Switching from Console to High end PC, build review

[Jordan_FCBayern]

As the title says I am switching from console to PC later this year. I am fortunate enough to be able to spend a fair amount so I want to build a system that can handle 4k without much problem (thinking 1080 GPU). I'm expecting VR to grow rapidly so I'd love this rig to be VR ready but if not, I want to be able to drop in a second GPU and be there. I can spend whatever I deem reasonable but I'd love to cut costs wherever I can so if there's cheaper solutions I'm all ears, and if you recommend something more expensive please provide a justification. This will sit in my living room attached to my primary TV so it will also serve as my media center. I cut the cable so it will only be for streaming, I can't imagine that that will matter much but if there are any common issues with using a gaming PC for TV please let me know. Also it's my first build so if there's any advice about how what I've chosen may be difficult to actually put together, put voice to it.

Only real preferences I have is to keep it forward thinking, a little future proofing is a good thing so if I've mistakenly made a poor choice ie: too few cores/threads/a format that may be on its way out please let me know as I am ignorant of those things. Also the SSD is a must, I hate loading times, and to be honest I don't get enough games to need more than 1 TB of storage for the first year, after which I'll still probably just get another bigger SSD.

Planning on buying all the pieces around the black Friday/cyber Monday sales so there's some time in case the 1080ti comes out and is a better fit.

Current Build Plan:

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor $349.99
CPU Cooler: Corsair H115i 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler 119.99
MB: Asus MAXIMUS VIII HERO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard $199.99
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory 174.99
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive $308.26
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB FTW DT GAMING Video Card $649.99
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case 89.99
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit $139.88

Total: $2127.95


Any recommendation on a TV would be appreciated as well, I haven't researched this yet but I'll be buying a new tv for the living room. Must be over 40", good for gaming obviously but also good for watching shows/movies with the wife. Its coming out of a different budget so I'm leaving it off this build but suffice it to say the TV will need to be significantly cheaper than the rig (probably shooting for <$1k).

 

[Eximo]

Fairly reliable for TV selection: http://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/by-usage/video-gaming/best

You don't really need 32GB of memory. 2x8GB will be more than enough, and less stress on the memory controller.

I do enjoy a good ROG board, but I have been hearing bad things about the VIII Hero and SLI which you mentioned being something you might consider. Though to be honest SLI looks like it is on the way out, particularly for VR and games based on DX12, so a single 1080 will be fine for now. Replace with a newer card down the road.

Full tower case with an ATX board, not strictly necessary. But if you want that large a system in the living room, sure. Otherwise this build could be fit into a Mini ITX chassis and be a quarter the size.

Unless there is a specific reason you want Windows Pro, get standard and save yourself the cash. Or buy the retail version so you can use it more than once.

Missing a power supply?

 

[Jordan_FCBayern]

Any reason not to do the mini ITX chassis? Other than it might be tough for a first timer to put together.

Is it the 4 cards that stress the memory controller or the 32GB? I just wonder if eventually I might need the 32GB so why not have it now. I'm not knowledgeable on the effects of having 2 cards vs 4 or when 16GB will no longer be enough.

And right you are about the power, I just skipped right over it. Was planning on this:

EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

 

[Eximo]

These days, I don't think it is any harder build in a decent Mini-ITX case as compared to a large chassis. Less room for expansion being the only downside.

Larger ram cards just make the memory address differently. It is the amount of cards that is the problem. They each draw power, and the memory controller is now on the CPU. So more memory chips, more power, more heat in the CPU. It can cause instability when trying to reach high overclocks.

Memory rant:

I have to go back nearly 10 years for a computer that had less than 4GB of memory. I can't conceive of a workload that I would be doing that could consume 32GB of memory, let alone 8GB or 16GB. 16GB is more than enough for the foreseeable future.

My work machine is sitting at 75% usage with 8GB, minus what Intel HD is consuming, with Firefox, IE, Excel ( a lot of Excel), Word, Outlook, SCEP, Cisco AMP, SCCM client and a whole host of other enterprise programs I wouldn't be aware of.

My gaming box has 16GB, pretty sure I have never even come close to hitting 8GB when gaming. My HTPC has 8GB, and I pretty much leave that on 24/7, occasionally will hit 6GB or so. My laptop runs two OS, one in a VM, and it only has 8GB...

Just have to look at consumer computers to see what is necessary for memory. Low end still come with 4GB, though most offer 8/12/16 for marketing purposes. This isn't like back in the day when every ram increase was a huge improvement. Since the core of most computers is still amd64 (x86-64) the majority of programs are still stuck in the 32bit era.

 

[Eximo]

Should be rather pleasing for a living room machine. Windows is the retail version that comes on a USB stick. You can install it on only a single computer at a time, but it is not tied to the motherboard like the OEM version. Also the Pro version available for $200.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($343.85 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H115i 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($134.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk X400 1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($247.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB FTW DT GAMING Video Card ($654.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX Mini ITX Tower Case ($77.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home Full - USB 32/64-bit ($117.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1867.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-05 14:28 EDT-0400