Looking to build a high end gaming pc, possibly 4k for under 3000$cad

[JeanRobs]

Hello everyone, as of june 13 2016 which are the best parts I can get for 3000$cad? A monitor should be included, i am looking to play latest games on max settings (if possible). Let me know if this is doable.

 

[Icaraeus]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($412.69 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9x65 33.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.95 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($195.00 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($69.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($107.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.98 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Founders Edition Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($609.50 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Founders Edition Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($609.50 @ Vuugo)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 w/Window (Titanium) ATX Mid Tower Case ($134.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: SeaSonic EVO Edition 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($112.62 @ DirectCanada)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($7.00 @ Amazon Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($116.76 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: Acer XG270HU 27.0" 144Hz Monitor ($537.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $3093.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-13 10:04 EDT-0400

A little over but this is the best overall system for videogames. This includes a 1440p144hz monitor

 

[sadams04]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($389.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($95.37 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($69.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Sandisk X400 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($165.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($91.67 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 8GB G1 Gaming Video Card ($879.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX TS 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($88.98 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($7.00 @ Amazon Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($116.76 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: Acer B286HK ymjdpprz 28.0" 60Hz Monitor ($499.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $2500.69

 

[VR PC-BUILD]

Here is the 4K build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($412.69 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($37.50 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-E ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($139.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($89.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Sandisk Z400s 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($61.90 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($750.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($750.00)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.98 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.98 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.55 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: Asus PB287Q 28.0" 60Hz Monitor ($529.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $3071.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-13 10:23 EDT-0400

 

[ScrewySqrl]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($412.69 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool CAPTAIN 240 91.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($224.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($82.09 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Sandisk X400 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($297.71 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Toshiba Product Series: DT01ACA 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($83.63 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 8GB G1 Gaming Video Card ($879.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Rosewill Stryker M ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($94.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($116.76 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: AOC U2868PQU 28.0" 60Hz Monitor ($408.88 @ Canada Computers)
Keyboard: Rosewill RK-9000V2 RE Wired Standard Keyboard ($84.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Mouse: Logitech M500 Wired Laser Mouse ($37.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Speakers: Logitech Z506 155W 5.1ch Speakers ($97.00 @ Vuugo)
Total: $2981.17
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-13 10:30 EDT-0400

this has everything you might want:

i7-6700K, Liquid cooler, GTX 1080, 4K monitor, mechanical keyboard, gaming mouse, surround sound speakers, a 1 TB SSD and 2 TB HDD, and a high quality PSU

 

[gondo]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($294.98 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($109.95 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VIII HERO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($264.98 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($89.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($177.71 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($182.50 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 8GB G1 Gaming Video Card ($879.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design Define S w/Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($104.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 850W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($159.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($116.76 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: Acer XB270HU bprz 27.0" 144Hz Monitor ($728.88 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $3110.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-13 10:49 EDT-0400

A few notes on the the build by Icaraeus:
- He uses an I7, completely overkill for gaming and uses up more money that could be used elsewhere
- He only uses 2133 memory, the point of z170 and a K CPU is to go beyond 2133
- His monitor is Freesync which doesn't match the video cards

My Build
- Used an I5 which is more than adequate
- Used 3000 memory if you want to overclock. If not a non K CPU, 2133 memory, and no heatsink are required saving about $150
- I'd get an EKWB water cooler at minimum for a system of this calibre just because I'm a fan of thin and light waterblocks and video cooling. A Skylake CPU however overclocks fine on air and that NOctua is the best.
- For the price I thew in a hybrid Seagae HDD, also it's 4TB and 5 year warranty
- Went with the Define S case which is amazing for water cooling. There is no 5.25" drive bays so an external cd-rom needs to be picked up for installs.
- Choose a 1080 Single over 1070 SLI jsut to eliminate all those nagging SLI issues.
- Took an 850W power supply just to leave room for future SLI if required. But a 550W would do just fine and save $50 or so.
- I upped the motherboard a bit just to give better audio. I'm not sure on your audio needs. I'm a fan of using an external DAC and headphones + studio monitors or bookshelf speakers + mini amp.
- Went with a GSync monitor. From the first build you see the $200 jump in price from Freesync to GSync. I am a Freesync fan myself so would hold off to get an AMD video card. I'd probably get an nice BenQ Freesync monitor, way cheaper amd video card, then wait a year for the good AMD stuff to release and upgrade. If you want the best right now, your stuck with NVidia.

I'll do an AMD build now just for fun.

 

[Icaraeus]

An Intel i5 will bottleneck a GTX 1070 or GTX 1080, and many games benefit from an Intel i7. Especially if you were to use high powered GPUs with it. There is zero point in going above 2133mhz. That's primarily for APUs. I just chose the cheapest 1440p144hz monitor. FreeSync isn't required, nor is it essential. It's a bonus.

An Intel i5 is NOT adequate. Most modern games work well with SLI.

 

[gondo]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($294.98 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Swiftech H220-X 55.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($343.30 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($137.72 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($89.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($177.71 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($182.50 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($370.21 @ DirectCanada)
Case: Fractal Design Define S w/Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($104.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($111.99 @ NCIX)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($116.76 @ DirectCanada)
Sound Card: Asus STRIX SOAR 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($111.75 @ Vuugo)
Monitor: BenQ XL2730Z 27.0" 144Hz Monitor ($599.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Keyboard: SteelSeries APEX Wired Gaming Keyboard ($99.37 @ Amazon Canada)
Mouse: SteelSeries Rival 300 Wired Optical Mouse ($61.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Headphones: AKG K271 MK II Headphones
Total: $2803.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-13 11:33 EDT-0400

- A bit more practical design. I choose a Radeon 390 but I'd actually take an RX480 8GB when it's released any day now. It'll be about the same price as the 390. It'll run 1440p fine and the Freesync will clean things up anyways.
- The Freesync monitor is quite a bit cheaper than the GSync and the BenQ is a beaut.
- I put in a Swiftech AIO liquid cooler but I'd actually go with a minimum of the EKWB 360mm Predator or an open loop kit from EKWB and cool the video card at the same time.
- You could go Air cooling and save tons of cash.
- Choose a more practical motherboard and threw in a nice Soundcard with a headphone amp.
- This build even adds keyboard, mouse, and leaves cash for the headphones. I picked a recommended pair but there was no price. They are around $200 or so.
- I dropped the power supply to a 650W which is plenty. More is just a waste of money unless you Crossfire which isn't recommended anyways.

This is more of an all arounder with everything (keyboard, mouse, sound) all included under budget. You could use a cryorig or coolermaster $50 heatsink and Save $300 for a nice set of studio monitor speakers like M-Audio's. You could even drop the sound card and use an M-Audio super DAC and hook up both headphones and speakers to it for very nice and versatile sound. Just flick the switch on the DAC to switch between speakers and headphones. That hybrid hard drive could also be swapped for a normal Hitachi 2TB which is around $90 saving even more money.

Overall a beautiful practical build that leaves nothing out and lands under budget. Actually the mouse pad was left out. Those steelseries pads are amazing.

 

[Icaraeus]

Gondo, no offence, but first you claim that I overspend on some items and you literally include a liquid cooler which costs more than the CPU. GG. An RX 480 is faster than R9 390X and MUCH cheaper (US$200). I'm not going to go over everything you've chosen, but there are some very, very poor decisions that you have made in that part list.

 

[gondo]

An Intel i5 will bottleneck a GTX 1070 or GTX 1080, and many games benefit from an Intel i7. Especially if you were to use high powered GPUs with it. There is zero point in going above 2133mhz. That's primarily for APUs. I just chose the cheapest 1440p144hz monitor. FreeSync isn't required, nor is it essential. It's a bonus.

An Intel i5 is NOT adequate. Most modern games work well with SLI.

A Skylake I5 bottlenecking a 1070 or 1080? Are you crazy? You can overclock the I5 to the limit and it'll game everybit as good as your I7 for $200 less.

And going freesync with NVidia cards. You obviously have no idea of the benefit of Sync and purpose of 144FPS over 24FPS with real time animation gaming. At $3000 Sync should be on your list.

A cheaper video card giving you 50FPS synced, is better than a $1000 video card giving 75FPS non synced. Your money is better put towards the good monitor and not the video card. As long as your video card meets the minimum requirements for your resolution then you can go as high as the budget requires....but in no way should a video card be so highly speced that it hinders the rest of the system because it chews up your budget.

The 1070 is a beautiful card, but NVidia are ridiculous with pricing and the GSync monitors have a $200 premium over Freesync. AMD is gonna do well with their new architecture and Freesync is very good. No wonder Intel is backing Freesync.

 

[gondo]

Gondo, no offence, but first you claim that I overspend on some items and you literally include a liquid cooler which costs more than the CPU. GG. An RX 480 is faster than R9 390X and MUCH cheaper (US$200). I'm not going to go over everything you've chosen, but there are some very, very poor decisions that you have made in that part list.

If you read my entire post you'd realize that I recommended the RX480 but it's not available so I choose a card that is the same price. Also the $200 US is for the 4GB version, the 8GB will be $299. Canadian you're talking $350 at least.

Also I said Air cooling will work just fine to overclock the Skylake, so you can save $300 on the liquid. I just through it in as an example to compare to the first NVidia build.

 

[VR PC-BUILD]

An Intel i5 will bottleneck a GTX 1070 or GTX 1080, and many games benefit from an Intel i7. Especially if you were to use high powered GPUs with it. There is zero point in going above 2133mhz. That's primarily for APUs. I just chose the cheapest 1440p144hz monitor. FreeSync isn't required, nor is it essential. It's a bonus.

An Intel i5 is NOT adequate. Most modern games work well with SLI.

i5 will not bottleneck GTX1070 or GTX1080 even in SLI at-least Skylake i5 will not bottleneck. But as you said i7 will give better gaming performance agreed, I would recommend i7 over i5 because budget is letting you to do so and you can get better performance. He specifically asked for 4K build which is 3840 x 2160 then why give him 2560 x 1440 that thing I did not understand.

 

[Icaraeus]

Look at the benchmarks of GTX 1070 and GTX 1080. "You obviously have no idea of the benefits" I do actually. Sorry but I fail to see how the monitor I've chosen is poor quality, not to mention that overall the part list I proposed FAR EXCEEDS the one you suggested at the same price point -- with an Intel i7 as well.

For the budget, Nvidia and Intel i7 provide the fastest performance. There is no disproving it.

 

[Icaraeus]

An Intel i5 will bottleneck a GTX 1070 or GTX 1080, and many games benefit from an Intel i7. Especially if you were to use high powered GPUs with it. There is zero point in going above 2133mhz. That's primarily for APUs. I just chose the cheapest 1440p144hz monitor. FreeSync isn't required, nor is it essential. It's a bonus.

An Intel i5 is NOT adequate. Most modern games work well with SLI.

i5 will not bottleneck GTX1070 or GTX1080 even in SLI at-least Skylake i5 will not bottleneck. But as you said i7 will give better gaming performance agreed, I would recommend i7 over i5 because budget is letting you to do so and you can get better performance. He specifically asked for 4K build which is 3840 x 2160 then why give him 2560 x 1440 that thing I did not understand.

I suggest you take a look at some of the benchmarks of GTX 1xxx series on youtube where they compare processors as well. Intel i7s provide higher framerates than Intel i5 paired with the same GPU. "Why give 1440p?" As those are what the GPUs are really designed for, and you'd benefit from 120/144hz over 60hz for 4K.

 

[Icaraeus]

Gondo, no offence, but first you claim that I overspend on some items and you literally include a liquid cooler which costs more than the CPU. GG. An RX 480 is faster than R9 390X and MUCH cheaper (US$200). I'm not going to go over everything you've chosen, but there are some very, very poor decisions that you have made in that part list.

If you read my entire post you'd realize that I recommended the RX480 but it's not available so I choose a card that is the same price. Also the $200 US is for the 4GB version, the 8GB will be $299. Canadian you're talking $350 at least.

Also I said Air cooling will work just fine to overclock the Skylake, so you can save $300 on the liquid. I just through it in as an example to compare to the first NVidia build.

"8GiB version will be US$300" Source?

 

[gondo]

JeanRobs, you have options here. Things you have to decide.

-What are your audio needs? Do you own hedphones, speakers, stereo system that you want to use. That will determine your motherboard requirements and if you need a soundcard/dac.

-Do you required a keyboard/mouse and if so do you have a preference of mechanical over regular membrane keyboard. For the mouse are you left or right handed and do you prefer a finger or claw grip? these things will make a difference in your decision.

-Are you set on a particular brand of video card. NVidia or AMD. If so it narrows it down.

-Do you want to overclock or not? If not that's easy. If so do you prefer liquid cooling or not? Some people prefer air for simplicity and noise levels, others prefer liquid for the lighter water blocks and looks as well as performance.

-And what style of case do you prefer? Mid tower, full tower, cube, mITX or ITX mini case, home theatre style. Window or no window, silent?

-And do you want an integrated DVD drive or not. Many people are going no DVD drive, getting better open interior cases for cooling, and just use an external drive for the once a year installs of windows and motherboard drivers.

-How much hard drive space do you require? This will determine the storage drive requirements. Maybe an external drive would suit you better.

- what resolution do you want to game at and what size of monitor do you want. 24" 1080p, 27" 1440P, or do you want 4k?

- Do you need speakers?

Answer these basic questions and it'll help better determine a system for you. Do not let us bickering in the forum confuse you. No system recommended is perfect for you until you answer some basic info about your requirements.

 

[gondo]

The RX480 will have approximately a $50 premium for the 8GB version. Canadian that still translates to $350. APPROXIMATELY. We can't be sure until it's released.

I would also like to see those benchmarks of a 6600k vs 6700k and a GTX 1080 card. The 6600k can be overclocked to the same frequencies as the I7 so it will not bottleneck the 1080. You do however loose some hyperthreading with the I5. For 99% of the time there will be virtually no difference between both CPUs when gaming. The money saved is best used elsewhere.

And the 1070 and 1080 are definitely better than the RX480. There is no denying that. But what about a crossfire RX480? Crossfire RX480 will be about the same price as a single GTX1070. And the Freesync monitor saves you $200.

Yes your monitor is good but it has freesync matched to an NVidia card. If you're not going to sync, then at least get a monitor with motion blur and BenQ probably has the best implementation of that on the market. You can get a cheaper non freesync monitor than the one you choose, and it'll have their motion blue which isn't bad.

The OP specified possibly 4k so us even arguing over 1440p monitors is stupid. And the GTX 1080 would be the card of choice here. Compromises will however need to be made to afford the 4k on that budget.

We need to wait and see exatcly what JeanRobs requires. we gave him a few things to think about.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

sigh. you guys arge over stuff when I already posted a build with everything needed, using a single 1080

 

[JeanRobs]

The RX480 will have approximately a $50 premium for the 8GB version. Canadian that still translates to $350. APPROXIMATELY. We can't be sure until it's released.

I would also like to see those benchmarks of a 6600k vs 6700k and a GTX 1080 card. The 6600k can be overclocked to the same frequencies as the I7 so it will not bottleneck the 1080. You do however loose some hyperthreading with the I5. For 99% of the time there will be virtually no difference between both CPUs when gaming. The money saved is best used elsewhere.

And the 1070 and 1080 are definitely better than the RX480. There is no denying that. But what about a crossfire RX480? Crossfire RX480 will be about the same price as a single GTX1070. And the Freesync monitor saves you $200.

Yes your monitor is good but it has freesync matched to an NVidia card. If you're not going to sync, then at least get a monitor with motion blur and BenQ probably has the best implementation of that on the market. You can get a cheaper non freesync monitor than the one you choose, and it'll have their motion blue which isn't bad.

The OP specified possibly 4k so us even arguing over 1440p monitors is stupid. And the GTX 1080 would be the card of choice here. Compromises will however need to be made to afford the 4k on that budget.

We need to wait and see exatcly what JeanRobs requires. we gave him a few things to think about.

Hello! Firstly thanks to everyone who replied, i was not expecting this many replies in so little time. You are right, i need to give you guys some more details, so here it goes:

Audio needs: I have a kraken 7.1 surround i would like to use as well as 2.1 speakers (didn't buy them yet, I dont know which ones)

Keyboard/mouse: I will take a trip to a hardware store and just try some of them out, i think that for me any one that feels comfortable will do (I am very new to this whole PC thing)

Video card: I have heard mostly about Nvidia, but I am open to either Nvidia or AMD

Regarding overclocking, I have absolutely no idea. (ill do some research when I can)

Liquid vs Air: Just the most efficient one, or one that will ensure a decent temperature to protect the hardware from overheating. Sound of fans/cooler is not an issue. Looks are not an issue either.

Case: Any case will do. I would try to stay away from fancy lights and paying for design. Any case that is well ventilated or suitable for the pc will be okay. If possible, maybe some first build friendly case (space to work, resistant...)

DVD drive: feels somewhat useless today, but this reminded me that i need at least 2 usb-3 ports and one (minimum) usb-c port.

Drive space: Considering games take up quite a lot of space i would say at least 3tb in total (i need space for photography as well). I'm okay withe external drives for photos, but I would like games to stay in the computer.

Monitor: 27" sounds like a good size, considering I don't know the price of a 4k gaming build ill say that 4k would be awesome, but 1440p would do, probably even 1080p but it seems a waste to spend 3000cad for the same resolution as my ps4.

Speakers: I will never buy 7.1 surround, but left/right music speakers are on my list.

Thanks again for you time!

 

[VR PC-BUILD]

The RX480 will have approximately a $50 premium for the 8GB version. Canadian that still translates to $350. APPROXIMATELY. We can't be sure until it's released.

I would also like to see those benchmarks of a 6600k vs 6700k and a GTX 1080 card. The 6600k can be overclocked to the same frequencies as the I7 so it will not bottleneck the 1080. You do however loose some hyperthreading with the I5. For 99% of the time there will be virtually no difference between both CPUs when gaming. The money saved is best used elsewhere.

And the 1070 and 1080 are definitely better than the RX480. There is no denying that. But what about a crossfire RX480? Crossfire RX480 will be about the same price as a single GTX1070. And the Freesync monitor saves you $200.

Yes your monitor is good but it has freesync matched to an NVidia card. If you're not going to sync, then at least get a monitor with motion blur and BenQ probably has the best implementation of that on the market. You can get a cheaper non freesync monitor than the one you choose, and it'll have their motion blue which isn't bad.

The OP specified possibly 4k so us even arguing over 1440p monitors is stupid. And the GTX 1080 would be the card of choice here. Compromises will however need to be made to afford the 4k on that budget.

We need to wait and see exatcly what JeanRobs requires. we gave him a few things to think about.

Hello! Firstly thanks to everyone who replied, i was not expecting this many replies in so little time. You are right, i need to give you guys some more details, so here it goes:

Audio needs: I have a kraken 7.1 surround i would like to use as well as 2.1 speakers (didn't buy them yet, I dont know which ones)

Keyboard/mouse: I will take a trip to a hardware store and just try some of them out, i think that for me any one that feels comfortable will do (I am very new to this whole PC thing)

Video card: I have heard mostly about Nvidia, but I am open to either Nvidia or AMD

Regarding overclocking, I have absolutely no idea. (ill do some research when I can)

Liquid vs Air: Just the most efficient one, or one that will ensure a decent temperature to protect the hardware from overheating. Sound of fans/cooler is not an issue. Looks are not an issue either.

Case: Any case will do. I would try to stay away from fancy lights and paying for design. Any case that is well ventilated or suitable for the pc will be okay. If possible, maybe some first build friendly case (space to work, resistant...)

DVD drive: feels somewhat useless today, but this reminded me that i need at least 2 usb-3 ports and one (minimum) usb-c port.

Drive space: Considering games take up quite a lot of space i would say at least 3tb in total (i need space for photography as well). I'm okay withe external drives for photos, but I would like games to stay in the computer.

Monitor: 27" sounds like a good size, considering I don't know the price of a 4k gaming build ill say that 4k would be awesome, but 1440p would do, probably even 1080p but it seems a waste to spend 3000cad for the same resolution as my ps4.

Speakers: I will never buy 7.1 surround, but left/right music speakers are on my list.

Thanks again for you time!

Here is the build with all your requirements:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($412.69 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($69.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-E ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($139.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($89.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Sandisk Z400s 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($87.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($750.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($750.00)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.98 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.98 @ NCIX)
Monitor: Asus PB287Q 28.0" 60Hz Monitor ($529.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $3105.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-13 22:38 EDT-0400

Removed DVD Drive

Increased Storage from 1.25TB to 2.25TB (240GB SSD + 2TB HDD)

Motherboard has USB-C port

Provided Nvidia GTX1080 SLI for best results at 4K gaming. Don't go with founders edition cards their cooling system is not good and dose not provide higher OC option wait and go for cards with better cooling system.

Included 28" 4K monitor

Threw in liquid cooling solution for CPU instead of air cooling as you can attain a bit better clock speed at cooler temperature.

 

[gondo]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($412.50 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($98.00 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-E ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($139.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($89.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($177.71 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($87.25 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Founders Edition Video Card ($609.50 @ Vuugo)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($129.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 750W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($142.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-209DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($82.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($116.76 @ DirectCanada)
Sound Card: Asus STRIX SOAR 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($111.75 @ Vuugo)
Monitor: Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q 27.0" 144Hz Monitor ($893.98 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $3093.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-14 08:56 EDT-0400
All petty arguing asside I tried to put something practical together at budget.

I just tweaked VR PCBuild's system a bit.

He went the 4k route using a 60Hz pro monitor, and I feel a 144Hz Sync monitor is a better choice. So here's my thinking.

- I7 just to have the best, and it will help with photoshop processing and the odd game that uses the extra threads.
- Whatever Asus Z170 board. No need to go all out since I added a soundcard with headphone amp and virtual surround sound. (could go DAC instead)
- Since the op wants simple, efficient, and never overclocked I decided on air cooling and went with the Silent Noctua. I speced D14 since it is available on parts picker but would get the D15 at the same price. It's silent and the best cooler. Even a bit overkill if you must.
- Being a Z170, K CPU, and 3000MHz memory there is no problems overclocking. You could reach the limits of the I7 on air alone. Liquid is far from required. All liquid does is add complexity, noise, and a cheap AIO is far from reliable and doesn't even cool as well as a good air heatsink
- I upped the SSD to a 500GB version since games do take tons of storage space. I made it an M.2 since they are the same price as SATA.
- Threw in a Blue Ray writer just for the hell of it. It'll have the drive for installs, and if he wants to back up his pics he can burn them off to blue ray.
- Used the old standard 10 year warranty EVGA P2 power supply at 750W to have the option to SLI later
- Used the Fractal Define R5 case without window which has silent panels and good cooling. A very practical and nice case.
- Now for monitor there isn't much choice but went with the beautiful 1440p 144Hz G-Sync Asus Rog.
- Now under budget I went with the NVidia 1070. It won't come close to providing 144Fps but it can fo over 60 and the monitor will handle it. When it can't reach 144, the monitor will adapt being GSync.

This leaves room to add another 1070 in the future for SLI and the power supply being 750W can handle it.

The top tier gaming cards havn't been released yet, and current NVidia cards are quite pricey being new to market. I don't think we are rdy at this point in time for 4k. Also I am a strong believer in GSync and 144Hz at 1440p being superior to 60Hz 4k non synced. In order to game well at 4k requires $2000 in SLI 1080 cards alone and one hell of an expensive monitor to get GSync. Also the 1080 cards are not $750 as posted, they are more in the $850-$900 range making them go over budget unless you were to drop the I7 to an I5.

If purchased today NVidia is the way to go. If purchased in a month from now AMD may have something to market for 1440p and a Freesync monitor will save you another $150. But the rest of the system would stay the same.

 

[VR PC-BUILD]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($412.50 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($98.00 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-E ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($139.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($89.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($177.71 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($87.25 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Founders Edition Video Card ($609.50 @ Vuugo)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($129.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 750W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($142.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-209DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($82.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($116.76 @ DirectCanada)
Sound Card: Asus STRIX SOAR 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($111.75 @ Vuugo)
Monitor: Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q 27.0" 144Hz Monitor ($893.98 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $3093.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-14 08:56 EDT-0400
All petty arguing asside I tried to put something practical together at budget.

I just tweaked VR PCBuild's system a bit.

He went the 4k route using a 60Hz pro monitor, and I feel a 144Hz Sync monitor is a better choice. So here's my thinking.

- I7 just to have the best, and it will help with photoshop processing and the odd game that uses the extra threads.
- Whatever Asus Z170 board. No need to go all out since I added a soundcard with headphone amp and virtual surround sound. (could go DAC instead)
- Since the op wants simple, efficient, and never overclocked I decided on air cooling and went with the Silent Noctua. I speced D14 since it is available on parts picker but would get the D15 at the same price. It's silent and the best cooler. Even a bit overkill if you must.
- Being a Z170, K CPU, and 3000MHz memory there is no problems overclocking. You could reach the limits of the I7 on air alone. Liquid is far from required. All liquid does is add complexity, noise, and a cheap AIO is far from reliable and doesn't even cool as well as a good air heatsink
- I upped the SSD to a 500GB version since games do take tons of storage space. I made it an M.2 since they are the same price as SATA.
- Threw in a Blue Ray writer just for the hell of it. It'll have the drive for installs, and if he wants to back up his pics he can burn them off to blue ray.
- Used the old standard 10 year warranty EVGA P2 power supply at 750W to have the option to SLI later
- Used the Fractal Define R5 case without window which has silent panels and good cooling. A very practical and nice case.
- Now for monitor there isn't much choice but went with the beautiful 1440p 144Hz G-Sync Asus Rog.
- Now under budget I went with the NVidia 1070. It won't come close to providing 144Fps but it can fo over 60 and the monitor will handle it. When it can't reach 144, the monitor will adapt being GSync.

This leaves room to add another 1070 in the future for SLI and the power supply being 750W can handle it.

The top tier gaming cards havn't been released yet, and current NVidia cards are quite pricey being new to market. I don't think we are rdy at this point in time for 4k. Also I am a strong believer in GSync and 144Hz at 1440p being superior to 60Hz 4k non synced. In order to game well at 4k requires $2000 in SLI 1080 cards alone and one hell of an expensive monitor to get GSync. Also the 1080 cards are not $750 as posted, they are more in the $850-$900 range making them go over budget unless you were to drop the I7 to an I5.

If purchased today NVidia is the way to go. If purchased in a month from now AMD may have something to market for 1440p and a Freesync monitor will save you another $150. But the rest of the system would stay the same.

The build you provided is good but the only problem is that leaving out SLI is effecting 4K like an average of 50-60fps(taken average downfall with single GTX1080 over SLI of same model in different games). So for that I would like to go with SLI.
I know you covered this about 4K getting better performance with SLI. I just quoted it again for OP to understand
Even I thought of providing him 4K G-sync but at the cost of leaving out GTX1080 I just thought would be waste.
@gondo you did a great job explaining in detail.

OP(@JeanRobs) I would reccomend you to collect a bit more money and go for SLI with G-Sync monitor

Here is the build with 4K G-sync and GTX1080 SLI:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($412.50 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($69.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-E ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($139.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($89.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Sandisk Z400s 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($87.25 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($750.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($750.00)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($77.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.98 @ NCIX)
Monitor: Acer XB280HK 28.0" 60Hz Monitor ($748.49 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $3336.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-14 11:29 EDT-0400

 

[gondo]

Definitely 1080 Sli is good. Can't argue that. A few poblems.

Your 4k monitor listed is only 60Hz. As of today Asus is prepping a 4k 144Hz monitor for release, but nothing exist on the market today. That's why all pro gamers sttick to 1440p, because 144FPS is so much more valuable than 4k when gaming.

The corsair H60 will not cool as well as a good Cryorig or Noctua heatsink. It is also noisier. And it introduces reliability issues. Skylake can overclock just fine on air. it's the architecture, not heat, that limits overclocking on skylake CPUs.

Read TomsHardware cpu recommendations and they clearly state that it's difficult to recommend anything over the I5 6600k since diminishing returns kick in. It can be overclocked easily to give frequencies identical to an I7. The cost savings are very important and can be used to better benefit other areas of the system. If budget is of no concern then go ahead and get an I7, but an I5 will not bottleneck the system in any way.

Also read up on 144Hz vs 60Hz on tomshardware. You'll get an appreciation for animation above 60fps and also why sync is so important in gaming.

As for the SSD. I'll state that a 256gb will allow windows, programs, and about 4 large games before it fills up. If you want room for more game installs, and room to play with video and pic editing on the SSD than I'd go 512GB. It's whatever is required, and there is no right answer.

Read some case reviews and decide which you like best. Don't let us tell you which case to buy. It's a personal choice based on looks and design. I'm just recommending the Fractal if looks are of no concern. If quality, silence, and cooling are of more concern without getting into LianLi price territory than it's hard to argue the Fractal R5. Read some reviews on it. Windowed for looks or non windowed for more silence are both options with the R5. The Define S (same as the R5) is available cheaper without drive bays if you don't want a CD-ROM, and want more space for radiators.

Those $750 1080's are not available at that price in Canada. The cheapest is the Gigabyte G1 at $880 from NCIX. Newegg Canada have only 2 listed, not in stock, and an Asus arriving soon.

 

[VR PC-BUILD]

Definitely 1080 Sli is good. Can't argue that. A few poblems.

Your 4k monitor listed is only 60Hz. As of today Asus is prepping a 4k 144Hz monitor for release, but nothing exist on the market today. That's why all pro gamers sttick to 1440p, because 144FPS is so much more valuable than 4k when gaming.

The corsair H60 will not cool as well as a good Cryorig or Noctua heatsink. It is also noisier. And it introduces reliability issues. Skylake can overclock just fine on air. it's the architecture, not heat, that limits overclocking on skylake CPUs.

Read TomsHardware cpu recommendations and they clearly state that it's difficult to recommend anything over the I5 6600k since diminishing returns kick in. It can be overclocked easily to give frequencies identical to an I7. The cost savings are very important and can be used to better benefit other areas of the system. If budget is of no concern then go ahead and get an I7, but an I5 will not bottleneck the system in any way.

Also read up on 144Hz vs 60Hz on tomshardware. You'll get an appreciation for animation above 60fps and also why sync is so important in gaming.

As for the SSD. I'll state that a 256gb will allow windows, programs, and about 4 large games before it fills up. If you want room for more game installs, and room to play with video and pic editing on the SSD than I'd go 512GB. It's whatever is required, and there is no right answer.

Read some case reviews and decide which you like best. Don't let us tell you which case to buy. It's a personal choice based on looks and design. I'm just recommending the Fractal if looks are of no concern. If quality, silence, and cooling are of more concern without getting into LianLi price territory than it's hard to argue the Fractal R5. Read some reviews on it. Windowed for looks or non windowed for more silence are both options with the R5. The Define S (same as the R5) is available cheaper without drive bays if you don't want a CD-ROM, and want more space for radiators.

Those $750 1080's are not available at that price in Canada. The cheapest is the Gigabyte G1 at $880 from NCIX. Newegg Canada have only 2 listed, not in stock, and an Asus arriving soon.

Kay lets say 144Hz is better but then again you will be needing GTX1080 SLI to attain 144fps at 1440p single GTX1080 will do 90-100fps and that will go way out of his budget which again brings on the point about OP increasing his budget.
SSD and case OPs decision
GTX1080 $750s will be out in 2-3 weeks at max. Would recommend to wait for them.

 

[gondo]

Well let's say you hit 90fps, at least you can take advantage of the extra 30fps which is great. And also the GSync will clean it up being below 144fps. Exatly what it's designed for. But there is definitely a price to pay.

If the GTX1080 drops to $750 in a few weeks that's what I would pick up. A single 1080 and a nice 1440p monitor. A good monitor can last 10 years so future video cards and SLI can take advantage.

If it's over budget I'd just get a cooler master 212 EVO and I5 6600K. That would be a sick system.

Really nice but too bad AMD isn't out now to help stabilize the price market. Those freesync monitors are really nice under budgets being $150-$200 cheaper.