First build ever, how does it look? Trying to stay $1650-, preferably $1600-

[GunnyD]

First time using a site like this and buying a custom-built system, so any advice beyond the build is also welcome, and I'm fully aware manually building a system is better but I honestly don't really have the time nor the inclination to do it. The system is pretty much expressly for gaming.
For the sake of detail and altering the build, this is the ibuypower link: http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Holiday-Intel-Z170-I7/W/351283
The major points of the build are as follows:

Case: Cosair Carbide Spec Alpha

Cooling: Corsair H55 (Dual Arc Silent Fan Upgrade)

CPU: I7-6700k

GPU: GTX 1060 EVGA superclocked

Mem.: 2x 4Gb ADATA XPG Z1 (8Gb total)

MOBO: MSI Z170A SLI Plus

PSU: 750W Corsair RM750

Storage: 2TB HDD

From my knowledge this was the best and best looking setup i could manage within my budget. I was considering springing for the GTX 1070 but there haven't been any sales warranting the upgrade while maintaining the rest of the build's pricepoint. Again, any advice is appreciated.

 

[Herc08]

Question, is this JUST for gaming, or will you be doing other stuff? If not, you can drop down to a i5-6600K, and a cheaper CPU cooler. Especially since you have a GTX 1060. For ram, I would get a 2x4GB set instead of just one stick. As for the PSU, that's a lot of wattage. You can look for a 650 watts, or even 500 watts and you will be ok. That's if you don't play on upgrading a lot in the future.

 

[CV_Taihou]

You can get a much more reliable machine going with a system you build yourself. Pre-built machines tend to cheap out a lot on components, powersupplies being the most apparent. Regardless of if you choose to build your own or buy prebuilt, here's a list of what I'd suggest in this budget, assuming you want to keep the i7. Less money and much better performance. I'd advise waiting on ordering that

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/Lsbsm8
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/Lsbsm8/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Scythe FUMA 79.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A KRAIT GAMING 3X ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($124.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.82 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB G1 Gaming Video Card ($399.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.88 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1356.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-18 11:52 EST-0500

 

[GunnyD]

this is going to be my desktop for school and pretty much everything, but the primary purpose of the money being put into it is for gaming. And i should have mentioned it is 2 4Gb sticks of RAM not just 1 8Gb. The PSU I would consider lowering the wattage, but I did have potential upgrading in the future in mind, just to keep my options open.

 

[g-unit1111]

this is going to be my desktop for school and pretty much everything, but the primary purpose of the money being put into it is for gaming. And i should have mentioned it is 2 4Gb sticks of RAM not just 1 8Gb. The PSU I would consider lowering the wattage, but I did have potential upgrading in the future in mind, just to keep my options open.

Yeah you can get all that and more if you build it yourself and you'll get a rig that will last for years. There's a few things about that build - the H55 is useless, and that power supply is a decent unit but there's much better out there. And that is a ridiculous amount of money to pay for a GTX 1060. This would be a million times better:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H5 Universal 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Extreme6+ ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($122.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 8GB G1 Gaming Video Card ($605.06 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400S ATX Mid Tower Case ($85.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($91.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1582.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-18 12:29 EST-0500

 

[FD2Raptor]

You know what, if you are going with the "+" version of the ASROCK Extreme boards, be sure to pick a case with a 5.25" bay for its USB 3.1 front panel; otherwise that'd be a waste of $$$:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H5 Universal 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Extreme7+ ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($161.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($84.97 @ Jet)
Storage: SK hynix SL308 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($122.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB GAMING X 8G Video Card ($614.45 @ B&H)
Case: DIYPC D480-BK-Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.79 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1529.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-18 13:16 EST-0500

Going with a 1TB HDD would bring the price down to almost exact $1500.

 

[g-unit1111]

You know what, if you are going with the "+" version of the ASROCK Extreme boards, be sure to pick a case with a 5.25" bay for its USB 3.1 front panel; otherwise that'd be a waste of $$$:

That's one of those things though that you don't have to install. It's nice that it's there but if you don't use it you won't lose any of the board's main functionality.

 

[FD2Raptor]

You know what, if you are going with the "+" version of the ASROCK Extreme boards, be sure to pick a case with a 5.25" bay for its USB 3.1 front panel; otherwise that'd be a waste of $$$:

That's one of those things though that you don't have to install. It's nice that it's there but if you don't use it you won't lose any of the board's main functionality.

That is the point. If you can't use the USB 3.1 front panel then go with the non "+" version and save $25 instead, unless you believe the stupid false PCP warning that the Extreme6 non plus, a higher end product in ASROCK portfolio, doesn't have a USB 3.0 header? One that even its cheap H110 would have?

 

[GunnyD]

i appreciate all the build advice, and it is tempting me to find the time to manually build the system myself, but in the event i don't go that route, would anyone be willing to comment on my build as i made it on iBuyPower? like if there are parts that are better but cheaper, or if something i chose was overkill, again, perhaps some alternatives through iBuyPower would also be greatly appreciated.

 

[FD2Raptor]

i appreciate all the build advice, and it is tempting me to find the time to manually build the system myself, but in the event i don't go that route, would anyone be willing to comment on my build as i made it on iBuyPower? like if there are parts that are better but cheaper, or if something i chose was overkill, again, perhaps some alternatives through iBuyPower would also be greatly appreciated.

Swap the case to the Thermaltake F31 Suppressor. It should come with the sound suppression foam, unless those prebuilt guy steal them from you. And so remove the ibuypower sound reduction system. Any extra fans would only be needed for higher power build. With that move the cooler to the Corsair H115i. This would provide more cooling power than the Cryorig H5, the H55 wouldn't.

Remove Power Drive Lv1. Every MB come with its own overclocking suite now. Even the automatic option would yield better result than just 10%. You already paid $29 extra cost so that Intel would honor a warranty CPU should your CPU fail while using overclocked specs no point in over paying for warranty.

Switch graphic card to the MSI GTX 1060 Gaming X 3GB. Similar performance to 6GB and without the cooling design defect of EVGA cards.

PSU to EVGA GQ750 Semi-Modular to save some extra cash.

And if possible, tell them you don't want an ODD to save a bit more on that.

At this point you should be ~$60-70 less than your original build; which could translate to money for upgrades from 3rd party retailers: either a 240-256GB SSD or a pair of 8GB DDR4 DIMMs. Both of them are very simple upgrade that require no more than 10 minutes of working inside the case. Which would supplement main flaws of the build, because the 120GB SP550 and 8GB RAM are far too undersized for a ~$1600 gaming build.

The free tiny Wifi AC dongle is guaranteed to overheat under anything more than light operation, so do not plan the build or its position under the assumption that it will provide decent connectivity.