So, I don't know much about building a PC...so using part picker I tried a build a pretty powerful one. Note, I have a budget of max 2,000. This build adds up to around 1900. My question is if this is too much overkill? Is there some redundancy here? Something I don't need to bring the price down? Anything would be SUPER helpful. If you think I should exchange one part for another let me know! and yes, an optical drive is a must for me.

CPU		Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor	$348.99		FREE		$348.99	SuperBiiz		Buy
CPU Cooler		Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler	$29.49	-$5.00	FREE		$24.49	Newegg		Buy
$5.00 mail-in rebate
Motherboard		MSI Z170A GAMING M5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$149.99	-$20.00	$2.99		$132.98	Newegg		Buy
$20.00 mail-in rebate
Memory		G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$149.99		FREE		$149.99	Newegg		Buy
		G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$149.99		FREE		$149.99	Newegg		Buy
		Add Additional Memory
Storage		Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$65.99				$65.99	SuperBiiz		Buy
		Add Additional Storage
Video Card		MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card	$659.99	-$10.00	$3.99		$653.98	Newegg		Buy
$10.00 mail-in rebate
		Add Another Video Card For 2-Way SLI
Case		Cooler Master Storm Stryker (White) ATX Full Tower Case	$164.99	-$25.00	FREE		$139.99	Newegg		Buy
$25.00 mail-in rebate
Power Supply		EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply	$69.99				$69.99	Amazon		Buy
Optical Drive		LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer	$48.99				$48.99	SuperBiiz		Buy
		Add Another Optical Drive
Operating System		Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)	$86.86				$86.86	Amazon		Buy

Without looking too closely or doing any extra research myself, 2 questions. Do you really need an i7? Are you just gaming or doing other stuff? I am guessing you are because you have $300 of DDR4 RAM which I am fairly sure won't give you $300 of upgraded performance over DDR3, especially as you don't have an SSD and that's pretty much the most obvious upgade you can make to a PC outside of C/GPU. If that's the same Seagate drive I have I wouldn't use it as a main drive either, storage is fine, but I'd go for a WD black. I'd also go for a PSU manufactured by Seasonic or Superflower (be it OEM or branded).

I also wouldn't buy that case but that's more because I think it looks garish, it's probably fine otherwise.

I'm not sure that 64 GB of RAM is necessary for gaming (but you are probably are using it for something else), but the rig looks very nice for everything currently on the market. You're VR ready and can probably support 4k resolutions, so you wont need to upgrade for anything in the foreseeable future.

EDIT: The power supply might need to be upgraded if you ever feel like adding anything substantial to your tower in the future, but thats about it.

The RAM and processor imply that he may be doing some video or programming besides straight up gaming, but I also cannot speak for him. You are correct about the SSD though, it may be worth replacing one of the hard drives with something a little faster.

Also, so you guys know, I also do video editing and plan on eventually editing 4K footage one day.

Regarding the case, that is completely temporary...I have no idea what case I'll get, I just put something in that takes an optical drive.

@counterclockwork87: I'm still not sure $300 of ddr is going to make a whole load of difference, but I'd rather you took the word of @shivoa or @mirado on that over me.

And for the case, as long as you're not buying something for a tenner, most of it comes down to personal preference.

Thanks for the SSD suggestion. I have never used an SSD and didn't really think about it. Can I use a small cheap SSD for just the OS and install everything else on a 2TB standard harddrive?

If you're going to be editing and running 4k you're pc is just fine. Maybe get a SSD if anything, you can always use an external hard drive for extra storage.

@alexw00d: So with your suggestion, what should I get for RAM that would have similar performance but lower cost? I can always upgrade RAM, its so easy to change.

That rig is pretty ripped.

64GBs of RAM is overkill even for content creation. 16-32 seems to be the sweet spot for that. I would also swap out the Barracuda for a WD Black of the same storage size and RPM since I haven't heard the best things about the reliability of Seagate's lower tear drives within the past two or three years. And try to fit in a Samsung 850 EVO SSD if you can. The read and write times for SSDs compared to mechanical drives is day and night.

Jesus 64gigs of RAM?

Are you running VMs?

If you are just rendering and photoshop, 32gigs is fine. To lower memory cost try a lower speed. you really wont notice a difference from 2800-3200mhz RAM speed.

And as the people are saying, get a SSD. Dont just get some cheapo small one. If you can afford that rig go with a decent Samsung SSD.

Cool, so I'll probably just go with 32 gigs of RAM, and I'll get an SSD with that money. This is REALLY helpful duders/dudettes.

@counterclockwork87: Looks like a pretty decent machine. Couple of points though, the main one being that building a $2000 PC without an SSD in 2016 is MADNESS. And seagate drives ain't so hot, I tend to stick with WD.

I don't have too much experience with MSI, but the consensus is generally that ASUS are the better of the motherboard brands, and I've found their customer service excellent, personally. The 212 Evo is a great cooler for the money, but if you want to do any serious overclocking, it's not really going to get you too far.

The PSU is a solid unit, but I'd go for something a bit better especially if you're overclocking, like this Seasonic (see respective reviews for the EVGA and Seasonic PSUs).

I would go for a mid tower case, as there's very rarely any advantage to going bigger these days, but I guess that's just personal preference.

I'm pretty sure you'll be able to run Minecraft on these specs, quite possibly on the fancy settings as well!

@counterclockwork87:

Make sure your RAM will fit under the Hyper 212+
I have same cooler and had to purchase low-profile RAM so it will actually fit under the radiator and fan.
Also, as others have suggested, I'd recommend and SSD, and not just for running the OS. You'll see a huge difference in load times in games also.

With all the suggestions on SSDs anyone have a specific suggestion? I know who the big players in the standard hard-drive world are...but have no idea who are considered the "best" SSD manufacturers. Western Digital?

Drop 16 of the 32GB of ram and replace it with a 500GB SSD (in my opinion). Throw your OS on it and enjoy cold booting in just a few seconds (If I turn my monitor and PC on at the same time, windows boots quicker than the monitor shows picture). That'll leave you plenty of space to throw a couple games and common programs on it for fast loads.

I have two of the SSD's I linked above and am very happy with them. Attached is a comparison between one of my SSD (850 EVO) and my HDD (WD Black).

I've got the MSI 980ti you're looking at and you won't be disappointed. Also, if you feel you can do without an integrated DVD drive (I dumped mine a while ago and a USB one is pretty cheap) you can get a sexy modern case like the NZXT H440 (with an all-in-one water cooler instead of the EVO) and plug in the DVD drive when you need it.

This is a must:

Guys/Gals these suggestions have been AMAZING! I have such a good idea now on what to do with my build. After a few tweaks and when I eventually choose a case maybe I'll put it all in a blog post for anyone curious. Thanks so much.

Mods can feel free to lock this if need be, I think I have all the info I need.

@alexw00d: I feel like I've been summoned. :D

32GB will do you just fine. Hell, I only run 16, but the extra won't hurt and it's not a significant expense (~$50 over 16GB), so why not.

Let me give you some general tips:

This is the site I use for suggesting builds for gaming rigs. As you have needs outside of video games, not all of the info will apply to you, but it should give you a good indicator of what your $2000 can buy. However, lucky you, they just did a guide on video editing builds. You'll notice that they went for a weaker GPU and a six core processor instead; I'm not an expert on 4K editing, but I assume whatever programs you'd be using will take as many cores as you can give them, so that's something to keep in mind if your usage looks more like editing over games. You'll have to decide what's more important if you can't stretch your budget; faster rendering or better looking games.

Also, something to keep in mind: Storing raw 1080p footage is space intensive, so I'd have to assume 4K is far, far worse. Your 2TB hard drive choice might not have nearly the space you require if you plan on any sort of archive; I just had a conversation with a duder who was considering building his own separate NAS just to handle the footage storage. You may want to consider bumping your HDD up to 4TB in addition to a decent sized SSD.

Finally, if you intend to play in 4K, one GPU just doesn't do it yet. I have an overclocked 980 Ti myself, and you are only going to see around 40ish FPS with max details at any given time, and less when things get intensive. As I'd rather have framerate over resolution, I don't run much of anything in 4K, and when I do, you have to dial back quite a few settings to get there.

I have that exact case, It's good but I wouldn't buy it again because it's too big.

Bumping this thread up 7 years later...I still have the PC, I'm currently playing Baldur's Gate 3 on ULTRA and seeing mostly good performance, it's been an amazing computer and the only game it's had a hard time with at ultra/high settings in all these years was Cyberpunk. Only thing I've upgraded is adding more harddrive space, a new SSD and a new HDD.

It's also been invaluable for editing and helped me make some pretty successful and popular YouTube videos.

Thanks to everyone who helped me build.

@counterclockwork87: Playing at 1080p?

It's just crazy to see an 80ti for sub 1000 dollars (cries in affordable nostalgia)

@jacksmedulla: 1440p