Will be building my first ever PC... advice?

[sandcracker21]

I've never did this before, but want to give it a shot.. until now the most I've done is change out a GPU, add USB card, etc..



I have a few questions... I will be continuing to use my 1TB Samsung SSD, but everything else will be new. Should I totally wipe the SSD and start fresh? If so, will my copy of Windows 10 'carry' over to a new system?

I also want to get the Nvidea 1080ti, any reason to not wait for this card? I could use the 970 for the next two months until it comes out.

Is there any soldering when building a computer? Anything that I would need specialization or special tools for? The rig will be for gaming and VR and I have a budget of around 2,000 USC

 

[Calin]

It's very likely that you will have to reinstall Windows if the new motherboard has a different chipset than the old one.
To be honest I doubt there will be a 1080ti. We've been speculating about it since the Titan XP came out. I really expected it to be announced at CES but that wasn't the case sadly.
There is no soldering involved unless you break something and need to fix it

 

[mistersprinkles]

I've never did this before, but want to give it a shot.. until now the most I've done is change out a GPU, add USB card, etc..



I have a few questions... I will be continuing to use my 1TB Samsung SSD, but everything else will be new. Should I totally wipe the SSD and start fresh? If so, will my copy of Windows 10 'carry' over to a new system?

I also want to get the Nvidea 1080ti, any reason to not wait for this card? I could use the 970 for the next two months until it comes out.

Is there any soldering when building a computer? Anything that I would need specialization or special tools for? The rig will be for gaming and VR and I have a budget of around 2,000 USC

Well, if you buy a new machine now, you would want to go with Kaby Lake (7th gen core i). If you wait a while, the new AMD Ryzen cpu's might be a better choice. Yes you can carry your SSD over. Who built your current computer? If it is an OEM machine you might have a hard time carrying your windows license over to a new machine.

I'm pretty sure a 1080Ti will come out. NVdia has to bring it out to compete with the high end AMD vega card coming soon.

You will, if you have a transferable Windows license, have to reinstall windows. You will need your windows key. If you don't have it you can use a utility like magical jellybean to extract it on your current machine.

All you really need to build a computer is a phillips number 2 screwdriver and a table. That's about it. Ideally, don't build in a room with carpet. Wood/tile floor and a wood or ceramic tabletop is ideal. If you want to be extra careful you can get an antistatic wrist strap.

This is the machine I would build right now if you want a high end gaming machine:

i7 7700K
ASUS Z270A
2x8GB DDR4 3000 (16GB)
1TB SSD (already have)
GTX 1080Ti
Case (pick a good one that you like)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU cooler
EVGA G2/P2/T2/GQ or Seasonic SSR-G or Superflower HX or Corsair HX/RM/AX power supply in the 550-650W range
Windows 10 (already have)

Also a good thing to pick up if you don't already have it is a G-sync (if you get an Nvidia card) or Freesync (if you get an AMD card) monitor. High refresh rate and adaptive sync make a big difference.
A 1080Ti will likely run most games at 1440P at 100+ frames per second. If you want to game at 4K, you will likely get high 60s. Definitely don't get a 1080Ti or a Vega 10 and waste it's potential on a 1080P 60Hz panel. That would be such a waste.

 

[sandcracker21]

Well, if you buy a new machine now, you would want to go with Kaby Lake (7th gen core i). If you wait a while, the new AMD Ryzen cpu's might be a better choice. Yes you can carry your SSD over. Who built your current computer? If it is an OEM machine you might have a hard time carrying your windows license over to a new machine.

I'm pretty sure a 1080Ti will come out. NVdia has to bring it out to compete with the high end AMD vega card coming soon.

You will, if you have a transferable Windows license, have to reinstall windows. You will need your windows key. If you don't have it you can use a utility like magical jellybean to extract it on your current machine.

All you really need to build a computer is a phillips number 2 screwdriver and a table. That's about it. Ideally, don't build in a room with carpet. Wood/tile floor and a wood or ceramic tabletop is ideal. If you want to be extra careful you can get an antistatic wrist strap.

This is the machine I would build right now if you want a high end gaming machine:

i7 7700K
ASUS Z270A
2x8GB DDR4 3000 (16GB)
1TB SSD (already have)
GTX 1080Ti
Case (pick a good one that you like)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU cooler
EVGA G2/P2/T2/GQ or Seasonic SSR-G or Superflower HX or Corsair HX/RM/AX power supply in the 550-650W range
Windows 10 (already have)

Also a good thing to pick up if you don't already have it is a G-sync (if you get an Nvidia card) or Freesync (if you get an AMD card) monitor. High refresh rate and adaptive sync make a big difference.
A 1080Ti will likely run most games at 1440P at 100+ frames per second. If you want to game at 4K, you will likely get high 60s. Definitely don't get a 1080Ti or a Vega 10 and waste it's potential on a 1080P 60Hz panel. That would be such a waste.

Yes, definitly leaning towards the Kaby Lakes cpu. My current build is an Alienware Aurora r3 but its almost 6 years old. Everything original except the gpu, ssd, and a usb 3.0 pci-e card I've added, alone with upgraded from windows 7 to windows 10 when it was free.

That build is pretty much exactly what I'm leaning towards. As far as my monitor, I have an Asus 1440p monitor but its 60hz. Not sure I want/need to upgrade at this point. I also game on the Oculus Rift from time to time.

 

[mistersprinkles]

You need to upgrade your monitor. 60Hz is wasted on a 1080Ti. I have a 1080 and most of my games run about 90-100FPS. I can run overwatch maxed at 140+fps. My monitor is 144Hz Gsync. I could never go back to 60Hz. And you'll have like 20-30% more power than I do with a Ti so definitely don't use that 60Hz panel. Use it as a secondary monitor or something.

Sadly, since your PC was purchased from Dell with a preinstalled OS, you are highly unlikely to be able to carry it over. You could call Microsoft and ask but they likely won't help you. You will have to buy a new copy of Windows.

 

[sandcracker21]

You need to upgrade your monitor. 60Hz is wasted on a 1080Ti. I have a 1080 and most of my games run about 90-100FPS. I can run overwatch maxed at 140+fps. My monitor is 144Hz Gsync. I could never go back to 60Hz. And you'll have like 20-30% more power than I do with a Ti so definitely don't use that 60Hz panel. Use it as a secondary monitor or something.

Sadly, since your PC was purchased from Dell with a preinstalled OS, you are highly unlikely to be able to carry it over. You could call Microsoft and ask but they likely won't help you. You will have to buy a new copy of Windows.

hmm.. I could look into a new monitor but that would probably put me over budget, and I got this 1440p monitor only two years ago (almost to the day)

I was thinking I could contact MS and tell them my MB crapped out and see if they will help me "re-install" windows.. worth a shot to save some money.

 

[sandcracker21]

Also, any use for a sound card or is on board sound good enough? I use a Logitech 5.1 system FYI. And pardon my ignorance, but the MB will have inputs for ethernet etc?

 

[mistersprinkles]

Opinions vary on this, but most people feel that modern integrated audio is good enough. Different motherboards have different onboard audio solutions. Not only the DSP, but also the DAC, op-amps, capacitors, whether the audio section is seperated from the rest of the PCB, etc all make a difference. Higher end motherboards tend to have higher end integrated audio.

As far as ethernet yes, every modern consumer motherboard has at least one LAN port. Some higher end boards have two. Most cheap boards have a Realtek LAN while midrange and high end boards tend to have either Killer or Intel ethernet, or both.

As far as trying to scam Microsoft to get your windows license transferred, I guess you could try it? But I very much doubt they will oblige.

You can either purchase a retail boxed Win10 to have on standby, or you can purchase online at the last minute and download the installer to USB from the microsoft website.

 

[Okedokey]

Unless you have great audio gear, a dedicated sound card isn't the best use of money.

In terms of monitor, you'll be find with what you have, although it wont display beyond the refresh rate, you do indeed get significant benefit in input latency that can be felt regardless and this is a massive benefit. Even a difference between 120fps and 200fps can be felt in first person shooters on a 60Hz monitor.

Secondly, although its a OEM Windows licence, you can call the activation hotline, which is anonymous and simply say that you have uninstalled it from your previous PC (press 1 on phone) and reinstalled it on the same pc (Press 1 again) and it will work. Done it hundreds of times in the past. I am sure it will activate.

No need to wide the SSD. Make sure you have the latest downloaded motherboard BIOS for whatever you choose to ensure you can flash it if needed to work with a new CPU and don't waste your money on Kaby lake as it is simply a slightly better overclock and you can get a better deal on a 6XXX cpu. Kaby lake has very little to offer that is new and should only really be considered if it is the same price as the previous gen version in the same segment of CPU.

 

[mistersprinkles]

No, he definitely needs to wipe his SSD. He has his sandybridge motherboard's INF on it. Installing another INF over top of that will cause problems in 90% of cases. It's just not a good idea. When you change chipsets, you reinstall windows.

Also, there is more to Kaby Lake and the Z270 platform than just IPC, thermals, and a clockspeed boost. The platform is superior in many other ways as well including, but not limited to a higher number of PCIE lanes, and compatibility with upcoming Intel Xpoint storage technology.

Always buy the latest and greatest.

 

[Okedokey]

It has 3 more pci lanes, none of which have yet to be implemented, exactly the same IPC slightly better thermals and low OC headroom. The increase in cost has virtually no return on performance and xpoint technology is really a non-issue as its limited to 64gb, has been around for ages in other forms and makes no difference to his fast SSD anyway.

Kaby lake doesn't support Windows 7 (this may be a non-issue but worth pointing out).

All in all its a refresh and not worth the premium. In fact, I wouldn't even get a i7 for his budget as hyperthreading is really a non-issue in gaming.

A current (e.g. last gen) i5 with 8GB of ram on a great mobo and good case is what his budget calls for.


Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor $345.00
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Gigabyte GA-Z170MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX $220.00
Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3733 Memory $140.80
Asus GeForce GTX 1080 8GB TURBO - $900 (or a 1080ti)
Corsair Carbide 400Q ATX Mid Tower Case $145.00
Corsair CSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (if you have a good PSU you can upgrade to a 6700k).

Total $1,866

Also the inf issue you mention regarding cpu is complete nonsense. He just needs to delete partitions during install of Windows and he'll be fine. No need to wipe the ssd.

 

[sandcracker21]

A current (e.g. last gen) i5 with 8GB of ram on a great mobo and good case is what his budget calls for.


Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor $345.00
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Gigabyte GA-Z170MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX $220.00
Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3733 Memory $140.80
Asus GeForce GTX 1080 8GB TURBO - $900 (or a 1080ti)
Corsair Carbide 400Q ATX Mid Tower Case $145.00
Corsair CSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (if you have a good PSU you can upgrade to a 6700k).

Total $1,866

Any reason to recommend this i5 when the i7 is almost the same price? I usually go with the highest cpu on the market (relatively speaking) for example, my i7-2600k is still rocking today, six years later

Also, reason to need such fast RAM? Example: 8gb of 3733 vs 16gb of 3000

 

[johnb35]

Also, reason to need such fast RAM? Example: 8gb of 3733 vs 16gb of 3000

Cause he's on drugs or something. $140 for only 8gb of ram? Thats stupidly expensive. Better get about 24gb of ram for that price.

 

[Okedokey]

Any reason to recommend this i5 when the i7 is almost the same price? I usually go with the highest cpu on the market (relatively speaking) for example, my i7-2600k is still rocking today, six years later

Also, reason to need such fast RAM? Example: 8gb of 3733 vs 16gb of 3000

The i7 is over $150 more on pcpartpicker, and id rather the fastest ram at 8GB than 16GB of shit.

Cause he's on drugs or something. $140 for only 8gb of ram? Thats stupidly expensive. Better get about 24gb of ram for that price.

The cheapest 8GB DDR4 module on newegg is $60. So $120 for slow 16GB ram. WOwzers.

 

[Intel_man]

I'm pretty sure a 1080Ti will come out.

Rumoured for March release/announcement. Also rumoured to be "under US$ 900". lol

It has 3 more pci lanes,

It has 4 more pci lanes... and that's coming from the Z270 chipset. The CPU has 16 pci-e lanes just like the 6700k had.

none of which have yet to be implemented,

Not true. The 4 extra lanes are typically included as an additional M.2 slot.

exactly the same IPC slightly better thermals

Thermals are relatively the same when it's under the same clock and voltage settings. Other differences can be traced to being lucky or not in the silicon lottery.

Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor $345.00
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Gigabyte GA-Z170MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX $220.00
Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3733 Memory $140.80
Asus GeForce GTX 1080 8GB TURBO - $900 (or a 1080ti)
Corsair Carbide 400Q ATX Mid Tower Case $145.00
Corsair CSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (if you have a good PSU you can upgrade to a 6700k).

Total $1,866

Those prices don't look right for the US market?

low OC headroom

That probably due to a higher factory clock? The 7700k is breaking world record OC's under LN2.... I wouldn't call it "low OC headroom".

The cheapest 8GB DDR4 module on newegg is $60. So $120 for slow 16GB ram. WOwzers.

Cost difference is quite high according to PCPartPicker right now for 2x8gb kit when comparing DDR4-3000 to 3600 to 4000. Not sure if it's worth going to DDR4-4000 right now.
http://pcpartpicker.com/products/memory/#s=403000,403600,404000&m=17&Z=16384002&sort=a2&page=1

You're paying like $50 more for like a 5-10 fps overhead.
http://www.techspot.com/article/1171-ddr4-4000-mhz-performance/page3.html

 

[sandcracker21]

Rumoured for March release/announcement. Also rumoured to be "under US$ 900". lol

Yea I'm hoping it will be available after PAX on the 10th and in STOCK since they have had this much time... I've also heard it will cost "significantly" less than the Titan X with about the same overall performance; less VRAM and less, well, pretty much everything... but about the same overall performance. Wish they would release some information already...

Now for the million dollar question.. my current rig is still very relevant, do I wait until March to make this build all at once, or do I make it now, cannibalizing my GTX970 and just wait for the 1080ti to upgrade?

 

[mistersprinkles]

It has 3 more pci lanes, none of which have yet to be implemented, exactly the same IPC slightly better thermals and low OC headroom. The increase in cost has virtually no return on performance and xpoint technology is really a non-issue as its limited to 64gb, has been around for ages in other forms and makes no difference to his fast SSD anyway.

Kaby lake doesn't support Windows 7 (this may be a non-issue but worth pointing out).

All in all its a refresh and not worth the premium. In fact, I wouldn't even get a i7 for his budget as hyperthreading is really a non-issue in gaming.

A current (e.g. last gen) i5 with 8GB of ram on a great mobo and good case is what his budget calls for.


Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor $345.00
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Gigabyte GA-Z170MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX $220.00
Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3733 Memory $140.80
Asus GeForce GTX 1080 8GB TURBO - $900 (or a 1080ti)
Corsair Carbide 400Q ATX Mid Tower Case $145.00
Corsair CSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (if you have a good PSU you can upgrade to a 6700k).

Total $1,866

Also the inf issue you mention regarding cpu is complete nonsense. He just needs to delete partitions during install of Windows and he'll be fine. No need to wipe the ssd.

I assume these are $CDN prices? I'd like to tear apart your build if I may.

Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor $345.00
I concur
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Agreed
Gigabyte GA-Z170MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX $220.00
Yup
Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3733 Memory $140.80
This is completely ridiculous. You can get 16GB for this price of slower RAM. User won't notice a difference.
Asus GeForce GTX 1080 8GB TURBO - $900 (or a 1080ti)
Why? There are 1080's out there for $800 in Canada with great coolers that can easily be user OC'd to match your overpriced ASUS card.
Corsair Carbide 400Q ATX Mid Tower Case $145.00
I like this case. Why MATX mobo and ATX case though? You're just wasting space.
Corsair CSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (if you have a good PSU you can upgrade to a 6700k).
What are you smoking, can I buy some from you? 6600K/6700K have the same TDP dude. If you can run one, you can run the other.
Please don't say nonsensical things.

Also I like how you say that 8GB of blisteringly fast, outrageously overpriced RAM is "what his budget calls for"... a build that includes a GTX 1080... Like WT(beep) man? Seriously? You're making my brain hurt.

What his budget calls for would imply that he had a low budget, and if you were choosing RAM to fit budget you certainly wouldn't choose some of the fastest stuff on the market that is priced higher than the moon. I'm trying to understand your build and it's giving me a headache.

 

[beers]

The increase in cost has virtually no return on performance

So $120 for slow 16GB ram. WOwzers.

Does not compute.

 

[mistersprinkles]

I think we may be dealing with a clever case of internet trolling.

 

[Okedokey]

Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3733 Memory $140.80
This is completely ridiculous. You can get 16GB for this price of slower RAM. User won't notice a difference.

Asus GeForce GTX 1080 8GB TURBO - $900 (or a 1080ti)
Why? There are 1080's out there for $800 in Canada with great coolers that can easily be user OC'd to match your overpriced ASUS card.

Corsair CSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (if you have a good PSU you can upgrade to a 6700k).
What are you smoking, can I buy some from you? 6600K/6700K have the same TDP dude. If you can run one, you can run the other.
Please don't say nonsensical things.

Also I like how you say that 8GB of blisteringly fast, outrageously overpriced RAM is "what his budget calls for"... a build that includes a GTX 1080... Like WT(beep) man? Seriously? You're making my brain hurt.

The 1080 was for budgeting purposes only, to ensure it will fit within his $2,000.

The PSU reference meant, that if he already has a good psu he can skip this item and upgrade to a 6700K.

Gaming machines do not need anything more than 8GB and on that basis I would much rather higher speed modules than slower with capacity. But it is open for discussion as this is a forum and the OP can decide.

Pretty simple.