Questions about new build

[MightyPixel]

Hello forum!

New here, nice to meet you =) Straight to the point: Finally I decided to build my (first) own configuration. After some research I boiled it down to: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/W2MqLk
Buying from local stores results to ~$1500. I have a monitor and a 500GB WD Black.

1. Budget & Location

My budget is $1000 - $1500. My location is Bulgaria. The prices are generally 10-15% higher then the suggested in pcpartpicker.
2. Aim

My aim is to get near constant 60 fps with little as possible fps spikes on 1080p for games with high/ultra settings (Currently I play SC2. But I would love to try some of the newer titles as well old school ones that I didn't have the config to run on). Also I plan to have some CPU intensive tasks - running some AI, compiling stuff, etc.

3. Monitors

For the purpose of the system I bought http://pcpartpicker.com/part/benq-monitor-rl2460ht running 1920x1080. There is possibility to get additional monitor down the road - either same as this one or some 27 inch IPS.
4. Peripherals

Since I'm a student I have free Windows, but it is important to be able to run a linux. I usually go for Arch linux.

5. Why are you upgrading?
I'm not really upgrading since I don't have a configuration - I'm using a macbook from work, which is nice to code, read & watch stuff but it really heats running SC2 on mid-settings.

I plan to overclock if I need to.
I know that 750W power supply is a bit of an overkill, but it is the same price as a Corsair RM650x and I get some room for extending and upgrading.
 

So the questions are:

1. Is everything compatible?
2. Are there parts that are overkill for the rest of the configuration or my goals?
3. Should I get DDR4 3200MHz, Corsair Vengeance instead of the 2133 - as far I'm aware of higher DDR4 speeds really don't give huge performance gain. The difference is $20, so I'm not quite sure.
4. If I overclock (I've never done it before) should I consider liquid cooling?
5. Should I wait the new GTX 1070,1080?

All feedback is welcome (especially constructive one
Thanks in advance
 

[INeedHelpASAP]

The Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case supports video cards up to 440mm long, but video cards over 310mm may block drive bays. Since the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card is 312mm long, some drive bays may not be usable.

 

and a 1TB HDD might not be that bad you could use it for mass storage (movies, photos etc... etc..)

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10eads

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st1000dm003

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex

 

[Moonzy]

12 minutes ago, MightyPixel said:

1. Is everything compatible?
2. Are there parts that are overkill for the rest of the configuration or my goals?
3. Should I get DDR4 3200MHz, Corsair Vengeance instead of the 2133 - as far I'm aware of higher DDR4 speeds really don't give huge performance gain. The difference is $20, so I'm not quite sure.
4. If I overclock (I've never done it before) should I consider liquid cooling?
5. Should I wait the new GTX 1070,1080?

1. yes

2. some yes

3. 2666mhz is fine, 3000mhz and above is up to you, 2133mhz is a bit too low imo for a z170 board

4. up to you, air coolers can perform up to par with lots of AIO, only a few AIO can outperform the best air coolers

5. yes you should, but if you cant then maybe consider the r9 390 over the gtx 970

 

things i would change:

CPU: i5 6600K (i just dont think you'll need an i7, i could be wrong though)

CPU Cooler: a beefier cooler, Dark Rock 3 should fit your build just fine, and cool it fine as well

RAM: as mentioned above, i would go 2666mhz at least

GPU: as mentioned above

PSU: 750W is overkill unless you're going 2 way SLI/CF, 550W or 650W is enough, depending on what gpu you pick

[MightyPixel]

5 minutes ago, INeedHelpASAP said:

The Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case supports video cards up to 440mm long, but video cards over 310mm may block drive bays. Since the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card is 312mm long, some drive bays may not be usable.

 

and a 1TB HDD might not be that bad you could use it for mass storage (movies, photos etc... etc..)

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10eads

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st1000dm003

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex

 

I saw the case potential incompatibility with the videocard. I found some people that said it would fit - https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Fractal_Design/Define_R5/5.html "The Gigabyte GeForce GTX970 G1 Gaming Edition is not long enough to get in the way of any potential hard-drive cages either, so you should run into no such issues.". Even if it gets in the way I could remove the middle hard drive cage.
I'll defiantly get a bigger one once I need to  Currently I store most of the stuff in the clouds.

Thanks for the comment!

[Shahnewaz]

Hello there, and welcome to the forums!

 

Here's my feedback on your part list:

CPU: Is your work heavily multi-threaded? Intensive is fine, but if not multi-threaded, then go for an i5-6500. If yes, then go for an i7-6700. The CPU cooler you're getting with the 6700k will lead you nowhere with overclocks. Its a waste of money if you can't or won't overclock high enough with overclocking components, so stick to locked CPUs.

Cooler: Damn good choice.

Motherboard: If you aren't overclocking, then there is no point in this motherboard. Get an H110 board, and save tons of money.

Memory: This is a good one. Again, this is the memory speed your CPU supports at stock clocks, so just get a locked CPU.

SSD: Perfect.

GPU: Not the best choice. Switch this for an R9 390. You'll get slightly better DX11 performance, significantly better DX12 performance, and double the VRAM without any segmentation nonsense. You'll also get lots of compute power if you ever need it in your work.

Case: One of the best.

PSU: That's a lot of Watts that you will never use. Get a 500W power supply.

[MightyPixel]

9 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

1. yes

2. some yes

3. 2666mhz is fine, 3000mhz and above is up to you, 2133mhz is a bit too low imo for a z170 board

4. up to you, air coolers can perform up to par with lots of AIO, only a few AIO can outperform the best air coolers

5. yes you should, but if you cant then maybe consider the r9 390 over the gtx 970

 

things i would change:

CPU: i5 6600K (i just dont think you'll need an i7, i could be wrong though)

CPU Cooler: a beefier cooler, Dark Rock 3 should fit your build just fine, and cool it fine as well

RAM: as mentioned above, i would go 2666mhz at least

GPU: as mentioned above

PSU: 750W is overkill unless you're going 2 way SLI/CF, 550W or 650W is enough, depending on what gpu you pick

I chose the i7 mainly because of the CPU heavy tasks that I plan to have. Also I hope the games will start to take advantage of more CPUs soon  (I kinda support the multicore idea).
If I get >2133mhz ram on 6700k with Z170-A. Lets say the 3200mhz. Should I overclock the CPU and/or do some configuration in the BIOS?
I'll decided to stick with Nvidia since I have better feedback then Radeon. But I'll take a look.
I'll checkout the Dark Rock

Thank you for the comment!

[Moonzy]

3 minutes ago, MightyPixel said:

If I get >2133mhz ram on 6700k with Z170-A. Lets say the 3200mhz. Should I overclock the CPU and/or do some configuration in the BIOS?

well, on the spec sheet the 6700K only supports 2133mhz, so if you wanna use faster ram, there's a chance your cpu wont support it lol

just like overclocking anyway

 

im not that clear into ram and cpu overclocking, but basic thing to do if you have fast ram is enable XMP

[MightyPixel]

1 hour ago, Shahnewaz said:

Hello there, and welcome to the forums!

 

Here's my feedback on your part list:

CPU: Is your work heavily multi-threaded? Intensive is fine, but if not multi-threaded, then go for an i5-6500. If yes, then go for an i7-6700. The CPU cooler you're getting with the 6700k will lead you nowhere with overclocks. Its a waste of money if you can't or won't overclock high enough with overclocking components, so stick to locked CPUs.

Cooler: Damn good choice.

Motherboard: If you aren't overclocking, then there is no point in this motherboard. Get an H110 board, and save tons of money.

Memory: This is a good one. Again, this is the memory speed your CPU supports at stock clocks, so just get a locked CPU.

SSD: Perfect.

GPU: Not the best choice. Switch this for an R9 390. You'll get slightly better DX11 performance, significantly better DX12 performance, and double the VRAM without any segmentation nonsense. You'll also get lots of compute power if you ever need it in your work.

Case: One of the best.

PSU: That's a lot of Watts that you will never use. Get a 500W power supply.

Yes, I plan to have multi-threaded CPU intensive tasks beside games. The idea behind the K is that I don't plan buying a new processor any near future, so I think it would be useful to have the ability to overclock even if I have to get better cooling.
I could invest a bit more from the start with better cooling, maybe the http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd15s or Kraken X61.
After some research I decided to put a DDR4 2666MHz Kingston Fury (http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/hyperx-fury-ddr4-2666mhz-memory-review.216425/) It turns out to be a sweet sport.

I'll read about the r9 390. Do you have any stats about it?
I appreciate the reply!

[Shahnewaz]

2 hours ago, MightyPixel said:

Yes, I plan to have multi-threaded CPU intensive tasks beside games. The idea behind the K is that I don't plan buying a new processor any near future, so I think it would be useful to have the ability to overclock even if I have to get better cooling.
I could invest a bit more from the start with better cooling, maybe the http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhd15s or Kraken X61.
After some research I decided to put a DDR4 2666MHz Kingston Fury (http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/hyperx-fury-ddr4-2666mhz-memory-review.216425/) It turns out to be a sweet sport.

I'll read about the r9 390. Do you have any stats about it?
I appreciate the reply!

Don't worry, the i7-6700 is no slouch either.

The problem with overclocking is that it's all silicon lottery, and there is no guarantee that you will reach a high enough overclock to justify the more expensive CPU, memory, CPU cooler and motherboard.

But the biggest problem is, no amount of overclocking will make your CPU last longer. If there is a radical shift in processor or application design in the near future, your processor will become obsolete. So don't use it as a "future-proofing" tactic.

If multi-threading performance is a critical component, then you should look at processors with more cores, like a Core i7-5820K or a Xeon E5-2620 V4.

 

As for the R9 390, DigitalFoundry is a great source for comparisons and tests. Do check out their channel. You'll find a lot of tests and comparisons with the R9 390 vs the GTX 970.

[MightyPixel]

25 minutes ago, Shahnewaz said:

Don't worry, the i7-6700 is no slouch either.

The problem with overclocking is that it's all silicon lottery, and there is no guarantee that you will reach a high enough overclock to justify the more expensive CPU, memory, CPU cooler and motherboard.

But the biggest problem is, no amount of overclocking will make your CPU last longer. If there is a radical shift in processor or application design in the near future, your processor will become obsolete. So don't use it as a "future-proofing" tactic.

If multi-threading performance is a critical component, then you should look at processors with more cores, like a Core i7-5820K or a Xeon E5-2620 V4.

 

As for the R9 390, DigitalFoundry is a great source for comparisons and tests. Do check out their channel. You'll find a lot of tests and comparisons with the R9 390 vs the GTX 970.

Actually my quest started with AMD FX-8350 and some hex cores. But I besides of coding I wanted to be able to play games and after some research I found that i7-4790K was kinda the boss aand that led me to the 6700k (new socket, ram, futureproof, better multithreaded performance, it is still worse single threaded I think - that was my worries for Blizzard games).
From what I researched so far the skylake is more consistent for OC then the haswell. And from few sources saw that 4.7 is really doable for this chip (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wQwYMGsSnMpKxrEesNVUSoP7hGykFWw1ygJsxwx64e8/edit#gid=0) which I think is absolutely enough for just about everything.

So my plan is to start with the stock base clock and clock as I need to up to 4.6 (max).
About the radical shift, judging from the last 5 years I think it isn't probable. But I could be wrong - actually I'll be very happy if after 1 or 2 years there are mainstream 16 core 4.5 stock clock. I'll definitely buy one if thats the case.

Anyway I saw that the 970 vs r9 390 is kinda big topic. I'll read on that deeper  But from what I read bought are very good, in most cases r9 is superior.   

Another thanks for the reply ^^