Please help me to get right components for new PC

[Losash]

Hello. First of all I should say sorry for mistakes, because english is not my native, and second thing to know about me is that I'm relatively noob in practical computer building and stuff like BIOS settings and... you know. Casual user here.
I need help with choosing right combination of components for my new computer. I could buy and build cheap PC myself, I guess, but when it comes to high-end stuff, I am scared that my level of knowledge is not enough for operating with something expencive alone.

I plan to buy components separetely in my local shop, and build computer myself/with some help, if needed. I want to notice, that my old PC, which I use now, can run pretty much anything, I was playing DOOM and AC Unity on all ultra's, but most of it's components are 5 years old now (or more), and I want to change.

Purpose of computer:
1) I want to play some certain type of sandbox games with comfort. For example, some of you may heard of the game called "Factorio", it is pretty popular now. In a nutshell, it is a sandbox game, which eats more and more resources as long as you progress and develop your save file. A game can be easily played even on least powerfull setups out there, as long as you don't push it to something hardcore, which I plan to do. Bottlenecks, while playing on the edge of insanity, are, according to various researches found on Reddit, CPU freq and RAM throughput. There is also recommendation to have at least 16GB of RAM, because some saves require this.
Another game of this kind, which I may play is "Starmade". I may return to "Kerbal Space Program" one day. Those type of games.
I guess if I will be able to buy rig, which works for those games, I will be able to run anything. It's like the joke "But can it run Minecraft?".
2) 3D modeling/Video encoding/Video editing/Rendering, you got the idea. I heard, it is mostly about your CPU when it comes to this thing. I have no problems now, but maybe Sony Vegas will render faster in insanely complex projects?

My old computer has some components, which I've upgraded in it year ago, and I plan to re-use them in my new build:
1) ASUS GEFORCE GTX 970 OC EDITION videocard
I feel like this is more than enough for comfort FHD gaming in modern and forthcoming games. It works for sandbox type of stuff, more than enough. I will still have an option to change it some years later.
2) CHIEFTEC 650W power supply
Bought with videocard. Advertised as something proper and reliable. My new PC should be okay with it too?

So, I need those things then: CPU, Fast and effective RAM, Mobo for them, SSD, CPU cooler, HDD(Can I use my old one?), Case.
Did I forget anything?

Lastly, my non-final thoughts about what to buy. You will also kind of understand my budget there (Yeah, my money are somewhat limited with common sence)

1) I browsed many Intel CPUs on many sockets. Sorry, not a fan of AMD for some reason. Prices on CPUs are insane out there. But I feel that there is no point of buying something so-so outdated. I'm currently into idea of:
LGA 1151 Intel Core i7-6700K
I don't understand it in depth, but I heard that "K" means I can boost it up, it's base freq is already insane 4GHz (well, for me), and some magic with Z170 allows to boost voltage (I seriously have no experience in this, but read it). I think it is an insanely powerfull processor for my tasks. What do you think of this one? Is it a good choise?

2) I consider DDR4 memory. Researches around "Factorio" performance showed, that game highly benefits from fast memory, much more than casual games (Where, as I understood you get almost no difference?). Anyways people say DDR4 is "the future" and blah blah. According to prices in my local shop, most expensive model I can afford there is:
G.Skill Ripjaws 4 [F4-2666C15Q-16GRR]
But I have no idea if this will work as intended, because description says it has XMP 2.0, which will work on X99, but probably won't on z170, which I want to choose? In a nutshell, I want to buy really fast RAM, which will serve me for years ahead, and I was looking for something 2600MHz+. But I have no actual idea what will actually work. i7-6700K seems to support pretty much any freq I can afford out there, eh.
Another RAM which I, for some reason, clicked on is:
Corsair Vengeance LPX [CMK16GX4M4A2800C16]. 2800 one, a little bit cheaper, no idea why, may be "timings" are worse... 16GB too.

Of cource, there are many other models in the shop, but I don't know how to choose there. May you tell me some specific stuff which I should be aiming at? Like, I heard that you can overclock G.Skill one to higher freq. I also heard that 3000+ sometimes gives you nothing. So much knowledge is needed...

3)For the motherboard I already started thinking about my total budged being exceeded, so my thoughts are I can't buy some serious top-tier monster. What about:
ASUS Z170-DELUXE
Not cheap, but definitly not even top-10 most expensive cards in the shop. Will it work with 6700K? What DDR4 I choose for it? Specs say it supports up 4xDDR4-3733MHz.
Again, I have no idea why some motherboards cost more, and some less. I don't know how to choose them. I just heard that z170 has good potential, and it has that LGA 1151, which is needed for 6700K.
I've also heard that some motherboards do not support some magic with voltage and stuff... How to understand if chipset is what is worth to buy?
There is an ASUS Z170-WS in this shop, it costs almost TWICE as much as DELUXE, and I have absolutely no idea why. Can't afford it. There is also something like MSI Z170A GAMING M7, which costs less than DELUXE, but seems to have same capabilities.

My brain burns... I don't want to make insane mistake. Please help me with CPU-RAM-MoBo trio.

Finally I'll also need Case, SSD, and cooler. I think I will be able to choose SSD and Case myself, that seems easy. But I'll apreciate recommendations on CPU cooler, and I also need help with "toothpaste" thing. I guess leaving everything on air cooling will be fine? As I'm inexperienced, I would not like to mess with water cooling sustems, if that's possible. My GTX 970 barely turns it's fans most of the time. Yeah, CPU with 4k+ freq is a hot babe, but maybe you know something, which will cool it fine. I'm also scared to choose cooler which won't fit because of RAM size and position, you know...

Okay that's been long post. You got the idea. I hope someone, who knows better than me will help me to spend my money without fails.

P.S. My current CPU is the oldest i7 out there, I guess 2xxx something. RAM must be some basic DDR3, I don't even know. I bought it as a finished computer, not part by part. I've not tried pushing something like "Factorio" to insanety yet, but I know I'll have a heavy slideshow. I want to buy a computer, which I'll REALLY see a diference on. i7's never been bad with years, and I know that my oldest i7 still runs pretty much everything I throw into it, that's why I think there are basically 2 worthy options: either don't change my current PC at all, or buy something powerfull to see boost with a bare eye.

 

[Vishera]

Okay, so I'd say your budget is easily over $1,000 USD right? So, given that tidbit of information, here's what I can tell you.

1) Yes, you can re-use your HDD. Windows might not want to boot up thought due to the different CPU and motherboard. I suggest keeping your old PC put together for now until you can clone your hard drive contents onto the SSD. By the way, are you looking to buy a SATA, NVME, or M.2 SSD? M.2 and NVME are generally faster than SATA, but also more expensive. There are a few 480GB SATA SSD's on Amazon for $120 right now, but if you get NVME or M.2 that could easily be bumped to $300 or more.

It's THERMAL paste, not toothpaste.

RAM speed does help in games, 2666 or 2800 is plenty. Yes you can overclock RAM but for a first time user like you I wouldn't mess with it quite yet until you know more about computers. CPU overclocking (the "magic voltage stuff") is far easier to understand than RAM overclocking. Adjust a few numbers in your BIOS, see if the computer boots into Windows, if it does then run a program called Prime95 for about 15 minutes to see if it's stable and if the test succeeds then you go back into your BIOS and try to make it run even faster. There are in depth guides on this on websites like Tom's Hardware, and on the front page for this website as well.

You need to get a Z170 chipset board to overclock with the 6000 series processors. Note that you do NOT need a "K" marked processor to overclock anymore, but overclocking a non-k CPU involves the BCLK setting and I don't recommend trying this with how little you know about computers, as the BCLK doesn't affect just the CPU. It also affects your PCI-Express and RAM. But, if you're willing to sit down and learn, and are prepared to read for a long time, there are plenty of tutorials on it. Just google "Overclocking non-k skylake processors".

2) If the MSI board is cheaper and doesn't look like it lacks any features that the ASUS has that you want, then go for that one. I don't know your PSU model, but CHIEFTEC doesn't look like a very popular brand. Perhaps consider getting a Corsair or EVGA PSU, as even though yours hasn't given you issues, there are a few bits of story about CHIEFTEC being on the lower end of the spectrum. I'd recommend a Corsair CX650M. Still 650 watts, but also semi-modular which means some of the cables can be unplugged from the PSU if you don't need to use them. Also can't go wrong with the NZXT S340 case. An upgraded version, the S340 elite, is available now as well, but it's $40 more. And I don't personally see the difference between the $60 old version and the $100 new version. Some other goodies are the Corsair 100R, Phanteks Enthoo Pro M, and the Rosewill CHALLENGER.

As far as cooling, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, Hyper 212X, Hyper 212X Dual Fan, and the Noctua DH-14 are all good air coolers. You'd actually be surprised how easy to use all-in-one water coolers are. The risky part is when you decide to buy your own CPU heatsink block, reservoir, tubing and radiators to try to hook it together yourself. Water cooling once again presents the question about computers in general: Do I go custom or pre-assembled? And in most cases, pre-assembled all-in-one loops like from Corsair are just fine. Also, whatever case you get, make sure it has plenty of fan mounts. The cases I listed have no such problems, but some cases are very lacking in fan support, with even some of the more expensive ones only having 2 mounts. Case fans are just as important as good coolers for your CPU, and the goal with their orientation is airFLOW. A.k.a having a "breeze" of sorts going across your parts. Usually, this is easily achieved by having a fan in front pulling air in, and one on the back pulling it out, therefore creating a nice directional flow of air over your parts. But most cases have spots to mount fans on the top and/or side panel, and in these units having the top fan or fans be the exhaust is a good idea (heat rises, right?) with the back, front, and side being intake.

3) Cable management. Make sure your case has enough space behind the motherboard tray to tie all of your cables down. This isn't typically a problem with cases over $55, but there are a few special exceptions. Semi-modular PSU's like the Corsair one I suggested make this task easier by allowing you to simply unplug the cables you don't use and store them elsewhere, cutting down the amount of cables you need to tie down behind the motherboard tray. Cables being bunched up in front of your motherboard and around your hard drive cage will block or interfere with airflow, which is why it's important to make sure you route them behind your motherboard.

Hope this helps you, and good luck. Also welcome to OCF!

 

[Losash]

Thank you Vishera for your comment. Your detailed guide on some of the aspects definitly helps.

Yes, CHIEFTEC PSU is not something which gets hyped around, I know that, but is it really such a big deal? When I was buying it year ago, it was obvious for me, that it is many times more reliable than no-name one i had before for 4 years.
It has disconnectable cables and all of them are in nice black nets. PSU itself gave me no problems whatsoever, I just installed it and forgot about it. Wouldn't say it was all that cheap, it had certificate and stuff. Buying a new one will blow my budged even more... Maybe give that one a try? My exact PSU model is: CHIEFTEC A-135 Series 650W [APS-650CB]

About SSD, well, I was considering SATA, but I need to check for M.2 ports on motherboards and look for more variants. Though I think I'll barely allow something $180+ Thanks for the points.

I need some recomendations on thermal paste, at least, like, brand. What is going to be okay for air cooled 6700K? I've heard that downside of most of processors from Intel though is, that they have thermal pastes under the cap, not copper or anything. Buying expencive liquid metal won't help then, I guess? Also, thank you for telling me, that positive pressure setup with fans in case is what I need to do.

Coming to something more fundamental, I still need general advice about CPU and MoBo, because I am not sure with my choises. If I can't afford top-notch system, based over 2011-3 socket, is a LGA 1151 and 6700K a good solution then? z170 is the chipset which I need to buy for it? Basically, if we talk about motherboards, what else should I look at, despite "z170" mark? How to properly choose motherboard? Another thing is, as I understood, that 6700K is supporting dual-channel RAM, while some motherboards do support quad-channel, and I need to look on this too, yes?

I mean maybe someone will write, that all my choices are wrong, that may definitly be possible. I kind of understand, that coming to rendering and encoding, 2011-3 based stuff with all those fancy quad-channel insanely expencive processors are faster, but I guess I really can't afford that now. Maybe someone will write that I don't need to change my current computer at all then - I don't know. In my local shop there are some guys commenting hate on processors with thermal paste under the cap and saying that they are bad for overclocking and in general not worth.

 

[caddi daddi]

looks like you have done your home work, great!!

I agree with visera on all counts.
if the psu is 5-6 years old, replace it with a quality unit. a while back I had one fail and set the house on fire, if I had not been home I don't know where we would be right now.
I would not worry about m sata ssd drives, just a bigger ssd will fill most needs.

gpu, your 970 is fine.

 

[EarthDog]

It is a big deal, yes. With known garbage like that, it would be lucky to output it's rated power. Also if it fails it could take out your system (whereas a quality psu wouldnt). Chieftech power supplies are garbage...please see our list in the power supply section for a list of good ones.


Thermal paste... grab some arctic mx4. It's priced well and within 1C of most pastes.

Positive/negative case pressure is a preference honestly. Also, pressure is misused as it is not a sealed system. The only positive of positive pressure is it keeps a bit of dust from coming through the cracks.

If you can't afford the $150-200 difference between platforms, of course the 6700k would be viable... it has to be.

 

[knoober]

Thank you Vishera for your comment. Your detailed guide on some of the aspects definitly helps.

Yes, CHIEFTEC PSU is not something which gets hyped around, I know that, but is it really such a big deal? When I was buying it year ago, it was obvious for me, that it is many times more reliable than no-name one i had before for 4 years.
It has disconnectable cables and all of them are in nice black nets. PSU itself gave me no problems whatsoever, I just installed it and forgot about it. Wouldn't say it was all that cheap, it had certificate and stuff. Buying a new one will blow my budged even more... Maybe give that one a try? My exact PSU model is: CHIEFTEC A-135 Series 650W [APS-650CB]

I dont know one PSU from any other without reading reviews, but most folks around here will tell you that a PSU is the foundation of a strong system. I can say from personal experience that my PSU (EVGA) has never given me any fuss and comes highly recommended. There is a PSU buyers guide here on the site in the stickies of the Power Supply section. I know I did not want to spend the extra for a nice PSU, but am very glad I did.

About SSD, well, I was considering SATA, but I need to check for M.2 ports on motherboards and look for more variants. Though I think I'll barely allow something $180+ Thanks for the points.

This is a nice deal one of the fasted sata drives on the market.... if you are okay with used/openbox equipment. I bought 2 of them and have one set up already. So far so good

I need some recomendations on thermal paste, at least, like, brand. What is going to be okay for air cooled 6700K? I've heard that downside of most of processors from Intel though is, that they have thermal pastes under the cap, not copper or anything. Buying expencive liquid metal won't help then, I guess? Also, thank you for telling me, that positive pressure setup with fans in case is what I need to do.

Liquid metal will help if you want to risk damaging your CPU by tearing off the IHS (integrated heat spreader -- the silver part on the top of the CPU) and cleaning out the thermal paste inside. Replacing that paste is supposed to be good for your overall cpu temperatures, and the best replacement is the liquid metal (so I have read). There is a real possibility of damaging your CPU by doing this though. If you want to look into it, it is called "delidding". It is mostly a procedure for those who have chips that run far hotter than average for that cpu, or for people who really want a larger overclock.

If you are not going to delid your chip, then there are still many choices for high quality paste that have close/similar performance. I think the sweetspot for price/performance is Arctic MX-4, but there are a few different choices that are close in price as well.

 

[DaveB]

Thank you Vishera for your comment. Your detailed guide on some of the aspects definitly helps.

Yes, CHIEFTEC PSU is not something which gets hyped around, I know that, but is it really such a big deal? When I was buying it year ago, it was obvious for me, that it is many times more reliable than no-name one i had before for 4 years.
It has disconnectable cables and all of them are in nice black nets. PSU itself gave me no problems whatsoever, I just installed it and forgot about it. Wouldn't say it was all that cheap, it had certificate and stuff. Buying a new one will blow my budged even more... Maybe give that one a try? My exact PSU model is: CHIEFTEC A-135 Series 650W [APS-650CB]

Dump the Chieftec, look at EVGA and Corsair.

About SSD, well, I was considering SATA, but I need to check for M.2 ports on motherboards and look for more variants. Though I think I'll barely allow something $180+ Thanks for the points.

Most all Z170 motherboards have M.2 but most M.2 drives are SATA and perform the same as a regular SATA SSD.


I need some recomendations on thermal paste, at least, like, brand. What is going to be okay for air cooled 6700K? I've heard that downside of most of processors from Intel though is, that they have thermal pastes under the cap, not copper or anything. Buying expencive liquid metal won't help then, I guess? Also, thank you for telling me, that positive pressure setup with fans in case is what I need to do.

For running at default or mild OC, just get an inexpensive Cooler Master Hyper 212 and use the paste that comes with it.


Coming to something more fundamental, I still need general advice about CPU and MoBo, because I am not sure with my choises. If I can't afford top-notch system, based over 2011-3 socket, is a LGA 1151 and 6700K a good solution then? z170 is the chipset which I need to buy for it? Basically, if we talk about motherboards, what else should I look at, despite "z170" mark? How to properly choose motherboard? Another thing is, as I understood, that 6700K is supporting dual-channel RAM, while some motherboards do support quad-channel, and I need to look on this too, yes?

Yes a Z170 mobo and i7 6700K are very powerful. All are dual channel, you have to go to X99 to get quad channel but you really don't need that as far as I can tell. And no need to overspend on the mobo, something like the Asus Z170-E would be fine for example. All Z170 chipset motherboards let you run high speed DDR4 and pretty much all are decent overclockers.


I mean maybe someone will write, that all my choices are wrong, that may definitly be possible. I kind of understand, that coming to rendering and encoding, 2011-3 based stuff with all those fancy quad-channel insanely expencive processors are faster, but I guess I really can't afford that now. Maybe someone will write that I don't need to change my current computer at all then - I don't know. In my local shop there are some guys commenting hate on processors with thermal paste under the cap and saying that they are bad for overclocking and in general not worth.

I'm guessing you're talking about the Intel HS/Fan with thermal compound pre-applied that comes with the processor. That is fine for running at default, not adequate for overclocking..

 

[Losash]

Thank you for Arctic MX-4 recommendations. As several of you told it, I'll try to buy that one for sure.
I will not do delidding. I know about that, I know it is extremely risky, especially because of my skill lack and thin base plate. This is way too dangerous for me.

Okay, talking about PSU's I've got you all. I'll read more about it and try buying a new one of those you recommended if I will be able too, even though this is painfull for me to throw away the one I have now for just 1 year, bought as a "many year forward stable stuff" and which actually worked without any problems.
By the way quick question. Is that a must to buy UPS? I don't have one now.

"If you can't afford the $150-200 difference between platforms, of course the 6700k would be viable... it has to be." - I would argue about such a small price difference. From my perspective, better processors with more cores and quad-channel support cost 200+ more than 6700K alone, not to mention I will need to by standing up to it really expencive Mobo. I haven't counted exactly, but yes, 2011-3 computer easily exceeds my budget, even 6700K setup is barely in my budget. I just want to hear if I'm a fool to buy LGA 1151 or not. My point was that there might be a case, that one of you may have said "Wait for another year or something and gather more money for an extreme setup, rather than buy 6700K now". I just don't want to be stupid customer.

 

[EarthDog]

The difference in cost between a 6700K(4c/8t) and a 6800K(6c/12t) is $100 on newegg.com. Ram difference for quad channel vs dual channel is around $50 or so for the same capacity).

You buying an expensive motherboard is your choice, not a requirement. You don't need an expensive motherboard. $200 is fine for a s2011-3 motherboard (example - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIABFS4NW7126&cm_re=X99-_-13-130-866-_-Product)

There is always something better around the corner... if you are ready now, buy now. You need to figure out if waiting and spending the extra $200 for s2011-3 and a hex core is worth it for you. There are benchmarks online showing performance differences. Below is one example..
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10337...6900k-6850k-and-6800k-tested-up-to-10-cores/6

 

[mimart7]

OP, what country are you located in? Chieftec is typically sold in Eastern Europe. Your cost for components will be more money outside the US.

 

[Losash]

Thank you for your benchmarks link, EarthDog. I looked carefully into all graphs and came to a conclusion, that 6700K is still kind of thing I want to buy. I didn't even know about 6800K before you told me, because I was looking into my local shop's website, and they don't have it among products. Yet even after looking it and thinking about it, I still thought that for my purposes exceeding my already thorn budged for that one is not worth it.

YES I KNOW that considering ONLY local shop is extremely newbie and dumb in many ways, but this is just a fact - I'll buy what I'll find in my city. (yes they have warranty and returns). I can't ship directly from Amazon because, guess where I live? ******* of Russia. Not Moskow, not SPB, nah, MUCH deeper. It will be extremely risky to ship through mediators and eh I don't want all those headaches. I sometimes buy something inexpensive from USA, but not a whole pack of computer components. Ofc if I'd be in USA I'd be so glad that you got free 2 days shipping out on any point there... I've gone off topic, sorry.

Now to the motherboards... Just help me to choose on an actual examples. I found those in my shop and I'll range them by price:
ASUS Z170-DELUXE (I now think it's no point in it for me after reading your suggestions)
ASUS MAXIMUS VIII HERO ALPHA (Same as DELUXE on the edge of my budget)
(somewhat a gap)
MSI Z170A GAMING M7
ASUS MAXIMUS VIII HERO (looks really cool. Costs okay for me)
ASUS MAXIMUS VIII RANGER (Cheaper. I don't know what's the difference)
(Small gap)
MSI Z170A GAMING M5
ASUS Z170-PRO
(gap)
ASUS Z170-E (Suggested by one of you. Almost looks too cheap for me as it is TWICE as cheap as top of this selection)

Of course they have much more cards, a bunch of GIGABYTEs and some others, those just stood out for me for some reason. I HAVE NO IDEA how to choose between them.

 

[Losash]

On the PSUs there are 2 options after reading your recommendations and browsing shop:
Corsair CX 650m [CP-9020103-EU] BRONZE
Corsair CS 650W [CP-9020077-EU] GOLD

Should I pay 24% more to get the second one? Both are pretty expensive, but if I don't get overpriced Mobo I shoud handle it.
Also awaiting on advice if I should get UPS device.

 

[trents]

I realize you want to reuse some of your existing components but if you go with a 6700k you will not be able to use your current DDR3 RAM. The 6700K uses a socket 1151 motherboard and that demands DDR4.

What is your budget? Where would you be purchasing components from? A local PC shop or can you order on line? If the latter, you might give a link to on line vendors you might use so we could see what they have available.

 

[EarthDog]

+1...

Please list a budget and a link to the shop you are getting your components from.. we can then give you a list.

 

[DaveB]

I realize you want to reuse some of your existing components but if you go with a 6700k you will not be able to use your current DDR3 RAM. The 6700K uses a socket 1151 motherboard and that demands DDR4.

Not exactly. Asus makes both ATX and mATX Z170 DDR3 motherboards - the Z170-P D3 and Z170M-E D3.

 

[EarthDog]

Good point... but, why get ddr3 instead of dd4? Performamce gains are nill, true, I suppose if you have to you do, but....

 

[Dlaw]

On the PSUs there are 2 options after reading your recommendations and browsing shop:
Corsair CX 650m [CP-9020103-EU] BRONZE
Corsair CS 650W [CP-9020077-EU] GOLD

Should I pay 24% more to get the second one? Both are pretty expensive, but if I don't get overpriced Mobo I shoud handle it.
Also awaiting on advice if I should get UPS device.

I would go with the CS over the CX series, but both should do fine for you. Actually, I would recommend a 500-550w PSU if you can save some money. Corsair, EVGA, SeaSonic and a few others would be the brands of choice here, but having an idea of what you have available would make recommending easier. Does this shop have a website?

I highly recommend a UPS. I can't tell you how many times mine has saved my machine from power surges and failures. Eventually everything in my house is going to be plugged into one.

Thank you for your benchmarks link, EarthDog. I looked carefully into all graphs and came to a conclusion, that 6700K is still kind of thing I want to buy. I didn't even know about 6800K before you told me, because I was looking into my local shop's website, and they don't have it among products. Yet even after looking it and thinking about it, I still thought that for my purposes exceeding my already thorn budged for that one is not worth it.

YES I KNOW that considering ONLY local shop is extremely newbie and dumb in many ways, but this is just a fact - I'll buy what I'll find in my city. (yes they have warranty and returns). I can't ship directly from Amazon because, guess where I live? ******* of Russia. Not Moskow, not SPB, nah, MUCH deeper. It will be extremely risky to ship through mediators and eh I don't want all those headaches. I sometimes buy something inexpensive from USA, but not a whole pack of computer components. Ofc if I'd be in USA I'd be so glad that you got free 2 days shipping out on any point there... I've gone off topic, sorry.

Now to the motherboards... Just help me to choose on an actual examples. I found those in my shop and I'll range them by price:
ASUS Z170-DELUXE (I now think it's no point in it for me after reading your suggestions)
ASUS MAXIMUS VIII HERO ALPHA (Same as DELUXE on the edge of my budget)
(somewhat a gap)
MSI Z170A GAMING M7
ASUS MAXIMUS VIII HERO (looks really cool. Costs okay for me)
ASUS MAXIMUS VIII RANGER (Cheaper. I don't know what's the difference)
(Small gap)
MSI Z170A GAMING M5
ASUS Z170-PRO
(gap)
ASUS Z170-E (Suggested by one of you. Almost looks too cheap for me as it is TWICE as cheap as top of this selection)

Of course they have much more cards, a bunch of GIGABYTEs and some others, those just stood out for me for some reason. I HAVE NO IDEA how to choose between them.

Out of that list, I would recommend the Z170-E, but you should check out the Gigabyte and Asrock (if they carry them) lines. Basically any of Asrock's eXtreme(X) boards are going to be plenty for you, with the 6 getting my solid recommendation based on what I've seen in reviews and parts lists, and is about $40 more on Newegg than the Z170-E. I have the Z97 (last year's chipset) eXtreme6, and it's been flawless for me. From what I understand, any Gigabyte Z170 board should be a safe bet.

 

[Mjolnir]

Wasn't there some 'noted issues' around using 1.5v RAM with the chipset/CPU long-term? At least according to this article?


OP, do you have access to perhaps the Asus Z170-AR? Would be on a better side of your budget without going nuts and has all the features you could realistically need.

 

[Losash]

I realize you want to reuse some of your existing components but if you go with a 6700k you will not be able to use your current DDR3 RAM. The 6700K uses a socket 1151 motherboard and that demands DDR4.

My initial post:

2) I consider DDR4 memory. Researches around "Factorio" performance showed, that game highly benefits from fast memory, much more than casual games (Where, as I understood you get almost no difference?). Anyways people say DDR4 is "the future" and blah blah. According to prices in my local shop, most expensive model I can afford there is:
G.Skill Ripjaws 4 [F4-2666C15Q-16GRR]
But I have no idea if this will work as intended, because description says it has XMP 2.0, which will work on X99, but probably won't on z170, which I want to choose? In a nutshell, I want to buy really fast RAM, which will serve me for years ahead, and I was looking for something 2600MHz+. But I have no actual idea what will actually work.

I will only re-use GTX 970 at this point.

Link to the shop probably won't help you much, because everything is in Russian there, and no option to swap a language. Also it uses geolocation to sort options. I can try screenshoting the list. I've pre-chosen filters: Z170, Standart-ATX, LGA 1151, here:
https://pp.vk.me/c637122/v637122027/120bb/FIx5XZr6GtM.jpg
https://pp.vk.me/c637122/v637122027/120c4/YAkrR1x0twI.jpg
https://pp.vk.me/c637122/v637122027/120cd/LtFTPJ1SOME.jpg
https://pp.vk.me/c637122/v637122027/120d6/fq2ItiUFFHg.jpg
https://pp.vk.me/c637122/v637122027/120df/3bSz4VOeblk.jpg

Can someone explain what exactly will I lose, if I buy cheaper one than, let's say, ASUS VIII HERO? When you tell me that "something is going to be plenty for me", you know.

 

[Mjolnir]

I'd look at the Asus Z170-Pro Gaming based on your list, nice price point for that board given the comparison to the rest.

You'd lose some aesthetics? Sometimes VRM cooling solutions are slightly better (a moot point for most users given the efficiency of intel chips/chipsets currently), a higher power phase design (theoretically better Overclocking, or more stable overclocking with better voltage regulation), but currently the 'lower end' boards, apart from maybe missing the ability to SLI, will perform identically to their bigger brothers.

Some things may change like SATA configurations, USB ports and availability, wifi/bluetooth etc. In some cases the audio chipset may be 'slightly' better as well.

But you wouldn't be 'losing' anything per se by going for a cheaper board if you don't require the feature.