Requesting Help With A Desktop Build

i wasn't really sure where to put this, so please move this if it's necessary.

it's finally that time for a computer upgrade. i don't really game, or use, my PC that much anymore so i couldn't really justify dishing out another $3k-$4k for a new gaming laptop. i haven't had a desktop for at least 12+ years now and i figured i'd take the plunge since the new Nvidia 1080's are about to go on sale.

so far i only have a few parts that i'm 100% sure about. the rest of the build is really up in the air because i've been so out of the desktop loop for what seems like ions. also note that this will be my first custom desktop build, so any help/advice will be very much appreciated.

these are the items i am pretty set on:
- Case: NZXT Switch 810 -- already ordered.
- GPU: Nvidia 1080 -- waiting to go on sale.
- CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 -- really close to purchasing.
- Storage: Samsung 850 PRO 512GB
- CPU: *probably* going to go with the Intel 6700K -- i doubt i'll need this, but i don't want any bottlenecks and i don't want to have to upgrade anything in the system for at least a couple of years.

the areas i really need help in are: MoBo, RAM, and power supply. i absolutely have no idea which 16GB RAM kit and MoBo i should go with. i won't be OC'ing, so i don't think i'll need the best of the best in those areas. however, i do want something that is high end/premium so that my system performs without a hiccup and i'm somewhat future proofed. as far as the power supply goes, i'm not really sure how much wattage to go with. i just know i want something nice, that's full module, and am probably going with a SeaSonic or Corsair unit.

thanks in advance!

 

Hi, this is the 1st time I've replied to a post like this, since too many variables could pile up, & I wouldn't have time to see someone to the end. If it's just the same with you, I'd like to chime in here once, get the ball rolling, do some name dropping.

I use MicroCenter when possible, Newegg/eBay next. I don't own Skylake, but I do own Asus / Seasonic products, therefore I could recommend those. When I use MicroCenter, I see they have 18 different Asus Z170 (socket LGA 1151) mthrbrds, I also see they have a $30 off mthtbrd/cpu bundle. Let's pretend I would like to do a WHITE themed build, so I select the Asus Sabertooth Z170 S + 6700k & I'm greeted with a $490 cart (store pickup only) while Newegg is $540/shipped. Next I look at the Seasonic Snow Silent 1050 power supply, the 750w is also a winner.

Using Micro Center's filters, I can as a 2nd choice, look into MSI mthrbrds, why not. But I can't recommend one in particular. For longevity & a sense of getting what I paid for, my personal rule of thumb is to spend at least $175 on a mthrbrd minimum. Next, I've purchased the Sabertooth family of boards since they use military-grade components, ideally to help last 5years, 'longevity'. Sabertooth Mark 1 in black gets good reviews, 5year warranty. However, given Asus has so many choices, I can't say which you might consider; if I say try them or MSI, I'm sure the AsRock / Gigabyte crowd may tell you different, which is why I don't normally chime into these type threads.

Seasonic PSU in a gold/plat ( Plat Snow X series) will be fine. Corsair, I can't say which, but I'd certainly try one some day without hesitation. Memory, I have no opinion. I think 6700k can use both DDR4 & DDR3L (low-power, but the mthrbrd dictate if it's ddr3l capable or not). Since I don't own Skylake, I haven't done much looking or researching, other than to read a Mark 1 review last year.

See if u have a MicroCenter close to you. Z170 socket 1151 motherboard will itself get some longevity, knowing KabyLake '7700k' should drop in down the road with a simple Bios firmware update, whenever they launch in the next 6/9 months.

________________________
NZXT Hale 90 v2 Gold​

When I had my white NZXT Phantom 820, I chose the H90 1200w in white dress; they're very attractive & it's made a fine decoration. Like Seasonics (& some Corsair) Hale90 comes w/black flat ribbon cables, sleeved 24pin. It's since been moved into my girl-Alien & I've since made custom cables for her:

See uTube for reviews of H90 / Snow Silent, or any other psu you fancy; NeweggTv & Linus TechTips may be easy listening for all your hardware review needs

My white leds are great, they make a pleasant atmosphere with looking-glass cases like the Switch 810 above, so do yourself a fave --> buy Nzxt's LED kit in white, 2meters (=
maybe at MC?
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on ebay, get your $ back, save $ on your Kaby (=​

 

If you don't game anymore why the 1080? You can save money and go with any mid range AMD or Nvidia.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

 

hey, thanks for the reply. fortunately, we do have a MicroCenter here in Houston, so i might just drop by there when i have time.

i am trying to keep a white/blue theme because of the NZXT Switch 810 case, but black/white or black/blue wouldn't be too bad either. the Switch 810 is a white case with black accents and blue LED's.

the confusing thing about picking a MoBo is that there are so many dang choices and i don't know the differences between them. they all look the same to me lol. if we base MoBo performance from 1 to 10. i'd probably like something in the 8 range because i won't be OC'ing, so i doubt i'll need a 9 or 10. know what i mean, jelly bean? same goes with RAM kits because there are just so many choices. i have no idea which DDR4 speed to get or what's even compatible. the only thing i'm certain on, for a RAM kit, is that i want one with a heatspreader.

i always go with top tier components just so i have the option to game when/if i want to.

i might pick up Overwatch since i loved Team Fortress 2 for a while and the 1080's 4K capabilities are intriguing.

 

For your estimate power usage you can try filling out your specs on PCPartPicker and see how much it gives you. Those are approximate numbers, but they are a good start.

 

I second the Microcenter idea, never seen so much PC hardware in a store other than Microcenter and their prices are good!

I would get some good DDR4 2400/2666 RAM (more than enough) along with an Asus Z170 motherboard + 6700K... 1080 wise, the EVGA ones should be the ones to look at!

 

Area-51 R1 SkyLake Operation Code Name: Snow White
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- Blanche Neige -
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This is a build I collaborated on; after careful thought, Philippe chose SS Snow Silent 1050 & Z170 Deluxe ( available MC Houston $300): his Alien's never been happier. SkyLake? Oui. Area-51 is in GroomLake, Nevada, so this is the very 1st GroomLake Edition (=

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MC? They have $400/$500/$600 boards, ROG Republic of Gamers, gaming hardware, but I suspect this Deluxe will do?, it's premium enuff. Otherwise, ROG is their top-shelf 8/9/10 like you said. ROG Maximus VIII Formula looks ready for War

MicroCenter will be your best friend, they have great prices, knowledgeable staff & open box buys at a discount; they may not have Seasonic there, but they certainly will have plenty to choose from; their memory prices tend to be high, so try Newegg/Tiger Direct/eBay etc. The mthrbrd specs will tell you what memory speeds it can overclock to.​

Corsair of course sells their own sleeved cables, & CableMod sells for Seasonic / EVGA etc.

There's a debate if DDR3L is a better buy than newer DDR4 right now; hopefully someone can tell you which is best. I've owned three NZXT Phantoms, one was a white Phantom 820, huge; Nzxt are a fine product to house your stuff in (= Ryan Cuasim is an excellent rep there, ask for him.

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edit: Read Me!​

MicroCenter I believe offers pc repair, diagnosis, and?, u can ask if they can help install the 6700k at least into the mthrbrd you buy (to get it in & clamped down); otherwise, be as gentle as you ever have been placing it into the socket: don't let go of it until it is in the socket, ummmm, or 'pin damage' can result, a bummer. It only fits in one way. Hold on tight baby, don't let go. I hope this helped.

 

that's what i've been playing with for now, but i can't finish my list yet because i'm still undecided on a few things. also, they don't have the 1080's available yet to add to my parts list.

my system will only have 1 CPU, 1 GPU, and a Samsung SSD so i doubt i'll need anything over 750-850 watts. would that be the right thought process?

yeah, i will definitely be hitting up MC in the near future. i guess after my Switch 810 comes in so i can start actually installing some parts into it.

i've read that all of the preorders on the 1080's are pretty much sold out, so i'm going to have to wait and see what's going to be available. i probably will be going with something like an EVGA version though because i prefer a cool aftermarket cooler on the GPU and maybe a unit that comes with a small OC.

as far as RAM, i was looking at some DDR4 3000MHz. u think 2400/2666MHz would be plenty? i was just looking at the 3000MHz ones because there's not too much of a price difference on the PCpartpicker site. i'm particularly interested in the Corsair Dominator Platinum RAM because they looked cool. it's kind of confusing, though, because their DDR3 DRAM 1600MHz kit costs alot more than their DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz kit. i have no idea which spec is better lol.

cool build.

do u think that Z170 Deluxe is worth it because i wasn't really planning on spending that much on a MoBo. what does it have over those other Z170 $150-$200 MoBo's that litter the list? the Deluxe one u linked does look cool, and it'll match my case, so i don't mind dishing out a little more if it's truly worth my money.

appreciate all the responses, guys!

 

OC'ed 1080 eats up to 206W according to Tom's Hardware, so you can use that as a number.
750W should be all you need. Rough calculations - we take 400W for OC'ed CPU+GPU, plus 100W for other stuff. Add another 200W for good measure and voila, that's what you need! This rough but generous estimate gives us 700W. So you either take 650W or 750W PSU.

 

awesome blossom because i was eyeing the SeaSonic Snow Silent 750W 80+ Platinum PSU.

 

Agreed, a 750W PSU should be enough.. If you ever want to SLI down the road, having 850W won't hurt..

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

 

The story goes that the founding father, his favorite English word is Pegasus, so he created Pegatron and? ... Asus

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did I watch it? no
'member: uTube = help / 411 > here Asus / Nzxt
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When I google-fu hardware, my search term could be: Seasonic Snow Silent 1050. On results landing, I will then filter by Shopping (All Shopping Images Videos News etc). I can then shop/price compare from competing sellers. When I do, I see SuperBizz / MP3Store = $202. If you can? Scrape up $50 more & get the 1050. When you join the 1kW+ Club, it's like the feeling you get when walking around with a gun in your hand for the 1st time ... the fitty extry now can help future-proof, and?, resale value later on. When we purchase name brand products, desirable ones at that, we can have peace of mind if / when we goto sell our stuff.

For instance, SS 750 today sounds like the right fit. If you'd like the 1050 later on?, part with the 750 (on eBay), try 1050 next time (= Buying name brand stuff now makes for a painless parting of ways later. I would buy the SS 750/1050, since it has a righteous 7year warranty *wink*

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In the least, it appears Dlux distances itself fwith its own top-shelf wi-fi, more expansion, beefier heatsink + 'de-bugging' LED. When given the choice to save ~$100 between boards w/the same aesthetics, I'd choose the Pro (no debug led) since it satisfies my ~$175 entry into premium world. Memory? For Dlux, I go under the Specifications:

• 4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR4 3466(O.C.)/3400(O.C.)/3333(O.C.)/3300(O.C.)/3200(O.C.)/3000(O.C.)/2800(O.C.)/2666(O.C.)/2400(O.C.)/2133 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
• *When running XMP @ DDR4 3200 MHz or higher, system’s stability depends on the CPU’s capabilities
  
• I see no DDR3L support, it don't mean there is none, it just isn't listed
• for Pro I go here

When choosing a mthrbrd, most brands have a list of 'qwalified' hardware, like cpu/mem. Dlux page, click 'support', clicked the memory/device tab, & found the DRAM support PDF; this gives all the validated memory (by brand/speed) for this mthrbrd. It's a good guide to go by when purchasing memory. If you like Corsair (who could blame u), find the speed/part# for it, then peace of mind it's validated ... this research can be done on any (Asus) product.
For Deluxe, the validated mem @ 3000MHz has these part #'s:

• CMD16GX4M4B3000C15
  CMK16GX4M4B3000C15
  CMD32GX4M4B3000C15 (Ver4.23)
  CMK16GX4M2B3000C15

From there, we google-fu; I can't run down each part#, but the 1st one = Dominator Platinum (CMD16GX4M4B3000C15) while the K-suffix = Vengeance (CMK16GX4M4B3000C15). This memory pair is validated for Deluxe & Pro. Tweaktown Pro review says: 'My TridentZ 3733MHz and Corsair Vengeance 4000MHz kits worked perfectly with XMP' (=

My bottom line here Tex?​

Do the two-step in-two MCenter & my ii's are set on Pro, Sabertooth S / Mark 1, or Dlux with no regret. Save $100 over Dlux?, put it elsewhere. Dlux later? I sell what-ev-uh I bought, recoupe most of it, then buy it / try it or what-ev-uh else later on, ez peezy. Build-your-own @ the lowest prices is awesome (Houston hot) sauce.

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Zed 170 A / AR​

Tweaktown says: 'what the Z170-Pro offers over the Z170-A is quality', but in a pinch / budget, I go straight for the z170-AR (A/AR about the same thing) since my cpu bundle drops it to $110, or $455 with tax & Dominator/Vengeance checks out in the QVL validated mem page @ 3000Mhz.

Spoiler: OC.com Review

Conclusion: from strictly a performance point of view, the ASUS Z170-A matches up well with motherboards costing twice as much. Sure, you don’t get things like dual LAN ports and Wi-Fi, dual M.2 slots, and extra SATA ports from a third party controller, but you also don’t get the price tag that comes along with all that. Don’t get us wrong though, the Z170-A comes well-appointed with M.2 x4 support, SATA Express, Intel LAN, the Crystal 3 audio solution, and several other enthusiast-level features we discussed along the way. Couple that with the industry’s best accompanying software package in AI Suite III, and you’ve got a great combination going on. So, just how much is this price conscious ASUS offering going to set you back? It’s currently available at Newegg for $165, which is a great price considering the enthusiast-level performance and overclocking ability the motherboard offers. ASUS set out to prove it’s not necessary to spend high-end money to get high-end performance, and the Z170-A is an excellent example of this. If you’re looking to build a price conscious system around the Skylake/Z170 platform, you’ll definitely want to give the ASUS Z170-A a good hard look.

• join Asus / Evga forums later to chat with your new peers

1st look EVGA 1080​

 

Triple Fan 1080s are the way to go, any others will throttle much more easily.. The Asus Strix looks sick but the EVGA FTW will be awesome

 

• ​

i'm just going to go with the Z170-Deluxe because of it's WiFi capabilities. the built in sound board looks pretty awesome as well so those 2 were probably my deciding factors to dish out the extra bucks and go with it.

on the DRAM compatibility list, the first one was for the 4x4GB Corsair Dominator Platinum. would the 2x8GB kit be compatible as well, or no, because that's the one i was going to purchase. i'm going to purchase it through Corsair for the free Light Bar upgrade.

again, appreciate all the info and help.​

i was pretty set on the EVGA version before clicking on Cass' link. now, i have no idea which version to go with because they all look beastly lol.

 

Nice call on the DeeLuxe, you only live twice ...​

CMD16GX4M2B3000C15 is 2x8 > the Vengeance 2x8 made their list, their 4x8 Doms made the list, it's almost a given that Doms work (4x8 modules is just a pair of 2x8's). You'll consult with Corsair 1st I assume, since I can't guarantee nuthin tonight except OKC KD's Thunder will beat the Golden State Dubs! --> tonight! --> Saturday night!

The 1st batch of 1080's sold-out online in like 10minutes. Computex 16's approaching, all sorta fun stuff will be set loose soon, we're getting sneak peeks this week, next week's even better. We'll get reviews of 3rd party cards from here on out, so stay tuned. Honestly, my friends 250w Ti's have the SC ACX dual-fans without issue, it's a proven design; we're likely to see hybrid water-cooled models too, sit tight like the rest of us Beasts will be unleashed. (poor AMD *does face palm*). Here we asked for some custom-colored purple lenses for the platy's, now they offer them & more to the public.

 

awesome blossom.

found a 15% off coupon: paxeast2016

i got the Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB kit + Light Bar Upgrade kit for $110 shipped.

 

Spoiler: Don't Give In

Good things come to those who wait. Evict all 1080 FEs that try to jump in your shopping cart like a Mexican jumping bean ... know what I mean? Join MCntr.com, you'll get early promo notifies like Memorial Weekend, stay tuned for this weekend's sales

 

Those fail editions are not worth buying.. Hold your horses people for the custom boards..

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

 

definitely waiting for a nice custom edition with a small OC because i'm no OC'er.

the white/black EVGA 1080 SuperClocked version would be perfect for my build.

 

Would suggest the Swiftech H240/220 instead of the kraken.

 

Spoiler: Asetek Sealed

*1st timer here Chief, let's try for ez-peezy*

I checked Newegg reviews on 240/220 (+240 Prestige) b4 posting, filtered by lowest ratings; some described H 2O leaks & pump fails, mounting problems, while others left glowing reviews. As a 1st timer, x61 is a 'sealed' kooler & ... well ... hybrid coolers on the way soon

 

Definitely a smart move. Not only you will save the money, but also get a better aftermarket cooler, which should help the GPU against thermal throttle.

 

i was actually considering the Swiftech H240 X2 after seeing how it performed.

i haven't ordered the Kraken X61 yet, so we'll see.

 

But but...Unleash the Kraken... Swifttech doesn't sound as cool as Kraken.
And X61 is a pretty powerful cooler. It's currently on my wishlist as well.

 

i'm actually still debating. i can't deny the H240 X2's performance, but it might be a little too much for me with all the LED's.

i like the Kraken's low profile and clean aesthetics. it's like how i prefer my Rolexs -- no diamonds except in my dial.

 

Yeap, plus you can add around 2 GPU's on the same loop as well.

Nice!

 

But it's golden... Reeks of, well I won't say what... Just ewww...

Back on topic. H240 should be quieter than X61 due to its bigger pump (X61's fans have to work a bit harder) and have a better performance at extreme OC, though it's not something you need. X61 does look "cleaner" overall, and will handle everything you throw at it. It's also $40 or so cheaper, though as far as I understand money is not something that concerns you judging by some of the parts in your build.
So I would say that in the end it all comes down to aesthetics, what you think looks better in your build.

 

thanks.

it'll just be a 1 GPU build. if i was going for a more extreme build than the H240 X2 would definitely be apart of it.

i won't be OC'ing, or anything like that, so i either of them should be more than enough.

the X61's fan noise did concern me a bit so i was planning on getting 2 Noctua fans for it. i'll move the 2 140mm fans that come with the X61 inside my case.

 

Noise is something you will notice only on extreme OC on X61. Otherwise with no to mild OC it should perform similar to H240 sound-wise, so you should be fine.

 

i was planning on adding a few fans to the case anyways.

i guess i'm just tryin to find a reason to buy some Noctua fans lol. i've been hearing about them for so long now and haven't had the pleasure of hearing them in person. plus, i figure that the radiator's fans would be the most audible to me, so i want as little noise as possible from them.

question: i'd have to go with the 3-pin NF-A14 FLX's, correct? the NF-A14 PWM's are 4-pin connectors.

 

I guess by going with the same fans you will have some kind of consistency in your build.
Noctua definitely makes some top notch fans, though their price/performance ratio isn't the best.

As for pins, 4 pins - controlled fan RPMs, something you usually see for CPU fan connector. 3 pins - fans spin on max, without the possibility of flexible control of the RPMs (only available through fan voltage control).

 

couldn't they be controlled through software?

for instance, the Kraken comes with it's own CAM software where u can control fan percentages via a little graph.

2 Noctua NF-A14 FLX's will be here Sunday.

<3 Amazon Prime shipping <3

 

I'm not sure it will work with 3 pin fans... I mean, CAM software needs to draw some of the info which 3 pin fan don't have.
You should ask someone who knows this better though, because my area of expertise ends there. But X61 does come with two PWMs (or 4 pin fans) in the box, so that should tell you something.

 

damn, u're right. i'm going to reorder them, but in the black/dark grey Redux versions.

i wasn't expecting to spend too much on a monitor, but then i started looking at UltraWide monitors. i think i might have to add the 34" Dell U3415W to the build now . . .

 

Dell U3415W should be here Tuesday along with the Noctua fans.

EDIT: quick question - what's the best connection for my monitor? DisplayPort or HDMI 2.0?

 

Have you thought about buying a monitor with G-Sync and/or higher refresh rate than 60Hz? Or are you totally fine with that Dell?
At your resolution and refresh rate it won't matter whichever you use, though most people seem to prefer DP over HDMI.

 

i honestly didn't plan to spend more than $300-$400 on a PC monitor, so i definitely couldn't justify dishing out almost $1500 for a monitor with G-sync.

the Dell one should be fine, though, because it can be overclocked to 80Hz. i'll probably be running it at 75Hz or 80Hz. i'm going to do a little more research to see if there will be any difference.

i've been watching alot of people review the Dell U3415W on youtube and many are gaming on it without any problems. plus, u can't beat a *FREE* $800 monitor. i can always sell it if i feel like i need an upgrade.

 

How did you get it for free lol?

I use Displayport with my Acer XF270HU.. I've used HDMI 2.0 but its literally the same tbh..

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

 

someone owed me some money for a while.

i told him to just order me that monitor and i'll call it even lol.

 

first things to arrive are the 16GB Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4 and the Light Bar Upgrade:

 

What's a good keyboard that isn't mechanical? It's been so long since I've really used a regular one instead of a laptop.

I'm not a big fan of mechanical because they make so much friggin noise. Do they have a silent one now and are they even worth it for someone that will mainly use it for gaming?

The Dell monitor is on the delivery truck and I'm currently waiting for its delivery. I'll update with pix later.

 

pretty crazy gaming on this thing. it's so much wider that i have to get used to it. like in League of Legends, i have to move my mouse an extra few inches to move the map left or right lol.

 

There's Cherry MX Silent switches now. Here's some quiet ones:

http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-keyboards-keypads/razer-blackwidow-ultimate-stealth-2016#stealth

This one has audio samples for comparison: http://matias.ca/quietpro/pc/

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/strafe-rgb-mechanical-gaming-keyboard-cherry-mx-silent

 

i'm going to have to goto a store that carries

i'm going to have to go to a store that carries them and try them out. they're pretty silent in some videos, but still pretty loud in others.

i could never stand the noise that mechanical keyboards make. out of those 3, i like the Corsair Strafe RGB the best. i would honestly have the LED's turn off most of the time though. i'm not really into too much flash.

 

MX Red are still a bit clicky, they're not silent. I have the CM Storm Quickfire Ultimate with the Cherry Red. They have great feedback and still click a bit but what you'd expect from a "typical" keyboard.

Also check out Das Keyboard, although I know they use MX Brown and MX Blue switches which are louder than Red. They may make an MX Red one too. Their gaming version X40 has supposed silent keys, linear travel so should be virtually no noise except key caps hitting down to keyboard base (if it even goes that far).

http://www.divisionzerogaming.com/x40/

 

Well, the quietest of the cherry are the blacks which I think HTWingNut was referring to.
However, all of them make noise if you keep bottoming them out.
Also, each of have different activation time which matters if you're into that level of competitive advantage.

 

that X40 is gonna be a no go because the red won't go with my build lol.

i honestly love typing on my laptop keyboard and don't find anything wrong with it.

what are these Cherry Blacks u speak of?

i'm a noob when it comes to mechanical keyboards. only "silent" ones i've come across so far, during my research, was the Cherry MX Silents in the Corsair Strafe RGB.

 

damn ... nearest Best Buy had a crappy selection of keyboards. i guess it'll be harder than i thought to test out some mechanical KB's.

 

If there is a Micro Center near you might be your best bet.

 

You can always add O RINGS under the keyboard caps to make them even quiter.