Is this a good PC Build? Any improvements? $1500 Budget

[KeoRio]

Hello everyone! I'm in need of help,

 

I'm not sure whether this computer build as a whole is good; however, I know the parts individually are excellent. I'm determined to keep the i7 6700K and the GTX 1070. I know most would suggest an i5 6600K instead, but there is small bottle-necking in a few different games like GTA V, which is a CPU intensive game as I've heard. I do want it to also be a "small" workstation. I've been using a laptop for quite a while now and I would definitely love to upgrade to desktop gaming. Since I'm doing such, I'm not starting with a low jump. I'm taking a great leap. Thanks for any help and advice! The Forum so far is great.

 

I would be grateful if someone would also suggest a $1000 build with, at minimum, a GTX 1060 or greater. 

 

$1500 Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/By8QPs

 

EDIT: Does anyone know why M.2 SSD would be a bad idea compared to SATA SSD?

[GDRRiley]

better ssd, no need for the extra thermal paste and grab a better psu 

[KeoRio]

Would there be any reason why a SATA SSD is better? I like the idea of using a new type of technology and I've heard that M.2 is good enough or in fact even more so. Also, I'd prefer to keep a copy of windows anyways unless there as a reliable USB installer. I've heard the Windows 10 USB versions are not great. 

[Neth]

How about these changes? Better PSU, larger SSD (but not M.2) and a GTX 1080. Grab Windows from Reddit Software swap.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/RRxgBP

 

[brob]

Some sacrifices have to be made to cut 30% off the budget. Principal among these is the cpu and gpu. The argument for reducing the cpu is the less powerful gpu.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($227.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($27.95 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Extreme4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($106.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($63.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB SC GAMING Video Card  ($259.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($42.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($92.19 @ Amazon) 
Total: $993.55
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-10 00:32 EDT-0400

 

Some suggestions for the more expensive build. Go with a less expensive case and cpu cooler. Use a 4-lane M.2 ssd instead of a slower 2-lane one. Also, should be bigger. 120GB is tight.

 

Spoiler

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($324.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($27.95 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus Z170-E ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($127.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($63.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($185.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB SC GAMING Video Card  ($414.98 @ Newegg) 
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400S ATX Mid Tower Case  ($76.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($92.19 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1417.55
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-10 00:38 EDT-0400

 

[Gnomo]

windows from kinguin

 

1500$ build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($324.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_BK 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($46.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI Z170 Krait Gaming ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($127.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($94.00 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($69.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card  ($446.98 @ B&H)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Luxe ATX Full Tower Case  ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: be quiet! Power Zone 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (Purchased For €0.00)
Total: $1450.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-10 00:50 EDT-0400

1000$ build with gtx 1060:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($227.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($27.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($137.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($94.00 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 6GB WINDFORCE OC 6G Video Card  ($265.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1007.26
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-10 00:56 EDT-0400

[KeoRio]

Thanks for the advice and great PC Build list! Gnomo, I like how some people are suggesting that the PSU should be better, yet you've downgraded to bronze. I chose the gold certification to be extra safe and the Noctis 450 because I can't handle bad looking cases. The Phanteks case is great too by the way. 

 

Does anyone know why M.2 would be a bad idea over SATA SSD?

[brob]

43 minutes ago, KeoRio said:

Thanks for the advice and great PC Build list! Gnomo, I like how some people are suggesting that the PSU should be better, yet you've downgraded to bronze. I chose the gold certification to be extra safe and the Noctis 450 because I can't handle bad looking cases. The Phanteks case is great too by the way. 

 

Does anyone know why M.2 would be a bad idea over SATA SSD?

80+ certifications are about electrical efficiency. Not about build, component, or delivered power quality. It is quite possible to have an 80+ Gold psu that is worse quality than an 80+ Bronze unit. In fact it is not uncommon.

 

There are two common M.2 ssd. Simply: (B+M) 2-lane and (M) 4-lane. Two lane M.2 (B+M) drives typically have the same performance envelope as their 2.5" format models since they both use SATA 3. Four-lane B.2 (M) ssd are much faster as they use MVMe. They cost a fair bit more and can suffer from heat induced throttling.

 

Nothing inherently wrong with choosing to use an M.2 drive. If one is looking at a M.2 (B+M) drive, I think the 2.5" format is mechanically more robust. The added performance of an M.2 (M) drive is great, but the budget can often be better used elsewhere in the build.

 

[Armakar]

Stick a larger SSD on. I reccomend samsung 850 evo 240gb if your budguet fits it.

Perhaps change the PSU. It's not an awful PSU but there's better ones. You don't need 650w btw inless your planning to SLI in the future or your doing a ridiculous overclock. Even a higher overclock build won't surpass  around 500w.

 

Scrap windows 10, save yourself £90. Just get a usb stick or portable hard drive and use microsoft's free tool to make installation media for windows 10, then buy a product key from amazon / kinguin. Much, much cheaper.

[Gnomo]

12 hours ago, brob said:

80+ certifications are about electrical efficiency. Not about build, component, or delivered power quality. It is quite possible to have an 80+ Gold psu that is worse quality than an 80+ Bronze unit. In fact it is not uncommon.

 

Can't say more. I am using a 80+ bronze 650 Be Quiet now for over 5 years and it will also be the psu of a new pc.
Simply because it is an extreme high quality psu with all the needs I could ever have and it wasn't necessary yet to switch it. It goes as far that I am thinking of buying a bronze PSU again.