A lasting, silent Z170/GTX 1080/dual monitor build

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Spiricore

New member
//Edit: Sorry for the long delay in replies. A lot has changed since my OP. Every time I edit my posts I have to click "Edit" twice and I'm met with "Invalid Thread specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator" (which I have) and the thread completely disappears from the thread list. I've resorted to writing/editing everything in Notepad++ and just copy/pasting when the thread comes back, then waiting for it to come back again so people can actually read it. *sigh*//


Hi all! I've been lurking around the forums for a good month or so and finally did enough research to pull together a build I am happy with and I wanted to see if I've overlooked or forgotten to consider anything. Before I list components willy-nilly, allow me to explain a few things:

Location: USA
Budget & Timing: I am in a unique position where I will need to buy everything within the first two weeks of this August. I can't save it for a later date and getting the money to build another computer won't happen for many years. I want to get a proper chair and desk (I'm considering the EvoDesk) along with this build, so I've set the build budget at $6,000 shipped.

Build goals:
  • Quality, longevity and 'future-proofing'. I'm willing to pay premium for extra durability, and warranty is very important to me because everything needs to last. I'm guessing 5+ years before I would have enough money to upgrade to a newer chipset. If something breaks and I'm not covered, I'm simply out of a PC for a 3-6 months until I can replace the part. Are 3rd party warranty services or alternatives worth picking up? I'm okay with the extra money necessary if they're actually worth it.
  • Mid-tier overclocking the CPU, RAM, and possibly the GPU. [b]This is new to me.[/b] I don't want to risk the health of my components by pushing them too hard, but I also don't want the build to fall behind the times any more than it has to. I'm sure I'd be more willing to push things further a few years down the line when the need arises.
  • Silent or near-silent idle with an acceptable dB during full load without compromising performance as it will be sitting on the desk next to me. I have chronic insomnia and my PC will be in the same room as my sleeping wife pretty regularly. This means a fully enclosed case with the quietest and most efficient variable fans I can find. It is my understanding that be Quiet! and Noctua are the companies to go for in this regard.
  • Lighting: Since it's all enclosed and I'd rather the only light sources be the monitor(s), mouse and keyboard, I'll disable most/all lighting features. I'm not in the habit of showing my PC off and I'd rather have the extra sound dampening.
  • Dual monitors: one for gaming and the other for general use and some photo/video editing. I would rather have two large displays than three smaller ones and going for an ultrawide makes me feel like as though I'd lose a lot of productivity when compared to a dual monitor setup.
  • Regular, every day use (5-15 hrs/day). I'm a retired hermit and the computer is the most important thing to me after my wife. I estimate I'll be spending about 60% of my time gaming, 30% general browsing/downloading, and 10% content creation (Photoshop, Ableton, Avid and Premiere). I also do a lot of research and end up having 20+ tabs I'm swapping between. Finally, I am considered creating content for YouTube, but don't know if I'll actually go through with it, so those last two percentages may shift. I would like the build to be as ready as it can be for both situations.

Below are the components I'm considering. Given the information above, are there any foreseeable issues or things missing? This is the first time building a PC since 2007 (which sounded like a jet engine), so I'm not sure about newer technology, if custom cables are worthwhile, or anything else I completely overlooked.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

As you can see, I do have wiggle room with my budget, but aside from more additional storage I can't think of anything else I would need.
Thanks for reading. Any and all input is greatly appreciated!


// 7/25 10:30PM build edits and notes:
  • Downgraded PSU from 1,000W to 750W.
  • Weighing the Kraken/H110 AIO vs. Noctua NHD-15...?
  • Decided against the Predator X34 and went back to my original choice, the Dell S2716DG. My second monitor would be 1" taller while vertical next to the X34 and my OCD would get the better of me. Then I came to the conclusion that I'd rather have a two-horizontal setup instead. So, yeah.
 
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Since I don't exacly know what a sound designer requires from a pc, let me know if some of my suggestions don't apply from your usage case.

CPU and case are solid choices especially since the Dark Base 900 already comes with almost $100 worth of high quality fans. Fractal Design Define series cases are also a solid choice. Also, why don't you just turn it off while you sleep?

I'd avoid AIO liqud coolers when you're after a properly quiet rig, as the pump noise can be louder than the fans, get a NH-D15S. I used one of these for a mate's build and it's very quiet while still offering a lot of cooling.

The ASUS Z170-Deluxe is a lot cheaper and offers the same if not more features for your needs. All higher end Asus boards are very well built and should easily last 5+ years. But if you really need "a bunch" of add-in cards, I'd consider moving to x99.

As for RAM, (and assuming you need 32-64 GB for work) I'd get two 16 sticks now and add two more later if needed.

The 950 Pro is a good choice, used it also I that buddy's pc and never had any issues.

GPU: The Asus Strix cards are also pretty quiet from what I heard. I wouldn't bother with SLI for the reasons you mentionned. Just save the money now and if you should feel the need to get something more powerful in a few years, sell the 1080 and the new model.

PSU: not sure how they get this value but this build is going to consume about 300-400W from my experience even when overclocked, so a 650W is more than enough.

The fans are not really necessary, I've had a 120mm Silent Wing 2 and it was very quiet.
 
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Don't bother with the on-board "gaming audio" solution on the motherboards, buy something cheaper as the Asus Deluxe board mentioned above and buy a proper soundcard like the asus STXII

For a PSU I recommend you get the LEADEX 650W gold by superflower, top notch!

CPU cooler wise: I think you should consider the noctua nhd-15 as an option, I've installed it on my 8350 and it is on a 4.7GHz overclock with 1,45Volts The PC becomes a room heater but I can BARELY hear the cooler even with a non sound proofed case. In case you go that way I recommend low profile ram.
Oh and you don't have to replace the case fans, you won't notice a difference anyway.

Also see if you can get the blue snowball -a tad better mic-

Regarding headphones you can also have a look at the two entry level beyerdynamic ones DT990 PRO -more flat sounding great for audio production-
and the DT770 -closed design a bit more bassy-
 
Unfortunately, there are no official date regarding the Acer Predator X34P... Only info is around Q4 2016. Which is later than what you have planned unfortunately.
 
MadMarc said:
Fractal Design Define series ... Also, why don't you just turn it off while you sleep?
Click to expand...
I really liked the Define S, but for whatever reason (it's been awhile since I was looking at cases) I swayed towards the Dark Base. I'll revisit this before I place my order.

:huh: I'm out of habit of turning my PC off because I download and upload a lot. It wasn't until just recently that I did more research on the "leave on 24/7 vs. turn on/off" debate and realized my methodologies over the years were not accurate any longer.

MadMarc said:
I'd avoid AIO liqud coolers when you're after a properly quiet rig, as the pump noise can be louder than the fans, get a NH-D15S..
Click to expand...
Thank you for addressing this concern. What, if any, real-world overclocking/stability limitations will come with a change to a block cooler like the D15S?

The ASUS Z170-Deluxe is a lot cheaper and offers the same if not more features for your needs. All higher end Asus boards are very well built and should easily last 5+ years.[/QUOTE]
I originally ruled out the Z170-Deluxe after seeing some very mixed reviews. But then again, if I'm really not going to be getting any benefits or better durability from the Formula, it seems unnecessary. I compared the two side-by-side again this evening and found the only difference to be Bluetooth 4.1 and higher RAM OC on the Formula vs 4.0 on the Deluxe. Both have a 3 year warranty. More on RAM further down.

As for RAM, (and assuming you need 32-64 GB for work) I'd get two 16 sticks now and add two more later if needed.[/QUOTE]
I had to be honest with myself; now that I'm retired, I'm going to be gaming more than anything. I don't think I even need 32GB right now (The Witcher 3 only uses 8GB on recommended), but because of the money I need to spend by a certain date situation, I'd rather just fill all the slots. I'm mostly curious if I'll get better (overclock) performance out of 4x8GB versus 4x16GB. If it's negligible, I'll just go for 4x16 so I can set it and forget it.

MadMarc said:
The Asus Strix cards are also pretty quiet from what I heard. I wouldn't bother with SLI ...
Click to expand...
This is the second on my list if the Zotac isn't available near MSRP at time of ordering.

MadMarc said:
...this build is going to consume about 300-400W from my experience even overclocked, so a 650W is more than enough.
Click to expand...
Oh, wow, I was way off. I've bumped it down to 750W on my build just for a little peace of mind. Thanks!

MadMarc said:
The fans are not really necessary, I've had a 120mm Silent Wing 2 and it was very quiet.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your input. I felt fairly comfortable not replacing them, but your opinion helps solidify my decision. I was considering replacing any 120mm with 140mm for a little more circulation... maybe? lol

Thelosouvlakia said:
Don't bother with the on-board "gaming audio" solution ... buy a proper soundcard like the asus STXII
Click to expand...
Thank you for your input! I see this fact hasn't changed in 9 years :eek: I will be researching a sound card now and I'll definitely keep the STXII in mind.

Thelosouvlakia said:
I think you should consider the noctua nhd-15 ... The PC becomes a room heater but I can BARELY hear the cooler ... I recommend low profile ram.
Click to expand...
I definitely like the idea of lower noise, but how effective is it in terms of performance and stability? I was also debating the Corsair H100/H115 but those are probably going to be just as loud even after fan replacement.

Thelosouvlakia said:
... get the blue snowball -a tad better mic-
Click to expand...
Thanks for the recommendation; I was looking at it too. I'm really fighting with myself on whether or not I'll be getting a boom mic or not.

Thelosouvlakia said:
Regarding headphones you can also have a look at the two entry level beyerdynamic ones DT990 PRO -more flat sounding great for audio production-
and the DT770 -closed design a bit more bassy-
Click to expand...
I am very familiar with the DT770s, as I used them in film school. Massdrop has some really nice cans available (if the timing is right...) so I might end up going with one of them instead. I'm going to re-look at the 990 Pros though.

Chrazey said:
Unfortunately, there are no official date regarding the Acer Predator X34P... Only info is around Q4 2016. Which is later than what you have planned unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I was thinking about that last night and decided against the x34 line because of desk space.

// 7/25 10:30PM build edits and notes:
  • The more I thought about it, the more I've become concerned with warranties. Are 3rd party warranty services worth picking up? I'm okay with the extra money necessary if they're actually worth it.
  • I obviously don't know much about RAM, and if I switched to a block cooler I would probably grab some sticks of CORSAIR Vengeance LPX. Is OCing RAM really that important for futureproofing? If so, what speed should I be looking for? I just stupidly assumed "higher is better".
  • Downgraded PSU from 1,000W to 750W.
  • Weighing the Kraken/H110 AIO vs Noctua NHD-15...?
  • Decided against the 34" X34 and went back to my original choice, the Dell S2716DG. My second monitor would be 1" taller while vertical next to the X34 and my OCD would get the better of me. Then I came to the conclusion that I'd rather have a two-horizontal setup instead. So, yeah.
 
This thread seems to disappear - for at least an hour at a time, if not more - every time I try to edit it. The OP has been completely overhauled since my post last night making changes where recommended.
 
- The NH-D15S might offer slightly less cooling potential, but with modern CPUs where the actual CPU die has become rather small, the heat transfer from the die to the built-in heatspreader is the limiting factor. So you won't see reduced overclocking, especially since you're probably not going to go crazy with your focus on stability and reliability. For air coolers in general: less moving parts -> fewer things to go wrong

-Hardly anyone "needs" a ROG board these days, any $150+ (or even less) get's the job done, overclocks well and easily lasts five years.

-Usually 2 sticks of RAM give you the best overclocks, but again, it's unlikely to matter for you. 32 GB is really more than enough, if it was my money I'd even stick to 16 GB for a gaming rig.
Don't bother overclocking the RAM just get a quick kit now, I'd say 2800 to 3200MHz.

-PSU: Please check out Tom's video about how much (or rather how little) power modern PCs use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajiN9aVOv4A
Lots of people overspec their PSU for now reason.

-I doubt an additional warranty service is necessary, I'd say PC parts either fail very soon (due to an manufacturing problem) or they will comfortably last 5+ years. They don't degrade over time under normal usage (at least not in such a short period)
 
MadMarc said:
- The NH-D15S might offer slightly less cooling potential, but with modern CPUs where the actual CPU die has become rather small, the heat transfer from the die to the built-in heatspreader is the limiting factor. So you won't see reduced overclocking, especially since you're probably not going to go crazy with your focus on stability and reliability. For air coolers in general: less moving parts -> fewer things to go wrong

-Hardly anyone "needs" a ROG board these days, any $150+ (or even less) get's the job done, overclocks well and easily lasts five years.

-Usually 2 sticks of RAM give you the best overclocks, but again, it's unlikely to matter for you. 32 GB is really more than enough, if it was my money I'd even stick to 16 GB for a gaming rig.
Don't bother overclocking the RAM just get a quick kit now, I'd say 2800 to 3200MHz.

-PSU: Please check out Tom's video about how much (or rather how little) power modern PCs use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajiN9aVOv4A
Lots of people overspec their PSU for now reason.

-I doubt an additional warranty service is necessary, I'd say PC parts either fail very soon (due to an manufacturing problem) or they will comfortably last 5+ years. They don't degrade over time under normal usage (at least not in such a short period)
Click to expand...

Very interesting post to read, very nice! :)

Although the last bolded part though?...
 
Thanks again. I actually watched that video last night and swapped to 650W for the PSU. I think I'll be happy with the Z170-Deluxe after looking at it more. I'm more comfortable moving to the cooler now.

Here are changes to the build since last posting:

// 7/26 11:50AM build edits and notes:
  • I'm reaching my maximum budget and actually looking to shave a few things off in case of additional tax/shipping costs.
  • Added Asus Xonar Essence STX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card (I may drop this and go with on-board sound for the time being)
  • Changed cooler to the NH-D15.
  • Changed PSU from 750W to 650W.
  • Changed to G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (finally found the QVL for the z170-Deluxe)
  • Changed headphones to Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Headphones (Still looking for some nice 5.1/7.1 over-ear cans)
  • Added Cable Matters 2-Pack, Gold Plated DisplayPort to DisplayPort Cable 6 Feet ($11.99)
  • Added SteelSeries Stratus XL, Bluetooth Wireless Gaming Controller ($55.08)
  • Added iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit 70 pcs ($62.95)
  • Added iFixit Pro Magnetic Project Mat ($24.99)
  • Added Member's Mark Ergo Comfort Anti-Slip 3" - 8" Adjustable Footrest ($25.94)
  • Added Pioneer BDR-209DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer
 
Nope! RAM is too tall with the cooler. Let's try:

Vengeance® LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz C16 Memory Kit - Black (CMK32GX4M2B3200C16)

Also dropped the sound card. I'll upgrade if/when the need arises. I'm pretty comfortable with the build and price as it stands, but is still open for scrutiny.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($344.88 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($88.49 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($5.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-DELUXE ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($299.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($210.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($317.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($313.81 @ B&H)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 8GB AMP! Extreme Video Card ($971.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: be quiet! DARK BASE 900 | SILVER ATX Full Tower Case ($199.99)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 650W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($85.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-209DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($57.88 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P14 FLX 65.0 CFM 140mm Fan ($19.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P14 FLX 65.0 CFM 140mm Fan ($19.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P14 FLX 65.0 CFM 140mm Fan ($19.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm Fan ($19.79 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm Fan ($19.79 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell U2715H 27.0" 60Hz Monitor ($479.00 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Dell S2716DG 27.0" 144Hz Monitor ($469.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Corsair K95 RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard ($189.99 @ Best Buy)
Mouse: Corsair Scimitar RGB Wired Optical Mouse ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Headphones ($138.90)
Speakers: Audioengine A5+ Black 100W 2ch Speakers ($399.00 @ Amazon)
UPS: CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS ($198.82 @ B&H)
Other: Blue Microphones Snowball USB Microphone ($69.99)
Other: Cable Matters 2-Pack, Gold Plated DisplayPort to DisplayPort Cable 6 Feet ($11.99)
Other: SteelSeries Stratus XL, Bluetooth Wireless Gaming Controller ($55.08)
Other: iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit 70 pcs ($62.95)
Other: iFixit Pro Magnetic Project Mat ($24.99)
Other: Member's Mark Ergo Comfort Anti-Slip 3" - 8" Adjustable Footrest ($25.94)
Total: $5193.05
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-26 14:50 EDT-0400
 
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