Help me decide on a PC system that looks awesome and performs very well :)

[Brudarion]

Hello Toms Hardware

I have heard from my friend that this site's forums is very helpful for IT questions and pc builds so I decided to give this a go. I basically need to buy a pc VERY soon as my current one broke down.. Now I think I can still salvage some parts but I'm not quite sure. In any case I'm looking for an entire new build. I have no budget whatsoever. I tried installing my new gtx 1070 in my old system and from there it just went downhill and I accidently broke my pc I guess (BIOS related).
The purpose of my system will be: Gaming at 1080p/1440p, I want to have dual monitors, but I don't think I will be gaming on both of them honestly, I really wouldn't like having a big black bar between the screens when playing. I'll use it only to play on 1 screen and on the other screen to have windows open like youtube or livestream programs or other things that will run in the background. I will be playing very taxing games and it has to be relatively future proof, I will be livestreaming, youtube (so video editing, I would upload 2-3 times a week). Keep in mind the very taxing games please because that's what the pc probably needs to be centered around, and also good enough for livestreaming and youtube ofcourse. The games are like GTA V, Witcher 3, Skyrim with 4k textures, ark evolved and other taxing ones that people use benchmarks on to test their GPU's.
So now that you know that theres no budget and the purpose of the system, I would also like a system that is black and red themed (with red led's)... my last pc was randomly put together because that was my first time building a pc ever so I wasn't that picky, now I want to be pickier.
So if you guys are willing, help a fellow green IT enthousiast out I would greatly appreciate it.
I will most likely ask many questions in this thread so be prepared and patient please.
These are the parts I came up with so far:
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/fhkJM8

Additional info or questions:
CPU cooler: I dont know what to go for here... I would like a nice stylish one and good performer but at the same time not conflict with the system and not too loud.
RAM: No idea, theres some nice LED ram out there and also Ripjaws z are very nice but then there are the compatibilty issues and also how much hz should I aim for (ram is cheap so i can afford all of them I think)
Storage: I have 2x 1T hdd for game storage from my last pc and im wondering what storage to buy to put my os on and for games to reduce loading times, how do you guys feel about m,2 ssd's? Never used it and not sure if the difference in performance is good and worth the price. If it is worth the price I might think about putting the os on this to make it presumably fast and my main games that benefit from this ssd.
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Video Card (I bought this GPU already for my previous system that didn't work. I just hope the card actually works and isn't DOA... also is this GPU good
enough for my needs? Also keep in mind I bought 1070 as a temporary solution, down the line in 1 or 2 years I will buy a single GPU but I'm waiting for a good TI card to come up and blow up performance charts like the 1000 series did or the 980TI, after that I'll want my system to be good enough for at least 4 years.
Case: I think this case will be good and looks nice.. my first ever case was also corsair.
Case LED fans work with this system?
OS: I'm guessing windows 10 here, my favourite is 7 but there are performance gains when going to win 10 I heard along with dx12 compatibility so just for future proofing sake win 10 for me I think.
Wireless Network adaptor: I use a USB network stick right now but I think an adaptor would be better.. Also can I disable this if the stick ends up being better? I know I know, wireless! NO! But this is only a temporary solution for 6 months until I move to my new place.
Monitors (2): no idea here. Heres another dillema honestly as im a monitor noob. I dont know wether to go for 1080p monitor and aim for 120 + fps or 1440p and around 60fps mostly. Also do you really see a big difference between 1080p and 1440p? Also can I have a main 1440p monitor and my secondary 1080p is this possible? And also for example if i cant handle a game at 1440p cant i just downgrade it so i have the same quality like 1080p by putting the res down? I really need as much as possible knowledge here.
Sound Card: Is this needed for good surround sound? Is it worth it? Do you hear much difference?

If you want to change parts of my build I have so far then please by all means go ahead and suggest me but keep in mind the setup I have in mind (black and red with red led if possible, good performance, not TOO loud, and good for what I'll be using it for).

If you guys end up helping me I will be really grateful.
Thank you in advance and I'm sorry for this motherload of text but at least you know where I'm standing in this case.
Let's make a cool gaming system together!

 

[Isokolon]

nice build.

CPU Cooler: Cryorig has nice coolers. the H5 offers very good performance at low noise.
if you wanna splash the cash, the R1 is stylish and goes well with your components

RAM: LED RAM is overrated imho. the difference between RAM speeds at DDR4 is not so big. there are the new Ripjaws V with better timings out now (15-15-15 instead of 15-16-16). I'd go with the best timings for MHz. you won't notice much difference between DDR4-3000 CL15, DDR4-2400 CL13 and DDR4-3600 CL17

GPU: for your needs, a single 1070 is good enough for now.

Case LED Fans will work with any case as long as it's supported with the mainboard.

Mainboard: MSI struggles with QC sometimes, I'd go for the Gigabyte Gaming 7 or the Gigabyte Z170X-UD5

PSU: total overkill. even if you were to SLI 2 1070s and overclock the i7 650W would be enough. get a quality PSU, like XFX XTR, Seasonic, EVGA Supernova G/2 or a Corsair equivalent

monitors: 120 fps have no advantage on a 60 Hz monitor.
144Hz monitors only have a real advantage when playing fast fps like Counterstrike.
personally I'd go for a 1440p IPS monitor with good colours and a secondary that doesn't have to be that good.
I for example use a 1080p monitor as main screen and a 4:3 720p monitor as secondary.

Sound Card: it depends on your sound setup.
do you use a soundsystem?
do you plan on a display with integrated speakers?
do you use high end headphones + a mic (like sennheiser)
do you use a headset? is it a surround or a 5.1 headset? does it use a USB-jack?

the Gaming 7 I listed as mainboard comes with a Creative sound chip that is quite good. but only necessary if you really use a quality analogue soundsystem.

as for WiFi, better go for a Powerline solution.

 

[Brudarion]

Thank you very much for the fast response!
I'm aware of cryiorig being good aswel as noctua but they dont really fit. Cryorig seems better for my build though.. it's just the white fan that kind of spoils it. Do you recommend liquid cooling actually? I've always wondered whether to go with the liqui or air cooling in this system.
RAM: RAM LEDS overrated. Point taken. It was never needed i just thought it could be nice. I was looking at the avexir ones that looks really good. Well the non led one i was looking at is the ripjaws v 3000, what do you think? matches my system but has tall heatspreaders.
GPU: Are you sure my gtx 1070 suffices for gaming at 1440p running on a 1440p monitor for example and secondary 1080p monitor? Also how does it work does the pc really run on 2 different resolutions on those screens?
Case fans: so it will work as long as its supported with the mainboard? what exactly do you mean by that?
MB: what do you mean it struggles with QC? I just saw reviews saying its a very good mobo along with asus hero
PSU wise... I am kind of aware it is overkill... the thing is i have that 850w ax gold from my previous system so i own it. I used it in my first pc build. Is this a bad thing? Should I buy a lower W psu ?
Monitor: Well then I can buy a 1440p ips screen for my rpg games and a secondary smaller 1080p 144hz screen as secondary. Perfect! Also do you mind me asking what are the advantages of 144hz? Can the human eye even follow that many frames that fast ? The 1440p IPS monitor you would get how much HZ should I be looking at on this monitor?
Sound card: quite simple, I have a blue yeti mic and headset is hyperx cloud 1 without mic. Also I own the autiotechnica at m50x's. I do have a stereo system here when watching a movie but they are small boxes for sound and I wouldnt really buy anything for them they get the job done its fine.
Wifi: I currently use a usb network stick and i was wondering if i bought this that the reception of wifi could be better and no interruptions? What is a powerline solution if you don't mind me asking?

Thank you so much for the fast responses!

 

[Isokolon]

COOLER:
the R1 is pain black and one of the best air coolers there is.
also you can change the CPU fan to something that's more your style.
bequiet do black Coolers as well.
personally I'm not a fan of liquid cooling. it's better looking but at premium cost and the thought of a leak would make me sick^^
but many people love them

RAM: got the Ripjaws V 3000 myself, gotta be careful with coolers. I use a Scythe Mugen 4 and can't use the 1st RAM slot, so my RAM is in slots 2+4.
the red Corsair Vengeance are not as high and are quite good as well.

DISPLAY/GPU: the second monitor doesn't produce much load and doesn't really matter (unless you plan on watching full HD youtube videos in full screen while gaming on max)
the GTX1070 was designed for 1440p gaming. if you got the cash a 1080 can't hurt but is not mandatory.
the eye can follow it. it displays 144 frames per second so everything runs much smoother. if it's necessary, that's hard to say. you won't suddenly become a god in fps-games. some people say they can't use 60Hz monitors anymore since they appear to be laggy. also keep in mind that 144hz displays are usually pricey.
but hypothetically a nice 1440p IPS + a 144hz 1080p TN is possible. the question is if it's really worth it.
If you're playing fps-games on a semi-professional level or above, sure, go for it. If you enjoy playing a round of counterstrike with friend 3 times a week, it's probably not worth it and will be much more fun playing on the big IPS screen.

MB+Sound: MSI doesn't have the best quality control. you'll end up with a good board or RMA it soon enough.
get the Gaming 7, you'll be fine, if you place a lot emphasis on sound. if it's not that much of a concern the Realtek Chip will do as well. most people can't really hear the difference, although I must say, owning the Gaming 7 myself, some of the features are quite nice...

CASE FANS:
it depends if the fan is 3pin or 4pin. if it's a 3pin fan, the LED is controlled by the power distributed to the fan. so if the fan spins at 50%, the LED will shine weaker accordingly. if it is a 4pin fan, the LED is powered by the pwm control so it always shines at 100% no matter how fast the fan spins.
in conclusion you need a board that can accomodate enough fan headers so if you for example plan for 4 4pin fans you need a board that has 4 4pin headers.

 

[Brudarion]

Thanks for the quick response again, sorry I didn't have much time to respond right away considering I don't have a pc anymore.
RAM: Ill just have to decide on good ram then, I just need to be careful with the height then I have seen quite a few pages on the net and I've noticed that we cant really tell much difference in performance. Buuuuut I would still like to have a really good set to be as future proof as possible.. Also is there a difference in having the 4 slots filled or 2 slots filled in ram? would 4 work better together perhaps?
GPU/Display: Well honestly speaking here, the reason for the second monitor would be that from time to time i could keep skype open or watch some youtube videos but really the biggest reason is for live streaming, I live stream and i would play full screen on 1 screen and on the other screen i could follow the chat and have for example a video open from time to time or for music or something you know? or a few internet tabs open. Monitor wise what kind of 1440p monitor would you suggest and also how much hz? I'm starting to worry actually that the newest msi 1070 can't handle my setup.
MB: You mentioned I will probably RMA it soon enough what do you mean by that? will this motherboard do ? I just saw most reviews on this mb is good but I must say most reviewers are freaking harsh on scoring on motherboards for some reason which makes the choice hard for me. Also a lot of negatives about each mb.. So is this motherboard good enough or are there better in the z170 chipset? Also do you hear any difference with the sound card or did you not buy it?
Case fans: Thank you for the detailed info, does the mb i currently selected have those features with the 4pins and everything? I would really like a nice looking system for a change because i got tired of staring at my ugly rainbow collored pc that i had.
CPU cooler: If i were to change the fans on a cpu cooler wouldnt that change its performance? what exactly defines those air coolers's performance? I think its the fans right? So changing those could make it worse or better and when i buy a cooler id like to make sure that they are freaking good
Im looking for 4,5 OC on my cpu. Also i read today a bit on the z170 and x99 chipset and im pretty sure i want to stick with z170 i think. Honestly i dont see games using more than 4 cores any time soon. even so by then z170 chipset hopefully will have chipsets with more cores at higher individual core speed so i can replace. In any case I hope this current system can withstand games at max resolution for at least 4 years.
Oh and what is that powerline solution you mentioned before for the wifi connection?
Thank you for all the help and sorry for the millions of questions i just want to be sure before i buy this expensive system and to be sure that it will last me a few years so im sure that it was worth its money.

 

[Tradesman1]

I'd go (and did) the Hero, great mobo, I put my rigs through alot testing components and changing things, it never misses a beat, pair it with the 6600K or 6700K. For DRAM 3200 is the sweet spot right now for price to performance in either 2x84GB or I'd go 2x8GB. I'd look at the TridentZ or Ripjaws V in 3200/14. If thinking liquid cooling take a look at the Lepa EXllusion, very nice, have that on mine at the moment, idles around 20C and seldom exceeds 70C. Drives - you've got the platter drives so consider a 250-512 SSD for the OS and primary apps. The 1070 is a good, stick with it, can always upgrade later or take it into an SLI config. Wireless, stick with what you have, I prefer the USB based as having antenna sticking out the back can be impacted by all the powercords you generally fine behind a tower. With sound, the Hero has good sound (as do most mobos running the 1150 codec) so give it a try before looking into sound cards.

 

[Isokolon]

Skylake supports only Dual Channel RAM so there's no point in getting 4 sticks
Corsair Vengeance are very small sticks that fit with almost every cooler, RIpjaws V (GSkill) got better timings but can be complicated if you fill all 4 slots depending on your cooler

if you got the cash, go 1080. otherwise the 1070 should be fine but I got almost no experience with streaming.

MSI produced 10000 boards a day. 9000 are perfect, 1000 don't meet the quality standard. other brands cut those 1000, MSI appear to sell them anyway in some cases. I don't know if this is an overhyped issue or not, personally I'd go with ASUS or Gigabyte. Any board in that price range is fine.
There are always better boards. I think the G1 by Gigabyte is the best Z170 board there is - but it's like 800$
as for Sound: I can hear the difference, good quality sound sounds even better, but poorer quality sound sounds even poorer with this chip. I personally like it but I value good sound. it appears to be very direct and raw while my old soundchip (some lowquality VIA audio chip) added it's "personal touch" to any sound, making all sounds sound alike someway.
as for the looks: take a look at the Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5 I think that's the most elegant board there is
concerning the MSI board: the board is sufficient for your case fan needs. overall I value noise/performance higher than looks for my fans though.

CPU Coolers depend on 3 things: the heatpipes, the cooler itself and the fan attached. it all has to work together.
there was this test by this fellow who was using a Noctua cooler though and Noctua fans are really great but quite ugly so he replaced it with a Phanteks fan that was same in size and similar in performance and his cooling even improved by a degree while being quieter.
so you can change the fan on the cooler given it meets the specs. overall I only recommend it if for example you got very limited availability for CPU coolers or the fan equipped it really loud or bad quality. or as said for the looks. for example the mentioned Cryorig R1 is all black. let's say you're going for a chess build and what black/white - swap the fan with a white Phanteks fan and you'll get similar performance while achieving the look you want. you just have to be aware of size and performance

4.5 GHz should be no problem for the i7 and is easily air cooled

powerline solution is an adapter that you plug in a poweroutlet next to your computer and another one that you plug next to your router and connect it with router and computer
the power line will work as a connection cable between your router and your computer

 

[Brudarion]

Thank you for the answers again. I'm looking into the 3200 ram right now as apparently they are the sweetspot right now.
Shame there arent really red ones in the 3200 bracket like the 3000 ripjaws, is there any real difference between ripjaws and trident z or is it just the looks of it?

@isokolon what do you mean skylake doesnt support more than dual channel ram? I cant even use 4 ram sticks in my skylake build?

@tradesman1 Did you mean the Asus MAXIMUS VIII HERO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard? If so I have heard and seen that it might be slightly better, I just wasnt too sure because the MSI would suit better for the color scheme im going for but.. honestly when its all in place and ON then all ill be seeing is the red LED from the fans and some color scheme anyway and when its off it will still look good so I might go for that mobo instead.. What do you think? Is this mobo straight up better than the msi one?
Storage, see the games I have kind of benefit from loading times so benefit from ssd's (skyrim, witcher 3, ark evolved, GTA V) so are you sure an m,2 wont benefit me more? I was thinking to get an m,2 for the OS and my main 2 games to not bloat up the m,2, then an ssd for future games, not too big, around 500gb, and use my other 2x 1T HDD drives for regular storage. What do you think? Is the m,2 MUCH better than a regular ssd or just a tad?
Update: I did read in a few reviews that the asus mobo i wrote about earlier has stability issues, are you sure this mobo is right for me? Also in this post it says the z170 chipset is riddled with problems.. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2815884/asus-maximus-hero-viii-maximus-viii-extreme-asrock-extreme7.html

 

[Isokolon]

you can. but dual channel means the way the CPU accesses the RAM, there is dual channel and quad channel, with quad channel RAM you profit from filling every slot on your board instead of only 2. so for 16 GB 4x4 GB would be better than 2x8.
of course you can fill all 4 RAM slots, it just works as 2x dual channel. but you don't really need to concern yourself with that.

what about Corsair Vengeance? They should be available in red.
but you can pick the 3000 as well, the difference is virtually unrecognizable

Trident Z uses a bigger and better heatspreader than the Ripjaws V
the difference is again marginal

as for Z170 issues, most have been resolved by BIOS updates.

 

[Tradesman1]

Skylake (socket 1151) supports dual channel, if using 4 sticks all are running dual (period) it's not 2x dual. Each channel has 2 slots so all work as one (i.e. all DRAM is seen as a single 128bit device rather than a single 64bit device you would see with 1 stick in single channel mode. See my Fiction, item 7

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ddr-dram-myths,4155.html#p1

TriZ uses slightly higher binned chips for more memory OC than RJ V

Early on the Z170 was a new chipset, using new DRAM, new CPUs and for most a new OS (Win 10) which led to problems, BIOS updates have cleared the ealy problems up

 

[Brudarion]

Ok so the z170 chipset should be stable and good right now then right?
Also I read up on 3200 hz being not really benefitial or something? Like it limits OC headroom and everything?
Also Tridend z in this forum seemed to have a LOT more speed on the same hz: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2805104/difference-ripjaws-trident.html

 

[Brudarion]

Thank you trademan, are there any noteable problems that are still present in this chipset?

 

[Tradesman1]

I've been experimenting with numerous sets of TriZ and RJ V and they do seem to have more OC headroom - also look at the individual sets they both have 3200 sets in different CLs from 14 to 16

 

[Brudarion]

So I'm guessing the more 'CL's' the better. With that you mean CAS on pcpartpicker I presume? Alright well when comparing ripjaws and trindent z with same cl and 3200, do they have much difference between them? I just want my system to perform as much as it can for my budget. Also do you recommend for me using the asus hero board and not the msi or should i use something else ?
also would the m,2 ssd give me a BIG performance boost or not that much compared to a regular ssd? Im talking with apps, game loading times and so on.
Do you also have any case recommendations? Im not sure about the corsair 780t anymore.
Concerning the cpu cooling, can we get to a conclusion? I'm still full of uncertainties and I cannot decide on what to pick and so on. Many have recommended me the cryo h7 cooler and while this seems to be a very good one the white fan kind of puts me off as it wouldnt again fit with my build.
I'm sorry if I'm getting annoying but when not having that much knowledge about PC's and trying to buy a pc and make it and chose the parts as best as possible and so that it could last for at least 4 years at the top end of gaming and for work is not that easy for me so i rather be safe than sorry.
Thank you all regardless for the help and hopefully I can decide soon a the best build (in my opinion) for about 2000 euros.

 

[Isokolon]

the less CL is better. CL is the time the CPU needs to access the RAM, the lower the CLs the better
at same Speed and timings they perform the same.
I'd check if they are compatible as the Trident are not the smallest sticks ever made
M.2 is able to give you a big boost, question is if you really need it and are willing to invest into it right now.
I'd upgrade to a M.2 drive at a later time.

 

[Tradesman1]

Lower CL is better, it's less clock cycles to start perform and action. They H7 would be fine and you can always change the fan if you don't like the color, many use LED fans on coolers like this or the 212 EVO. Depends on the M.2 many are no faster than a conventional SSD - there it comes down to how much you want to invest

 

[Brudarion]

So if I get it correctly, G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory with a CAS of 14 would be better than the same type of this ram but with 16 CAS ? If so I'll go for these ripjaws with 14 CAS.
If I get that RAM can I use the Cryo h7? If I decide to upgrade and get 4 ram sticks will these block against the cpu cooler?
Can someone help me deciding a good mobo then? Stick with MSI or is the ASUS HERO one better even though I read up on stability issues on the asus one. If there is another better z170 mobo please link it to me.
Also what cases are good for this build and theme 'm going for? I'm lost on the choices of cases.
And lastly storage.. I've read on 2.5 inch ssd's, m.2 ssd's and now theres even better apparently which are PCIe ssd's and NVMe. In general I'm actually looking for a fastperformer but at a reasonable price. For example I dont want to pay 100 more euros when it only provides a 5 percent increase in performance. Wat are your guys opinions on this because the games I play have long loading screens.

 

[Isokolon]

lower CAS is nice, but the price difference between CL14 and CL15 is just not worth it imo
a 2.5inch SSD should do for your needs as M.2 units are relatively expensive atm
with the H7 there shouldn't be any RAM interference according to Cryo's homepage on 1151 boards
basically any board in that price range will do. it's a matter of trusting brands. I've never had a bad experience with Gigabyte, Asus is fine as well, MSI can be good as can ASRock

 

[Brudarion]

Actually I can afford the m.2, it's even faster than the intel ssd 750 series and good reviews. I think this is also pretty good future proof wise because I could use this in my future pc, that's a winner in my book. Ill use this 950 pro m.2 ssd for my OS, applications and 1 or 2 games max. I'll reuse my 2x 1T HDD for storage. I hope the ssd is reliable though considering its such a small chip..
Same goes for RAM. Ill go for the CAS 14 3200 Ripjaws and hopefully it's a good decision.
Everything should be decided for me then! I just need a motherboard and a case and I got my complete build
Any suggestions on case and more importantly mobo? Also tell me why because I'm torn between the few options I have I cannot chose.

 

[Tradesman1]

So if I get it correctly, G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory with a CAS of 14 would be better than the same type of this ram but with 16 CAS ? If so I'll go for these ripjaws with 14 CAS.
If I get that RAM can I use the Cryo h7? If I decide to upgrade and get 4 ram sticks will these block against the cpu cooler?
Can someone help me deciding a good mobo then? Stick with MSI or is the ASUS HERO one better even though I read up on stability issues on the asus one. If there is another better z170 mobo please link it to me.
Also what cases are good for this build and theme 'm going for? I'm lost on the choices of cases.
And lastly storage.. I've read on 2.5 inch ssd's, m.2 ssd's and now theres even better apparently which are PCIe ssd's and NVMe. In general I'm actually looking for a fastperformer but at a reasonable price. For example I dont want to pay 100 more euros when it only provides a 5 percent increase in performance. Wat are your guys opinions on this because the games I play have long loading screens.

_____________________

Typically, the price difference is about $12 on the DRAM, which is minor and yes will be fine with the H7. Case is really a personal preference, I've got my Hero in a Deep Cool Kendomen case, also like the HAF cases. With your budget the M.2 might well be a very good choice

 

[Brudarion]

Well my build is about to be finalized, thank you all for all the help! I can't chose between ASUS hero alpha or normal, i mean whats the difference between them aside from the RBG lighting? Also on these boards, is windows 10 bootable on a samsung 950 pro m.2 ssd ? I heard there might be some problems with it. Also on the asus hero boards they got quite some negative scores on newegg and on some other reviewer sites, why is this? Strange when seeing those scores after seeing it praised on this site. Also what are some good fans for me performance and cooling wise for my cryo h7 ?

 

[Brudarion]

Any other suggestions?

 

[Tradesman1]

On the Alpha they have lighting changes and have added on board wireless. Shouldn't be any problems with the M.2, set it as the primary boot drive

 

[Brudarion]

I guess both boards have the m.2 compatibility ? Are those the only differences that the upgraded board has? Doesnt really sound like its worth it then in my opinion.

 

[Tradesman1]

You could compare them on the Asus site, but the built in wireless is about the only biggie (unless you're into the lights)