Help and questions with first high-end PC (i7 6700K and GTX 1080)

[TheKangaroo]

Hey there, forum!

 

I am building my first high-end PC. I really am pushing this build to what I can really afford after some time of saving and want to make few to zero compromises. Therefore, I am aiming high and really want this to become something good I'll be happy with for many years to come. But since this is my first build that will be this strong and since my mind is mushy after weeks of searching through parts and researching, I am a little lost right now. I'd love if you guys could answer me some questions and give me some guidance!

I am located and Germany and also buying all of the parts here. This build is intended for 1440p/144Hz high-end gaming, VR and 3D Low- and Highpoly modeling. I also want to OC this build to get the most out of it. 

My budget used to be 2000,- but well, you know. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. No, seriously. I pushed it to roughly 2300,-€ now and I really can't go higher anymore. Just *really* wanted some of the parts like the 3200 MHz RAM and M.2 SSD.

 

This is the build

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  (€345.17 @ Amazon Deutschland)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i GTX 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (€150.00)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste  (€6.90 @ Caseking)
Motherboard: Asus ROG MAXIMUS VIII HERO ALPHA ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  (€279.00)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  (€123.84 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  (€308.95 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (€72.93 @ Mindfactory)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1080 8GB STRIX Video Card  (€799.00 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case  (€154.87 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (€103.00)
Total: €2343.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-17 19:37 CEST+0200

 

My questions:

 

1) ASUS vs MSI

Before, I chose the MSI Z170A Gaming M5 ATX LGA1151 Board and the MSI GTX 1080 8GB Gaming X 8G.

I have swapped them out for the ASUS models, because I feel like people are overall happier with them and that they are higher quality. Most reputable PC-builders mostly use ASUS parts (like LTT) and they make a very good impression on me. But afterall, I am a little mindfucked after searching through so many parts the last weeks. Am I biased because I have read too much marketing blabla or are those parts really so good and I will be happy with them?

 

2) The motherboard

Now, motherboards remain a mystery to me. Somehow, they're the main PCB in your PC. They hold all the things together, connect everything and manage all the stuff. Yet, it does not seem too utterly important wich one I choose, right? So where are the differences between a 150,-€ one and a 300,-€ one? Only the features? Do I really only need to look out for a quality chipset like the Z170?

 

So is this motherboard too much overkill? I basically want a good quality motherboard with the following features:

• LGA1151
• a very good chipset (I guess Z170 is that)
• up to 64GB 3200MHz RAM (preferably 4x16GB)
• RAID Support
• Hardware switches on the PCB
• 6GB/s SATA

3) Airflow

This sketch shows my idea for the airflow. I want to use 2 normal DC-controlled fans in the front and hook them up to the case's fan-controller. Then I want the two fans in the top are pressure-optimized and PWM controlled. The airflow should be pretty good since I will only have the 5x HDD-cage in the top right hand corner of the case, removing all the others. Therefore the fans have a free way to blow air into the case. My plan is to have the front ones run at higher speeds all the time and the ones in the top to run mostly lower speeds to remain positive air pressure inside the case. Will this work the way I planned it out?

 

4) Bottlenecks
Do I have any bottlenecks in this system? Besides the HDD of course. Is there anything that significantly stops other parts from working properly at full power? Also, are the Dominator Platinum only better looking than the LPX? Do they have any hardware benefit?

 

5) And something I have been thinking about more and more: Full Custom Watercooling

How much would full custom watercooling with a CPU and a GPU block be for this? Is it worth it? Okay, nevermind that last question. Economical wise it is probably not worth, but how much would it be? Thinking about standart non-angled pressurefittings and flexible tubing. I think I'd need 8 pressurefittings (2x GPU block, 2X CPU block, 2X rad, 2X reservior), the 2 blocks, the pump, the reservoir and the rad. Is that right? Is a 280mm or a 420 rad enough?

And if I go with watercooling, should I go for a reference 1080? Does the Strix offer any other advantage other than having the better heatsink/fans and being OC from ASUS?

I'd like to aim for the 2,000 MHz for the GPU in OC.

 

Thanks!

 

[PCGuy_5960]

-For custom watercooling buy a fractal design define S

-For the motherboard, are you planning on doing extreme overclock?

-Bottlenecking shouldn't be a problem

-Generally ASUS is better than MSI (I don't have much experience though..)

[z97]

MSI is decent quality stuff, however motherboards asus>msi all day long.

 

And if you're going to water cool, invest in a bigger case. 

 

Strix is a better buy than the 8G w/e it is now

[TheKangaroo]

4 minutes ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

-For custom watercooling buy a fractal design define S

-For the motherboard, are you planning on doing extreme overclock?

 

Yes. I want to aim for at least 2000 MHz on the GPU. On the CPU, I do not know yet how high I will go. This will be my first real OC. I have by now read a bunch about the topic and even want to "practise" on my cheap-o i5, but I have never really done it. My aim is a very, very powerful built with as little noise as possible, but definetly without one of those giant CPU air coolers.

 

But yeah, I see why the Define S makes a lot more sense for full custom watercooling!

 

[TheProphetGaming]

I'm Looking at doing a VERY similar build, but with a higher end GPU ( EVga 1080 GTX Hybrid when it comes out ). 
I was in the same position as you with motherboards, I wanted ASUS so badly as i thought they were much more reputable ( and generally they are ) But for the extra price it costs for a lot of feature's you're not going to use? 
How i saw it was, I'm not going to use a lot of these features on this high end Asus mobo, So i settled for a much cheaper and still very good ( with everything i need and more ) MSI Z170A Gaming Pro Carbon Mobo, Or you can get the Gaming M3 Msi. 

This will save you a fair amount of money, which you could put towards a better efficiency power supply, Platinum ? 
And also better HDD WD Black Or something WD that suits you. 
And maybe if you want, wait and save a few more $$ for a EVGA hybrid gtx 1080 or get the msi Seahawk, Should be excellent with watercooling, and Over clocking.

And personally i think the Corsair dominator platniums are gorgeous, but is it worth that kind of money? Up too you. I think you could save the money and put it elsewhere even if its in your bank xD. Goodluck!

Quote me for a reply btw.

[PCGuy_5960]

2 minutes ago, TheKangaroo said:

 

Yes. I want to aim for at least 2000 MHz on the GPU. On the CPU, I do not know yet how high I will go. This will be my first real OC. I have by now read a bunch about the topic and even want to "practise" on my cheap-o i5, but I have never really done it. My aim is a very, very powerful built with as little noise as possible, but definetly without one of those giant CPU air coolers.

 

But yeah, I see why the Define S makes a lot more sense for full custom watercooling!

 

Unless you want to overclock with liquid nitrogen (which i don't think you want), just don't waste money on the motherboard... Buy the Z170 Deluxe...

 

I have to question the use of dominator platinums though... If I were you, I would buy cheaper RAM and probably save up some more money for a second GPU or allocate more of my budget towards a higher wattage PSU...

[PCGuy_5960]

3 minutes ago, TheProphetGaming said:

I'm Looking at doing a VERY similar build, but with a higher end GPU ( EVga 1080 GTX Hybrid when it comes out ). 
I was in the same position as you with motherboards, I wanted ASUS so badly as i thought they were much more reputable ( and generally they are ) But for the extra price it costs for a lot of feature's you're not going to use? 
How i saw it was, I'm not going to use a lot of these features on this high end Asus mobo, So i settled for a much cheaper and still very good ( with everything i need and more ) MSI Z170A Gaming Pro Carbon Mobo, Or you can get the Gaming M3 Msi. 

This will save you a fair amount of money, which you could put towards a better efficiency power supply, Platinum ? 
And also better HDD WD Black Or something WD that suits you. 
And maybe if you want, wait and save a few more $$ for a EVGA hybrid gtx 1080 or get the msi Seahawk, Should be excellent with watercooling, and Over clocking.

And personally i think the Corsair dominator platniums are gorgeous, but is it worth that kind of money? Up too you. I think you could save the money and put it elsewhere even if its in your bank xD. Goodluck!

Quote me for a reply btw.

If he wants to watercool he is better off with a founder's edition as it is easier to find a waterblock for it...

[z97]

2 minutes ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

Unless you want to overclock with liquid nitrogen (which i don't think you want), just don't waste money on the motherboard... Buy the Z170 Deluxe...

 

I have to question the use of dominator platinums though... If I were you, I would buy cheaper RAM and probably save up some more money for a second GPU or allocate more of my budget towards a higher wattage PSU...

A board can hold back a little higher of a core clock if the components aren't as good in quality ~

 

Also, here are pics of my R5 with water cooling. It's not the most space friendly.

[PCGuy_5960]

2 minutes ago, z97 said:

A board can hold back a little higher of a core clock if the components aren't as good in quality ~

 

Also, here are pics of my R5 with water cooling. It's not the most space friendly.

Yes but you don't NEED a ROG Maximus board for overclocking the Z170 deluxe is decent... If you are doing LN2 cooling then, the Maximus is the way to go... For 4.6GHz the deluxe should be enough and save the OP some money...

(Higher end boards will offer better stability, I cannot deny that)

[z97]

1 minute ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

Yes but you don't NEED a ROG Maximus board for overclocking the Z170 deluxe is decent... If you are doing LN2 cooling then, the Maximus is the way to go... For 4.6GHz the deluxe should be enough and save the OP some money...

(Higher end boards will offer better stability, I cannot deny that)

I've seen plenty of 6700K's rocking 4.8 at a decent voltage on the Hero boards.

 

LN2 is if you wanna break 5.5 GHZ+ and running extreme amounts of voltage.

 

and lets face it... the ROG board will make his rig pop 10 times more.

[PCGuy_5960]

6 minutes ago, z97 said:

I've seen plenty of 6700K's rocking 4.8 at a decent voltage on the Hero boards.

 

LN2 is if you wanna break 5.5 GHZ+ and running extreme amounts of voltage.

 

and lets face it... the ROG board will make his rig pop 10 times more.

Really? I didn't know that the 6700K could overclock better on higher end boards... Good to know...

[TheKangaroo]

16 minutes ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

Unless you want to overclock with liquid nitrogen (which i don't think you want), just don't waste money on the motherboard... Buy the Z170 Deluxe...

 

I have to question the use of dominator platinums though... If I were you, I would buy cheaper RAM and probably save up some more money for a second GPU or allocate more of my budget towards a higher wattage PSU...

 

I found the cheapest ASUS Z170 Deluxe for 282.11€ here and the cheapest ASUS Maximus VIII Hero Alpha for 279.90€ here. So... eh? Help.

18 minutes ago, TheProphetGaming said:

I'm Looking at doing a VERY similar build, but with a higher end GPU ( EVga 1080 GTX Hybrid when it comes out ). 
I was in the same position as you with motherboards, I wanted ASUS so badly as i thought they were much more reputable ( and generally they are ) But for the extra price it costs for a lot of feature's you're not going to use? 
How i saw it was, I'm not going to use a lot of these features on this high end Asus mobo, So i settled for a much cheaper and still very good ( with everything i need and more ) MSI Z170A Gaming Pro Carbon Mobo, Or you can get the Gaming M3 Msi. 

This will save you a fair amount of money, which you could put towards a better efficiency power supply, Platinum ? 
And also better HDD WD Black Or something WD that suits you. 
And maybe if you want, wait and save a few more $$ for a EVGA hybrid gtx 1080 or get the msi Seahawk, Should be excellent with watercooling, and Over clocking.

And personally i think the Corsair dominator platniums are gorgeous, but is it worth that kind of money? Up too you. I think you could save the money and put it elsewhere even if its in your bank xD. Goodluck!

Quote me for a reply btw.

 

Do you already have the parts in overclock? How high could you go with them on the MSI board?

 

And yeah, I have no idea about HDDs. I just want a quiet and safe 7200RPM 2TB one. That's basically everything I expect from it. Will a WD Black deliver that?

 

And I have heard from many people that the Dominator Platinums are not worth it now, I think I'll just exchange them for the LPX.

 

Btw, anyone have a ballpark for the cost a full custom watercooling would be? With a reference GPU and the parts I listed in my opening post.

 

8 minutes ago, z97 said:

I've seen plenty of 6700K's rocking 4.8 at a decent voltage on the Hero boards.

 

LN2 is if you wanna break 5.5 GHZ+ and running extreme amounts of voltage.

 

and lets face it... the ROG board will make his rig pop 10 times more.

 

Woooow, okay. I am not looking beyond 5 GHz for sure. And yeah, I have to admit I am going for the "pop"... *cough* M.2 SSD. Totally actually not neccessary but I really want that beast.

[z97]

3 minutes ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

Really? I didn't know that the 6700K could overclock better on higher end boards... Good to know...

Granted most of it is silicon lottery.. the hero is the way to go over the z170 deluxe if you want as much performance/dollar.

 

Anyways, hoped the pics enlightened you with the define r5 and water cooling.

[PCGuy_5960]

4 minutes ago, TheKangaroo said:

 

I found the cheapest ASUS Z170 Deluxe for 282.11€ here and the cheapest ASUS Maximus VIII Hero Alpha for 279.90€ here. So... eh? Help.

Get the Hero... ROG is always better... I just recommended the deluxe, because I thought that it was cheaper... 

[z97]

7 minutes ago, TheKangaroo said:

 

I found the cheapest ASUS Z170 Deluxe for 282.11€ here and the cheapest ASUS Maximus VIII Hero Alpha for 279.90€ here. So... eh? Help.

 

Do you already have the parts in overclock? How high could you go with them on the MSI board?

 

And yeah, I have no idea about HDDs. I just want a quiet and safe 7200RPM 2TB one. That's basically everything I expect from it. Will a WD Black deliver that?

 

And I have heard from many people that the Dominator Platinums are not worth it now, I think I'll just exchange them for the LPX.

 

Btw, anyone have a ballpark for the cost a full custom watercooling would be? With a reference GPU and the parts I listed in my opening post.

Fittings 200-250 - DEPENDING on what you need/want. can be cheaper

Waterblocks 65ish cpu 150ish for GPU and back plate

Rads 200ish

Pump/res - 100-200

Fans 100 or so

Tubing 10 dollars maybe

Coolant - premix stuff 25-30ish 

[TheProphetGaming]

2 minutes ago, TheKangaroo said:

 

I found the cheapest ASUS Z170 Deluxe for 282.11€ here and the cheapest ASUS Maximus VIII Hero Alpha for 279.90€ here. So... eh? Help.

 

Do you already have the parts in overclock? How high could you go with them on the MSI board?

 

And yeah, I have no idea about HDDs. I just want a quiet and safe 7200RPM 2TB one. That's basically everything I expect from it. Will a WD Black deliver that?

 

And I have heard from many people that the Dominator Platinums are not worth it now, I think I'll just exchange them for the LPX.

 

Btw, anyone have a ballpark for the cost a full custom watercooling would be? With a reference GPU and the parts I listed in my opening post.

I Haven't chosen what build to go for yet, deciding wether to go for 5820k x99 or 6700k z170.

But I know for a fact that the msi boards are great, you wont be needing whats on those higher end mobo's. Trust me, Think how much you're paying for, and what you're really using it for. An msi board will do just fine for what you need, and will save you soo much.

Look into the different WD variety, theres Blue/Green/Purple and black i believe, each are for different uses. Black is for gaming storage i believe, and blue is for generally storage, but look into it. They're worth it. Very reliable and will work great for you. Its worth the extra price.

Yeh man just get some cheaper 3000Mhz ram, i'm getting the corsair vengeance LED, they're new to Australia ( where im from ). They look great, have LED's and are 3000Mhz speed, and dont cost much. 

Personally with Gpu watercooling, i'd prefer a premade AIO from either EVGA or Msi, ( I prefer evga over MSI for Hybrids, generally better. ) Saves you doing it, and easy to just set up and go. =) Can't wait till EVGA Hybrid 1080 GTX comes out! Shouldn't be long!

Look into the EVGA Hybrid on the 980Ti if you want a good example of how good it will be for the new 1080. It will give you a pretty good idea! 

[PCGuy_5960]

3 minutes ago, z97 said:

Granted most of it is silicon lottery.. the hero is the way to go over the z170 deluxe if you want as much performance/dollar.

 

Anyways, hoped the pics enlightened you with the define r5 and water cooling.

I know the Define R5 isn't incapable of watercooling... I just said that the Define S is more watercooling friendly, nothing more..

(Personally I like the Define R5 more than the Define S)

[TheKangaroo]

4 minutes ago, z97 said:

Granted most of it is silicon lottery.. the hero is the way to go over the z170 deluxe if you want as much performance/dollar.

 

Anyways, hoped the pics enlightened you with the define r5 and water cooling.

 Yeah, that's a sick build you have there! Have you ever had any problems with the dyed water cloggung up something?

2 minutes ago, z97 said:

Fittings 200-250

Waterblocks 65ish cpu 150ish for GPU and back plate

Rads 200ish

Fans 100 or so

Tubing 10 dollars maybe

Coolant - premix stuff 25-30ish 

 

805 bucks. Yiek. Was hoping it would be below 500.

 

2 minutes ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

Get the Hero... ROG is always better... I just recommended the deluxe, because I thought that it was cheaper... 

 

Allright, thanks for your answers! Helped me out a lot!