About to build my first gaming PC, need help optimizing

[Inokuma]

I know it's kinda overkill, but this is the first time I've ever had the money to buy or build a gaming computer and I probably won't be able to upgrade anything for several years. If anybody can help me cut the cost down to $3,500 or less without downgrading the GPU and/or improve upon any of my other picks, I would be very grateful. Also, I chose the 900D because I heard it's great for air cooling and I plan on stuffing it full of HDD's when I get the money, but if you know a better option, I'm fine with changing it. Finally, I know that the Titan X SLI is super overpriced and that the difference isn't noticeably better than the GTX 980 Ti SLI, but since I don't plan on upgrading at all for several years, I wanted the absolute best GPU available even if I probably won't ever need it and even if it's just a tiny improvement. Anything else, I'm fine with changing.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($317.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($453.25 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX Titan X 12GB Superclocked Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($999.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX Titan X 12GB Superclocked Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($999.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case ($329.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($177.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM (64-bit) ($138.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $3759.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-29 12:24 EDT-0400

 

[CTurbo]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($317.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($453.25 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($677.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($677.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case ($329.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($177.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM (64-bit) ($138.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $3115.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-29 12:43 EDT-0400


The Titan X is not worth the extra money over the 980ti. Take a look at some benchmarks and you'll see.

 

[Arnav Bhatt]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($317.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($453.25 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($677.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($677.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case ($329.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($177.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM (64-bit) ($138.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $3115.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-29 12:43 EDT-0400


The Titan X is not worth the extra money over the 980ti. Take a look at some benchmarks and you'll see.

Maybe I'm wrong but wouldn't it make sense for him to have the latest i7-6700K if he's looking to make it last several years? Not just because it's a newer generation, but also because of more PCIe lanes, DDR4 support, M.2 by default. Those are things he could use with a budget like that.

Btw, totally agree on the whole Titan X deal. After the 980Ti, which offers performance damn close to the Titan X, it's diminishing marginal returns...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($369.90 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($219.00 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VIII HERO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($209.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 750 Series 400GB PCI-E Solid State Drive ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($664.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($664.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case ($329.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($187.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM (64-bit) ($138.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $3372.37
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-18 15:16 EDT-0400