Planning my first build ~2,5k budget

[Luceamar]

So I'll be putting up a workstation for photo and video stuff such as panoramas, 4k timelapse videos, focus stacking and so on. Also some gaming (Skyrim remastered, Witcher3 maybe and some shooter like BF or a Tom Clancy game).

I've so far decided to go with an i7 6800k as processor and will buy an GTX 1080 as GPU untill the 1080ti comes out and then get two of those for SLI. I'll also start out with one 4k monitor and later add two more (Ideally when the 1080ti's arrive). The CPU supports up to 128GB - my plan was to start out with 2x16GB and add more 2x16Gb packs when needed / when I can comfortably afford it. I'll have some SSD's with RAID1 because I'm not that hasty so that I think just a SSD should be just fine, but for security RAID1 sounds really great. My OS of choice is Win10.

I would need some help i.e. would like to hear suggestions for 1) the Mobo. Should ofc support all the RAM, the CPU and the GPU('s). I do plan on OC, but not to the max - just some slight and safe (I'm also a newbie to this stuff). There's for example the ASUS X99 Deluxe II, which seems pricy but you have to pay for quality and I'd like to avoid bottlenecks. What'd you advice me to buy? MSI? ASUS? I've also read about X99 mobo's needing a BIOS update to work with the 6800K - could someone eventually educate me on that matter as well? 2) CPU cooler. It seems I'll be needing that as well, but got no clue what to get. Silent, reliable and quality would be the focus here. 3) the Case. Good airflow, timeless design, silent, quality. I've seen the Nanoxia Deep Silence, which would IMO look pretty nice, maybe something from fractal design since Linus seems to be cool with them? I'll want to build in an optical drive and an internal memorycard reader as well. And lastly 4) the PSU. Same theme of reliability and quality continued. Fully modular. I was thinking of getting one now for when I've got one 1080 and then upgrading to a more powerful when I get the dual 1080ti, if it doesn't make more sense to right away get one that I can use through.
I'll be trying to get most parts from Mindfactory, shopping from Germany and Finland.
In case there's some info missing please point it out, I'll edit the post.

[MadOver]

Not sure if its 2500$ or €, but:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/Lm4Jnn
Price breakdown by merchant: http://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/Lm4Jnn/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6850K 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor  (€616.87 @ Mindfactory) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  (€76.99 @ Aquatuning) 
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme6/ac ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  (€318.58 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  (€101.76 @ Mindfactory) 
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  (€316.94 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (€163.00 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card  (€686.00 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Case: Nanoxia Deep Silence 5 ATX Full Tower Case  (€121.16 @ Mindfactory) 
Power Supply: EVGA 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (€170.86 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Total: €2572.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-27 16:10 CEST+0200

[brob]

2 hours ago, Luceamar said:

So I'll be putting up a workstation for photo and video stuff such as panoramas, 4k timelapse videos, focus stacking and so on. Also some gaming (Skyrim remastered, Witcher3 maybe and some shooter like BF or a Tom Clancy game).

I've so far decided to go with an i7 6800k as processor and will buy an GTX 1080 as GPU untill the 1080ti comes out and then get two of those for SLI. I'll also start out with one 4k monitor and later add two more (Ideally when the 1080ti's arrive). The CPU supports up to 128GB - my plan was to start out with 2x16GB and add more 2x16Gb packs when needed / when I can comfortably afford it. I'll have some SSD's with RAID1 because I'm not that hasty so that I think just a SSD should be just fine, but for security RAID1 sounds really great. My OS of choice is Win10.

I would need some help i.e. would like to hear suggestions for 1) the Mobo. Should ofc support all the RAM, the CPU and the GPU('s). I do plan on OC, but not to the max - just some slight and safe (I'm also a newbie to this stuff). There's for example the ASUS X99 Deluxe II, which seems pricy but you have to pay for quality and I'd like to avoid bottlenecks. What'd you advice me to buy? MSI? ASUS? I've also read about X99 mobo's needing a BIOS update to work with the 6800K - could someone eventually educate me on that matter as well? 2) CPU cooler. It seems I'll be needing that as well, but got no clue what to get. Silent, reliable and quality would be the focus here. 3) the Case. Good airflow, timeless design, silent, quality. I've seen the Nanoxia Deep Silence, which would IMO look pretty nice, maybe something from fractal design since Linus seems to be cool with them? I'll want to build in an optical drive and an internal memorycard reader as well. And lastly 4) the PSU. Same theme of reliability and quality continued. Fully modular. I was thinking of getting one now for when I've got one 1080 and then upgrading to a more powerful when I get the dual 1080ti, if it doesn't make more sense to right away get one that I can use through.
I'll be trying to get most parts from Mindfactory, shopping from Germany and Finland.
In case there's some info missing please point it out, I'll edit the post.

 

When getting memory for X99 it is better to get quad-channel kits. I would suggest either a 4x8GB kit or 4x16GB. This would guaranty quad channel memory operation which does make a difference in the type of work described.

 

RAID 1 does not replace good backup. It simply reduces time to recover from a single device hardware failure. If that is important then RAID 1 is appropriate. Otherwise, consider putting the resources into more ssd storage or elsewhere in the build.

 

Performance differences in quality motherboards are typically within the margin of error. The X99 Deluxe II is a very nice motherboard but unless it has features you need or want, you might consider something a little less expensive. A number of Asus motherboards, the X99 Deluxe II being one of them, have a feature called USB BIOS Flashback. It allows for upgrading the BIOS without using the cpu or memory. Most motherboard manufacturers ship motherboards with the BIOS current at the time of manufacture. So it is likely that X99 motherboards shipping today include the necessary BIOS updates to support Broadwell-E processors. But the USB BIOS Flashback feature eliminates any worry.

 

I admit to being a fan of Asus motherboards. I like their quality, feature sets, and BIOS.

 

The Fractal-Design Define R5 would likely meet your needs. I think you will find their quality a bit higher than Nanoxia. I would suggest not looking for an internal memory card reader. External usb card readers are less expensive and can be easily exchanged for newer units that handle new card formats and speeds.

 

If silence is highly prized consider cpu coolers from Noctua, Cryorig, and Phanteks.

 

I would not suggest planning to upgrade major components. Get a psu capable of handling the maximum anticipated load. For a two gpu GTX 1080 Ti system a safe psu size would be 850W. PSU to consider: EVGA G2, P2, GQ; Corsair RMx, RMi, HXi; Seasonic G-series, X-series, Platinum series; Superflower Leadex Gold & Platinum.

 

Consider something like the following:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6800K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor  (€436.89 @ Mindfactory) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler  (€74.94 @ Mindfactory) 
Motherboard: Asus X99-A II ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  (€251.95) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  (€147.14 @ Mindfactory) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (€306.89 @ Mindfactory) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Superclocked Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card  (€689.16 @ Mindfactory) 
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  (€102.58 @ Mindfactory) 
Power Supply: Corsair 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (€148.75 @ Mindfactory) 
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-209DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  (€69.93 @ Mindfactory) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  (€99.16 @ Mindfactory) 
Other: Transcend Card Reader USB 3.0 Stick Dual Slot  (€5.85)
Total: €2333.24
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-27 17:20 CEST+0200

[Luceamar]

15 hours ago, MadOver said:

Not sure if its 2500$ or €, but:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/Lm4Jnn
Price breakdown by merchant: http://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/Lm4Jnn/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6850K 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor  (€616.87 @ Mindfactory) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  (€76.99 @ Aquatuning) 
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme6/ac ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  (€318.58 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  (€101.76 @ Mindfactory) 
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  (€316.94 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (€163.00 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card  (€686.00 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Case: Nanoxia Deep Silence 5 ATX Full Tower Case  (€121.16 @ Mindfactory) 
Power Supply: EVGA 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (€170.86 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Total: €2572.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-27 16:10 CEST+0200

€ it is
Thank you very much for your time
(Would you though care to explain why you went with the 6850k?)

[Luceamar]

14 hours ago, brob said:

 

When getting memory for X99 it is better to get quad-channel kits. I would suggest either a 4x8GB kit or 4x16GB. This would guaranty quad channel memory operation which does make a difference in the type of work described.

 

RAID 1 does not replace good backup. It simply reduces time to recover from a single device hardware failure. If that is important then RAID 1 is appropriate. Otherwise, consider putting the resources into more ssd storage or elsewhere in the build.

 

Performance differences in quality motherboards are typically within the margin of error. The X99 Deluxe II is a very nice motherboard but unless it has features you need or want, you might consider something a little less expensive. A number of Asus motherboards, the X99 Deluxe II being one of them, have a feature called USB BIOS Flashback. It allows for upgrading the BIOS without using the cpu or memory. Most motherboard manufacturers ship motherboards with the BIOS current at the time of manufacture. So it is likely that X99 motherboards shipping today include the necessary BIOS updates to support Broadwell-E processors. But the USB BIOS Flashback feature eliminates any worry.

 

I admit to being a fan of Asus motherboards. I like their quality, feature sets, and BIOS.

 

The Fractal-Design Define R5 would likely meet your needs. I think you will find their quality a bit higher than Nanoxia. I would suggest not looking for an internal memory card reader. External usb card readers are less expensive and can be easily exchanged for newer units that handle new card formats and speeds.

 

If silence is highly prized consider cpu coolers from Noctua, Cryorig, and Phanteks.

 

I would not suggest planning to upgrade major components. Get a psu capable of handling the maximum anticipated load. For a two gpu GTX 1080 Ti system a safe psu size would be 850W. PSU to consider: EVGA G2, P2, GQ; Corsair RMx, RMi, HXi; Seasonic G-series, X-series, Platinum series; Superflower Leadex Gold & Platinum.

 

Consider something like the following:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6800K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor  (€436.89 @ Mindfactory) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler  (€74.94 @ Mindfactory) 
Motherboard: Asus X99-A II ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  (€251.95) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  (€147.14 @ Mindfactory) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (€306.89 @ Mindfactory) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Superclocked Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card  (€689.16 @ Mindfactory) 
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  (€102.58 @ Mindfactory) 
Power Supply: Corsair 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (€148.75 @ Mindfactory) 
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-209DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer  (€69.93 @ Mindfactory) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  (€99.16 @ Mindfactory) 
Other: Transcend Card Reader USB 3.0 Stick Dual Slot  (€5.85)
Total: €2333.24
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-27 17:20 CEST+0200

Many thanks for your input! It helps on a great deal.

A few questions though: If the max of RAM I can have is 128GB and I have 8 slots I should probably get 4x16 then already from the start because if I go the 8GB way I max out at 8x8 already. Which probably would still be fine but I'd rather have the chance to max out on RAM.

Seems like Asus it is then  but will probably have to dig around a bit which of those fits me best... Do you have an opinion on MSI ones? In an early stage of planning I also had a look at their X99 Raiders 

 

The Fractal Define R5 looks really nice, it's even a bit cheaper than the Nanoxia cases. But there's cases 3-4x the price. I suppose I get *something* more when I pay 300€ for a case instead 100€ (what the Define R5 currently costs), but what is it that I get when I pay more here? (Like a cooler master or corsair)

Also, the Define R5 comes with two fans. I hear stock fans are best switched immediately to some better ones, and it's of course logical that the fans coming with a case aren't of the highest quality. Any idea how it is with the Fractal stock ones? And for optimal airflow I'd probably need to add in a few more fans anyway/additionally to the two?
 

I'm doing myself on as many of these things as I can all the time so there's no need for you to start digging up answers but if you have some off the top of your head / know some good sites to read that would help on a lot  It's my first build and I'd like to do it as right as possible

[ItsTheDuckAgain]

24 minutes ago, Luceamar said:

(...)

Also, the Define R5 comes with two fans. I hear stock fans are best switched immediately to some better ones, and it's of course logical that the fans coming with a case aren't of the highest quality. Any idea how it is with the Fractal stock ones? And for optimal airflow I'd probably need to add in a few more fans anyway/additionally to the two?

(...)

 

Define R5 owner here:

The Fans that come with the case are these. They are very good in that price range. I ordered one additional for the front to get positiv air pressure for sure in the case. So I ended up with 2 intake and out exhaust fan.

 

The build Quality of the case is also very good. No complaints there. You will not run into any trouble when running SLI. Linus made a build in an R5, that might give you a good impression of the case: See this link here.

 

Hope this helps.

[Luceamar]

10 minutes ago, ItsTheDuckAgain said:

 

Define R5 owner here:

The Fans that come with the case are these. They are very good in that price range. I ordered one additional for the front to get positiv air pressure for sure in the case. So I ended up with 2 intake and out exhaust fan.

 

The build Quality of the case is also very good. No complaints there. You will not run into any trouble when running SLI. Linus made a build in an R5, that might give you a good impression of the case: See this link here.

 

Hope this helps.

It does help. Thank you

[brob]

12 hours ago, Luceamar said:

Many thanks for your input! It helps on a great deal.

A few questions though: If the max of RAM I can have is 128GB and I have 8 slots I should probably get 4x16 then already from the start because if I go the 8GB way I max out at 8x8 already. Which probably would still be fine but I'd rather have the chance to max out on RAM.

Seems like Asus it is then  but will probably have to dig around a bit which of those fits me best... Do you have an opinion on MSI ones? In an early stage of planning I also had a look at their X99 Raiders 

 

The Fractal Define R5 looks really nice, it's even a bit cheaper than the Nanoxia cases. But there's cases 3-4x the price. I suppose I get *something* more when I pay 300€ for a case instead 100€ (what the Define R5 currently costs), but what is it that I get when I pay more here? (Like a cooler master or corsair)

Also, the Define R5 comes with two fans. I hear stock fans are best switched immediately to some better ones, and it's of course logical that the fans coming with a case aren't of the highest quality. Any idea how it is with the Fractal stock ones? And for optimal airflow I'd probably need to add in a few more fans anyway/additionally to the two?
 

I'm doing myself on as many of these things as I can all the time so there's no need for you to start digging up answers but if you have some off the top of your head / know some good sites to read that would help on a lot  It's my first build and I'd like to do it as right as possible

 

If the budget will handle it, 4x16GB would allow one to max out the motherboard. You will have to check the motherboard manual, but generally one does not have to use the same size memory modules in all slots. One might start with 4x8GB then add 4x16GB later. 

 

MSI has developed a good reputation. I have no direct experience with more recent offerings. From what I recall their motherboards do not handle 3 or 4 pin fans on the same header. Nor do they have an equivalent to the USB BIOS Flashback feature. Perhaps someone with direct experience can pipe in.

 

Fractal Define R5 is a massively popular model, so the pricing reflects some economies of scale. More expensive cases generally have more metal in their construction. Sometimes they have things like hot-swap bays, fan controllers, etc. The R5 is more of a blank canvas. As @ItsTheDuckAgain says, the stock fans are quite good. Many years ago when most cases were "cheaply" built, one did have to replace any stock fans. 100€+ cases usually use decent fans.

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0vBXGSyV14uvJ4hECDOl0Q has a fair bit of informative material. If you prefer reading, http://www.tomshardware.com/t/builds/ has some good general guides. My advice is to do a search for reviews of any particular part you are considering. I generally trust reviews from sites like https://www.techpowerup.com/, http://www.anandtech.com/, http://www.hardocp.com/, among many others. For psu, I like the reviews found at http://www.jonnyguru.com/. Although they do not include usually sound levels. For that I often look in the test database of https://uk.hardware.info/category/21/power-supplies/reviews.

[Luceamar]

15 hours ago, brob said:

 

If the budget will handle it, 4x16GB would allow one to max out the motherboard. You will have to check the motherboard manual, but generally one does not have to use the same size memory modules in all slots. One might start with 4x8GB then add 4x16GB later. 

 

MSI has developed a good reputation. I have no direct experience with more recent offerings. From what I recall their motherboards do not handle 3 or 4 pin fans on the same header. Nor do they have an equivalent to the USB BIOS Flashback feature. Perhaps someone with direct experience can pipe in.

 

Fractal Define R5 is a massively popular model, so the pricing reflects some economies of scale. More expensive cases generally have more metal in their construction. Sometimes they have things like hot-swap bays, fan controllers, etc. The R5 is more of a blank canvas. As @ItsTheDuckAgain says, the stock fans are quite good. Many years ago when most cases were "cheaply" built, one did have to replace any stock fans. 100€+ cases usually use decent fans.

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0vBXGSyV14uvJ4hECDOl0Q has a fair bit of informative material. If you prefer reading, http://www.tomshardware.com/t/builds/ has some good general guides. My advice is to do a search for reviews of any particular part you are considering. I generally trust reviews from sites like https://www.techpowerup.com/, http://www.anandtech.com/, http://www.hardocp.com/, among many others. For psu, I like the reviews found at http://www.jonnyguru.com/. Although they do not include usually sound levels. For that I often look in the test database of https://uk.hardware.info/category/21/power-supplies/reviews.

Well the total cost is already way over 2k so another 100€ for the chance to max the RAM will have space. I'm not sure if I'll need those 128GB ever (Pretty sure I won't) but 64GB seems like an OK start.
 

The Asus X99-A II seems to be pretty nice and enough for me, I think I'll just go with that one.

As for the case, I watched Linus' video on the Define R5 and was almost a bit disappointed in the amount of plastic -  indeed, I would have myself maybe prefered to have some more metal (or all metal) because I like that feel of quality but then all positive reviews of it got me convinced to stick with it.

 

Many thanks for your time and input, it's greatly appreciated!

[brob]

If you would like more metal in the case construction take a look at the Phanteks Evolv. 

[Matias_Chambers]

On 9/27/2016 at 4:10 PM, MadOver said:

Not sure if its 2500$ or €, but:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/Lm4Jnn
Price breakdown by merchant: http://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/Lm4Jnn/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6850K 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor  (€616.87 @ Mindfactory) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  (€76.99 @ Aquatuning) 
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme6/ac ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard  (€318.58 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  (€101.76 @ Mindfactory) 
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  (€316.94 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (€163.00 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card  (€686.00 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Case: Nanoxia Deep Silence 5 ATX Full Tower Case  (€121.16 @ Mindfactory) 
Power Supply: EVGA 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (€170.86 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Total: €2572.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-09-27 16:10 CEST+0200

Absolutely NO point in going with the 6850K over the 6800K.