Feedback on First PC Build Greatly appreciated

[iparzival]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nVBX4D

Hey everyone, I am looking for your opinion on my first build. Please help me with any suggestions or feedback you might have.

I decided to switch over from console gaming after many years to the master race of pc and thus figured I needed a better rig. I plan to also do some video editing/rendering in the future. I want my first build to allow for upgraded in the future, such as SLI. I went for an almost all white color scheme for the build for the nice clean look and I will attempt to overclock all that i can. Since it's near the holidays i would like to try to drop the price as much as possible to maybe 3000$ or more so plz suggest anything such as deals or changeable parts on the following build:

CPU: I picked the 5820k over the rest because I really only needed 28 PCIe lanes and the hexa core really interested me for other future applications. I also had read that having direct x12 in windows 10 with the extra threads, they will be used more for even gaming pretty soon.

CPU Cooler: I picked the kraken because my case could fit it and many people had recommended it. If needed to save $ I will change to the H100i.

MOBO: the x99 platform really caught my eye especially this which had almost all the same features as the much higher costing deluxe or pro versions imo. I also plan to utilize the m.2 slot for a faster SSD in the future such as the 950 pro in RAID O format.

RAM: the Geil I chose is currently out of stock in white but it works great with the mobo's quad reader as to why I chose 4x4GB.

Storage: the HDD was just a good price by a company I trust and the SSD was highly recommended to me for a good size/price.

GPU: I read up a lot on which to pick and the 980 ti seemed the best in my price range and thus i chose the hybrid by EVGA for their great customer service and because I plan to do some major overclocking. I plan to eventually buy a 2nd hybrid and I'll get the SLI bridge then.

Case: Nice white to match the scheme and the cable management and size are perfect for everything else. Plus those LED's just are too nice to pass down. I read the internal fan hub that came with the case could sometimes keep them fans running at max rpm, so i went with the Sentry 3 controller.

PSU: i was able to get this on sale early so why not and it's by EVGA.

Fans: This may seem like a lot but I plan to replace the stock fans on the kraken and hybrids and set up some push/pull configurations. Kraken as top exhaust and hybrid as front intake.

Mouse/keyboard: I really wanted an LED show in my room at night so why no other than the best for that. And anyway the black widow has all that i want including 5 macro keys because I'll be playing mostly mmo's and thus i chose the naga. But unless it drops in price, I'll probably go with the deathadder that I currently have.

Monitor: I really want to get the most of my pc gaming experience with 144Hz, <4 ms RT, 1440p, and g-sync but unless the S2716DG or other of equal specs drop in price I may need to downgrade it to lower the total.

Lastly for the rest of the others I wanted to customize the pc to my liking in white and those extra LED's because why not?

Thank you for reading and thanks in advance for any replies and help!

 

[trents]

"Mobo's quad reader"? What are you referring to? Most of us would not buy Geil RAM. They have had compatibility issues. Would suggest going with GSkill or Corsair. Are you in the USA?

Are you planning to overclock the CPU or the video card? I'm asking because of the impact of that on cooling choices.

 

[tachi1247]

Second the idea of picking different RAM. You should be able to not only get a better brand, but a 4x4gb set should be available for ~$100-110.

Don't buy that thermal paste. Get Gelid GC Extreme instead. Should be about the same price. If you already have the MX4 then it's perfectly fine to use, but you might as well buy the Gelid if you are purchasing new.

Are you sure you want a full ATX case? That will take up a lot of real estate and a mid-tower will fit everything you are planning to buy. A lot of people are trying to go even smaller now (itx). It looks like a very good case, but you could probably save some money going with something a little smaller unless you think you're going to need all of those 5.25" bays at some point.

The case comes with 3 fans (1 front, 1 top and 1 back) and the kraken comes with 2. With what you're planning to run right now you certainly don't need to add 8 more. Maybe 1 or 2 more tops, and that should get you sufficient airflow inside the case. Adding all of those fans isn't going to improve your temps any and will just create a lot of extra noise. This is another place you can save a few bucks....worst case is you decide to buy them later as adding fans won't require tearing apart your build.

If you're dead set on getting the X99-A board I would splurge the $10 and get the newer USB 3.1 version. That said, I would wait on buying that board or find another one that is on sale. I just purchased the X99-A/3.1 board for my new build, but i got it for $175 from newegg so $250 is a little steep. I've seen this board recommended by others here and it is $25 cheaper right now.

If I were you I would just invest in a nice custom water cooling setup now. It will probably perform better and certainly will be more aesthetically pleasing than running separate AIO coolers for your GPU and CPU. Dump the kraken and the hybrid EVGA card and just pick up a regular 980 TI and custom WB. Especially if you think you will add another card down the road. I think you will have a hard time getting the radiators placed if you have 3 all in one coolers in the system since you are limited to the length of the tubing they provide. A custom setup would alleviate this problem and look a lot cleaner. Plus you can customize the color of the tubing and anything else you want.

Do you really need a wi-fi card? I'm thinking that for serious gaming your going to want a gigabit LAN connection and with a full ATX tower case it's not like this is going to be a mobile PC that you are going to be taking with you to LAN parties (if those still exist).

 

[EarthDog]

Let's see....

1. I haven't personally had issues with Geil ram before. I also do not recall it having any more issues than any other brand, so you are set there IMO.
2. Hybrid cards... do you have the room/locations to mount those radiators? I would just run air or go full custom personally.
3. There are very few reasons to R0 an M.2 SSD, particularly ones that fast. More hassle than its worth.

 

[tachi1247]

Forgot about that RAID 0 part. The board only has 1 M.2. port so you would need to pick a different board that has 2 ports or pick up something like this. Also, I don't think Intel RST supports RAID on PCIe drives so you would need third party RAID software or some type of hardware RAID card that supports M.2 drives if such a thing exists.

Like ED said though, there is no reason to RAID 0 a 950 pro. If all you're doing is gaming, you probably won't see much of a performance benefit from a 950 pro vs the 850 evo much less putting it into RAID. If you really want a better drive you can pick up a Sandisk Extreme pro for ~$170 right now.

 

[trents]

I personally have had compatibility issues with Geil DDR3 but it was actually on an AMD rig. The RAM was rated for 1600 mhz and the CPU IMC/motherboard were rated for 1600 but the RAM was not stable at that speed. Fine at 1333 mhz, however, and no problems doing 1600 on Intel systems. Anyway, it left me with reservations like I also have with Kingston RAM. These issues don't seem to happen with GSkill and Corsair.

 

[EarthDog]

This is intel though. You can't carry over experiences like that on completely unrelated systems.

 

[iparzival]

Ok yeah I just had that ram because it went with the all white theme. I'll most likely change it. And I think I'll stay to the luxe, 'm fine with the size and the extra room is always nice. The more its crowded the hotter it'll be. And yeah i'll take out a few fans and when did you get your X99-A/3.1 for 175$? I would like a wifi card because I'll be living in college dorms soon and the custom loop is way too difficult to set up as I'm still new to building pcs.

- - - Updated - - -

"Mobo's quad reader"? What are you referring to? Most of us would not buy Geil RAM. They have had compatibility issues. Would suggest going with GSkill or Corsair. Are you in the USA?

Are you planning to overclock the CPU or the video card? I'm asking because of the impact of that on cooling choices.

USA, and I do plan over clicking cpu, gpu and ram. I didn't know that about the geil. I previously had the same specs just in corsair vengeance.

- - - Updated - - -

Second the idea of picking different RAM. You should be able to not only get a better brand, but a 4x4gb set should be available for ~$100-110.

Don't buy that thermal paste. Get Gelid GC Extreme instead. Should be about the same price. If you already have the MX4 then it's perfectly fine to use, but you might as well buy the Gelid if you are purchasing new.

Are you sure you want a full ATX case? That will take up a lot of real estate and a mid-tower will fit everything you are planning to buy. A lot of people are trying to go even smaller now (itx). It looks like a very good case, but you could probably save some money going with something a little smaller unless you think you're going to need all of those 5.25" bays at some point.

The case comes with 3 fans (1 front, 1 top and 1 back) and the kraken comes with 2. With what you're planning to run right now you certainly don't need to add 8 more. Maybe 1 or 2 more tops, and that should get you sufficient airflow inside the case. Adding all of those fans isn't going to improve your temps any and will just create a lot of extra noise. This is another place you can save a few bucks....worst case is you decide to buy them later as adding fans won't require tearing apart your build.

If you're dead set on getting the X99-A board I would splurge the $10 and get the newer USB 3.1 version. That said, I would wait on buying that board or find another one that is on sale. I just purchased the X99-A/3.1 board for my new build, but i got it for $175 from newegg so $250 is a little steep. I've seen this board recommended by others here and it is $25 cheaper right now.

If I were you I would just invest in a nice custom water cooling setup now. It will probably perform better and certainly will be more aesthetically pleasing than running separate AIO coolers for your GPU and CPU. Dump the kraken and the hybrid EVGA card and just pick up a regular 980 TI and custom WB. Especially if you think you will add another card down the road. I think you will have a hard time getting the radiators placed if you have 3 all in one coolers in the system since you are limited to the length of the tubing they provide. A custom setup would alleviate this problem and look a lot cleaner. Plus you can customize the color of the tubing and anything else you want.

Do you really need a wi-fi card? I'm thinking that for serious gaming your going to want a gigabit LAN connection and with a full ATX tower case it's not like this is going to be a mobile PC that you are going to be taking with you to LAN parties (if those still exist).

Ok yeah I just had that ram because it went with the all white theme. I'll most likely change it. And I think I'll stay to the luxe, 'm fine with the size and the extra room is always nice. The more its crowded the hotter it'll be. And yeah i'll take out a few fans and when did you get your X99-A/3.1 for 175$? I would like a wifi card because I'll be living in college dorms soon and the custom loop is way too difficult to set up as I'm still new to building pcs.

 

[tachi1247]

Ok yeah I just had that ram because it went with the all white theme. I'll most likely change it. And I think I'll stay to the luxe, 'm fine with the size and the extra room is always nice. The more its crowded the hotter it'll be. And yeah i'll take out a few fans and when did you get your X99-A/3.1 for 175$? I would like a wifi card because I'll be living in college dorms soon and the custom loop is way too difficult to set up as I'm still new to building pcs.

If ED says GEIL RAM is ok then it probably is. You can still do better on the timings. I would definitely try to find something with a latency of 15. You might have to pick a different color.

I picked up the board on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. That included a promo newegg was offering at the time as well as a rebate. Personally, I think it is a good board, but there are other boards that are equally good that are probably on sale right now.

Even if you decide not to go with a custom water loop I would still buy an air cooled GPU for now, especially if you think you will add a second one down the line. Routing and organizing those all in one coolers is probably not going to be the easiest. Having a full tower case might make that more difficult as well since you might have to run it a further distance to reach a mounting location.