First build - Compatibility check and feedback

[forameus]

Hello first time poster here,

 

I am in the process of planning out and ordering the parts of my first custom PC, and plan on building it myself. A lot of time has gone into learning about PC's recently for me and how all the components interact, how they are compatible, etc., but some of my concerns below are some things I still have yet to understand about computers. 

 

My current parts list: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Musezeta/saved/tRT6Mp

 

CLICK FREE PARTS LIST (Not all parts listed):

Nothing has been purchased yet.

 

CPU:  Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor

CPU Cooler:  Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler

Motherboard:  Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

Memory:  Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory

Storage:

• (OS/Core programs)  Samsung 950 PRO 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
  • Core programs mainly being: Photoshop, Lightroom, AutoCAD, etc.
• (Steam)  Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
• (Miscellaneous)  Seagate 1TB 2.5" 5400RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive* (Taking out of laptop*)

Video Card:  EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card

Case:  Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case

Power Supply:  EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

 

1. Budget & Location

United States

~$2500 USD (including peripherals)*ᵃ

* Already own mouse and headset

ᵃ The lower the cost the better, but do prefer quality/reliability over saving a few bucks. I want this build to last for longer than it should.

 

2. Aim

Intended uses are mainly going to be gaming (1440p or lower as long as I can hit at least 60fps) and photography applications with the addition of CAD every once in awhile.

 

3. Monitors

See parts list

4. Peripherals

See parts list (Second monitor purchase for AdobeRGB color representation for photography will be made at a later date)

5. Why are you upgrading?

-

 

COMPATIBILITY CONCERNS I HAVE:

 

PSU:

• Is my current selection enough juice to keep the system stable?
• Does this PSU come with enough cabling for my needs? (EVGA includes adapters for graphics card)

HEAT SINK vs AIO L-COOLER:

• I am in debate whether or not I should stick with air cooling. Would the cost difference be worth it to upgrade to the H100i v2 for example over my current choice? 
  • I do plan on overclocking, but as a first time builder I won't be clocking to a max possible clock speed in fear of shorting the life span of the chip.

HEAT SINK:

Is there enough clearance between the following:

• Heat sink + Fan and RAM?
• Heat sink and Video Card?
  • If not, would sitting the video card in the lower PCIe 3.0 (GEN3) slot be an issue performance wise?
    • Is this slot a full x16 lane still when the top x16 is not in use or would I be reduced to x8?
    • Will the m.2 affect either the upper or lower x16 connections in terms of performance?
• Heat sink and Case side panel?

 

 

If anyone can explain some or even all of my concerns it would be a great help, especially if you have a similar setup. Any revised lists or re-considerations to use different parts are also welcomed.

[CallMeMysterious]

Welcome to the community! 

Not that I am judging you at all, but that seems a bit excessive for a first build. But hey, do what you want to do. 

Addressing your concerns, the PSU should be fine. pcpartpicker says your system will draw about 430 watts. The PSU also comes with plenty of connectors.

Air vs AIO: It is really up to you. AIO coolers do a better job cooling, but they also add another point of failure to your system. If it leaks, (assuming it is major) your system is dead. With air cooling, as long as you aren't an extreme overclocker, you will be fine with that. 

Heat Sink: They almost never interfere with video cards, and you shouldn't have any size problems. Don't quote me on that. With AIO coolers, as long as your case has dual or single 120mm or 140mm radiator support (it looks like yours may only support single 120mm, so like a corsair h60) you can add one in just fine.

 

But all else aside, that looks like an amazing setup. it should treat you well.

Good Luck Building!

[FanBlade]

16 minutes ago, forameus said:

Hello first time poster here,

 

I am in the process of planning out and ordering the parts of my first custom PC, and plan on building it myself. A lot of time has gone into learning about PC's recently for me and how all the components interact, how they are compatible, etc., but some of my concerns below are some things I still have yet to understand about computers. 

 

My current parts list: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Musezeta/saved/tRT6Mp

 

CLICK FREE PARTS LIST (Not all parts listed):

Nothing has been purchased yet.

 

CPU:  Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor

CPU Cooler:  Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler

Motherboard:  Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

Memory:  Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory

Storage:

• (OS/Core programs)  Samsung 950 PRO 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
  • Core programs mainly being: Photoshop, Lightroom, AutoCAD, etc.
• (Steam)  Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
• (Miscellaneous)  Seagate 1TB 2.5" 5400RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive* (Taking out of laptop*)

Video Card:  EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card

Case:  Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case

Power Supply:  EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

 

1. Budget & Location

United States

~$2500 USD (including peripherals)*ᵃ

* Already own mouse and headset

ᵃ The lower the cost the better, but do prefer quality/reliability over saving a few bucks. I want this build to last for longer than it should.

 

2. Aim

Intended uses are mainly going to be gaming (1440p or lower as long as I can hit at least 60fps) and photography applications with the addition of CAD every once in awhile.

 

3. Monitors

See parts list

4. Peripherals

See parts list (Second monitor purchase for AdobeRGB color representation for photography will be made at a later date)

5. Why are you upgrading?

-

 

COMPATIBILITY CONCERNS I HAVE:

 

PSU:

• Is my current selection enough juice to keep the system stable?
• Does this PSU come with enough cabling for my needs? (EVGA includes adapters for graphics card)

HEAT SINK vs AIO L-COOLER:

• I am in debate whether or not I should stick with air cooling. Would the cost difference be worth it to upgrade to the H100i v2 for example over my current choice? 
  • I do plan on overclocking, but as a first time builder I won't be clocking to a max possible clock speed in fear of shorting the life span of the chip.

HEAT SINK:

Is there enough clearance between the following:

• Heat sink + Fan and RAM?
• Heat sink and Video Card?
  • If not, would sitting the video card in the lower PCIe 3.0 (GEN3) slot be an issue performance wise?
    • Is this slot a full x16 lane still when the top x16 is not in use or would I be reduced to x8?
    • Will the m.2 affect either the upper or lower x16 connections in terms of performance?
• Heat sink and Case side panel?

 

 

If anyone can explain some or even all of my concerns it would be a great help, especially if you have a similar setup. Any revised lists or re-considerations to use different parts are also welcomed.

Looks good. Which pcie slot affects performance is usually stated in the motherboard manual

 

[vgfan1995]

Hey! I just built a very similar PC like you, and I'm using the Corsair H100i v2 L-cooler. I think it's a little bit loud with the dual 120mm fans that come with the AIO. Other than that, I think this is a solid build. Also, since your build is about 2.5K dollars, you might want to go with the 1080 or if you don't build it right now, wait for the 1080Ti (It might be really long or even never)

[antisleep]

41 minutes ago, forameus said:

2. Aim

Intended uses are mainly going to be gaming (1440p or lower as long as I can hit at least 60fps) and photography applications with the addition of CAD every once in awhile.

 

Consider 1440p IPS displays if you're not into competitive high refresh rate games like CSGO. IPS panels also give you more accurate colors and better viewing angles.

Monitor: Acer G257HU smidpx 25.0" 60Hz Monitor  ($269.99 @ B&H) 

Monitor: Asus PB278Q 27.0" 60Hz Monitor  ($386.99 @ Best Buy) 

[forameus]

39 minutes ago, CallMeMysterious said:

Welcome to the community! 

Not that I am judging you at all, but that seems a bit excessive for a first build. But hey, do what you want to do. 

Addressing your concerns, the PSU should be fine. pcpartpicker says your system will draw about 430 watts. The PSU also comes with plenty of connectors.

Air vs AIO: It is really up to you. AIO coolers do a better job cooling, but they also add another point of failure to your system. If it leaks, (assuming it is major) your system is dead. With air cooling, as long as you aren't an extreme overclocker, you will be fine with that. 

Heat Sink: They almost never interfere with video cards, and you shouldn't have any size problems. Don't quote me on that. With AIO coolers, as long as your case has dual or single 120mm or 140mm radiator support (it looks like yours may only support single 120mm, so like a corsair h60) you can add one in just fine.

 

But all else aside, that looks like an amazing setup. it should treat you well.

Good Luck Building!

Excessive but future proof for a handful of years I'd say. Thank you for all the input about the PSU and cooling. 

30 minutes ago, FanBlade said:

Looks good. Which pcie slot affects performance is usually stated in the motherboard manual

 

Thank you for the information. I'll be sure to consult the manual before purchase if an answer is not supplied here.

13 minutes ago, vgfan1995 said:

Hey! I just built a very similar PC like you, and I'm using the Corsair H100i v2 L-cooler. I think it's a little bit loud with the dual 120mm fans that come with the AIO. Other than that, I think this is a solid build. Also, since your build is about 2.5K dollars, you might want to go with the 1080 or if you don't build it right now, wait for the 1080Ti (It might be really long or even never)

Hope your system is treating you well, I originally wanted to go with the H100i v2 as well and had it on the list, but decided against water after finding out how well the H15 performs, and how quiet it is. If I change my mind again the Kraken X61 looks very appealing, and is supposed to be much quieter. If you have the same case, do you have lots of clearance between the rad/fans and the cpu? I assume you're not running push-pull seeing that the stock fans are still being used.

 

I have considered a 1080. I feel as of right now a 1070 is already extremely powerful, and if it can't get me by at 1440p, it should have no problem with 1080p even on the newest games.

3 minutes ago, antisleep said:

 

Consider 1440p IPS displays if you're not into competitive high refresh rate games like CSGO. IPS panels also give you more accurate colors and better viewing angles.

Monitor: Acer G257HU smidpx 25.0" 60Hz Monitor  ($269.99 @ B&H) 

Monitor: Asus PB278Q 27.0" 60Hz Monitor  ($386.99 @ Best Buy) 

Thanks for the recommendations! I casually play CSGO right now on an older laptop that struggles to hit 60fps. My buddy however has the same monitor I'm currently interested in and it was a night and day difference. An IPS would be nice for a 2nd or even 3rd monitor, I'll take a look, cheers.

[vgfan1995]

7 minutes ago, forameus said:

Excessive but future proof for a handful of years I'd say. Thank you for all the input about the PSU and cooling. 

Thank you for the information. I'll be sure to consult the manual before purchase if an answer is not supplied here.

Hope your system is treating you well, I originally wanted to go with the H100i v2 as well and had it on the list, but decided against water after finding out how well the H15 performs, and how quiet it is. If I change my mind again the Kraken X61 looks very appealing, and is supposed to be much quieter. If you have the same case, do you have lots of clearance between the rad/fans and the cpu? I assume you're not running push-pull seeing that the stock fans are still being used.

 

I have considered a 1080. I feel as of right now a 1070 is already extremely powerful, and if it can't get me by at 1440p, it should have no problem with 1080p even on the newest games.

Thanks for the recommendations! I casually play CSGO right now on an older laptop that struggles to hit 60fps. My buddy however has the same monitor I'm currently interested in and it was a night and day difference. An IPS would be nice for a 2nd or even 3rd monitor, I'll take a look, cheers.

 

Haha! Unfortunately, I use the Fractal Design Define R5 after listening to Linus's recommendation, very solid case and comes with two pre-mounted 140mm fans. (very quiet) I think if you don't OC your CPU too high, an air cooler will give you solid cooling and quietness.