In Stage 1, but still thinking...Post Date: 2016-04-22 |
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SeanF
Newbie Joined: 22 Apr 2016 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3 |
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Topic: In Stage 1, but still thinking... Posted: 22 Apr 2016 at 7:48pm |
Budget:
$3000-ish, $3500 max. Expectations: Double monitor for now, expand to larger, higher quality ones later. Usage: WoW, Starcraft II, ESO, amateur video editing Special Needs: As with my last two systems, I'd like it to be 4-5 years before I can no longer use "Ultra" settings on current games. As my 7-year-old system seems to be giving me a new problem every other month, it's definitely time to get a new one. After fussing over this for a couple weeks, I've placed an order for the system listed below. Thing is, I'm still a bit ambivalent about a couple things and since it's only in Stage 1 and there's still time to do something about it, I thought I'd ask here. So first, I've been switching between the 1000W Corsair HX1000i power supply - with it's nice buffer for future expansion potential and good reviews for efficiency - and saving $150 by going with the 750W EVGA SuperNOVA (750 B1), then replacing it later if the need arises (Future SLI, perhaps.) All or nothing on this one, I don't want to take half measures. Is the 750 B1 decent enough to last, or is it just barely adequate now and will be over its head with just a couple new add-ons? (Soon to add: the hard drive listed below, and probably the BD burner salvaged from my previous computer) Second, I've been impressed by what I've read about Seagate's hybrid SSHD drives, so I've ordered my system with only a 250Gb SSD, figuring to add a 2TB SSHD right away once I get it (since it's not already on DS's options list) Anyone have any thoughts on this scheme? Finally, any other thoughts would be welcome. I don't mind poking the price a bit higher if it's worthwhile (yes, I have some "bling" in the mix here, so "worthwhile" can be stretched a little) Saved Ticket #: 1403849 Specifications: System Configuration: 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: GIGABYTE GA-X99-SLI (Intel X99 Chipset) (Up to 4x PCI-E Devices) System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2800MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series Power Supply: 750W EVGA SuperNOVA (750 B1) Expansion Bay: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black) Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) (Internal) 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 (ASUS Strix Edition) (VR Ready) Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio HPC Processor: - No Thanks Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Corsair H100i GTX - 240mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler HydroLux Tubing Style: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected HydroLux Fluid Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected Cable Management: Premium Cable Management (Strategically Routed & Organized for Airflow) Chassis Fans: Standard LED Performance Fans (Blue) (Up to 6 Fans) Internal Lighting: Digital Storm RGB LED Lighting System (Requires Thermal Management Control Board & Software) Airflow Control: Digital Storm Thermal Management Control Board & Software Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks LaserMark: - No Thanks CPU Boost: Standard Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Automatic Overclocking Graphics Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) OS Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition) |
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db188
DS Veteran Joined: 29 Jul 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2115 |
Quote Reply Posted: 23 Apr 2016 at 12:30am |
welcome and congrats on your decision to go with DS!
with the drop in NAND prices there's really no point in a hybrid drive. ssd's are faster, more reliable (no moving parts) and affordable these days. with so many external storage options, you don't even need a second drive inside your pc these days either. you can store your data on the cloud or an external drive (i use both). i'd recommend more capacity on your ssd (the os won't take up much space, but games are only getting bigger). if i were you, based on your stated needs, i'd recommend switching to a Skylake/Z170 config. unless you're configuring a multi-gpu beast gaming pc or heavy workstation there's no need for Haswell-E/X99. not much difference in price (especially with the lower end Haswell-E proc sku). for light amateur workloads (rendering and photo/video editing) a quad core is more than sufficient. as for adding a second gpu, you won't need to. unless you plan on 4K gaming there's no need for more than 1 980ti. i think even a surround (triple monitors) setup up to 2K is fine on a single card. since you won't need a second (or more) card, you can forget about the 1000W psu. even a heavily oc'd single card+cpu system won't pull more than 700W from the wall under heavy loads. i'm curious as to why you went with a dead end operating system. since you're starting with a fresh build why not jump on the new OS? it's had some time to mature and work out the worst bugs. Edited by db188 - 23 Apr 2016 at 12:35am |
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Aventum 3
I7-6700K Gigabyte G1 Z170X Gaming GT 16GB Corsair Dominator 3000MHz Corsair Hx1000i 1000W Samsung M.2 980 Pro 2TB;Samsung 850 EVO 1TB MSI RTX 3080 Ventus OC 10G LHR Gigabyte M28U 4K |
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 23 Apr 2016 at 3:20am |
The EVGA 750 watt B1 supply is a bronze efficiency with a 5 year warranty. Also semi modular, meaning the mobo cables are hard wired and the rest plug in. I would opt for the other 750watt, or the 850 watt for more headroom. For the added $34 you get a fully modular, Gold efficiency with a 10 year warranty. The b1 is good enough, however. Check with DS about the other 750 specs. It's not fully spec' but in the past , the G1 , I believe.
Edited by bprat22 - 23 Apr 2016 at 3:59am |
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FrankW
DS Veteran Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2254 |
Quote Reply Posted: 23 Apr 2016 at 5:58am |
Hi SeanF,
I put together a suggested build based on your comments. This build will handle everything you want to do. It is only $72 more than your build with some better features. It has a better PSU, better SSD, a very good HDD, the same GPU, maybe a better motherboard, much better CPU cooling and a Stage 1 overclock. Overall I think it is a nice balanced system. Make changes as you see fit. Frank Config # 1404204 Cost: $2,832.00 Chassis Model: Digital Storm Apollo (White) Core Components 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 2800MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series Power Supply: 850W EVGA SuperNOVA Storage / Connectivity Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) (Internal) Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (512GB Samsung 850 PRO) Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (2TB Western Digital - Black Edition) Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Graphics / Multimedia Graphics Card(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB (ASUS Strix Edition) (VR Ready) Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Digital Storm Engineering Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Corsair H115i - 280mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler Cable Management: Premium Cable Management (Strategically Routed & Organized for Airflow) Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU - Up to 4.4GHz (Depends on Cooling and Motherboard) Software 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) Accessories / Goodies Customer Care 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) Edited by FrankW - 23 Apr 2016 at 6:00am |
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SeanF
Newbie Joined: 22 Apr 2016 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3 |
Quote Reply Posted: 24 Apr 2016 at 12:12am |
Thanks for the replies.
You all raise a very good point - in my last two systems, I've never felt held back by my processor; it was always the GPU, then the RAM, that needed upgrading to squeeze another year or two of life out of the systems. That said, though, with the prices being pretty similar (based on my web searching I see component price comparison is close to equal (higher-end boards aside)), why choose the seemingly less powerful and less expandable Z170/6700k over the X99/5820k? (Now, DS's price is about $185 higher for my current X99 build than an otherwise equal Z170 rig, so I am definitely considering this change and rolling it into something else - but I am curious about the reasons.) Better efficiency, longer warranty power supply sounds good; no need for considering a second card anytime soon (if ever), agreed; larger SSD... okay, looking at this one to see what I like best. Good stuff, I'll definitely be making some tweaks to this order. Regarding Windows 7: My current rig is on Vista (wasn't broken, so I never changed it). For years I've heard nothing but good about 7 but very little good about 10 since its release (and nothing good at all about 8 - but that's beside the point). Granted, much of the loudest Win10 squawk was in the first few months as bugs were being worked out. Aside from this, I have concerns with back-compatibility with some of my older software, and I'm intending to set up a dual-boot with 10. Since 7 is getting to be harder to come by and DS offers it, I figure on getting it now, then add (not upgrade to) a copy of 10 later. - Sean F. |
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SeanF
Newbie Joined: 22 Apr 2016 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3 |
Quote Reply Posted: 24 Apr 2016 at 1:04pm |
Realized that if I really want to maintain a copy of Win7, I should probably go the other way around with it and have 10 installed in the new build and add 7 to a hard drive partition via a full, non-OEM copy that's not locked to the hardware. Another change to make.
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db188
DS Veteran Joined: 29 Jul 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2115 |
Quote Reply Posted: 24 Apr 2016 at 3:12pm |
i was a W7 die hard myself (skipped 8 and 8.1 on my personal rigs) and had a hard time jumping on board with W10 despite all of my buddies telling me it was great. i'm glad i waited, but with the ne Aventum build i decided to go with W10. i haven't had many issues with it, certainly no serious issues. i don't use a lot of really old programs, but every direct x 9 game i have runs fine.
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Aventum 3
I7-6700K Gigabyte G1 Z170X Gaming GT 16GB Corsair Dominator 3000MHz Corsair Hx1000i 1000W Samsung M.2 980 Pro 2TB;Samsung 850 EVO 1TB MSI RTX 3080 Ventus OC 10G LHR Gigabyte M28U 4K |
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