Need feedback on new build.

[Testerr]

Hello everyone, : )

   I've been using the same old PC for the past 9 years and so far I did not had to do anything more than maintenance every now and than.. Its been running a Quad CPU (Q8400 @ 2.66Ghz) overclocked at 3.5 since day 1 (Air cooled, temps in the 37Idle-58Load range) with 8 GB of DDR2 and a GTX 260 from Gainward, everything on Asus P5E-Deluxe... nothing special so far.

   But with the increase demand from applications and games I felt the urge to start something new.. something "solid". Something that can offer both great gaming and raw power when I'm rendering one of my videos in Vegas Pro, edit a photo in Photoshop, Lightroom or make a funny intro in After Effect or just play "techy" with 8 or more VM's open at the same time simply because my curiosity never stops to push me even further

   I decided to open this topic here in the hope that you will be able to help me take the right decisions in what is to become my PC for the next years.

   Without further delays here I go.

   

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£329.99 @ Aria PC) 
Motherboard: Asus Z170I PRO GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£147.49 @ Aria PC) 

                        Asus MAXIMUS VIII IMPACT Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  (£209.86 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  (£298.96 @ Scan.co.uk) 

                Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  (£199.80 @ Alza) 
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  (£169.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk) 
                Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£134.99 @ Aria PC) 

                Intel 750 Series 400GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£342.74 @ Amazon UK) 
Video Card: GF GTX 1080 SEA HAWK EK X  (£772.98 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£88.98 @ Ebuyer) 

                         XFX XTR 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£92.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk) 
Monitor: Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q 27.0" 2560x1440 144Hz Monitor  (£628.48 @ BT Shop) 

 

2. Water Cooling component list:

 

 2 x  EK Water Blocks EK-CoolStream SE 240 (Slim Dual) Radiator= £45.95
 1 x  EK Water Blocks EK-XTOP SPC-60 PWM - Plexi (incl. pump)= £55.99
1 x  EK Water Blocks EK-RES X3 110 Reservoir= £34.99
 3 x  EK Water Blocks EK-HD Tube 10/12mm 500mm (2 pcs)= £9.95
 1 x  XSPC PETG Easy Cut / Easy Bend Toolkit= £14.99
 1 x  Monsoon Hardline Pro Heatgun w/ Adapter= £15.95
 1 x  EK Water Blocks EK-Cable Pump testing adapter= £2.29
 1 x  EK Water Blocks EK-ATX Bridging Plug (24 pin)= £1.99
 1 x  Aqua Computer Temperature sensor internal/external thread G1/4= £9.98
 1 x  EK Water Blocks EK-Supremacy EVO - Nickel= £59.99

        EK Water Blocks EK-FB ASUS M8I Monoblock - Nickel= £92.99 
 12 x  EK Water Blocks EK-HDC Fitting 12mm G1/4 - Red= £4.99

 

3. Fan Controller:

1 x Aquacomputer aquaero 6 LT USB Fan-Controller= £85.54
1 x Aquacomputer Passive heat sink for aquaero 6, black= £12.68
1 x Aquacomputer Real Time Clock push-on module for aquaero 6= £15.33

 

4. Case:

 

1x Fractal Design Define Nano Window FD-CA-DEF-NANO-S-BK-W= £49.24

 

 

NB.  Parts ordered = Purple

[JoaoPRSousa]

I can't help you with the watercooling stuff.

But, somethings I'd change in your build.

- Z270 instead of Z170

- No Dominator Platinum RAM. Overpriced.

- Not sure why you'd get an SSD that expensive.

- XFX XTR 650W because their OEM is Seasonic, if I'm not mistaken.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£317.39 @ Aria PC) 
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX Z270i GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  (£199.80 @ Alza) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£134.99 @ Aria PC) 
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£99.99 @ Amazon UK) 
Case: Fractal Design Define Nano S Mini ITX Desktop Case  (£57.35 @ Amazon UK) 
Power Supply: XFX XTR 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£92.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk) 
Monitor: Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q 27.0" 2560x1440 144Hz Monitor  (£628.48 @ BT Shop) 
Total: £1530.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-28 13:13 GMT+0000

[Testerr]

30 minutes ago, JoaoPRSousa said:

I can't help you with the watercooling stuff.

But, somethings I'd change in your build.

- Z270 instead of Z170

- No Dominator Platinum RAM. Overpriced.

- Not sure why you'd get an SSD that expensive.

- XFX XTR 650W because their OEM is Seasonic, if I'm not mistaken.

 

Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX Z270i GAMING Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  (£199.80 @ Alza) 
Power Supply: XFX XTR 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£92.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk) 

Hi : ),

-I would not give up on the Z170 over Z270 not given a reasonable reason as I really love that MB, aesthetics and performance wise and not really into the RGB lights witch I am not even sure if you can disable at all.

-I agree on Dominator as being overpriced but wasn't sure.... hopefully others will give more opinions into this matter

-For the SSD, I do not need storage as I have over 10 TB of external HDD's..I went for the expensive  Intel 750 Series 400GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  as the board I want to use (Maximus VIII Impact) has no m.2 slot on the PCB but only 1 U.2 slot. And U.2  utilising 4x PCIe 3.0 lanes is faster. And ( If I am not wrong..please correct me if I am) that will result in a visible performance increase of the system, not a increase that is only theoretical or on paper.

-Thank you for the suggestion on the  PSU, didn't knew about them... they seem to have mostly same specs..0 fan speed till 25% load so on so forth. For £10.00 more it seems to have more capabilities towards future upgrades (SLI/Crossfire ready)..

[Testerr]

31 minutes ago, JoaoPRSousa said:

- Not sure why you'd get an SSD that expensive.

Going more on the matter "SSD" what is your opinion on U.2 ? 

Dead before the start ?

Intel seems to be the only one currently having a drive on the market with these type of conenctor

[JoaoPRSousa]

3 minutes ago, Testerr said:

Going more on the matter "SSD" what is your opinion on U.2 ? 

Dead before the start ?

Intel seems to be the only one currently having a drive on the market with these type of conenctor

 

I really don't know what to say. My knowledge regarding all of this new stuff that comes in the newer motherboards is close to none

[Testerr]

3 hours ago, JoaoPRSousa said:

 

I really don't know what to say. My knowledge regarding all of this new stuff that comes in the newer motherboards is close to none

I am sort of ready to start ordering stuff in, and I still have so many questions 

 

[Testerr]

Just ordered this parts:

 

2. Water Cooling component list:

 

 2 x  EK Water Blocks EK-CoolStream SE 240 (Slim Dual) Radiator= £45.95
 1 x  EK Water Blocks EK-XTOP SPC-60 PWM - Plexi (incl. pump)= £55.99
1 x  EK Water Blocks EK-RES X3 110 Reservoir= £34.99
 3 x  EK Water Blocks EK-HD Tube 10/12mm 500mm (2 pcs)= £9.95
 1 x  XSPC PETG Easy Cut / Easy Bend Toolkit= £14.99
 1 x  Monsoon Hardline Pro Heatgun w/ Adapter= £15.95
 1 x  EK Water Blocks EK-Cable Pump testing adapter= £2.29
 1 x  EK Water Blocks EK-ATX Bridging Plug (24 pin)= £1.99
 1 x  Aqua Computer Temperature sensor internal/external thread G1/4= £9.98
  

3. Fan Controller:

1 x Aquacomputer aquaero 6 LT USB Fan-Controller= £85.54
1 x Aquacomputer Passive heat sink for aquaero 6, black= £12.68
1 x Aquacomputer Real Time Clock push-on module for aquaero 6= £15.33

 

4. Case:

 

1x Fractal Design Define Nano Window FD-CA-DEF-NANO-S-BK-W= £49.24

 

Probably is best to move it to Build logs ? as I will post some pictures as parts arrive and try my best to do a nice assembly. (will be a lengthy project and by the looks of things, anywhere between 2 to 6 months)