Help me build my perfect PC, please :) ps: I'm new

[chopsicles]

Silent PC

Hi everyone,

I'm new here, and just as everyone, I would love to have your advice on a super silent PC.
I'll do my best to provide you with all the information you might need to help me out.

WHAT & WHERE:
Currently I use a semi-old Laptop.
General performance isn't too bad, however GPU lacks the most - even Witcher 1 and Diablo 3 don't run on high settings - not even close to highest. My desk is in the living room. However: this living room is equipped with a TV, a dusty PS3 and a small fishtank (which is rather quiet for a fishtank). We live next to train tracks.
The above meaning: our living room is not close to 0 sone, which doesn't mean the build shouldn't aim for it.
I'm based in Germany, so if you're going to add prices, please consider this. I'm ok with ordering from countries in Europe in terms of currency, delivery times and postage. US and Asia are out.

WHY:
I'm really fed up with using a Laptop - desk setup is horrible.
My girl complains about the loud fan (I personally mostly use a headset so don't hear it).
Upgrading isn't an option, because a) laptop, b) too old, c) I want space on my desk.

WHAT FOR:
This PC is meant to be for a casual Gamer/Designer. I mostly play moderately performance-hungry Games, and do some at-home Web-Development plus hobby Photography.

I currently play the following Games:

• Diablo 3

• Witcher 1 (wanna move thru 2 on to 3)

• Skyrim (only PS3 so far, but want to switch to PC once I got the performance)

• Dragon Age (see Skyrim)

• LoL

• Ragnarok Online

• Tree of Saviour (once it's out)

and use these Programs:

• Photoshop (CS5)

• Lightroom

• Spotify

• heavy tab user on Chrome (30+ is not a rare scenario)

WHAT I WANT
Additionally to above mentioned criteria, I would like something like this:

• silence! (actually I need this, it's a requirement for keeping the desk in the living room . I don't really have a notion on how much 1 sone is, but by what I read I would hope to stay under 1 sone on full performance

• durability. I want a beast! So that I still rock performance in 2-3 years and might just need to upgrade memory or so.

• eco friendly. If possible, I would love to minimise my footprint in using less power etc

• skylark - cos you know.. the specs fit I think

• wireless LAN: I'm too far from the router. I LOVE ping! Really! Gimme 2 Antennae. (I use a Fritzbox 7390, with noob settings)

• I've heard of harddrive silencers - is that necessary when the OS and programs are on an SSD?

• Sound: 80% of the time it's on my headset, so I'm guessing onboard is fine, however I do like what they say about the Creative Soundblaster Zx and ZxR (plus they look awesome).

• a pretty case. I would prefer a sleek aluminium case to an LED stuffed rainbow unicorn monster.

• small case. I know this will be difficult, but if possible I don't want an XXL Case. I like cubes.

• card reader: at least SD Cards. I don't want to connect my camera to transfer photos

• optical drive: doesn't have to be internally, I rarely use CDs/DVDs, the above mentioned laptop has a BR writer, and if neeed be I can access the drive via network

• I guess I need a (new) windows license, too

COST
I'm willing to go up to 3000€ if that gets me EVERYTHING I want. However I won't be sad if it ends up being only 2000€.

WHAT I LOOKED AT
I checked out the pre-configured PCs from PCGH. http://www.pcgameshardware.de/pcgh-pcs/ and of those I preferred the 3rd from the right.
I also looked at the PCs these guys make: http://www.silentmaxx.de/pcs/kenko-der- ... er-pc.html (there are two labeled "NEU", those are the ones using Skylake. However, I can't really judge if their price is any good and the configuration options are just too much for me without someone to explain it all.

ADDITIONAL INFO
I have never built my own PC, yet I do know people that have (including water-cooled gaming PCs) so I will get help when it's time to actually build this thing.
I want to keep most of my current other hardware, including both a wireless Logitech Keyboard and Mouse and Headset, all 3 of course with their own sender, so that's 3 USB ports gone already (weirdly enough, the headset malfunctioned when it was plugged into a USB 3).
I currently have 3 external 2.5" harddrives, using up 4 USB ports, 1 of which is USB 3. I would prefer it if I could get rid of my ext. USB Hub, but I can understand how this might be difficult in terms of Case, Harddrive positioning etc. These drives are mostly stationary, so it might be possible to move them inside the case?
My screen needs upgrading, too - however that can still wait a little. If however it is relevant to GPU (or other component) selection: what I would LOVE, would be an IPS Panel with gaming performance. I will very very likely never play shooter games or anything else where you really have to rely on reaction times. 28" plus would be nice, doesn't have to be 4k, however if that's possible with the above budget: yay!

TIMEFRAME
This year. But other than that no rush. Although like most grown up children: I want my new toy NOW!

Please let me know if this is sufficient information. I am already grateful for any help you might provide.

ps: any grammar and spelling mistakes are yours to keep, but do point them out if you wish

[quest_for_silence]

c) I want space on my desk.

A "cube" should go on a desk.

[CA_Steve]

Welcome to SPCR.

How much space can you allocate for the case? Will it be next to the desk?

The PCGH R5 build looks solid if you have the space for it. An i5 is great for games. If your web development runs lots of VMs or is multithread intensive, then the i7 could be useful.

All of your games, except Witcher 3, would run well at 1080p with a GTX 960. Even Witcher 3 will give you 45-50fps at high settings with this card. If you want 1080p Ultra quality settings for Witcher 3, then you'd want a GTX 970 or better. At 1440p maybe a GTX 980 and for 2160p a GTX 980 Ti. I leave it to you to decide how much $'s you want to throw at getting one game to run well at higher resolutions

[Deer87]

Hi chopsicles,

Welcome to the forums.
Here are two links, one for my own build and one for a guy with similar requirements (they might give you some inspiration or hints):

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=68403

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=68391

They are both mITX builds, which means the footprint is quite small.

If you like cubes and don't need an optical drive, i will recommend that you take a look at the Fractal Design Node 304 (http://www.silentpcreview.com/Fractal_Design_Node_304), which is so discreet that I got my girlfriend to accept it as a part of the living room
Even though the review is not including a discrete gpu, my experience is that it handles gaming very well.


Good luck with your build

[boost]

WHAT I WANT
Additionally to above mentioned criteria, I would like something like this:

• silence! (actually I need this, it's a requirement for keeping the desk in the living room . I don't really have a notion on how much 1 sone is, but by what I read I would hope to stay under 1 sone on full performance

• durability. I want a beast! So that I still rock performance in 2-3 years and might just need to upgrade memory or so.

• eco friendly. If possible, I would love to minimise my footprint in using less power etc

• skylark - cos you know.. the specs fit I think

• wireless LAN: I'm too far from the router. I LOVE ping! Really! Gimme 2 Antennae. (I use a Fritzbox 7390, with noob settings)

• I've heard of harddrive silencers - is that necessary when the OS and programs are on an SSD?

• Sound: 80% of the time it's on my headset, so I'm guessing onboard is fine, however I do like what they say about the Creative Soundblaster Zx and ZxR (plus they look awesome).

• a pretty case. I would prefer a sleek aluminium case to an LED stuffed rainbow unicorn monster.

• small case. I know this will be difficult, but if possible I don't want an XXL Case. I like cubes.

• card reader: at least SD Cards. I don't want to connect my camera to transfer photos

• optical drive: doesn't have to be internally, I rarely use CDs/DVDs, the above mentioned laptop has a BR writer, and if neeed be I can access the drive via network

• I guess I need a (new) windows license, too

The first case that came to my mind was the Cooltek W2. Good looking cube case with good cooling.
You get the best bang for your buck in beQuiet PSUs in Germany. A Straight Power 10-CM 600W should power any system with a single GPU quietly.
If you want a mainboard that has *all* the features, including sound and wireless, the Asus Z-170 Deluxe has it all. With all the onboard components it draws more power, probably not more than add-in cards would, and it comes at a deluxe price. Asus specifically advertises sound quality with this board, maybe you don't need a Soundblaster card. This board is on the shortlist for my PC upgrade.
Matching CPU are Intel K6600 and K6700 (Skylake). You need DDR4 for this CPU and mainboard. Chrome eats Ram, so does Photoshop, get 16GB in a 2x8GB Kit in case you want to upgrade later.
For CPU cooling, get a Scythe Kotetsu.
You don't need hard drive silencers for SSDs. I don't even use hard drive silencers for my 2.5" drives mounted internally.
The Witcher 3 is the most demanding game out there. The other are only moderately taxing. Asus and MSI are two of the top brands for quiet graphics cards. Their 970GTX are 360€, the 980GTX are 550€ and their 980TI are 750(MSI)-790(Asus)€. If you go for 4K I recommend the 980TI. How much gaming do you do and how much do you want to spend?
There is a good affordable 4K screen from Philips. At 40" it's intimidating, but once you're over it's size, you'll never want to go back. I use a 55" 4K TV for my PC at home and I wouldn't go back to a smaller, lower res screen. Unfortunately still only 27" 1440P at work for me.

[chopsicles]

Thank you for the welcomes and all the feedback so far.

I wanted to show you guys a photo of my desk, but forgot to take one. That'll have to wait til after work today. (Actually, it looks like the image below, only with a little bit bigger table top).

With your help and also the help of a very friendly colleague explaining to me why this board only goes with that cpu etc, I came up with the following parts list.

Prices taken from http://geizhals.de/ which provides a rather good overview of shops for Germany (and Europe).
Like I said in my original post, I think I would go as far as 3k, if that gives me all my wishes and makes it super silent. However, if it stays below that, obviously I won't cry about spending a little less.
If I'm calculating correctly, choosing all the most expensive parts in my list gets me to 2360 which is still fine and the same or less as buying a pre-built system.

Big question now is: what makes it silent? Which parts do I have to choose, to get the least noise out of this?
Are there more (better) choices?

The two under-desk cases I have listed are just there because I looked for some with pre-installed insulation and they seemed popular/reasonable/... They don't float my boat in terms of pretty, however the be quiet! wins over the NZXT easy, and the Cooltek is even nicer - however that really would have to go on the desk, due to power button placement and I'm not sure I want that.
Is it possible to choose all parts before commiting to a case? Or would dimensions of parts make it impossible to find a matching case?
What I realised when looking at cases if it's under the desk I would prever to have the power button on the top. Sideways or behind the front door even would just annoy me.
Something I forgot to mention: we have 2 cats! So any openings should get dust/hair prooved as far as possible without limiting cooling too much.

With regard to the component categories, I would hope you guys can now give me pointers as to why one cooler is better than the others. I'm guessing that'll have to be an estimate of cooling power/noise/power consumption/form factor?

How do I pick my case fans? Are they the last thing to get? I would think so. Does it make a big difference if the case can control the fans (this PWM stuff...)? Or should I skip them at all to keep things quiet? Sorry for being a little noob here.

What about things like RAM coolers? Is that necessary? It'll counter the whole quiet part, right?

Anyone have a good pointer how to integrate an SD card reader? Should I go full component or something simple as an external one that plugs into USB?

Also, I don't really want win 10.. but I'm guessing its inevitable really? Is there other software that you would recommend in a heads-up for a build like this in terms of temp management etc?

What about future maintenance?

Code: Select all

╔═════════════════════╦════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╦═══════════╦═══════╗
║      Component      ║                        Product                         ║ Price (€) ║ Final ║
╠═════════════════════╬════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╬═══════════╬═══════╣
║ Case (on desk)      ║ Cooltek W2 silber                                      ║       100 ║ x     ║
║                     ║                                                        ║           ║       ║
║ Case Fan            ║ be quiet! Silent Wings 2 PWM 140mm x3 (20ea)           ║        60 ║       ║
║ ------------------- ║                                                        ║           ║       ║
║ Power Supply        ║ Sea Sonic Platinum Series Fanless 520W ATX 2.3         ║       155 ║       ║
║                     ║ be quiet! Straight Power 10-CM 600W                    ║       105 ║       ║
║ ------------------- ║                                                        ║           ║       ║
║ Motherboard         ║ ASUS Z170-Deluxe                                       ║       290 ║ x     ║
║ ------------------- ║                                                        ║           ║       ║
║ CPU                 ║ Intel i7 6700K Skylake                                 ║       380 ║ x     ║
║                     ║                                                        ║           ║       ║
║ CPU Cooler          ║ be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3                              ║        75 ║       ║
║                     ║ SilentiumPC Grandis                                    ║        40 ║       ║
║                     ║ Scythe Ninja 3 Rev. B                                  ║        35 ║       ║
║                     ║ Scythe Kotetsu                                         ║        30 ║       ║
║ ------------------- ║                                                        ║           ║       ║
║ Memory 16GB         ║ Crucial Ballistix Sport DIMM Kit 16GB, DDR4-2400       ║       110 ║       ║
║                     ║ Corsair Vengeance LPX schwarz DIMM Kit 16GB, DDR4-2400 ║       120 ║       ║
║                     ║ Corsair Vengeance LPX schwarz DIMM Kit 16GB, DDR4-3000 ║       160 ║       ║
║                     ║                                                        ║           ║       ║
║ Memory 32GB         ║ 2x Crucial Ballistix Sport DIMM Kit 16GB, DDR4-2400    ║       220 ║       ║
║                     ║ Crucial Ballistix Elite DIMM Kit 32GB, DDR4-2666       ║       290 ║       ║
║                     ║ Corsair Vengeance LPX schwarz DIMM Kit 32GB, DDR4-2666 ║       280 ║       ║
║ ------------------- ║                                                        ║           ║       ║
║ Video Card          ║ Inno3D GeForce GTX 980 Ti iChill X3 Ultra              ║       705 ║ x     ║
║ ------------------- ║                                                        ║           ║       ║
║ Operating System    ║ Win 8.1 Pro                                            ║       125 ║       ║
║                     ║ Win 10 Pro                                             ║       140 ║       ║
║ ------------------- ║                                                        ║           ║       ║
║ SD Card Reader      ║ ???                                                    ║           ║       ║
║ Primary Storage     ║ ???                                                    ║           ║       ║
║ Secondary Storage   ║ ???                                                    ║           ║       ║
║ Optical Drive       ║ optional                                               ║           ║       ║
║ Sound Card          ║ optional                                               ║           ║       ║
╚═════════════════════╩════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╩═══════════╩═══════╝

if you want cool ascii tables, too, I made it here: http://www.sensefulsolutions.com/2010/1 ... table.html

[CA_Steve]

What I realised when looking at cases if it's under the desk I would prever to have the power button on the top. Sideways or behind the front door even would just annoy me.

Will the two cats want to sit on top of the case? Having them power off your PC might annoy you more.

Figure out the case and then select the rest of the components for fit and function.

RAM doesn't generate much heat. The lower profile stuff (like the Ballistix Sport) are fine.

I suggest waiting a bit for your Skylake build. New CPU/mobo releases inevitably have bugs as well as lots of UEFI/driver updates. They tend to settle down after 2-3 months.

OS: You could build with 8.1 now. MS provides a free Win 10 upgrade through next July.

[chopsicles]

Figure out the case and then select the rest of the components for fit and function.

I'm stuck between the following choices:

Cooltek W2
++ looks nice
+ solid casing
-- has to sit on the desk (power button/usb placement)
+/- fan control (in the back)
- bad usability (drive install.. according to http://www.hardwareluxx.de/index.php/ar ... ml?start=6)
- only 2 ext usb 3 in front

Fractal Design Define R5
+ fan control
- lots of unused hdd cage
- plastic front

Fractal Design Define R5 (PCGH Edition)
changes are:

• solid top cover made of steel
• solid side door
• everything painted black
• 3 instead of 2 fans preinstalled
• status led white instead of blue
• http://www.pcgameshardware.de/E-Commerc ... n-1164140/

+ quieter
+ colder
+/- all black/neutral
- most expensive of all 4 (130 € incl postage)
- less fan mounts (5 instead of 9)

Fractal Design Define S
+ good ventilation
+ cheapest of the 4 (80€ incl postage)
- no fan control
- plastic front

Apart from the points I listed, does anyone have other considerations that might help me make this decision so I can move forward with my build?

If the Cooltek could go under the desk it would be my straight forward choice. Maybe there is a good alternative that I just didn't find yet?

[boost]

For storage Samsung SM951 is the fastest consumer SSD available. The NVMe version works best with Win10.
Three fast card readers: Lexar (small), Trancend (smaller) and Trancend (smallest).

[chopsicles]

thanks for your continued feedback guys

I have decided on a bunch of parts now, as follows:

• Case: Cooltek W2 silver
• PSU: be quiet! Straight Power 10-CM 600W (unless I end up needing even more W)
• Board: ASUS Z170-Deluxe
• GPU: Inno3D GeForce GTX 980 Ti iChill X3 Ultra (website states PSU with at least 600W needed)
• CPU: Intel i7 6700K Skylake

Next thing I'm trying to figure out is CPU Cooler now. I think I would like to go with the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3, however it's 163mm tall, and Cooltek says the W2 accomodates a maximum of extactly that. So how precise are these values usually? Could I risk it? Will the Rock sit flush with the side of the case? What happens if either the case or the cooler has a slight deviation in size during production?
What are good and quiet alternatives to the rock apart from the above mentioned Kotetsu?

For storage Samsung SM951 is the fastest consumer SSD available. The NVMe version works best with Win10.

I didn't even realise there were SSDs for PCIe Slots... I'm guessing that straight on the board is faster than a standard 2.5" casing then? Is the price really worth it though? I was looking at the Samsung SSD 850 PRO/EVO and that's pretty much half the price for the same amount of storage.

[quest_for_silence]

GPU: Inno3D GeForce GTX 980 Ti iChill X3 Ultra (website states PSU with at least 600W needed)

Probably your proposed rig will draw less than 390W while gaming.

Will the Rock sit flush with the side of the case?

No, you'll have room. Btw, the Rock doesn't look that great cooler.

What happens if either the case or the cooler has a slight deviation in size during production?

Nothing, you'll have room.

What are good and quiet alternatives to the rock apart from the above mentioned Kotetsu?

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1462-page6.html

[boost]

boost wrote:
For storage Samsung SM951 is the fastest consumer SSD available. The NVMe version works best with Win10.

I didn't even realise there were SSDs for PCIe Slots... I'm guessing that straight on the board is faster than a standard 2.5" casing then? Is the price really worth it though? I was looking at the Samsung SSD 850 PRO/EVO and that's pretty much half the price for the same amount of storage.

It's a M.2 slot. Only the last generation (Z97) and this genaration (Z170) of mainboards can boot from PCIe SSDs. On the Asus Z170 Deluxe the M.2 slot is below the large heatsink, that has Asus written on it.
In real life workloads it won't be faster than the 850.

[QUIET!]

I have read that the NVMe drives can resume from sleep mode much faster.

I also saw a demo of a PC with an Intel 750 doing 4k video editing at 24+ fps while a SATA SSD in the same PC could only do 10-14 fps due to the SATA bus limitation.

You might not notice so much with less strenuous loading but noticeable and measurable are not the same thing, it will eventually add up.

To find a suitable alternative heat sink fan, you need to enjoy reading heat sink reviews. After you read enough you will start seeing which brands cool well, which brands have consistent quality construction, which brands install easily, which ones are noisy, etc.

I am waiting on a heatsink from Thermalright at the moment. I think they are Austrian or German. They generally get good reviews for performance, quality and sound but they aren't the flashiest out there.

I also like my Xigmatek Gaia which I think is also European but more of a budget cooler (I paid $20.00).

In the past I have looked for case reviews to determine what kind of heat sink clearance is available. Only rarely have I gotten info on a heat sink I want in the case I want but some times you can infer by looking at how the heatsink you want fits in case x and how heat sink y fits in the case you want.

There are also heat sink comparisons on various web sites. I think they are a good resource for cooling, quality and size but not so great for sound. What I like to see is a low rpm fan and at least a few reviews that say its sound output is low. If I see one review saying its noisy, I look for an alternative or double down on the research to see if the one bad review was an anomaly.

With 163mm clearance, you have plenty of quiet choices.

The case I'm building in has about 137mm which limits my choices a lot. I still found something that should work pretty well for an i7-6700k.

[chopsicles]

What are good and quiet alternatives to the rock apart from the above mentioned Kotetsu?

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1462-page6.html

Thanks very much for that link. I looked at the recommended cooler section, but that was pretty outdated. Didn't realise there would be a more recent list in a particular item's test.
Edit: Actually, I think that was the PSU list. I'm getting confused with all my tabs and links now.

Also thanks for the info on the SSD and the tips for finding my cooler. I did read quite a few reviews already, but still find it difficult to judge their results under silent aspects and make sense of their test systems, etc.

I read a review of the thermalright hr-22 but that goes against the tips regarding fanless coolers here, right?

Flashyness and easy to install aren't that important. Case is windowless and I very highly doubt I'll install more than once - unless something breaks

[QUIET!]

I like a nice fan on my heat sinks because fanless is relying on air flow from something else. I don't want to leave it to chance.

On the other hand, a lot of "fanless" heat sinks include fan mounting hardware.

One bad thing about fanless heat sinks is that they compensate for poor air flow with size and mass. That theory works but it also can put strain on the motherboard.

To me the ideal heat sink would be light weight as well as quiet and fit inside the case. Usually cooling performance is secondary because most options cool a lot better than a box cooler. If you can't find something that fits and cools well enough, try water cooling but that situation is mostly for over clocking.

[quest_for_silence]

I read a review of the thermalright hr-22 but that goes against the tips regarding fanless coolers here, right?

The only real fanless heatsink is the expensive NoFan CR95, but it needs a wide open case, with a potential airflow greater than the proposed W2.

Any other option is about an hazard (btw, SPCR tested several other coolers which have proven to be more efficient than that, performance-wise, overpriced HR22).

[xan_user]

even fanless parts still need some decent airflow.

[chopsicles]

ty all for the input. I'm not planning on going fanless, so no need to worry, just wandered across the review for the hr-22 and mentioned that.

I'm down to 3 (4) coolers now, and would like your input on it.

• Scythe Kotetsu
• Scythe Ninja 4
• Scythe Mugen 4
• Scythe Mugen 4 PCGH Edition details

Basically PCGH added a 2nd fan, and turned the rpm down to 800. review (german).

I'm not sure why exactly, but I don't like the Kotetsu. I can live with any of these though, but I wonder if they will leave enough room to utilise all 4 ram slots. I'm guessing this depends a lot on the RAM I pick, which is where I'm the least decisive at the moment. I think I would like to go with 16gb for now, with the option of going 32gb without any hassle, which would require all 4 slots.

I have never done this so I have a very hard time just judging from images if these coolers would get in the way of the ram slots. Any experience or advise would be very welcome.

Another thing is while I was looking for pics of the W2 with regards to HD placements (I'll probably just use 1 of the 3.5" slot) I stumbled across a review that said if I want to use the front fans, the GPU has a max length of 295 mm which would be too little for the Inno3D. Cooltek states max lenght is 320 mm. So do manufacturers usually give size measurements in a way that removes fans? I thought I was on the safe side with the Inno3D being 300mm.

Would you change to the Palit or remove a fan? Or maybe move the fan to the bottom? Or maybe omit the W2 altogether and go back to the R5, which is roomier and from what I judge in reviews, also a bit quieter - just not as pretty

[boost]

I'm down to 3 (4) coolers now, and would like your input on it.

Scythe Kotetsu
Scythe Ninja 4
Scythe Mugen 4
Scythe Mugen 4 PCGH Edition details


Basically PCGH added a 2nd fan, and turned the rpm down to 800. review (german).

I'm not sure why exactly, but I don't like the Kotetsu. I can live with any of these though, but I wonder if they will leave enough room to utilise all 4 ram slots. I'm guessing this depends a lot on the RAM I pick, which is where I'm the least decisive at the moment. I think I would like to go with 16gb for now, with the option of going 32gb without any hassle, which would require all 4 slots.

I have never done this so I have a very hard time just judging from images if these coolers would get in the way of the ram slots. Any experience or advise would be very welcome.

The Kotetsu won't interfere withe tall heatspreaders on your RAM the others probably will.
If you want a two fan CPU cooler, that doesn't interfere with RAM the Thermalright Macho X2 could be an alternative.
On the other hand, just don't buy RAM with tall heatspreaders and get a Ninja 4.

Another thing is while I was looking for pics of the W2 with regards to HD placements (I'll probably just use 1 of the 3.5" slot) I stumbled across a review that said if I want to use the front fans, the GPU has a max length of 295 mm which would be too little for the Inno3D. Cooltek states max lenght is 320 mm. So do manufacturers usually give size measurements in a way that removes fans? I thought I was on the safe side with the Inno3D being 300mm.

Would you change to the Palit or remove a fan? Or maybe move the fan to the bottom? Or maybe omit the W2 altogether and go back to the R5, which is roomier and from what I judge in reviews, also a bit quieter - just not as pretty

Computerbase lists the Inno 980 TI X3 as 295mm long. Cooltek says there's 295mm room with the fan and 320mm without it. I would keep it as is. It should fit, at worst you have to move the fan to bottom position. If you mail order in Germany you can also send your case back in the first 14 days no questions asked, if you decide to get to R5.

[chopsicles]

Thanks for the computerbase measurement. I read that article, but didn't think measuring would differ from manufacturer's values.
And yeah, if somehow it doesn't fit, with the return policies in Germany I can return the card or the case without hassle and try a different one. The front fan won't be able to go in the bottom btw, front is 140mm, bottom is 120mm.

Apart from that, I picked out my memory. Since I'm doing quite well on the budget front (still didn't surpass the PCGH Skylake build in money, however in power I did), I decided to go for the 32GB right from the start.

• Case: Cooltek W2 - 100
• PSU: be quiet! Straight Power 10-CM 600W - 106
• Board: Asus Z170 Deluxe - 292
• CPU: Intel i7 6700K Skylake - 350
• CPU Cooler: Scythe Ninja 4 - 43
• RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury DIMM Kit 32GB (4x8), DDR4-2666 - 256
• GPU: Inno3D GeForce GTX 980 Ti iChill X3 Ultra - 705
• SSD: Samsung SSD SM951-NVMe 256GB - 200
• HD: WD Red 3TB - 112
• SD Reader: omitted (I remembered an old USB Card one I have)
• Opt. Drive: omitted for now (will use Laptop drive over network if needed)

This totals 2164€ - minus postage, since these are all individual prices most of which include single postage.

Before I do go ahead and start ordering, did I forget anything?
What tools would you recommend for building? Antistatic wriststrap? Gloves?
Is there anything in the build where you would go: NO! Don't get that!

Would you swap out any of the stock fans?
Should I get 1/2/3 more fans for the case (front: 1x80, bottom 2x120)? Or rather wait and see how warm/loud it gets?

I am really, really grateful for you help so far guys thank you so much!

[CA_Steve]

You can always add RAM. Might want to get 16GB first and see how much you actually use.

Same with the fans - see if you like the stock fans audio signature / see how well they cool the case. Then decide.

...and a repeat of my earlier caveat: I suggest waiting a bit for your Skylake build. New CPU/mobo releases inevitably have bugs as well as lots of UEFI/driver updates. They tend to settle down after 2-3 months.

[boost]

RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury DIMM Kit 32GB (4x8), DDR4-2666 - 256

I would prefer a 2x16GB kit over a 4x8GB kit, if it's only a little more expensive.
I would check how warm it gets, before I'd buy anything else.

[chopsicles]

...and a repeat of my earlier caveat: I suggest waiting a bit for your Skylake build. New CPU/mobo releases inevitably have bugs as well as lots of UEFI/driver updates. They tend to settle down after 2-3 months.

thanks for the reminder. I just get so excited. I think the pending win 10 update is messing with my win 7. at least subjectively that's how it feels. the last 2-3 weeks my system has been getting horribly slow, even when just scrolling in the browser. So I'm really looking forward to this. And I'm really excited after reading so much about everything to actually build it now. The last time I changed anything in a computer was probably extending ram in 2007 or so.
I had never seen a mouse-compatible bios before I started looking boards up now

Well, I have to wait for a refund on some stuff so that suits me just fine actually. but yes, thanks for keeping me in the reigns

[QUIET!]

Make sure you get the right part number on the SM951, there is an NVMe version and an AHCI version. NVMe is that faster one with less CPU overhead, etc.

[chopsicles]

Everything is ordered. Wooot. Will post how it goes when I have it all. So excited!!!

[chopsicles]

Make sure you get the right part number on the SM951, there is an NVMe version and an AHCI version. NVMe is that faster one with less CPU overhead, etc.

Yeah, I got the right one, figured out where to put it, also figured out where to put the Hyper Kit... and now guess what? No cable that fits the hyper kit. Great. Neither Asus nor Samsung have any great information on it, so I'm still trying to find the exact right one, and am very very frustrated right now.

So if anyone can say "here! THIS is the perfect cable and doesn't cost 80€" then I'd be very, very thankful!

[chopsicles]

It is done!

Thanks to everyone who helped me out. Will post some pics and details of my very frustrating, educating, but in the end very successfull weekend when I get back home.