Skylake build, need help $3500 budget

[Impenator_221]

Sorry in advance, this will be a decently long post.
This is the build i'm currently thinking about doing but some parts i'm not 100% sold on: PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/86Pvxr
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/86Pvxr/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Swiftech H240-X 90.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($164.43)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VIII HERO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($239.00 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($160.49)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($150.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB ArcticStorm Video Card ($769.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 760T White ATX Full Tower Case ($149.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 1050W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $124.99)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer (Purchased For $37.98)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($91.75 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q 144Hz 27.0" Monitor ($669.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $3049.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-13 15:10 EDT-0400


Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: this week for most parts but the i7 will depend on when its actually available

Budget Range: 3500 max but I'm hoping to not have to spend my max budget

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, I really just want a build that could do anything I throw at it.

Are you buying a monitor: Yes



Parts to Upgrade: Everything except power supply, cpu cooler, ssd and blu ray drive because they are already purchased
Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I'm open to everything but I am going to a microcenter on saturday to hopefully pick up a couple of parts

Location: City, State/Region, Country - Right outside of Philadelphia

Parts Preferences: by brand or type The only parts I absolutely know I want are the i7 6700k and either the corsair 760t or 780t. Everything else i'm not sold on.

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Yes, but in the future

Your Monitor Resolution: Would like a 4k monitor
Additional Comments: The areas I really am not sure about are the monitor, ram, and video card.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I was given a computer a couple years ago as a christmas present and its pretty much not usable now.



I also have a question about watercooling. I want to expand the H240-X loop for my GPU which is why I chose the arcticstorm card bu would it be cheaper to buy a cheaper 980 ti and a waterblock? Also do I need to add a second radiator to the build to properly cool this?

 

[Randa Ranoosh]

i will go with air cooling with the cpu
because you never khnow when the water pump stop working and that can damage your expensive cpu .

 

[teambronze5]

I would start by shrinking the wattage of your PSU. You only really need a 750W, I suggest a Corsair RM750, or equivalent. I think a Corsair H100i would suit your build, and also save some money. Also, you could shrink your SSD to 120/250 GB and go to a 4 TB BLACK, and that would give you more storage and keep your nice startup times, with SSD space for a couple games. I would get the storage you NEED. Big drives are always nice but always easy to add in later. You could get a Samsung U28D590D 4k monitor for less than the ROG SWIFT but high resolution vs. high frame rate is a trade-off right now. Last Suggestion: Asus strix 980 Ti over the Zotac, this is a personal preference honestly.

 

[g-unit1111]

i will go with air cooling with the cpu
because you never khnow when the water pump stop working and that can damage your expensive cpu .

On closed loops that is true, but CPUs are very difficult to damage. What will be damaged instead is the motherboard, and I've lost more than one motherboard to a closed liquid loop.

I would start by shrinking the wattage of your PSU. You only really need a 750W, I suggest a Corsair RM750, or equivalent.

Not necessarily. On that budget if you're not doing SLI, you're doing it wrong. The Corsair RMs are not good power supplies. Really the best they make are the AXis and the HXis.

Last Suggestion: Asus strix 980 Ti over the Zotac, this is a personal preference honestly.

Yeah that's mainly personal preference at this point, but I would go with an MSI Twin FROZR V over both of those. I love mine.

I would do something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($93.04 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M7 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($226.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($678.98 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($678.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT H440 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($177.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($91.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $2711.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-13 15:44 EDT-0400

And then with the difference add a nice 4K monitor and whatever peripherals you want.

 

[Impenator_221]

Thanks for the replies and about the cooler, power supply, and ssd those are three of the parts that I have already purchased so theres no going back on them now. The U28D590D is one of the monitors that I am definitely heavily considering but it doesn't have G-Sync like the ROG does but then again the ROG isn't 4k like the Samsung is so i'm really torn when it comes to a monitor

 

[g-unit1111]

Thanks for the replies and about the cooler, power supply, and ssd those are three of the parts that I have already purchased so theres no going back on them now. The U28D590D is one of the monitors that I am definitely heavily considering but it doesn't have G-Sync like the ROG does but then again the ROG isn't 4k like the Samsung is so i'm really torn when it comes to a monitor

I'm not too keen on spending that kind of money on a monitor for a 1440P display when you can get a 4K for like $200 less. It's your call though.

 

[Impenator_221]

Yeah now that I think about it the Samsung might be the better choice. I don't think G-sync outweighs the better resolution as well as the $200 price difference

 

[g-unit1111]

Yeah now that I think about it the Samsung might be the better choice. I don't think G-sync outweighs the better resolution as well as the $200 price difference

Yeah mainly what you're paying for with that ROG monitor is the brand name, otherwise it's not worth the extra cost IMO.

 

[teambronze5]

i will go with air cooling with the cpu
because you never khnow when the water pump stop working and that can damage your expensive cpu .

On closed loops that is true, but CPUs are very difficult to damage. What will be damaged instead is the motherboard, and I've lost more than one motherboard to a closed liquid loop.

I would start by shrinking the wattage of your PSU. You only really need a 750W, I suggest a Corsair RM750, or equivalent.

Not necessarily. On that budget if you're not doing SLI, you're doing it wrong. The Corsair RMs are not good power supplies. Really the best they make are the AXis and the HXis.

Last Suggestion: Asus strix 980 Ti over the Zotac, this is a personal preference honestly.

Yeah that's mainly personal preference at this point, but I would go with an MSI Twin FROZR V over both of those. I love mine.

I would do something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($93.04 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A GAMING M7 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($226.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($678.98 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($678.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT H440 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($177.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($91.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $2711.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-13 15:44 EDT-0400

And then with the difference add a nice 4K monitor and whatever peripherals you want.

I wanted to agree with the point that this should be a 2 way Sli rig at this price point. Either way I would do a 2 way 980Ti Sli for 4k, and 980 Sli for 1440p 144Hz. They come out to be somewhat similar price points.

 

[Impenator_221]

The only problem that I have with getting two 980 tis right at this point is that I wanted to expand my loop to the graphics card and because i've never really dealt with watercooling before I want to just do it with one now then add a second later when I have a little bit of experience with it

 

[g-unit1111]

I wanted to agree with the point that this should be a 2 way Sli rig at this price point. Either way I would do a 2 way 980Ti Sli for 4k, and 980 Sli for 1440p 144Hz. They come out to be somewhat similar price points.

Yeah I'd agree there. The thing is you can get a 4K display for less than the 1440P in the proposed build. That is the point I was trying to make.

 

[Impenator_221]

Thanks for all of the replies. The only questions I really have left are in regards to the watercooling. If I expand the H240-X to include my graphics card would I need to add a second radiator to properly cool these components?

Also I am not sure about what kind of tubing to buy because I was thinking clear with a blue coolant but i'm wondering if I could just buy blue tubing and use distilled water. Which of these options would require the least amount of maintenance? I want to do sort of a blue and white color scheme as far as the lighting and watercooling goes.