Another new PC build

[Penfold]

Boring I know... sorry.

So tossing up between as Surface Pro / Surface book or a new machine at home.

If I upgrade my home PC I wondered:

Case
BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Case (Black)


Processor (CPU)
Intel® Coreâ,,¢i7 Quad Core Processor i7-6700k (4.0GHz) 8MB Cache


Motherboard
ASUS® Z170I PRO GAMING: Mini-ITX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs


Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX SAVAGE DDR4 3000MHz (2 x 8GB Kit)


Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1070 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!


1st Hard Disk
500GB Samsung 750 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)


2nd Hard Disk
1TB Samsung 850 EVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)


1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM


Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIESâ,,¢ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY


Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)


Processor Cooling

Corsair H60 Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Liquid Series Ultra Quiet Fans


Thermal Paste

ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND


Extra Case Fans
1x 120mm Apache Black Quiet Fan (fitted to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card


ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking


GIGABIT LAN PORT + Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi excluded on H110I-PLUS)


USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS


Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
[TABLE=class: tab_box, width: 100%, align: center]
[TR]
[TD=class: tdb, align: right]Price (excluding VAT)[/TD]
[TD=class: td, colspan: 2, align: left]£1,551.67[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD=class: tdb, align: right]Price[/TD]
[TD=class: td, colspan: 2, align: left]£1,862.00[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]



You know how crap I am at these so PC Specialist for me. Is there anything glaringly missing or wrong with this set up. I'd like it to be fairly longlifed if possible.

Given the price and the way the tax works it's actually going to be cheaper for me to get it to £2k inc vat so if there's anything I should upgrade please shout.


Thanks.

[Tutonic]

Looks pretty solid to me Pen. You can always spend more on  the GPU - a GTX 1080 would certainly push the price up and give you even more horsepower.

For my Phoenix build, I swapped out the DVD drive for the BitFenix fan controller and it looks pretty sweet: https://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/accessories/recon/

You can pick up a USB DVD drive for £10 on Amazon, I haven't used mine since I installed the OS in 2014....

[albert]

Maybe a slightly larger Wattage PSU PEN. Other than that and what Tut has said about the GPU, you've put together a pretty mighty rig.

Regards to the fan controller...Recon also comes with signature BitFenix SofTouchâ,,¢ surface treatment. This smooth rubbery coating not only feels pleasing to the touch.... ooo errrr.

So my motherboard can control all the fans in the case with it's software, what does this do better/ differently Tut?

[Tutonic]

Nothing really, but it looks really nice and you can fiddle with fan speeds using the touchscreen if you want to.

Sent from my OnePlus One using Tapatalk.

[Chaosphere]

Do you intentionally have a Samsung 750 as 1St ssd and 850 and 2nd? The 850 is newer and would be best suited to the main ssd

[BrotherTobious]

Buy me one mate

[Penfold]

Thanks chaps.

Tut: PC Specialist say the fan controller is not something they'll supply or even source and fit? What's your Phoenix build mean is that a different company?

Regarding the PSU they I put in a higher one it keeps saying that the max power needed is 375W so not sure .... perhaps bumping it up to 650?

Know what you're saying about the Graphics Card but it's a mighty leap up.

I only put a 750 SSD in the primary for the OS. They don't do a 850 in less than 1TB.

I'll have a play with the configuration. Thanks for the advice.

[Chaosphere]

Pen if pcs can't source a smaller 850 you could get one for yourself? They definitely come in smaller flavours.

Tut I believe has the matx version not the itx version.. perhaps this is why some fan controller difference? And be sure whatever psu you buy fits with itx - if done through their configuration it shouldn't be a problem though.

[Penfold]

Aye but half the joy is just having it built and arrived

I'm a bit put off by PCSpecialist give the last call I had with them. Very intractable.

I'll see where Tut got his built (if he did).

[Dilli]

Personally, I'd put an M.2 SSD in for the primary, they are blindingly fast and it really does make a huge difference to the OS performance.

[Chaosphere]

Have you looked at SCAN pen? I'd trust them at the blink of an eye.  Maybe they can be a bit more flexible.

Agree about the m2 ssd, as long as cost allows it.

[Dilli]

Have you looked at SCAN pen? I'd trust them at the blink of an eye.  Maybe they can be a bit more flexible.

Agree about the m2 ssd, as long as cost allows it.

I use Scan for the machines I build for work, I use overclockers for my own stuff though. Never had a problem with either supplier. It also pays to check the daily and weekly deals for these sites.

[Tutonic]

Mine's a self build mate, hence the cabling situation

I wouldn't want to run a gaming PC on anything less than 600W. You really don't want to be running right on the edge of your PSU capacity, that way sadness lies.

If it comes down to it, the fan controller is easily fitted. Un-plug the fans from whatever they're plugged into (probably the motherboard), plug 'em into the controller and tape the temperature sensors to the side of the case. Done.

This is the part list I put together for the initial build, a couple of bits have been swapped out and changed since but it's mostly still the same: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/samchapman84/saved/

[Penfold]

OK thanks that helps. At least I know the components even if I get it built then need to twiddle with it.

I'm still deciding about this or a surface book. Actually a tough call.

[Penfold]

I had a look at the Surface Pro 4 over the weekend and actually it was damned impressive (and damned expensive).

Beautifully bright screen at a great resolution, responsive and fast.

So kinda decided I'll wait to see if there's any money off on Black Friday (doubtful but worth a try) and get one of those, back burning the new gaming build until the New Year or Spring.

Appreciate the advice though and I'll be back for tweaking and updating the base spec above when I'm good to go.