First Gaming Desktop Build.

[draemn]

I'm quite impressed with the NT-H1 thermal grease and will pick it over the Arctic silver any day. Don't wait for the 8xx series as they are a long way off. Buying a case should be based off what you like for looks and what you're willing to spend imo. Sure, make sure you're not picking a crappy case just for looks, but there are so many cases that are built well that you get a ton of styling options these days. I am still a huge fan of buying nvidia over AMD, even at a price premium right now, so my only suggestions are their cards.

[Maphisto86]

Originally Posted by moocow

I have concerns about your PSU and SSD pick.

1. I would get a Corsair or SeaSonic unit.
2. Samsung doesn't seem to have the best warranty service. I would go with another unit.

Thank you for the suggestions. I have changed my build accordingly getting a Kingston SSD. Do you have any better suggestions for a PSU and SSD? Here is my build so far.

[moocow]

Don't get the Kingston V300 because they switch over to a slower memory chip. While I don't really know anything about SSD, there's a thread in the Storage sub-forum that you may want to spend some time reading.

AnandTech | An Update to Kingston SSDNow V300: A Switch to Slower Micron NAND

[Bond007]

Originally Posted by Maphisto86

Thank you for the suggestions. I have changed my build accordingly getting a Kingston SSD. Do you have any better suggestions for a PSU and SSD? Here is my build so far.

I would swap the ssd again. I posted a while ago that those Kingston drives were now shipping with slower NAND making it much slower than the original. There is supposedly no way of knowing which you are getting. You can't go wrong with intel/crucial drives, but someone else can comment on which specific drives are good from other manufacturers if you want cutting edge read/write rates.

The corsair psu you picked is solid, but so was the xfx in the original post...either is fine.

[Maphisto86]

Originally Posted by Bond007

I would swap the ssd again. I posted a while ago that those Kingston drives were now shipping with slower NAND making it much slower than the original. There is supposedly no way of knowing which you are getting. You can't go wrong with intel/crucial drives, but someone else can comment on which specific drives are good from other manufacturers if you want cutting edge read/write rates.

The corsair psu you picked is solid, but so was the xfx in the original post...either is fine.

Thank you again for the warning concerning my latest SSD pick. I have chosen a Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" SSD at the latest as of this post. I looked at some reviews of the product and overall it seems solid. It will serve as a placeholder at least.

My original goals for this build are still the same albeit with many changes since the opening post. The only difference of course is the time table as many of my choices have changed based on the combined input in this thread and my own research. Still very green but learning new things all the time. Planning to purchase all the parts and finish the build sometime this spring and summer but want to be sure I am getting the most bang for my buck and that the final iteration of the build will last me a couple of years at least before I need to replace anything.

[Maphisto86]

Hello everyone.

Much to my chagrin I have had to radically delay the amount of time I wanted to build my gaming PC build. In the intervening time since my last post I have delayed due to numerous reasons but mostly being other things taking priority financially (big one was my work laptop dying). However I have saved up enough to start planning my build again and fortunately the new Nvidia 1000 series cards have recently been released.
I understand both the GTX 1070 and 1080 are still in high demand but low supply and not all the partner cards have been released so I plan to pick up one or the other type in the next few months (August to October).

Here are two builds plans I put together on PCPartPicker.com using the GTX 1070 and 1080 respectively and I wanted to know what your thoughts were for any improvements. Bascially I plan to upgrade my monitor to a 27 inch 2K LCD screen and wanted to know which video card would be optimal for that resolution and the best bang for my buck. Some articles and forum threads I have read claim the GTX 1070 will be the best performance to value for 2K gaming. However others claim that if you can afford it, the GTX 1080 is a better solution for a longer time running AAA games. What are your thoughts?

Note: The video cards I picked are simply place holders. They give me an idea about what the final cost will resemble with all other components considered.

GTX 1070 Build: Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core, GeForce GTX 1070 8GB SC Gaming ACX 3.0, Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower - System Build - PCPartPicker Canada

GTX 1080 Build: Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core, GeForce GTX 1080 8GB G1 Gaming, Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower - System Build - PCPartPicker Canada

[clshades]

Get the 1080 if you can it's a better card and overclocks better from my readings

[Bond007]

1070 is roughly 80% of the performance for ~65% of the cost. So it is a better deal. I vote for the 1070 unless you want 4K resolution or have the cash and don't mind the extra money being spent.

[Maphisto86]

Originally Posted by clshades

Get the 1080 if you can it's a better card and overclocks better from my readings.

No doubt it is the better card overall. I just feel like it may be overkill for both my build and my wallet. Sadly already slightly over budget if I do buy the GTX 1080 at current prices. I doubt it will go much lower in Canadian dollars.

Originally Posted by Bond007

1070 is roughly 80% of the performance for ~65% of the cost. So it is a better deal. I vote for the 1070 unless you want 4K resolution or have the cash and don't mind the extra money being spent.

I only plan to go 2K resolution at most. A 4K monitor is way over my budget and I think not worth the 24'' to 27'' inch screen width. I just worry about games being released in the next few years making the GTX 1070 sub par. Some benchmarks I have seen show the 1070 struggling in 2K at ultra settings. Still the 1070 would be more within my budget of below $3500.

Thank you both for your advice so far.

[MARSTG]

What do you mean by 2k? 1920x1080? That is 1080p. 2560x1440 is 1440p.