Durable PC Build

[Slottr]

9 minutes ago, rphawks said:

I can't find any parts that are blue. I know there are RGB GPUs, but I've pretty much decided on the MSI one. Also, the only blue mobo also has white, which I don't want to add.  Color Scheme Problems.

Heres my idea,

 

Get a colour neutral board - like this one

For GPU, I would still say something like the EVGA FTW 1070, comes with a black backplate, and corrosponds with the silver accents on the board, also if your system is lit up blue along with the cards LEDs, you wont even be able to tell.

[rphawks]

29 minutes ago, Slottr said:

Heres my idea,

 

Get a colour neutral board - like this one

For GPU, I would still say something like the EVGA FTW 1070, comes with a black backplate, and corrosponds with the silver accents on the board, also if your system is lit up blue along with the cards LEDs, you wont even be able to tell.

 

I might go with that exact board. However, I'm probably still going to stick with the MSI card. Just because it looks better. And I'm sort of stubborn.

[Necromonger]

My recommendation for case is the NZXT S340 Black/Red. I've used several mid tower cases before and for the price, the S340 is freaking amazing. Lots of places to hide wires plus a dungeon underneath to hide the PSU. Both my and my girlfriend have an S340. Alternatively the H440 is good, but more expensive.

[rphawks]

10 minutes ago, Necromonger said:

My recommendation for case is the NZXT S340 Black/Red. I've used several mid tower cases before and for the price, the S340 is freaking amazing. Lots of places to hide wires plus a dungeon underneath to hide the PSU. Both my and my girlfriend have an S340. Alternatively the H440 is good, but more expensive.

 

I'm not really having a problem with my case, and the thing about the NZXT cases is that the NZXT blue is very light and vibrant, while the LED color I will be using will most likely be a darker blue.

[JFischer00]

14 hours ago, rphawks said:

What's the difference between the RMx and G2? Just curious. Also, I had a guy on another thread say to go for 4K, even if it's TN. Why 1440p? 

 

Edit: Might not have mentioned it, but I plan on upgrading to SLI in the future.

Sorry for late reply. Never mind about the PSUs, they're both pretty much the same in terms of quality. 1440p because it's IPS and not even a GTX 1080 can run all games at 4K 60 FPS, so until you SLI "in the future" you won't be able to play all games 60 FPS.

[JFischer00]

14 hours ago, JSD10 said:

The z9 neo is an amazing case. I have one and it is the greatest thing ever.

I didn't say it wasn't. I just said that I would change it because I prefer the NZXT S340 and the Phanteks Eclipse P400 in that price range.

[rphawks]

8 hours ago, JFischer00 said:

Sorry for late reply. Never mind about the PSUs, they're both pretty much the same in terms of quality. 1440p because it's IPS and not even a GTX 1080 can run all games at 4K 60 FPS, so until you SLI "in the future" you won't be able to play all games 60 FPS.

 

Sorry didn't get the notification for this somehow . I get what you mean, and that's what I thought too, but I'll check in the Monitors forum to make sure.

[rphawks]

This is pretty much my final list:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/Dm87RG
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/Dm87RG/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($227.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H5 Ultimate 76.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($46.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: MSI Z170A SLI PLUS ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($137.84 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($93.88 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.71 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Video Card  ($433.84 @ OutletPC) Plan to

Case: Zalman ZM-Z9 NEO BK ATX Mid Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Corsair RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($99.99 @ Newegg) 

Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter  ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Monitor: AOC U2879VF 28.0" 60Hz Monitor  ($299.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1546.20 Probably will play AAA games at 1080p scaled.

 

[xephoneration]

The monitor If you want to, since the 1070 would handle 1440p, qnix. I have it and I freaking love it, to add it is a very OC able panel, from 60hz-140hz, I have mine clocked atm at 90hz because I do not reach frames above 90. Also it is a Samsung panel rebranded. 

 

 

 

EDIT: If you want to try to get a i7 I would play around with the price of the motherboard, case, psu, and SSD. 

[xephoneration]

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/F8VwYr\

 

i7 and a 1080. 

 

Also if you need a network card you will still be slightly under budget if you got one with this build. 

 

EDIT: you can get a asus z170-a open box off of new egg will save ya $20

[rphawks]

2 hours ago, xephoneration said:

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/F8VwYr\

 

i7 and a 1080. 

 

Also if you need a network card you will still be slightly under budget if you got one with this build. 

 

EDIT: you can get a asus z170-a open box off of new egg will save ya $20

 

 

I will try to get an i7, but it just doesn't look like it's going to work unless I switch out my SSD. Also, two things I forgot to mention. I'm going black and blue, but since no Z170 has a lot of blue parts w/o white I'm doing all black w/ blue LEDs.

 

And um... the list has a 1070 on it.

[rphawks]

2 hours ago, xephoneration said:

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/F8VwYr\

 

i7 and a 1080. 

 

Also if you need a network card you will still be slightly under budget if you got one with this build. 

 

EDIT: you can get a asus z170-a open box off of new egg will save ya $20

 

Plus, you didn't put the monitor's price in, so it's actually almost $1800.

[xephoneration]

27 minutes ago, rphawks said:

I will try to get an i7, but it just doesn't look like it's going to work unless I switch out my SSD. Also, two things I forgot to mention. I'm going black and blue, but since no Z170 has a lot of blue parts w/o white I'm doing all black w/ blue LEDs.

 

And um... the list has a 1070 on it.

huh that is weird lol

 

here is my 2 cents on aesthetics. Granted aesthetics are wonderful! theme and all! but it does have a heavy cost because there is a premium for such.... I would love to do a black and red theme on mine yet the motherboard I would have to get would of cost me $40-$50 more. Where as If i can cut cost and sacrifice aesthetics and buy better parts than that would be a better approach. I think you can do a lot with your budget but good luck!  

[rphawks]

Thought this would be interesting to try out to see everyone's opinions, even though I'm mostly done with my list.

 

Budget: $1550 MAXIMUM (preferably $1500)

 

CPU: i5-6600K or i7-6700K Currently Undecided

 

CPU Cooler: AIO or Air, no water-cooling loops, make sure it supports the ram you choose. If you go with Noctua... add a replacement fan please. Colors: Can contain Black, Silver, or streaks of anything but white. Can have copper heat pipes. Currently Cryorig H5 Ultimate

 

Mobo: Z170 Chipset, must support two-way SLI, must have at least one PCIe x1 and 1 M.2 slot. Colors: Can contain Black, Dark Blue, Silver, RGB LEDs, or accents of anything but white. Currently MSI Z170A SLI PLUS

 

RAM: DDR4. Colors: Black or Black with RGB/Blue LEDs. Currently DDR4-2400 Corsair Vengeance LPX

 

SSD: 250-500GB, fast. Color: Black. Currently Samsung 850 EVO 250GB

 

HDD: 1TB+, 7200RPM+. Color: No preference. Currently WD Blue 1TB 

 

GPU:  Nvida GTX 1070. Color: No preference (if it's worth the performance). Currently MSI GTX 1070 Gaming X

 

Case: Already Decided: Zalman Z9 Neo

 

PSU: Already Decided: Corsair RMx 750W 80+ Gold or EVGA G2 750W 80+ Gold (buying whichever one is cheaper when I build, will be running SLI in the future)

 

Monitor: 1440p TN/IPS 144hz OR 4K TN 60hz. 25" or bigger, preferably 27"+. Probably not going to be able to fit 4K IPS or 4K 144hz in the budget, but if you find one that ends up under the budget, go for it. Currently AOC U2879VF 28" 60hz Monitor

 

Wi-Fi Card: PCIe x1. Fast. Currently Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter

 

Thanks in advance for any lists!

 

 

[bgibbz]

That monitor choice for this budget is a bit unrealistic. 1440p 144hz monitors are like 700$. Also, I assume you want a pcie X1 slot for some device you have, and if you didn't know this already, a pcie x1 card can fit in any pcie slot. I currently don't have time to put a list together though. 

[rphawks]

Just now, bgibbz said:

That monitor choice for this budget is a bit unrealistic. 1440p 144hz monitors are like 700$. Also, I assume you want a pcie X1 slot for some device you have, and if you didn't know this already, a pcie x1 card can fit in any pcie slot. I currently don't have time to put a list together though. 

 

Well ofc for the PCIe. And about the monitors.. nononononono. They go from about 350-600. No where NEAR that high.

[RGProductions]

3 minutes ago, rphawks said:

 

Well in order to do SLI with m.2 active and a pcie x1 wifi card you need X99. The consumer z170 chips don't have that many PCI-e lanes

[bgibbz]

2 minutes ago, rphawks said:

Well ofc for the PCIe. And about the monitors.. nononononono. They go from about 350-600. No where NEAR that high.

Yes, you are correct. I was thinking about gsync for some reason. 

[rphawks]

4 minutes ago, RGProductions said:

Well in order to do SLI with m.2 active and a pcie x1 wifi card you need X99. The consumer z170 chips don't have that many PCI-e lanes

 

 

I'm 1 over right? Hm...

 

EDIT: Changed the list so it doesn't require M.2.

[rphawks]

11 minutes ago, bgibbz said:

Yes, you are correct. I was thinking about gsync for some reason. 

SATA doesn't use PCIe lanes right? Only M.2?

[SnowyMus]

15 minutes ago, RGProductions said:

Well in order to do SLI with m.2 active and a pcie x1 wifi card you need X99. The consumer z170 chips don't have that many PCI-e lanes

Not necessarily. On a Z170 platform, the CPU will allocate 8 lanes to each GPU. You can't even use lanes from the chipset for SLI, as you need at least 8 lanes per GPU for SLI, and the chipset only provides up to 4 per device. With 20 lanes, the chipset should handle the M.2 SSD and wifi card just fine.

[bgibbz]

5 minutes ago, rphawks said:

SATA doesn't use PCIe lanes right? Only M.2?

Sata does not, correct. 

[rphawks]

16 minutes ago, Kavawuvi said:

Not necessarily. On a Z170 platform, the CPU will allocate 8 lanes to each GPU. You can't even use lanes from the chipset for SLI, as you need at least 8 lanes per GPU for SLI, and the chipset only provides up to 4 per device. With 20 lanes, the chipset should handle the M.2 SSD and wifi card just fine.

 

So... I'll have 16 lanes for the GPUs and 20 for everything else?

[SnowyMus]

20 minutes ago, rphawks said:

So... I'll have 16 lanes for the GPUs and 20 for everything else?

Yes. On a Z170 ATX or micro ATX motherboard, you'll typically get a single x16 slot and a second x16 slot that's electrically an x8 slot. They're typically closest to your CPU in terms of location on the motherboard, but the motherboard manual and GPU-Z can verify this for you, in addition to NVIDIA's software. I mention this because you might get a third x16 slot on an ATX motherboard - this is electrically a x4 slot and shouldn't be used if you want SLI.

 

The chipset supplies 20 lanes for your non-graphics (x4, x2, and x1) devices. This includes your M.2 drives, your wireless cards, sound cards, and stuff like SATA express (does anyone actually use SATA express?).

[rphawks]

Just now, Kavawuvi said:

Yes. On a Z170 ATX or micro ATX motherboard, you'll typically get a single x16 slot and a second x16 slot that's electrically an x8 slot. They're typically closest to your CPU in terms of location on the motherboard, but the motherboard manual and GPU-Z can verify this for you, in addition to NVIDIA's software. I mention this because you might get a third x16 slot on an ATX motherboard - this is electrically a x4 slot and shouldn't be used if you want SLI.

 

The chipset supplies 20 lanes for your non-graphics (x4, x2, and x1) devices. This includes your M.2 drives, your wireless cards, sound cards, and stuff like SATA express.

 

Oh. Okay then .

 

P.S. Still no lists yet tho... lol.