Gift to myself, a new PC build

[username455]

Hello everyone! I am excited to be building another PC and wanted some input. I am rewarding myself for a number of recent accomplishments, so I am splurging a little bit (although not to the point of ridiculous) and my budget is flexible

I have thrown together a very quick list, but it is by no means complete or finalized.. I really just picked the first on the list in a few cases. Mainly just wanted a starting point

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/Br3hgL

 

Now, my main gift to myself is actually a new Asus 34" ultrawide monitor, but I realize I need a pretty powerful PC to run that resolution at 100fps. Since I am going to be building a fairly beastly computer, I wanted to ask for advice regarding gtx 1080 single or SLI? Do you think its overkill, or would there be enough benefit to enjoy? Do I need more than 750w PSU if I am going to run SLI?

 

Another question I had is about the AIO water coolers. I have no experience at all with water cooling so I started to research the AIOs but read that many people prefer standard air cooling. any comments or suggestions? I am not ready for a full custom water cooling setup at this time. If not an AIO solution, then are there any CPU heat sinks that stand above the rest?

 

I am open to any and all suggestions, if there are any other improvements you can think of! thanks

 

[Damocles]

That rig, with that cooler? Bruh... Also, 750 Watts should be plenty! A single 1080 can rock 1440p at 40-80 fps in most maxed out games, but sli will be nearly all games depending on scaling of the application. So see some reviews on the game or application you'll be running. Water cooling is pretty safe nowadays, an AIO is reliable for at least 3 years before you check on it to see if it will rock another 3 years. Corsair's one of those companies where if it actually leaks and kills stuff, they'll replace the cooler and the dead parts. I'm rocking the same PSU, and you can expect full maxed overclocked system to draw a max of 300 watts GPUs'+ 150 watts OCed CPU+ 50 watts of system misc like maxed fans and stuff, and you're in the 500 watts region under full load. So 750 watts is plenty. However If your cards sport those 8+6 pins then at maxed overclock with full load you may be on the edge running at 650 watts max power draw. That's assuming you got 100% overclock from your system running 15 layers of prime 95 and furmark on post fx and dynamic camera. So 750 watts is enough IMHO.

[username455]

Ok so I am thinking of going with a single 1080 first, and will add a second one later if I am hungry for more FPS.

 

I am still trying to decide between 750w and 850w PSU, if I want to overclock and run SLI

 

Doing some reading, it sounds like the AIO water coolers arent that much better than high end air coolers? I like the hassle free heat sinks, and noctua has been good to me in the past. It has been hard for me to find actual numbers comparing water cooling with air cooling, but I keep reading that they may perform similarly? Noise doesnt bother me, so I am open to AIO water cooling, as long as its worth the added cost. Seems the Corsair H100i is the most popular, but is it the best option? Otherwise I was looking at the NH-U14s.

 

 

[username455]

Here is where I am at currently

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/cnjvf8

 

1. I could still use some advice regarding CPU coolers. corsair H100, 105, 110, 115.. I cant seem to tell a real difference besides price. I havent even started looking into other brands of AIOs, so I am sure there are many more options.

Or should I keep it simple with a NH-U14s? Possibly the NH-D15s, I would just have to make sure it fits in the case. Another option I was looking at was the cryorig H5. I plan to overclock, but nothing crazy.. so Im not sure how much I actually need water cooling? Aesthetics dont matter to me

 

2. ASUS has treated me well in the past, so I plan to stick with their motherboards, but can anyone tell me what the difference would be between these two boards?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132565

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4S84R41021&cm_re=asus_z170_pro_gaming-_-13-132-877-_-Product

One is considerably cheaper, but if the maximus hero has some special features, I dont mind the price increase. They both seem to have the improved audio with headphone amp. Would they have comparable overclocking potential? I noticed the maximus viii has a dedicated water pump connector listed in the specs sheet, I assume you can use an AIO with the other board as well though?

 

I appreciate the advice!