VR build

[Spud1]

Hi guys,

So after Some stellar advice from Zak and Cat in another thread, I've done some research and pulled together what I think is a decent build ready for top end VR gaming, and some unity Dev.

Here is the link..

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/Spu...d/#view=mzWWGX

Comments/suggestions are welcome. Few notes..

I've gone overkill on memory, but it's not a lot more money to go 32 rather than 16 so I figure why not. Unity may benefit from it
Similarly overkill on the PSU I think, but future proofing for a 2nd or 3rd gfx card
I've gone for a haswell-e over skylake but so many conflicting views on which is the right move here. I figure again future proofing on the socket here (plus the extra 2 cores) but get the impression it's of limited benefit for gaming so a 6700k may be better?
I still have a GTX1080 to add to the build when released

Any thoughts on what I could do better?

Thanks!

[EndlessWaves]

I would go for a 1TB SSD for that price. Double the capacity is likely to be of far more benefit than the very minor additions an 850 Pro will give you over a standard SATA SSD. If you want a 'better' SSD then at least go for a PCI-Express one like an SM951 or Intel 750 as the much faster transfer speeds might occasionally get used for things like compressing game package files.

Broadwell-E HEDT should be out soon, the Xeon versions have already launched, so a 6800k or 6900k may break your CPU deadlock.

[Hoonigan]

There's several points I'd make about the build you've proposed there:

1) Why are you going for an X99 platform? You could get the i5 6600K or the i7 6700K for much less money.
2) I'd go for a cheaper SATA SSD and get a 512GB M2 SSD to plug into the board. The speeds of these things is phenomenal!
3) That 32GB RAM kit can be found much cheaper elsewhere. I've seen 16GB kits running at 3200MHz going for around £75 now.

Also, would it be insane to suggest a Corsair watercooling loop for the CPU instead of the massive heatsink you've suggested there?

Feel free to completely ignore this, it's just my two pence

[outwar6010]

£1100 is alot for a pc without a gpu; I know you're planning to get a 1080 but still. I'd go for this http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FBbznQ but don't know how much better your cpu performs for vr or unity dev. Also you could also add more ram if needed.

[Spud1]

Thanks guys, food for thought. I've been hit with another (small) delay on the rift, so right now am minded to wait a bit longer and see if the broadwell-e chips are launched at Computex as expected.

Money isn't a huge part of the problem so I am definitely looking for top end CPU and a decent board, and i'll take a look at PCI-E SSDs - never really considered them!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Probably better to wait,as the non-reference GTX1080 looks a better bet already.

[Spud1]

Hi Guys,

Since this thread, i've re-evaluated a bit and come up with a newer spec that saves me around £400, but I think should offer decent potential and price/peformance ratio. Take a look and let me know what you think..

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/kLh6M8

I've found various deals that will let me order that spec for £710 delivered (mixture of Scan bundle deals + Amazon). Sticking without an M2 sata for the moment (can always add one), and I have a GTX1080 (Gigabyte partner card) on order at the moment so the list is still lacking a GPU.

My Rift has been shipped so i am probably going to order this tomorrow unless I can find a better option in the next 18 hours or so, but any further suggestions are welcome.

[Hoonigan]

Why is that motherboard £140? Mine was £93 about 3 months ago.
Also, why the i7? You can get an i5 for £100 less.

[MrJim]

Why is that motherboard £140? Mine was £93 about 3 months ago.

The K3-EU is £97.98 at Ebuyer, if that's the same board?

http://www.ebuyer.com/740810-gigabyt...0-gaming-k3-eu

[Spud1]

The prices on PC Partpicker are not reliable, I just use that site as a way to collect the part list/numbers. And yep its £100 difference between the i7 and i5, worth the difference to me. I will take advantage of the HT (its not *just* a gaming rig). Small enough of a price diff to make it worth it now, as I likely wont swap it out for a couple of generations (as long as the socket is still in use!).

The motherboard is £92

[Spud1]

As a quick update to this thread - I went ahead with my order with some tweaks, and the final spec has come out as:

• i7-6700K
• Arctic Freezer 13 CO CPU cooler
• 3xCorsair case fans (2x120mm 1x140mm) - may add a fourth when i get my new GFX card
• 16GB of DDR4 (2166 mhz, overclocked up to 2300 level as this was bought as part of a bundle)
• Gigabyte K3-EU motherboard as above
• Corsair R100 case
• Thermaltake Smart Series 630W
• EVO 500 SSD
• 3TB standard hard drive
• Extra 4 USB3 ports (to run the Rift)

Final price was £660 for the lot thanks to a few bundles and discounts. Swapping the cooler and case for cheaper options saved me a good chunk of cash

I've also "grandfathered" in my old GTX960 for the moment as it may be a month before partner 1080 or 1070 cards are in stock (have one of each on order..lets see which one gets shipped first!)

The system is running great - really happy with it I've overclocked the graphics card by 25% and it's holding steady, memory as above and looking rock sold..and the PC is very quiet with great temps. CPU will be next but tbh there is no need to at the moment.

Crucially for me, this system performs really well for VR with the oculus rift - OK so I have the settings down to Low, but it easily handles Luckies Tale, Eve Valkyrie and Elite Dangerous without dropping a frame so this will tide me over until the Pascal card arrives.

Thanks for all the help and suggestion Quick picture - I need to redo my cables a little prettier (Next weekend's job) but fairly tidy build so far, all fits well in the cheaper case.