$2000 budget for first Gaming PC Build 2016- Need help!

[maxmichael0606]

Hi everyone!
i have been saving up for quite a long time and am looking to switch over to the master-race while still keeping my PS4. Every other component i'm not too sure about but I would like to use a GTX 1080 and I would also like to be water cooling, I have never built a PC before but I will use it for big- open world games. I have a curved 4K TV and would like to use that instead of a monitor because I don't want to add another $900 for a monitor. If the system is able to run at 4K; I would be delighted but alternatively I would be very happy to run it at 1440p at over 60fps. I would also like to have an awesome looking case, don't worry about peripherals as I will be using a ps4 controller (old habits die hard)
Any suggestion you guys have is great.
Thank you.

 

[g-unit1111]

I lowered the wattage as I saw that a 750w power supply wasn't needed and a 650w would do just fine and is cheaper.

I always put higher wattage PSUs in on any budget over $1500 because on that budget you can (and should) prepare for SLI because that will help ensure system longevity especially if your long term plans include 4K or VR. Having the option open to add a second card means that you're already prepared for that without having to make additional purchases in the upgrade process.

I changed the RAM to Ripjaws as I have read that it is great RAM, it is also cheaper than the other RAM suggested and goes with the red colour scheme I'll be rocking.

That's fine.

Any suggestions would be good, would corsair dominator RAM be better?

Not necessarily. The Ripjaw will be fine, the only real difference between the two is the heatsink.

also, where could I buy red cables and RGB lighting?

Depends on your PSU. If you go with the EVGA Super Flower units, you can get sleeved cables direct from EVGA. Otherwise this is the place the mods use and recommend: http://www.moddiy.com/pages/Custom-Cables.html

And for RGB lighting the NZXT Hue+ is the best controller you can buy right now: https://www.nzxt.com/products/hue-plus

G, if you're thinking a 2011-3 platform, I wouldn't dismiss a Xeon E5 build. A 1620 v4 is only $300. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother with more than an i7-6700K to save money on the mboard ( and I wouldn't recommend overclocking it either ).

I'm not really a fan of Xeons but I'm also not opposed to them as much as I used to be. I'd personally go for the 6700K myself.

 

[RedJaron]

Max, if we were talking about a cheaper computer system that would never go SLI or CFX, then stepping down to a good 500W unit would be a good option. But considering the price difference between a good 650W and 750W PSU tends to be rather small and you're hoping for SLI, going up to the bigger unit is a good idea.

The Xeon idea was only for the 2011-3 platform ( your first part list was X99 and 6800K ). That's the cheapest way to get a 40 PCIe lane CPU, giving you x16/x16 SLI. Not a huge deal, but hey, if you're going X99, you may as well let the GPUs stretch their legs all the way. But I agree, I think a 6700 is a more sensible way to go.

 

[maxmichael0606]

Max, if we were talking about a cheaper computer system that would never go SLI or CFX, then stepping down to a good 500W unit would be a good option. But considering the price difference between a good 650W and 750W PSU tends to be rather small and you're hoping for SLI, going up to the bigger unit is a good idea.

The Xeon idea was only for the 2011-3 platform ( your first part list was X99 and 6800K ). That's the cheapest way to get a 40 PCIe lane CPU, giving you x16/x16 SLI. Not a huge deal, but hey, if you're going X99, you may as well let the GPUs stretch their legs all the way. But I agree, I think a 6700 is a more sensible way to go.

Thanks for the advice Redjaron and g-unit (love the 50 cent reference). I'll probably upgrade to a 750w power supply then and For the other components I hope its all fine, whatever you guys think, maybe a motherboard upgrade or just stay the same?

 

[g-unit1111]

Thanks for the advice Redjaron and g-unit (love the 50 cent reference). I'll probably upgrade to a 750w power supply then and For the other components I hope its all fine, whatever you guys think, maybe a motherboard upgrade or just stay the same?

Actually it's more of a Chappelle's Show reference, but I think even he was quoting 50 Cent. :lol:

Honestly I'd rather put the money into upgrading your PSU. You should be getting at least an Asus Z170A or an Asrock Z170 Extreme 6 on your budget. But long term I would put at minimum the 850W EVGA G2 in your system for SLI and overclocking. And both are things that you should prepare for with your system and your budget.

 

[RedJaron]

I don't like the idea of building a machine with the intent to upgrade it later ( within reason, adding or swapping out a GPU and RAM is pretty innocuous ). Certain items can last through multiple system builds, and a PSU is one of those. If you're planning to upgrade the PSU down the road, I'd recommend doing that now so as not to waste money in buying one unit now and another in a year.

 

[maxmichael0606]

Thanks for the advice Redjaron and g-unit (love the 50 cent reference). I'll probably upgrade to a 750w power supply then and For the other components I hope its all fine, whatever you guys think, maybe a motherboard upgrade or just stay the same?

Actually it's more of a Chappelle's Show reference, but I think even he was quoting 50 Cent. :lol:

Honestly I'd rather put the money into upgrading your PSU. You should be getting at least an Asus Z170A or an Asrock Z170 Extreme 6 on your budget. But long term I would put at minimum the 850W EVGA G2 in your system for SLI and overclocking. And both are things that you should prepare for with your system and your budget.

Ok then, components are now:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($345.88 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_BK 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($169.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card ($649.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Glass ATX Mid Tower Case ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1792.19
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-07 14:33 EDT-0400

 

[g-unit1111]

Ok then, components are now:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($345.88 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_BK 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($169.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card ($649.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Glass ATX Mid Tower Case ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1792.19
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-07 14:33 EDT-0400

Looks good to me! I say go for it!

 

[maxmichael0606]

Ok then, components are now:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($345.88 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_BK 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($169.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card ($649.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Glass ATX Mid Tower Case ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1792.19
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-07 14:33 EDT-0400

Looks good to me! I say go for it!

Cheers G-unit, I'll upload a pic of the finished rig when it's completed, thank you to everyone for your help.

 

[maxmichael0606]

Ok then, components are now:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($345.88 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_BK 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($169.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card ($649.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Glass ATX Mid Tower Case ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1792.19
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-07 14:33 EDT-0400

Looks good to me! I say go for it!

By the way are there any alternatives to the motherboard and cooler in black which are just as good? just in case I want to change the scheme?

 

[RedJaron]

I don't usually care about color schemes so much, so I'm not up on all the fancy colors right now.

As for black coolers, the only thing that immediately comes to mind is be quiet! Dark Rocks, though those are pretty pricey. Black motherboards are more common. However, most of MSI's Gaming line have red accents ( their basic Z170A models are straight black though ). A lot of Asus' boards have muted gold accents, though their RoG tends to be black/red and their other models run the color gamut. ASRock used to be mostly black/blue, though they're going more black/bronze. Their OC and Fatal1ty boards are gold and red, respectively. Never paid much attention to Gigabyte's colors.

A brief search on Newegg, if you want an absolutely all black mboard that's similar to what you've already got, I'd say the MSI Z170A Plus ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130900 ), though you lose some USB ports. If you can stand a little bit of color, the Gaming Pro Carbon is better ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130919 ) You also might look at the Maximum Ranger ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132586 ) or Extreme6 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157631 )

 

[maxmichael0606]

I don't usually care about color schemes so much, so I'm not up on all the fancy colors right now.

As for black coolers, the only thing that immediately comes to mind is be quiet! Dark Rocks, though those are pretty pricey. Black motherboards are more common. However, most of MSI's Gaming line have red accents ( they're basic Z170A models are straight black though ).A lot of Asus' boards have muted gold accents, though their RoG tends to be black/red and tehir other models run the color gamut. ASRock used to be mostly black/blue, though they're going more black/bronze. Their OC and Fatal1ty boards are gold and red, respectively. Never paid much attention to Gigabyte's colors.

A brief search on Newegg, if you want an absolutely all black mboard that's similar to what you've already got, I'd say the MSI Z170A Plus ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130900 ), though you lose some USB ports. If you can stand a little bit of color, the Gaming Pro Carbon is better ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130919 ) You also might look at the Maximum Ranger ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132586 ) or Extreme6 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157631 )

I found the z170 FTW which is all black but i'll keep looking for the cooler, if the component genie G-unit is around, I could use him. Thanks for the advice Redjaron

 

[g-unit1111]

By the way are there any alternatives to the motherboard and cooler in black which are just as good? just in case I want to change the scheme?

What are you looking for in a cooler? Do you want a liquid cooler? Or a single or dual tower heat sink? I would go with Jaron's suggestion of the BeQuiet coolers. They're solid products and rival Noctua in most cases.

 

[maxmichael0606]

By the way are there any alternatives to the motherboard and cooler in black which are just as good? just in case I want to change the scheme?

What are you looking for in a cooler? Do you want a liquid cooler? Or a single or dual tower heat sink? I would go with Jaron's suggestion of the BeQuiet coolers. They're solid products and rival Noctua in most cases.

Redjaron suggested just going with a fan setup instead of a liquid cooler, but whatever yields improved results in the future(with the sli setup) would be great

 

[RedJaron]

Let me clarify: I don't think liquid CPU coolers are worthwhile in the vast majority of situations. That's just my opinion, not some scientific fact or anything. I simply don't think they're worth the money most of the time. Custom loops typically run hundreds of dollars and even the cheapest all-in-one ( AIO ) coolers are still more expensive than some of the best air coolers.

Liquid cooling is good when you have extremely hot running components and/or poor airflow that makes it difficult to vent the hot air out. LCs work well in tiny ITX rigs because the small air volume can heat up quickly which makes other components overheat. Piping that heat into liquid and cooling it at a radiator on the edge of the case keeps other things from baking. Newton's law of cooling says the higher temperature difference ( delta ) between conducting objects will transfer heat faster. LC cooling plates on the waterblock have a cooler surface than an air cooler, thus they can better keep up with high-end CPUs that give off a lot of heat ( I have upgraded to a custom loop on my X99 test bed for my motherboard reviews because the new CPU can put off a ton of heat very quickly and I can't get a bigger air cooler ).

Neither of these situations apply here, so I figure it's best to save you some money and just get a quality air cooler. If color didn't matter, I'd recommend any number of $30 - $40 coolers and you'd be fine ( the Dark Rock runs about $65 ). The tower cooler I used for my Z97 testing and reviews wasn't anything special, and I could still get an i7-4790K up to 4.5 GHz on it.

Liquid cooling GPUs is another matter. GPUs seem to be more sensitive to thermal changes than CPUs. With how they throttle up and down, a liquid cooler can keep their temp very consistent, meaning top performance all the time. It may not be a big thing to most consumers, but for someone doing reviews the consistent performance is much appreciated.

 

[maxmichael0606]

Let me clarify: I don't think liquid CPU coolers are worthwhile in the vast majority of situations. That's just my opinion, not some scientific fact or anything. I simply don't think they're worth the money most of the time. Custom loops typically run hundreds of dollars and even the cheapest all-in-one ( AIO ) coolers are still more expensive than some of the best air coolers.

Liquid cooling is good when you have extremely hot running components and/or poor airflow that makes it difficult to vent the hot air out. LCs work well in tiny ITX rigs because the small air volume can heat up quickly which makes other components overheat. Piping that heat into liquid and cooling it at a radiator on the edge of the case keeps other things from baking. Newton's law of cooling says the higher temperature difference ( delta ) between conducting objects will transfer heat faster. LC cooling plates on the waterblock have a cooler surface than an air cooler, thus they can better keep up with high-end CPUs that give off a lot of heat ( I have upgraded to a custom loop on my X99 test bed for my motherboard reviews because the new CPU can put off a ton of heat very quickly and I can't get a bigger air cooler ).

Neither of these situations apply here, so I figure it's best to save you some money and just get a quality air cooler. If color didn't matter, I'd recommend any number of $30 - $40 coolers and you'd be fine ( the Dark Rock runs about $65 ). The tower cooler I used for my Z97 testing and reviews wasn't anything special, and I could still get an i7-4790K up to 4.5 GHz on it.

Liquid cooling GPUs is another matter. GPUs seem to be more sensitive to thermal changes than CPUs. With how they throttle up and down, a liquid cooler can keep their temp very consistent, meaning top performance all the time. It may not be a big thing to most consumers, but for someone doing reviews the consistent performance is much appreciated.

cheers mate, i'll go over the components and what g-unit has to say as well, you guys seem to be the PC gods here. I'll probably go with a dark rock or bequiet in the end though

 

[RedJaron]

I don't know about gods, but yes, we know what we're talking about here. Then again . . .

BTW, the company "be quiet!" makes the Dark Rock ( and yes, their name is lower case ).

 

[maxmichael0606]

I don't know about gods, but yes, we know what we're talking about here. Then again . . .

BTW, the company "be quiet!" makes the Dark Rock ( and yes, their name is lower case ).

What do you think about the motherboard, i was going to put rgb lighting in the case but the Z170 FTW has a 3.0 usb header, could i get a converter or switch to another motherboard?

 

[g-unit1111]

What do you think about the motherboard, i was going to put rgb lighting in the case but the Z170 FTW has a 3.0 usb header, could i get a converter or switch to another motherboard?

USB 3.0 is backward compatible with 2.0, no need to buy a converter.

 

[Jester Maroc]

Let me clarify: I don't think liquid CPU coolers are worthwhile in the vast majority of situations. That's just my opinion, not some scientific fact or anything. I simply don't think they're worth the money most of the time. Custom loops typically run hundreds of dollars and even the cheapest all-in-one ( AIO ) coolers are still more expensive than some of the best air coolers.

Liquid cooling is good when you have extremely hot running components and/or poor airflow that makes it difficult to vent the hot air out. LCs work well in tiny ITX rigs because the small air volume can heat up quickly which makes other components overheat. Piping that heat into liquid and cooling it at a radiator on the edge of the case keeps other things from baking. Newton's law of cooling says the higher temperature difference ( delta ) between conducting objects will transfer heat faster. LC cooling plates on the waterblock have a cooler surface than an air cooler, thus they can better keep up with high-end CPUs that give off a lot of heat ( I have upgraded to a custom loop on my X99 test bed for my motherboard reviews because the new CPU can put off a ton of heat very quickly and I can't get a bigger air cooler ).

Neither of these situations apply here, so I figure it's best to save you some money and just get a quality air cooler. If color didn't matter, I'd recommend any number of $30 - $40 coolers and you'd be fine ( the Dark Rock runs about $65 ). The tower cooler I used for my Z97 testing and reviews wasn't anything special, and I could still get an i7-4790K up to 4.5 GHz on it.

Liquid cooling GPUs is another matter. GPUs seem to be more sensitive to thermal changes than CPUs. With how they throttle up and down, a liquid cooler can keep their temp very consistent, meaning top performance all the time. It may not be a big thing to most consumers, but for someone doing reviews the consistent performance is much appreciated.

^
This is some of the best advice I have read in a while. My brother recently did a new build and I advised going air instead of liquid because he has the Cooler Master Pro 5 case which has excellent airflow. He still went with liquid even though it cost him about 3x the price for similar performance from a decent air cooler.

I am busy planning a ITX rig for myself though and am strongly considering going the liquid route as well for the first time.

 

[maxmichael0606]

What do you think about the motherboard, i was going to put rgb lighting in the case but the Z170 FTW has a 3.0 usb header, could i get a converter or switch to another motherboard?

USB 3.0 is backward compatible with 2.0, no need to buy a converter.

Even so, do you have any other motherboard recommendations?

 

[g-unit1111]

Even so, do you have any other motherboard recommendations?

Overclocking or non overclocking? And how much do you want to spend on the motherboard?