Rig Planning & Advice Needed- 2 Grand Build ($CAD)

[Rofltropter]

Hello to the wonderful LTT community! Greetings from a Canadian fan. 

 

I am embarking on the ever fantastic quest that is building a new PC.  I am moving up in the world and am completely selling my old rig (Summary is: EVGA 1060 SSC, Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz (permanently running at 3.6 due to some tweaking), run of the mill 2tb HDD, 120Gb SSD, Corsair RM650W Gold PSU, 4x4 16GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1600MHz, GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-SLI LGA 1150 motherboard, and NZXT Phantom 240 case). "Why are you telling me these things?" you may ask! Well, ponder no longer! I am looking to the best techies on the web for some build suggestions here! Whether you're an avid custom builder and have experience to share, or you're a veteran of the industry, I want to hear it all! Any advice is appreciated! Don't be afraid to delve into specifics and technicalities, I'm a computer engineer so I won't be confused easily. 

 

The Purpose:

Build an entirely new PC from scratch, for both an upgrade and a learning experience. 

 

The Usage:

A gaming/Editing rig that can stand up to VR, and 2k Gaming, while being slightly proficient at 4k Gaming(50-60fps range or under, limit being 30fps). 

 

The Peripherals:

Currently, I have a 24" 1080p monitor, and a 28" 4k monitor. Both are sub par, and the 4k monitor can only do 30fps, but is a great asset for my engineering work due to efficiency, and the 1080p monitor is a 5ms response time monitor. Nothing to brag about. I have an excellent mechanical keyboard, mouse, headphones, and microphone, so nothing needs to be bought in that department. At this point in time, I don't really need a new display, but a 2k g-sync capable display would be superb. If the build allows for it, maybe even 4k?

 

The Specifics:

 

CPU:

I would like something possibly overclockable and in the i7 range of things. This is one category that I am definitely lost in. A K series for overclocking would be lovely, especially if I implement a water cooling solution, but definitely something that sits around the high 3's is a must. 

 

GPU:

So this one is a bit tricky. As we speak, I actually have both an EVGA 1050 Ti SC and an EVGA 1060 SSC. I could end up selling the old pc with one or the other, based on advice on whether the 1060 SSC is a good enough card for a build of this kind. If not, I'll just sell it off. I would like to dish out a 1080 or 1070 if possible but everything is debatable. SLI is really not something I am looking for but if the card is capable of it, that is a plus I guess.

 

PSU:

 This one really has no bearing to me. Given how the demand of the system will vary, but will be pretty high most of the time, a 750W or higher power supply with a Gold or platinum rating would be the most optimal. 

 

Case:

I'm looking for either a mid or a full sized case. I'm a bit of a stickler for aesthetics so a good looking case is a must. My current case has 6 3.5" drive bays so I would like to keep that amount at least. Something with the space for water cooling is probably a good idea, given that that is the path I am thinking about for now. If it has LED's that's great, but I would like to get something that I can customize if needed. Something with at least two, not completely terrible fans would be nice aswell. 

 

RAM:

Essentially, it has to be DDR4, and compatible with the rest of the board. I'm not really picky on specifics. At least 16Gb, and in any configuration needed for best cost(4x4 or 8x2) 

Motherboard:

So I would like to have a half decent motherboard here, for the sake of future proofing, maybe an Asus Z170 ATX board or something of the sort. Doesn't have to support SLI although most boards of this tier do. Something with an isolated sound module would be nice however. 

Cooling:

So this is where it gets debatable. I would like to do CPU liquid cooling, maybe something like the Corsair H100i v2 cooler, but I have never installed or maintained water cooling before. On the topic of case cooling, I am really not a stickler for noise, so usually case fans don't bug me, but if needed, I could do with some nicer fans if things will run a little too hot. 

 

Memory:

An SSD and HDD mix is essential for this build, and right now, a 120GB SSD isn't the biggest. A 240GB SSD and a 2-4 TB HDD hard drive will most likely be the best combination. I might actually be snagging a 4TB Black 7200RPM drive with it's 5 year warranty for $125 on my local kijiji classifieds anyway, so that might end up as my main storage solution. 

 

Visuals:

Overall, I would like to do some LED work if needed. I want the case to either glow, or be visually appeasing from the start. 

 

 

 

Thanks in advance guys! This is a pretty long term build, and I expect to be working from my laptop for a while during the build, and the buying won't start till I sell my previous rig, but I am definitely looking for solid advice and I've heard y'all are the best in the biz.

 

Cheers,

Dan 

 

[Beskamir]

Ryzen is launching soon so maybe you should wait for it rather than getting something now? (That said it may or may not be as good as the hype is making it out to be)

[R3ep3r]

As far as I read the ryzen may be at the same price as the sixth gen of i7 so it won't make any difference at all.

I would go with an I7 7700k(for this CPU I would go with water cooling since I heard kaby lake gets HOT), a Z270 because it has better OC support, I would get a 1070(or if your budget is big enough, why not a 1080?), a Corsair CS850, a Cooler master Master Case and 16GB of HyperX and for SSD/HDD I would try to pair them. A 240gb SSD M2 due to its' speed and a WD Black 1tb or 2(since it's available and why not)

Uh.. and for the leds you were talking about. A 5050 5m RGB led strip with bluetooth or wireless remote for some nice lighting. 

[dizmo]

At this point I have to agree, best to wait and see what happens with Ryzen. Unless you're in a hurry.

Either way, this is a build that works for what you're looking for.

I included some of the parts you mentioned.

The SSD isn't insane 960 EVO fast, but it's considerably cheaper and much faster than a SATA SSD.

Don't know how many 3.5" drives the case has, but why do you want 6? At that point I'd say it's time for a NAS.

You can add an NZXT Hue+ for $60ish.

EVGA has amazing warranty support. So I went with them.

I couldn't fit a monitor in, 2.5k monitors are pricey up here. Wait for Black Friday, or source one south of the 49th.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($453.98 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($129.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: MSI Z270 GAMING M3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($213.38 @ shopRBC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-3300 Memory  ($127.79 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Intel 600p Series 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($242.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($125.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card  ($529.99 @ NCIX)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($67.49 @ Amazon Canada)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($109.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $2000.59

 

Welcome to the forum!

Remember, there are countless ways to spec out a system. Each one has its pros and cons, only you can decide what's best for your use case

 

[Rofltropter]

Oh wow.

Wasn't expecting that much advice so soon!

 

I'll break it down.

I need a large amount of drive bays due to the virtualization I run in the background. I run VMware and have multiple test environments that I like to test on box before I roll the drive out to my dedicated server box. Essentially, I run all the drives in my main PC in a virtualized environment for testing and config. Therefore I need to be able to support about 6 drives at one time going at it full tilt.

 

So far this stuff looks great, and since this isn't an immediate build, Ryzen might end up being my option. If it's out of budget, I might end up switching to a 6th gen i7 because those are bound to drop in price with the release of the new tech. 

[Rofltropter]

Also, on the whole Ryzen ordeal. I'm woefully loyal to the Intel series, and given that I work for a company whose essential sponsor is Intel, I'll get second looks from an AMD build

[Rofltropter]

Secondary question. Do you guys recommend buying in bulk once I am ready, or spreading out the buying over a longer period of time? Not actually sure if that will mean I get charged more or less if a few of the parts are from the same company.