3.5k (Canadian) Build Critique

[azorahai]

Hi all,

 

This is my first build and am officially switching from Mac to PC. I will be using this PC mainly for gaming and audio recording (Ableton).

 

Please critique my specs. Price is around 3.5k Canadian pre tax.

 

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/NfcCNG

 

CPU: Intel Skylake 6700k ($512)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55.0 CFM ($80)

Motherboard: Asus Maximus VIII Hero ATX LGA1151 ($290)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 ($249)

Storage: Samsung 950 Pro 512GB M.2-2280 SSD ($429)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB STRIX ($916)

Case: Lian-Li PC-O8 ($560)

Power Supply: SeaSonic Platinum 860W 80+ Platinum Fully Modular ($240)

Operating System: Windows 10 Home ($122)

Case Fans: BitFenix Spectre Pro LED 56.2 CFM 120mm Fan (x6 - with fan extension enabled) (aprox. $110)

 

-----$3,500 + 13% sales tax.

[Fictionvl]

You don't need the LEDs there are already in the case <------- don't mind this

[azorahai]

You don't need the LEDs there are already in the case

 

 

Correct, but these fans are even sexier than the stock ones. It looks awesome.

[Fictionvl]

Correct, but these fans are even sexier than the stock ones. It looks awesome.

Yeah I thought you had the alchemy set nvm good stuff

[zlolslavez]

Imo you don't need that SSD or Motherboard

 

everything else is good

[GalacticRuler]

You DON'T need a $500 case.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($513.22 @ Vuugo) 

CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($155.98 @ Newegg Canada) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X99-GAMING 5 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($249.88 @ Canada Computers) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($249.00 @ Canada Computers) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($198.98 @ DirectCanada) 

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB AMP! Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($819.99 @ NCIX) 

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB AMP! Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($819.99 @ NCIX) 

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  ($127.99 @ Amazon Canada) 

Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($195.00 @ shopRBC) 

Total: $3330.03

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-24 18:47 EST-0500

[theninja35]

Do you really want or need such an expensive case? Why not get a cheaper case and then get some more storage/SSD space?

[azorahai]

You guys are right. The case is totally overkill, though it is sexy as hell. Regarding the NZXT liquid cooler - this sounds great, but since it is my first build I don't know if liquid cooling would be the best idea, no?

[azorahai]

Anything else?

[jimakos234]

Anything else?

idk, do you really need a platinum psu? you could be fine with a gold seasonic/evga g2/gs/gq unit

also 32 gb ram are a bit overkill, but if you need all of them it is ok, otherwise 16 is fine.

and maybe get  the 256 of the pro and a 850 evo/sandisk ultra ii  1tb and a hdd?

finally, check out the noctua nh-d14/15, or the be quiet dark rock pro 3 or a good AIO

and avoid the asus gpu, get a MSI/EVGA/Zotac 980 ti

i would opt for a 5820k, since having more cores will help with the audio tasks you want

something like this

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($513.22 @ Vuugo)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i GTX 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($114.95 @ NCIX)

Motherboard: Asus X99-A/USB 3.1 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($319.97 @ DirectCanada)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 32GB (8 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($328.98 @ Newegg Canada)

Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($245.00 @ Canada Computers)

Storage: Sandisk Ultra II 960GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($319.00 @ Canada Computers)

Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($268.98 @ DirectCanada)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB FTW ACX 2.0+ Video Card  ($872.99 @ Newegg Canada)

Case: Corsair 750D Airflow Edition ATX Full Tower Case  ($208.98 @ DirectCanada)

Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($179.98 @ Newegg Canada)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($122.00 @ shopRBC)

Total: $3494.05

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-24 20:26 EST-0500

[azorahai]

Thx though it is a myth that audio engineers need more than 4 cores. Ableton has confirmed that their software was written to the nly utilize 4 cores and plugins will behind from a higher clock speed and not core count. Sure I could get a 5820k and overclock it to 4.5ghz but I'd also be stuck with an older board.

HDDs are not an option. Noisy, unreliable, slow.

[brob]

You might consider going with an NH-D15 cpu cooler instead of the NH-U12S. Bigger, but will provide better cooling.

 

The case is really made for liquid cooling. The Nzxt Kraken X61 would be a good choice if one does not want to get into a custom loop. Mounting it on the cpu is actually easier than an air tower cooler. The radiator is a simple to mount as a couple of fans. No mess, no fuss, and looks good.

[azorahai]

You might consider going with an NH-D15 cpu cooler instead of the NH-U12S. Bigger, but will provide better cooling.

The case is really made for liquid cooling. The Nzxt Kraken X61 would be a good choice if one does not want to get into a custom loop. Mounting it on the cpu is actually easier than an air tower cooler. The radiator is a simple to mount as a couple of fans. No mess, n

o fus

s, and looks good.

Hardware canucks had problems liquid cooling this case. Not enough space with the rad up top.

[GalacticRuler]

Thx though it is a myth that audio engineers need more than 4 cores. Ableton has confirmed that their software was written to the nly utilize 4 cores and plugins will behind from a higher clock speed and not core count. Sure I could get a 5820k and overclock it to 4.5ghz but I'd also be stuck with an older board.

HDDs are not an option. Noisy, unreliable, slow.

It has been confirmed that Broadwell-E will use the LGA 2011-3 socket on the X99 chipset, so you will still be able to upgrade and use your board.

[brob]

Hardware canucks had problems liquid cooling this case. Not enough space with the rad up top.

 

Hardwarecanucks shows an assembly with a rear and top mount radiator. With a single radiator, there is room up top. But one can also mount the radiator as intake in the psu chamber, as shown at the end of the video. I actually like that option as it leaves the motherboard completely exposed. The H100i GTX would be a good choice for that option. (One would mount the radiator and pass the cpu interface block through the passthrough before mounting the motherboard.)

 

As awesome as the case looks, it should not be mistaken for one that is easy to build in. Regardless of the parts list, it will take patience and much careful planning to achieve a good looking system with the least amount of frustration.