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Help with first PC Gaming Build (up to $3.5k)

Amadeeeus
By Amadeeeus
in New Builds and Planning
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Posted

Hello everyone!
I already read quite a bit through the forums and really would like

to take advantage of the wisdom flowing around in here!  :P

 

I am going to build the first PC myself in the next couple of days/weeks!

I am going to use it for gaming, some CAD, some photo- and video-editing, but nothing too serious. 

 

I already assembled all of the necessary parts (I hope so) myself with the knowledge accumulated 

over the past weeks and would like to know what you think about it.

 

Here is the list. As for the prices: I am from Switzerland and can't profit from offers or special deals in the US

which makes price efficiency of my build a bit tricky.

 

Anyway, here is my planned build:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Amadeeeus/saved/#view=CtZ323

 

I'd appreciate any inputs regarding it. Could I do more with the money spent? Should I go for a different component?

 

Also, if I need anything more than that to get started (that is actually building it) I'd appreciate the info about what exactly!

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Amadeus

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Since you are getting a dvd drive it might be worth it to make it a blu ray drive instead 

but otherwise I think it is a good build

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Try this. I've made some parts cheaper for better graphical performance.

 
CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($499.99 @ Micro Center) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i GTX 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus X99-A/USB 3.1 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($254.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Crucial BX100 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($318.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Toshiba  4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($119.95 @ Adorama) 
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB AMP! Extreme Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($695.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB AMP! Extreme Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($695.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer  ($19.75 @ OutletPC) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 
Total: $3264.60
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-27 08:12 EDT-0400
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Posted

Hello everyone!

I already read quite a bit through the forums and really would like

to take advantage of the wisdom flowing around in here!  :P

 

I am going to build the first PC myself in the next couple of days/weeks!

I am going to use it for gaming, some CAD, some photo- and video-editing, but nothing too serious. 

 

I already assembled all of the necessary parts (I hope so) myself with the knowledge accumulated 

over the past weeks and would like to know what you think about it.

 

Here is the list. As for the prices: I am from Switzerland and can't profit from offers or special deals in the US

which makes price efficiency of my build a bit tricky.

 

Anyway, here is my planned build:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Amadeeeus/saved/#view=CtZ323

 

I'd appreciate any inputs regarding it. Could I do more with the money spent? Should I go for a different component?

 

Also, if I need anything more than that to get started (that is actually building it) I'd appreciate the info about what exactly!

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Amadeus

 

get a nh d15 cooler you're screwing yourself out of performance with the AIO not sure about the MOBO but I'm sure you can tone it down some.

 

the 1tb SSD is a waste just get a 128gb SSD to put your OS on use the left over money to buy another HDD

 

the PSU is WAAAY overkill PcPartPicker says you're only using 500 watts.

 

the CPU can be dialed back a little

 

and get an air 540 case

CPU: I7 4790k  CPU Cooler: NH-D15 GPU: MSI 970 4gb   Motherboard: z97 Gaming 5 PSU: Corsair hx850   Ram: Corsair Vengeance 8 gb  SSD: Samsung 850 Evo  Case: Air 540

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Well if it's purely for gaming, I'd ditch X99 completely and go with a new skylake i7/i5. I'd probably downgrade the PSU, to 750watts (850watts if you want to get another 980ti later on. And the cosmos case is overkill, I'd just go with something simple like an R5, H440 or a 750D.

 

Don't listen to the above ^

CPU: i5-4690k GPU: 280x Toxic PSU: Coolermaster V750 Motherboard: Z97X-SOC RAM: Ripjaws 1x8 1600mhz Case: Corsair 750D HDD: WD Blue 1TB

How to Build A PC|Windows 10 Review Follow the CoC and don't be a scrub~soaringchicken

 

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Nice! If you've got a 4TB HDD why not substitute the 1TB Samsung 850 with a 512GB SM951? Still more than enough space IMO and 2.2gb read and 1.6gb write! I've got one and yes it does have a real world impact on performance over standard ssds...

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JydDgs

DISPLAYS: LG 27UL500 IPS 4k60hz + HDR and LG 27GL650F IPS 1080p 144hz + HDR

 

LAPTOP: Lenovo Legion 5 CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800H GPU: RTX 3070 8GB RAM: 16GB 3200MHz (2x8GB DDR4) STORAGE: 1TB Crucial P5 NVMe SSD + 2TB Samsung 970 evo plus NVMe SSD DISPLAY: 1080p 165hz IPS OS: Windows 10 Pro x64

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If you do want 1tb of SSD space, go with my first one, but if you want it toned down a bit, go with this.


 

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($299.99 @ Micro Center) 


Motherboard: Asus X99-A/USB 3.1 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($254.99 @ SuperBiiz) 


Storage: Crucial MX200 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($94.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Toshiba  4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($119.95 @ Adorama) 

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB AMP! Extreme Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($695.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB AMP! Extreme Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($695.99 @ SuperBiiz) 



Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer  ($19.75 @ OutletPC) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $2822.96

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-27 08:17 EDT-0400

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Or for a lake in the sky go for this

 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($219.99 @ B&H) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($172.75 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Toshiba  4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($119.95 @ Adorama) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($622.20 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($622.20 @ Amazon) 
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case  ($129.99 @ Micro Center) 
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($54.89 @ OutletPC) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 
Total: $2932.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-27 08:22 EDT-0400
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If you really want a case like the cosmos 2 and in the same price range, I would go for the corsair 900D as it utilises the space that it has making it better bang for the buck. Also, I think it can fit more fans and radiators when compared to the cosmos 2.

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($569.99 @ NCIX US)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($71.98 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: Asus X99-DELUXE ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($386.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($197.88 @ Amazon)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($150.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($679.99 @ Amazon)

Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)

Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($124.98 @ Newegg)

Total: $2332.77

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-27 08:33 EDT-0400

(Read my Sig)

(Built for Stability)

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you don't need to spend that much money for a sick gaming rig

 

i would go with dual 980 ti's and a 6700k coupled with a 1440p monitor at 1 ms and 144 hertz

BigDay

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If you are crazy, want two cards in crossfire, both with 8gb of vram, go with this. Also you can do 3 way crossfire later on :D

 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15S 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VIII HERO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($227.99 @ NCIX US) 
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($185.00 @ B&H) 
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390X 8GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire)  ($429.98 @ SuperBiiz) 
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390X 8GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire)  ($429.98 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case  ($329.98 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.94 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $2790.03
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-28 03:09 EDT-0400
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@Amadeeeus

 

My only recommendations would be:

 

1. Definitely go with a 5820K over a 5930K, especially since a 5930K is really only meant for 3-4way sli where you need the extra PCIe lanes

 

2. You can easily save some costs and get windows of reddit. It's MUCH cheaper - https://www. reddit.com/r/microsoftsoftwareswap

 

3. The case you have chosen is good, however it is FRICKIN HUGE and I doubt you'll need all that room. You can easily spend half of what you chose and get a Define R5/Define S/450D/H440/Noctis 450, etc.

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Posted (edited)
  • Author

Hello Everyone!

 

Thanks so much for all of your inputs so far! 

I altered my initial build a little:

 

- I chose a 512 GB SSD (850 Pro) over a 1TB one

- I chose the Fractal Design R5 windowed case instead of the CM Cosmos II because I 

 

think it really might be overkill for my purposes (I initially thought I buy one case and then, never again - future-proofing...). Many people suggested it and I like its appearance as well!

- I still go with one GTX 980 Ti for now but I am probably adding a second one soon!

 

I have some more questions though:

1) Why exactly would you want me to choose the new Skylake over the Haswell-E processors?

I decided for the 5930K because of the PCIe lanes based on the following information:

 

 

 

The 5930K enables 40 lanes (x16, x16, x8), versus the 28 lanes (x16, x8, x4) provided by the 5820K. For one video card, that doesn't matter, but if you want the option to run multiple ultra-high-end cards, it definitely does.

 

Does one GTX 980 Ti not need a x16 Slot?

Also I want to use the PC mainly for gaming, though, I do some photo-, video- and also music-editing in my free time. 

And six cores of the Haswell-E would definitely perform better for such tasks than the four corse of the new skylake processors, wouldn't they?

 

2) What do you think of the ZOTAC GTX 980 Ti? I searched the web but I didn't really find any information that compared all (or a great deal) of the custom models of the GTX 980 Ti

out there. Can anyone help me out and maybe refer a link or anything?

 

3) If I get the R5 can I use the radiators delivered with it or should I exchange them for better ones and if so how many would I need?

 

Well if it's purely for gaming, I'd ditch X99 completely and go with a new skylake i7/i5. I'd probably downgrade the PSU, to 750watts (850watts if you want to get another 980ti later on. And the cosmos case is overkill, I'd just go with something simple like an R5, H440 or a 750D.

 

Don't listen to the above ^

 

 

you don't need to spend that much money for a sick gaming rig

 

i would go with dual 980 ti's and a 6700k coupled with a 1440p monitor at 1 ms and 144 hertz

 

 

@Amadeeeus

 

My only recommendations would be:

 

1. Definitely go with a 5820K over a 5930K, especially since a 5930K is really only meant for 3-4way sli where you need the extra PCIe lanes

 

2. You can easily save some costs and get windows of reddit. It's MUCH cheaper - https://www. reddit.com/r/microsoftsoftwareswap

 

3. The case you have chosen is good, however it is FRICKIN HUGE and I doubt you'll need all that room. You can easily spend half of what you chose and get a Define R5/Define S/450D/H440/Noctis 450, etc.

 

 

Thanks so much to all of you!!!

 

EDIT: Okay, these questions were probably not good questions and after reading a little bit more, I could answer them myself! ;) Sorry for that!

Edited by Amadeeeus
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Okay, so i UPDATED my build to look like this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 
CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($559.98 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i GTX 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus X99-A/USB 3.1 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($254.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB AMP! Extreme Video Card  ($695.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $2577.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-29 18:05 EDT-0400
 
What do you think? Some of my thoughts:
 
- New case, not as crazy as the CM Cosmos II but still enough room and good reviews! I think the R5 will be too cramped once I upgrade to two of these monstrous Zotac cards!
- I actually want to go for a smaller SSD as some of you suggested and also chose the 850 EVO over the 850 PRO since supposedly there is not much difference in performance (Just warranty, but 5 years on the EVO are fine for me!) between the two
- I deliberately did not go for a skylake since I want the two more cores for CAD/music making/video-editing of the 5930K
- I want to add a second of the Zotac cards later on (2-way SLI)
- Since the Zotac GTX 980 Ti Amp! Extreme needs two 8-pins as power supply (16 altogether) I need the 5930K over the 5820K to use two of these in SLI (since the 5820K only has 28 pins) - Correct me if I am wrong! Please, I am not sure about this!
- The PSU is overkill, but what I could save (in Switzerland) for a lower one is not much and thus I am future-proofing a little bit and have some headroom in case I decide to overclock
 
Since the Corsair H110i GTX 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler is currently out of stock in all of Switzerland... can you suggest a similar performing AIO? 
 
Thank you very much in advance!
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Okay, so i UPDATED my build to look like this:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 
CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($559.98 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i GTX 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus X99-A/USB 3.1 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($254.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB AMP! Extreme Video Card  ($695.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $2577.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-29 18:05 EDT-0400
 
What do you think? Some of my thoughts:
 
- New case, not as crazy as the CM Cosmos II but still enough room and good reviews! I think the R5 will be too cramped once I upgrade to two of these monstrous Zotac cards!
- I actually want to go for a smaller SSD as some of you suggested and also chose the 850 EVO over the 850 PRO since supposedly there is not much difference in performance (Just warranty, but 5 years on the EVO are fine for me!) between the two
- I deliberately did not go for a skylake since I want the two more cores for CAD/music making/video-editing of the 5930K
- I want to add a second of the Zotac cards later on (2-way SLI)
- Since the Zotac GTX 980 Ti Amp! Extreme needs two 8-pins as power supply (16 altogether) I need the 5930K over the 5820K to use two of these in SLI (since the 5820K only has 28 pins) - Correct me if I am wrong! Please, I am not sure about this!
- The PSU is overkill, but what I could save (in Switzerland) for a lower one is not much and thus I am future-proofing a little bit and have some headroom in case I decide to overclock
 
Since the Corsair H110i GTX 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler is currently out of stock in all of Switzerland... can you suggest a similar performing AIO? 
 
Thank you very much in advance!

 

You don't need a I-7 5830K a I-7 5820K will be fine even if you add a PCIe SSD. a corsair H100i

Good luck, Have fun, Build PC, and have a last gen console for use once a year. I should answer most of the time between 9 to 3 PST

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@Amadeeeus. 

 

What you are talking about with the GPU having 2 x 8-pins, what you are referring to is the pins for the POWER SUPPLY CABLES, which are completely separate from PCIe lanes. With your concern for not enough PCIe lanes to support a 2-way sli setup, running the cards in 8x/8x instead of 16x/16x has been proven multiple times (even on one of linus' videos) that the performance increase is very very marginal. People even run 2-way sli setups on consumer grade (20 lane) CPUs and its still completely fine.

 

If you are planning on running two of the Zotac Amp Extreme cards down the road, I would suggest also buying some extra case fans as you will definitely need adequate air cooling for such huge cards, especially with the clearance between them (i think?). 

 

If the h110i GTX is out of stock, have a look at the H100i, H100i GTX, H110, X61, H-240x coolers.

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You don't need a I-7 5830K a I-7 5820K will be fine even if you add a PCIe SSD. a corsair H100i

 

 

@Amadeeeus. 

 

What you are talking about with the GPU having 2 x 8-pins, what you are referring to is the pins for the POWER SUPPLY CABLES, which are completely separate from PCIe lanes. With your concern for not enough PCIe lanes to support a 2-way sli setup, running the cards in 8x/8x instead of 16x/16x has been proven multiple times (even on one of linus' videos) that the performance increase is very very marginal. People even run 2-way sli setups on consumer grade (20 lane) CPUs and its still completely fine.

 

If you are planning on running two of the Zotac Amp Extreme cards down the road, I would suggest also buying some extra case fans as you will definitely need adequate air cooling for such huge cards, especially with the clearance between them (i think?). 

 

If the h110i GTX is out of stock, have a look at the H100i, H100i GTX, H110, X61, H-240x coolers.

 

Thanks for the inputs! 

 

I found what you were talking about: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/228327-pcie-lanes-pcie-8x-vs-16x-in-sli/

I think I'll go with the 5820K then and save another $200 which I'll spend for a nice display! 

 

Thanks so much everyone!

Really appreciated the help I got here! ;)

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