Possible New Build Parts List, Looking For Suggestions

Got quite the parts list going at Newegg right now. Going back and forth between i5 6600k and i7 6700k cpu's, will probably end up with the i5. Roughly 1300 bucks before a monitor. Still not sure about using my current case. Its a Cooler Master ATX, but its 8yrs old and i'm betting the power switch fries right after I get this new system installed inside of it haha. Not real sure about the video card either, was trying to pin down a 1060 as that seems like a good option, but they are flying out of stock like crazy.

Hoping to hit Fry's and BestBuy while I'm out running errands today to compare prices on components, check out some 28" monitors, and maybe kick the tires on a few AlienWare and MSI gaming laptops.

Any suggestions are welcome.



GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-UD5 (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:GA-Z170X-UD5
Item #:N82E16813128838

MSI GeForce GTX 1060 DirectX 12 GTX 1060 GAMING X 6G 6GB 192-Bit GDDR5 HDCP Ready ATX Video Card
Model #:GTX 1060 GAMING X 6G
Item #:N82E16814127963 OUT OF STOCK

EVGA SuperNOVA 850 GS 220-GS-0850-V1 80+ GOLD 850W Fully Modular EVGA ECO Mode Includes FREE Power On Self Tester Power Supply
Model #:220-GS-0850-V1
Item #:N82E16817438034

Intel Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 1151 91W BX80662I56600K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 530
Model #:BX80662I56600K
Item #:N82E16819117561

CORSAIR Hydro Series H60 (CW-9060007-WW) High Performance Water / Liquid CPU Cooler. 120mm
Model #:H60
Item #:N82E16835181030

SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5" 250GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-75E250B/AM
Model #:MZ-75E250B/AM
Item #:N82E16820147372 (two of these set to Raid 0)

G.SKILL TridentZ Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Intel Z170 Platform / Intel X99 Platform ...
Model #:F4-3200C16D-16GTZB
Item #:N82E16820231929

Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit - OEM
Model #:FQC-08930
Item #:N82E16832588491

 

Describe the usage expected and the screen resolution?

PSU is ~400W overpowered for the current parts.

 

Thanks David. I'm going back and forth on my main drive size. Had a buddy suggest getting 2 x 250gb SSD and run raid 0, not sure that's worth it or not. I could easily go with one SSD 512 or 1TB for my main drive, I plan on adding another drive in the near future for data and backups. I'm worried if I get a 1TB SSD main drive that it will just get cluttered with crap and I'll never clean it up.

 

IMO "gaming laptop" is just another misleading marketing term, in the same vane as "desk top replacement laptop" is a misleading marketing term. Consider the fact that quality PC cases with lots of fan support to create excellent flows of cool air through the case are still challenged to keep a decent gaming PC properly cooled. So how can a tiny, compact laptop case? Especially with a wafer thin CPU cooler? Laptop makers can pack the power in a laptop case, but not the cooling. And PC cases have removable side to expose the entire interior for a proper cleaning of heat trapping dust. Laptops with their very proprietary design are nearly impossible for the normal user to properly and thoroughly clean. So if gaming with this new computer is your primary goal, I say stick with a PC.

And agree with satrow - while that EVGA SuperNOVA 850W is an excellent PSU, it is WAY overkill. According to the most excellent eXtreme Power Supply Calculator, you could get by with a quality 400W supply. I happen to really like EVGA SuperNOVAs and have been using them exclusively in our builds here for the last year or so. But you can get by easily, with lots of room to spare, with the EVGA SuperNOVA 550W Gold (which is what I have in this machine).

I have the Samsung 850 Pro 256GB SSD as my primary (boot) drive in this system and it easily supports 64-bit W10 Pro, Office 2007 Pro (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Office Tools), all my security apps and utilities and other installed programs, and all my Documents with 100GB still free. So I say 256GB is likely plenty for most people. If you have lots of high-rez images and videos, you will need a bigger drive or a secondary drive. I have a 600+ music CD collection and have copied 3,727 of my favorite songs into 443 Folders (albums) on to my secondary drive (a Samsung 850 EVO 250GB) and all those song files consume just 55.7GB of space! I also use that drive to copy image files of my primary drive and still have over 30GB to spare. As newer backup images are stored, older image files will be deleted so I don't anticipate needing more space. But if I do, adding a third, or replacing this secondary drive is MUCH easier than replacing a boot drive with something bigger

Most games consume a few 100 "m"egabytes of disk space, but some can eat up 20 or 30 or even more than 50GB. So a larger SSD for your primary, or a secondary SSD for your game programs, videos, etc. may be needed. I personally vote for a 256GB 850 Pro for your primary, then a big 850 EVO for your secondary drive.

I am not a fan (no pun intended) of water based alternative cooling solutions - this is ESPECIALLY true in cases that don't support great air flow. You did not state which CM case you have but I recommend you look at something new that supports many large (120mm or preferably larger) case fans. I really like Fractal Design cases lately. I am using the Fractal Design Define R4 with this machine and the only fan noise I hear is the AC fan noise coming through the AC vent from the HVAC unit in my basement. The R5 is nice too, but there are several reviews and reports showing the R4 seems to win out in R4 vs R5 comparisons - and I agree but sure would not shy away from the R5.

The vast majority of users don't need alternative cooling solutions. Most implement water cooling simply for bragging rights, because it looks "cool" (again, no pun intended), not because they need it. And I have no problem with that as long as they address the cooling requirements of the remaining components inside the computer case. It is the case's responsibility to provide a sufficient supply of cool air flowing through the case and I am not sure that old CM case is able. The CPU cooler need only toss the CPU's heat into case's air flow. And it is the user's responsibility to ensure case cooling is properly configured and working properly.

Others implement alternative cooling solutions because they have been incorrectly advised that the OEM coolers supplied by Intel and AMD are not adequate. That is simply false. Today's OEM coolers are more than adequate even with mild to moderate overclocking. They have to be because only the OEM coolers warranty the CPU they come with. And that warranty is for 3 years. I am often amazed how some advisors immediately tell posters seeking advice to dump the OEM cooler for the popular side-firing CM 212 EVO which only has a 2 year warranty that does not cover CPU replacement. And today's OEM coolers are much quieter than the OEM coolers of yesteryear too.

If you just want alternative cooling (or your particular CPU does not come with an OEM cooler), note engineers and motherboard designers purposefully cluster heat sensitive and heat generating devices around the CPU socket so they too can take advantage of the turbulence created by the expected downward firing OEM coolers. Aftermarket side firing fans do not provide such needed cooling as the fan is up high and blows in only one direction. Don't take my word for it. See the * note here where ASRock says (my bold underline added),

Another problem is neglect. Most water cooler implementers are very conscientious the first year looking for leaks and loose fittings. But as year 2 or 3 rolls around, those inspections occur less often and are less thorough just when their frequency and thoroughness needs to increase as hoses harden and become brittle from countless heat-up/cool-down (expansion/contraction) cycles, and loose fittings through years of vibrations from fans, drive motors, and footfalls.

Cooler does NOT automatically mean better. Providing proper cooling is absolutely essential - no question about that! But all 25°C gets you over 55°C is bragging rights. The 25°C CPU will not perform better, be more stable, or have a longer life expectancy than the 55°C cooler.

So, long story short, if you need to use, or want to use an alternative cooling solution, I recommend a good downward firing conventional heatsink fan (HSF) assembly. And regardless your CPU cooling of choice, always ensure your case is still providing an adequate flow of cool air for the remaining heat sensitive devices too.

 

Going to try and answer a few questions from above, but forgive me if I miss a few. Typing on a tiny 13" mac from work, and i'm having a heck of a time navigating this screen.

This machine will be used for a little bit of everything including gaming, possibly recording music, goofing off on the internet. I always go overboard on the power supply to leave me room to grow components in the future. One of the reasons I liked that 850 was the fully modular design and two tons of ports, figured I couldn't go wrong. But I will look at some other lower cost options and see what I can come up with.

My current case is a Cooler Master CM690, the very first one they released. I'll post a link from newegg below so you can take a look and see what you think. I'm betting it would work pretty good, just won't have some of the new fancy connectors on it like the new USB ports, etc.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

As for the liquid cooling option, just something a friend suggested I'm not set on it at all. I'm fine going with an OEM cooler already installed on a processor, it makes my life much easier during install. And to be honest, the idea of overclocking always sounds good when I'm building up a system, but I rarely ever get around to doing it. So maybe looking for an intel processor with cooling fan/heatsink right out of the box is the best way to go.

I'm also struggling with video card selection and pairing it with a monitor. I don't need the latest greatest card, but would like it to last for sometime without having to upgrade in the next 2 yrs. I've had great luck in the past with EVGA cards so they are top on my list at the moment. The new 1060 series looks promising, but most are out of stock at the moment. I may be able to swing a 1070, but the 1080 is a no go.

Thinking about a 28" Samsung 4K , not sure if it's the way to go or not, sure would be the pants off my aging Dell 19" square monitor. I also thought a curved monitor might be good, but have no idea how it would perform gaming wise. Here's a link to what I was looking at online.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung...lack/5484022.p?id=1219133600805&skuId=5484022

Many thanks for all the replies!

 

Ummm, no way. Cooler Master has been making cases for nearly 25 years. If you note on their website, way back in 1999, they introduced the first "all-aluminum" case.

Nevertheless, that 690 supports up to 7 120mm fans so case cooling should not be a problem.

The downside may be that it does not support USB 3.0 so you would have to add a PCIe to USB 3.x card to get USB 3.x support, if you need it.

As for the power switch, if not abused, they typically last almost forever. But should it fail, you could always swap wires to the motherboard header with the Reset button wires, and just use the Reset button from then on to power in the computer.

Going overboard on the PSU is fine, but 850W is WAY overboard. I see no reason to go over 650W, unless you plan on one day, using "two" monster graphics cards.

I am not a fan of overclocking either. I see that as just a "bragging rights" thing. It is not a challenge anymore. Back in the day we had to cut traces and solder jumpers onto motherboards to overclock. That was something to be proud of (if you didn't destroy the motherboard in the process). And of course, making such modifications surely voided any warranty can they could not be undone by simply resetting the BIOS/CMOS settings. So if I want more power, I save my pennies and buy it.

I am fine with OEM coolers too but note not all CPUs come with OEM supplied coolers - including the "K" model Intel CPUs. So do your homework when researching.

Curved monitors have not lived up to all the hype curved monitor (and TV) marketing weenies want us to believe. They seem good (notice I did not say "worth it") while gaming if you sit right at the optimum focal distance and don't move around much. And if you do "normal" computer tasks like surfing the net, reading/writing emails, create Word documents, etc. the curved display can be distracting. One of the big disadvantages is the poor viewing angles. That is, if more than one viewer is looking (or you move off-center), one or both will have a less than ideal image.

They just are not worth the premium prices they demand, at least in my opinion. See The How-to Geek, Why Would you Want a Curved TV or Computer Monitor?

 

Sorry, I meant it was the first release in the CM690 series.

Fry's was a bust. They didn't have many video cards or motherboards in stock today. Everyone must be building a new machine.

 

I've never been in a Fry's - they don't have them in this area so can't help you there. I buy mostly from Newegg, Amazon, or check out Jet too. Wal-mart just bought Jet in the hopes of competing with Amazon. Some of their prices are lower than all the others.

 

Still trying to decide on a motherboard, leaning towards the Gigabyte since I have had great experience with them in the past. I can list the other components again if necessary, but the basic list is i7 3.4 with OEM fan/heatsink, EVGA 1070 8gb card, 16gb DDR4 3200, 512 mb Samsung evo 850, EVGA gold+ 650w power supply, running windows 10 64bit pro.

Thoughts?

GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-Ultra Gaming (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Motherboards - Intel
Model #:GA-Z170X-Ultra Gamin
Item #:N82E16813128941
ASUS TUF SABERTOOTH Z170 S LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:SABERTOOTH Z170 S
Item #:N82E16813132715

ASUS Z170-A LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:Z170-A
Item #:N82E16813132566

 

Gigabyte is my preferred brand and ASUS is my next favorite. So I would be happy with either.

 

Gotcha. Next hurdle is to figure out a monitor. I'm torn between a nice 27"/28" flat monitor, or venturing into the 34" ultra wide market. I saw a 34" LG at costco this weekend, and while I realize it's probably at the bottom of the barrel quality wise, the concept of one ultra wide screen is appealing. All the monitor reviews I have read are saying BenQ or Acer have the best monitors out at the moment, not sure I trust either of those brands for a quality product.

 

Here's the list I'm going with for now. Holding off on video card for a while until I can do more reading and figure out what I actually need. The processor I choose has stock fan/heat sink, and I have a 2gb asus card(gtx470?) at home that will be fine for a bit.

GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-UD5 (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:GA-Z170X-UD5
Item #:N82E16813128838

EVGA SuperNOVA 650 GS 220-GS-0650-V1 80+ GOLD 650W Fully Modular EVGA ECO Mode Includes FREE Power On Self Tester Power Supply
Model #:220-GS-0650-V1
Item #:N82E16817438048

Intel Core i7-6700 8M Skylake Quad-Core 3.4 GHz LGA 1151 65W BX80662I76700 Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 530
Model #:BX80662I76700
Item #:N82E16819117560

SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5" 500GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-75E500B/AM
Model #:MZ-75E500B/AM
Item #:N82E16820147373

G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Intel Z170 Platform Desktop Memory Model ...
Model #:F4-3200C16D-16GVK
Item #:N82E16820231902

Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit - OEM
Model #:FQC-08930
Item #:N82E16832588491

 

You might want to reconsider the choice of SSD, that 'board supports 2 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors. The M.2 and SATA Express ports allow for much higher bandwidth storage solutions since they are SATA 3.2 interfaces which combine SATA and PCIe buses for speeds up to 16 Gb/s.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820147466 ?

 

I like the idea of the new M.2 drives, but don't trust the technology yet.

Looking at those Fractal cases now and they both look really nice. I am leaning towards the R5 at the moment.

 

What's not to trust? It uses the PCIe interface which has been around for more than a decade. And SSD technologies reach back into the 1950s.

 

The bandwidth on that vid card could be higher. I've been dreaming of a 512-bit myself, but they're still a bit pricey.

 

M2/U2 (via pcie) is the new speedster for SSD's, much faster than the slower SATA port. Currently the SSD can't saturate a 10GB nic, but NVME requires a good 40 GBe nic. Next up soon is 3dxpoint, which in theory makes PCIe ssd's as slow as regular spindle drives.

But, none of the above is really needed here for this thread. Having an SSD on sata is okay, but M2/U2 is faster.

Johnny guru gives your PSU a 8.5, btw.

 

I saw that you mentioned GTX1060 in the beginning. If it is still in consideration, I think that it is below specs compared to the other components. The 1060 doesn't support SLi either, so the PSU is overkill. I personally wouldn't go for anything weaker than 1070 with that kind of a machine. Plus you always have an option of adding another one.
I myself am in the process of buying a new card, though I ran into a hurdle choosing between nVidia/AMD within my budget.

 

I'm holding off on a video card for now. I have an asus gtx470 2GB here, as well as a 9600gt 512mb, I'll use these if the on board video doesn't hold up. I know you guys are probably cringing reading this, but I want to make sure I do more reading and get a good card and monitor...

Final build parts list below. Last call before I pull the trigger.

Fractal Design Define R5 Black Silent ATX Midtower Computer Case
Model #:FD-CA-DEF-R5-BK
Item #:N82E16811352048

GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-UD5 (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:GA-Z170X-UD5
Item #:N82E16813128838

EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G2 220-G2-0650-Y1 80+ GOLD 650W Fully Modular EVGA ECO Mode Includes FREE Power On Self Tester Power Supply
Model #:220-G2-0650-Y1
Item #:N82E16817438054

Intel Core i7-6700K 8M Skylake Quad-Core 4.0 GHz LGA 1151 91W BX80662I76700K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 530
Model #:BX80662I76700K
Item #:N82E16819117559

Noctua NH-U12S 120x120x25 ( NF-F12 PWM) SSO2-Bearing ( Self-stabilising oil-presure bearing ) CPU Cooler
Model #:NH-U12S
Item #:N82E16835608040

SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5" 500GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-75E500B/AM
Model #:MZ-75E500B/AM
Item #:N82E16820147373

G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C14D-32GVK
Model #:F4-3200C14D-32GVK
Item #:N82E16820232218

Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit - OEM
Model #:FQC-08930
Item #:N82E16832588491

 

Unless you are doing serious graphics work like some type of CADs, VMs, or video rendering, that's serious overkill on the RAM. 16 GB is more than sufficient for gaming and normal use.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll scale it back to 16gb for now.

 

Last question before I pull the trigger on this build. Windows 10 64bit Pro or Windows 7 64bit? Leaning towards 10 at the moment.

I made two changes to my list. Upgraded the air cooler to a Noctua nh-u14s from the 12. Should do a much better job keeping the cpu cool. Also swapped out the ram to the trident series. Will be getting 16gb of ram (2x8), but the ram I chose has great speed and is also listed on Gigabyte's site as a supported part number for the GA-Z170x-UD5.

 

Well, after years of thumbing my nose at liquid cooling I installed an H80i v2 and so far have been quite pleased with it. Something you may want to look into. However, though I have both fans installed, I disconnected the pull fan and I'm only running the push with no issues. I have no qualms with Windows 10, and find that it outperforms W7 in every way I use my PC.

What about case fans? I tend to use a negative pressure system, which means exhaust fans, no intake fans.

 

Going to use the stock fans that come with the Fractal R5 to start with. I believe it has 140mm intake and 140mm exit fans.

 

I think you will find they work great, and are VERY or should I say very quiet.

 

Well, pulled the trigger on the following, will pick up a copy of windows 10 Pro 64bit from a local Fry's store just in case there is a problem. And before anyone gets upset about the complete overkill on the power supply, with instant rebate it was the same price as the 650, so I went for it. Can't be a bad thing for the same price

Fractal Design Define R5 Black Silent ATX Midtower Computer Case
Model #:FD-CA-DEF-R5-BK
Item #:N82E16811352048

GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-UD5 (rev. 1.0) LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:GA-Z170X-UD5
Item #:N82E16813128838


EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G2 220-G2-0750-XR 80+ GOLD 750W Fully Modular EVGA ECO Mode Includes FREE Power On Self Tester Power Supply
Model #:220-G2-0750-XR
Item #:N82E16817438017

Intel Core i7-6700K 8M Skylake Quad-Core 4.0 GHz LGA 1151 91W BX80662I76700K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 530
Model #:BX80662I76700K
Item #:N82E16819117559

SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5" 500GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-75E500B/AM
Model #:MZ-75E500B/AM
Item #:N82E16820147373


G.SKILL TridentZ Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000) Intel Z170 Platform Desktop Memory Model ...
Model #:F4-3000C15D-16GTZ
Item #:N82E16820231911

Noctua NH-U14S 140mm SSO2-Bearing (Self-stabilising oil-presure bearing) CPU Cooler
Model #:NH-U14S
Item #:9SIA9PV3Y61194

 

I found these very useful:

https://www.amazon.com/NZXT-IU01-Internal-Expansion-Black/dp/B0031ESKJA

 

That Gigabyte board already has 1 x USB Type-C, 3 x USB 3.0 and 2 x USB 2.0 so hopefully won't need to add any internal hubs.

BTW, you have to be careful with those Newegg affiliate sellers. I note that device is not sold by Newegg but a company called OutletPC and they seem to be a rip off. They are charging $30.90 for that device yet the suggested retail was only $19.99. I realize it is out of production so that may be why the price gouging, but still... .

And to that, it is out of production because it only supports USB 2.0. If more internal USB connectors are needed (and not sure why that would be the case), I would recommend a PCEe expansion card with internal USB 3.0 ports. There are many to choose from. And as a card, you don't have to worry about where or how to mount it either, or getting power to it either.

 

I got mine from a previous seller for way less than Outlet PC's price from Newegg. Amazon still has them for less. Many coolers (CPU, GPU) still use USB 2.0 headers for fan control, which is why I needed a couple. Card reader, and a separate USB panel on the front, plus the liquid cooler, and the power supply connects to a 2.0 header as well.

Perhaps I should snag a couple extra from Amazon...

 

Well, looks like parts are arriving tomorrow and time permitting I'll start the build on Sunday. Recently I've read about different methods for applying thermal grease and was wondering what method you guys use for this. In the past I have always applied a thin layer on the CPU, and bottom surface of the cooler, using a business card. Applying a pea sized drop in the middle of the CPU and then installing the cooler seems to be popular these days.

Any tips are greatly appreciated as it's been a very long time since I've attempted this.

 

A couple of articles on thermal grease:
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Thermal-Paste-Roundup-172/
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Thermal-Paste-Application-Techniques-170/

I think the main thing is to crank down the cooler slowly and evenly. Take your time.

 

Download the motherboard, case and graphics card manuals now and read up to become familiar with them. Note the case's front panel wires and the motherboard's front panel I/O header because they surely will be labeled slightly different. Note too the motherboard's and the graphics' card power cable connection requirements.

One of the most common newbie (and distracted pro) mistakes is inserting more case standoffs than the motherboard needs. Cases are designed to support 1000s of different motherboards so there is almost always more standoff mounting points than there are motherboard mounting points.

Be sure to install the I/O shield in the case BEFORE mounting the motherboard oops.

Lastly, Don't forget ESD precautions. Remember a static discharge from your body can be so tiny you (as a human) cannot see it, feel it or hear it yet it can be so destructive as to torch a Grand Canyon size (microscopically speaking) scorched trench through millions of transistor gates in your CPU, RAM and ESD sensitive devices on the motherboard. So be sure to frequently touch the bare metal of the case interior and especially BEFORE touching anything else to discharge any static build up in your body and put you and the case "at the same potential".

 

Found my first error and the parts haven't even been delivered yet. Looks like my old IDE dvd drive, that I barely used with my last system, won't work with this new incoming motherboard whoops. Wish I would have clued into this yesterday when I was at Fry's getting a copy of Windows 10 PRO 64bit.

 

getting everything together for the install. In the middle of the motherboard tray on the Fractal R5 case, there is a premounted plastic standoff with a nipple on the top. It's right in a spot were a grounding screw goes. There are 9 grounding spots on the motherboard, so 9 standoffs will be needed. The case came with 9, but one of the 9 is the plastic one and a screw cannot be inserted into it. Is it ok to leave the one different standoff in the middle of the case and put normal standoffs and screws for the rest of the motherboard install? I was under the assumption that all of those grounding/mounting holes on the motherboard need to be screwed down.

 

If this plastic piece is the same height as the standoffs, then sure you can leave it. Not every point has to be electrically grounded to the case through a standoff. But it is very important the motherboard sits flat on all points and none are higher than the others.

 

Greetings from Windows 10

Nothing over clocked yet, but I will give that a shot in the near future. So far so good, bootup time to login in screen less than 10 seconds. Using onboard video at the moment and it doesn't seem to shabby. I have an ASUS GTX470 2GB card sitting here on my desk, but not sure I'm going to install it. Need to save some more cash for a large capacity internal drive for stuff, video card, and a new monitor. This 19" Dell is not the greatest lol.

 

Here's a couple of pics. I still can't believe how BIG the Noctua 14 is.

Parts woohoo!

http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/y314/mctweed/Fractal%20R5%20Skylake%20build/parts.jpg

Noctua uh14s next to board for size reference.
http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/y314/mctweed/Fractal%20R5%20Skylake%20build/Noctua%20next%20to%20board.jpg


Noctua mounted on board.
http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/y314/mctweed/Fractal%20R5%20Skylake%20build/Noctua%20mounted.jpg