Recommendations needed for new PC!

[laspace]

Hi HWZoners,

Just a little background information about what I currently have before moving on to what I'm looking for.

I'm using a 6-years old Dell XPS 9000 currently - one and a half years ago when I realized that the GPU is not holding up to latest games, I switched in a GTX 750TI and topped up the ram from 8GB to 16GB (fresh sticks) because I did not want to change my rig yet since it's holding up fine performance wise. However, now that my desktop is 6 years old and starting to slow down and me having to resort to my laptop for high-performance tasks, I feel like I should get a new rig instead of over-straining my laptop.

Specifically, I'm looking for a VR ready set-up which ideally would hold up fine without going obsolete for the next 5 years or so. I'm not much of a pc-savvy but am capable enough in trouble-shooting and understanding basic Googlelogy so as to change my GPU and RAM (simple stuff) a year and a half back. My dream set-up's core would be a GTX 1080 & i7-6700K, 500GB SSD + 1TB HDD.

Primary Functions:
- Video-editing & rendering
- Programming
- VR / AAA Gaming
- *Future-proof (Easy to upgrade, SLI-able, etc)

The biggest question would be: to DIY or pre-built?
- Am I able to reuse my ram sticks from my current PC (Kingston 8GB x2 1600Mhz) for my new PC?
- While I'm quite ready to get a 1080, is i7-6700K necessary or are there cheaper value alternatives?
- Disregarding peripherals, is $2000 a realistic budget for the combination stated above? Otherwise what price range should I be expecting?
- If I'm going DIY, what'd be your recommendations on shops to patronize and what should I look out for in order to avoid bottlenecking any components?

Thank you very much friends!

 

[Koenig168]

- Am I able to reuse my ram sticks from my current PC (Kingston 8GB x2 1600Mhz) for my new PC?

No, you will need DDR4

- While I'm quite ready to get a 1080, is i7-6700K necessary or are there cheaper value alternatives?

You can get cheaper CPUs, i7-6700K is overkill for most tasks.

- Disregarding peripherals, is $2000 a realistic budget for the combination stated above? Otherwise what price range should I be expecting?

For a high-end system using GTX 1080, I would probably budget for around $2.5K to $3K, factoring in MB, RAM, PSU, AIO cooler, casing. $2K is certainly possible if you go for lesser known brands and lower tier components.

- If I'm going DIY, what'd be your recommendations on shops to patronize and what should I look out for in order to avoid bottlenecking any components?

PC Themes and TradePac at Sim Lim Square. You can download their price lists (at the menu, click shopping - price list downloads). There are good deals online at Amazon, Qoo10, Lazada etc. at certain times. There are threads on this forum.

 

[singupingu]

SLI ready mobo and gtx1080 is very costly. Unless you're willing to downgrade to gtx1070 to fit your 2k-ish budget. SLI and VR ready as well.

If you're not doing oc, then go for i7 6700 and h170/b150 mobo. But if you're willing to oc, then get the K and z170 mobo. There is difference and you will benefit from it through oc.

Remember get a good psu. You're going to build a powerhouse here. Hahaha. The rest are covered before me.

Sent from Overpowered Phone Mark III using GAGT

 

[xiaozozo]

from 750 to 1080 i think is way too overkill. If graphical performance was #1, TS would have upgraded to 9series. Imo a 1070 would suffice, based on the budget of $2k.

Average card for 1080 about $950
500gb SSD and HDD about $120+$100
Case say $100~$150, and we have less than 800 to work with.

i7+mobo would be around 700
Rams, coolers, PSUs all costs money. Unless TS can up budget to 2500 or 3000, would be more value for money.

Just my 2cents.

 

[laspace]

- Am I able to reuse my ram sticks from my current PC (Kingston 8GB x2 1600Mhz) for my new PC?

No, you will need DDR4
Thanks for the heads up!

- While I'm quite ready to get a 1080, is i7-6700K necessary or are there cheaper value alternatives?

You can get cheaper CPUs, i7-6700K is overkill for most tasks.
I've noted that the base recommendation for VR-ready setups is a i5-6500, do you reckon it's a sweet-spot given my requirements or should I go slightly higher?

- Disregarding peripherals, is $2000 a realistic budget for the combination stated above? Otherwise what price range should I be expecting?

For a high-end system using GTX 1080, I would probably budget for around $2.5K to $3K, factoring in MB, RAM, PSU, AIO cooler, casing. $2K is certainly possible if you go for lesser known brands and lower tier components.
Noted on the budget, and from my observations most components are listed at varying prices like you said depending on the brand, may I know which are the parts that I should NOT go for "cheap" brands?

- If I'm going DIY, what'd be your recommendations on shops to patronize and what should I look out for in order to avoid bottlenecking any components?

PC Themes and TradePac at Sim Lim Square. You can download their price lists (at the menu, click shopping - price list downloads). There are good deals online at Amazon, Qoo10, Lazada etc. at certain times. There are threads on this forum.

SLI ready mobo and gtx1080 is very costly. Unless you're willing to downgrade to gtx1070 to fit your 2k-ish budget. SLI and VR ready as well.
I'll take that into consideration when doing my final budgeting, thanks!

If you're not doing oc, then go for i7 6700 and h170/b150 mobo. But if you're willing to oc, then get the K and z170 mobo. There is difference and you will benefit from it through oc.
Noted with thanks.

Remember get a good psu. You're going to build a powerhouse here. Hahaha. The rest are covered before me.
Good point, I'll keep in mind to look for a worthy one, do you have a rough gauge of what is required to power (ideally, not minimally) a 1070/80 and i7 6700?

from 750 to 1080 i think is way too overkill. If graphical performance was #1, TS would have upgraded to 9series. Imo a 1070 would suffice, based on the budget of $2k.
1070 seems to be the top recommendation given my budget, I'll keep it in mind.

Average card for 1080 about $950
500gb SSD and HDD about $120+$100
Case say $100~$150, and we have less than 800 to work with.

i7+mobo would be around 700
Rams, coolers, PSUs all costs money. Unless TS can up budget to 2500 or 3000, would be more value for money.
Thanks for the estimation!

Just my 2cents.

Thanks all for your replies, from what I have gathered...
1) GTX 1070 & i7-6700 (or lower) should suffice
2) Powerful PSU required
3) RAM minimally DDR4

I've posted some questions with regards to your kind replies in the quotes above, but here are the main ones:
1) In pursuit of value items, what components could I afford going for the "lower-tier" / "cheaper" variance of the same series (e.g 1070 variance amongst the different brands).
2) Would a i5-6500 suffice or is it a CPU that will be obsolete in the coming years (given that the speed rank isn't particularly impressive on UserBenchmark)
3) As it is my first time patronizing SLS, pardon my amateur questions but would the vendors be able to assemble the PC for us on the spot (for a fee?) or do we have to literally DIY at home with the casing (any places where I can read up to prepare myself to do it personally?).
4) At SLS, if I'm buying the components altogether, am I able to strike a decent bargain with the vendor? (e.g I'm buying $2500 worth of parts)

Thank you!

 

[ZrE0_Cha0s]

Thanks all for your replies, from what I have gathered...
1) GTX 1070 & i7-6700 (or lower) should suffice
2) Powerful PSU required
3) RAM minimally DDR4

1) well this is a decent little brother that give decent performance ratio to dollar. and i7-6700 is actually if u dun play overclock but required hyperthread to assist u in your workload

2) well definitely if u intend to play OC and SLI features.

3) this is of moving forward. since DDR3 is already EOL soon and DDR5 will be out in next few years. (so eventually u still need to change to DDR5 in later years. )

I've posted some questions with regards to your kind replies in the quotes above, but here are the main ones:
1) In pursuit of value items, what components could I afford going for the "lower-tier" / "cheaper" variance of the same series (e.g 1070 variance amongst the different brands).
2) Would a i5-6500 suffice or is it a CPU that will be obsolete in the coming years (given that the speed rank isn't particularly impressive on UserBenchmark)
3) As it is my first time patronizing SLS, pardon my amateur questions but would the vendors be able to assemble the PC for us on the spot (for a fee?) or do we have to literally DIY at home with the casing (any places where I can read up to prepare myself to do it personally?).
4) At SLS, if I'm buying the components altogether, am I able to strike a decent bargain with the vendor? (e.g I'm buying $2500 worth of parts)

Thank you!

1)i would say the ram and SSD. (but den again how heavy was your rendering?)
GPU can consider Zotac GTX 1070 twin fan or plait GTX 1070 dual (the cheapest GPU of GTX 1070)

2) that will be depends on how heavy is your video editing. if i5 is more than enough den u can get that otherwise i7 6700 its fine.

3) yes they have people who are experiences in building PC will definitely do 1 on the spot. (yes u still need to pay for installation in some shop while a few still can FOC for it.) but if u intend to DIY u can grab the parts and visit Nigel @lvl 2, he will teach u how to install it

4) i would say yes, if u know the pricing and sweet talk them to give u more discount

 

[gld998]

Knn.. topup abit hoot x99 set... find the cheapest one... anytime more power then i7 6700k or 7700k... consperm 5yrs no need to change

Sent from Samsung SM-T719Y using GAGT

 

[laspace]

1) well this is a decent little brother that give decent performance ratio to dollar. and i7-6700 is actually if u dun play overclock but required hyperthread to assist u in your workload

2) well definitely if u intend to play OC and SLI features.

3) this is of moving forward. since DDR3 is already EOL soon and DDR5 will be out in next few years. (so eventually u still need to change to DDR5 in later years. )

1)i would say the ram and SSD. (but den again how heavy was your rendering?)
GPU can consider Zotac GTX 1070 twin fan or plait GTX 1070 dual (the cheapest GPU of GTX 1070)

2) that will be depends on how heavy is your video editing. if i5 is more than enough den u can get that otherwise i7 6700 its fine.

3) yes they have people who are experiences in building PC will definitely do 1 on the spot. (yes u still need to pay for installation in some shop while a few still can FOC for it.) but if u intend to DIY u can grab the parts and visit Nigel @lvl 2, he will teach u how to install it

4) i would say yes, if u know the pricing and sweet talk them to give u more discount

@ZeroChaos: Thanks for the tips!
@ZeroChaos or any other veterans: Also while I'm at it, may I ask what kind of cooling system is most ideal if I'm going for say, a i5-6600k (light OC, say around 4.2Ghz max) and GTX 1080? My first time dealing with proper cooling system so any advice would be great.

 

[ragnarok95]

You just just get a mobo that support DDR3 for the 6700K. But like what others say, i think no point, just get a pair of DDR4.