Hello. Thanks for taking a look. First of all, to get some items out of the way, when considering price, this is sans peripherals. I'll deal with that separately (Though if you have some solid 24-25" g-sync/freesync options, do tell).
What I have thus far:
Intel i7-6700K ($214)
Windows 10 Pro ($0, MS Dreamspark)
960GB Sandisk Ultra II SSD ($200)
REQUIREMENTS/WANTS
I'll mention this here: I'm thinking I'd like small for physical size, so if ITX can be accommodated, by all means, but if not I'd like to avoid going any bigger than mATX without compelling reason.
I want to be able to play my games on high framerates, ideally with a sync-tech monitor, on the best settings possible. With that said, I'm largely a casual at this point, but GTAV is presently the most punishing game I have that I would play with any frequency. Futureproofing should probably be based on the assumption that I'll get future GTA releases. They're cathartic.
I would be driving at MINIMUM, 2x 2560x1440 monitors. I'm undecided about 4K, but please assume that worst case I will have 1x 4K and 1x 2K, with gaming happening only on the primary monitor.
I want RAM until diminishing returns, which I suspect is 16GB, but I'm happy to go for 32GB. I will probably be running at least one VM as I'm a compsci student.
For drive config, as you probably have figured out, the 960 is for games, and I'll probably get 120-250 for boot.
Which brings me to my most pressing problem. Boot drive. Do I:
PCI SSD?
RAID SSD?
High-end SSD?
Finally, I want to know what the best graphics card for my purposes is. I have no issues with doing SLI if that's what needs to happen, but about the only thing I absolutely will not spring for is a Titan X. That's just too much. This one has really stumped me. So many people saying different things, ideally I'd like to get a consensus.
STORE DEMOGRAPHIC INFO:
Canada
Memory Express for most components, case sourced from somewhere I can get it in Canada
I like having the return option. However, don't let that limit you. Canada-accessible is the only thing that's required because good luck getting something shipped here.
$3K CAD. Less is better but obviously I'd like to do this right the first time, so you know, whatever. It'd be nice to have some to spare for monitors though.
ONE LAST DETAIL:
So, I understand this may simply be impossible given what I've requested, so don't sweat it, but I'd like to try and make this build a small one. mATX or ITX preferable.... I've had my eye on the Manta cases. I'd ideally like something smaller than an Antec 302 at any rate.
It's a lot to take in, but thank you very much for reading this and any assistance. My intention here can basically be summed up by Woodrow Wilson: The build to end all builds.
What I have thus far:
Intel i7-6700K ($214)
Windows 10 Pro ($0, MS Dreamspark)
960GB Sandisk Ultra II SSD ($200)
REQUIREMENTS/WANTS
I'll mention this here: I'm thinking I'd like small for physical size, so if ITX can be accommodated, by all means, but if not I'd like to avoid going any bigger than mATX without compelling reason.
I want to be able to play my games on high framerates, ideally with a sync-tech monitor, on the best settings possible. With that said, I'm largely a casual at this point, but GTAV is presently the most punishing game I have that I would play with any frequency. Futureproofing should probably be based on the assumption that I'll get future GTA releases. They're cathartic.
I would be driving at MINIMUM, 2x 2560x1440 monitors. I'm undecided about 4K, but please assume that worst case I will have 1x 4K and 1x 2K, with gaming happening only on the primary monitor.
I want RAM until diminishing returns, which I suspect is 16GB, but I'm happy to go for 32GB. I will probably be running at least one VM as I'm a compsci student.
For drive config, as you probably have figured out, the 960 is for games, and I'll probably get 120-250 for boot.
Which brings me to my most pressing problem. Boot drive. Do I:
PCI SSD?
RAID SSD?
High-end SSD?
Finally, I want to know what the best graphics card for my purposes is. I have no issues with doing SLI if that's what needs to happen, but about the only thing I absolutely will not spring for is a Titan X. That's just too much. This one has really stumped me. So many people saying different things, ideally I'd like to get a consensus.
STORE DEMOGRAPHIC INFO:
Canada
Memory Express for most components, case sourced from somewhere I can get it in Canada
I like having the return option. However, don't let that limit you. Canada-accessible is the only thing that's required because good luck getting something shipped here.
$3K CAD. Less is better but obviously I'd like to do this right the first time, so you know, whatever. It'd be nice to have some to spare for monitors though.
ONE LAST DETAIL:
So, I understand this may simply be impossible given what I've requested, so don't sweat it, but I'd like to try and make this build a small one. mATX or ITX preferable.... I've had my eye on the Manta cases. I'd ideally like something smaller than an Antec 302 at any rate.
It's a lot to take in, but thank you very much for reading this and any assistance. My intention here can basically be summed up by Woodrow Wilson: The build to end all builds.