Skylake ATX or Mini-ITX or Haswell-E Please Help

[Kirk1975]

I'm looking to build a system that I can use for the labs I have to perform for school. I'm a sophomore in a computer science degree program, so lots of encoding and programming. I will also be running a couple of Windows 7 VM's to run my labs on. I also want to be able to game with it as well as do video/photo rendering/editing. I can't decide whether to go with a Skylake build or a Haswell-E build. I do not intend on using Crossfire or SLI. I will be moving a 1TB Western Digital Velociraptor and a 3TB Seagate Barracuda from another build to this build. My monitor is a 1080p 27" ASUS. I plan on upgrading it to a 2K monitor soon though. Large case sizes aren't an issue. I'd rather have good airflow for cooling. I won't be taking the computer to any LAN parties. I do require that the system have WIFI. I will be moving from an Intel Core i5-3570K build.

Skylake Build
Intel Core i7-6700K ($349.99)
GIGABYTE G1 Gaming GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 (rev. 1.0) ($154.99)
Kingston HyperX Fury 32GB (2 x 16G) DDR4 2400 Desktop Memory ($133.99)
SAMSUNG 950 PRO M.2 512GB PCI-Express 3.0 x4 Internal Solid State Drive ($317.99)
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 980Ti 6GB XTREME GAMING WATERFORCE ($749.99)
Mushkin Enhanced Reactor 2.5" 1TB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive ($219.99)
CORSAIR Hydro Series H90 High Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99)
FSP Group Hydro G Series HG650 650W ($89.99)
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv iTX ($54.99)
SAMSUNG USB 2.0 Slim Portable Blu-ray Writer Model SE-506CB/RSWD ($69.99)
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit - OEM ($139.99)

Total ($2,371.89)

I could go with an ATX Skylake setup, but it would be more expensive.

Intel Core i7-6700K ($349.99)
Kingston HyperX Fury 32GB (2 x 16G) DDR4 2400 Desktop Memory ($133.99)
Fractal Design Define S Silent Computer Case ($84.99)
ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII HERO ALPHA Motherboard ($268.99)
SAMSUNG 950 PRO M.2 512GB PCI-Express 3.0 x4 Internal Solid State Drive ($317.99)
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 980Ti 6GB XTREME GAMING WATERFORCE ($749.99)
Mushkin Enhanced Reactor 2.5" 1TB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive ($219.99)
FSP Group Hydro G Series HG650 650W ($89.99)
SAMSUNG USB 2.0 Slim Portable Blu-ray Writer Model SE-506CB/RSWD ($69.99)
CORSAIR Hydro Series H90 High Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99)
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit - OEM ($139.99)

Total ($2,530.85)

Then there is the Haswell-E option.

ASUS X99-PRO/USB 3.1 LGA 2011-v3 Intel X99 ($339.99)
Intel Core i7-5820K ($389.99)
HyperX FURY 32GB (4 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2666 ($159.99)
Corsair Hydro Series™ H115i Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler ($110.04)
SAMSUNG 950 PRO M.2 512GB PCI-Express 3.0 x4 Internal Solid State Drive ($317.99)
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 980Ti 6GB XTREME GAMING WATERFORCE ($749.99)
Mushkin Enhanced Reactor 2.5" 1TB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive ($219.99)
FSP Group Hydro G Series HG650 650W ($89.99)
SAMSUNG USB 2.0 Slim Portable Blu-ray Writer Model SE-506CB/RSWD ($69.99)
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit - OEM ($139.99)
Fractal Design Define S Silent Computer Case ($84.99)

Total ($2,672.94)

 

[1LiquidPC]

Since you will be encoding/rendering, running VMs, as well as games, I'd go with X99. Also, Broadwell-E and revamped X99 is launching shortly along w/ GTX 1080, just for a heads up. I have both a Skylake i5 6500 M-ITX based system for HTPC/light gaming duty as well as my main X99 system, so I can comment on both. Regarding gaming, Skylake won't bring much more performance than Haswell-E. A few FPS at most mainly due to clockspeed. For your needs and requirements, I think the extra cores would be more beneficial to you. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Kirk1975]

Since you will be encoding/rendering, running VMs, as well as games, I'd go with X99. Also, Broadwell-E and revamped X99 is launching shortly along w/ GTX 1080, just for a heads up. I have both a Skylake i5 6500 M-ITX based system for HTPC/light gaming duty as well as my main X99 system, so I can comment on both. Regarding gaming, Skylake won't bring much more performance than Haswell-E. A few FPS at most mainly due to clockspeed. For your needs and requirements, I think the extra cores would be more beneficial to you. Just my 2 cents.

Do you see anything in the configuration I've selected that might pose an issue?

 

[1LiquidPC]

Were you able to commit to either X99 or Z170 for certain? If X99, are you ordering immediately, or relatively soon? If you can wait a bit longer(month or so), newer X99 boards and Broadwell-E will be available. Same goes for GPU as well. The other items on your list look fine to me. Again, everyone will have their own opinions of some items. I'm using a similar model motherboard, same CPU, and same primary SSD. I can recommend these. I've also had good luck w/ Corsair AIO kits. Your PSU choice is Tier one, and 650W should cover your needs. If you plan to add another GPU at some point and OC, you would want a bigger unit though. I've never used the HyperX series RAM or Mushkin brand products, so I can't comment there directly. However, these are reputable brands and shouldn't be a problem. Also, it's possible you may have a clearance issue if your top-mounting your CPU cooler. I've read that some folks had trouble fitting certain 280 kits because of the MOSFET cooling on the motherboard. You may want to investigate this further, as I think it was the R5 I've seen the problems with. I'm not sure if the same applies w/ the Fractal S.

 

[Kirk1975]

Were you able to commit to either X99 or Z170 for certain? If X99, are you ordering immediately, or relatively soon? If you can wait a bit longer(month or so), newer X99 boards and Broadwell-E will be available. Same goes for GPU as well. The other items on your list look fine to me. Again, everyone will have their own opinions of some items. I'm using a similar model motherboard, same CPU, and same primary SSD. I can recommend these. I've also had good luck w/ Corsair AIO kits. Your PSU choice is Tier one, and 650W should cover your needs. If you plan to add another GPU at some point and OC, you would want a bigger unit though. I've never used the HyperX series RAM or Mushkin brand products, so I can't comment there directly. However, these are reputable brands and shouldn't be a problem. Also, it's possible you may have a clearance issue if your top-mounting your CPU cooler. I've read that some folks had trouble fitting certain 280 kits because of the MOSFET cooling on the motherboard. You may want to investigate this further, as I think it was the R5 I've seen the problems with. I'm not sure if the same applies w/ the Fractal S.

I have not pulled the trigger yet, waiting to see what materializes like you recommended. I don't plan on using the cpu cooler in the top of the case. I had planned to mount it in the front. I am going for a more silent build with fewer fans. I do not plan on overclocking or adding another gpu. I am going to go the x99 route based on your recommendation.

 

[1LiquidPC]

Given your specific needs, I do still think X99 will be the platform to go with. The Broadwell-E version of the i7 5820k would be the i7 6800k. Since your going w/ a single GPU, no need for the extra PCI-E lanes in the more expensive models. Plenty of SATA ports for your drives as well. It looks like the "newer" X99 boards are now becoming available. Just had a glance at Newegg. Even though the chipset itself is the same, some additions have been made such as newer onboard audio, USB 3.1 ports, Thunderbolt 3, ect. Seems like some have RGB adjustable lighting as well. Regarding the CPUs, I'm hearing rumors of a 10% increase in IPC, but that may only be in benchmarks. To early for real-world performance impact. May draw a little less power due to 14nm process as well.

I would recommend a Geforce GTX 1080 for your GPU, considering the budget you set aside. I'm hoping to pickup one myself(been mashing F5 in hopes of pre-order) to replace my 970 SLI setup. For a 1080P monitor though, it's WAY overkill, even most 1440P setups except 144Hz models and UltraWides. If you don't really need that kind of GPU power, I'd imagine the 980Ti should be dropping in price very soon and you could lower your overall cost.

Since your front-mounting the CPU cooler, the clearance won't be an issue. I know what you mean about trying to go silent. You don't want your system sounding like a jet engine spooling when your gaming.