Prospect building for future build

[coasterghost]

Hey, My current computer is starting to go (Bios is starting to give fault notifications via beeping) and it's generally time for a new computer. The computer which admittedly is a laptop which is about 4 years old. I've done several prospective builds as of right now all with minor revisions. My budget is at most for the initial build 3,000 USD (The more towards 2,500-2,800 the better for me). The computer will have multiple aims towards it which involve Photography editing, video production, gaming, and occasional cad and broadcasting as well as video color correction. The games that will be played include Rainbow Six Seige, Arma 3 and Arkham Knight Game of the Year (when ever that rolls out). I do plan on upgrading my video workflow fully to 4K as late as Winter. Right now I have 1440p monitor listed as I do wait for a GSync monitor to come down in price (1080P plus are too much for my liking right now). I do know that the PSU is a bit overboard at the moment with the latest prospect using a 1000W PSU, but that right now is just a temp, while I figure out precisely what internal PCI-E cards I will be obtaining plus I am toying with the possibility of going double-sli at a later date (Winter). I would also depending on if I find any i like off the bat, will be getting a DAC. I am looking at a BlackMagic Intensity 4K or Decklink 4K studio card as well as a possible TV Tuner card that has CableCard, the PCI-E peripherals are still at an early stage, but my goal is to try and make this as future proof as possible hence the motherboard and cpu selection. 

 

Here are the latest prospect builds. 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WgcqD3

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kCQDD3

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gLFXTW

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QHhK6h

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Y7q8Lk 

[powdered_water]

Hey there,

 

I looked over several of these builds and I noticed one thing that jumped out at me: Hard drive choices.

 

I would definitely stick to a smaller hard drive with a solid state for booting. The 6TB is probably overkill and not worth the extra money. Plus, video editing can be kinda hard on hard drives. With 4k projects you do have potentially large project files, but I would keep old projects on a backup external hard drive to save space on your primary editing drives.

 

Also, depending on what you are using for color grading, remember that certain programs like DaVinci resolve actually support (and recommend) multiple graphics cards, which may end up being very worth it with 4K video. This is just something I would keep in mind for the future, as you may not need it immediately. 

[coasterghost]

My tools vary between lightroom to Da Vinci. 

[tataklee]

23 minutes ago, coasterghost said:

My tools vary between lightroom to Da Vinci. 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($374.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($135.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Asus X99-A/USB 3.1 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($203.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($167.90 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($291.45 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($64.85 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($64.85 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB FTW ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($629.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB FTW ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($629.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Fractal Design Define S w/Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($74.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $2798.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-27 03:49 EST-0500

 

More cores on the CPU will help you a lot while editing.

[coasterghost]

4 minutes ago, tataklee said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($374.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($135.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Asus X99-A/USB 3.1 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($203.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($167.90 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($291.45 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($64.85 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($64.85 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB FTW ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($629.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB FTW ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($629.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Fractal Design Define S w/Window ATX Mid Tower Case  ($74.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $2798.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-27 03:49 EST-0500

 

More cores on the CPU will help you a lot while editing.

I really can't do Liquid Cooling for at lease a year, I'm brining it to school and I don't want to fly with it 4x a year. 

 

This is my latest build http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6Lm46h

[tataklee]

3 minutes ago, coasterghost said:

I really can't do Liquid Cooling for at lease a year, I'm brining it to school and I don't want to fly with it 4x a year. 

You could just swap the cooler.

[coasterghost]

How well can the 3.3ghz chip OC?

[tataklee]

6 minutes ago, coasterghost said:

How well can the 3.3ghz chip OC?

That always comes down to the silicon lottery. But you should be able to hit 4.0 GHz without any troubles.

[coasterghost]

takalee, I have been basing my builds off yours lately, I'm still fine tuning it, but do you have any recommendations for wireless cards. 

[coasterghost]

What do ya'll think of the latest build idea. 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor  ($351.98 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Asus X99-A/USB 3.1 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  ($249.88 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($87.39 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($67.04 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($67.04 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB FTW ACX 2.0+ Video Card  ($629.99 @ NCIX US) 
Case: Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 5 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($125.46 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($129.99 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($54.99 @ Micro Center) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM (64-bit)  ($124.75 @ OutletPC) 
Monitor: Dell P2415Q 60Hz 23.8" Monitor  ($389.99 @ Adorama) 
Total: $2423.37
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-28 17:34 EDT-0400

 

My Z170 build out of that: 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($363.94 @ B&H) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($153.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($87.39 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($67.04 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($67.04 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB FTW ACX 2.0+ Video Card  ($629.99 @ NCIX US) 
Case: Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 5 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($125.46 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($129.99 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  ($54.99 @ Micro Center) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM (64-bit)  ($124.75 @ OutletPC) 
Monitor: Dell P2415Q 60Hz 23.8" Monitor  ($389.99 @ Adorama) 
Total: $2339.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-28 17:43 EDT-0400

[Tomato Sauce]

Pretty solid build(s) in my opinion.

But several details come to mind. First of all, what are you planning to do with this system? If you are planning to overclock, I think you should get a better cooler (not saying the 212 Evo is bad in any way). Also, for the z170 build, I have the z170-A motherboard and I don't think you will be able to occupy all 4 memory slots with a tower cooler. Maybe look for an AIO watercooler as an alternative? Or just go with 16 GB in dual channel.

By the way, that power supply is totally overkill unless you are planning to go SLI in the future. If you aren't certain what PSU you need, I recommend using an online calculator. Cooler Master has a pretty good one:

http://www.coolermaster.com/power-supply-calculator/

Last, I just don't see the point of getting a 980 Ti when you are only using a 60 Hz monitor. Correct me if I'm wrong but the 980 should be able to run most things you throw at it at that resolution. Either that or get a monitor with a higher refresh rate

In any case, if you can comfortably afford that build go ahead! However, you could save some money on certain components with a little more research.

Have fun building!

[BurblingBarbacoa]

Ok. Most of these builds are pretty similar. Here are my reccomendations: 

• cpu is good for what you are doing. Maybe look at a 5820k as you see, like you might leverage those extra cores. Keep in mind that Zen, Broadwell-E and Kabylake are coming soon. 
• Get a better cooler. If you want to stay on budget look at the BeQuiet! Pure Rock or the Shadow Rock 2. With a high end chip like that I do reccomend a higher end cooler to go with it and run cooler and overclocked. Look at the CoolerMaster MasterAir Maker 8 or the Noctua NHD14/15/15s. I never reccomend closed loop AIOs but if you want to go for water cooling go for a open enthusiast grade AIO like the EK predator.  
• You have listed a bunch of super high end boards for the sake of 'future proofing'. That is a pitfall to put it lightly. Get a high end board so you have a nice set of features, sli and crossfire support, m.2, USB c and 3.1 and other applicable features. Don't spend hundreds of dollars that you not need to spend. If you go skylake look at the Asus Z170AR or the X99A if you go Haswell-E. Obviously I can't reccomend on future boards but I think that the next enthusiast chips from Intel will work with X99 but dont quote me on that. 
•  Ram. Hm. I reckon that you might utilise 32gb but I still think that it is good idea to get 16gb and then just monitor you memory usage and see if you need more. If you do go for 32gb out of the box, don't get a super high end kit like a dominator platinum. The vengeance LPX and Ripjaws z and similar kits are fine. If you go x99 then go for a quad channel kit straight away. 
• Ditch the thermal paste. Most good coolers come with a tube or pre applied thermal compound. 
• Storage is a mess. Two of you builds only have a 6tb WD blue. I reckon get a good large-med sata SSD like a 850 EVO 250gb or 500gb. You can replace this with a m.2 drive if you want but I wouldn't. Get a 3tb WD black to go along with all this. 3tb is a good starting point for someone who does a decent amount of conent creation or somthing similar. 
• The cases are good. I would really just growing somthing that is good for you. I would go for the Enthoo over the 750D. 
• Yu have no fans listed. Both cases come with recent fans especially the Enthoo. I still recommend getting some better fans for the sake of silence in the case of the 750D. Maybe the Noctua Redux? 
• Both power supplies are fine. 1000w is a bit overkill. 850w should be fine for two 980tis.  
• I would get a larger monitor. 25" is simply too small for me but you might feel differently. I feel that 27" is a good starting point. Look at some Korean displays if money is an issue here. 
• The grahics card is overkill for 1440p. Look at either a 4K or 1440p 144htz upgrade in the future. Sli is really not nessisary. Maybe if you want to crank the settings in demanding games at 4K. If you plan to stick 1440p look at a r9 390 or a gtx 970. The r9 fury is a good option if you want to cut costs a bit but still be fairly competent at 4K. 
• Ditch the optical drive. Just get an external one. 
• You can go to kinguin if you want a cheap Windows key. It's worth a look. I've never had problems with it. 
• The peripherals you have listed are $0.00 so I don't know if you are getting them for free from a friend or somthing but if not there are better options. Look at the Azio MGK1 for the keyboard which I personally prefer to the BlackWidow but it's ur choice. As for the mouse look at the Steelseries Rival 300. The headset is ok but it's still a headset. I reccomend getting a good pair of headphones and then getting a mod mic or a desk mic like the blue snowball, yeti at2020. 

Hope we I helped  

Tell me what you think  

[coasterghost]

On March 29, 2016 at 10:54 PM, BurblingBarbacoa said:

Ok. Most of these builds are pretty similar. Here are my reccomendations: 

• cpu is good for what you are doing. Maybe look at a 5820k as you see, like you might leverage those extra cores. Keep in mind that Zen, Broadwell-E and Kabylake are coming soon. 
• Get a better cooler. If you want to stay on budget look at the BeQuiet! Pure Rock or the Shadow Rock 2. With a high end chip like that I do reccomend a higher end cooler to go with it and run cooler and overclocked. Look at the CoolerMaster MasterAir Maker 8 or the Noctua NHD14/15/15s. I never reccomend closed loop AIOs but if you want to go for water cooling go for a open enthusiast grade AIO like the EK predator.  
• You have listed a bunch of super high end boards for the sake of 'future proofing'. That is a pitfall to put it lightly. Get a high end board so you have a nice set of features, sli and crossfire support, m.2, USB c and 3.1 and other applicable features. Don't spend hundreds of dollars that you not need to spend. If you go skylake look at the Asus Z170AR or the X99A if you go Haswell-E. Obviously I can't reccomend on future boards but I think that the next enthusiast chips from Intel will work with X99 but dont quote me on that. 
•  Ram. Hm. I reckon that you might utilise 32gb but I still think that it is good idea to get 16gb and then just monitor you memory usage and see if you need more. If you do go for 32gb out of the box, don't get a super high end kit like a dominator platinum. The vengeance LPX and Ripjaws z and similar kits are fine. If you go x99 then go for a quad channel kit straight away. 
• Ditch the thermal paste. Most good coolers come with a tube or pre applied thermal compound. 
• Storage is a mess. Two of you builds only have a 6tb WD blue. I reckon get a good large-med sata SSD like a 850 EVO 250gb or 500gb. You can replace this with a m.2 drive if you want but I wouldn't. Get a 3tb WD black to go along with all this. 3tb is a good starting point for someone who does a decent amount of conent creation or somthing similar. 
• The cases are good. I would really just growing somthing that is good for you. I would go for the Enthoo over the 750D. 
• Yu have no fans listed. Both cases come with recent fans especially the Enthoo. I still recommend getting some better fans for the sake of silence in the case of the 750D. Maybe the Noctua Redux? 
• Both power supplies are fine. 1000w is a bit overkill. 850w should be fine for two 980tis.  
• I would get a larger monitor. 25" is simply too small for me but you might feel differently. I feel that 27" is a good starting point. Look at some Korean displays if money is an issue here. 
• The grahics card is overkill for 1440p. Look at either a 4K or 1440p 144htz upgrade in the future. Sli is really not nessisary. Maybe if you want to crank the settings in demanding games at 4K. If you plan to stick 1440p look at a r9 390 or a gtx 970. The r9 fury is a good option if you want to cut costs a bit but still be fairly competent at 4K. 
• Ditch the optical drive. Just get an external one. 
• You can go to kinguin if you want a cheap Windows key. It's worth a look. I've never had problems with it. 
• The peripherals you have listed are $0.00 so I don't know if you are getting them for free from a friend or somthing but if not there are better options. Look at the Azio MGK1 for the keyboard which I personally prefer to the BlackWidow but it's ur choice. As for the mouse look at the Steelseries Rival 300. The headset is ok but it's still a headset. I reccomend getting a good pair of headphones and then getting a mod mic or a desk mic like the blue snowball, yeti at2020. 

Hope we I helped  

Tell me what you think  

I will answer these for you bullet by bullet :).

 

Bullet 1: I have switched in my latest build prospects to the X99 platform, and I am still debating (courtesy of the PCI-e expansions still being unset between the x99-a and x-99 deluxe. 

 

Bullet 2: I have been thinking on cooling and after a bit of talking to the TSA (as I fly to school due to distance) about if water cooling would be allowed in checked baggage. I am now looking at the corsair hydro coolers 60 and 100GTX (I still agree with Luke about why the gtx).

 

Bullet 3: I had the proverbially rose tinted glasses on the RoG Maximus extreme on the z170 platform, but from there I've seen the error of my ways. It's just. On a deciding factor of will I have the pic-e for room for wifi on the pic-e. If I do, then I'll go x99-a of not, x-99 deluxe (plus I would get here a pice m.2).

 

Bullet 4: with the x99 set, I've opted for 2 dual channel sets of the same exact ram because it's cheaper for a dual kit than quad channel kit, even thought I am going to use it in quad channel. I have opted for 4x8gb at 2666mhz. 

 

Bullet 5: I just have it in there as a if I need it. 

 

Bullet 6: my latest storage design is a 850 evo at 250gb and 2 2TB ultrastar from HGST. (See: my post above yours)

 

Bullet 7: my current buildouts have the master case pro 5 in it as a holder. It might get the ethoo midrange tower.

 

Bullet 8: the fans I've not really thought about yet, I'm looking at nocturas. If I can get them, might get some LTT edition ones.

 

Bullet 9: the 1000w was selected at the time due to the factor it was $10 more than the 850.

 

Bullet 10:  It's the factors of traveling with it (possibly) and desk size. 

 

Bullet 11: the selected monitor is 4K.

 

Bullet 12: optical for all! I am one for 5.25" optical. Call me old school

 

Bullet 13: I might have an Windows 8 pro upgrade key just sitting around, so Windows 19 is just a place holder.

 

Bullet 14: I own them already, plus I wanted it in there to account for the fact that I have it already for sake of posting these prospects. 

 

[coasterghost]

With this weeks WAN show, I am thinking it might be an smart idea to wait till the new Nvidia gpus.