Planning to update (Finally)

[mau92]

So after a long time thinking about upgrading my PC it will finally happen. I'm travelling to the US (NYC and SF) in july and I'm planning to buy the components there. I thought about buying in B&H Store in NYC, a place where I can place my order here and then pick it up when I go there, but of course, any recommendations in the Manhattan area is welcome. Because NYC is the last place I'll visit I want to buy there so I don't carry the parts with me the whole trip.

So far this is what I though:

 

CPU: Intel Core i5 6600k

MoBo: Gigabyte Z170 Gaming 5

GFX: GTX970

RAM 16gb Corsair Venegance

HDD: SSD (??GB) + 1TB WD Caviar black (the one I have now)

 

My budget is around 1000 dollars, though I might spend a little bit more. And I'm planning to re-use my case (Aerocool RS9) and power supply (Topower 700W)

Any suggestion is accepted!

 

Regards

[Andreas¹]

Here's what I'd be tempted to do, the total price will probably go up a bit if you have to buy everything from a single store. There are another few points to make as well.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($233.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 51.7 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.90 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Micro Center)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($57.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.98 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0 Video Card ($299.99 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Amazon)

Total: $941.83

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-06 13:21 EDT-0400

 

• Do you have an operating system that will work? An OEM version of Windows won't work with a new system.
  
• Any reason in particular you went for the Z170 Gaming 5? You could get away cheaper.
  
• What on earth is a Topower PSU? From the little I can gain online some of that brand is just listed as "AVOID" when it comes to quality. To be honest, $1000 is a large budget and you can afford a good PSU in there as well.
  
• Remember that K-sku Skylake CPU's don't come with coolers, you have to get an aftermarket one.
  
• Remember that warranties and such will be a pain or maybe even non valid if you buy components from another country.
  

And also - which is a huge point - remember that both AMD and Nvidia are releasing their new graphics cards in less than a month. If you can, or maybe even if you can't, you REALLY should wait to see what those bring to the table before buying a GPU.

 

[edit:] I just saw that you will be going in July so that shouldn't be a problem.

[mau92]

Thanks for the answer. I asked a friend for advice, and that's why I went for that mobo. As for brands, Gigabyte, WD and a few other brands, have no problem with warranty and RMA here, as long as it was purchased new (or the S/N hasn't been asked for an RMA). When I bought the PSU I read in some places that topower builds for some other companies like Coolermaster iirc so that's why I went for it, so far I have never had any issue with it, it's been working rock solid for the last 5 years. I own a Hyper 212+ that, as far as I know, works with latest gen CPUs.

About GFX, I didn't know about that, I might take a look at last gen GPU, it also will make that current gen GPUs drop their prices, so I can get away with a better one.

Newegg is a great place for buying, but they don't make shipment to hotels, anyways I have friends living there, so maybe I can make them ship all the things to their place.

[Andreas¹]

Yes, the 212+ will work with the new hardware. Current generation graphics cards probably won't drop in prices very much, they've already gone out of production. With the new generation though you should be able to pay the same price and get something that's quite a bit better. You never answered my question about OS.

[killalldude]

If you can find a Micro Center store in NY certainly check them out. They have some great deals on open box/refurb items as well.

[mau92]

I will search for a micro centre in NYC, although I'm not too keen with refurb items...

 

Yes, the 212+ will work with the new hardware. Current generation graphics cards probably won't drop in prices very much, they've already gone out of production. With the new generation though you should be able to pay the same price and get something that's quite a bit better. You never answered my question about OS.

 

Of course I'll take a look at new hardware, if prices aren't that different I will go for it. I've got a W7 copy, though I'm thinking of updating to W10 later.