PCGeek

I would get the best GPU you can afford, then CPU, motrherboard and work back from there. God I know how confusing it is I just got back into it a year ago

I went with a non-SFF case since it gives you more breathing room and ease of maintenance.
 
Here you go:
PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RP2wD8 
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RP2wD8/by_merchant/
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($328.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($96.99 @ Jet) 
Motherboard: EVGA Z170 Stinger Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($121.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($96.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($308.18 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Founders Edition Video Card  ($439.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Fractal Design Define Nano S Mini ITX Desktop Case  ($64.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: Corsair RM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Corsair) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($85.00 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1663.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-02 07:32 EST-0500

I went with a non-SFF case since it gives you more breathing room and ease of maintenance.
 
Here you go:
PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RP2wD8 
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RP2wD8/by_merchant/
CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($328.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($96.99 @ Jet) 
Motherboard: EVGA Z170 Stinger Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($121.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($96.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($308.18 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Founders Edition Video Card  ($439.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Fractal Design Define Nano S Mini ITX Desktop Case  ($64.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: Corsair RM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Corsair) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($85.00 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1663.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-02 07:32 EST-0500

It's just thermal compound that's dried.  Use some Isopropyl Alcohol to remove and reapply some regular thermal compound.

I like the XPS 15.  Good choice.  

If you run a Perfmon you could track the IO and disk queue times to see if you are hitting limits on the HDD.  If the game is storing data that is optimized for sequential read then it should run fine on the HDD, granted you are not seeing issues with latency (this is would generally be determined by your seek times and rotational speeds).  If you see a lot of random reads then move it to the SSDs.  

So you probably should set it to static.  To do that do the following:
 
Comment out the "iface enp2s0 inet dhcp" line by adding a hash in front of it.  Underneath it add the following lines:
iface enp2s0 inet static
address 192.168.0.9  # or whatever static IP you want.  Ensure that it's not one that is part of your DHCP scope
netmask 255.255.255.0
network 192.168.0.0
broadcast 192.168.0.255
gateway 192.168.0.1
 
In your /etc/resolv.conf file ensure you have your name servers identified like the following example:
search localdomain # or whatever your local name suffix is
nameserver 8.8.8.8 # google DNS
nameserver 8.8.4.4
 
Now you can't just access it by it's computer name, that's what I meant by name resolution.  You need a way to translate the name into an IP address.  IMO I would just use pure IP addresses in your setup to start.  Read up on "HOSTS files" which are just text files that sit in /etc/hosts for *NIX machines and c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts on Windows machines.  HOSTS files basically tell the client for a certain name map to a certain IP.  Okay for testing but other than that they are pure evil and pain to manage.  DNS is more elegant but again requires additional skills and complexity.  Windows machines talk to each other natively due to the fact they uses NetBIOS. You can use that on Linux as well but I generally steer away from it for various reasons.
 
Hope this helps  
 
 

Of course a new Skylake CPU would increase performance but Ivy Bridge is still very capable and I wouldn't hesitate using that GPU with that CPU.

Your HDD doesn't have to show up in the boot priority to be addressable.  The reason you see your SSD with Windows Boot Manager in the boot priority is because with UEFI it's where current boot manager stores the EFI.  Are you looking to boot off the HDD instead? I'm assuming you wouldn't.

Of course a new Skylake CPU would increase performance but Ivy Bridge is still very capable and I wouldn't hesitate using that GPU with that CPU.

The capacitors inside the PSU can hold a charge that an electrocute you even when it's unplugged.  Generally you ground the PSU to drain the charge before tinkering with it.  If unsure don't attempt it for your own safety.  75USD on a new PSU is better than getting physically hurt.

As others have said I would look at a Core i3-6xxx series since you can always upgrade the CPU with that motherboard platform.  You also get to use DDR4 which you can also reuse.  Other recommendation would be to get an SSD or at least a get a WD Black or Seagate Barracuda with 64MB cache instead for the time being until you can get an SSD to add in as a boot drive.  For the PSU I would recommend going to at least a 550W so you can have a bit more expansion in the future as this is a component that you can future proof.

Allthough I don't like it but Mastercase 5 seems to come close to what you want. But it's just as large as your Stormtrooper from the looks of it (did no research at all though)

Almost any TIM will work as long as it's electrically non-conductive.
 
I can recommend Grizzly Kryonaut and Arctic Silver 5.

@XenosTech
I have the same cooler and paste, but on a 6700k. It does keep temps lower than the provided Noctua paste, but to be honest, I don't think it's really that big of deal. Buy paste if you need some. If you already have some dont buy some, it's probably good enough IMO
 
Arctic Silver 5 is pretty much the go to paste for liquid cooling. Arctic Cooling MX-4 is the best for air cooling.
 
If you're buying paste, buy Arctic Cooling MX-4.
http://nerdtechy.com/best-thermal-paste-reviews

My problem with AS5 is that it requires curing and has a tendency to dry out after a couple of years.  Generally it doesn't matter to most if they are upgrading at that interval anyway.  In the early days, another reason I switched from AS5 to IC Diamond because the AS5 was conductive but they did change the formula shortly afterwards.

I once had a customer in Philippines who were using a peering arrangement where they were routing traffic through NTT Data in Japan before getting the traffic to Hong Kong where they could have routed it directly from Philippines in Batangas to Hong Kong.  I requested they make this change and the latency went from >90ms to 24ms.

The 1050Ti is okay for 1080p gaming.  I'm not sure what the price per FPS is but that's really the metric to follow IMO.  The PSU is one of the most important components in the build and it also is where you can future proof since prices don't fluctuate much with PSUs.  I would recommend going for a 80Plus Gold Corsair, Seasonic, EVGA or Cooler Master.  Try to go for a ~200GB SSD for a boot drive.  Everything looks okay for a budget gamer.

I also agree that it's worth it to go for a GTX 1050Ti.  Kyle at Bitwit did a good review on one as did Luke at LTT.  The card that they reviewed was the MSI GTX 1050Ti and it performed well along with good acoustics.

Hello so I've recently bought a G502 Proteus Spectrum mouse. As a lot of people states "it's not good for big hands", "it doesn't go well with claw grip" and so on I thought I'd post my thoughts on this mouse. So let's start. The mouse is rather heavy compared to other FPS labeled mice but I didn't find my hand getting tired after long periods of use. Also I did not add more weight on it. I have rather big hands and use a sort of claw-palm mix grip where I like to put my palm fully on the back of a mouse and keep my fingers bent. The mouse feels very nice there's no problems with claw or full grip what so ever so I'ts all bolony that you won't ne able to use it. Also I did find my thumb right in the thumbrest next to the sniper button naturally. Also I have big hands I'm a fluffy boi. The buttons are at very good position I can reach them with ease whenever I play and I don't really need to extensively think qbout reaching all these buttons. The build quality is really solid and the futuristic sort of design really doesn't feel like something unnatural or something wrong in your hand. Now there's one thing that I find strange in a mouse. It's a scroll wheel. Don't panic it's good. But the stepping is rather strange when the wheel is locked. The steps are "big" and I don't love it or hate it it's just strange. Probably gonna get used to it and win't feel it at all. Now what I do love is the unlocked button. Oh my god it's good. And I was really sceptical about it but when I tried it I now know what kind of scroll wheel I love the most. Now the performance of a mouse is good and tracking is really good I tried it on my goliathus pad and on a raw table. It tracked everywhere and it did it good. I guess that PMW 3366 is not that bad at all. The software is really good. I only tried synapse before and trust me G software is on the G spot. It's responsive it has all the functions it has the profiles and it doesn't load for a whole 3 minutes. What else can u want from it? Although I foumd one funny thing that to make my dpi setting illuminated at all times I sort of had to go to the softwares options instead of mouse ilumination options. That was strange but still the software is very good.
 
To sum it up I would say if you have big hands or you claw grip definetly try this and don't listen to all the bolony that it's small. It might look small at first but when you grab it's just right. Now the question of all times... Is it better than a deathadder? And the answer is... Yes. I would pick up G502 instead of a Deathadder anytime. I found the thumb rest way morencomfortable, the buttons of better quality (Deathadders side buttons are sort of glued to a plastic frame and they have their own plastic small frame that I broke off in every single adder I had). So I definetly recommend it for any kind of grips and sizes since my bread shaped hands fit nicely on it. And is it worth 94.99$? Ummmmm that's really for you to decide. That's a lot of money for a mouse. I got.it for around 50$ on amazon sale so for me it's very well wirth the 50$. And now that I have used it for quite a bit I would pay 94.99$ for the next G502. So folks that was my sort of thoughts on this mouse. I won't give it a rating since I'm not a fan of the ratings it's either good or bad. And it's good definetly a thumbs up from me. Thanks for reading lel.

The G502 Proteus Spectrum is my daily driver and I love it.  The only gripe I have is that I wish the wheel was grippier.

If you want to play around with it, maybe set up a small virtual machine on your windows machine via Virtualbox. Lots of free tutorials out there on how to install ubuntu/arch/centos/mint/WHATEVER FLAVOUR. Beware that you will not be able to install that virtual machine to your real machine when time comes. You'll need to redo your work if you want to physically dualboot.
 
About customising.. little experience in customising Linux'es. I just run with different flavours.
I've used Mint, CentOs, Ubuntu in virtual machines and i'm planning on installing either Arch or some Elementary OS (because it looks so sexy) to a new SSD together with my current windows install.

When semiconductors are produced there are manufacturing tolerances.  Generally it's related to frequency when it comes to CPUs and GPUs.  Features are all fine and cores all work but it may not overclock as well as another identical chip.  As long as it meets the specified frequencies and tolerances it will be released.
 
There are other parts to this as well.  Sometimes cores or cache is faulty and that is when it gets sold as a lower spec chip.  For example if a quad core has a faulty core it may get disabled and sold as a dual core.  Same thing happens with GPUs.  
 
Back in the days of the 486DX they had integrated FPUs where previously it was separate.  If the 486 had a faulty FPU it would be disabled and sold as a 486SX which was the same chip but with a broken FPU.
 
Memory also goes through this as some memory will be faster than others due to the binning process.  Another aspect of this is there are only a few memory chip manufacturers and the binning process also extends to who gets the better chips.  For example Micron who manufactures the chips may give Corsair first selection at the chips.

144hz for FPS games
4k for MMO's
 
Even with the best hardware you will still get low FPS trying to run games at 4k. I think 1440p/144hz is still the sweet spot for gaming. 4k should be ready in 2-3 years.

Of course a new Skylake CPU would increase performance but Ivy Bridge is still very capable and I wouldn't hesitate using that GPU with that CPU.