Complete build advice (1080, i5/i7)

[mzankel]

So, I'm looking to build a new PC that's meant to last for at least a bit, might be upgrading parts though. It's my first build. So far this is the parts I've picked out:

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1080 AMP Extreme
i7-6700K Skylake / i5-6600K Skylake (Can't decide between either, bottlenecking?)
Crucial DDR 2133MHz 16GB
Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5" SSD
Seagate 2TB 3.5" NAS HDD
Noctua NH-D14
ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING, Socket-1151

I already have a case and a 750W Corsair power supply. Am I missing something? Should I make any changes? Should I consider changing case fan, since it's been 5 years since my current PC was built? Any suggestions?

 

[Hlsgsz]

A good system all around with top quality aprts. Get the i7 as they tend to age better than the i5s.
Ofcourse, do change that fan if it's that old. Ideally, you should have two in teh case one pulling in from the front and the other exhausting from the back. I'm using Arctic F12 PWM and like them.
What model is your PSU? If it's a bad corsair and 5 years old, you really should be changing that aswell.

 

[mzankel]

A good system all around with top quality aprts. Get the i7 as they tend to age better than the i5s.
Ofcourse, do change that fan if it's that old. Ideally, you should have two in teh case one pulling in from the front and the other exhausting from the back. I'm using Arctic F12 PWM and like them.
What model is your PSU? If it's a bad corsair and 5 years old, you really should be changing that aswell.

Oh, sorry, yeah of course I have 2 fans in their, my bad. Will add new fans to the list.

The PSU is a Corsair GS700 - so 700W, not 750, sorry - but so far I've only read good things about it.

Other than that, is this a solid build? No changes?

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

What do you want this PC for? I assume gaming, so what resolution and frame rate are you aiming for?

The GTX 1080 and 6700K are hugely powerful, but they may not represent good value for money.

 

[Chugalug_]

What is your budget?
I feel I could improve on this.
I assume it is a personal rig, no need for a NAS HDD.
With a new build, I always think that it's good to start fresh, especially after such a long time and the potential risk of failing older components.
I like to sort of archive my older systems as either backups, or sell them as used prebuilts with formatted HDDs and a fresh install of Windows.

 

[Hlsgsz]

A good system all around with top quality aprts. Get the i7 as they tend to age better than the i5s.
Ofcourse, do change that fan if it's that old. Ideally, you should have two in teh case one pulling in from the front and the other exhausting from the back. I'm using Arctic F12 PWM and like them.
What model is your PSU? If it's a bad corsair and 5 years old, you really should be changing that aswell.

Oh, sorry, yeah of course I have 2 fans in their, my bad. Will add new fans to the list.

The PSU is a Corsair GS700 - so 700W, not 750, sorry - but so far I've only read good things about it.

Other than that, is this a solid build? No changes?

Yeah, that's a good PSU. You're all set. After you build, make sure you disable the C6/C7 states in power management in teh bios(they are some low power states that were introduced with Haswell that teh PSU doesn't support; they are irrelevent, but should be disabled).

 

[mzankel]

What do you want this PC for? I assume gaming, so what resolution and frame rate are you aiming for?

The GTX 1080 and 6700K are hugely powerful, but they may not represent good value for money.

Gaming, indeed. Currently I'm on a 1080p 144Hz. But I'm looking to dual screen further down the road for other games, with a higher resolution screen. But I see what you're meaning, I have been looking at a 1070 as well, but is that a better choice for me?

Games I will be playing will be The Witcher 3, R6 Siege, The Culling, BF1 etc. etc.. Also, when I'm getting a higher res screen I will be looking for a 144Hz as well.

 

[Hlsgsz]

What do you want this PC for? I assume gaming, so what resolution and frame rate are you aiming for?

The GTX 1080 and 6700K are hugely powerful, but they may not represent good value for money.

Gaming, indeed. Currently I'm on a 1080p 144Hz. But I'm looking to dual screen further down the road for other games, with a higher resolution screen. But I see what you're meaning, I have been looking at a 1070 as well, but is that a better choice for me?

Games I will be playing will be The Witcher 3, R6 Siege, The Culling, BF1 etc. etc.. Also, when I'm getting a higher res screen I will be looking for a 144Hz as well.

if looking forward to anything above 1440p@60Hz, the 1080 is merited.

 

[mzankel]

What is your budget?
I feel I could improve on this.
I assume it is a personal rig, no need for a NAS HDD.
With a new build, I always think that it's good to start fresh, especially after such a long time and the potential risk of failing older components.
I like to sort of archive my older systems as either backups, or sell them as used prebuilts with formatted HDDs and a fresh install of Windows.

Well, as I'm Danish prices will be slightly higher so I'll give an estimate. For instance the 1080 is around 900 USD here. So about 1/3 more expensive. My budget in USD would be around 1500 USD but it's not completely set. I could go higher if it's worth it. The build is indeed personal and mainly meant for gaming.

 

[Isokolon]

there's barely a card that can handle 4k/144Hz, for 2k/144Hz I would get an 1080 if you want to max out settings (or a Titan if you got cash laying around that you do not know on how to use anyway)
a 1070 is nice for 1080/144Hz or 2k/60Hz when you want to play on ultra settings

if it's for gaming you won't see a difference between the i7 & the i5 since single core performance is practically identical and I honestly don't see games profitting off 4cores/8threads-HT in the next couple years

 

[mzankel]

A good system all around with top quality aprts. Get the i7 as they tend to age better than the i5s.
Ofcourse, do change that fan if it's that old. Ideally, you should have two in teh case one pulling in from the front and the other exhausting from the back. I'm using Arctic F12 PWM and like them.
What model is your PSU? If it's a bad corsair and 5 years old, you really should be changing that aswell.

Oh, sorry, yeah of course I have 2 fans in their, my bad. Will add new fans to the list.

The PSU is a Corsair GS700 - so 700W, not 750, sorry - but so far I've only read good things about it.

Other than that, is this a solid build? No changes?

Yeah, that's a good PSU. You're all set. After you build, make sure you disable the C6/C7 states in power management in teh bios(they are some low power states that were introduced with Haswell that teh PSU doesn't support; they are irrelevent, but should be disabled).

I'm assuming this is easily doable for someone like me? I know more than average about parts, but in no way an expert (why I'm asking for help, obviously). But I don't know too much about software and if I would OC I would defintely get help for that.

 

[mzankel]

there's barely a card that can handle 4k/144Hz, for 2k/144Hz I would get an 1080 if you want to max out settings (or a Titan if you got cash laying around that you do not know on how to use anyway)
a 1070 is nice for 1080/144Hz or 2k/60Hz when you want to play on ultra settings

if it's for gaming you won't see a difference between the i7 & the i5 since single core performance is practically identical and I honestly don't see games profitting off 4cores/8threads-HT in the next couple years

So in the long run, would you say I should go ahead and go for the 1080? Defintely looking for something pretty on my screen haven't seen that in years with my dying 6950.

 

[Hlsgsz]

A good system all around with top quality aprts. Get the i7 as they tend to age better than the i5s.
Ofcourse, do change that fan if it's that old. Ideally, you should have two in teh case one pulling in from the front and the other exhausting from the back. I'm using Arctic F12 PWM and like them.
What model is your PSU? If it's a bad corsair and 5 years old, you really should be changing that aswell.

Oh, sorry, yeah of course I have 2 fans in their, my bad. Will add new fans to the list.

The PSU is a Corsair GS700 - so 700W, not 750, sorry - but so far I've only read good things about it.

Other than that, is this a solid build? No changes?

Yeah, that's a good PSU. You're all set. After you build, make sure you disable the C6/C7 states in power management in teh bios(they are some low power states that were introduced with Haswell that teh PSU doesn't support; they are irrelevent, but should be disabled).

I'm assuming this is easily doable for someone like me? I know more than average about parts, but in no way an expert (why I'm asking for help, obviously). But I don't know too much about software and if I would OC I would defintely get help for that.

Yes, easy. Don't be scared of teh BIOS


EDIT: as for teh config, if you can affors teh 1080 and 6700k, get them both. With the i7 you're looking at 5+ years guaranteed. With an i5, well, you'd have to wait and see.

 

[Isokolon]

there's barely a card that can handle 4k/144Hz, for 2k/144Hz I would get an 1080 if you want to max out settings (or a Titan if you got cash laying around that you do not know on how to use anyway)
a 1070 is nice for 1080/144Hz or 2k/60Hz when you want to play on ultra settings

if it's for gaming you won't see a difference between the i7 & the i5 since single core performance is practically identical and I honestly don't see games profitting off 4cores/8threads-HT in the next couple years

So in the long run, would you say I should go ahead and go for the 1080? Defintely looking for something pretty on my screen haven't seen that in years with my dying 6950.

pretty much depends on your budget. rather have a 1070 instead of having to tune down to the cheapest mainboard, the thinnest plastic trash case, only 8 GB RAM and an i3.
if you say your budget is around 1350€ you can get either a very good 1070 build or a rather cheap/okayish 1080 build.
kinda depends on what's more important to you, to get the best graphics card or to also get a very nice case, maybe some optical theme, having the quietest build possible for the budget, maximum future expandability, etc.
different people value different things...


also disabling C6/C7 in the power settings of your bios is really easy

 

[Chugalug_]

What do you want this PC for? I assume gaming, so what resolution and frame rate are you aiming for?

The GTX 1080 and 6700K are hugely powerful, but they may not represent good value for money.

Gaming, indeed. Currently I'm on a 1080p 144Hz. But I'm looking to dual screen further down the road for other games, with a higher resolution screen. But I see what you're meaning, I have been looking at a 1070 as well, but is that a better choice for me?

Games I will be playing will be The Witcher 3, R6 Siege, The Culling, BF1 etc. etc.. Also, when I'm getting a higher res screen I will be looking for a 144Hz as well.

What is your budget?
I feel I could improve on this.
I assume it is a personal rig, no need for a NAS HDD.
With a new build, I always think that it's good to start fresh, especially after such a long time and the potential risk of failing older components.
I like to sort of archive my older systems as either backups, or sell them as used prebuilts with formatted HDDs and a fresh install of Windows.

Well, as I'm Danish prices will be slightly higher so I'll give an estimate. For instance the 1080 is around 900 USD here. So about 1/3 more expensive. My budget in USD would be around 1500 USD but it's not completely set. I could go higher if it's worth it. The build is indeed personal and mainly meant for gaming.

Give us a list of local retailers that you plan to use, shipping from the US will be extravagant, and prices vary depending on region.
I'll get a build back to you tomorrow some time.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

I agree, a GTX 1080 is going to be your best bet.

If the 6700K can fit your budget then I'd say it's worthwhile. If you'd have to sacrifice the GPU then it wouldn't be worth it.

 

[Hlsgsz]

I agree, a GTX 1080 is going to be your best bet.

If the 6700K can fit your budget then I'd say it's worthwhile. If you'd have to sacrifice the GPU then it wouldn't be worth it.

Oh, definitely no sacrificing the GPU for an i7. If teh budget is exceeded the i7 goes first.

 

[mzankel]

What do you want this PC for? I assume gaming, so what resolution and frame rate are you aiming for?

The GTX 1080 and 6700K are hugely powerful, but they may not represent good value for money.

Gaming, indeed. Currently I'm on a 1080p 144Hz. But I'm looking to dual screen further down the road for other games, with a higher resolution screen. But I see what you're meaning, I have been looking at a 1070 as well, but is that a better choice for me?

Games I will be playing will be The Witcher 3, R6 Siege, The Culling, BF1 etc. etc.. Also, when I'm getting a higher res screen I will be looking for a 144Hz as well.

What is your budget?
I feel I could improve on this.
I assume it is a personal rig, no need for a NAS HDD.
With a new build, I always think that it's good to start fresh, especially after such a long time and the potential risk of failing older components.
I like to sort of archive my older systems as either backups, or sell them as used prebuilts with formatted HDDs and a fresh install of Windows.

Well, as I'm Danish prices will be slightly higher so I'll give an estimate. For instance the 1080 is around 900 USD here. So about 1/3 more expensive. My budget in USD would be around 1500 USD but it's not completely set. I could go higher if it's worth it. The build is indeed personal and mainly meant for gaming.

Give us a list of local retailers that you plan to use, shipping from the US will be extravagant, and prices vary depending on region.
I'll get a build back to you tomorrow some time.

Thanks a lot in advance! The usual retailers that are used, as they are the cheapest here 99% of the time, will be dustinhome.dk, proshop.dk, and komplett.dk. So far I've only used komplett for this build and it hit around 1800 USD.

 

[mzankel]

On a side notice - I'm worried about the size of the 1080 in question. Supposedly it's a rather huge card and my case is pretty average. Can't remember the model and it is not in production anymore. But if needed, how much can I mess around with the insides of it? Read reviews where people said they "tweaked" their case inside to make it fit - would that make a problem or should that be just fine?

 

[Isokolon]

it depends on your case. if you don't know what it is, just measure the space available by hand and tell us how long (and high) the card can be
so you don't get stuck with components that don't fit / so we can factor in a new case with the budget provided

 

[mzankel]

it depends on your case. if you don't know what it is, just measure the space available by hand and tell us how long (and high) the card can be
so you don't get stuck with components that don't fit / so we can factor in a new case with the budget provided

I'm okay with spending more money on a case, after receiving everything else. The pain is going to be the extra wait before I can finally use my soon-to-be build. ;-)

 

[Isokolon]

it depends on your case. if you don't know what it is, just measure the space available by hand and tell us how long (and high) the card can be
so you don't get stuck with components that don't fit / so we can factor in a new case with the budget provided

I'm okay with spending more money on a case, after receiving everything else. The pain is going to be the extra wait before I can finally use my soon-to-be build. ;-)

yeah but if you current case can take it - an given that you're happy with your current build - why waste the money
just measure from the back of your case to the HDD cage at the height of your PCIe slot
maybe your case will be just fine

 

[mzankel]

What do you want this PC for? I assume gaming, so what resolution and frame rate are you aiming for?

The GTX 1080 and 6700K are hugely powerful, but they may not represent good value for money.

Gaming, indeed. Currently I'm on a 1080p 144Hz. But I'm looking to dual screen further down the road for other games, with a higher resolution screen. But I see what you're meaning, I have been looking at a 1070 as well, but is that a better choice for me?

Games I will be playing will be The Witcher 3, R6 Siege, The Culling, BF1 etc. etc.. Also, when I'm getting a higher res screen I will be looking for a 144Hz as well.

What is your budget?
I feel I could improve on this.
I assume it is a personal rig, no need for a NAS HDD.
With a new build, I always think that it's good to start fresh, especially after such a long time and the potential risk of failing older components.
I like to sort of archive my older systems as either backups, or sell them as used prebuilts with formatted HDDs and a fresh install of Windows.

Well, as I'm Danish prices will be slightly higher so I'll give an estimate. For instance the 1080 is around 900 USD here. So about 1/3 more expensive. My budget in USD would be around 1500 USD but it's not completely set. I could go higher if it's worth it. The build is indeed personal and mainly meant for gaming.

Give us a list of local retailers that you plan to use, shipping from the US will be extravagant, and prices vary depending on region.
I'll get a build back to you tomorrow some time.

Has it been possible yet? Otherwise I'd love to just see a build with improvements or where I could get a better bang for the buck. A friend of mine told me that the mobo was not worth it, and that I should find a more reasonbly priced one.

 

[Hlsgsz]

What do you want this PC for? I assume gaming, so what resolution and frame rate are you aiming for?

The GTX 1080 and 6700K are hugely powerful, but they may not represent good value for money.

Gaming, indeed. Currently I'm on a 1080p 144Hz. But I'm looking to dual screen further down the road for other games, with a higher resolution screen. But I see what you're meaning, I have been looking at a 1070 as well, but is that a better choice for me?

Games I will be playing will be The Witcher 3, R6 Siege, The Culling, BF1 etc. etc.. Also, when I'm getting a higher res screen I will be looking for a 144Hz as well.

What is your budget?
I feel I could improve on this.
I assume it is a personal rig, no need for a NAS HDD.
With a new build, I always think that it's good to start fresh, especially after such a long time and the potential risk of failing older components.
I like to sort of archive my older systems as either backups, or sell them as used prebuilts with formatted HDDs and a fresh install of Windows.

Well, as I'm Danish prices will be slightly higher so I'll give an estimate. For instance the 1080 is around 900 USD here. So about 1/3 more expensive. My budget in USD would be around 1500 USD but it's not completely set. I could go higher if it's worth it. The build is indeed personal and mainly meant for gaming.

Give us a list of local retailers that you plan to use, shipping from the US will be extravagant, and prices vary depending on region.
I'll get a build back to you tomorrow some time.

Has it been possible yet? Otherwise I'd love to just see a build with improvements or where I could get a better bang for the buck. A friend of mine told me that the mobo was not worth it, and that I should find a more reasonbly priced one.

As i've already told you, you did a good job ang have an excellent build. Nothing to change about it. And that MB is very much merited and a great choice seeing as you are getting an overclocking CPU.