First PC build, Advice needed on parts!

[z_z_zack]

Hello guys,  I'm looking to build my first PC, been looking up videos about PC terminologies and build videos from linus tech tips and tech quickie. But watching videos doesn't instantly make everyone know how to build PCs, so I was found myself here to seek advice from the wonderful linustechtip community.

 

Here are some of the objectives and goals that I have in mind for my own custom PC.

• I am aiming for the system to stay relatively relevant for 4 to 5 years and have a budget around USD 2000.
• I plan to do a mix of gaming, photo and video editing with the PC build.
  • Some of the games I play are dota 2, far cry 3 and 4, GTA 5 and final fantasy series.
  • Software I use for photo and video editing are Adobe CC suites.
• I like to have a 2 monitor setup in the future, but tentatively like seek advice for one good value 4K adobe RGB monitor.

Tentatively, some of my preferred PC parts/components are (still open to suggestions!)

• Case: Silverstone RVZ02B HTPC Case / Fractal Design Node 202
• Motherboard:
  (min ITX boards with features like, wifi, bluetooth, decent onboard audio?)
• CPU: Intel Core i7- 6700 / 6700K
  (not sure if I will need to overclock, prefer not to as I don't think my preferred case is able to put in ideal CPU coolers.)
• Memory:
  (how much RAM do I need for gaming, photo and video editing? DDR3 or DDR4? RAM speeds?)
• Storage: NVME M.2 SSD or 2.5' SSD for operating system, plan to use old 2.5 HDD for personal data.
  (any performance difference? Performance vs value, is it worth it?)
• Video Card: GTX 1070 / 980TI / 1080 
  (leaning towards 1070 or 980TI,1080 if budget allows.)
• Power supply:
  (Any suggested SFX or SFX-L PSU compatible with the case?)
• Optical drive:
  (Any slim optical drive compatible with the case. I like to burn photos into disc for friends/clients. External optical drives are fine too.)
• Operating system: Windows 10 Home

 

Advices are much appreciated! Also please do let me know if my budget is not feasible for such build!
Hope yall have a great 2017!

Cheers,
Zack

[Kickflapper]

5 minutes ago, z_z_zack said:

Hello guys,  I'm looking to build my first PC, been looking up videos about PC terminologies and build videos from linus tech tips and tech quickie. But watching videos doesn't instantly make everyone know how to build PCs, so I was found myself here to seek advice from the wonderful linustechtip community.

 

Here are some of the objectives and goals that I have in mind for my own custom PC.

• I am aiming for the system to stay relatively relevant for 4 to 5 years and have a budget around USD 2000.
• I plan to do a mix of gaming, photo and video editing with the PC build.
  • Some of the games I play are dota 2, far cry 3 and 4, GTA 5 and final fantasy series.
  • Software I use for photo and video editing are Adobe CC suites.
• I like to have a 2 monitor setup in the future, but tentatively like seek advice for one good value 4K adobe RGB monitor.

Tentatively, some of my preferred PC parts/components are (still open to suggestions!)

• Case: Silverstone RVZ02B HTPC Case / Fractal Design Node 202
• Motherboard:
  (min ITX boards with features like, wifi, bluetooth, decent onboard audio?)
• CPU: Intel Core i7- 6700 / 6700K
  (not sure if I will need to overclock, prefer not to as I don't think my preferred case is able to put in ideal CPU coolers.)
• Memory:
  (how much RAM do I need for gaming, photo and video editing? DDR3 or DDR4? RAM speeds?)
• Storage: NVME M.2 SSD or 2.5' SSD for operating system, plan to use old 2.5 HDD for personal data.
  (any performance difference? Performance vs value, is it worth it?)
• Video Card: GTX 1070 / 980TI / 1080 
  (leaning towards 1070 or 980TI,1080 if budget allows.)
• Power supply:
  (Any suggested SFX or SFX-L PSU compatible with the case?)
• Optical drive:
  (Any slim optical drive compatible with the case. I like to burn photos into disc for friends/clients. External optical drives are fine too.)
• Operating system: Windows 10 Home

 

Advices are much appreciated! Also please do let me know if my budget is not feasible for such build!
Hope yall have a great 2017!

Cheers,
Zack

Welcome to the forum. There is a lot to comment on in your post. It is really cool and I know how pumped you will be when you get your PC build and running. You do not need to get everything at once. First build, select the motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM HD or SDD, and Power. Then go for the bells and whistles 

[PCGeek]

I went with a non-SFF case since it gives you more breathing room and ease of maintenance.

 

Here you go:

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RP2wD8 
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RP2wD8/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($328.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($96.99 @ Jet) 
Motherboard: EVGA Z170 Stinger Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($121.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($96.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($308.18 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Founders Edition Video Card  ($439.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Fractal Design Define Nano S Mini ITX Desktop Case  ($64.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: Corsair RM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Corsair) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($85.00 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1663.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-02 07:32 EST-0500

[PCGeek]

I had to make a change as the EVGA board doesn't have WiFi.  Changed it up for an Asus Maximus VIII.

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PxDsM8 
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PxDsM8/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($328.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($96.99 @ Jet) 
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($234.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($96.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($308.18 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Founders Edition Video Card  ($439.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Fractal Design Define Nano S Mini ITX Desktop Case  ($64.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: Corsair RM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Corsair) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($85.00 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1776.11
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-02 07:38 EST-0500

[ChuckMaurice]

Welcome here, congrats for joining the PC master race

Some quick remarks :

- 8 Go of RAM is enough for me (I do 4K video editing and similar gaming than you), but most people tends to go up to 16 Go to be futureproof. Anyway PC building is about upgradability, don't be afraid to go 8 Go and add more memory later if you need it.

- SSD is a must have. NVME is definitely better, but the improvements are barely noticeable over classic SATA. It's more wise to go 2"5 SATA and increase storage capabilities

- 1070 is fine, 1080 is overkill imo. Save money for a future upgrade when 1080 are obsolete.

- Getting a external optical drive widens your range of cool-looking cases, especially in small form factor.

- Don't get cheap on peripherals, especially mouse, headset and monitors.

[z_z_zack]

11 minutes ago, Kickflapper said:

Welcome to the forum. There is a lot to comment on in your post. It is really cool and I know how pumped you will be when you get your PC build and running. You do not need to get everything at once. First build, select the motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM HD or SDD, and Power. Then go for the bells and whistles 

Thanks! I just thought it would be a good opportunity to learn about how each component works together while I build my first PC. It's just amazing and overwhelming how so many different technologies that I was not aware of are so important in these PC components. Will definitely heed your advice and be a little more realistic with my very first build.

[z_z_zack]

6 minutes ago, PCGeek said:

I had to make a change as the EVGA board doesn't have WiFi.  Changed it up for an Asus Maximus VIII.

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PxDsM8 
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PxDsM8/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($328.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($96.99 @ Jet) 
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($234.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($96.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($308.18 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Founders Edition Video Card  ($439.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Fractal Design Define Nano S Mini ITX Desktop Case  ($64.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: Corsair RM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Corsair) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($85.00 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1776.11
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-02 07:38 EST-0500

Thanks for picking out a list of parts! Will look up on the reviews of these parts before deciding to get them!

[Kickflapper]

1 minute ago, z_z_zack said:

Thanks! I just thought it would be a good opportunity to learn about how each component works together while I build my first PC. It's just amazing and overwhelming how so many different technologies that I was not aware of are so important in these PC components. Will definitely heed your advice and be a little more realistic with my very first build.

I would get the best GPU you can afford, then CPU, motrherboard and work back from there. God I know how confusing it is I just got back into it a year ago

[z_z_zack]

8 minutes ago, jldjul said:

Welcome here, congrats for joining the PC master race

Some quick remarks :

- 8 Go of RAM is enough for me (I do 4K video editing and similar gaming than you), but most people tends to go up to 16 Go to be futureproof. Anyway PC building is about upgradability, don't be afraid to go 8 Go and add more memory later if you need it.

- SSD is a must have. NVME is definitely better, but the improvements are barely noticeable over classic SATA. It's more wise to go 2"5 SATA and increase storage capabilities

- 1070 is fine, 1080 is overkill imo. Save money for a future upgrade when 1080 are obsolete.

- Getting a external optical drive widens your range of cool-looking cases, especially in small form factor.

- Don't get cheap on peripherals, especially mouse, headset and monitors.

Thanks for the tips!
Been looking up reviews on youtube about different components for building pc:
- most youtube PC builders usually just maxed out their RAM slots which got me a little confused  on how much RAM I need
- I personally have not seen many youtube PC builders use NVME SSDs too. I wasn't sure about how well they perform. But you must be right about the minor performance improvements since it's not widely adopted.
- video card wise, most did mention that 1070 was the best value for performance for gaming, not so sure how it performs in rendering 1080p and 4K videos.

- will definitely look into external optical drives, since I would not be using it all the time.
- and definitely going to spend on good peripherals, since those are the things that I will be physically touching / interacting using daily!

[stconquest]

@z_z_zack

 

An i7 6700K + GTX 1070 build can be had for under $1300.  Since you want the smaller form factor the cost does go up:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($328.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG C7 40.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($29.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($159.88 @ OutletPC)  <<do you need wireless?
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($84.97 @ Jet)
Storage: Intel 600p Series 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GAMING Video Card  ($399.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case  ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply  ($87.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($85.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $1420.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-02 08:02 EST-0500

[z_z_zack]

14 minutes ago, Kickflapper said:

I would get the best GPU you can afford, then CPU, motrherboard and work back from there. God I know how confusing it is I just got back into it a year ago

Hmm, my focus was on getting the right case for the right motherboard for the right CPU then plan on how I could use different size GPU to fit in the build. I should relook into my build plan..

[z_z_zack]

6 minutes ago, stconquest said:

@z_z_zack

 

An i7 6700K + GTX 1070 build can be had for under $1300.  Since you want the smaller form factor the cost does go up:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($328.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG C7 40.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($29.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($159.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($84.97 @ Jet)
Storage: Intel 600p Series 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB GAMING Video Card  ($399.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case  ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply  ($87.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($85.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $1420.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-02 08:02 EST-0500

Thanks for the suggested list!
A quick question. If I were to need to overclock my CPU, would having just the CPU cooler be sufficient? or should I ditch the small form factor build and opt for a case that can accommodate an AiO cooler?

[stconquest]

3 minutes ago, z_z_zack said:

Thanks for the suggested list!
A quick question. If I were to need to overclock my CPU, would having just the CPU cooler be sufficient? or should I ditch the small form factor build and opt for a case that can accommodate an AiO cooler?

With a bigger case, you get airflow for not only the CPU heat but for every part in the case that generates heat.  For gaming, the stock clock of 4.0GHz is plenty.  It even boosts to 4.2.  That C7 cooler is fine.

 

You could OC the 6700K in that Node 202, but you will be limited by that cooler at some point.  It depends on how far you want to push the CPU.

 

A proper mid tower will remove heat from the case at a much faster rate.  The GPU could be changed to a dual fan model which means you will be able to have a more stable boost clock, or overclock, on that as well.

 

[ChuckMaurice]

1 hour ago, z_z_zack said:

Thanks for the tips!
Been looking up reviews on youtube about different components for building pc:
- most youtube PC builders usually just maxed out their RAM slots which got me a little confused  on how much RAM I need
- I personally have not seen many youtube PC builders use NVME SSDs too. I wasn't sure about how well they perform. But you must be right about the minor performance improvements since it's not widely adopted.
- video card wise, most did mention that 1070 was the best value for performance for gaming, not so sure how it performs in rendering 1080p and 4K videos.

- will definitely look into external optical drives, since I would not be using it all the time.
- and definitely going to spend on good peripherals, since those are the things that I will be physically touching / interacting using daily!

- NVME SSDs are still overpriced and the increase in performance from HDD to SSD is so huge that between SATA SSD and NVME SSD you can't really see the difference. In addition, having a higher capacity SSD also increases the performance.
- video card wise, I can render 4K with my old GTX 670, I just need to be patient, but the 1070 is widely enough for video editing.