Looking for feedback on my new Skylake build with a "quiet" theme! ($CAD / i7-6700k / 980 Ti)

[Gahble]

Overview:

 

I'm going to be moving out soon, and need a new PC.  I'll be using it extensively, both for work and recreation, so my needs are pretty broad.  Here's a short list of what I'm looking for:

• Quiet / Nondescript build
• Gaming / Potentially VR when available
• Programming / Embedded development
• Running several VMs
• Media consumption (TV shows / movies)
• Everyday use / heavy multi-tasking

Target Performance:

 

Currently: Very-high / Ultra settings on most games at 1440p / 60+ FPS.
Eventually: Very-high / Ultra settings on most games at 1440p / 144Hz / 60+ FPS.

(See details below on monitor selection for additional info)

 

Budget:

Flexible. (I'm buying the parts in Canada, so all prices are listed in $CAD)

 

Build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($509.50 @ Vuugo)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($109.95 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($199.98 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($144.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($196.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($92.98 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card  ($909.98 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($144.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($182.98 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($24.08 @ Vuugo)
Monitor: Dell U2715H 60Hz 27.0" Monitor  ($749.99 @ NCIX)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($159.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $3426.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-20 09:41 EST-0500

 

Details:

Price

The monitor was $550 during Black Friday, so I'll probably be waiting until it hits that price again (hopefully around boxing day - Dell seems to be pretty willing to negotiate on the price of their higher-end monitors, surprisingly - and will often honor past sale prices even after the sale has ended).  Subtract ~$200 from the total price for this adjustment.

CPU

I chose the i7 6700K mostly for "future-proofness" (I know some of you will be rolling your eyes at 'future-proofing' - believe me, I understand), however, I will be doing some moderately heavy computing, and the additional power that the i7 provides will be nice to have.

I took a similar approach ~5 years ago with my current machine, and while I've upgraded my RAM / video card / storage, that build is still serving me very well today.  I don't mind the additional cost if this build will serve me well for the next 5 years with a few upgrades along the way.

CPU Cooler

In keeping with the quiet theme of the build, the Noctua NH-D15 seemed like a great choice, as it's both quiet and has great thermal performance.

 

Motherboard

 

This one was a bit of a toss-up for me, and admittedly, I just chose one that seemed to have good reviews.  If anyone wants to comment on this board further, I'll be listening.

Memory

16GB DDR4 to go with the Skylake build.  I chose 2x 8GB so that I have room to upgrade to 32GB down the road if necessary.

Storage

Not too much to say here.  The WD Black HHD and Samsung 850 EVO SSD seems to be great choices that many people recommend, so they were easy choices.  The R5 case has plenty of room for additional drives if I decide to get more storage later on.

Video Card

The 980 Ti seems like a great card, and it will be the first time going with nVidia after running an AMD 7970 and previously, a 5870 card for so long.  Having a card that runs quiet is important, so I've settled on the MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB, which seems to do well in this area (the fans don't even run while idle).  I debated going with the MSI 980 Ti Lightning, but I don't do a lot of overclocking so I figured it's probably not worth it for me, especially considering the additional cost.

My only concern with choosing nVidia is that it seems to pigeon-hole me into eventually choosing a G-SYNC monitor as opposed to Freesync.  I suppose this is the gamble that everyone faces when choosing nVidia vs. AMD at the moment though.

Case

Again, since I'm wanting a quiet build, the Fractal Design Define R5 was a no-brainer.  I'm choosing the windowless version, because I'm not very picky about the aesthetics of the build; I've chosen the parts in this build for the functionality / features they provide over their appearance.  The tower will likely be under my desk anyway.  No frills / gimmicks like flashy lights and colourful highlights - just quiet and nondescript.

Question:  Will the default fans on the R5 be sufficient, or should I be looking at getting some additional fans?  As far as I'm aware, the default fans should provide more than enough cooling for my build.

Power Supply

The EVGA 750 / 850 80+ Gold seems to be a great choice, and apparently runs very quiet.  I went with the 850W supply since it gives some extra headroom if I eventually decided to pick up another video card down the road and run SLI.

Question:  Would I be better off getting the 1000W if I ever decided to pick up a second 980 Ti, or would 850W be sufficient?

Monitor

While I'm excited to get a 1440p / 144Hz monitor, I'm not super thrilled with the existing choices for 1440p / 144Hz / IPS at the moment (most seem rather gaudy with logos and other gaming 'flair' everywhere, and many seem to be running into a number of quality-control issues that I'd honestly rather not have to deal with), so I'm going with a 1440p 27" Dell for now.  I really like Dell for their warranty and overall look to their monitors - very clean design with no unnecessary bells and whistles.  I'm currently running a U2410 / U2412M combo on my current setup and have been very happy with these monitors.  (The U2410 has recently started to show some screen burn-in, however it's around 5 years old at this point).

For now, I'll likely be running the U2715H as my primary screen, with one of my current monitors as a secondary screen.  Once I find a 1440p / 144Hz / IPS monitor that I like, I'll use that as my primary, and the U2715H as the secondary screen.

Keyboard / Mouse / Other

I've decided to take the leap and get a mechanical keyboard.  I don't like the loud clicky ones, so I've settled on Cherry MX Brown switches since they seem to quieter.  I may get the O-rings to reduce the noise further if I find the browns too loud.  The K70 seems like a good keyboard from what I've read.  I don't need any RGB flashiness, however, it would have been nice if they had a couple rows of G-Keys for macros, since I'm used to typing on a Logitech G110 that has 12 G-keys (I use them primarily for productivity / convenience as opposed to gaming; stuff like sound / volume control / opening common programs, etc...).  I'm sure I could get used to the K70, however.  I could probably bind some of those common functions that I use the G-keys for onto my mouse instead (I use a G400s, and will likely continue to use it in my new build).

I also picked up an optical drive because it's pretty inexpensive and I still have some old CD's with backups floating around.  As for audio, I'll be using Audio Technica ATH-M50s headphones that I already own.  As for the OS - I'll likely be running Windows 10 Professional on my main machine, and a several others in some VMs.

Thanks

Thanks for reading.  Feedback is appreciated!

[refinedskillz]

Great!

[Nishizumi]

850W is fine for the SLI. The R5s fans are pretty decent and should last you a good while but definitely consider getting either better fans to replace the existing ones or add more to fans to the front (don't want any top fans since that will require taking out the moduvents which will make things louder.

[Gahble]

850W is fine for the SLI. The R5s fans are pretty decent and should last you a good while but definitely consider getting either better fans to replace the existing ones or add more to fans to the front (don't want any top fans since that will require taking out the moduvents which will make things louder.

 

Thanks for the feedback!  Do you have any recommendations as to which fans to get for the R5 if I were to get some some extras?