New PC, first time build

hep

hep

hep

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I'm building a new PC (first time building) and I'm pretty confident about the research that I've done on the parts that I've picked out, but I'd like a second opinion before I go and buy everything.

The PC will be sat in my lounge, so it needs to be able to run quietly.
It will be connected to a single 50" 4K TV, so it needs to be able to run 4K ideally on ultra settings at 60fps.
I typically play total war games, which are very dependant on processor speed, first person shooters and RPG's.
Ideally I'd like it to be able to run VR well, incase I decide to go that route in the future.
This lot is going to set me back £2,380. My budget is £2500 (but I could squeeze out more if it was worth it)
I'm a bit of an audiophile, so the sound card will be connected to an amp and speakers.


So here's my list:

Processor i7 6700k
motherboard gigabyte z170x gaming 7
RAM G skill 16GB (8gb x 2) trident z 3200MHz
Graphics cards MSI GTX 980ti gaming 6G OC edition (x2 in SLI)
Sound card Asus xonar essence STX ii
SSD Samsung 512GB M2 950 Pro PCIe NVMe
PSU Corsair RM1000i
Processor cooling Be quiet, dark rock pro 3
Thermal paste Thermalgrizzly Kryonaut
Wireless networking TP link TL-WDN3800
Operating system Windows 10 home 64 bit
Case Fractal design R5 black
Bluray/dvd player LG CH12NS30

I've picked the case because its the same height & colour as my tv stand, so I'd like to keep to a midi case.
The case is sound deadend, so heat will get trapped. I will be buying extra case fans, but does anyone think I'll have problems with overheating?
Particularly if I try to overclock to roughly 4.5GHz.

I don't really feel that I need more than a 512GB SSD at first, I've never used more than that on previous computers and it would be simple enough to add an extra harddrive at a later date if needs be.

I'm probably a bit high with a 1000w PSU, but the PSU fan doesn't switch on until the PSU is running over 600W, so that should be one less source of noise until I'm playing a game, also it gives me a bit of headroom if I feel the need to add a third graphics card.

So, what have I missed?
Are there any parts that would be more suitable/better than those listed?
and are there any parts coming out soon that it would be worth waiting for instead of these?
 
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Hello Hep,

It's a nice spec although there are a few issues with it and some of your thoughts for possible upgrades in the future.

1. You wouldn't be able to add a third (Nvidia) video card. Three-way SLI is not possible as the third PCI-E x16 slot runs at x4 not x8. Also, as soon as the M.2 slot is used (for the SSD you've specced) the third PCI-E x16 slot can no longer be used.

2. The Dark Rock Pro 3 cooler will cover at least three DIMM slots and perhaps even all four. The specs state that clearance for RAM is 40mm and the Trident Z RAM is 44mm. If you use that RAM, and that cooler, you may have to remove the RAM heatsinks (which look amazing). On some motherboards, the Dark Rock Pro 3 also blocks the first PCI x1 slot - see 3 below.

3. You also have two parts that require using PCI-E x1 or PCI-E x16 slots. The soundcard and the wireless adapter. The wireless adapter is short so would fit no problem in the first (top) x1 slot or second (centre) x1 slot. The soundcard may or may not fit in the top slot because of the cooler, so might need to be used in the second (centre) x1 slot which would not be advisable, as it would be between the two 980Tis and only help to increase the heat. The third (bottom) x1 slot cannot be used as the second 980Ti will block it completely, and of course the third (bottom) x16 slot cannot be used either (due to M.2 slot being populated).

4. The case. When you have 2 x 980Ti you really want a case with (much) better airflow. And the soundproofing will probably only make things even worse. I'd reconsider case choice, or consider going with liquid-cooled 980Tis, perhaps for the top one if not both of them. Even if you swapped the case for one with better airflow, it would still be a good idea to have the top 980Ti liquid cooled. Then the soundcard could go into either the top x1 slot (if it fits) or the centre x1 slot, without adding (too) much to temperatures. A little CPU overclock won't be the problem at all, it's the 980Ti SLI that will challenge you in keeping temps acceptable.


Some further thoughts:

Any gains to be had from using an M.2 SSD in a pure gaming system are questionable. You could go with a regular SSD and not perceive much of a difference, if any. You would see a greater difference in tasks like video editing, etc. Could even go with two normal SSD's for the comfort of having the OS and programs on drive (120 or 250GB) and your games on a separate 500GB drive. Less headache/time spent re-downloading all the games whenever a clean install of the operating system is needed. Not using an M.2 would also leave the third (bottom) x16 slot free, in case it's needed or helps with temps (by having the soundcard in it for example).

An alternative to a soundcard could be an external DAC. I'm not clued up on audio matters but from what I gather audiophiles seem to prefer them.
 
Thanks Danny, very helpful, there was loads of stuff that I hadn't considered.

1. being able to run a 3rd graphics card would be a nice option. I might keep searching for a motherboard that would allow it, so that it is a little more future proofed.
Which is especially important seeing as 4K and VR will probably be even more graphics hungry in a year or two.

2. I'm not too bothered about how it looks internally, so I'm quite happy to remove the RAM heatsinks.

3. Great suggestion, I hadn't even considered using an external DAC, doh! I'm not going to bother with the sound card now, so that will make things easier.
I can use the SPDIF port on the motherboard.

4. I'm worried about the case overheating a bit, I think I'd rather go for liquid cooled graphics cards. I'm thinking EVGA GTX 980ti Hybrid (x2 in SLI).
Do you think I'll have any issues routing the coolant pipes or locating the radiators?

Good point about the M.2 SSD, I'm going to try to find a different motherboard so that I can have both the M.2 and a 3rd graphics card ideally.

My spec now looks like:

Processor - i7 6700k
motherboard - gigabyte z170x gaming 7 (might change)
RAM - G skill 16GB (8gb x 2) trident z 3200MHz
Graphics cards - EVGA GTX 980ti Hybrid (x2 in SLI)
SSD - Samsung 512GB M2 950 Pro PCIe NVMe
PSU - Corsair RM1000i
Processor cooling - Be quiet, dark rock pro 3
Thermal paste - Thermalgrizzly Kryonaut
Wireless networking - TP link TL-WDN3800
Operating system - Windows 10 home 64 bit
Case - Fractal design R5 black
Bluray/dvd player - LG CH12NS30

How does that look?
 
hep said:
Thanks Danny, very helpful, there was loads of stuff that I hadn't considered.
Click to expand...

You're very welcome.


hep said:
1. being able to run a 3rd graphics card would be a nice option. I might keep searching for a motherboard that would allow it, so that it is a little more future proofed.
Which is especially important seeing as 4K and VR will probably be even more graphics hungry in a year or two.
Click to expand...

If you are serious about a third card, then I'd recommend a beefier PSU (1200W at least) as you are then also going to need to go with an X99 system to get the most out of three cards. Otherwise I'd just be content with two cards. In a worst case scenario, each 980Ti would pull 300W each, leaving only a measly 100W for the CPU which would require a bit more than that even at stock (load). And then nothing left for the RAM, motherboard, drives, etc (not much needed but still). You may never see a worst case scenario, but best to be prepared for it.


hep said:
3. Great suggestion, I hadn't even considered using an external DAC, doh! I'm not going to bother with the sound card now, so that will make things easier.
I can use the SPDIF port on the motherboard.
Click to expand...

I've been reading up a bit on DACs and AMPs yesterday and today. Seems a decent DAC like a Schiit Modi2 Uber can be had cheaper than the soundcard you originally specced. And if you don't need a headphone amplifier to go with it, bonus. But even if you did, it's still not too bad. Maybe you're aware of even better ones for around the same price?


hep said:
4. I'm worried about the case overheating a bit, I think I'd rather go for liquid cooled graphics cards. I'm thinking EVGA GTX 980ti Hybrid (x2 in SLI).
Click to expand...

I think those are a great choice, even if a tad more expensive than Gigabyte's offering. They seem the superior product and cool better according to reviews.


hep said:
Do you think I'll have any issues routing the coolant pipes or locating the radiators?
Click to expand...

Can't say for sure but am hopeful it will work out as the Fractal has various locations.

Just off the top of my head I'd aim for the top card's radiator somewhere on the top (if at least one mounting place there is not blocked by the Dark Rock Pro 3 or your BluRay drive), and the second card's radiator on the front. That would leave one of the front fan mounts for unhindered intake (and possible addition of a third radiator later on), and the rear fan for unhindered exhaust. Expect the bottom fan mount to be blocked by the PSU (anything over 190mm length will block it). You could probably mod 2 x 80/90mm fans into the bottom, though.

The only pity about the Fractal Define R5 is that there isn't much vertical room at the top compared to some other cases, so the big air cooler and BluRay drive may end up preventing rad-placement there. You'd still have the rear plus the second front mount (all HDD cages would have to be removed for this) as back-up.

Alternatively, go with a 120/140mm liquid cooler for the CPU, to free up more room at the top and have it, one GPU radiator, plus the BluRay drive, all fit in the top (I think). Or another case, but it'd have to be taller. For example, in my NZXT Phantom 820, there is room to fit a Dark Rock Pro 3 and a normal thickness radiator with 25mm thick fans directly above it.

Actually, if you don't mind taking both HDD cages out, then there will be plenty of room at the bottom for another fan or rad there, even with a really long PSU. So there you go. Your three video card rads could go: 2 x Front/1 x Bottom, for example.
 
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My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £2,570.70
(includes shipping: £15.90)
​


​


Going with a three-way SLI capable system does push the total up a fair bit. And the DAC plus a wireless solution still need adding.

I'm suggesting that motherboard because (a) it's not too expensive, (b) it has the right placement of the PCI-E 3.0 slots (1, 2, 3) that will run three-way SLI, for the number of PCI-E expansion slots on the Fractal Define R5 (only seven slots), and (c) the alignment skips out the top-most expansion slot of the case, allowing a bit more room for the big CPU cooler. A few boards out there have the first PCI-E slot aligned with the top-most case expansion slot and that could be problematic for such a large cooler.

So with this case/mobo combination, the case's 1st expansion slot is not filled. The 2nd and 3rd are filled with the top 980Ti. The 4th and 5th are filled with the second 980Ti. And the 6th and 7th would be filled with the third 980Ti when/if you get it. And that's it. No more room. Same with the 28 PCI-E 3.0 lanes for that CPU. The 3 x 980Ti's would run at x8/x8/x8*, leaving the remaining x4 bandwidth of the fourth PCI-E 3.0 slot to be used by the M.2 drive (in the M.2 port). Maxed out.

* Not all X99 boards around this price range are capable of this when paired with a i7-5820K. Some can only do x16/x8/x4 so three-way SLI is out of the question (each needs x8 minimum). But the MPower is one that can. If you end up going for this one, bookmark this link: https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=251355.0 as it contains a guide with some information not included in the accompanying manual.

There will be no room for any PCI-E wireless adapter. Unless you can find a motherboard that has a PCI-E x1 as the top-most slot (and then follows the 2/3, 4/5, 6/7 pattern for SLI).
 
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hep said:
I'm building a new PC (first time building) and
The case is sound deadend, so heat will get trapped. I will be buying extra case fans, but does anyone think I'll have problems with overheating?
Particularly if I try to overclock to roughly 4.5GHz.

and are there any parts coming out soon that it would be worth waiting for instead of these?
Click to expand...

You should have no problem getting it to 4.5v, i've seen people getting 4.5ghz stable at 1.3v.

The next set of Nvidia gpu's on 16nm are set to come out this year so you may be better off waiting until then and getting the 980 replacement which should be quicker than the current 980ti at a lower price, whilst running cooler and quieter hopefully. I don't think that they release the Ti models straight away so it may be too long of a wait, however I definitely think that you should wait for the new Pascal cards
 
Thanks again and thanks for explaining the PCI-E lanes and the radiator locations. I wasn't 100% sure about them to be honest.

I think you're right about going for two cards instead of three, a three card system is another level up, its not just a case of sticking an extra card in, like I first thought!

I'm worried that with 4K taking off and VR just around the corner that I might end up buying a pair of graphics cards that might struggle to keep up with the highest settings, I don't really want to spend that much money on something that could soon become obsolete.

I'm tempted to wait for these pascal cards to be released, even if I don't decide to get them, it might push the price down of the existing stuff. So it could be a win-win situation, its a shame that there doesn't seem to be a release date for them.

I'm quite happy to wait a month or so for them to come out, but there seems to be speculation that they could be released much later than that, I'm not sure if I could wait that long. it could be worth me buying a cheap graphics card off ebay, whilst I wait for them to come out, at least I'd be able to get the PC built and running and I wouldn't have lost much by replacing the ebay GPU.

Although I'm quite keen on the EVGA hybrids and they seem to have consistently good reviews, the pascal cards wont have many reviews at the start and I would imagine I'd have to wait a longer if I wanted one of the offerings from EVGA/MSI etc.

Tough decision.

Looking for new audio equipment is a whole other jungle to get lost in, I've got a set of wharfedale diamond speakers that I'd be using, but I'm not 100% sure what I'd use to power it just yet.

I'd either go for a separate amp and dac combo or look for an all in one unit, an all in one unit would help because there isn't a great deal of room, but really I'd like to be able to connect my computer, xbox, tv and an amp to it, so I'd probably be looking at needing some sort of processor, not to mention what ever I get would have to look right!

I'm going to pretend that monster task of narrowing down something suitable doesn't exist, for the time being!

I'm keen to stick with the 6700k, rather than go to higher core architecture, mainly because of the high clock speeds that are possible. I play a lot of total war and they are very demanding on the processor, they really do benefit from a high clock speed. They aren't optimised to make use of multicores very well, so I think 6 or 8 cores would be wasted on me, It helps to keep the cost down aswell.

So its good to know that I'd be fine to overclock to a moderately high level, i'm not overly fussed about pushing it to its limits, but I would definitely benefit from the extra.
 
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