Is This A Good High End Gaming PC Build?

[Kage Minowara]

Hello all. I’m getting a new gaming PC. I’ve saved up $3000 Canadian (which I think equals about $2500 American) and want to get the most powerful one that I can afford. Something that can run the latest games smoothly with high quality graphics settings on. I’ve done some research online and have come up with a list of parts that I think can be built into a really high end gaming machine. I showed it to a friend and he said that that it looked like it would work, but I wanted to check with more than one person. I don’t have a lot of computer hardware knowledge and want to make sure that all the parts I’ve listed will work together and will make a computer that will give me the kind of performance I’m looking for. (I dream of being able to play Rome 2 or TW: Warhammer with the all he graphics settings maxed out )

This is the list:

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/bB3w8K

Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/bB3w8K/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($344.75 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i v2 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($102.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VIII HERO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($109.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($169.49 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Desktop HDD 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($117.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1080 8GB STRIX Video Card ($659.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 530 (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($108.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($107.49 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.80 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($88.58 @ OutletPC)
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Zx 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Wired Network Adapter: TP-Link TG-3468 PCI-Express x1 10/100/1000 Mbps Network Adapter ($11.89 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($129.99 @ Corsair)
Mouse: Corsair Sabre RGB Wired Optical Mouse ($49.99 @ B&H)
Headphones: Kingston HyperX Cloud Pro Headset ($68.99 @ Amazon)
Speakers: Logitech Z506 155W 5.1ch Speakers ($69.99 @ Best Buy)

Total: $2494.67

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-21 22:22 EST-0500

So what do you guys think? Is this a good computer build? If not then I would very much appreciate advice on what parts I should use instead.

I would also appreciate it if you guys could suggest a reputable company or technician that can assemble it for me. I’ve heard that you can assemble the parts yourself but like I said earlier, I don’t have a lot of computer knowledge and I don’t want to throw away $3000 dollars in PC parts by screwing it up.

[Augustus Lucifer]

Moved this thread from the Technical Bazaar. Please use The Basement for discussions of computer stuff, the Bazaar is for site-related technical inquiries.

Nothing stands out as being immediately out of place in your build. The CPU chipset and memory type line up, the PSU seems powerful enough, SATA and PCIe are the correct technologies. May want to ensure there's enough slots on the Motherboard for everything, you have a decent amount of ancillary devices in the form of the Wireless Adapter, Wired Adapter, and Sound Card which are all targeted for specific needs (I haven't had a sound card in a build in 10+ years and can't say I notice a lack of audio quality). Might also ensure you're not getting nickeled and dimed on the processor, historically Intel has marketed the i7 series towards gamers but its hyperthreading has been poorly utilized for games and better applied towards 3D modeling, video processing, and other programs that take full advantage of the parallel virtual channels. That may have changed recently and perhaps the claim on the box of it working better for VR is true, someone in this section probably knows more than I do on that end. Also you should see if you can utilize your existing Windows 10 installation, assuming you upgraded during the free period.

[HunterKYA]

In looking to create a new system recently, I found it disappointing that the latest motherboards don't support PCI sound cards anymore. I've had an HT Omega Striker 7.1 that's been a constant in various builds for almost eight years. I suppose the only reason it still fits is because my motherboard's a Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3. which I've had just over four years; though the card's held up superbly over time, I'd regret having to lose it because of upgrading.

I don't own it myself, but if you're interested in a sound card for your build, maybe try the ASUS Xonar DSX PCIe 7.1. It has a slightly better user rating than the Creative card you picked, and also, it's somewhat cheaper as well.

[z3n]

1) Headphones/Speakers, why both? I'd suggest getting one single pair of good headphones, for example I just picked up these m40x's for $150 CDN off ebay and am pretty satisfied with them compared to my old Sennheisers or the Siberia V2's I used to have.

2) KB & Mouse , I went with the g500 mouse and then once the cord frayed and middle button experienced a slight issue they upgraded me to a g502 proteus mouse for free shipping and everything, logitech has an excellent warranty service, so that is something to consider. For my keyboard I use the g910 orion spark specifically for this reason as well, and it appeals to my inner child.

If you like corsair though for your own historical reasons (and I have a corsair ax1200i platinum PSU so I don't think I am biased for either logitech/corsair), go for it.