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[LilJoka]

Hey GAF, I have this case and this MOBO.

Will it fit a GTX 970? Should've had one on the way but eBay screwed up. Waiting for the 5th for whatever it is that might make prices drop. Thanks

Compatible with expansion card up to 12.2”
310mm length GPU will fit.

One of longest 970, Gigabyte wind force is 300mm length.
Therefore all 970s should fit.

 

[roadrunn3r]

Well I figured the extra room inside wouldn't hurt, plus I really like that case after watching reviews of it.

Spoiler

I just really like it

If I shouldn't go AM3, what would you suggest?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI B150M MORTAR Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($77.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($56.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($66.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($54.88 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($39.95 @ B&H)
Total: $837.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-02 19:58 EDT-0400

Those extra things like the 3TB hdd and blue ray are adding quite fast to the total plus you could buy a legit copy of win10 on reddit for much less. You could of course get that ATX case that you like, it works with these parts no problem. I let the GTX 950 in as you aren't that interested in gaming but you should get something better if you are.

 

[The Sum of Zero]

Those extra things like the 3TB hdd and blue ray are adding quite fast to the total plus you could buy a legit copy of win10 on reddit for much less. You could of course get that ATX case that you like, it works with these parts no problem. I let the GTX 950 in as you aren't that interested in gaming but you should get something better if you are.

Yeah, I might look into a 2TB instead.

Huh, really? I'll go check reddit then.

I appreciate the advice!

 

[kennah]

Yeah, I might look into a 2TB instead.

Huh, really? I'll go check reddit then.

I appreciate the advice!

If you aren't gaming you could just use onboard graphics for now.

 

[LegionAgent]

Hey guys, I need a little help with something; every year I give my PC a little upgrade, be it a new ram, hard drive, GPU or CPU, depending on my budget and how much I can get from reselling the replaced part. My current specs are this:

Monitor: LG 22 inches LED HDTV 1920x1080
CPU: Intel Core i5 3570k 3.80 GHz
GPU: Nvidia GTX 960 4G
RAM: 12 GB RAM
HDD: 1TB Seagate 7200 RPM

So my question is: What should I focus on upgrading next? My budget is in between $200 to $300, and maybe up to $400 depending on if I can resell the part that's going to get replaced and I wait a couple of months. What would you suggest?

Wait for Pascal mid-to-high range, and get one of those? Then next year, upgrade your CPU/MOBO/RAM combo?

Bumping for more opinions.

Also, Pascal sounds like it should arrive on the second half of 2016 right? Do you guys think the prices for the 970 & 980 replacements will be around the same as those? meaning something between $500-$700? (at least here in my country thanks to taxes)

 

[The Sum of Zero]

If you aren't gaming you could just use onboard graphics for now.

Was thinking that too after looking over that motherboard he suggested. Seems like it's good enough for what I do now.

 

[Earendil]

I need to build a new PC for doing side work. I won't be gaming on it (at least not anytime soon) so I'm not worried about a GPU.

Budget: $600 USD
Main Use: Software Development
Monitor Resolution: 1080p (I have a 22" Samsung that I am keeping)
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: Visual Studio 2015, SQL Server, NodeJS, occasionally Photoshop and Illustrator.
Looking to reuse any parts?: Rosewill R379-M Micro ATX case with PS, Bluray player, 1TB External HDD.
When will you build?: Within the next 3-6 weeks
Will you be overclocking?: Probably not

So I basically need a motherboard, CPU, 16GB RAM, SSD and Windows 10. I'll also need WiFi, because we're having to rent a place until our new house is done and I don't know if it will have a ethernet connection in my office.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Modest Mauser]

What's the best fix for GPUs sagging? The last two cards I owned were fairly large and started to bend ever so slightly sitting in my case after several months.

 

[| Praxis |]

It has:
PCI-e 6+2 pins x 3

Those are PCIE 8pin connectors, you don't need an adapter.

According to this at least
http://www.coolermaster.com/powersupply/silent-pro-gold/silent-pro-gold-800w/

I really need to check inside my case again lol.

What's the best fix for GPUs sagging? The last two cards I owned were fairly large and started to bend ever so slightly sitting in my case after several months.

Never used one myself, but have seen cardkeepers mentioned.

 

[OraleeWey]

How often do you guys do a clean install of your Windows O/S?

 

[Momentary]

What are the best mATX cases out there. I want to SLI Pascals, but I want it to be in a small package. Everything I can find just seem like cheap plastic. Are there premium ones out there?

So far I stumbled upon these:

Hex-Gear

and

Parvum

I'm looking for something that doesn't have ANY bay slots in the front.

 

[Sergiepoo]

Getting my first real job and an upcoming tax rebate have encouraged me to look at building my first PC. Putting it together doesn't look too bad, but I'm pretty tech illiterate and need serious help with finding the right parts.

Your current specs: Doesn't matter. My current rig is so old, anything would be a major upgrade.
Budget: ~$800, no more than $1000
Main Use: 5-Emulation, 4-Gaming, 3-Streaming and General Use
Monitor: 1080p. I use a HDTV for my monitor if that matters, but I care more about performance than IQ.
Specific Apps: PCSX2, Dolphin, PPSSPP, DesMmuME. Followed by Bethesda games, MGS5 and Wither 3.
Reusable parts: Full tower case and disk drives on current rig are still in good shape. The power supply is 650w but is at least 5 years old which I hear is about the lifespan of a PSU.
When will you build?: Within the next month unless it makes more sense to wait.
Will you be overclocking?: Maybe

So really I want a competent gaming rig but specialized to handle well emulators like PCSX2 and Dolphin. From what I understand, emulators don't handle multithreading too well but benefit more from beefier individual cores. Based on this, I'm guessing a good start would be the latest generation Intel i3 or i5. Also, no AMD GPUs plz. I had a "gaming laptop" with AMD Crossfire, and my experience with their drivers was enough to swear them off forever.

 

[ChuckNyce]

What are the best mATX cases out there. I want to SLI Pascals, but I want it to be in a small package. Everything I can find just seem like cheap plastic. Are there premium ones out there?

So far I stumbled upon these:

Hex-Gear


and

Parvum


I'm looking for something that doesn't have ANY bay slots in the front.

This might not count because it's a got a slim ODD slot in the very bottom of the front, but I just did a build in this and I love it.

Lian Li PC-V359

 

[Maiden Voyage]

How often do you guys do a clean install of your Windows O/S?

As needed or every couple of years. I keep most of my stuff on online storage and have no caps for bandwidth so downloading games isn't an issue.

 

[Mad Season]

So with ssd drives we never have to Defrag
. Is there anything we need to do with them for maintenance?

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

So with ssd drives we never have to Defrag
. Is there anything we need to do with them for maintenance?

If you're using Windows 7 or newer, pretty much nothing, if your SSD is bug-free. (If your SSD has a newer firmware, try to update to it.)

Also, don't worry about Windows 7 or newer defragmenting your SSD. The defragmenter usually won't operate on SSDs the same way they'd on a HDD - Windows 7 blocks, while 8 and newer instead run reTRIM on the drives. It will still occasionally do a defrag behind-the-scenes, but there's a very good reason for it: no matter HDD or SSD, file system fragmentation can only go on for so long before the file system collapses. (And, no, running the "optimize" thing on Windows 8 or newer won't do a defrag.)

 

[Mad Season]

If you're using Windows 7 or newer, pretty much nothing, if your SSD is bug-free. (If your SSD has a newer firmware, try to update to it.)

Also, don't worry about Windows 7 or newer defragmenting your SSD. The defragmenter usually won't operate on SSDs the same way they'd on a HDD - Windows 7 blocks, while 8 and newer instead run reTRIM on the drives. It will still occasionally do a defrag behind-the-scenes, but there's a very good reason for it: no matter HDD or SSD, file system fragmentation can only go on for so long before the file system collapses. (And, no, running the "optimize" thing on Windows 8 or newer won't do a defrag.)

Thanks. Windows 10 here

 

[LordAlu]

I need to build a new PC for doing side work. I won't be gaming on it (at least not anytime soon) so I'm not worried about a GPU.

Budget: $600 USD
Main Use: Software Development
Monitor Resolution: 1080p (I have a 22" Samsung that I am keeping)
List SPECIFIC games or applications that you MUST be able to run well: Visual Studio 2015, SQL Server, NodeJS, occasionally Photoshop and Illustrator.
Looking to reuse any parts?: Rosewill R379-M Micro ATX case with PS, Bluray player, 1TB External HDD.
When will you build?: Within the next 3-6 weeks
Will you be overclocking?: Probably not

So I basically need a motherboard, CPU, 16GB RAM, SSD and Windows 10. I'll also need WiFi, because we're having to rent a place until our new house is done and I don't know if it will have a ethernet connection in my office.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

This should be good for you.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: Asus B150M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($76.43 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($55.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($85.49 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($86.86 @ Amazon)
Total: $499.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-03 02:58 EDT-0400

You could always spend a bit extra for a Core i7 (would make it $620+) or even put in a Quadro K620 for your Photoshop work, although that won't make too much difference. If you wanted to save some money you could get Windows 10 from Reddit for $25 or so.

Getting my first real job and an upcoming tax rebate have encouraged me to look at building my first PC. Putting it together doesn't look too bad, but I'm pretty tech illiterate and need serious help with finding the right parts.

Your current specs: Doesn't matter. My current rig is so old, anything would be a major upgrade.
Budget: ~$800, no more than $1000
Main Use: 5-Emulation, 4-Gaming, 3-Streaming and General Use
Monitor: 1080p. I use a HDTV for my monitor if that matters, but I care more about performance than IQ.
Specific Apps: PCSX2, Dolphin, PPSSPP, DesMmuME. Followed by Bethesda games, MGS5 and Wither 3.
Reusable parts: Full tower case and disk drives on current rig are still in good shape. The power supply is 650w but is at least 5 years old which I hear is about the lifespan of a PSU.
When will you build?: Within the next month unless it makes more sense to wait.
Will you be overclocking?: Maybe

So really I want a competent gaming rig but specialized to handle well emulators like PCSX2 and Dolphin. From what I understand, emulators don't handle multithreading too well but benefit more from beefier individual cores. Based on this, I'm guessing a good start would be the latest generation Intel i3 or i5. Also, no AMD GPUs plz. I had a "gaming laptop" with AMD Crossfire, and my experience with their drivers was enough to swear them off forever.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX200 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($63.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($314.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($86.86 @ Amazon)
Total: $900.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-03 03:08 EDT-0400

With this you have a Z170 board so if you decide to upgrade a few years down the line, maybe get a K chip and overclock, you can do that without having to change the board. If you're sure you're not going to you can just get a Gigabyte B150M-DS3H instead. GTX 970 is great for 1080p gaming, nice new power supply in there too. You could change the 8GB RAM for 16GB, there's room in the budget. No storage disks as you already have those, and you could dump the case if you're sure you want to use your old one. Windows included in the cost but again you could get this from Reddit, or if you have your old disc and key just install that and get Microsoft to reset the licence.

 

[scitek]

What's the smallest case that would effectively make use of a Coolermaster 212?

 

[Ozorov]

To wait for HBM2 or buy the GDDR5X ones, thats the question. Will it be significative performance between those two? And any guesses at prices?

 

[Sergiepoo]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX200 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($63.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($314.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($86.86 @ Amazon)
Total: $900.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-03 03:08 EDT-0400

With this you have a Z170 board so if you decide to upgrade a few years down the line, maybe get a K chip and overclock, you can do that without having to change the board. If you're sure you're not going to you can just get a Gigabyte B150M-DS3H instead. GTX 970 is great for 1080p gaming, nice new power supply in there too. You could change the 8GB RAM for 16GB, there's room in the budget. No storage disks as you already have those, and you could dump the case if you're sure you want to use your old one. Windows included in the cost but again you could get this from Reddit, or if you have your old disc and key just install that and get Microsoft to reset the licence.

Thanks for the recommendations, LordAlu.

I forgot to mention that I have Windows 7 and will probably be able to make the leap to 10 before the free update period ends. The extra money can go toward 16 gb of ram since games like MGS5 are already asking for 8 gb, and I can see that becoming the minimum soon (not much of a buffer). Aside from that, this setup looks great. Appreciate the research!

 

[jdstorm]

So I'm a total newbie at this. Decided I want to build my own computer, not so much for gaming (maybe the occasional visual novel on Steam or something), but more of a movie watching/general use thing. Something I can call my own. But still be nice-ish spec wise.

I thought I'd post my parts list here and hope I could get some advice on if there are any improvements that could be made. I'm really not looking to spend more than it already is. But yeah, go easy on me I know it's probably terrible.

(SSD is for the OS. 3TB HDD due to music and shows I have)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-4350 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($66.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB FTW ACX 2.0 Video Card ($169.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: NZXT Phantom 530 (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($73.88 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($54.88 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home Full - USB (32/64-bit) ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($39.95 @ B&H)
Total: $986.41

Don't cheap out on the power supply. A good one can last you multiple builds, and it will save you money monthly on your bills. If you can fit it in your budget a gold or better power supply is worth it

Edit: if money is an issue the best way to save it is ditch the SSD at first. A few seconds here and there won't make much of a difference for a month or 2 until you can save up a few extra dollars or there is a nice sale that brings it into the budget

 

[Big Green Anus]

A used Phenom II X3 720 Black for $30 is all I can think to recommend. I believe your dad is working with a 1-core 2ghz chip. 720 gets him 2.8ghz x 3.

Maybe Phenom II X2 570 Black for 3.5ghz x 2 seeing as you won't be OCing at all and better performance per core. Around $30 used too.

You will need a new cooler too.

AM3 is still slow as balls so don't expect miracles.

Is it possible to get a four core or even 6 core Phenom II since they both are AMD3?

 

[Deleteeeeee]

Just installed a Corsair RM550X power supply as the one I had before was driving me nuts on how loud it was even at idle.

This unit is a semi passive unit, meaning at low loads the fan doesn't even spin. I have tried stress testing it by using OCCT to stress the cpu and running uni engine heaven and even then it's still quieter than my previous power supply's idle noise.

I'll echo what the poster above said, don't skimp on a power supply.

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

What's the smallest case that would effectively make use of a Coolermaster 212?

If you can get ahold of the Cryorig H7, why not take that instead? Should be slightly cooler, if not the same, and net you a much better fan, looks, warranty, and be smaller and more compatible with everything in exchange for a bit more outlay in price.

 

[boredandlazy]

Nevermind... Wrong info.

 

[Cute Dragon Here]

Just installed a Corsair RM550X power supply as the one I had before was driving me nuts on how loud it was even at idle.

This unit is a semi passive unit, meaning at low loads the fan doesn't even spin. I have tried stress testing it by using OCCT to stress the cpu and running uni engine heaven and even then it's still quieter than my previous power supply's idle noise.

I'll echo what the poster above said, don't skimp on a power supply.

Yeah.

I'm even more curious on what was your previous power supply now. Pretty much everything in Corsair's PSU lineup, even the "low end" CX series are quiet under normal use. Say what you want about Corsair (for those that don't like them), but they nailed noise levels for PSUs across the entire price range.

 

[Nostremitus]

Is it possible to get a four core or even 6 core Phenom II since they both are AMD3?

Looks like it...

AMD Phenom II X6 10xxT Six-Core is listed

http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-c02552467

I had a Phenom II X6 1045T for several years. It started showing it's age, but was a good chip.

 

[eerik9000]

Hey GAF, I'm planning to upgrade my system in the coming months and I have a simple question:

Jump into Skylake now or wait another 6 months until Kaby Lake?

The plan now is to get a "more premium" motherboard that would fill all my possible needs for the next 5 years with i5 6600K, and maybe upgrade to a newer generation i7 in 2-3 years if I feel the need.

Currently on AMD FX-6300 with GTX 970, so I could easily wait until Kaby Lake launch if it's worth it. Only looking to upgrade CPU/motherboard/RAM, happy with my 970 for now.

 

[Deleteeeeee]

Yeah.

I'm even more curious on what was your previous power supply now. Pretty much everything in Corsair's PSU lineup, even the "low end" CX series are quiet under normal use. Say what you want about Corsair (for those that don't like them), but they nailed noise levels for PSUs across the entire price range.

The old one was an Antec VP550VP V2. I got that when my Antec Earthwatts 500 fan died, which came with my antec sonata III case. At the time when I bought the VP550VP I was a student so I couldn't really afford something better.

 

[roadrunn3r]

Hey GAF, I'm planning to upgrade my system in the coming months and I have a simple question:

Jump into Skylake now or wait another 6 months until Kaby Lake?

The plan now is to get a "more premium" motherboard that would fill all my possible needs for the next 5 years with i5 6600K, and maybe upgrade to a newer generation i7 in 2-3 years if I feel the need.

Currently on AMD FX-6300 with GTX 970, so I could easily wait until Kaby Lake launch if it's worth it. Only looking to upgrade CPU/motherboard/RAM, happy with my 970 for now.

No one knows about Kaby Lake performance but if we were to guess would be around 5-10% from Skylake, no reason to think the jump would be bigger.
So it's entirely up to you and what do you need right now. A Skylake build isn't going to become obsolete anytime soon.

 

[daninthemix]

Jump into Skylake now or wait another 6 months until Kaby Lake?

That's the immortal question: buy [anything] now or wait [x months] for [something else].

That question will never go away, no matter how long you wait.

 

[jackpottest]

The 2500k is still a viable CPU if... you over clock it. Can I ask what your aversion to doing so is? Mine went to 4.5 GHz easily with a $20 cooler (212 evo). It depends on your MB somewhat, but generally it is a pretty easy process.

If you really don't want to OC, the CPU may hold you back a bit, but Id say upgrade the GPU and see how it goes. If you aren't happy with the performance, you can decide to do new mb/CPU/ram at that point.

Thanks, really appreciated. I'll order a GTX 970 and see how it goes. Might consider overclocking... just didn't want to have to fiddle and install a new cooler or anything. Currently using a ASUS P8Z77-V LK motherboard. Hopefully the 970 will be enough, we'll see!

 

[eerik9000]

That's the immortal question: buy [anything] now or wait [x months] for [something else].

That question will never go away, no matter how long you wait.

Sure, but had I been in this situation a year ago then the wait for new LGA 1151 socket and DDR4 would have been worth it. I guess my dilemma is more about the possible new features the new chipsets/motherboards would bring, rather than raw performance. Wikipedia lists native USB 3.1 support (which high-end motherboards already have anyway) and 4K video playback related features (which as far as I understand are for the integrated graphics that I don't plan on using anyway and that I can later have by upgrading my 970). Oh well, I think I already answered my question myself.

 

[DaBuddaDa]

Kaby Lake desktop processors are Q4 IIRC and only will support Windows 10, so that's something else to possibly take into consideration.

 

[Elitist1945]

So with a 980ti and an i7-6700K, what motherboard and ram would be recommended?

 

[LilJoka]

I cant its not poting. I ruled out a psu problem since i used a different one.

Its most likely the mobo, which will be the worst thing that can happen. Trying to buy a mini itz z77 board now is crazy expensive.


Will probably have to upgrade to skylake if it is the problem.

If the old CPU works then how can it be the Mobo?
Use the old CPU to update the BIOS.

 

[e90Mark]

So with a 980ti and an i7-6700K, what motherboard and ram would be recommended?

There's so many choices to choose from.

What form factor are you going with is where I would start for mobo choice. RAM speed should be about 2666-3000 with whatever capacity you need.

 

[KurtSloane]

So with a 980ti and an i7-6700K, what motherboard and ram would be recommended?

Asus Maximimus VIII hero is a good board.

Corsair vengeance 3200 ram is a solid choice, I went with 16gig of it.

 

[Elitist1945]

There's so many choices to choose from.

What form factor are you going with is where I would start for mobo choice. RAM speed should be about 2666-3000 with whatever capacity you need.

I have a Factal R5 which is ATX, Micro ATX and Mini ITX compatible.

 

[KurtSloane]

What are the best mATX cases out there. I want to SLI Pascals, but I want it to be in a small package. Everything I can find just seem like cheap plastic. Are there premium ones out there?

So far I stumbled upon these:

Hex-Gear


and

Parvum


I'm looking for something that doesn't have ANY bay slots in the front.

Enthoo Evolv Matx is a very nice case.

 

[e90Mark]

I have a Factal R5 which is ATX, Micro ATX and Mini ITX compatible.

So you're going to most likely want a standard ATX size for that case.

That Asus Maximus Hero VIII is a high end board with lots of features.
There's a cheaper Gigabyte board that RGM likes to recommend, which is either the HD3 or UD3, I can't remember off the top of my head.

It comes down to what features you really want/need and the price you want to pay for the motherboard.

I'm thinking the Hero is about $200, where either of the Gigabyte boards would be at least $50 under.

 

[QuantumSquid]

How does this build look? My friend was interested in how much a tiny PC would cost.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H81I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($62.99 @ Directron)
Memory: Mushkin ECO2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($31.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($85.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Node 202 HTPC Case w/450W Power Supply ($129.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $645.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-03 10:51 EDT-0400

 

[Elitist1945]

So you're going to most likely want a standard ATX size for that case.

That Asus Maximus Hero VIII is a high end board with lots of features.
There's a cheaper Gigabyte board that RGM likes to recommend, which is either the HD3 or UD3, I can't remember off the top of my head.

It comes down to what features you really want/need and the price you want to pay for the motherboard.

I'm thinking the Hero is about $200, where either of the Gigabyte boards would be at least $50 under.

The Hero was the one I had my eye on. Is RAM pretty much just get whatever size you want, or is there more to it.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Is RAM pretty much just get whatever size you want, or is there more to it.

You can look at MHz speed + CAS latency, but whether or not this matters is somewhat up for debate.

 

[Lashley]

Realistically, how long would a high end rig last me before needing to upgrade for playing games 1080p 60fps or higher and perhaps with a view to using VR?

 

[e90Mark]

The Hero was the one I had my eye on. Is RAM pretty much just get whatever size you want, or is there more to it.

With you going on Skylake, would suggest looking at the speed the sticks are rated at. Skylake sees performance from faster ram, which is why I gave the 2666-3000 suggestion. Returns start to diminish after 3000 for the money.

I'm not too sure on CAS latency, tbh. Something I never really paid attention to or thought was the weakest link.

Realistically, how long would a high end rig last me before needing to upgrade for playing games 1080p 60fps or higher and perhaps with a view to using VR?

3-4 years at least for 1080/60. It's not really a hard goal to reach when you consider a high end rig.

VR on the other hand is different. I wouldn't know how long the recommendations would last now for VR versus a couple years from now.

 

[Elitist1945]

With you going on Skylake, would suggest looking at the speed the sticks are rated at. Skylake sees performance from faster ram, which is why I gave the 2666-3000 suggestion. Returns start to diminish after 3000 for the money.

Ah okay. Thanks guys!

 

[spons]

You can save yourself 30 bucks if you go with the Ranger instead of the Hero, unless you particularly like the looks of the latter. Same features minus two SATA ports.

 

[The Sum of Zero]

Don't cheap out on the power supply. A good one can last you multiple builds, and it will save you money monthly on your bills. If you can fit it in your budget a gold or better power supply is worth it

Edit: if money is an issue the best way to save it is ditch the SSD at first. A few seconds here and there won't make much of a difference for a month or 2 until you can save up a few extra dollars or there is a nice sale that brings it into the budget

Understood, thanks!