Building a desktop

[SSG Redman]

I have finally decided to build a computer and move on from my trusty laptop which I've been using for the past two years. I have never build a computer. I know a bit (not that much) about the components and have come up with this build: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/7NyFbj
It is within my budget but I wanted to know if there were things that I might have screwed up on, mainly in regard to cooling.

Comments, questions, concerns?


UPDATE: Based on recommendations, I've changed the 1080 to a 1070, added a Corsair H80i, a 250 GB SSD and changed the 550 W PSU to a 750 W. It's now roughly $200 cheaper as well. I'll get a monitor at my local computer store.
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/npYCZ8

[Treyum]

Monitor? Or do you have one lying around? Tbh, with the cost of that build, I'd be dropping a bit on a nice monitor. If you're moving from a laptop, a good monitor, mouse and keyboard can all make/break a build.

As for your cooling question, if you're that worried about it, the case had good capability for more fans. It comes with 1 200mm, and 1 140mm, but it states the maximum is 8 120's, 7 140's or 2 200's. I'd wait until you have the case in hand, and see if you can add a few more 140's if you really want to.

If you're really looking for more cooling capability way in excess of what you need, water cooling is always an option. As always, I prefer fans for most gaming applications, as long as you're between 40-50 degrees Celsius you should be fine. Just make sure to pull it apart and clean out the entire rig every 6 months or so, and that case's fans should do the job. To give reference, my rig has:
1x 200mm Top-Mounted
2x120mm Front Mounted
1x140mm Side Mounted
1x120mm Rear Mounted

[K. Gaudet]

Unless you're overclocking the CPU, I wouldn't worry about cooling. The Cooler Master fan you've chosen does an excellent job for its price. The build looks great to me!

[CPT Hammersmain]

This setup makes me drool.  Cant wait til I build my new rig in the next year.   

I am a huge fan on solid state drives -- Running the OS and any game on a 7200 RPM would be a bottleneck with these other pieces of hardware IMHO.  It'll be night and day, and when you boot it up for the first time you'll shit at the way we somehow survived on old hard disks.  Keep the 2TB for space in general because you'll need it w/ a 256 or 512 GB SSD.  I personally have had a 256 GB Crucial and it's been running steady for almost 4 years.  Never a hiccup. 

Also the 1080 FTW is pretty overkill.  Best value right now is probably the 1070 which will save you a lot of cash to justify the SSD -- slightly lower clock speeds and vram but for pretty much half the price.  Unless you have a 4k monitor and plan on running 4k or VR, I would say a 1070 would be a smarter buy. 

Saving money on the GPU will also allow you to look at closed loop water cooling for the CPU.  I would recommend the Corsair H80i v2 which will keep your CPU at a lovely 25C QUIETLY and open it up for overclocking up to a stable 4.8 ghz at LEAST -- which is extra performance for the money you're paying.  Not overclocking a CPU is throwing money out the window -- especially w/ a K series processor.  They're super easy to install and are fool proof, quiet, and will keep that baby nice and chilled.  Unless you do something stupid like turn off the built in factory safety parameters, you won't destroy your processor if you try overclocking.  It's easier than you think.   

I didn't do the math, but I'm nervous w/ a 550W PSU -- get a 750W for an extra $30-$50.  The components nowadays are much more efficient than ever, so it may be fine, just throwing that out there.

Also a disclaimer -- don't be frustrated when you spend all this money on a PC and still get 35 FPS in ArmA.  The 1070 won't even break a sweat as ArmA is more CPU dependent than GPU.  I run ArmA 4K w/ SLI 970s and I get EXACTLY the same frames as I do running 1080p....wtf?     

[SFC (Ret) M. Brewer]

I was looking at building a PC a few years ago and unless you really want to geek out on putting it together yourself then look at some pre-built systems. You can find some kick assume systems for the $ you are prepared to spend.  I'm totally happy with my system I bought. At half the price and I can run anything on ultra.

[Capt (Ret) Soto]

solid state drives
550W PSU -- get a 750W
closed loop water cooling

+3 from me.

SSD's are magic.  I've got a 500 GB with my OS, essential programs (Office, Adobe, tools etc.), ArmA, DCS and whatever other game I happen to be playing consistently.  The other HDD's have the rest of my Steam library and my extensive collection of por- err... legitimately downloaded media...

You're on the right track with the Corsair CX-M.  Great bang for buck.  The various PSU calculators out there point to a 650W being the sweet spot.  I agree with the 750W though.  Should more components go in there over time (and they will) you'll have the headroom.

Closed loop water cooling = fun and easy win for your CPU.  Please do this.

I'm an unabashed shill for all things Asus and Corsair so I won't comment on your motherboard, GPU, or case choice .  Regarding your case: get as many fans as will fit.  Air flow is your friend and three fans spinning at 25% will be much quieter than one at 75% for the same overall volume of air moving through the case.

Lastly...optical drive... really?

[1st Lt (Ret) Barba]

Looks good to me, the only thing I would change would be a more powerful power supply and an SSD for your OS. Also if you're gonna get an GTX 1080 don't get an EVGA, as they are having heating problems with them.

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/evga-addresses-geforce-1080-temperature-problems,32967.html

[SSG (Ret) Madsen]

Definately get a SSD, i notice a notable increase in performance when i have Arma on a SSD vs a HDD.

I recommend getting atleast two, one for your C drive where you have windows, teamspeak, so on, and then a large one where you have all your games.

Personally i have a 230gb C drive and a 480GB H drive and it seems to work fine for me.

[SSG Redman]

Based on recommendations, I've changed the 1080 to a 1070, added a Corsair H80i, a 250 GB SSD and changed the 550 W PSU to a 750 W. It's now roughly $200 cheaper as well. I'll get a monitor at my local computer store.
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/8kFPQV

[O. Thomas]

You're going to want a M.2 SSD if possible, your mobo supports it and it's 5~ times faster than SATAIII.
Also if you're not actually handling Blu-Ray there's no need to spend 3-4x the amount for a disk drive, let alone a writer.
Aaaaaand unless your WAP can push nearly 900 meg you can trim some $$$ off from the wireless card (Factor in your ISP's advertised bandwidth, then lose 10-25% of that BC of how wireless overhead works, and factor in the split bandwidth with all your other wireless devices and you see how little your bandwidth ends up being) and maybe also find one that's Linux compatible in case you want to ever play around with other OSs in the future.

[SSG (Ret) Donohoe]

If Ethernet cable is an option you can cut out the wi-fi adapter and save another $45. I have an i7 6700k o/c to 4.5Ghz running on an air cooler and it never goes past 55C, I had a AIO cooler but was always paranoid it was going to leak.

[SGT Stewart]

if you have a Microcenter near you or a buddy that lives near one, You can get the 6700K for $260.

http://www.microcenter.com/category/4294966995,4294964566/Intel-Processors

You don't need a full tower case. You will hate the useless bulk of the thing after a while, there is no point to them
I have never spent more than $50 for a case. I would rather put money into the components inside, or a better monitor.

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-100R-Tower-Case/dp/B00RORBQNW/?ie=UTF8&qid=1480560415&sr=8-1&keywords=corsair+case

I personally have gone off including cd/dvd/bluray drives in builds. I have a cheapo external one, I can plugin to USB when I need it. another thing with limited use these days. spend the money on more RAM. it seems the coming changes to ARMA will love to eat RAM.

As for Video cards, video cards are all spun from some reference design, they all have to meet the specs for that reference design, there is very little value
add manufacturers add that is worth extra cash. Why pay for some fancy fan shroud you will never see again? 

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/4XyxFT/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1070-8gb-windforce-oc-video-card-gv-n1070wf2oc-8gd

As for SSDs, My steam library alone eats up over 400GB, get the a 512Gb one minimum

[SSG Redman]

Alright, parts are ordered and on their way. Only two things remain, a monitor and keyboard. I went to the local computer place and they suggested either a 1440p (this) or a 144 Hz (this) monitor. Third option that I quickly found is this. I'm also looking at between a 24" and a 27" screen. If anybody has an opinion on that it would be most appreciated.

For the keyboard I am aware that it is all down to user preference, but if somebody has any pointers to share, I would like to hear them.

Thanks to everybody that offered their opinion and recommendation for the tower.

[SSG (Ret) Donohoe]

For me it has to be the 27" 1440p monitor, if you go from laptop screen to 27" you will not be disappointed!!
I can't help on the keyboard side I'm afraid, I'm using a k30 dome keyboard which works for me and has macro keys but it's mechanical or nothing in the gaming world apparently.

[SSG Redman]

Computer is together and running. Now the long process of installing everything. I'm trying to get it ready for the FTX this weekend.