Opinions/advice on $2500 build?

Hello! I've been lurking anonymously, and am now posting for some advice, opinions, suggestions, etc due to the larger budget for this build. I'm building a computer for a friend of mine (after watching me build numerous lower budget builds), and I want to get this right the first time.

The purpose of this build is to play just about any game at high to ultra settings in 1080p, and stream in high quality. I believe he would like to record at the same time, but we can always add another hard drive for the needed space and dedicated hard drive later if needed. (Recording/streaming done with OBS if it matters). Internet is not an issue, and we are focusing on the computer itself.

On with the current plan:

-Not sure on case, estimating around $150-$200. Looking to fit radiators as we plan on watercooling his CPU, and possibly GPU down the road.
-Custom watercooling loop, still in the works. Estimating $500, room for adjustments either up or down budget
-ASUS X99 Deluxe Mobo
-i7-5820k CPU
-EVGA GTX970 GPU (not sure what model yet)
-Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB 2400 RAM (4x4, 4 more slots open for later)
-Corsair HX1050 PSU
-Samsung 850 Pro 256gb SSD (OS and essentials)
-WD Black 1TB HDD (all other data, dedicated hdd purchased later for recording)
-Random essentials (cables, dvd/cd drive, OS already acquired through school program)

Current budget estimated just under $2400, before tax/shipping/rebates etc. We are dedicated to building this right the first time, and he is 100% willing to spend a little more if it makes a difference. I have some PC building experience but nothing this extreme so I was looking for some advice, opinions, suggestions, etc. Any and all help here is much appreciated! Thanks guys!

Edit: I should mention he will be editting recordings and such on this as well, so he wants enough processing power for such. Thanks guys.

I would add another GTX970 for SLI to make sure you can cover your intentions for high end gaming. You might also consider going with a 500 gb SSD and a larger spinner as well. This is kind of nitpicking but a lot of vets on the forum are going to EVGA PSUs instead of Corsair and Seasonic these days.

Here's what I'd build:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/X8BDf7

Keep in mind the case comes in black, silver, or white.
See my signature for a full water loop in this case.

Now, that said, I put a Noctua cooler in there. I would build the system and use it for a while so you get the most you can right now.
Later, add the custom water loop. It takes a LOT of time, planning, and testicular fortitude to set up your first loop.

Note that the build I posted has a 500GB SSD and 2TB HDD, that should give all the storage he needs for now.
Trust me, you'll want 500GB with current games being ~40GB.

Thanks for the replies guys. Few questions now:

I've had a bad history with ASRock boards. Are their X99 Boards OK? Or still hit-or-miss?

He has also notified me he plans on recording almost all the time, so I will likely pick up 2x 500gb SSD, one for OS and one for recording. As the recording drive starts to fill up, he can dump them onto his HDD when he has free time.

Is the 980 worth the extra money? Or will overclocking the 970 fill in the performance gap and be more cost effective? (SLI 970s or 1 980?)

Again, thanks for the replies. This build will be happening post-holiday season, so hopefully we see some sales/price drops going on too.

How long has it been since you used ASRock?
Their Z97 and X99 boards have been rock solid.

I don't see any reason to have an SSD just for recording, personally.
I've done my fair share and a 7200RPM HDD performs just fine.

I run games at 5760x1080 with a single 980 on high to ultra settings. I have no doubt a 980 will do what he needs for 1080p.
Just remember, SLI isn't a perfect situation. You typically see ~70% gain from adding the second card, but only in games that do support SLI.
You also get double the heat and double the power draw when running SLI over a single card.

And who knows, by the time he builds this the 980Ti may be released.

ATMINSIDE said:

How long has it been since you used ASRock?
Their Z97 and X99 boards have been rock solid.

I don't see any reason to have an SSD just for recording, personally.
I've done my fair share and a 7200RPM HDD performs just fine.

I run games at 5760x1080 with a single 980 on high to ultra settings. I have no doubt a 980 will do what he needs for 1080p.
Just remember, SLI isn't a perfect situation. You typically see ~70% gain from adding the second card, but only in games that do support SLI.
You also get double the heat and double the power draw when running SLI over a single card.

And who knows, by the time he builds this the 980Ti may be released.

Click to expand...

I actually gave up on them after failed RMA's for some Z77 boards. I might go with one of their x99 boards then.

I vaguely remember seeing a comparison of recording 1080p 60fps footage to a 7200rpm HDD and a Samsung 840 evo, which showed stuttering in the footage recorded to the HDD. I'm just cautious because I'd like the speed if it is needed, but then again I have also heard SSDs aren't needed for recording...

And thanks, 980 it is.

If you'd like an alternative, I'd check the Gigabyte GA-X99-GAMING5 or GA-X99-UD4.

I believe that stutter comes from using certain recording settings more than what you're recording to.
Just don't go for a 5400RPM HDD and it'll do fine.

x99 Overclock Formula, nuf said

Like the 980, but not the ref

with that budget get a Classy or a Strix

the Galaxy HOF looks strong as well

Agree, bigger the ssd the better , dig those cube cases as well

Alright guys, here's a follow up, and another call for help

Based on budget and part availability at the time, here is what we went with:

ASRock X99 WS
i7-5820K cpu
EVGA Supernova 850w psu
EVGA GTX 980 Superclocked
WD Black 2TB HDD
Samsung 850 EVO 500gb SSD
G.SKILL Ripjaws 4 series 2400 (Model F4-2400C15Q-16GRB)
Corsair H100i cooling
NZXT Switch 810 case

Alright. So after setup, I installed Win7 Professional 64bit and loaded up drivers. Was running skype, spotify, and League of Legends at the time to try it out (besides normal background processes). Went to work, got texts saying my buddy had a BSOD... Since the first BSOD the computer would freeze, no audio, video frozen, no response to mouse/keyboard and would need a hard reset. After 2-3 BSOD that randomly occurred, I narrowed it down to what I thought was the USB 3.0 driver. Started fresh and installed everything without the USB 3.0 driver and everything worked fine... until he installed the Microsoft XBox360 controller drivers a few days later... random freezing again.

I've done a bunch of research, have tried various things. I'm kind of stuck now and need some advice. The computer does not go to BSOD or output a memory dump file to read. It simply freezes and must be hard reset.

Things to note:

All mobo drivers installed from website, not CD.
The H100i is not plugged into a USB header as we do not use the Corsair Link program.
I stumbled upon a post related to the H100i, and tried turning off USB legacy support in the mobo BIOS and installed the USB 3.0 drivers. No big changes to freezing.
No errors in device manager, I have installed latest drivers and Windows Updates.

Any advice? Also, should I post in a new thread or continue here? Thanks guys. Obviously it's frustrating having all these issues on a build this big. Good news is that it looks nice, runs extremely cool and quiet and was easy to install everything.

Make sure you've adjusted the power options to high performance and set the hard drives for never power down. I don't use or care about sleep mode myself and this helped keep any random lock ups away. Could also turn off any cpu throttling and turbo temporarily to see if it helps. I would also consider if you have access to 8.1 going with it, install classic shell of course.

Did you burn it in, push it after initial build? Memtest, Prime, etc?

Daleon said:

Make sure you've adjusted the power options to high performance and set the hard drives for never power down. I don't use or care about sleep mode myself and this helped keep any random lock ups away. Could also turn off any cpu throttling and turbo temporarily to see if it helps. I would also consider if you have access to 8.1 going with it, install classic shell of course.

Did you burn it in, push it after initial build? Memtest, Prime, etc?

Click to expand...

Never installed 8.1 before but I've had a thought in the back of my mind to try it. Might do that later.

I'll double check power options but I'm 99% sure I already set above mentioned settings.

No burn-in or memtest, I have to get memtest again and I'll run it. He did run some games and pushed it a bit but nothing too crazy.


I have a free copy of Win 8.1 through my school program, would you recommend installing it and using that over Win 7?

Thanks.

Yeah. I went to it kicking a screaming about 6 months ago and its been pretty decent with classic shell. 10 will be here soon.

Daleon said:

Yeah. I went to it kicking a screaming about 6 months ago and its been pretty decent with classic shell. 10 will be here soon.

Click to expand...

Installed Windows 8.1, before I could even install drivers it started freezing. Any advice where to go from here?

Update: The mobo was setting RAM speeds to a lower speed than what was on the box. I manually changed it to box speeds and so far havent had any issues. Will update if there are any more problems!