Help figuring out upgrade path

[Scruffy90]

Having trouble deciding what to do. Over the past week, my desktop has been BSODing like crazy because some of my hardware is dying (Ram and some headers on the mobo are not working anymore) so it may be time to invest in new hardware after 4-5 years of use and abuse.

 

I have space constraints and as much as I love my Define r5, realistically its too large. So im at a crossroads, do I invest in a new, yet much smaller desktop, or do I invest in a laptop that strikes a balance between portability and power (and can run three monitors)?

 

What have you guys done when faced with this decision?

[NTDaws]

Do you know how to build a PC?

[michaelocarroll007]

4 minutes ago, Scruffy90 said:

Having trouble deciding what to do. Over the past week, my desktop has been BSODing like crazy because some of my hardware is dying (Ram and some headers on the mobo are not working anymore) so it may be time to invest in new hardware after 4-5 years of use and abuse.

 

I have space constraints and as much as I love my Define r5, realistically its too large. So im at a crossroads, do I invest in a new, yet much smaller desktop, or do I invest in a laptop that strikes a balance between portability and power (and can run three monitors)?

 

What have you guys done when faced with this decision?

If you have room for 3 moinitors a small form desktop could fit. I feel a laptop that can run 3 screens will be a little pricey  and not exactly for that set up.

 

If you need a laptop then get one if not small desktop is a better option 

[Scruffy90]

1 minute ago, Dawson Wehage said:

Do you know how to build a PC?

Yeah. I built my last 3 rigs, that shouldnt be a problem. Its just that my needs have changed drastically from when i built my rig a few years ago

[Scruffy90]

1 minute ago, michaelocarroll007 said:

If you have room for 3 moinitors a small form desktop could fit. I feel a laptop that can run 3 screens will be a little pricey  and not exactly for that set up.

 

If you need a laptop then get one if not small desktop is a better option 

I tried running 3 monitors off of the MSI in my sig and it struggled whenever I did any mildly heavy GPU tasks, but that laptop was commandeered by the wife.

[NTDaws]

You got a budget, I can make something good around $1300

[NTDaws]

$2000 is a max you should do.

[Scruffy90]

2 minutes ago, Dawson Wehage said:

$2000 is a max you should do.

I have a rig in mind that I built around the Node 202 (since its a pain for me to acquire smaller cases atm). My only difficulty is selecting the best gpu for said case (I understand that a blower styled card would be more ideal) or simply use the 980ti in my current rig. 

 

My budget for this is $1700 usd

[NTDaws]

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9QTzXH
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9QTzXH/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($329.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 33.8 CFM CPU Cooler  ($37.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: EVGA Z170 Stinger Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($139.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($189.97 @ Jet) 
Storage: Crucial MX300 2.0TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($460.20 @ B&H) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini ITX OC Video Card  ($383.89 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case  ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: Corsair SF 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Corsair) 
Total: $1740.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-14 15:36 EST-0500

[Scruffy90]

8 minutes ago, Dawson Wehage said:

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9QTzXH
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9QTzXH/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($329.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 33.8 CFM CPU Cooler  ($37.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: EVGA Z170 Stinger Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($139.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($189.97 @ Jet) 
Storage: Crucial MX300 2.0TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($460.20 @ B&H) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini ITX OC Video Card  ($383.89 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case  ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: Corsair SF 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Corsair) 
Total: $1740.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-14 15:36 EST-0500

This is an awesome start. Probably lower the ssd since i dont need that much space locally (most stuff being sent to a nas now) and I will probably bump the 1070 to a 1080.

[NTDaws]

19 minutes ago, Scruffy90 said:

This is an awesome start. Probably lower the ssd since i dont need that much space locally (most stuff being sent to a nas now) and I will probably bump the 1070 to a 1080.

good idea. 

[Darkiller]

Do you actually really need 32gb ram? Shouldn't it be far enough with 16gb?

[Scruffy90]

2 hours ago, Darkiller said:

Do you actually really need 32gb ram? Shouldn't it be far enough with 16gb?

I do a lot of media work and currently have PS and PP set to use 26gb of ram and i usually have a bunch of software open at the same time, so its been helpful. It doesnt hit that high often, but it does go over 50% quite a bit (currently sitting on 32gb of ram)