Need help with my first PC rig

[xMorphine]

Hey, after years of console gaming I thought I’d finally take the plunge and get into PC gaming. With the assistance of some friends we sort of came up with this list. I suppose the best I’m looking for the PC would be to be able to play Skyrim with high quality settings? Heard that's pretty intensive so I think it should cover most games. At the moment the list looks okay but I have some questions. My budget is somewhere between $1400-1600.

CPU : i5-6500 3.2GHz
Mobo : Gigabyte GA-Z170-D3H
GPU : Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 6GB AMP! OR Palit GTX 1060 6GB Super JetStream
RAM : G.Skill Ripjaws V 2400 MHz (2 x 8GB)
SSD : OCZ 240GB SATA III Trion SSD
HDD : Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 7200rpm
Power Supply : Leadex 550W Silver Power Supply
OS : Windows 10
Optical Drive : Whichever one that costs like $20
Casing : Corsair Spec 01 RED

1) Are there any areas I could cheap out on because I would prefer to direct any leftover funds towards getting a solid KB+Mouse

2) I am undecided between the Zotac 1060 or the Palit version for the GPU. I’m not really sure about the differences between these 2 but on PC Themes price list they have an offer for the Zotac 1060 to come with the Leadex 550W Power Supply for $529 so I’m leaning towards the Zotac.

3) I was initially leaning towards getting a Seasonic S12II Bronze 80+ for the power supply but with the package deal mentioned above, would I be getting a better power supply unit from the Leadex 550W model?

4) Do I need stuff like a CPU Cooler if I’m not gonna do stuff like overclocking (I don’t know enough to do so anyway)

5) If I get the PC built at a shop like PC Themes or Fuwell would the price of Windows 10 be full price or is there some sort of discount? Also, would there be a discount on the parts in general?

Thanks in advance!

 

[shadow84]

1. U can go for B150/H110 mobo. Since you are not gonna OC, Z170 will be a waste. You can also consider getting Zotac 240gb ssd from lazada.

2. Either one is fine but note that palit gpu is 2.5 slots which will take up 3 pcie slots.

3. Superflower Leadex is a good psu. Better than S12II.

4. Stock cooler is fine. If you find it noisy, then get an aftermarket cooler.

5. There might be some discounts for overall rig purchase. As for Win 10 purchase, it will be the price stated in pricelist. Assembly fee is around $30-50? Recommended to try with PC themes instead of Fuwell.

 

[Allanlee82]

RAM can just get value ram 2133MHz
OS can always get online at a fraction of the price. reddit, qoo10

 

[kyiori]

just take note reddit os is oem version. meaning the win key will be tied to your motherboard.

 

[xMorphine]

1) Sweet. But is overclocking really beneficial? I'm afraid down the line when I'm more familiar with my PC's capabilities I may want to learn how to overclock it.

2) What does that mean? Once again, I'm clueless about all the intricacies of the parts hahaha

5) Yeah I was planning on getting it built at PC Themes but I'm not sure if I should order some parts online. Not too sure about the warranty policy since I rarely order anything online.

 

[xMorphine]

Would the 2133MHz RAM have a major difference with the one I listed? Also I see a lot of people saying they get Windows from reddit but I'm not sure what they mean, is there a marketplace on reddit or something?

 

[paul02]

Would the 2133MHz RAM have a major difference with the one I listed?

No. You may want to check this video out for a proper explanation.

Check out their channel to understand more.


As for overclocking, these days, people don't overclock much because modern day tech for games focuses mostly on GPU (your graphics card).

Having a decent 3GHz processor is sufficient but your GPU will have to do much better to handle the games of today.

 

[LegendZenify]

1) Sweet. But is overclocking really beneficial? I'm afraid down the line when I'm more familiar with my PC's capabilities I may want to learn how to overclock it.

2) What does that mean? Once again, I'm clueless about all the intricacies of the parts hahaha

5) Yeah I was planning on getting it built at PC Themes but I'm not sure if I should order some parts online. Not too sure about the warranty policy since I rarely order anything online.

1) Overclocking has its pros and cons. Go google.
It would give you a decent performance boost.
To put this into perspective, i5-6500 turbos up to 3.6Ghz, i5-6600 turbos up to 3.9GHz.
Most samples of i5-6600k can usually be comfortably overclocked to 4.5GHz. (depending on silicon lottery, ymmw)
That's a 15% boost in speed over the non-K, or a 25% boost over the 6500.
Do bear in mind, you will need an aftermarket cooler if you pick up a K-chip.

2) Basically if you upgrade your computer in future, and change your motherboard, you will not be able to use the key for your new motherboard.

5) Warranty policy will be similar to building at PC Themes.
They don't warranty the full comp, you will have to go to the individual distributors for warranty.

Would the 2133MHz RAM have a major difference with the one I listed? Also I see a lot of people saying they get Windows from reddit but I'm not sure what they mean, is there a marketplace on reddit or something?

2133 RAM is sufficient.
Also, some B150 boards may not support the higher ram speed.

Google "reddit microsoft softwareswap".

 

[xMorphine]

1) Overclocking has its pros and cons. Go google.
It would give you a decent performance boost.
To put this into perspective, i5-6500 turbos up to 3.6Ghz, i5-6600 turbos up to 3.9GHz.
Most samples of i5-6600k can usually be comfortably overclocked to 4.5GHz. (depending on silicon lottery, ymmw)
That's a 15% boost in speed over the non-K, or a 25% boost over the 6500.
Do bear in mind, you will need an aftermarket cooler if you pick up a K-chip.

2) Basically if you upgrade your computer in future, and change your motherboard, you will not be able to use the key for your new motherboard.

5) Warranty policy will be similar to building at PC Themes.
They don't warranty the full comp, you will have to go to the individual distributors for warranty.



2133 RAM is sufficient.
Also, some B150 boards may not support the higher ram speed.

Google "reddit microsoft softwareswap".

1) Okay seems too complicated for me so I shall pass on overclocking for now.

2) Are you talking about the Windows key?

Okay, do you have a recommendation as to what I should get for the 2133MHz RAM? I'm still looking to get 16GB if possible.

 

[xMorphine]

As for overclocking, these days, people don't overclock much because modern day tech for games focuses mostly on GPU (your graphics card).

Having a decent 3GHz processor is sufficient but your GPU will have to do much better to handle the games of today.

So would the 1060 models be good enough for the foreseeable future or should I shell out more on a 1070?

 

[ZrE0_Cha0s]

1) Okay seems too complicated for me so I shall pass on overclocking for now.

2) Are you talking about the Windows key?

Okay, do you have a recommendation as to what I should get for the 2133MHz RAM? I'm still looking to get 16GB if possible.

just get valueram like kingston or curical will be fine,

 

[ZrE0_Cha0s]

So would the 1060 models be good enough for the foreseeable future or should I shell out more on a 1070?

still really depends on which games u playing, as some titles really required a good gpu for a higher graphic settings on 4k. but if u are playing on a 1440p u can just grab a GTX 1070, and if playing on a 1080p can consider RX480 or GTX 1060.

 

[LegendZenify]

1) Okay seems too complicated for me so I shall pass on overclocking for now.

2) Are you talking about the Windows key?

Okay, do you have a recommendation as to what I should get for the 2133MHz RAM? I'm still looking to get 16GB if possible.

Sorry I mislooked number 2 point . Yeah I was talking about windows key.
Overclocking is pretty easy nowadays, most manufacturers include a one-click overclocking utility which can give you a starting reference point for overclocking. (eg. Gigabyte Easytune, Asus AISuite, etc.)
If you aren't overclocking, should go for B150 mobo.
Ram wise, just get kingston valueram. One stick $50 I think.

Regarding point 2, it just means the gfx card will take up more space, and may block some of the other pci slots.
Not really an issue if you aren't looking to expand into running dual gpus, adding multiple sound card/wireless card, etc.
If you are, it's important to make sure it will fit. (depending on mobo)

 

[paul02]

So would the 1060 models be good enough for the foreseeable future or should I shell out more on a 1070?

It depends.

Are you planning on upgrading your monitor to 1440p or 2160p in the future?

Most gamers use 1080p display monitors so the 1060 is enough (I think 980 is good enough for the coming 1-2 years).

 

[xMorphine]

Sorry I mislooked number 2 point . Yeah I was talking about windows key.
Overclocking is pretty easy nowadays, most manufacturers include a one-click overclocking utility which can give you a starting reference point for overclocking. (eg. Gigabyte Easytune, Asus AISuite, etc.)
If you aren't overclocking, should go for B150 mobo.
Ram wise, just get kingston valueram. One stick $50 I think.

Regarding point 2, it just means the gfx card will take up more space, and may block some of the other pci slots.
Not really an issue if you aren't looking to expand into running dual gpus, adding multiple sound card/wireless card, etc.
If you are, it's important to make sure it will fit. (depending on mobo)

Alright cool thanks!

 

[xMorphine]

It depends.

Are you planning on upgrading your monitor to 1440p or 2160p in the future?

Most gamers use 1080p display monitors so the 1060 is enough (I think 980 is good enough for the coming 1-2 years).

Yup I've been using the same 1080p monitor for console gaming and it still works fine so I think I'll go for the 1060. However if I decide to upgrade to 1440p (don't think I'll go for 4k), the 1060 should still be able to handle it?

 

[Tornesoul]

Value ram if you want cheap, gskills or kingston

Non value ram if u want looks /led etc

Max speed for non Z mobos is 2133 anyway, so anything more will go down to 2133.

Gskills value ram is black, hooted that just for colour lol

Sent from Sent from where? using GAGT

 

[Tornesoul]

Dont rly need optical drive. Infact your budget can go 1070 gpu (if no monitor, kb , mouse amd with qoo10 $100 dollar coupon)

I just built a rig on the left too

Sent from Sent from where? using GAGT

 

[ZrE0_Cha0s]

Yup I've been using the same 1080p monitor for console gaming and it still works fine so I think I'll go for the 1060. However if I decide to upgrade to 1440p (don't think I'll go for 4k), the 1060 should still be able to handle it?

i would say still acceptable range for 1060, but some titles u might need to tone down the settings.

 

[LegendZenify]

Yup I've been using the same 1080p monitor for console gaming and it still works fine so I think I'll go for the 1060. However if I decide to upgrade to 1440p (don't think I'll go for 4k), the 1060 should still be able to handle it?

For 1440p, 1060 can handle it. Think you'll be able to get between 35-45 fps on Ultra settings for current AAA titles, may need to turn down settings for higher fps.
1070 will net ~15fps improvement.

Anyway, if you net planning to upgrade monitor anytime soon, stick with 1060.
Graphics cards almost every year will have newer and better performing cards anw, you can upgrade in future too.
Not much point going for future proofing with graphics cards.