My first gaming PC

Hey there, I'm new to the forum.

I could really use some help with a gaming PC I'm looking to order.
I'll be honest right off the bat—I don't have any real experience building or picking out gaming rigs because, for the longest time, I just didn't have the extra cash to make it happen, so I mostly stuck to laptops or pre-built machines.

This is going to be my first proper build, and honestly, it's always been a dream of mine to finally own one of these things.

Here are the potential specs:

• • Case: Black Edition PC
  • PSU: Corsair VS650 PSU - 650W
  • CPU: Intel i7 6700 with MSI Z170A Tomahawk
  • Motherboard: MSI Z170A Tomahawk
  • GPU: MSI GTX 980 Gaming, 4GB
  • CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 with RAM
  • RAM: Corsair Dominator 2x8GB DDR4
  • Sound card: AS XONAR DGX
  • Optical drive: LG SATA
  • Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda 2 TB 3.5

My main goal is to be able to run all the modern titles without much trouble, but specifically, I want to make sure I can play Star Citizen on at least Medium to High settings once it actually drops.

One thing I should mention is that I'm planning to upgrade this setup down the road with newer graphics cards and stuff, maybe like six years from now.
The reason I went with a 650W power supply is because I might swap out the GPU for a GTX Titan X later on, once the price settles down because right now it's absolutely insane.

I didn't include an SSD in the list since I've already got a 500GB external drive from my current laptop that's working perfectly fine for me.

Look, I'm definitely not an expert at this, so please feel free to hit me with any suggestions or criticisms you have; if you think I should switch up the case or drop down to a 500W power supply—assuming the case allows for a beefier PSU upgrade later—I'm totally open to it.

Basically, I'm trying to keep everything within a budget of about $4000.

Thanks!

In the tech world, we’re constantly looking back at what was relevant two generations ago, but who knows what will actually be standard by 6G...

For 12 $0.00, you could easily build two solid gaming PCs that would run games just as smoothly as yours does right now...

Definitely go with an SSD

You don't need a dedicated sound card

That GPU is fine; just pair it with an i5 processor

I really don't think DDR4 offers a massive boost for gaming over DDR3, especially since those older platforms are way more budget-friendly and proven...

Thanks for getting back to me.

Do you happen to have any solid recommendations when it comes to picking out an SSD?

Also, my biggest worry is whether this case can actually handle everything I'm trying to cram inside, since it's just a mid-tower, and I really don't want to deal with things being overcrowded or running into issues down the road.

Just an ASUS B85M-G.
Just one Intel i5 4460 up for grabs.
I’ve got one MSI GTX 970 Gaming on the table—GDDR5, 4GB, 256-bit. It's pulling about 1140 MHz on the core and clocks in at 7010 MHz. Just putting that out there.
Just one stick of 8GB Kingston HyperX Fury DDR3.
I’ve got one Patriot SSD Blast R560/W530 sitting here—it's the 240GB model, 2.5" with a 7mm profile. Just a single drive.
Just a single 1TB Toshiba P300, 7200rpm, with 64MB cache.
Just one Fortron Hyper 700W.
One Zalman Z3 midi tower.

TOTAL: $2309

Honestly, this CPU can still chew through just about any GPU you throw at it. Personally, I think overspending on anything more right now is just overkill. $1.50 Look, if you're running a GTX 980—especially if you're sticking to 1080p—8GB of RAM is still plenty for gaming. You really don't need to jump to 16GB right now. I went ahead and threw in a beefier power supply per your request, mostly so you have the headroom to swap in a high-end, power-hungry GPU down the road without having to rebuild the whole rig. It makes future upgrades a breeze. Honestly, take the money you saved on the extra RAM and put it in your pocket; this setup is more than enough to keep things running smoothly.

Betty Edwards28, I’d change quite a bit, but first things first—when are you actually planning to pull the trigger? Personally, I’d hold out for the summer and wait for the next generation rather than dropping cash on an overpriced GTX 980.
If you're planning on overclocking, you definitely want a K-series CPU. If you aren't, then it's worth questioning whether you even need a Z-series motherboard and a cooler like that.
That case is cheap junk; there's no point putting it in any decent build (since there are plenty of much better options for similar money), let alone a high-end rig costing $1,200$0.00. You should be looking at at least a Fractal R4, a Define, or something similar.
The Corsair VS series is entry-level stuff, and it just doesn't belong in a configuration like this.
You don't really need 16GB of RAM for gaming, and I'm skeptical about whether you truly need a dedicated sound card. Is the one built into your motherboard not cutting it?

My power supply is 650W for a reason: in maybe 6 years, I might swap my GPU for a GTX Titan X (once the price finally drops to something reasonable, because right now it's insane).

That's 200% not going to happen. First off, almost nobody in the US uses a Titan X (it's a pro card, not a great value for gaming). Second, in 6 years, that card will be a total joke; it won't even count as a meaningful upgrade.

I’m planning on picking this up either during the summer or once winter rolls around.

Do you guys have any solid recommendations for a decent case and a good CPU cooler?

As for the RAM, my initial thought was to go with 16GB just to make sure I can handle Star Citizen properly.

Also, what kind of power supply wattage would you suggest if I want to stay within a reasonable budget?

You should probably reach out before you pull the trigger on a purchase. Honestly, it’s smarter to hold off until late summer or fall to catch the next generation of graphics cards, especially since we're expecting new processors this winter—specifically Intel's Kaby Lake and AMD's Zen architecture. At the end of the day, whatever rig you build right now will likely be outdated by the time those new parts hit the shelves.

At this budget, you might as well go for Skylake K or wait for AMD Zen.

Regarding the power supply: the odds of needing more juice because of a future GPU upgrade are about the same as the odds of Canada joining the European Union in the same timeframe.
New top-end cards on 14/16 nm will pull the same wattage, if not less, than a GTX 980.
It makes way more sense to plan your PSU (before any upgrades) based on your processor—whether you're overclocking or not.

wiredotter14 said:If you're working with that kind of budget, it really makes sense to aim for Skylake K or maybe wait for the upcoming AMD Zen

As for the power supply situation, honestly, thinking you'll need more juice just because you might swap out a GPU later is about as likely as Canada joining the European Union in the same timeframe.
Those newer high-end cards built on 14/16 nm architecture are going to pull about the same amount of power, if not less, than a GTX 980.
It's much smarter to spec out your PSU based on what your processor is doing—whether you're overclocking or staying stock—rather than guessing about future GPUs.

So you're saying an i7 6700K would actually be the better move here?

I was wondering if any of you guys have actually dealt with Micro Center before?

I've been thinking about just picking up all these parts from them and having them handle the whole build process for me.
Plus, they usually have some pretty solid discounts on components and stuff, which is definitely a huge plus in my book.

Noah Carter48 said:So you're saying an i7 6700K would be the better call?

More like a 6600K, but honestly, why bother debating this now if you aren't buying for another 3-6 months? By then, AMD Zen might actually be out. Plus, we'll probably know way more about the next generation of GPUs by summer. Might be better to just wait and go for the ultimate solution then.

Thanks everyone for the input, you guys are totally right, I think I'll just hold off until summer rolls around and see what new GPUs hit the market.

One last thing before I head out, does anyone have a brand they actually trust when it comes to cases and power supplies, or is Corsair still the way to go?

Regarding the case, like I mentioned before, you could look at an R4, a Define, or similar models. As for the power supply, that’s really going to depend on what's available and your specific budget once you actually sit down to buy it (the case will be subject to that too). Regardless of which brand you pick, you'll definitely get something higher quality than a VS series unit. For instance, if you're working with a healthy budget, you'd want to aim for something like a Fortron Aurum, an Antec TruePower Classic, a Fractal Edison, a Corsair RM, a Super Flower Leadex, or maybe an EVGA G2...

Timothy Kim60 said:Cases like the Fractal R4 or Define series, for example. As for the PSU, that’ll really just depend on what’s available and what you're willing to spend when the time comes (same goes for the case), but regardless of the brand, you'll definitely get something better than a VS model. If you have a higher budget, you'd look at things like a Fortron Aurum, Antec TruePower Classic, Fractal Edison, Corsair RM, Super Flower Leadex, or an EVGA G2...

And what's someone not going to like about Seasonic...

Honestly, I don't see anything crazy about these specs...

Alexander Moore67 said:...but what if someone doesn't like Seasonic?

?

A good portion of those power supplies actually have Seasonic internals under the hood. Also, your sentence ends with a bit of a logical fallacy.