Where to buy new pc

[mikev]

Thanks Baldeagl using your info I was able to get to very close to my target budget. 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4ZKCf7

Am I leaving anything out?

you could go with this CPU cooler  comes with thermal paste

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2

[Masherbrum]

Noctua is better and quieter.

Having an Obsidian 750D, I enjoy the room and simplicity.   Maybe see if one of the Mid tower Obsidians work for you.

[Ramesis]

After two strokes and a heart attack, I still build my own boxes.
You just to identify what you are going to use it for, research
the components that you can afford and will do the job you intend!
Quite simple actually.
O

[BaldEagl]

you could go with this CPU cooler  comes with thermal paste

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2

The Noctua coolers come with thermal compound too but Arctic Silver is the standard.

[Bizman]

The flatter the surfaces are the less impact thermal compound has. It should be needed only to fill almost invisible scratches. Trying to make a solid thermal connection between two spherical objects is not a viable idea no matter the compound in between.

Although some people can and do finish the surfaces, I'd rather rely on sufficient commercial quality. Uneven surfaces may tell about other, less visible inconsistencies.

[Chalenge]

Noctua coolers really do not need further finishing, at least if the last 20 or so I have bought are anything to go by.

I have had other coolers that looked like the copper surfaces had been dragged down the surface of a road, and that's right out of the box. I managed to save them by using 400 wet-or-dry on a glass surface and lapping the heat sink for about two hours. Once the surface was uniform I continued working down to 2 micron paper. This can take the better part of a day in the worst cases. The result is a mirror surface, but Arctic Silver 5 can still find gaps in the surface if you use it by the directions. You can verify this by seeing how the surface has been effected by use over long periods. When you see copper that looks silver you know how well it works. It really is effective, but the most telling results are in the temperatures. Hand lapping in combination with Arctic Silver 5 can drop the temps down by 3-10C (idle/load) over a non-lapped surface.

[Gman]

Good decision going to a 1151 over the 1150 ML52 - a 6600k is a newer cpu/platform than the 4690/4790k, but not much is any more $, so going to the more current cpu/MB is a smart choice.

One thing I'd like to put in is this - if you can wait a few months, do so.  The new 1080 GPU from nVidia as well as new Polaris stuff from AMD will be out in June/July they have said yesterday, so spending big $ on a 980ti will mean that it'll be instantly devalued in just a few short months, by a lot, and a newer card that's much faster will be out.  The new Pascal 100 series which will have HBM memory will be out shortly after the 1080 is released too, which will further depress the value of the 980ti right now.

If that doesn't bother you, get a 980ti right now, as it's still arguably the fastest card out there (even compared to the Titan it's close or faster in a few apps/games, Fury as well), and a great card, but just be aware that very, very shortly it's going to be replaced, and the price will plummet, as will resale value, as well as it won't be the fastest performing nVidia option out there any longer. 

[TequilaChaser]

Thanks for the update regarding possible price drop on the gtx980ti's, GMan

my Daughter's were planning to get me one for my birthday this coming May........I'll tell them to hold off a month or 2

Thanks

TC

[Randall172]

intel - I7 is a must!

[Gman]

Randall, you're going to get a lot of people jump on your for that - so much that I think you're just kidding.

Most everyone who follows gaming tech will agree IMO that i5 CPUs usually perform nearly as good, or just as well, as their i7 big brothers in the majority of games out there.  Most gaming builds specifically mention that saving the 150$ plus going from say an i7 6700k to an i5 6600k is money far, FAR better put into a better GPU for example.

Also, AMD is catching up a bit CPU wise if the rumors about the new CPUs they are soon to release are to be believed, so while I agree Intel is currently a bit better bang/$ performance wise, that gap may soon close quickly.

TC - wccf tech's site just released more info on the 1080 nVidia cards as well, too much to post here, but they are coming fast now, by summer at the latest, so a late b-day present would be good timing.

[Chalenge]

Myself? Waiting for the HBM memory even if it means something like a Quadro.

[Gman]

The first Nvdia release will be non hbm 1080, but the new Titan or g100 will be hbm mem, and should be out summer is or q3 too.  I may get 1080s then flip em once hbm comes out.

[Chalenge]

Yeah, not so excited by the 1080 announcement. HBM will turn 4k monitors into a "must-have" item I think. Maybe HD games will finally be freed of input lag forever.

[ML52]

Gman thank you for the information. I think I am going to go ahead and order the parts next week, have to admit to a bit of impatience for a new machine.

[Gman]

I know that feeling ML52, I've been waiting for Broadwell E/Pascal for months now, and have a system I want to upgrade/replace with that cpu/gpu.  Every day I nearly say the same thing and just build another 6700k/980ti SLI system, and tell myself I can always just sell/upgrade when Pascal comes out, which is likely true, and still do alright $ wise.

Challenge, I'm on the pre order wait list for the Asus Pg348Q.  While not 4k, 1440p IPS Gsync with 34" is going to take a lot to drive to max with some AAA stuff too.  I have an Acer 4k with both a Titan, 980 SLI an a 980ti been tried for testing it, and input lag/visual lag/low FPS is still a problem with many games on max settings at 4k, and that's only a 28" screen.  Both ROG Swifts, the TN and IPS work fine IMO at 1440p with current top end cards/SLI, but even they can bog. 

Let us know how it works out ML52, pics/etc would be cool when you're finished.