Hi all, GTA V, Witcher 3 and DA: Inquisition all tell me my old gaming PC isn't up to the job so it's time for a new build. Can you all have a quick look at the spec and tell me if I'm missing something or if you'd recommend changing something? Edit: Formatted to match forum rules. Budget: <£900 Main uses of intended build: The rig will be primarily used for gaming. Bit of Handbrake encoding maybe. Parts required: Current part list is... Processor:Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO MB: Asus Z170 PRO GAMING ATX RAM: Kingston Savage 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 OS HD: Samsung M.2. A 850 EVO or SM951... Not sure. Gaming HD: Mix of existing SSD's i.e. Samsung Pro 840, Crucial SSD, etc. Storage HD: WD Green 2Tb probably Graphics: MSI GTX 970 GAMING or Asus STRIX 970 Case: Corsair 200R PSU: Corsair 650i Previous build information (list details of parts): I'll just be keeping a Samsung Pro 840 128Gb SSD for a gaming drive. Might also keep a Crucial 256Gb SSD but not sure yet. Monitor resolution: 1920*1080 Storage requirements: 1 * M.2 for OS, 2 * SSD for gaming, 1 * HDD for storage (~2Tb) Will you be overclocking: No Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers): Skylake, USB 3.1, M.2. Extra information about desired system: I like the new toys so things like M.2 SSD, USB 3.1 etc are all nice to haves. Going to run at standard HD, no 4k ambitions yet and no G-sync etc. I'm open to all suggestions but, keeping to budget, it's probably going to be the single 970 for the long term, no SLI plans. Cheers SW
I've updated the post to forum formatting roles (sorry). Either this was offending people or my build is perfect
can't speak for witcher 3 or da:inquisition, but can tell you for 1080p, gta v will run on a 4GB gtx 960 perfectly well...maybe not all settings maxed, but it looks really good on my kids monitor. i got a gtx970 for my pc, and my kids gtx 570 went a little haywire and got him the 960 and looks as good...fwiw... also, if you plan on overclocking, i'd get a beefier cooler...not that the evo can't handle it, but temps might get a little higher than you would prefer...someone with skylake/evo build could be a better source, but i5+ with decent oc has been a little too much for the evo to handle well without getting a little noisy in my limited experience with it...it is cheap though, so if thats what you need, that and the arctic i30 are good bets...might also check my post about the gelid snow storm from what ive read so far, anything above ddr4 2400 is wasted money, so if you can save a few bucks that route, you should consider it edit: gelid snowstorm post here
The CM Hyper 212 EVO can handle a surprising amount of load, actually. It's not a bad cooler at all, especially considering its price. I can't see anything on there that I'd disagree with, and it looks like a good build for the money. That motherboard isn't bad for the money and it offers what you want, so I'd say pull the trigger.
yeah, not saying it dont, but if ur dropping money on the latest tech, 60 C under load from a fairly audible cooler wouldnt cut it for me. not if im dropping the jack he is anyway...
60c is cool on an Intel chip! I wouldn't say he's dropping *that* much money on the rig, considering it is a full rig with a GPU that takes up almost 1/3 of his budget.
Cheers for the replies guys. Overclocking isn't really on the horizon rather then the odd tweak here and there. Maybe the right XMP profile etc. is as far as I'll go initially whilst the rig is nice and new. I read somewhere that the 2666 RAM was best suited to the processor, can't remember where... Might do a little digging on that matter. The MB was the area I was most unsure about. I ALWAYS overspec the MB and never get the full potential during it's life. I almost put in a model with two M.2 slots so I could RAID 0 them but thought better of it! With Z170 still so new I'd only be saving ~£20 or so by dropping the spec so thought the Pro Gaming was a good centre ground. I just spend my time watching PC Part Picker on a daily basis now for price drops Missed a £20 drop on the 6600K the other day. Time to stop procrastinating and pull the trigger!
There's not really a 'suitable' RAM clock that is the best for any processor. The faster the better is usually the way, but it also comes down to budget. Most 2400/2666 kits will do 3000 with the same latencies as their 3000 MHz counterparts, so that's worth keeping in mind.
read a few of ur posts having been back on the site a month or 2 now...ur one of "those guys" never said "that" much, nor did i say 60c is hot for the chip...just said it was noisy for that temp...and this isn't a budget build, so might want to get something beefier if he is considering oc...hell, me personally, id want something silent anyway...hence the scythe mugen 4...just installed it...cant hear it at all...literally..like the machine isnt even on...35-38c advice is just that, advice...nothing bad about my advice, nothing bad about yours...no need to tear down everyone's advice in favor of your own...give opinions, they decide which one fits them better, question solved..
I'm not tearing down your advice, sir. I wholeheartedly agree with what you're saying. Silence is absolutely key to me as well. I hate hearing noisy fans. Please take my comments with a hint of (although I am not British) British sarcasm attached. I know that things do not translate well through text at the best of times, but my intentions are only good. I think that we are also unfortunate in the sense that we don't have as much choice with certain components compared to the USA. Some brands simply aren't stocked here for whatever reason. It's a little frustrating at times, but that's just how it is in the UK. Oh, and our prices are always a lot higher than yours too. Okay, so back on the topic of a cooler... I have a 212 Plus and a 212 EVO, one in my dad's machine and the other in our server. The EVO is significantly more quiet than the Plus, purely due to the fan. I was genuinely surprised with its performance, and how quiet it is, for the cost it came in at. AIO coolers are never, ever on my books. Some people swear by them, but I would rather have a tiny apartment hanging from my motherboard that I know won't leak or break down (other than the fan(s)). The stock fans which come with those AIO coolers are usually noisy and require replacing as well, although I can't speak for recent ones as I only ever had one or two that were being reviewed (both from Cooler Master and Corsair).
cool, thanks for saying that. appreciate you being candid. and for what it's worth, feel free to let me know if i come off as an ass, as i recall i did from time to time and also, every second i sit here, with my computer not 24 inches from my head, i realize every second that this scythe mugen 4 is amazing...the phantek enthoo evolv micro atx case might have something to do with it as well
Hey guys, glad you two made up Seriously, thanks for the advice. Really appreciated, looking a little more into the cooler and total dB of the build now. SW
Can't give the definitive thumbs up to the Snowstorm, but my Tranquillo has kept my 2500k cool (and quiet compared to my hideous XFX 7870 that still runs stupidly hot) at 4.6ghz for over 4 years now.
