It's time to pull the trigger on an upgrade to my gaming PC. Would greatly appreciate some specific input in the items below. Ideally, I'm moving from an ATX build to an mITX build, so I'd appreciate thoughts with that in mind.
1. Gaming. BF4, GTAV, Civ5 are the most demanding.
2. Budget: ~$800 +-20%.
3. US- Newegg or Amazon
5. No brand preference on everything else, though the CPU will be Intel.
6. This is just an upgrade on: CPU, Mobo, Case, RAM, and accessories (cables, lighting).
7. No overclocking.
8. Gaming currently at 1080p. Monitor and GPU upgrade will be spring 2018, when I plan to jump to 4k (dependent upon game dev support, obviously. At the very least 1440p). So, suggestions keeping this in mind are helpful.
9. Between now and in the next 30 days, though I could be convinced to wait IF I can get a firm release date and MSRP on a particular case.
10. Nope.
11. Re-using cooler (Hyper 212+), GPU (R9-280x), power supply (EVGA fully modular Supernova 850), storage (2 SSDs and 2 HDDs)
So, I've been reading up since it's been awhile since I've last done this (August 2010 probably), so please ask questions to clarify things or make suggestions if I've forgotten something. Let's take it in order of ease:
RAM: Some sort of DDR4, don't care about clock speed, 16GB is fine, though I'd go 32GB if someone finds a sweet deal (thinking ahead to VR, I'm willing to spend the extra $100 now). Will need to go low-profile if I get a horizontal aftermarket heatsink. Suggestions?
CPU: i5-6500 for $200? CPUs usually stick around for me as long as the mobo, and I don't overclock, so typically we're talking 4 years or so. I imagine this will continue to be the case so long as gaming remains primarily GPU-oriented and CPU stays non-essential (up to a certain point, obviously). Is there an argument to be made for the $350 i7-6700 given what I'm going to be using it for? IF not, I'd rather spend that ~$150 elsewhere.
Case: Here's the biggie. Replacing my trusty Antec 902 is totally unnecessary, but the thing I'm most excited about. Priority this time around on premium materials, quality looks, and then functionality (no watercooling or overclocking or multi-GPU setup, so nice and simple). That in mind:
1. I'll go ATX and be happy, but if I can get it into an mITX to use that In Win 901 below I'd love to! Am I correct in assuming mITX will vastly limit my current prospects for 1151 mobos (limited to 2 RAM slots, m.2/u.2 slots sharing the PCI-E lanes, looks like you have to be more careful to make sure the long GPUs will fit?)? This upgrade is being primarily driven by case choice, and so, for instance, I'm willing to pay a bit more for a mobo to bypass the above limitations that aren't inherent in FF (partly because that money gets saved on the case side of things).
2. Looking for a silver/gray aluminum case (would also do black, but vastly prefer first two), and tempered glass window. Not really interested in steel or plastic, flashiness, etc. Minimalist, sleek, etc. Current contenders (a mix of the above form factors). Absolute max budget $300.
ATX:
In Win 904
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv
mITX:
In Win 901 This one's actually my first choice, so if I can do an mITX build that ticks off all the boxes and get this case I'd be stoked. Anyone had experience with a gaming build using this case?
Steel/plastic cases which could make the cut if a compelling enough case is made for them. Give a shout if I missed an aluminum version of these babies.
mITX/mATX:
Corsair Carbide Air240
AeroCool Dead Silence Series
BitFenix Micro
Were there any other cases debuted at CES 2016 that will come out in the next few months that are worth waiting for at the $150-300 price point that tick the boxes above (like the In Win S-box)? Aluminum/tempered glass? Anything from Lian-Li to add to the above list? Really too bad the In Win 909 is four hundred goddamn dollars.
Mobo: Would prefer simple white/black color scheme. Seems like in the last 5 years the biggest addition to motherboards is the m.2/u.2 interface? Anything else I should consider besides # of sata/express ports?
mITX:
ASRock Fatal1ty Z170mITX This motherfucker is ugly, but may be worth it to get the In Win 901.
MSI Gaming Z190I
ATX:
Asus Z170-A seems like the top contender by far at the ~$165 price point at this moment, given AT's most recent review? Solid value, with one m.2 slot, good number of USB (with 3.1 and Type A/C as well). Any suggestions for one with more USB? Also, would love a couple more of those SATA ports to be Express, but not a deal breaker. I'd go up to the $230 price point if someone has a stellar suggestion.
Other options:
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 3
MSI Gaming Z170A
Misc: Some DeepCool RGB LEDs or similar, some AeroCool or Noctua or Corsair fans to increase airflow/pressure and decrease noise, braided/lighted SATA cables to make it look all nice, perhaps the Noctua horizontal heatsink, or another. Color scheme this time around I'm thinking will be white LEDs, hence the Asus mobo option. Any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance guys. Anandtech always comes through with solid advice.
1. Gaming. BF4, GTAV, Civ5 are the most demanding.
2. Budget: ~$800 +-20%.
3. US- Newegg or Amazon
5. No brand preference on everything else, though the CPU will be Intel.
6. This is just an upgrade on: CPU, Mobo, Case, RAM, and accessories (cables, lighting).
7. No overclocking.
8. Gaming currently at 1080p. Monitor and GPU upgrade will be spring 2018, when I plan to jump to 4k (dependent upon game dev support, obviously. At the very least 1440p). So, suggestions keeping this in mind are helpful.
9. Between now and in the next 30 days, though I could be convinced to wait IF I can get a firm release date and MSRP on a particular case.
10. Nope.
11. Re-using cooler (Hyper 212+), GPU (R9-280x), power supply (EVGA fully modular Supernova 850), storage (2 SSDs and 2 HDDs)
So, I've been reading up since it's been awhile since I've last done this (August 2010 probably), so please ask questions to clarify things or make suggestions if I've forgotten something. Let's take it in order of ease:
RAM: Some sort of DDR4, don't care about clock speed, 16GB is fine, though I'd go 32GB if someone finds a sweet deal (thinking ahead to VR, I'm willing to spend the extra $100 now). Will need to go low-profile if I get a horizontal aftermarket heatsink. Suggestions?
CPU: i5-6500 for $200? CPUs usually stick around for me as long as the mobo, and I don't overclock, so typically we're talking 4 years or so. I imagine this will continue to be the case so long as gaming remains primarily GPU-oriented and CPU stays non-essential (up to a certain point, obviously). Is there an argument to be made for the $350 i7-6700 given what I'm going to be using it for? IF not, I'd rather spend that ~$150 elsewhere.
Case: Here's the biggie. Replacing my trusty Antec 902 is totally unnecessary, but the thing I'm most excited about. Priority this time around on premium materials, quality looks, and then functionality (no watercooling or overclocking or multi-GPU setup, so nice and simple). That in mind:
1. I'll go ATX and be happy, but if I can get it into an mITX to use that In Win 901 below I'd love to! Am I correct in assuming mITX will vastly limit my current prospects for 1151 mobos (limited to 2 RAM slots, m.2/u.2 slots sharing the PCI-E lanes, looks like you have to be more careful to make sure the long GPUs will fit?)? This upgrade is being primarily driven by case choice, and so, for instance, I'm willing to pay a bit more for a mobo to bypass the above limitations that aren't inherent in FF (partly because that money gets saved on the case side of things).
2. Looking for a silver/gray aluminum case (would also do black, but vastly prefer first two), and tempered glass window. Not really interested in steel or plastic, flashiness, etc. Minimalist, sleek, etc. Current contenders (a mix of the above form factors). Absolute max budget $300.
ATX:
In Win 904
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv
mITX:
In Win 901 This one's actually my first choice, so if I can do an mITX build that ticks off all the boxes and get this case I'd be stoked. Anyone had experience with a gaming build using this case?
Steel/plastic cases which could make the cut if a compelling enough case is made for them. Give a shout if I missed an aluminum version of these babies.
mITX/mATX:
Corsair Carbide Air240
AeroCool Dead Silence Series
BitFenix Micro
Were there any other cases debuted at CES 2016 that will come out in the next few months that are worth waiting for at the $150-300 price point that tick the boxes above (like the In Win S-box)? Aluminum/tempered glass? Anything from Lian-Li to add to the above list? Really too bad the In Win 909 is four hundred goddamn dollars.
Mobo: Would prefer simple white/black color scheme. Seems like in the last 5 years the biggest addition to motherboards is the m.2/u.2 interface? Anything else I should consider besides # of sata/express ports?
mITX:
ASRock Fatal1ty Z170mITX This motherfucker is ugly, but may be worth it to get the In Win 901.
MSI Gaming Z190I
ATX:
Asus Z170-A seems like the top contender by far at the ~$165 price point at this moment, given AT's most recent review? Solid value, with one m.2 slot, good number of USB (with 3.1 and Type A/C as well). Any suggestions for one with more USB? Also, would love a couple more of those SATA ports to be Express, but not a deal breaker. I'd go up to the $230 price point if someone has a stellar suggestion.
Other options:
Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 3
MSI Gaming Z170A
Misc: Some DeepCool RGB LEDs or similar, some AeroCool or Noctua or Corsair fans to increase airflow/pressure and decrease noise, braided/lighted SATA cables to make it look all nice, perhaps the Noctua horizontal heatsink, or another. Color scheme this time around I'm thinking will be white LEDs, hence the Asus mobo option. Any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance guys. Anandtech always comes through with solid advice.
Last edited: