First Build in 6 Years, Need Advice

[jlangfo5]

Hello OC Forums!

I used to frequent this place years ago under a different username, and I have been out of the PC hardware loop for the past 6 years or so.

Anyways, it's time to dive into a complete from scratch PC build. That's right, the only parts being reused are my speakers and headphones! I will appreciate any and all advice that can be rendered here. I am looking to build a performance PC that will be able to perform single threaded CPU/memory intensive task (think about turn based strategy games where the turns take forever in the end of the game, or for the occasional data crunch), as well the latest and greatest in 4K gaming! That is not to say that price is not an issue, if there is a different part with maybe 5% less performance for half the price, I am all ears!


Alright, is the build for the Computer itself, following this will be mice/keyboards/monitors

CPU:
Intel Core i7-6700K
4 Cores, 8 Threads
3.4 GHz Clock, 3.7 Ghz – 4.0 GHz Turbo Clock
Socket 1151/ H4/LGA1151
8MB L3 Cache
64 GB Max RAM, DDR4-2133
16 Lane PCI Express
$325
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=i7-6700k_processor-_-19-117-559-_-Product

RAM:
Corsair Vengeance
32 GB, 2 X 16 GB Sticks
DDR4 2133
CAS Latency: 13
$115
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233924

Mother Board:
MSI Gaming Z170A XPower Gaming Titanium Edition (LGA 1151) (ATX)
4 X PCIe 3.0
3 X PCIe 2.0
4 X 288 Pin Memory Slots
6 USB 3.1
3 USB 2.0
$299
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130870

SSD:
Crucial MX200 1 TB
$280
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148950

Video Card:
EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 SC Gaming ACX 3.0
(Do you guys really need specs lol ?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487244
$650

Sound Card:
Creative Sound Blaster Z PCIe 116 dB SNR Gaming Sound Card with 600 Ohm Headphone Amp
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102048
$100

Blue Ray Drive:
$52
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247


Power Supply:
LEPA MaxBron 1000W PSU
$112
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1UH3YG3352

Case:
Corsair Obsidian 750 D Aluminum/Steel ATX Full Tower Case
$140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139024

Computer Subtotal:
$2094

IO Devices
Monitor:
ACER 32” 6ms 4k UDH Widescreen LED Screen
$750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009716


Keyboard:
Razer Black widow Ultimate 2016 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
$96
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ackwidow_Ultimate_2016-_-23-114-059-_-Product

Mouse:
Turtle Beach GRIP 300 Optical Gaming Mouse
$36
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0446076&PID=3821802&SID=iplghtwaeb00xwr200053

IO Subtotal:
$897

Build Total
$2984

So what are the thoughts and suggestions? How long is it expected to take for the gtx1080s to come back into stock? Anyone have experience with newegg store credit?

Have a great one OC forums!

 

[caddi daddi]

the only 2 things I see to comment on are,
I would prefer the ram spread over 4 sticks, unless you are thinking about adding more.

A 1000 watt psu is about double what you need for the rig, you can save a few bucks there.

 

[EarthDog]

I dont see the point in the sound card...

the motherboard is overkill for your needs...

The PSU wattage is overkill by 2x....

You have a dual channel platform, so, I would stick with 2 sticks, not 4. Any reason you need 32GB? If you are not close to using 16GB, I would get 16GB instead.

 

[Dlaw]

You aren't going to need that sound card, the built in ALC1150 CODEC on that board is pretty sweet. If you've got high end headphones, you'll want to get an external DAC for them anyway, as not even that card will push them well.

Edit: I would highly recommend a different keyboard and mouse. In that price range, there are much better options. The Logitech G610 Orion and Steelseries Rival come to mind.

 

[caddi daddi]

E.D., I thought z170 was 4 channel.

 

[Dlaw]

E.D., I thought z170 was 4 channel.

Nope, it's dual. Only the extreme platform is quad.

 

[jlangfo5]

I dont see the point in the sound card...

the motherboard is overkill for your needs...

The PSU wattage is overkill by 2x....

You have a dual channel platform, so, I would stick with 2 sticks, not 4. Any reason you need 32GB? If you are not close to using 16GB, I would get 16GB instead.

I went with the 32 GB of RAM since I though $114 seemed cheap for 32GB, but I was forgetting how much the economics of certain parts have changed since I last did this. I can save $70 if I go with 16GB in the form of 2 X 8 GB sticks. I can write some programs that burn through memory if I want to, but I think those days are mostly behind me.

So, regarding the PSU and mother board, if I decide I want to do SLI with the 1080 GTXs a few generations down the road, what kind of PSU should I get? Also, which kind of motherboard would you recommend if I wanted to be able to do SLI later? I also could see myself install 2-3 odd ball gadgets into the PCIe slots at some point, such as software defined radios and TV tuner cards.

Regarding the sound card, when I last did this, integrated sound cards had a bad reputation for surround sound and for people who like high quality audio over headphones, is this still the case?

- - - Updated - - -

You aren't going to need that sound card, the built in ALC1150 CODEC on that board is pretty sweet. If you've got high end headphones, you'll want to get an external DAC for them anyway, as not even that card will push them well.

Edit: I would highly recommend a different keyboard and mouse. In that price range, there are much better options. The Logitech G610 Orion and Steelseries Rival come to mind.

What can you tell me about the integrated ALC1150 CODEC? Also, could you direct me to some setups with external DACs and headphones that might be used with them?

Thanks the keyboard and mouse pointer, I will look at those!

 

[wingman99]

I would go for a ASRock Z170 Extreme4 LGA 1151 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157633
$149.99

 

[Dlaw]

What kind of speakers will you be using for surround sound? Any decent PC set will sound just as good on the onboard sound as that sound card, and if you're considering a true surround setup with receiver and all, you'll want to hook up through HDMI anyway, which will bypass the sound section on the board and use the very decent HD Audio built into the GPU.

As for great headphones/DAC, I'm not the one to ask about that. I use my Turtle Beach PX22s for gaming, because they were affordable and they come with an in-line amp and additional sound device that I can independently control for voice apps and such. The quality isn't terrible, but isn't great either. A lot of the mid range is absent, but it works well for gaming.

If you're looking for a great set of phones, I've heard Sennheiser is pretty much great all the way down their lineup. As for DACs, I have no idea. I would post in the Sound Systems and Audio Devices subforum if you're interested in that.

Edit: I just saw the part at the end where you asked about Newegg's store credit. I've used Eggpoints on stuff before and had zero issues with it, I'd imagine any other kind of store credit will have a similar lack of issue.

 

[jlangfo5]

Here are the speakers that I am using right now. I got them in 2009 for $273 refurb from amazon. Seems people sell used ones these days for $400, and someone on newegg is trying to sell for over $1000

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121120

So why HDMI instead of the 'standard cables'?

I will put together a revised build shortly.

 

[Dlaw]

With that setup, you'll use the onboard sound. I was referring to if you were using a home theater type setup, with a receiver. HDMI is usually the best way to play sound through systems like that, because they usually aren't built for specific use with computers.