First PC build - please help :(

[gerdw2]

Hello, 
I'm still debating on whether or not to build my first PC, as I am quite nervous about whether or not my parts list makes any sense, as I mostly have in mind being future compatibility and upgrade path, while still having a "mid-ranged" PC. 
I was thinking about : 
CPU - 1700x or 2600x
GPU - 1070ti
Memory - 16GB RAM
Motherboard - X470 of some sort (as I have a specific time window to assemble it, and might not be able to wait for the b450s to come out)

Storage - probably a combination of an SSD for boot drive and a HDD,

I'm still debating over the case, and PSU as those do not have any direct impact on performance. Also, another big debate going on right now is choosing between a PC and a laptop as I am starting college on August, and have heard that laptops are a rather important equipment. (Right now I have a 2015 Macbook Pro 13", and I'm not sure if it will be good enough, as it doesn't even include a discrete GPU).

[ZeouLs]

17 minutes ago, gerdw2 said:

PSU as those do not have any direct impact on performance.

Oh boi they do, believe it or not. We got a PSU Tier list for a reason and you would want enough headroom for newer components that use more power. In regards of laptop check out the Asus Zephyrus ar something along those lines. Light, slim and yet still full of power for your needs

[gerdw2]

@ZeouLs Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely look into that

[spider623]

what are you studying? unless it's something that demands complex data analysis your mac is fine, for rendering CPU is the king really so GPU doesn't really matter all that much but you can use it to speed the render times with the cost of quality(GPU always introduces artifacts) now if it's mostly coding or office work then no need for a laptop, heck i was using an android tablet for university and i was in computer science, heck once i used root, busybox and a terminal to compile on it! but forget this kind of thing if you are using mac products, the bottom line is what is your use case?  

[spider623]

oh and if you go with the desktop get the 2600x, it's just faster

[gerdw2]

6 minutes ago, spider623 said:

what are you studying?

 

Aerospace Engineering, Yeah, the Mac will probably be enough for now, since during the first year I'll only have the general classes all profiles are required to take (English Literature...). Thanks so much for the answer @spider623

[spider623]

5 minutes ago, gerdw2 said:

Aerospace Engineering, Yeah, the Mac will probably be enough for now, since during the first year I'll only have the general classes all profiles are required to take (English Literature...). Thanks so much for the answer @spider623

ok ask if you will be doing tree and complex search algorithms in later years, i know that biochemist do, for that load cuda will be your best friend, in that case a laptop will not cut it in most cases the uni will give you a workstation, it all boils down on the type of research, also just check what your seniors are sporting during the semester, black friday is your friend after all