's just a thought. @1080p/60Hz the 1070 is already overkill and the 1080 won't show any profits.

An Intel / Samsung M.2 drive would be nice
If your keen on sli I'd get some quality fan(s) (Phanteks/Noctua, maybe Cougar) with it
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Isokolon

Isokolon

Judicious
Jul 24, 2016
6,369
112
34,390
I still haven't seen any evidence that resolution affects the CPU. Also I wouldn't see how that's possible as the CPU doesn't care about pixels and frames, the CPU does the calculations of an operation. If there are 100.000 or 500.000 pixels to be rendered is of no real concern to the CPU.
This is the reason why lowering the resolution does nothing for you in increasing your FPS when you're bottlenecked by your CPU. So I don't see how rising the resolution would affect the CPU in the opposite way.
But maybe there's some big error on my side there. I'm keen on being proven otherwise.

Also I don't see how the 6850k would be any better than the 6700k as it's single core performance is weaker than the 6700k's, which is the single most powerful gaming CPU to date apart from a couple.of gaming benchmarks that can actually scale over more than 8 threads.
But as said, I'm happy to accept any evidence that would contradict my reasoning, maybe I forgot about something crucial

Furthermore: how does a 1070 put strain on your CPU exactly @1440p?
I got a 1070 & a 6700k and ease 150fps+ in any game so far (except BF1 sometimes maybe)
In 1440p the 1070 simply can't reach that framerate so I'm curious how you determine the stress the resolution/GPU puts on the CPU
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Multipack

Multipack

Honorable
Sep 5, 2016
4,283
3
9,960
It only stresses it more if I up the settings. Don't forget, a lot of the game engines utilise CPU, and the more demand it has, the more it has to work, as the more pixels it has to account for I would presume. If it made no difference, then framerates wouldn't be affected by resolution, but they clearly are, and bottleneck wouldn't be a factor with any CPU/GPU combo as far as I can see.

I get higher framerates at 1080 regardless of settings, and lower CPU usage. Am not a game dev so can't answer the exact specifics of why, but increased resolution makes my CPU work harder. Unless you max out your GPU I guess, but at 1080p that just doesnt happen on a gtx 1070. There would be a finite point when CPU use is at its maximum, provided GPU was fully utilised.

Also, if you check Afterburner you'll see that indeed all 8 threads are being used in most games, contrary to what you hear about DX11 games being only single or dual core, and the workload would be distributed more between extra cores/threads, freeing up more total space for CPU usage. Plus the IPC of the Broadwell-E's are superior and they have the new enhanced Turbo Boost 3.0.

Am not going to start arguing about all this again lol. Already got a headache ;)

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Isokolon

Isokolon

Judicious
Jul 24, 2016
6,369
112
34,390
Don't get me wrong I'm not looking to argue just grab a chance.to.might learn something new here.

Also single core performance doesn't mean that only 1 core gets load but the amount of calculations 1 core can do, or am I wrong?

It's interesting though that your CPU usage rises depending on the resolution. Thx for the information though. Still can't find the logic behind that bit I guess I've found my weekend reading.

Cheers Mate
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DJMothra

DJMothra

Commendable
Nov 30, 2016
6
0
1,510
This is all extremely helpful, so thank you. Again, my ignorance about motherboards is still great, but you've put me on the right path.

The list I put up represents the most I would want to spend on this now, so I'm happy to make cuts if they don't subtract observable performance.

Can someone recommend an X99 board? There seems to be a jump from $150-300 to $500 plus that will take me some time to really understand. I don't need wireless capability, I do want m.2, but I also want to make a choice that will extend the useable life of this system.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom