Hardware Help me build a high end PC

guitarheroknight

1.6180339887
Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2014
Messages
2,822
Trophies
1
Age
33
Location
Grand Line
XP
4,418
Country
Norway
Thanks for this. CPU check, MOBO Check, Storage check.

RAM: poster above you seems like he had the better option.
Cooler: Thanks. How is it compared to the Noctua D15 I believe?
Video card: A bit pricey. I was looking at something in the $400-500 range. Any other suggestion or is this absolutely the best?
Case: Good point. I assumed I was going with a mid tower. No reason to do that. I'll ask my friend if it matters
PSU: Seems a bit expensive for a 850w, why not this: http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-HX1000i-Performance-Supply-CP-9020074-NA/dp/B00M2UINT6/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1442233651&sr=1-1&keywords=corsair+psu&refinements=p_89:Corsair,p_n_feature_keywords_two_browse-bin:6906988011

Yeah its a little more pricey since its 80+ Platinum and its modular, but frankly even the 850 is a bit too much. The GPU is top of the line, it works like a charm, doesnt heat up and its super quiet.
For 400-500 you could get a High end AMD card but again, I would strongly suggest not doing that since AMD is not the most reliable and they have very very poor drivers. There was a period of 8 months were AMD didnt release a single driver for their GPUs which is ridiculous.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Madridi

Originality

Chibi-neko
Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2008
Messages
5,716
Trophies
1
Age
35
Location
London, UK
Website
metalix.deviantart.com
XP
1,904
Country
Choosing parts with an ample budget depends on what the user will use the computer for (and if overclocking is a thing). If it's nothing more than gaming, then Skylake and an AMD R9 390X or a nVidia GTX 980 Ti or two (of either) would be plenty enough for gaming at 4K resolution (currently the benchmark of high end gaming PCs and a good indicator to the next few years). If the user will actually be doing some work on the system (e.g. video editing, 3D modelling, animation, rendering, etc), then a X99 workstation build would be better (and the only case where I would say never go for AMD graphics). Also for workstations, the more graphics cards you throw in (up to 4 way SLI), the faster projects get completed.

Note about RAM, 4GB DDR3 1600Mhz is the general minimum anybody should ever get. 8GB is the average and 16GB is more than most people use (the exception being the above workstation users). On the other hand, if you choose to get more RAM (e.g. 32GB or more), you can turn the unnecessary RAM into a RAMdisk which will act like a mini SSD - good for storing cache files and other temporary files like that to speed up certain apps. Other than that, I've not heard of many other practical applications for huge amounts of RAM. Also, since X99 and Skylake both use DDR4 RAM, I've seen 2400Mhz to 2600Mhz often recommended for them.

For CPU coolers, I like Closed Loop Circuit liquid coolers like the Corsair H100i or H110i. Many modern cases support one or more CLCs mounted either at the rear, top or front of the case. They can be tricky to mount (depending on the case) but that way you don't have a big chunky HSF on top of the CPU blocking view to the pretty heatsinks of the motherboard.

With power supplies, if you're just using one graphics card you only need 450-500W from a reputable brand. 600-700W is if you're using two graphics cards, 750-850W if you're using 3, and 1kW+ if you're using four. Power efficiency forms a bell shaped curve, so using less than 50% or over 90% of the power capacity will result in wasted energy (and money in the long term). Also modern PSUs are graded based on their 80+ efficiency rating (bronze, silver, gold, platinum). In a PC review magazine I read this morning, the Corsair RM750i scored 99% because of its high efficiency, modular design, and bonus features, although there were a few others in the test that scored 95% and above.

Cases... Fractal Design are famous for their quiet cases. Airflow isn't the best, but still good enough to support a pair of GTX 970s in SLI. There is no tangible benefit from good mid-tower cases and full/high-tower cases - you get more space for drives, support for eATX specs, more fans and usually compartmentalised design to create separate thermal zones for the drives, PSU, and motherboard areas. Personally, I went with a Corsair Graphite 760T last year because of its superior cooling options, its storage design options, and its aesthetic looks. However so many cases flood the market every year that there are bound to be better options if you care to look.

Motherboards... FAST really knows his stuff when it comes to motherboards. I've been keeping track of both the X99 and Z170 motherboards as they come out, and find it difficult to choose any one to promote because of how it feels like the main players are just trying to juggle the chipset resources with the features they're trying to push forward. My favourite X99 motherboard for instance is the Asus X99-Deluxe, but Asus also offer the RoG Rampage V Extreme for gamers and X99-WS for workstations. And for Skylake, I like the Asus Z170-Deluxe but the Asus Z170 Maximus Hero has been rated one of the best overclockers so far in tests (and best for gaming) whilst the MSI Z170A Gaming M5 is more affordable and performs similarly in games. Soon more budget orientated Skylake motherboards will come out too.

And on storage, one SSD is pretty much as good as another (but I like Samsungs), and HDDs have become a two legged race between Seagate and Western Digital. These days it doesn't matter what HDD you get, you just get a big one for storage, then use the SSD for the OS and any games you want to load fast. 250GB SSD + 2TB HDD feels like the minimum for me, but I prefer 500GB SSDs and 3+TB HDDs because I fill both fast. In other news though, Intel-Micron have announced 3D XPoint memory which are apparently 1000 times faster, more reliable, and accurate (doesn't need TRIM) than the NAND and DRAM used in SSDs, and will be available to consumers as early as 2016. So expect next year to change up the whole market (similar to how M.2 is trying to change the SSD market).

Not much else for me to say based on the amount of information available about the user.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Madridi

Armadillo

Well-Known Member
Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2003
Messages
4,290
Trophies
3
XP
5,315
Country
United Kingdom
X99 boards are all much the same. Even the cheaper ones like mine (Gigabyte x99-sli), still get great reviews and just drop most of fluff/uneccesary stuff (like wireless for example, although they still have the slot and you can buy the module if you really want it). Even the ones that come with USB3.1 it's just an add on card, rather than being built in. The OC socket (2083 pins instead of 2011) has spread and even mine has it. Gigabyte X99 SOC Champion Intel X99 is widely regarded as best overclocking board, but that's in regards to squeezing every last mhz out and taking world records. Pretty much any board will get the cpu to 4-4.2. Unless water cooling, you'll hit the thermal limit on haswell-e well before any of the boards can't push it anymore.

On ram, if you go x99, the choice is made for you. 16GB. Quad channel setup, not seen a decent, 8GB quad channel kit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Madridi

Madridi

Card Collector
OP
Member
Joined
May 9, 2008
Messages
3,562
Trophies
2
Age
38
Location
Doha
XP
3,071
Country
Qatar
Thanks everyone. I noted all info, and I'll be choosing parts over the next few days and proposing them here. I would love to hear your comments on them :)

@Originality
Wow! That X99 is a beast! Too bad it's LGA 2011 (right?).. Since I'm going with Skylake, I have to go with a LGA 1151 .. I also like the z170 deluxe compared to Maximus hero. Any reason why I shouldn't go for it instead of Maximus?

That case looks sweet as well. I might be going for it.

Ram will be 16GB, CPU cooler will be air. Not going to mess with liquid coolers for now.

As for storage, yeah I'll have a 512GB ssd and a 2TB HDD, that's the setup I have in mind.


Thanks again!
 

Originality

Chibi-neko
Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2008
Messages
5,716
Trophies
1
Age
35
Location
London, UK
Website
metalix.deviantart.com
XP
1,904
Country
Maximus 8 Hero has better overclocking performance and gaming performance and a lower price point with a grey and red colour scheme. The Deluxe has lots of extra features like included WiFi/BT, two network controllers, two M.2 slots (one using a PCIe card), (arguably) better sound, and supports a U.2 device (if they ever catch on)... in black and white. But costs more.

Take your pick.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Madridi

Madridi

Card Collector
OP
Member
Joined
May 9, 2008
Messages
3,562
Trophies
2
Age
38
Location
Doha
XP
3,071
Country
Qatar
Maximus 8 Hero has better overclocking performance and gaming performance and a lower price point with a grey and red colour scheme. The Deluxe has lots of extra features like included WiFi/BT, two network controllers, two M.2 slots (one using a PCIe card), (arguably) better sound, and supports a U.2 device (if they ever catch on)... in black and white. But costs more.

Take your pick.
I think I will go for the Maximus for him. If this was for me though I would go for the deluxe. Thanks for the help :)
 

Joe88

[λ]
Global Moderator
Joined
Jan 6, 2008
Messages
12,738
Trophies
2
Age
36
XP
7,451
Country
United States
I have a x99 board right now (gigabyte x99-ud3p) still in the box, saving up for a 5820k and 8GB ddr4 (and I have to buy new mounting hardware for my hsf cm-v8 so it can mount on a 2011 skt)
The last time I actually updated anything was back in 2008, my hardware has become pretty dated also
 
  • Like
Reactions: Madridi

Site & Scene News

Popular threads in this forum

General chit-chat
Help Users
    Xdqwerty @ Xdqwerty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA63mm5FnMo&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Flostmediawiki.com...