New Computer - Feedback Appreciated

PanzersEast · April 25, 2016, 08:57:11 AM

Here is my potential build since my PC was zapped by lighting and I don't feel like going through component by component on a 3 yr old machine.

CPU
Intel Core I7-6700K 4.00 GHz 8M Processor Cache 4 LGA (unlocked)

MB
ASUS Z170-A ATX DDR4 Motherboard

MEM
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz

GPU
EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC Gaming ACX 2.0+

PSU
Corsair RM Series, RM850, 850 Watt (850W), Fully Modular Power Supply, 80+ Gold Certified

COOLING & CASE
Corsair Hydro Series H80i GT Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition Twin Pack Fan
CM Storm Enforcer - Gaming Mid Tower Computer

Reuse my Hard drives...

Still on the fence on what to do, however this is the system I have spec'd out.

PE

Jarhead0331 · April 25, 2016, 09:03:27 AM

Very nice...

However, why not go with a little more RAM and a step up on the graphics card? not much more money to bump the RAM up to 32GB and to upgrade the 970 to a 980. You'll get a little more longevity out of it.

Either way, great system. Congrats!

PanzersEast · April 25, 2016, 09:12:36 AM

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on April 25, 2016, 09:03:27 AM
Very nice...

However, why not go with a little more RAM and a step up on the graphics card? not much more money to bump the RAM up to 32GB and to upgrade the 970 to a 980. You'll get a little more longevity out of it.

Either way, great system. Congrats!

I've upgraded the memory to 32 and changed out to the Sentey Metal Blade Power 750 Watts PS. I'm on the fence on video card, mainly because it is a several hundred $ upgrade. Thanks for the feedback O0

PE

jamus34 · April 25, 2016, 09:16:44 AM

Unless your big into music / video editing I think you'd be better off dropping to the i5 series chips and using the savings to get to a 980.

But that's just my personal opinion and you know how they go.

Kushan · April 25, 2016, 09:24:01 AM

I have the Corsair H80i v2. Maybe a little different then the GT. I love it. I'll never go back to a traditional heat sink.

Only issue I've ever had with it, is that installing it is a little bit of a B**** to do. Make sure you have a second pair of hands on standby to help. Once you get the fan and reservoir installed on the back of the case, its a peace of cake from there. It already comes with thermal paste on the part that connects to the CPU but make sure you order some arctic silver just in case you need it.

PanzersEast · April 25, 2016, 09:25:47 AM

Quote from: jamus34 on April 25, 2016, 09:16:44 AM
Unless your big into music / video editing I think you'd be better off dropping to the i5 series chips and using the savings to get to a 980.

But that's just my personal opinion and you know how they go.

I considered getting the i5 6600k unlocked @ 3.5 and OC to 4.5 ~ 4.7 and saving rough $100+ usd

FlickJax · April 25, 2016, 09:26:14 AM

congrats, if only i could get half way to those specs :)

sandman2575 · April 25, 2016, 09:29:03 AM

That rig will be able to shred any game you throw at it, especially if you plan on playing on a single 1080p monitor -- although it would likely shred anything at 1440p as well. It sounds like a beast. Is the base clock for the i7 6770k 4.0 GHz? If so, that looks to be a monster of a CPU. I have a i7 3770k comfortably o/c'd at 4.6 GHz, with no especially fancy cooling. My guess is you could get close to 5.0GHz on a 6770k without too much difficulty.

I wonder though about the need for so much RAM. 32GB is an awful lot, unless you're doing heavy video editing and such. I have half that and I'm not sure my system has ever pushed anything near the limit of 16GB RAM usage for anything I do. Just a thought.

One last thought -- I love EVGA cards and think they're top notch. But I have some doubts about the effectiveness of ACX coolers. My case is a fairly small-ish form factor, and as I learned through trial and error, the standard 'blower' cooler works much better than the ACX fans. YMMV, of course.

One last last thought -- I'd be inclined to look for a somewhat higher rated PSU. What you have is probably completely fine, but it would just give me a little more peace of mind having a Silver or Gold rated component. Of course that may just be marketing pablum. But just to completely generalize, I think lots of folks look to save some on the PSU, underestimating a bit just how important that component is!

WYBaugh · April 25, 2016, 09:43:34 AM

I'm running an older i5 with two 970's and it's really been a good configuration. Rather than getting a 980 how much would a second 970 run?

FarAway Sooner · April 25, 2016, 10:30:01 AM

One thing to think about on the video card front: 4K Monitors are starting to get a lot more affordable. It'll be a few years (many years?) before the GPU technology catches up with those capabilities, and there's no use even trying to get in that neighborhood right now, but in terms of buying a GPU, you may want to be upgrading that GPU more quickly than you would otherwise...

BTW, I'm pretty envious of those specs. Someday... :'(

Boggit · April 25, 2016, 10:37:15 AM

Nice rig. O0

sandman2575 · April 25, 2016, 10:52:50 AM

Quote from: FarAway Sooner on April 25, 2016, 10:30:01 AM
One thing to think about on the video card front: 4K Monitors are starting to get a lot more affordable. It'll be a few years (many years?) before the GPU technology catches up with those capabilities, and there's no use even trying to get in that neighborhood right now, but in terms of buying a GPU, you may want to be upgrading that GPU more quickly than you would otherwise...

Curious if anyone here is actually gaming on 4K monitor?

I actually went *back* to 1080p after giving 1440p a try -- print and just about everything else is just too damn small for me on 1440p (cranking up windows dpi settings helps but creates all sorts of headaches of its own). It was enough to convince me that 4K is not in my gaming future.

Which is nice in a way, since mid-high to high end gfx cards these days can max out 1080p with ease. Even my lappy with a gtx 980m has no trouble maxing 1080p.

Any 4K evangelists out there?

PanzersEast · April 25, 2016, 11:01:45 AM

I have not ventured down the 4K path, at least not until it is mainstream. I did upgrade back to the Corsair RM Series, RM850 Gold Certified. Not a huge price difference there.

I believe I will stick with the i7 (it is native 4 GHz) as I have backed off the memory to 16gb and got another case (that 3200 is pretty fast). In the end I am close to what I want. I believe the I can OC the i7 to 5 GHz with relative ease.

PE

PanzersEast · April 25, 2016, 11:12:17 AM

Quote from: WYBaugh on April 25, 2016, 09:43:34 AM
I'm running an older i5 with two 970's and it's really been a good configuration. Rather than getting a 980 how much would a second 970 run?

I think almost a 2 for 1. I have seen the 970 for $190.

jamus34 · April 25, 2016, 12:56:48 PM

Quote from: PanzersEast on April 25, 2016, 11:12:17 AM
Quote from: WYBaugh on April 25, 2016, 09:43:34 AM
I'm running an older i5 with two 970's and it's really been a good configuration. Rather than getting a 980 how much would a second 970 run?

I think almost a 2 for 1. I have seen the 970 for $190.

That's not in USD. Here I think the 970's run at least in the 350 range.
Also it might be worth waiting a little bit on the vid card as I think the next gen cards are about to be announced/released, should drop prices on the current tech