First Build Under $2000 Can Any Improvements Be Made?

[TheNightManCometh]

Approximate Purchase Date: I'd like to purchase parts this week

Budget Range: $1500 - $2000(Max)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Primarily I need to use it for 3D design, animation, digital art and video editing for school, but I'd also like to do some gaming on the side.

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Parts to Upgrade: Everything

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any

Location: Houston, Texas

Parts Preferences: No preferences

Overclocking: Maybe? Not really sure how to go about it

SLI or Crossfire: uh, what?

Your Monitor Resolution: I'd like to get the best bang for my buck

Additional Comments: I'd like it to be quiet and fast (of course)
I'll be running programs like: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Animate, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Story Plus, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Maya, Blender
I'd also like to run games such as: Overwatch, H1Z1, Battlefield 1 (currently a console noob so I'm sure pc gaming will be a nice gift to myself)

Why Are You Upgrading: I'm in need of my first serious desktop for school.

My list so far looks like this:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JHMByf

 

[Supahos]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($344.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($102.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus PRIME Z270-P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($134.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($99.69 @ Jet)
Storage: Intel 600p Series 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($87.29 @ Jet)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Superclocked Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card ($594.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($88.58 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: AOC Q2778VQE 27.0" 2560x1440 60Hz Monitor ($255.98 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Corsair STRAFE Wired Gaming Keyboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: SteelSeries Rival 100 Wired Optical Mouse ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $2009.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-18 00:16 EST-0500

Got ride of horrid 5400 rpm hard drive, managed to sneak 1080 in place of your 1070 and stay on budget (mostly)

 

[CTurbo]

It's a pretty good build. I think spending $150 on a cpu cooler is a waste of money. This is a few ways I would modify your build. Mainly better storage, and way more bang for buck from the motherboard and cooler.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($344.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H5 Ultimate 76.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($56.69 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus PRIME Z270-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($161.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($97.88 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Storage: Crucial MX300 525GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($116.99 @ Jet)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB SC GAMING ACX 3.0 Black Edition Video Card ($389.99 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black/Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($88.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($88.58 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: AOC Q2778VQE 27.0" 2560x1440 60Hz Monitor ($255.98 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Corsair STRAFE Wired Gaming Keyboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: SteelSeries Rival 100 Wired Optical Mouse ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1916.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-18 00:16 EST-0500

 

[Supahos]

Lol CT why do our builds always end up so similar?

 

[CTurbo]

Or you could easily have a GTX1080

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($344.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H5 Ultimate 76.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($56.69 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus PRIME Z270-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($161.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($97.88 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($85.98 @ Directron)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.66 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 8GB AMP! Edition Video Card ($580.66 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black/Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($88.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($88.58 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: AOC Q2778VQE 27.0" 2560x1440 60Hz Monitor ($255.98 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Corsair STRAFE Wired Gaming Keyboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: SteelSeries Rival 100 Wired Optical Mouse ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1996.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-18 00:19 EST-0500


or you could go with a 6 core i7

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($369.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 67.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($63.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus X99-A II ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($233.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($99.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($83.60 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.66 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB SC GAMING ACX 3.0 Black Edition Video Card ($389.99 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black/Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($88.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($88.58 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: AOC Q2778VQE 27.0" 2560x1440 60Hz Monitor ($255.98 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Corsair STRAFE Wired Gaming Keyboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: SteelSeries Rival 100 Wired Optical Mouse ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1909.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-18 00:23 EST-0500

 

[Supahos]

If you're not dying to have a record overclock and are willing to not have liquid cooling the 1080 build from CT is probably the best one of the 4 listed here in my opinion

 

[Lopperuk]

Good build you got there. Should be fine for everything you want to do. Only real problems are that you don't really need liquid cooling, with that cpu you won't really need to overclock. Stick with an air cooler. Get a 7200rpm drive instead, even 7200rpm feels slow for me so 5400 is probably a nightmare. You could save a few bucks if you go with a 600w psu instead of 650. I run at similar specs and I only have a 500w and there's no problems. Also well this is purely just my opinion but you don't really need a 1440p monitor. I'd go with a 1080p at 144hz. I'd rather have a smoother framerate than a bigger resolution personally but its up to you.

 

[Geekwad]

With the primary need being 3D design, animation, digital art and video editing for school....I'd concentrate hard on the monitor with good color reproduction, and maximizing work-space. Having a fast SSD, slow HDD and 2tb backup disk (for the first two) also being important.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($309.69 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-E ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($113.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($98.83 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($139.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.79 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.66 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Windforce OC Video Card ($375.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Deepcool DUKASE V2 ATX Mid Tower Case ($52.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic EVO Edition 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($86.40 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($88.58 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: AOC U3477PQU 34.0" 3440x1440 60Hz Monitor ($499.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $1887.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

It is put together in such a way though that if you wanted to drop in a second GTX 1070, you could at any time (to help push the pixels on the larger monitor when gaming).