First Ever Build - Any Suggestions?

[GuyWithGreatPosture]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gmJnbv

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gmJnbv/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($199.88 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: MSI H170A PC Mate ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($104.99 @ Amazon) 

Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($41.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($81.49 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($119.75 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card  ($299.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($37.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($74.88 @ Mac Mall) 

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($15.99 @ Newegg) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.88 @ OutletPC) 

Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($4.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $1071.82

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

 

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-27 12:07 EST-0500

 

1. Budget & Location
Budget less than $1,100, for the PC itself, not including the peripherals. If needed, budget can exceed $1,100. (US)
 

2. Aim
This system will mostly be used for gaming, & some web browsing. Games like Far Cry 4, Battlefield 4, Portal 2, GTA V, etc. Hoping to exceed 60 fps consistently on Highest settings.
 

3. Monitors
I plan on using only 1 monitor, it being 1920 x 1080, at 144hz & 1 ms.

4. Peripherals
Also need to purchase a gaming mouse, keyboard, & headset. I'd like the mouse & keyboard to be less than $50 each, & the headset less than $100. A good sound system for gaming also would be helpful, around $100, if you have any suggestions. I will need Windows 10.

[kameshss]

Get this instead.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($89.75 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($37.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($81.49 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Western Digital Blue 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($77.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390X 8GB Tri-X OC Video Card  ($398.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($31.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($71.50 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($15.99 @ Newegg) 

Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($4.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $1055.64

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-27 12:21 EST-0500

 

 

High quality PSU, WD Blue has more value to price. WD Black is overpriced.

 

You can OC non k CPU with Z170 mobo.

[Master Disaster]

Get this instead.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($89.75 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($37.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($81.49 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Western Digital Blue 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($77.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390X 8GB Tri-X OC Video Card  ($398.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($31.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($71.50 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($15.99 @ Newegg) 

Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($4.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $1055.64

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-27 12:21 EST-0500

 

 

High quality PSU, WD Blue has more value to price. WD Black is overpriced.

 

You can OC non k CPU with Z170 mobo.

Much better build but afaik Gigabyte haven't released a non k oc UEFI yet.

[Baionoido]

Get this instead.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($89.75 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($37.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($81.49 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Western Digital Blue 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($77.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390X 8GB Tri-X OC Video Card  ($398.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($31.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($71.50 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($15.99 @ Newegg) 

Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($4.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $1055.64

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-27 12:21 EST-0500

 

 

High quality PSU, WD Blue has more value to price. WD Black is overpriced.

 

You can OC non k CPU with Z170 mobo.

 

Get 2x4 sticks of RAM, not 1 stick.

[kameshss]

Much better build but afaik Gigabyte haven't released a non k oc UEFI yet.

Oh, sorry. I though I selected AsRock.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Pro4S Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($98.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($37.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($81.49 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Western Digital Blue 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($77.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390X 8GB Tri-X OC Video Card  ($398.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($31.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($71.50 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($15.99 @ Newegg) 

Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($4.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $1064.88

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-27 12:25 EST-0500

 

Either way, they're gonna release it very soon.

[kameshss]

Get 2x4 sticks of RAM, not 1 stick.

Not gonna make much difference.

 

But yeah, you can add 2x4.

[AndrewOC]

Ssd is not the fastest but for os it is perfectly capable. Only $3 over your budget as well and with a k skew

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KbHWHx

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KbHWHx/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($223.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($92.98 @ Newegg)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.98 @ OutletPC

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($41.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($38.99 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($299.99 @ NCIX US)

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)

Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($19.99 @ Newegg)

Headphones: Kingston HyperX Cloud Headset ($67.99 @ Amazon)

Total: $1097.25

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-27 12:33 EST-0500

[AndrewOC]

Not gonna make much difference.

 

But yeah, you can add 2x4.

It will make a difference... it will utilize dual channel memory

[kameshss]

It will make a difference... it will utilize dual channel memory

Not gonna make much or noticeable difference in Gaming.

 

But if the motherboard has 4 slots, 2x4 is good way.

 

But I prefer adding single stick all the time. It has better road to upgradeability on 2 slot motherboards.

[GuyWithGreatPosture]

Ssd is not the fastest but for os it is perfectly capable. Under your budget as well and with a k skew.

If you want you can go with a cheaper 970/390 and then get a cpu cooler such as a 212 evo

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VDdb7P

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VDdb7P/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($223.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($92.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($41.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($38.99 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($318.49 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)

Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($19.99 @ Newegg)

Headphones: Kingston HyperX Cloud Headset ($67.99 @ Amazon)

Total: $1097.25

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-27 12:33 EST-0500

I see that there is a couple compatibility notes in this build, will that have any major impact on the build?

[AndrewOC]

I see that there is a couple compatibility notes in this build, will that have any major impact on the build?

I changed it around a bit

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KbHWHx

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KbHWHx/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($223.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.98 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($92.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($41.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($38.99 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($299.99 @ NCIX US)

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)

Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($19.99 @ Newegg)

Headphones: Kingston HyperX Cloud Headset ($67.99 @ Amazon)

Total: $1103.73

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-27 12:46 EST-0500

[kameshss]

I changed it around a bit

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KbHWHx

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KbHWHx/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($223.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.98 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($92.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($41.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($38.99 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($299.99 @ NCIX US)

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)

Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($19.99 @ Newegg)

Headphones: Kingston HyperX Cloud Headset ($67.99 @ Amazon)

Total: $1103.73

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-27 12:46 EST-0500

An R9 390x can compete with GTX 980, but not all the time.

 

Still powerful than a 970.

[AndrewOC]

An R9 390x can compete with GTX 980, but not all the time.

Still powerful than a 970.

You forgot to add peripherals so it would be well over his budget and you didnt add windows. As nice as it would to have a 390x/980 its not really possible with that budget

[kameshss]

You forgot to add peripherals so it would be well over his budget and you didnt add windows

 

@GuyWithGreatPosture

 

Logitech G105 for $35 and G402 for $40

 

Kingston HyperX Cloud II is a great gaming headset and priced at $89.99, $99.

 

I'd recommend Mackie CR3, It's a great pair of speakers! but if you wanna sub woofer, get Logitech Z623, It's nice too!

 

For Windows 10, Get the Windows 8 Pro for $20 on Reddit/MicrosoftSoftwareSwap and update to Windows 8.1 and then Upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for free.

[AndrewOC]

@GuyWithGreatPosture

Logitech G105 for $35 and G402 for $40

Kingston HyperX Cloud II is a great gaming headset and priced at $89.99

I'd recommend Mackie CR3, It's a great pair of speakers! but if you wanna sub woofer, get Logitech Z623, It's nice too!

For Windows 10, Get the Windows 8 Pro for $20 on Reddit/MicrosoftSoftwareSwap and update to Windows 8.1 and then Upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for free.

Thats well over the budget. The cloud 2 is $99 as well

[kameshss]

Thats well over the budget. The cloud 2 is $99 as well

He asked headset within $100.

 

He didn't mention that these has to be included in the system budget.

 

Also he mentioned "Budget less than $1,100, in the US. If needed, budget can exceed $1,100.".

 

But still, he didn't mention anything about peripheral's budget has to be included in the system budget.

[GuyWithGreatPosture]

He asked headset within $100.

 

He didn't mention that these has to be included in the system budget.

 

Also he mentioned "Budget less than $1,100, in the US. If needed, budget can exceed $1,100.".

 

But still, he didn't mention anything about peripheral's budget has to be included in the system budget.

The budget of $1,100 is ONLY for the PC itself, not including the peripherals. The mouse, keyboard, & headset have a budget of less than $200. My bad for not clearing this up. And also, I mistakenly replied to AndrewOC, instead of kameshss, when asking about the incompatibility notes in his build. My mistake. Could you try to fix the incompatibilities?

[kameshss]

The budget of $1,100 is ONLY for the PC itself, not including the peripherals. The mouse, keyboard, & headset have a budget of less than $200. My bad for not clearing this up. And also, I mistakenly replied to AndrewOC, instead of kameshss, when asking about the incompatibility notes in his build. My mistake. Could you try to fix the incompatibilities?

Aight, here now.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Pro4S Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($98.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($37.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($81.49 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Western Digital Blue 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($77.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390X 8GB Tri-X OC Video Card  ($398.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($71.50 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($15.99 @ Newegg) 

Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($4.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $1077.88

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-27 13:29 EST-0500

 

It was the GPU size incompatible with that 210 case.

 

But can be done by removing the bottom HDD cage.

 

Here I swapped it to Corsair 200R. No issues here!

[GuyWithGreatPosture]

 

Aight, here now.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Pro4S Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($98.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($37.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($81.49 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Western Digital Blue 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($77.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 390X 8GB Tri-X OC Video Card  ($398.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($71.50 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($15.99 @ Newegg) 

Case Fan: Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($4.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $1077.88

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-27 13:29 EST-0500

 

It was the GPU size incompatible with that 210 case.

 

But can be done by removing the bottom HDD cage.

 

Here I swapped it to Corsair 200R. No issues here!

 

Thank you very much! I believe this is the final build I'd like. One small question, does the CPU Cooler come with pre-apllied thermal paste, or should I buy some and put it on?

[Brennan Price]

If you have that much money to spend on it then I would go for 16GB of ram or even 32GB. Please use two/four sticks of ram rather than a single stick.

[GuyWithGreatPosture]

If you have that much money to spend on it then I would go for 16GB of ram or even 32GB. Please use two/four sticks of ram rather than a single stick.

Yep I have already changed it to 2 x 4 instead of a single 8. Will I ever need up to 16GB for gaming?

[Brennan Price]

Yep I have already changed it to 2 x 4 instead of a single 8. Will I ever need up to 16GB for gaming?

No, it is rare to need any more than 8GB but since you have that amount to spend, I think you should go with 16GB to be future proof too. I have 12GB (not very stable but is half way between)

[kameshss]

If you have that much money to spend on it then I would go for 16GB of ram or even 32GB. Please use two/four sticks of ram rather than a single stick.

16GB or 32GB for what?

[kameshss]

Thank you very much! I believe this is the final build I'd like. One small question, does the CPU Cooler come with pre-apllied thermal paste, or should I buy some and put it on?

It comes with Thermal Paste. Don't worry.

[Brennan Price]

16GB or 32GB for what?

Well just for being future proof really. I am not saying he absolutely needs it but is just a nice little extra power for other things like hosting with friends and so on.