Thoughts and Recommendations

Shaddow1086

Shaddow1086

Shaddow1086

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Joined
28 Sep 2011
Posts
102
Location
Stratford-upon-Avon
I am looking to upgrade a rather old system with something that will last and can be used for high end gaming, blu-ray and 3D Modelling (CAD).

The whole of my existing rig will be going to GF.

Proposed build:

Intel Core i5-6600K 3.9GHz (Skylake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail
Asus Z170-Deluxe Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard
Kingston Savage Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C15 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black
NVidia Gforce 970 GTX
Creative Sound Blaster Z High Performance Gaming Sound Card
Seasonic P Series 760w '80 Plus Platinum' Modular Power Supply
Samsung SM951 256GB M.2 PCI-e 3.0 x 4 NVMe Solid State Drive (MZVPV256HDGL-00000)
Western Digital Caviar Red 6TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD
2 x Western Digital Caviar Red 4TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD
LG BH16NS40 16x SATA Internal BDRW - OEM
Samsung SH-224FB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black)
Corsair Hydro H110i GT 280mm Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060019-WW)
Synology Diskstation DS216Play 2 Bay Gigabit Ethernet Network Attached Storage Enclosure
NZXT Phantom Enthusiast USB3.0 Full Tower Case - Black
Logitech Z506 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers - 75W RMS (980-000432)
2 x Samsung S27D850D 27" 2560x1440 PLS Widescreen LED Professional/Gaming Slim Bezel Monitor - Black

A few thoughts iv had:

Considering the Asus VIII Hero MB, but as the Delux has built in Wifi, I dont need the additional card. (Althought might be cheaper)

GPU - 970 GTX vs AMD R9 390?

Cases: some good looking cases, but most seem to have done away with optical drives. I still use them to create / copy discs and have added a blu-ray to allow me to watch blu-rays.

RAM: the norm seems to be 16GB, and I assume this will be plenty for most / all tasks. (When will 32GB really be needed). Better to get 4 x 4gb or 2 x 8gb?

Iv also added a NAS drive to allow me to set up a small home network fitted with one of the 4TB drives. Iv got very little experience with NAS, so recommendations on brand would be much appreciated.

Finally, what is onboard sound like on the Asus high end MB's? Is it always better to get a independent sound card? No point buying one if the on-board sound is near enough same quality.

The complete package comes to around £2700, so if other brands / parts can be recommended for similar prices, it would be much appreciated.

Unfortunately I cant stretch to the very good looking £500ea monitors, but can go to about £700 for 2. (I need 2 as it comes in very handy when using CAD or doing actual WORK....) So please dont recommend binning 1 and going for a single £500+ monitor.

Thanks for any advice / recommendations!
 
I'm not sure if the 970 will be enough to game on 2 1440p monitor, unless you plan to game on one and only work from 2.

For what youv'e listed, 2700 seems a little high.. shouldn't be long until a few of the experienced builders put in their 2 cents and sort you a suitable basket.
 
Ledz said:
I'm not sure if the 970 will be enough to game on 2 1440p monitor, unless you plan to game on one and only work from 2.

For what youv'e listed, 2700 seems a little high.. shouldn't be long until a few of the experienced builders put in their 2 cents and sort you a suitable basket.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Was originally looking at the samsung 1080 Curved monitors. But after reading some threads on 1440 screens, the comments led me to believe the difference was very noticeable. If someone can give credible argument that 1080 and 1440 is not that different, then id go back to the cheaper 1080 screens and maybe plash more $$$ on GPU.
 
Any comments on parts?

Any better rated MB's for similar prices?
Is a sound card needed with current level of onboard sound?
GPU recommended? Will the 970 GTX run 2 x 1440 monitors, or would I need to stretch for a 980 GTX?
Good all round 27" monitors?
 
Have you considered a 4K monitor?

You'd definitely need more firepower for 2 monitors, if you do go with them make sure they have thin bezels ;)
 
I would like a 4K, but issue would be price! They are not cheap and not sure what to make of brands such as BenQ, Acer etc... Like Samsung and LG as they make there own screens. (Samsung designs are generally better). DELL would just remind me of sitting at work.

Would a GTX 980 be sufficient for dual 1440? I know it would add about £150+ to the price of GPU, but if it means a bit more future proof and ability to run the screen, its something I can do.
 
Had a bit more of a look at GPU and think I could possibly stretch to the GTX 980, but is there a noticeable difference between the 980 and 980ti?

Tried to find a release date on the new 1000 series (Pascal), but nothing apart from Q1 or Q2 2016. Anyone have more info on this? Happy to hang on a few months, but dont really want to go beyond Q1 2016, otherwise the waiting will never end.

Will the standard GTX 980 be sufficient for 2 x 1440 monitors (Or maybe even 2 x 4K monitors).

Finally, with so many reviews about, can anyone give any good recommendation on monitor brands? Know top brands should be good all round (Samsung, Asus, LG), but how do they stack against lower brands (Acer, BenQ, Iiyama)
 
Thanks, so no point spending the ££ for 4K, if I wont be able to fully use it anyway. Back to the 1440 option.
Guess by your comment, if I plan to run 2 x 1440, I will need the 980ti? Time to go scrape some more pennies from under the sofa.
 
It kind of depends on what your idea of "be sufficient".

So, 2x 1440p is roughly the same number of pixels as a single 4K (7.4m vs 8.3m)

With a single 980Ti on 4K (and therefore 2x 1440p), you cannot crank everything to maximum on the newer games, you can play on "high" quality usually okay as long as you don't want too much AA.
 
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Thanks for the info. Seems little use going 4K as it wont get the full effect.
Looked at the iiyama 28" 4K monitor, but seems it maxes out at 60hz on any resolution. So better opting for a 1440 monitor with higher refresh values.

Any good recommendation on brand of monitors? Bit sceptical of brands such as iiyama, Acer, BenQ. Guess I have just always seen them as lower quality when compared to LG, Samsung etc..
 
Yeah, it would be ideal, but looking at the price of G-Sync, it is a lot higher. So wondering if its worth the extra ££££. Not sure I can stretch my budget to £500 per monitor, which is what I would need for a 27"ish G-Sync 1440 (or 4K) monitor.
 
Most of the daily tasks (Not gaming) I make use of dual screen, and comes in extra handy when doing CAD. Would be nice to use dual in games that support it, but have been OK in the past with one.

The more I look into it, it seems I might be better off getting dual 144hz g-sync 24" monitors as opposed to 28". (Higher spec 24" for same price as basic 28")
 
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