Prebuilt Gaming PC Choices

[YeehawBigTires]

To begin, sorry for the wall of text but I am posting 3 different PC builds (Xidax, Ironside, and Digital Storm) and would like input on which would work best for me, all 3 are very similar. My goal is to run a gtx 1070 now to play the games I love on high settings (1080p) and eventually run two 1070s in SLI for 4k gaming. Will all of these builds allow me to do that? Which company and build would be best? I am new to gaming PCs and have done all the research I can on my own, I humbly request your help.

XIDAX (~$2150)
Case Annihilator
Motherboard Gigabyte Z170 Gaming 5 ATX
Processor Intel Quad Core™ i7-6700K Unlocked Processor ( Choose )
Memory Xidax Extreme DDR4 2400MHz Memory - 16GB ( 16GB (2x8GB) )
Power Supply Corsair CX750W Semi-Modular Power Supply
Optical Drive 24X DVD-RW Combo
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 GPU ( Choose ) Sound Cards Onboard Audio HDD/SSD XIDAX Performance 256GB SSD ( 256GB SSD )
2nd HDD Western Digital Blue 1TB - 7200RPM 3.5" HDD ( 1TB HDD ) Sleeving Green Uni-Sleeved Cables ( 1 Graphics Card )
Case Lighting Purple LED Lighting Strip
CPU Cooling Xidax 570LX CPU Cooler CPU
Paste Premium CPU Thermal Paste - Lower Temps 5-10° C
GPU Paste Standard Graphics Card Thermal Paste
OS Windows 10 Home Premium 64-Bit
Anti-Virus Xidax Gaming Shield - Virus & Malware Protection
Support Lifetime U.S. based tech support and customer service by Xidax technicians

IRONSIDE (~$1900)
Case - NZXT Noctis 450 Black and Red
Processor - Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz (Quad Core)
CPU Cooling - Asetek 570LX High Performance Liquid Cooling (240mm Radiator)
Thermal Compound - Arctic MX4 High Performance Thermal Compound
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-Gaming 3 [2-Way SLI/XFire][Supports Overclocking] Memory - 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 2133Mhz
Primary Hard Drive - Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD
Secondary Hard Drive - Western Digital 1TB Blue 7200RPM
Optical Drive - DVD Writer
Graphics Card - Nvidia Geforce GTX 1070 8GB
Power Supply - [Modular] Corsair Enthusiast Series RM750 750 Watt 80 Plus Gold
Operating System - Windows 10 64
[FREE] Professional Wiring - Cables will be organized to achieve maximum airflow
Technical Support - Life-time U.S. Based Technical Support
Warranty - Standard 5 Years Labor and 3 Years Parts Repair Shipping Coverage Plan – None

DIGITALSTORM (~$2150)
Chassis Model: Digital Storm Apollo (Black)
Processor: Intel Core i7 6700K 4.0GHz (Codename Skylake) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING (Intel Z170 Chipset) (Up to 5x PCI-E Devices)
System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series
Power Supply: 750W EVGA SuperNOVA
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) (Internal)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (250GB Samsung 850 EVO)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (1TB Seagate / Toshiba)
Graphics / Multimedia Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce GTX 1070 8GB (NVIDIA Founders Edition) Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 240mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler
Cable Management: Premium Cable Management (Strategically Routed & Organized for Airflow) Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Technology Boost Processor: Standard Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Automatic Overclocking
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-Bit Edition)
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)

 

[maf1017]

Have you thought about building a PC by yourself? You will be able to put exactly what you want into it, know all the parts and would get better value for money. I built my first one last month and I was very nervous but it was so easy.

 

[YeehawBigTires]

Thanks for the response maf. I have considered building and still am considering. However, I do want to decide on a prebuilt build and company so I can weigh the two choice against one another. Does anyone have any opinions on the builds or companies listed?

 

[Albionm00n]

Greetings!

The companies are reputable and build decent systems, however, I would also recommend building your own for two reasons: 1) Savings...it is generally less expensive, and 2) After building your own system you will feel confidence in tackling parts upgrades/replacements and such without having to pay a premium (and wait weeks maybe) for something you could have done yourself in 5 minutes.

Here is an example of the savings possible: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/hNm9JV. It is an exact duplicate of the Digital Storm you are looking at except I upgraded you to a blue ray player and better RAM...for around $500 in savings.

Here is a duplicate of the Ximax system: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/94b3bj. Again, I upgraded your RAM, included blue ray instead of just DVD, and upgraded your cooling...for again, around $500 in savings.

And finally, here is the duplicate of the Ironside system: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/XNtZRG. Again, upgraded RAM and cooling. One point: Ironside is including a DVD drive when that NZXT case does not support any 5.25" drive bays...and again, yup, you guessed it, around a $500 dollar savings.

I guess the $500.oo question is whether the convenience of having someone else build your system is worth that much to you? You could easily take that $500.oo and get a better gpu, cpu, or a monitor upgrade and have a better system than they could provide at the same cost and coupled with the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment having built it yourself.

Just food for thought, and I hope this helps!

 

[YeehawBigTires]

Greetings!

The companies are reputable and build decent systems, however, I would also recommend building your own for two reasons: 1) Savings...it is generally less expensive, and 2) After building your own system you will feel confidence in tackling parts upgrades/replacements and such without having to pay a premium (and wait weeks maybe) for something you could have done yourself in 5 minutes.

Here is an example of the savings possible: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/hNm9JV. It is an exact duplicate of the Digital Storm you are looking at except I upgraded you to a blue ray player and better RAM...for around $500 in savings.

Here is a duplicate of the Ximax system: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/94b3bj. Again, I upgraded your RAM, included blue ray instead of just DVD, and upgraded your cooling...for again, around $500 in savings.

And finally, here is the duplicate of the Ironside system: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/XNtZRG. Again, upgraded RAM and cooling. One point: Ironside is including a DVD drive when that NZXT case does not support any 5.25" drive bays...and again, yup, you guessed it, around a $500 dollar savings.

I guess the $500.oo question is whether the convenience of having someone else build your system is worth that much to you? You could easily take that $500.oo and get a better gpu, cpu, or a monitor upgrade and have a better system than they could provide at the same cost and coupled with the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment having built it yourself.

Just food for thought, and I hope this helps!

That is awesome Albion, thank you building that comparison for me. One of my biggest reservations isn't the assembly as much as the optimization and ensuring all components are working together at their best. I assume there may be some sort of software or website to help with this? Also, do these builds allow me to run two 1070s in SLI in the future when I'm ready?

 

[Albionm00n]

Greetings!

The companies are reputable and build decent systems, however, I would also recommend building your own for two reasons: 1) Savings...it is generally less expensive, and 2) After building your own system you will feel confidence in tackling parts upgrades/replacements and such without having to pay a premium (and wait weeks maybe) for something you could have done yourself in 5 minutes.

Here is an example of the savings possible: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/hNm9JV. It is an exact duplicate of the Digital Storm you are looking at except I upgraded you to a blue ray player and better RAM...for around $500 in savings.

Here is a duplicate of the Ximax system: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/94b3bj. Again, I upgraded your RAM, included blue ray instead of just DVD, and upgraded your cooling...for again, around $500 in savings.

And finally, here is the duplicate of the Ironside system: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/XNtZRG. Again, upgraded RAM and cooling. One point: Ironside is including a DVD drive when that NZXT case does not support any 5.25" drive bays...and again, yup, you guessed it, around a $500 dollar savings.

I guess the $500.oo question is whether the convenience of having someone else build your system is worth that much to you? You could easily take that $500.oo and get a better gpu, cpu, or a monitor upgrade and have a better system than they could provide at the same cost and coupled with the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment having built it yourself.

Just food for thought, and I hope this helps!

That is awesome Albion, thank you building that comparison for me. One of my biggest reservations isn't the assembly as much as the optimization and ensuring all components are working together at their best. I assume there may be some sort of software or website to help with this? Also, do these builds allow me to run two 1070s in SLI in the future when I'm ready?

No problem! I always like to take the time to provide real info rather than opinions...plus I learn from the research as well🙂

Yes, all three configurations will support a second 1070 in SLI. Even your psus are worthy...you should be able to pop in a second 1070 without having to change anything else in your system (whichever one you choose).

As for component compatibility and capability, things are much nicer than they were 10 years ago. Most components are plug and play basically and require little to no software tweaking unless you are looking to overclock. Also, seeing as those companies would configure a system with those components, chances are they are all compatible...plus, pcpartpicker has compatibility filters that are quite robust and would have alerted me to any problems while making the parts lists I included before.

As far as websites or software are concerned there are many options. Most of your components that can be adjusted via software (cpu, gpu, mobo, coolers, etc) will come with it to install or be available on their website or the adjustments will simply be in the UEFI/BIOS. Forums such as this are also great for asking about setup/configuration software and/or UEFI/BIOS configuring for proper booting of a new system. Also, youtube is an excellent source for info about building computers. There are literally thousands of videos on the subject ranging from simple to 3 hour step by step walk-through guides for hardware and software considerations around a new build. I haven't cracked a pc case since 2003 (the last system I built) and am going to be building myself a dual xeon rendering system in about a month or two. A lot has changed in 13 years, but after doing my homework, asking a lot of questions here, and watching tutorials on youtube, I am now excited to undertake the task (and save about $2000.oo in the process!).

If you get stuck on a component or setup at any time, just ask here and you will probably be up and running from good advice within the hour🙂