New $3500 - $4000 Build (inc monitor)

[bayflats]

I have been waiting for the Black Friday sales for a while and now that time is getting close I wanted to have a clear picture of what I might get. Here is what I am thinking at the moment:

Purpose : Primarily 4k gaming with a little bit of work (multiple excel's / word / firefox). No video encoding, color specific work or coding. Games are along the XCOM / Civ5 with the odd FarCry / Crysis session. Zero online gaming. I want this machine to keep me playing all the games for between 5-7yrs without any upgrades.

Build :

CPU: i5-6700k + Hyper 212 EVO
Its the best, but is it overkill for what I plan on doing? Toms Hardware mentions that its tough to justify any CPU over $250 unless you are actually using it for work. I am not a big overclocker (which is reflected in my choice of cooler). Maybe a i5-6500 is a better choice for me? Would the i5-6500 bottleneck the GPUs?

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7
Heard its great and that Gigabyte has a good reputation. I have read about 16x and 8x bandwidths. Does 8x bottleneck the GPU? I am never going to go triple GPU, so a mobo with only 2 GPU slots suits me fine. Also I would like a mobo with a good inbuilt sound card along with an M2 slot and USB 3.1 (dont know about the "type" variants). I also heard ASRock offers great value.

GPU: 2 x Fury X
This is my biggest issue. Its highly unlikely that Nvidia will say anything regarding Maxwell and DX12 prior to the biggest shopping day of the year. As DX12 is very similar to Mantle, I guess AMD has the upper hand in terms of execution / native support. When I initially sat down I was considering 2 x 980ti, but with everything I have read and that the machine should last me 5-7yrs when most games will prob be in the DX12-only category, I have chickened out a bit and gone for AMD. Any views on this? I am guessing power draw will be a big difference - anything else? If AMD is the way forward then which ones? Could I possibly get 2 Fury X which are both water-cooled?

RAM: DDR4 16gb (2x8gb) around 2400-3000Mhz
Happy to go with whatever is on sale. Might go to 32gb in order to use the "Rapid" mode on my Samsung 850 Pro SSD

Case: Carbide 330R Titanium
Wanted something with sound proofing, but happy to go with whatever people recommend. Would you recommend a full tower given the two GPUs or mid? Smaller footprint better for me. If possible would I be able to fit this in a min-tower? Does the case come with fans or should I order some Noctua fans? I have a HAF912 so I could just end up re-using that if need be. The PC will not be seen.

Storage: WD 4tb
I already have a 256gb Samsung 850Pro as my OS, and a WD4tb plus WD1tb for storage. I have an external backup but will scrap that and buy a new internal drive mentioned above. Whatever is on sale.

PSU: 1000w (no idea on brand)
I suppose if I am going with the 980ti, I can get away with a lower wattage, but happy to go with anything (high quality) on sale.

Monitor: 32" or 34" 4k monitor, happy with curved or flat
Given my gaming habits, I am going with an IPS panel rather than a TN. Refresh would need to be at least 60Hz or higher. Responses around 6Ms is fine. As far as GSync or FreeSync - obv depends on GPUs. Is the tech required at all for a build like this?

UPS: APC
I live in an area where there are frequent power outages and spikes. This is needed. Stupid question - if I have a 1000w PSU would I need a 1000w UPS?


Final Question:
I have seen some builds on Newegg - if I were to buy these do you know if Newegg will build the machine for me or will it just send the parts separately?

Many thanks for any and all feedback.

 

[EarthDog]

Sorry, not sure you will be able to make any system last 5-7 years and be a gamer. There is no way I could play today's games with a GTX 285 (a 6.5 year old GPU)... even two of them.

1. I like the CPU choice for that budget. No sense in going lower for a build that is supposed to last such a long time.
2. GPU - That is a tough call honestly. ATM AMD is 'in the lead' regarding DX12 performance, but that was in one Alpha title. You may want to keep the card you have until mid next year and see what AMD and NVIDIA bring then...
3. I suggest 2x8GB DDR4 3000 CL15. That is about the sweet spot for price and performance. I also vote against using rapid mode... get a better SSD, like a NVME based Samsung M.2 drive...
4. Case is your choice. Depending on what you decide to do with whatever videocard (water or air cooled? Using the AIO on the Fury X or scrapping it for custom?)
5. Id get an M.2 NVME based drive for your OS and applications...
6. I suggest the EVGA Supernova G2 or P2 lines. Best Tier 1 PSU bang for the buck out there.
7. I have no idea if newegg builds for you... see what newegg has to say about that.

 

[bayflats]

Thanks for the reply Earthdog. With regard to your points:

2. GPU - This is the critical part. If I dont upgrade the GPU then there is little point in doing anything. By going with AMD do I lose that much vs 980ti to warrant me waiting till mid2016?
3. SSD Rapid mode - why vote against it? Its there and it looks just like an overclock. Why not use it?

Thanks for your suggestions on the PSU.

 

[Tech Tweaker]

Would like to make a suggestion on the case.

I'd recommend a Corsair Carbide 500R over the 330R for better airflow/cooling of components (as far as I know). It's a better, larger case, and it's the same price as a 330R (or less).

Black $69.99 after MIR, $89.99 without rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139009

White $79.99 after MIR, $99.99 without rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139010

Color choice is a matter of opinion, but personally I think it looks great in white.

Also, what type of Western Digital drive do you plan to go with? Caviar Green, Caviar Black?

I like Corsair branded power supplies personally. RM series, RMi series, HX series, HXi series, AX series, AXi series.

Good power supplies are often built by Channel Well Technology, Seasonic (very good typically), and Superflower. There may be others, but those are the main ones that I know of.

I don't think you need a 1000 Watt PSU either. Probably 600-650W if you go with a single video card. Maybe 750-850W if you go with two video cards, if my power estimation isn't too far off.

 

[Dlaw]

The vote against RSM is due to the fact that an M.2 drive for your OS and apps will cost about the same if not less than doubling your ram for caching a standard SSD. By the way, a standard SSD (Samsung 850 Evo) boots my PC in less than 10 seconds. That's from the press of the power button, including the time it takes to post with fast boot off. I can't imagine needing anything more than that, but the M.2 drives offer it without caching.

 

[bayflats]

Hi Dlaw,

OK, understood on that regard. Happy to go back down to 16gb (2x8gb) for the ram.

Could you help me out with the questions I had regarding the GPU - is it really a big deal going for a pair of Fury X vs a pair of 980ti's to warrant waiting till mid next year as Earthdog suggests?

And also any recommendations for the motherboard?

Thanks

 

[bayflats]

As an update - I finally bought a new PC. Happy to hear thoughts.

CPU : Skylake 6700K + CM Hyper T4 Cooler
GPU : 1 x EVGA 980Ti ACS 2.0
Mobo : Asus Pro Gaming Z170
Storage : Samsung 850 Evo + 4tb WD Red (Both old)
RAM : 16gb (2 x 8gb) Corsair 2400
PSU : Corsair HX1000i
Case : HAF912 (Old)
Monitor : TBC

I will get a second 980Ti at some point, but probably in 2017 sometime.
Monitor is now the issue at hand. Ideally I want a >28" IPS (non-TN) 4K GSync monitor. Can someone suggest one between the following:
Acer Predator X34 or the ASUS PG34Q. Are there any other upcoming monitors? My guess is I will be buying the monitor in 3-6months.

Thanks for all your help. Happy gaming!

 

[Janus67]

That's a nice system you built. I would have went with faster RAM as DDR4-2400 is just running at DDR3 speeds with even looser timings.

That said, I think either of those monitors will keep you happy. More and more g-sync monitors are coming out and finally some 4K offerings are starting to appear as well.

I think you made the right choice with a single 980ti at the moment, you may run into some issues (no matter what card you would select) if you wanted to go with any single GPU and run at 4K with many of the settings turned up. I think the 980ti is the better card is most circumstances compared to the FuryX, although FuryX tends to lead or at least gain back some control once 4K comes into question, below 4K 980ti is almost always a hands down winner.