Work & Play System

JJOATz · October 27, 2016

Hello LTT Community,

I'm beginning a large project which will span over the next 4-6 months. This project includes far more than just a computer and it's peripherals. Though the PC will be one of the key components. I will be turning my bedroom into more of a work and play space. Any help, or general input, I am able to get with putting together a system, or any other aspect of the project, that meets my criteria and conforms to my circumstances will be very much appreciated. PC Part Picker list at the end.

Project Brief
DIY Desk, painting, untethered frame to house Owens Corning 700 series insulation and be covered with drywall or malimine board (sound proofing), DIY Art Sound Dapening Panels, DIY Sound Deflector, futon, DIY storage (NAS, tools, mono/bi/tri-pods, equipment, etc), surround sound, everything matched to a theme.

Requested Information

I live in the United States, and funds will be United States Dollar (USD).
I would like to keep my intial cost as low as possible, while making wise decisions in regards to cost, performance, as well as future expansion, cost, and performance. I will state what I possible options to save on upfront cost when applicable.
I'm upgrading because I'm currently using a system from 2007 which is not capable of doing much.
The system will be used for gaming, audio and video editing and production, Computer Aided Drafting and Design (CADD, most often CAD), mass web browsing (easily 100+ tabs, I don't like to forget to read some things), virtual machines (VM's. I will be experimenting with different platforms: VirtualBox, VMWare, UnRAID, etc. VM's will be used to test software, try different operating systems, to create scenarios, and make tutorials), streaming, audio and video capture (from console most likely), and possibly as a PVR/DVR.
I will be needing all peripherals: monitor, VESA mount, keybaord, mouse, headset, mouse pad or desk pad, webcam and lens cover.
I am wanting to go with a set theme (more information below).
Additionally, I am not near a Micro Center or Fry's. I may also have to work Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday.

Objective
Build a well rounded, quiet or inaudible, aethetically pleaseing and theme fitting low to mid budget Intel 2011-3 based system. Remain budget concious and maintain an expandable upgrade path.

Theme

Style Brief
For the room and overall theme I will be going with a modern interior design, possibly with some touches of industrial. (Restated in case of skimming)
I plan to go with a white desk table top, pending I am able to find something which is solid wood or at least very sturdy. The top will also need to be scratch resistant. I'm assuming it will be laminate being as that is about the only way to get a fairly smooth pure white surface. The legs will most likely be black.

PC Theme

White memory modules since the slots are black.
White and/or black power supply.
Black anodized air cooler heat sink with either black framed fans with white fins or white framed fans with black fins. Some example fans:
White or black case, or a twotone depending on aesthetics. For example a black case with a white front bezel and a black front center piece would look pleasing to me since all of the 5.25-inch devices will be black. Example cases:

Theme Color and Shade Options: Black, White, Blue

Accent Color and Shade Options: Black or White, Chrome (Possibly - I don't want to much flash)

Shades of Blue: Deepcool Frostwin v2.0 | Deepcool Fiend Shark | G.SKILL Ripjaws 4 Series | In Win 303

Lighting: Blue, White, or RGB LED

PC Components

Case

Features

Front I/O: USB 3.0 and Audio. -- Required.
Top to bottom 5.25-inch bays; not just bay covers. Desired for adding hot-swap cages, and custom removable screen.
Side window preferred, but not required. Case could be modded. Would most likely outsource this project and have tempered glass installed.
Room for cable management. -- Required.
Basement or power supply cover to hide a non-theme matching power supply. This could also be fixed with a vinyl or possibly plasti-dip.

Cases with top to bottom 5.25-inch bays

Zalman MS800 -- I will wait until it hits the low of $29.99 again if I choose this case. It has poor airflow, no window, and tight if not very restricted cable management. This case would require a bit of modding. I may just get this case for a NAS later on and not put any weight in purchase on having 5.25-inch bays top to bottom.
Azza GT1 -- This is about $100 on Newegg. I am highly considering this case. It has 9 x 5.25-inch bays, supports two power supplies and room for cable management. The front I/O is on the top-right, which I'm not that fond of. The I/O includes USB 3.0, USB 2.0, and Audio/Mic. There are quite a bit of issues though. This case will require a lot of modding. I may want a larger window, though I'm not sure if it would fit, especially with the thickness of tempered glass. Issues I've read of include: the plastic panels don't fit well so there is light leakage. The plastic top need to be removed and the vents need to be modified to have virtually any airflow. It lacks air filters. It is difficult to build in do to fixed parts/bars (I'm assuming the graphics card support bar.

Alternate Case Options

BitFenix Aurora (White)
BitFenix Shinobi (White) -- Like the blue accent and think it would go well with a light blue water loop.
Corsair 400C (White)
Corsair Carbide 330R (Black)
Corsair Carbide 500R (White)
Corsair Obsidian 750D
Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) (Black Windowed) (White) (White Windowed)
Fractal Design Define XL R2 (Black)
In Win 303 (Black) (White)
Phanteks Eclipse P400 (Black) (White)
Phanteks Eclipse P400s (White)
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv (Black, Tempered Glass)
Phanteks Enthoo Pro (Black Windowed) (White Windowed)
Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Arcryllic (Black)

Power Supply

Features

850 watts or more.
80+ Gold or better.
Fully modular.
White or Black -- going for pleasing aesthetics and contrast among components.

Motherboard

ASRock Taichi -- In my possession. Paid $188.98, there is a rebate to bring it down to $168.xx. There is also 30 days to refund or return for RMA. So I'm debating if I want to pay current price for a processor or wait it out until Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday to try to get a better deal. It will be outside of the 30 days by then. Please feel free to share your opinion on this. I did have a M.2 screw loose with my board, the same as was mentioned in a comment on Newegg.

Processor

Processor Selection Comparison

Intel Core i7-5820K (28 Lanes)
Intel Core i7 5930K (40 Lanes)
Intel Core i7-6800K (28 Lanes)
Intel Core i7-6850K (40 Lanes)

I'm not too sure what all the newer architecture offers as far as features. I'm not concerned with the small IPC increase. I would like to know which will overclock best, as I will most likely be going with a 6850K pending my motherboard BIOS supports it. I've read that it does and does not support Broadwell-E.

Potential Processor Upgrades Comparison

Intel Core i7-5960X
Intel Core i7-6900K
Intel Core i7 6950X

Heat Sink

Features

Air Cooler: Anodized black heat sink fins with white and black fan design.
Air Cooler: Prefer cap on top of heat sink. I would like to add a custom logo.
Radiator: Black or black frame with white fins.
Quiet / Inaudible.

Air Coolers

Liquid Coolers

Graphics Card

I really would like to get two 1080ti's when they come out, so I'd rather not invest much for the time being. I'm even willing to get a used graphics card. If you have any recommendations for 1080p and the ability to play some games released within the last 3-4 years I'd appreciate it. I was considering the Asus GeForce GTX 1060 6GB Strix card, but that's about $310. I could take $20-$50 and get a used or low end card and put the rest toward the two 1080ti's. I don't have a spare card lying around to test the system with.

Case Fans

Just give me your opinion on quiet, theme fitting fans. I prefer PWM static pressure fans.

Peripherals

Monitor

Features

$250 sweet spot, though upto $300
VESA mount
60Hz or higher
HDMI and/or DisplayPort
1080p or 2560p only, no 1440p. 1920x1080p, 2560x1080p, 3840x2560p
Non-glossy black bezel.
Thin bezel a plus.

Displays

Acer R240HY
AOC G2460PF
Asus VG248QE
BenQ RL2455M
LG 25UM58-P
Nixeus NX-VUE24A
Asus VG278HV
Acer GN276HL
AOC G2770PQU

Keyboard

Mechanical; Brown (Blue minus the click?) or Red Switches.I've not used a mechanical keyboard, so I don't actually know how the switches feel. I'll get used to it though.
Blue, White, or RGB backlit.

Headset

Logitech G430
Logitech G35
HyperX Cloud II (KHX-HSCP-GM)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6850K 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor ($609.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Taichi ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard (Purchased For $188.98)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($169.00 @ B&H)
Storage: Crucial MX300 525GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($108.69 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB Strix Video Card ($309.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($118.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($56.88 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Full 32/64-bit ($199.99 @ B&H)
Case Fan: Corsair SP120 PWM High Performance Edition - Twin Pack 62.7 CFM 120mm Fan ($28.99 @ B&H)
Other: Logitech C922 Pro Steam Webcam ($99.99)
Other: Logitech Webcam Privacy Cover ($11.99)
Other: Monitor ($275.00)
Other: Arctic Silver 5 12g ($14.69)
Other: Headset ($75.00)
Other: Case ($160.00)
Other: Keyboard ($120.00)
Total: $2748.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-27 16:34 EDT-0400

Thanks in advance. Sorry if I missed anything. I'll get back with replies as soon as I can. For the time being, I'm almost always at work.

JJ

m0k · October 27, 2016

yes

RS2007GOD · October 27, 2016

Goodluck

EminentSun · October 27, 2016

I don't have time to do a full part picker. You should check out the cooler master Stryker case. And the Deepcool Captain fits the theme really well. Also if you just need a temporary card an R9 380 or Rx 470 will work very well for a whole lot less money. You could even paint the heat sink cover and back plate with engine enamel to fit the theme.