New PC time :)

[Rakk]

So the time has come - it's time for a new PC, this is my plan so far:

Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 III ADVANCED CASE (GREEN)
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i5-6600K Quad Core (3.50GHz @ upto 4.60GHz)
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
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready! - oooo, shiney and new
1st Hard Disk
1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE - I have an SSD and a Caviar Black that will be transferred over, this drive will just be an additional storage drive
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM - not sure I need this, I could transfer my current one over
Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (£69)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i V2 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler (£89)
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
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED - I have an MSDN subscription so Win10 Enterprise will be installed
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,201.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-skylake-overclocked/eXXpyR3Ez0/

Notes:
1. The game I mostly play (EQ2) benefits massively from single-clock speed (it doesn't use multiple cores), thus the overclocked i5.
2. The release details for the GTX1060 may make me change my mind over which GPU to get, not sure yet, but said details should be out soon, it's probable that the 1070 may be overkill for my uses, but I'm not sure how long my current game will exist for so I'm future proofing for when it disappears, and I do sometimes play other games

So yeah, comments are welcome

Edit: useful info I forgot to include:
What I'll be using said PC for:
Playing Everquest2 (an 11year old MMO which benefits from single clock-speed).
Using Visual Studio sporadically and having a local SQL server instance - mostly for writing things that help with EQ2 - like file parsing, and having a database from EQ2's API so I can check up on this like quests and quest ranking.
Some other games (not FPS's) for when the EQ2 servers are down or I've run out of things to do whilst waiting for the next expansion

Budget:
I was hoping not much over £1200

 

[Oussebon]

it's probable that the 1070 may be overkill for my uses, but I'm not sure how long my current game will exist for so I'm future proofing for when it disappears, and I do sometimes play other games

Would this not be an even stronger argument for the i7? Since it's both less hassle and more cost effective - and also somewhat inevitable - to upgrade a GPU in future within the lifespan of the overall build, compared to upgrading a CPU.

24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM - not sure I need this, I could transfer my current one over

Given how cheap they are (~£10) I'd probably just pay for the new one and save fiddling around.

Looks nice

As a personal preference I would suggest the RM850x PSU as it is semi passive mode which in real terms means with a system like that it probably won't even have to switch itself on, plus it's better build quality. Though it does have a £40 premium.

 

[Rakk]

Would this not be an even stronger argument for the i7? Since it's both less hassle and more cost effective - and also somewhat inevitable - to upgrade a GPU in future within the lifespan of the overall build, compared to upgrading a CPU.

Well both the i5-6600k and the i7-6700k seem to overclock to pretty much the same speed, and since I don't need the hyperthreading it'd be about a 100quid price increase for something I'm not convinced would benefit me.

Given how cheap they are (~£10) I'd probably just pay for the new one and save fiddling around.

Yeah, I think that was the conclusion I came to as well - I'm lazy

Looks nice

 

[Oussebon]

Well both the i5-6600k and the i7-6700k seem to overclock to pretty much the same speed, and since I don't need the hyperthreading it'd be about a 100quid price increase for something I'm not convinced would benefit me.

For sure. My point was simply that if you're buying a GTX 1070 that's overkill for EQ2 and has capacity that won't be used productively, on the grounds that you might get some benefit from it in future, the same logic would apply to the CPU. Apologies if I hadn't expressed that clearly.

 

[Rakk]

For sure. My point was simply that if you're buying a GTX 1070 that's overkill for EQ2 and has capacity that won't be used productively, on the grounds that you might get some benefit from it in future, the same logic would apply to the CPU. Apologies if I hadn't expressed that clearly.

It's no problem - it's still the morning (and I had breakfast too long ago), I'm pretty sure I miss half the stuff written
But yeah, furture proofing is one of those things, some things sound like better ideas at the time than others, and I'm never sure which is better - if only we could see into the future

 

[Scott]

With overclocking in mind I would upgrade to the 3000mhz RAM. Gives a very nice cushion (£13)

If you're keen on keeping it quiet the silent fan option on the H100i is a brilliant choice, although it's a bit more for the option (£20)

I agree on the other points as well. I can't see past an i7 and £100 now might pay itself off in spades in the future depending on your needs. (£99)

Unfortunately that brings it up to £1380

 

[Rakk]

With overclocking in mind I would upgrade to the 3000mhz RAM. Gives a very nice cushion (£13)

That's something I was wondering about, will also be discussing with a few guys at work about it

If you're keen on keeping it quiet the silent fan option on the H100i is a brilliant choice, although it's a bit more for the option (£20)

Well, I don't need it to be silent, my current machine makes a whole lot of noise as I'm still having a CPU fan ramping up for no apparent reason problem that I never got to the bottom of, so most things will be quieter than that

I can't see past an i7 and £100 now might pay itself off in spades in the future depending on your needs. (£99)

If I'm right (not guaranteed) the only difference between the i5 and i7 is the hyperthreading, so basically it'll cost 100quid for hyperthreading, which means I'm having problems justifying it cos I just don't know how hyperthreading would help , though admittedly I'm not sure what would require hyperthreading.

Oh yeah, I forgot to put down what I'll be using said PC for - d'uh!
Playing Everquest2 (an 11year old MMO which benefits from single clock-speed), using Visual Studio and having a local SQL server instance - mostly for writing things that help with EQ2 - like file parsing, having a database from EQ2's API so I can check up on this like quests and quest ranking, some other games (not FPS's) for when the EQ2 servers are down or I've run out of things to do whilst waiting for the next expansion

Unfortunately that brings it up to £1380

Yeah and that's getting a bit over what I was wanting to spend - I was hoping not much over £1200 - which I also forgot to put in my original post - I was obviously not very awake when I wrote that post

 

[jerpers]

Well, I don't need it to be silent, my current machine makes a whole lot of noise as I'm still having a CPU fan ramping up for no apparent reason problem that I never got to the bottom of, so most things will be quieter than that

I found the fans extremely irritating but then again I built mine specifically for quiet performance. The fans are an easy swap out however if you do find it a nuisance down the line.

 

[Rakk]

Well after some amount of umming and ahhing, this is what I think I've decided on:

Case
COOLERMASTER CM690 III ADVANCED CASE (GREEN)
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™i5-6600K Quad Core (3.50GHz @ upto 4.60GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® Z170 PRO GAMING: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX SAVAGE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB Kit)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st 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 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100i V2 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
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
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
DVD Recovery Media
NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 7 to 9 working days

I upped the RAM to 3000MHz and that bunged the price upto 1227, cos all the prices went up by the time I did that the next day, if I decide the fans are too noisy I can get some quieter one as jerpers suggested, however I decided against the i7 - the extra 100quid or so made me scowl .

So unless anyone has any other suggestions I may order it tonight (as the quote I have runs out tomorrow and the price has gone up again since then), needless to say a few weeks after I get it, the prices will drop or some NVidia offer will come out or a review machine will come out

 

[Rakk]

Well, I now feel a bit skint
Now the waiting game begins

 

[keynes]

I should have saved my quote which is now more than £200 extra!
Well done in saving yours

 

[ubuysa]

You're making me very depressed. You're both getting new toys and I'm not.

Well....not yet anyway.....

 

[Rakk]

I should have saved my quote which is now more than £200 extra!
Well done in saving yours

That's a hefty difference, by saving my quote I only saved £7, but still 7quid is 7quid

You're making me very depressed. You're both getting new toys and I'm not.

Well my current machine is doing weird stuff so I 'needed' a new machine ... honest
Suppose I should really sort out a DVD or USB stick with my copy of Win10 on it very soon, and I suppose I should also really read up on overclocking - or ask the person who sits virtually opposite me at work.

 

[keynes]

That's a hefty difference, by saving my quote I only saved £7, but still 7quid is 7quid


Well my current machine is doing weird stuff so I 'needed' a new machine ... honest
Suppose I should really sort out a DVD or USB stick with my copy of Win10 on it very soon, and I suppose I should also really read up on overclocking - or ask the person who sits virtually opposite me at work.

This is just the sterling, while we are not supposed to talk politics they should have also pointed out in the leavers campaign that all imports were likely to be more expensive! Hope it recovers soon.

 

[Rakk]

This is just the sterling, while we are not supposed to talk politics they should have also pointed out in the leavers campaign that all imports were likely to be more expensive! Hope it recovers soon.

Well the price of my spec actually dropped by about 15quid yesterday (I knew it was a bad idea to look at the spec again in the configurator) - d'oh!!

But ignoring that, it's now 'In building' - yay for FastTrack , so I'm now getting all giddy - I will have it soon.

 

[oodles2do]

Yours is in building already?! I didn't realise fast track would make this much difference. I ordered mine on the 24th June and it's still pre production

 

[Rakk]

Yours is in building already?! I didn't realise fast track would make this much difference. I ordered mine on the 24th June and it's still pre production

Well 3-day FastTrack means it should be dispatched in 3 working days, 5-day FastTrack means it should be dispatched in 5 working days, so yes it means that it has to go into building much faster (ie. it basically means it skips the 'waiting in line' bit) - sometimes it'll go through faster than advertised as well.

 

[Rakk]

Weeeeee!!!
Awaiting dispatch

 

[gavdee]

Didn't realise people still played EQ2 to the extent you mention. Used to play under the name Valdene, but that's going back a good 5+ years lol.

Enjoy ya new rig when it arrives :0)

 

[Rakk]

Didn't realise people still played EQ2 to the extent you mention. Used to play under the name Valdene, but that's going back a good 5+ years lol.

Yes there are still some of us left - though probably not nearly as many as there used to be

Enjoy ya new rig when it arrives :0)

Don't worry, I will