BUILD HELP! Must escape the Mac Flocks!

Please help a noob who has been away from the PC realm for too long, wandering amongst the flocks of Mac heads. My last PC build was at least 10 years ago. I became very comfortable swapping, upgrading and tweaking my systems, but have not had a working PC for over 5 years now. I've been using my iMac for everything from photo and video editing, to general day to day web surfing and other mundane chores. It's great for that, but for gaming? You can all stop laughing now...I have. My PC usage has been limited to work issued laptops.

My son is a big gamer and has finally gotten me back into the fold. I'm looking for advice on a new, killer, brag-worthy system. Researching the HELL out of anything I buy is hard wired into me. I want to know WHY I'm choosing one feature over the other, but it's been so long since I did this with a PC, that I don't know the right questions to ask and might not even understand the answers yet. I've decided to go with a Digital Storm system, though the setup is yet to be determined. I have two systems I've cobbled together here, but don't have strong inclinations toward either one.

What's the pro/con of the X99 MB vs the Z170 or the i7 6700 vs the 5820? What's the best GPU? 970, 980, dual?

I'll appreciate ANY advice or insight you can offer. I'll post both builds for your reference.

Thank you!!!

Budget:
$2500-$3000

Expectations:
I want to experience the new sophisticated gamesI've missed for so many years!

Usage:
Gaming, first and foremost, but I'll have to do some MS Office and Taxes too :( I would like to be able to play Star Citizen, Fallout 4, Skyrim, etc with as high a resolution as possible. A new monitor may be needed.

Special Needs:
Dusty old house and dog hair

System #1
Saved Ticket #:1352034

Specifications:
Configuration Code: 1350055
Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,772.00

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Pre-built Digital Storm Bolt 3
Exterior Finish: Black Brushed Aluminum Hairline Finish
Side Window: Edge to Edge Premium Acrylic
Processor: Intel Core i7 6700K 4.0GHz (Codename Skylake) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z170N-Gaming 5 (Intel Z170 Chipset) (Mini-ITX) (Up to 1x PCI-E Device)
System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series
Power Supply: 600W SilverStone SX600-G (Gold Plus Rated) (Supports up to GTX TITAN X)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 8x / CD-Writer 8x)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (250GB Samsung 850 EVO)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (2TB Western Digital - Black Edition) <br><strong></strong>
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB (Includes PhysX)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Corsair H100i GTX - 240mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (Extreme Performance)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
Chassis Fans: Standard Black 120mm Fans
Internal Lighting: Software Controlled Internal + Front Panel RGB LED Lighting (Requires Airflow Control Upgrade)
Airflow Control: Digital Storm Thermal Management Control Board & Software
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Standard Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Automatic Overclocking
Boost Graphics Card(s): - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value)
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Portable Gaming: - No Thanks
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)

System #2

Configuration Code: 1350064
Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,635.00

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Digital Storm Apollo (White)
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 5820K 3.3GHz (Six-Core) (Unlocked CPU)
Motherboard: ASUS X99-A USB 3.1 (Intel X99 Chipset) (Up to 4x PCI-E Devices)
System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series
Power Supply: 750W EVGA SuperNOVA (750 B1)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (250GB Samsung 850 EVO)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (2TB Western Digital - Black Edition) <br><strong></strong>
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB (VR Ready)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 240mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (Extreme-Performance Edition)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Airflow Control: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU - Up to 4.4GHz (Depends on Cooling and Motherboard)
Boost Graphics Card(s): - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value)
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Portable Gaming: - No Thanks
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)

Hey DS, Thanks for sharing your advice. I've decided to keep my iMac to do the picture and video work, as I already know the system and have invested in the software. My new DS will get to be exclusively "The Fun" computer. Does that change any of your recommendations? Are there any places to save money to leave a meager budget for a better monitor, or is that something I should leave until later and put my money into the system itself now?

Can you explain what UEFI is and why it's important to consider. The more research I do, the more I realize how much I DON'T know!

Thank you very much fro your help!

what he ^ said

Asus just happens to have one of the more user-friendly UEFI of the motherboard manufacturers, although the others (MSI, Gigabyte, etc.) have gotten better. 

While usable, the Gigabyte UEFI still has some work that needs to be done to improve fan control.

In Anandtech's review of the top-of-the-line Gigabyte Z170 motherboard, this is what they had to say:

GIGABYTE is still lacking an interactive fan control option in the BIOS, while the other manufacturers have such a system with several points users can modify with a mouse. Instead from GIGABYTE we have a series of options relating to PWM/°C, which is a confusing metric if you do not understand fans. To explain it, basically the system can apply a value of 0 PWM to 255 PWM to the fan which relates to the fan voltage. This scale is not always linear, and what makes it frustrating is that the fan’s response is also non-linear to the voltage applied. Technically GIGABYTE could detect the fan RPM as a function of PWM and do the mathematics to provide gradients with actual RPM values, but instead we get basic PWM values. Just to put it into context, some fans are at 0 RPM until 40% PWM (40% of 255 is 102), and then shoot to 60% of their peak RPM speed. So at a gradient of 1 PWM value per degree, you would only see the fan turn on at 102 degrees, which by then it’s too late as the machine might have shut down due to overheating. Fan speed control is a very easy concept to fix, but for whatever reason is left like this.

And this was the comment on the UEFI BIOS overall:

It is no secret that GIGABYTE’s BIOSes, since the inception of the graphical BIOS, have been difficult to assimilate. Combinations of layout, interaction, color and choice of options has plagued most of the samples we have received over the years, and prove to be a barrier to a solid award beyond a mere recommendation. I have heard the line that ‘perhaps I’m not used to it’, or that there is some unconscious bias towards this way of thinking, but there’s a simpler explanation: it remains difficult for new users to understand and can irritate enthusiasts who have to cycle through menus. While it sounds harsh, and I know there are users (namely extreme overclockers for the most part) who enjoy the interface, but I would argue that the market is beyond a select few and either compromises or paradigm shifts have to happen. One potential avenue is that it is time to bring a user experience expert and designer on board, rather than limit layout ideas to a sphere of engineers. GIGABYTE is not unique in this regard, but it is a way of thinking that most are slowly starting to realize actually makes a lot of sense to improve the user experience rather than the pure engineer experience.

Everyone is definitely entitled to their preferences, but we want to alert people, especially those wanting a simpler experience buying through a place like DS, to potential frustrations they may have down the road.

The PC-O5S case can handle one 3.5" drive behind the motherboard tray. It looks like you can move the GPU forward (with it water cooled, this is less of an issue as it doesn't need air flow) and fit in a couple more behind it, as well.

http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-o5s/

Edit: Keep in mind the HDD cage is a no-go with a full-length GPU.

Edited by  - 13 Jan 2016 at 12:06pm

With a larger case you can drop the price down and gain expansion possibilities. This uses AIO coolers for both the CPU and GPU:

Configuration URL:     https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=1355802
Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Digital Storm Coridium
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Side Window: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 6700K 4.0GHz (Codename Skylake) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Z170 PRO GAMING (Intel Z170 Chipset) (Up to 5x PCI-E Devices)
System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series
Power Supply: 850W EVGA SuperNOVA
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: - No Thanks
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (250GB Samsung 850 EVO)
Storage Set 2: - No Thanks
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB (EVGA HYBRID Edition) (VR Ready)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Corsair H110i GT - 280mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (Extreme Performance)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled LED Lighting System (Multiple color options and lighting effects)
Airflow Control: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Standard Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Automatic Overclocking
Boost Graphics Card(s): - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value)
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Portable Gaming: - No Thanks
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)