Need Compatability Review and Input

[DDeathlonger]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum, but not forums in general. I recently was inspired to attempt to build my own PC for once rather than just buying and upgrading from Linus's channel.

I have spent several hours browsing Craigslist around my area for parts I need, here's the goal:

I need to build a VR capable desktop PC for cheaper than prebuilt "VR Ready" PCs. I feel like the price I've totaled to is alright, but not as much as I expected. I'm using the NVIDIA VR Guide as a point of reference here.

Briefly speaking, I wanted to develop VR within Unity on my laptop, so I purchased the HTC Vive, and quickly discovered that, although my HP Elitebook Workstation had a great processor, and RAM (i7 vPro + 8Gb ddr3) the GPU was.. well a Quadro k1000m... needless to say.. 5 years out of date.. and I first started towards simply replacing the k1000m with a gtx 980m.. but it appears that, although it'd be alright, it wouldn't be optimal for development purposes... not to mention a real pain to change out the gpu in a laptop!

So after I concluded I wanted to build a Desktop, I quickly got to work and found these parts (USD):

 

• Mother Board -           Asus Z170-Deluxe ATX                                             - $100
• GPU -                         MSI GeForce 1060 6gb                                             - $250
• CPU (Option 1) -        i7 7700k                                                                     - $300
• RAM -                         Corsair DDR4 3000Mhz 16gb                                   - $110
• Chassis, HDD, PSU - Thermaltake V3 Case, 500gb HDD, 500watt PSU    - $40

                                                                                                             Total:          $800

 

I am looking for input from two points,

1.) I feel unsure whether this came out as financially beneficial as I expected... Although I did make sure each of these items was fairly priced individually in comparison to other used sellers, but still, on average I wanted to make sure anyone reading this feels that I'm getting each part for a fair price.

2.) I need to have more experienced PC builders verify that all of these parts are compatible so I don't go buy them all and find myself with only half of a computer!

 

I currently have ~$500 USD and I find most "VR Ready" prebuilt PCs are between $1k - $1.5k so I'm not 100% sure whether I've got the best out of my time.. and considering I haven't called anyone yet to see if they'll deliver or mail to me, I may have to add gas into the equation... I feel like I'm really sacrificing some other components of prebuilt PCs which in turn makes me feel like building it this way is coming out about even with the price of  a prebuilt. I can get the extra cash loaned to me from my brother and pay him back next payday, but I'd prefer if it was more around my current $500 budget... idk if that's very realistic for a VR situation though..

 

An extra third input I could use also
3.) Anyone have recommendations of parts that could be downgraded to lower the price without losing a significant performance rating within a VR environment? I'm brand new to VR so I don't know what is the most important aspects that affect it, although I'd assume the GPU is, I was considering a lower end MB and CPU.. but maybe that'd lower performance in another area.. I'm pretty intermediate when it comes to PC Hardware. Any other input in general is also welcome and appreciated!

[DDeathlonger]

As an example of one of the "VR Ready" computers I was looking at before this,

Alienware Aurora

Alienware 17" Laptop

Bestbuy...

[dogetorhue]

if you're going for budget, don't get a 7700k. I'd recommend a 7600k or even a cheaper i5, but also you should probably go for a 200 seried motherboard (z170 is older and doesn't support all features of kaby lake.

[DailyProcrastinator]

3 minutes ago, dogetorhue said:

if you're going for budget, don't get a 7700k. I'd recommend a 7600k or even a cheaper i5, but also you should probably go for a 200 seried motherboard (z170 is older and doesn't support all features of kaby lake.

What truly beneficial features does a Z270 motherboard have over a Z170? I had a high-end Asus Z170 board that had more features than any board I have had since, minus a stupid RGB header.

 

@DDeathlonger That system will provide very good gaming performance and all those parts are compatible. I think it is a fair price, not a crazy good deal but it is fair. 

 

[DDeathlonger]

27 minutes ago, dogetorhue said:

if you're going for budget, don't get a 7700k. I'd recommend a 7600k or even a cheaper i5, but also you should probably go for a 200 seried motherboard (z170 is older and doesn't support all features of kaby lake.

@dogetorhueI will take a look at more affordable CPUs that are also LGA 1151 and @JM21 Thank you for confirming their compatibility.

[DailyProcrastinator]

Just now, DDeathlonger said:

@dogetorhueI will take a look at more affordable CPUs that are also LGA 1151 and @JM21 Thank you for confirming their compatibility.

Do you intend to overclock the CPU or not? Because if you get an i5-6600k or i5-7600k you can get a lot of extra performance out of them if you overclock. If that is not what you want to do then get a non 'k' skew CPU like a i5-6600 for example.

[DDeathlonger]

Just now, JM21 said:

Do you intend to overclock the CPU or not? Because if you get an i5-6600k or i5-7600k you can get a lot of extra performance out of them if you overclock. If that is not what you want to do then get a non 'k' skew CPU like a i5-6600 for example.

@JM21 I'm not quite sure yet, I know I'd like to, but considering I've 1) never done it and would need to research how and 2) don't have any type of sufficient cooling system budgeted in. I may just stick to something as you said, "non 'k' skew" for now.. My primary focus above all is to get something that runs VR. If I can get that without overclocking, then I most likely won't overclock. But thank you for that pointer as well. I'm glad to see that this forum is actually active.. I am very tired of forums where you have to wait ten days to get a response.

[DailyProcrastinator]

1 minute ago, DDeathlonger said:

@JM21 I'm not quite sure yet, I know I'd like to, but considering I've 1) never done it and would need to research how and 2) don't have any type of sufficient cooling system budgeted in. I may just stick to something as you said, "non 'k' skew" for now.. My primary focus above all is to get something that runs VR. If I can get that without overclocking, then I most likely won't overclock. But thank you for that pointer as well. I'm glad to see that this forum is actually active.. I am very tired of forums where you have to wait ten days to get a response.

Well to be honest overlocking is not hard and an i5-6600k can see as much as 20% performance upgrade just by overclocking and it does not require an exotic cooler, a simple $30 cooler will suffice, like A Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo. The i5-6600k is at a base of 3.5GHz frequency and mine OC'ed to 4.7GHz with that Hyper 212 Evo and operates at very low temps even while gaming. I would seriously consider it.

[DDeathlonger]

Just now, JM21 said:

Well to be honest overlocking is not hard and an i5-6600k can see as much as 20% performance upgrade just by overclocking and it does not require an exotic cooler, a simple $30 cooler will suffice, like A Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo. The i5-6600k is at a base of 3.5GHz frequency and mine OC'ed to 4.7GHz with that Hyper 212 Evo and operates at very low temps even while gaming. I would seriously consider it.

Alright man, I'll definitely look into it. Thank you again for the help!

 

[DailyProcrastinator]

Just now, DDeathlonger said:

Alright man, I'll definitely look into it. Thank you again for the help!

 

 

Yeah spend some time researching, but you could probably pick up an i5-6600k for $180ish so definitely a good budget CPU that will be more than perfect for VR gaming.

[Herman Mcpootis]

2 minutes ago, DDeathlonger said:

Alright man, I'll definitely look into it. Thank you again for the help!

 

don't bother with the 7600k, get the ryzen 1600 or a coffee lake i5 instead. 

[DailyProcrastinator]

15 minutes ago, herman mcpootis said:

don't bother with the 7600k, get the ryzen 1600 or a coffee lake i5 instead. 

If all you are doing is VR gaming why go for a 1600 or for CoffeLake? He is on a budget and you can get a good used skylake system for a fraction of the cost. Makes more sense...

[DDeathlonger]

Just as a fun update, using the info you guys all gave me I was able to come up with this new build:

Mother Board + CPU:             $100
GPU:                                       $250
RAM:                                       $110
Chassis + PSU + HDD:           $40

TOTAL:                                   $500

 

Right on the money lads! Thanks again! Especially to @JM21 You guys helped quite a bit.... now I just have to hope that they will all hold the parts for just a couple more days when I happen to be in Portland for the VR/AR Meetup by Joshua Young! hahaha!

[Marculingus]

Which one of that list would you recommend me to buy ?

 

http://www.virtualliving.io/virtual-reality-gaming/the-best-virtual-reality-desktop-computers

 

Thank youuu