New build time

[Saboteur]

Hey gang - I've been mostly lurking for awhile here lately but I'm bubbling up to the surface now because its time to build a new gaming rig and I'm looking for some input. (As in: I don't keep up with this stuff and I've no idea what the current technology has for features, what the sweet spots are for price/performance, etc. so please tell me who I should give my money to!)

My son is also gonna be building his first system so its a father/son thing.

I'm looking to spend around $1,200-1,500, my son is aiming for a bit less.

My general target is for 16 GB of RAM, decent graphics (but not bleeding edge), a moderate SSD for the system drive and frequently used apps (games) plus a TB or more of traditional disk.

So I know that the current Intel processor tech is Skylake and there are different mobo chipsets you can get to run with them. It seems that Z170 is meant for overclocking and supporting multiple video cards (though there are other things you can have/do with that chipset). Should we be focusing on Z170 or might H170 be good enough?

This is a Z170 mobo that seems to be priced reasonably:
ASRock ASRock Fatal1ty Gaming Z170 Gaming K4 LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

It seems like the Intel i5 is a decent middle-of-the-road CPU. We were looking at this one:
Intel Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1151 91W BX80662I56600K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 530

We both have current monitors that are probably OK for now so we can leave those out of the shopping cart at this time, though we'd love to hear any thoughts on that as well as all the other components.

I have a few other items we've been looking at but I guess I'll just leave it here for the moment. Please help us spend our money wisely.

Thanks, gang!

[Saboteur]

Then again, maybe we should think about higher resolution monitors too. If you have any opinions, please share.

[Wes]

You may want to prepare the system to meet the VR spec. VR is the future, and the future is already here.

Although the absolute minimum is just i5 and geforce 970, I would aim for i7 and geforce 980. Price diff shouldn't be too much. For GPU, 1080 is out. 980 price should start dropping as well.

SSD is a no brainer. The price is so affordable nowadays.

[PacoTheFlamingo]

Hey all,

I'm Saboteur's son, and like he said we're both aiming to build new PCs. I've gotta say I'm somewhat hesitant to go for the i7 since I'm not sure that I'll fully utilize the hyper-threading and the $100-$200 price jump is somewhat significant (especially since I'll have to get a new monitor sometime soon and my wallet hurts already).

As far as a mobo goes, any suggestions? I was looking at the one that Sab posted earlier but I'm not sure if I really need the Z170 chipset since overclocking isn't high on my priority list.

Thanks in advance for any other tips!

[Wes]

I never picky on mobo. I usually just look at if it has enough USB ports I need or what not. I do pick the brand that have served me well though. Giving me a bit more assurance on it could last awhile and stable enough for gaming.

Regarding overclocking, with the newer gen CPU from last year on, they all run at very low clock rate at rest. When you need the CPU power, they automatically increase the clock rate. It works amazingly well. My old computer used to use 3A at idle. Now, the twice as powerful CPU uses like 0.4A at idle.

So, i really do not know the lower end motherboard could do that kind of dynamic clock rate changing. I haven't really looked into or compare mobos.

[Muscat]

If you don't want any trouble buy a Intel mobo. They have made the chipset so the mobo is the reference. I owned many mobo and seriously only the intel give me less trouble and more durability.
Of course nVidia card for GPU Asus or MSI. Intel i5 do the job but be sure you get the last generation since they add stuff for the future in the chipset. Also be sure the modo use the last generation cpu features.
Monitor I think BenQ lead the road for gaming but buy the 144hz with G-sync. Once you reach 1900x1080 and higher sync start to be a problem. Many games don't have any soft made sync or they suck at solving the problem.

[Saboteur]

So Paco and I have been playing around on PC Part Picker and this is the build we've put together for me. I will pull the DVD drive from my current rig and use my existing monitor for now. If I want higher rez or whatever I can upgrade later.

Sab's build (fixed!)
Intel i7-6700K 4.0 GHz Quad Core
MSI Z170-A Pro ATX LGA1151 mobo
16 GB RAM (G.Skill DDR4-2400)
Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB SSD
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM
EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW ACX 2.0 video card
Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case
EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

And here is Paco's current build on the same site:
Paco's build
Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card
Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case
EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

Any thoughts on these builds? We are probably looking to pull the trigger on these within the next week or so, because we are hoping that when the GeForce GTX 1080 comes out, prices of other cards will start to drop. (There are some other discounts that are going to run out though too so we may want to buy them sooner.)

[Wes]

Both setups look great. Regarding the Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM, see if you can use a few SSD drive instead. Making the system much cooler and more quiet. My current system have a 250G C Drive and another 250GB just for games as my F Drive. All my files are not stored on the local computer thought, since I have a NAS.

For the GTX 1080, it will cost about the same as the 980, but use less power and 50% faster. If you could swing it, it is way worth it. Just a consideration.

[Saboteur]

I just realized that I accidentally used the link for Paco's system twice, so both links above were the same.

I've fixed that now.

[Wes]

I didn't aware the link earlier. lol. I only looked at the components you posted.

[Saboteur]

Wes, the GTX 970 I spec'd for my build is $320. Where do you think the 1080 will be, price-wise? (I see it will be around $600. Yikes, but if I spread that out over a year, that's an extra $50/month. Yikes again). Man... if I get that, it will be 40% of the cost of the build... plus I'd need to get a new monitor to justify having that card... oy.

Also, Paco and I have picked different cards but they're around the same cost - any thoughts on if one is better than the other?

[Wes]

Yea, 1080 should cost about what current 980 cost, about $600.

For performance between yours and Paco's, just compare their clock rates. Yours is FTW and has higher clock rate and a little bit faster. ACX models have excellent fans. Should last a long time even at high speed. Great for overclocking. I like the EVGA brand myself.

[Saboteur]

Systems have been ordered.

[Wes]

nice!!

Any games you mind you will be playing? Or just a general computer upgrade for normal use?

[=A!M=OakWind]

Aww, too late. But the 1070 is $370 for the Founders Edition. Releasing on June 10. The custom 1080's are cheaper than the FE's, I'd guess that that will be the same for the 1070's.


EDIT: The 1070 FE is $450, and the customs start at $379.