New To The PC Master Race and Need Some Help

[adacla526]

Hi guys,

After much persuasion from many I have finally decided to get in on PC gaming but I'm struggling with my set up. This is my first ever build and I'm not fully clued up, I want to get in to PC gaming seriously and want an easily upgradable rig but also one that can last a bit without becoming outdated too quickly (I know that's a dream) if you could take a look at my specs and let me know what you think that would be great!

Case
InWIN 703 MID TOWER GAMING CASE (BLACK/RED)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700k (4.0GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z170 PRO GAMING: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 8GB Kit)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 2 x DVI, HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON UV400 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (550MB/R, 350MB/W)
2nd Hard Disk
1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler (£29)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND (£9)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD (£8)
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Monitor
BENQ RL2460HT 24" LED GAMING MONITOR (£166)
Keyboard & Mouse
LOGITECH® MK520 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO (£44)

 

[Frank100]

Hi,

The newer GTX1060 will outperform the GTX970 in pretty much everything. I don't know how they compare on price with PCS but I wouldn't imagine its not much different. The GTX1070 is a much bigger step up in price.

You might be able to do with an i5 processor if it is predominantly graphically intensive games you are playing. Maybe you could check the websites of the games you will be playing to see if they will benefit from hyper-threading.

Particularly with a 1060 you could drop the PSU down to 450W and save a little money.

Some options there which would keep you around the same budget.

Frank100

 

[adacla526]

Hi Frank,

I took your advice and swapped out to the 1060 (there was very little price difference) dropped to a 450w and an i5 6600k after checking multiple websites. The overall price came down quite a bit. Thanks for the help!

Adam

 

[jerpers]

If you can, I would recommend going for the CS650 PSU. It is built from better components, modular for better cable management and more headroom for future upgrades. I am in the process of upgrading my old PCS PC and have bought a new PSU purely because the old one was not modular and it is a bit restricted inside.

 

[Scott]

I preferred your original setup to be honest. The CS650 PSU is a definite no brainer as is the 1060 card. From your original options I would increase the space of your primary drive, 120GB will fill VERY quickly with modern games. I wouldn't drop the i7 for an i5, if you even want to consider anything Sim related then you're going to want that extra processing power.

If budget allows I would seriously consider the 1070 GPU as well. That will last a LOT longer than the 1060, it's a beauty of a GFX card.

 

[adacla526]

I don't plan on playing anything Sim related in the near future, would you still recommended upping to an i7 or shall I just stay at an i5. I definitely agree with the PSU upgrade, especially as I will be upgrading regularly. I think for now I'll stick to the 1060 and look to step up to something more powerful later on. What size would you recommend for my primary drive?

 

[Scott]

I don't plan on playing anything Sim related in the near future, would you still recommended upping to an i7 or shall I just stay at an i5. I definitely agree with the PSU upgrade, especially as I will be upgrading regularly. I think for now I'll stick to the 1060 and look to step up to something more powerful later on. What size would you recommend for my primary drive?

I would look at 512GB for storage. I always go for i7 processors. There isn't an advantage having them for gaming right now but that's not to say you won't gain a bit in the future. It's a no brainer if you are using any software that can make use of multiple threads though (video/photo processing/editing, etc). If it's purely for gaming then it's really down to whether you want to spend the extra cash as a "just in case". It's personal preference for me but I always go with the fastest CPU I can afford. I would expect a 6700k to last absolutely YEARS before needing upgraded (Especially if you overclock) who knows what might be around then.

1060 is a good shout for now, easy enough to upgrade in a couple of years for something with more oomph