Trying to build a gaming machine

[Loki_almighty]

Hello everyone,

I am trying to jump back in to the world of custom PC after an almost 9 years absent.
The purpose for this set up as stated above is for a gaming pc, with future proof in mind.

The set up is as follows:

Case
FRACTAL DESIGN ARC MIDI R2 MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Six Core Processor i7-5930K (3.5GHz) 15MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® X99-S: ATX, HSW-E CPU, USB 3.0, SATA 6 GB/s
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X PREDATOR QUAD-DDR4 3000MHz X.M.P (4 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
250GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
Corsair H60 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) 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 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)

===========================

This is going to be an upgrade from my previous pc, which GPU is already busted.

Below is my previous spec:

Dell Studio XPS™ -(D06SX04)
Base
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 920 (2.66GHz, 8MB cache, 4.8GT/sec)
Memory
3072MB (3x1024) 1067MHz DDR3 Tri Channel
Video Card
512MB ATI® Radeon® 4850 Graphics card
Hard Drive
1TB Serial ATA (7200RPM) Hard Drive
Floppy Drives and Additional Storage Devices
19-in-1 Media Card Reader
Optical Devices
16X DVD+/- RW Optical Drive (DVD & CD read and write)
Sound Cards
Integrated HDA 7.1 Dolby Digital Audio

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1. I intended to salvage the Optical Drive, Card Reader and Hard Drive. Is there anything else i can added to the new PC?
2. I will also attached a 2.5" hard drive from my old XBox 360 to the new PC. Am i right to think that it would be a straight forward format and plug process?
3. With that in mind, will i need a bigger PSU than 550w, to accommodate those additional salvages hardwares?
4. I've seen GPU with custom cooler addition in it, and it seems the one here is just the default one without the custom cooler addition, will it make a difference?
5. Is it recommended to use the Arctic thermal paste instead the standard one?
6. The last of my homework would be to think if this case is suitable for me..

thanks in advance for anyone that are willing to give some inputs..

Regards,

 

[keynes]

The cpu seems overkill for gaming. An i7-4790 would be a good choice with 8gb ram and z97-A motherboard. With the savings you could try to get a gtx 980 instead. Regarding the hard drive you could add the ones from your previous build but i would suggest a caviar black instead since it is a faster drive than a standard one. Choice of psu and case depends on whether or not you wish to add a 2nd gpu later on

 

[Loki_almighty]

Ic, so I would be better off allocating my budget for a better GPU like GTX 980 and a better monitor rather than an overkill processor.
What's the difference between Z97 chip and X99 chip? i thought X99 is the one to move forward?
I will take note on the Caviar Black suggestion.
It will be unlikely for me to use multiple monitors for gaming. Does that mean it will be useless for me to use multiple GPU?