Seeking Help For New PC Build

     My current PC is 6 years old and on its last legs, I'm looking to upgrade to the best possible gaming PC that will last for many years. This is my 1st post ever, anywhere, so I apologize in advance for the ignorance i'll clearly display in the following paragraphs.

Budget:
10,000...ish..because I'd rather play games then buy a house.

Expectations:
To have a stable, dependable PC that can withstand the abuse of an idiot gamer (me). I play a wide variety of games from the very demanding games to the itty bitty games, I seem to love them all, I have no life...

My setup won't be overly ostentatious, I plan on getting the Acer Predator X34 monitor unless someone can advise on a better choice, any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

I'd love a system that can keep a stable 60fps during the most intensive occurrences of gaming on any currently available and future games for years to come.

Usage:
100% gaming...because of that whole i'm an idiot and have no life thing.

Special Needs:
A lot of special needs because I'm a special kind of idiot, I'm a disabled vet and my dog and gaming are the only things that keep me sane. A system with a "special" kind of dependability and stability because although I love gaming, I'm an idiot and have no idea how to fix computers. If my game freezes, my 1st instinct is to give it hot water or free flying lessons...ok not really (well maybe a little) but apparently bad humor is part of being an idiot.

I'd like the PC to be a bit more powerful then what's needed, to have a "buffer" so not everything is being used at 100% if that makes any sense, in other words, I just want stability and to prolong the life of the PC because it will be used for many hours every day.

Saved Ticket #:
Digital Storm Saved Configuration 1463561

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Aventum 3 (BACKORDERED ETA Early August)
Exterior Finish: Black Metallic Matte Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 6950X 3.0GHz (10-Core) (Extreme Performance)
Motherboard: ASUS X99 RAMPAGE V EDITION 10 (Intel X99 Chipset) (Up to 4x PCI-E Devices) (RGB Lighting)
System Memory: 32GB DDR4 2666MHz Corsair Dominator Platinum DHX (Extreme-Performance)
Power Supply: 1500W Corsair AX1500i (Digitally Controlled Power)
Expansion Bay: Option Not Available
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 8x / CD-Writer 8x) (Internal)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (512GB Samsung 950 PRO) (NVM Express) (Extreme Performance)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (2TB Western Digital / Seagate / Hitachi)
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): 2x SLI Dual (GeForce GTX 1080 8GB (EVGA SC ACX 3.0) (VR Ready)
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster ZxR (Ultimate in Audio Playback and Creation)
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux PRO: Exotic Custom Cooling System (2x Graphics Cards + CPU)
HydroLux Tubing Style: HardLine Tubing (Requires HydroLux PRO Custom Liquid Cooling System)
HydroLux Fluid Color: Blue Fluid (Requires HydroLux Liquid Cooling System)
Cable Management: Exotic Cable Management - Blue - (Cable Combs with Custom Color Sleeved Extension Cables)
Chassis Fans: Corsair LED Airflow Performance Edition (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
Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU - Up to 4.8GHz (Depends on Cooling and Motherboard)
Boost Graphics Card(s): - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-Bit Edition)Specifications:

Originally posted by bud_weis_er       My current PC is 6 years old and on its last legs, I'm looking to upgrade to the best possible gaming PC that will last for many years. This is my 1st post ever, anywhere, so I apologize in advance for the ignorance i'll clearly display in the following paragraphs. Budget: 10,000...ish..because I'd rather play games then buy a house. Expectations: To have a stable, dependable PC that can withstand the abuse of an idiot gamer (me). I play a wide variety of games from the very demanding games to the itty bitty games, I seem to love them all, I have no life... My setup won't be overly ostentatious, I plan on getting the Acer Predator X34 monitor unless someone can advise on a better choice, any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance. I'd love a system that can keep a stable 60fps during the most intensive occurrences of gaming on any currently available and future games for years to come. Usage: 100% gaming...because of that whole i'm an idiot and have no life thing. Special Needs: A lot of special needs because I'm a special kind of idiot, I'm a disabled vet and my dog and gaming are the only things that keep me sane. A system with a "special" kind of dependability and stability because although I love gaming, I'm an idiot and have no idea how to fix computers. If my game freezes, my 1st instinct is to give it hot water or free flying lessons...ok not really (well maybe a little) but apparently bad humor is part of being an idiot. I'd like the PC to be a bit more powerful then what's needed, to have a "buffer" so not everything is being used at 100% if that makes any sense, in other words, I just want stability and to prolong the life of the PC because it will be used for many hours every day. Saved Ticket #: Digital Storm Saved Configuration 1463561 Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Aventum 3 (BACKORDERED ETA Early August) Exterior Finish: Black Metallic Matte Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 6950X 3.0GHz (10-Core) (Extreme Performance) Motherboard: ASUS X99 RAMPAGE V EDITION 10 (Intel X99 Chipset) (Up to 4x PCI-E Devices) (RGB Lighting) System Memory: 32GB DDR4 2666MHz Corsair Dominator Platinum DHX (Extreme-Performance) Power Supply: 1500W Corsair AX1500i (Digitally Controlled Power) Expansion Bay: Option Not Available Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 8x / CD-Writer 8x) (Internal) Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (512GB Samsung 950 PRO) (NVM Express) (Extreme Performance) Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (2TB Western Digital / Seagate / Hitachi) 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): 2x SLI Dual (GeForce GTX 1080 8GB (EVGA SC ACX 3.0) (VR Ready) Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster ZxR (Ultimate in Audio Playback and Creation) HPC Processor: - No Thanks Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux PRO: Exotic Custom Cooling System (2x Graphics Cards + CPU) HydroLux Tubing Style: HardLine Tubing (Requires HydroLux PRO Custom Liquid Cooling System) HydroLux Fluid Color: Blue Fluid (Requires HydroLux Liquid Cooling System) Cable Management: Exotic Cable Management - Blue - (Cable Combs with Custom Color Sleeved Extension Cables) Chassis Fans: Corsair LED Airflow Performance Edition (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 Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU - Up to 4.8GHz (Depends on Cooling and Motherboard) Boost Graphics Card(s): - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-Bit Edition)Specifications:

Budget = too high not needed but good to have


Expectations = unrealistic / Special Needs: no pc is gonna be 100% reliable, whether I'm building your pc myself or advising you on DS build, the first thing I'm gonna tell you is that pc parts go bad for no reason, your ram, ssd/hhd/fans/pumps/gpu/cpu/ you name it, if its in the pc it can stop working one day, and the rule of "keep it simple stupid" really applies here, more parts = more thing that can go wrong.

Specially if you choose liquid cooling.

Now I'm not saying it will happen, I'm just saying know that it can and I promise you at least one thing will go bad in the next 4 - 5 years, they just do.

This is how it works for me when I'm building or buying a pc for myself, I got with parts I know to be most reliable but still expect to work on my pc on something.

As far as power or future proof goes, the best you can do is get the most powerful cpu right now and then upgrade gpus every 2 years, no mattter what I give you, in 2 to 3 years its gonna fall short, that is how that works, the games become more demanding, resolutions go higher and the gpus can't keep up, only way around them is to upgrade gpus.

Giving your pc a "buffer" of power in no shape or form has any bearing on your cpu/pc's life. the only place you want head room is in the psu which we give that everybody when budget allows, your budget allows us to give everybody headroom lol.

OK having said all of that I like to first say:

Thank you for your service

Its an honor to help you pic your pc. If you leave close to me I would be more then happy to help you with your future pc problems. I'm in the DC area.

Now as for your build you have picked the 10 core x99 which is great but just know that we are on the skylake architecture z170 which has 4 core variations, the x99 is on the brodwell which is the old architecture, but it won't be replaced till next year, thats just fyi.

Now for pure gaming the skylate 6700K will go great and its all you need, 99% of the games out there won't even use all 4 cores.

Also let me tell you that I love cpu cores because I use them like a mule, so you are talking to somebody who loves power and more cores but let me tell you more cores only gets you so far, your pc will be long in the tooth cpu-wise in 5 to 6 years max and you will need to upgrade the whole thing, since upgrading cpu pretty much requires many new parts you already have, mobo/cpu/ram.

Having said that let me know if you still want to stay with the 10core x99 or move to the 4 core 6700K, whichever one you are happy with is fine, I'm just giving you some info to think about.

Edited by DST4ME - 02 Aug 2016 at 5:57pm

Originally posted by bud_weis_er       Firstly, thank you very much for the informative reply, I really appreciate it, this is exactly the kind of help I was hoping for.      This is strange though, you're referring to options that weren't available when I selected the options in the config number I gave. What I did was I chose to view the available desktops > Aventum 3 > Select and Build > chose "ultimate" option and went from there selecting the options you see in the config #. I didn't see any option consisting of the Skylake architecture.      This is probably all on my end and I apologize so that being said, considering there are options available I for some reason cannot see, is it possible you could send me a top of the line build for gaming with the Skylake architecture and we can adjust from there? If possible, I greatly appreciate it, thank you.

Start with a good version in the configurator to be able to choose z710/skylake. The higher versions of the system will be limited to x99 and Broadwell-E in the configurator

Originally posted by bud_weis_er       Firstly, thank you very much for the informative reply, I really appreciate it, this is exactly the kind of help I was hoping for.      This is strange though, you're referring to options that weren't available when I selected the options in the config number I gave. What I did was I chose to view the available desktops > Aventum 3 > Select and Build > chose "ultimate" option and went from there selecting the options you see in the config #. I didn't see any option consisting of the Skylake architecture.      This is probably all on my end and I apologize so that being said, considering there are options available I for some reason cannot see, is it possible you could send me a top of the line build for gaming with the Skylake architecture and we can adjust from there? If possible, I greatly appreciate it, thank you.

Again Its an honor.

Its a bit confusing for a first time user, you picked the ultimate which starts with the x99, you want to go with the good which has the 6700K.

Now I made this build trying to keep in mind that you want as little headache as possible to I'm going with "keep it simple stupid" while not losing any power/performance for your use, so for example we are going air cooled, less to worry about but around the same performance as far as getting an oc of 4.2 - 4.4 GHz which is way more then what we need, Also I kept the aventum case in this build but I would rather put this system in a the velox for better airflow/temps, so please let me know what you think about that:

Aventum:





Here you go Ticket# 1463697 --- $7,142.00 (To see this build click here)

Copy of Specifications:
Chassis
Chassis Model: Aventum 3 (BACKORDERED ETA Early August)
Exterior Finish: Black Metallic Matte Finish

Core Components
Processor: Intel Core i7 6700K 4.0GHz (Codename Skylake) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Z170-DELUXE (Intel Z170 Chipset) (Up to 5x PCI-E Devices)
System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series
Power Supply: 1200W Corsair AX1200i (Digitally Controlled Power)


Storage / Connectivity
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 8x / CD-Writer 8x) (Internal)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (512GB Samsung 950 PRO) (NVM Express) (Extreme Performance)
Storage Set 2: 1x SSD (2TB Samsung 850 EVO)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)

Graphics / Multimedia
Graphics Card(s): 2x SLI Dual (GeForce GTX TITAN X 12GB (Pascal) (NVIDIA Founders Edition) (VR Ready)

Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio

Digital Storm Engineering
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D15 (Extreme Performance)
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: Exotic Cable Management - Red - (Cable Combs with Custom Color Sleeved Extension Cables)
Chassis Fans: Corsair Airflow Performance Edition (Up to 6 Fans)
Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled LED Lighting System (Multiple color options and lighting effects)
Airflow Control: Digital Storm Thermal Management Control Board & Software

Digital Storm TwisterBoost Technology
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU - Up to 4.4GHz (Depends on Cooling and Motherboard)

Software
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional (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 15-20 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)



Velox:






Here you go Ticket# 1463700 --- $6,843.00 (To see this build click here)

Copy of Specifications:
Chassis
Chassis Model: Digital Storm Velox

Core Components
Processor: Intel Core i7 6700K 4.0GHz (Codename Skylake) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Z170-DELUXE (Intel Z170 Chipset) (Up to 5x PCI-E Devices)

System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series
Power Supply: 1200W Corsair AX1200i (Digitally Controlled Power)


Storage / Connectivity
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 8x / CD-Writer 8x) (Internal)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (512GB Samsung 950 PRO) (NVM Express) (Extreme Performance)

Storage Set 2: 1x SSD (2TB Samsung 850 EVO)

Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)

Graphics / Multimedia
Graphics Card(s): 2x SLI Dual (GeForce GTX TITAN X 12GB (Pascal) (NVIDIA Founders Edition) (VR Ready)

Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio

Digital Storm Engineering
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D15 (Extreme Performance)

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: Exotic Cable Management - Red - (Cable Combs with Custom Color Sleeved Extension Cables)

Chassis Fans: Corsair Airflow Performance Edition (Up to 6 Fans)

Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled LED Lighting System (Multiple color options and lighting effects)


Digital Storm TwisterBoost Technology
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU - Up to 4.4GHz (Depends on Cooling and Motherboard)

Software
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional (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)


Now keep a few things in mind, the warranty is 3 year labor 1 year part, so if you want higher warranty which if you ask me you do, go with the highest part warranty you can.

once you get this pc I'm gonna ask you to come here so we can help you set your software, for example do not install or use the mcafee av, I have a much better lighter/faster one for you to use and many more, so for now let get the config the way you want it and then we go from there.

Also depending on your use we may want to go 32GB of ram vs 16GB.

Edited by DST4ME - 02 Aug 2016 at 7:05pm

A few note:

The Extreme board is only useful if you are going to use the storage configuration I had of the two Intel 750 SSD drives in RAID. I did that because of this: http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Storage/Triple-M2-Samsung-950-Pro-Z170-PCIe-NVMe-RAID-Tested-Why-So-Snappy. You can actually do three Intel 750 SSD drives in RAID if you special order the Asus Maximus VIII Hero Alpha board. Otherwise, if you're just going to have the 950 Pro drive, I'd just get the Maximus VIII Hero or Z170 Deluxe if you need built-in WiFi. The Maximus VIII Extreme was really designed for liquid nitrogen cooling to -180degC, which you (and 99.9999% of computer users) are not doing.

You really only need 1000W PSU. Anything more is overkill and would be only useful for keeping the fan off as long as possible...but if you wanted to go that route, I'd suggest special ordering the EVGA SuperNOVA 1600 T2.

If you want a large HDD, go with a Western Digital Black drive. They are a good deal more reliable than Seagate. But SSD's are also coming down in price and the performance of them is worlds ahead of HDD's.

Sound cards are not needed. On-board audio is excellent these days. If you want the best audio, get a great DAC/Amp or feed the audio through to a receiver over HDMI.

I'd recommend seeing if you can get an EK monoblock for whatever motherboard you get. They are a definite step up from the Swiftech CPU waterblocks they usually use. This may have to be special ordered.

Edited by  - 02 Aug 2016 at 10:02pm

Originally posted by bud_weis_er I really do appreciate the help, I didn't expect this level of help, I honestly expected only trolls because I'm an idiot with computers but have received nothing but kindness and very informative help, thank you very much for that and having so much patience dealing with someone like me, it means a lot.

Welcome to the DS forums. Allow me to thank you for your service as well.

We have hardware gurus, software gurus, hobbyists, gamers, over-clockers, enthusiasts and a very large group of people who know more about computers and stuff in this forum than most any where else. They all love to help.

What we don't have are trolls. They are simply not tolerated. And will be exorcised without prejudice or mercy.

Welcome to DS Bud_Weis_ER.

Thank you for your service and hope you get the pc of your dreams.

Thank you all very much for the additional advice. Again, I apologize for being so clueless and wasting so much of your time.


A lot of advice was given on liquid cooling. I'm still leaning towards getting it but as far as the options go, the hard line option looks just amazing, the system itself already looks beautiful. I'd reeeeeeally like the hard line but if it's truly a pain and too much for a very limited in experience person like me, I'll choose the flexible tubing, i'm not just an idiot but a stubborn one apparently, I apologize for that.

I'm not clear on what really affects system memory, from what I've read I only need a large amount if i'm doing video editing and such which I never do. I do alt-tab a lot, I always have things running in the backround such as Skype, browsers, etc and occasionally I'll run fraps to record something in a game and that's about it.

I chose stage 2 overclock of the CPU because I read a small amount on gpu's outpacing and being bottlenecked by slow CPU's so I figured, faster the better but lets be real, I have no clue about gpu limitations, bottlenecks, etc so any advice/explanation on that would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for the advice on the APC 1500VA Uninterrupted Power & Surge Conditioner - BR1500G. I live in Montana, power here cuts out a lot due to high winds and bad weather so if any better options come to mind, please let me know.

From all the great advice so far, a few items have been suggested that have to be specially ordered. An EK monoblock for the motherboard, a drain valve for the liquid cooling system and an HB bridge for the 2 video cards. I'm not sure how ordering special items works with Digital Storm, an explanation of that process would be greatly appreciated. Any kind of item that is available that has to be specially ordered that would be an upgrade, I would really appreciate any kind of suggestions, information, etc.

In an earlier post, this was suggested. http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Storage/Triple-M2-Samsung-950-Pro-Z170-PCIe-NVMe-RAID-Tested-Why-So-Snappy. Although it looks amazing, I'm not sure it's a wise choice for me or maybe I'm overthinking it and it's not all that complicated, I'm just not sure. Again, any advice and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


I updated the build a little bit, not much has changed, I'm at this point just following all of the expert advice and I am open to any and all suggestions. This will be a very expensive system so I'll be taking my time, listening to all of you and soaking up as much information as possible, thank you all so much for the advice so far.

I apologize for all of the odd requests for information, etc. I'm new to all of this and I simply just don't know any of the rules/unwritten rules for posting on forums. I don't mean to offend and/or upset anyone and if I'm out of line in anyway, please let me know and I'll adapt accordingly. Again, thank you all for dealing with me.


Digital Storm Saved Configuration 1464046

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Aventum 3 (BACKORDERED ETA Early August)
Exterior Finish: Black Metallic Matte Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 6700K 4.0GHz (Codename Skylake) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS MAXIMUS VIII EXTREME (Intel Z170 Chipset) (Up to 4x PCI-E Devices)
System Memory: 32GB DDR4 2666MHz Corsair Dominator Platinum DHX (Extreme-Performance)
Power Supply: 1200W Corsair AX1200i (Digitally Controlled Power)
Expansion Bay: Option Not Available
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 8x / CD-Writer 8x) (Internal)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (512GB Samsung 950 PRO) (NVM Express) (Extreme Performance)
Storage Set 2: 1x SSD (2TB Samsung 850 EVO)
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): 2x SLI Dual (GeForce GTX TITAN X 12GB (Pascal) (NVIDIA Founders Edition) (VR Ready)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux PRO: Exotic Custom Cooling System (2x Graphics Cards + CPU)
HydroLux Tubing Style: Flexible Tubing (Requires HydroLux Liquid Cooling System) ---but reeeeally wants hardline tubing
HydroLux Fluid Color: Blue Fluid (Requires HydroLux Liquid Cooling System)
Cable Management: Exotic Cable Management - Blue - (Cable Combs with Custom Color Sleeved Extension Cables)
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: Stage 2: Overclock CPU - Up to 4.8GHz (Depends on Cooling and Motherboard)
Boost Graphics Card(s): - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)

Thank you for referring me to the APC website, they squared me away with the perfect UPS in minutes.

I'm getting close to being good to go and ordering this build thanks to all of the help I've received, i'm very grateful.

The last thing I need help with is choosing a monitor setup that will do this system justice. I was at first thinking the Acer Predator X34 but after all the help and advice, it's clear I don't have a clue what is a good/bad choice. I read the post in the hardware forum about the 4k 144hz monitor in the works but I don't think I have the patience to wait but if that's really the best and only real option, please let me know. I'd love a 3 monitor setup but 1 really nice monitor would be just fine as well. Any suggestions would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.

I talked with a rep from APC, I let him know the PSU (1200w) of the system and also the power consumption details of an Acer Predator X34 monitor and he linked this UPS unit specifically which is a whopping $899.
http://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/products/APC-Smart-UPS-2200VA-LCD-120V/P-SMT2200#BVRRWidgetID
I apologize, I do not know how to create a clickable link.

They have many different sizes, from rack mounted units to Towers like the 1 I linked and you were absolutely right, they get very expensive, very quickly. I will be doing additional research before I buy the UPS to make sure i'm choosing the right size, etc but for me, a UPS is a must because I lose power here a lot due to bad weather and high winds.

I appreciate the advice on the monitor and i'll be waiting, thank you again for steering me into the right direction.

Where did you go? I have some questions and info for you

Edited by DST4ME - 04 Aug 2016 at 12:52pm

Great also make sure its nema 20 I believe that is going to be your ups's power cord connection.

So I'm looking at early review of titan x and I'm not so sure about their performance over price, might be better to go sli 1080 but it maybe a driver thing, so we wait to see how they turn out. Before you get this thing check with us on that.

That is pretty much it I think, I wanted to make sure you have a nema 20 for the ups and the new info about the gpu.

Its gonna be a few days before everybody comes out with the benches but if a driver is gonna bring forth more power that is worth anything, we would not know that till the drivers come out.

Thanks alot DST4ME for referring me to that information, I appreciate it, i'm definitely a bit conflicted on how to proceed.

Besides the GPU subject, yesterday I went back to the configurator and loaded up the last build we set up and being clueless how to request specific items via special order, ie, the EK monoblock for the motherboard, an HB bridge and a drain valve for the liquid cooling, all of which was suggested I get from some of the earlier very helpful posts, I went to the help option while configuring the pc, gave my email and config number and requested there if those items were available. It's been awhile now and no response, I'm curious if I went to the wrong place and need to go somewhere else? Maybe I'm just being impatient, not sure, any help would be appreciated, thanks.