My First PC Build

[Lord Goatimore]

So, I've been watching A LOT of Linus Tech Tips and reading many forums to understand how all of this works. I'm now approaching the date to finally buy the PC, so I'm just here to see what you all think of the build thus far.

 

My budget is: $1800.00 US (give or take $30 - $50)

The PC will be mostly used for gaming (leisure) and coding (University). It has to be strong enough to run Star Citizen with relative ease. It will also be running Windows 10 which I get free from my University.
Side question: "Is it better to get Windows 10 Pro, Education, or Home?" [I can get either for free.]

I do plan to overclock eventually. Still doing research on how to properly do it without blowing everything up.

 

I had an earlier version but then Skylake came out and I realized there wasn't much of a difference to upgrade it for future proofing.
I plan on buying all of it from Newegg because it came closest to the PC Partpicker Price with shipping.
Alright, so here it is:
 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/x899sY
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/x899sY/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($247.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9900MAX-R CPU Cooler  ($49.99 @ Amazon) 
Thermal Compound: TUNIQ TX-2 3.5g Thermal Paste  ($7.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M7 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($218.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($83.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($67.49 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) <--------------- This was changed to a Black
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card  ($649.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: NZXT Phantom ATX Full Tower Case  ($115.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Acer GN246HL 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($180.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1738.08
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-02 15:54 EST-0500

[Samfisher]

If you're getting Windows free, no reason to not get Pro. 

[Vercii]

This is actually a pretty solid build. Enjoy building this

[FatPenguin]

9 minutes ago, Lord Goatimore said:

-snip-

Welcome to the forums! 

 

You have a very solid build but I would change a few things such as getting a water cooler such as the Corsair H100i Gtx or NZXT Kraken X61 they will be much better at overclocking. 

If you can get windows for free I would get the pro version only because of the few extra features. 

The 980ti is a great choice for gaming as it is basically a titan X with 6 gb but half the price.

 

I like the build and make sure to post a topic on it when you build it.

[Lord Goatimore]

Just now, FatPenguin said:

Welcome to the forums! 

 

You have a very solid build but I would change a few things such as getting a water cooler such as the Corsair H100i Gtx or NZXT Kraken X61 they will be much better at overclocking. 

If you can get windows for free I would get the pro version only because of the few extra features. 

The 980ti is a great choice for gaming as it is basically a titan X with 6 gb but half the price.

 

I like the build and make sure to post a topic on it when you build it.

Thank you! I definitely considered water cooling and wanted to but I can't push the budget too much. If I find a way to get more funds, or can get a grandparent to buy a part for me, I definitely will do that!

[tataklee]

26 minutes ago, Lord Goatimore said:

Thank you! I definitely considered water cooling and wanted to but I can't push the budget too much. If I find a way to get more funds, or can get a grandparent to buy a part for me, I definitely will do that!

You could get a Skylake i7 for this kind of money.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($374.95 @ B&H) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright TRUE Spirit 140 POWER 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler  ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($153.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($84.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($64.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB FTW ACX 2.0+ Video Card  ($639.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Fractal Design Define S ATX Mid Tower Case  ($77.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($66.99 @ NCIX US) 
Monitor: Acer GN246HL 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($180.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1744.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-02 16:18 EST-0500

 

Edit: Whatever you do, get the FTW edition of the EVGA 980 Ti. It's all around better and cheaper. And get the P2 series.

[tataklee]

12 minutes ago, tataklee said:

 

Quoted myself.

[Lord Goatimore]

I probably should've mentioned I' going with a RED/BLACK theme.

Also, would this all fit in a mid-tower and have good airflow?

[Lord Goatimore]

4 minutes ago, tataklee said:

 

I will definitely look into that. These GPU names can get a bit confusing. The PSU has probably been my biggest issue thus far, so I will probably go with your suggestion.

[tataklee]

30 minutes ago, Lord Goatimore said:

I will definitely look into that. These GPU names can get a bit confusing. The PSU has probably been my biggest issue thus far, so I will probably go with your suggestion.

Would this look better to you?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($374.95 @ B&H) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  ($74.90 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($144.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($84.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($64.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card  ($649.99 @ B&H) 
Case: NZXT S340 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($84.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($66.99 @ NCIX US) 
Monitor: Acer GN246HL 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($180.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1777.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-02 16:51 EST-0500

 

And yeah, both the Define S and the S340 would provide enough airflow for your components.

[Lord Goatimore]

41 minutes ago, tataklee said:

Would this look better to you?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($374.95 @ B&H) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  ($74.90 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($144.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($84.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($64.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card  ($649.99 @ B&H) 
Case: NZXT S340 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($84.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($66.99 @ NCIX US) 
Monitor: Acer GN246HL 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($180.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1777.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-02 16:51 EST-0500

 

And yeah, both the Define S and the S340 would provide enough airflow for your components.

I kind of like the look of my current case but I guess I can adjust to a shoe box lol!
Any particular reason for the fan CPU cooler? Is it overall better? The Zalman was reviewed in one of Linus' older videos and another part of the reason for considering it was that it would glow red lol! 
I will stick with an EVGA GPU cause the warranty seems like a better deal imo. So I'll go with the one you suggested before.

Any reason for going with the Sandisk over the Samsung? (I forgot to change in my list that the Samsung is a 250Gb not 120Gb.)

And the motherboard. Any reason for going with an M3 rather than the M7 other than cost? Are they about even in terms of reliability and functionality other than the minor differences in their features?
Everything else seems fine overall, so I will change the PSU and the CPU to what you recommend.  

[Lord Goatimore]

Updated part list!

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/scZrzy
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/scZrzy/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($379.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 
Thermal Compound: TUNIQ TX-2 3.5g Thermal Paste  ($7.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170XP-SLI ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($143.55 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($84.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($86.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($74.00 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB FTW ACX 2.0+ Video Card  ($666.98 @ Newegg) 
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($64.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($95.98 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Acer GN246HL 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($180.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1811.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-02 19:42 EST-0500

 

So, I took your suggestions and came up with this in a reasonable price range. The actual price of this would be more around $1847.11 which isn't too bad considering it's within the overage of my budget. I unfortunately had to get rid of my red and black scheme but it's fine considering this PC will still be a beast! Overall, I'm quite happy with these changes!