Xmas PC builds

PC build guide has been unattended for some months and now, with the Xmas campaign and Black Friday coming, it is a good time to see what we can afford to improve our machines.

This year has seen a new Nvidia architecture which nearly doubled 9 series performance and it is completely taking advantage of the new virtual reality devices. Also Skylake Intel’s architecture are performing better and more efficiently than the older series. A big step forward in power consumption and miniaturisation.

Here you have three different configurations, with UK amazon links, that should be running from triples to Oculus or Vive headsets easily with a very good frame rate. I called them Bronze, Silver and Gold.

Note: prices are constantly changing in last weeks, so maybe you can find some gold components even cheaper than “lower” configurations. Mix them up freely.

	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Mobo	ASRock H170 Pro4S ATX DDR4 Motherboard	AsRock Z170 Pro4 Skylake ATX Motherboard	ASRock Z170 Extreme4 Skylake ATX Motherboard
CPU	Intel i5 Quad-Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Processor	Intel BX80662I56600K Core i5-6600K LGA1151 3.5 - 3.9 GHz CPU	Intel Core i7 6700K Processor (4 GHz, 4 Core, 8 Threads, 8 MB cache, LGA1151 Socket Box)
Cooler	Cooler Master Hyper TX3 Evo CPU Cooler "RR-TX3E-22PK-R1, 3 Heatpipe, 1x 92mm PWM Fan, Intel / AMD"	Cooler Master Hyper TX3 Evo CPU Cooler "RR-TX3E-22PK-R1, 3 Heatpipe, 1x 92mm PWM Fan, Intel / AMD"	Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler "RR-212E-16PK-R1, 4 Heatpipe, 1x 120mm PWM Fan, Intel / AMD"
RAM	Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 2400Mhz CL14 XMP 2.0 High Performance Desktop Memory Kit, Red	G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series F4-3200C16D-16GVR 16 GB (8 GBx2) DDR4 3200 MHz C16 1.35 V Memory Kit - Classic Black	G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series F4-3200C14D-32GVK 32 GB DDR4 3200 MHz CL14 1.35 V Memory Kit - Classic Black
SSD	Crucial MX300 275 GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive with 9.5 mm Adapter - Grey/Blue	Samsung 750 EVO 250 GB 2.5 inch Solid State Drive - Black	Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB 2.5 inch Solid State Drive - Black
GPU	Gigabyte GV-N1060WF2OC-6GD GeForce GTX 1060 Windforce OC 6G NVIDIA 6 GB Graphics Cards - Black (Active, ATX, GeForce GTX 1060, GDDR5, PCI Express x16 3.0)	MSI GeForce GTX 1070 ARMOR 8G OC. 1920 Cuda Core PCIE 3.0 8 GB GDDR5 256-Bit Graphics Card - Black	Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 G1 Gaming Edition Windforce 3x Fan 8 GB GDDR5X PCI-Express 3 Graphics Card - Black
PSU	Corsair CP-9020061-UK Builder Series CXM750 ATX/EPS Semi-Modular 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supply Unit, 750 W	Corsair CP-9020061-UK Builder Series CXM750 ATX/EPS Semi-Modular 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supply Unit, 750 W	EVGA 750 W GQ Series ATX Modular Power Supply with Active PFC
Case	Fractal Design Core 2300 Series ATX Case - Black/Pearl	Fractal Design Define S ATX Computer Case	Fractal Design Define R5 Black ATX Midtower Silent PC Computer Case

You should achieve more than 100 FPS in any current sim with any of these configurations at FHD (1080p) resolutions. If you choose a “K” processor bear in mind to back it with a Z170 chipset motherboard to take advantage of overclocking possibilities. All are finished with beautiful and well featured swedish cases.

I advice to take bronze configuration if you are not nerdy enough with PC tweaking and performance. It is a very capable machine without overclocking capabilities. I usually run something similar with no issues.

Silver configuration allows to take full advantage of the current status of virtual reality devices and software. A good density per pixel to get enough resolution. A trusty motherboard to play with overclocking safely with the most powerful i5 available.

The winner is the gold configuration with one of the most powerful single-core configurations available to the mainstream user right now. All best seller components, widely tested and widely praised. Time to go to the future.