Help me build a vr pc, just bought a HTC vive this morning.

polkfarmboy

I was watching some youtube vids about the HTC Vive and it looked amazing! I got carried away and just wnet and placed my order. It takes tax and charges $30 shipping so it was like $897 by the time I completed checkout.

I dont have a pc and never been interested in it but this looks like a new world with vr kinda like the second coming of the TV?

I wuld love some do's and dont's building a pc and what to look for etc. The ship date for my Vive says its estimated to arrive in may so I have over a month. I will post some unboxing pictures and intial impressions on this thread with periodic updates.

nguyendot

If you want easy, go have a big box build you one. Or buy an Alienware decked out. If you've never built a PC it can be daunting and there are a lot of options.

I'd do an i7 6700k, 16-32gb of ram
Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming mobo
GTX 980Ti or higher / AMD 390X or higher. SLI if you want
512gig or larger Samsung PRO SSD


etc etc

lots of options

polkfarmboy

Does in intel have new versions of the i5? The graphics card is the most picky part as I dont know if nvidia or amd would work best with the VR. I figure I am going to have to do it myself as there is going to come a point where you gota know how to upgrade.

[Deleted User]

If you haven't built a PC before check out https://pcpartpicker.com

You can search for VR ready builds that will fit in your budget.

nguyendot

The difference in cost is going to be several hundred dollars. Just max a build out. Bear in mind that resale value of computers is abysmal.

polkfarmboy

Virtual reality is a new passion I intend to pursue so resale on an item such as a pc is not a factor. The thing is that I plan to keep upgrading as new technologys hit the market so I want to factor this into what I am building.

I think the motherboard with adequate room for power supply, dual graphics cqrd room and other things like ram and harddrive space is a must. I dont have a clue about overclocking and thats a big headache so I will need a large tower with proper ventilation.

nguyendot

Over clocking takes patience and some background. As you have no idea what you're doing I would probably just buy the fastest you can and bet on stability. The only thing you will likely upgrade ever is more ram or a faster graphics card. By the time better CPUs come out you might as well build a new one.

polkfarmboy

When is better cpu's coming? I have been reading about these new pascal gpu's but I cannot see them being released before may.

nguyendot

CPUs are still very new, so not for a while. And might have something but so far they lag behind Intel. They don't even have anything comparable to the Xeon.

RamZet

Come visit us at EVGA.com/forums. It is an awesome forum and 100 people will line up to help you build a PC.

polkfarmboy

When I was looking at graphics cards the nvidia pascal looks like it is not going to be arriving until later in the year. With that in mind I was looking at the benchmarks for VR that Valve has on the web page the most obvious choice to run VR if I will be upgrading is to go with an AMD 390.

For VR the AMD smokes the nvidia gtx 970 for the same price if not cheaper and closes the gap on the gtx 980ti.

polkfarmboy

RamZet wrote: »

Come visit us at EVGA.com/forums. It is an awesome forum and 100 people will line up to help you build a PC.

I have actualy aquired so much information and read countless amount of forum posts, web pages and watched a ton of build videos on youtube. What seemed very alienating when I started the thread has become very familiar to me now. If I get a Nvidia card then I may join the forum for advice on best parts and more info on overclocking.

I was shocking about the information on intel with the way they are going about their business. Many people learned how to overclock the non K series chips and then nvidia is releasing these micro code updates and rendering the chips dead with forced updates

nguyendot

Why not just get a 980ti then? Like you've ever turned your nose up at something that costs $600.

nguyendot

polkfarmboy wrote: »

RamZet wrote: »

Come visit us at EVGA.com/forums. It is an awesome forum and 100 people will line up to help you build a PC.

I have actualy aquired so much information and read countless amount of forum posts, web pages and watched a ton of build videos on youtube. What seemed very alienating when I started the thread has become very familiar to me now. If I get a Nvidia card then I may join the forum for advice on best parts and more info on overclocking.

I was shocking about the information on intel with the way they are going about their business. Many people learned how to overclock the non K series chips and then nvidia is releasing these micro code updates and rendering the chips dead with forced updates

Nvidia didn't release the microcode.... Intel does. Naturally the BIOS updates include said microcode. My G3258 had that problem.... I just flashed the old BIOS back and presto chango it works again. If you want to overclock, get a K series chip. Its like $20 more.

RamZet

EVGA is great because its like this forum, where its doesn't matter if you don't have evga products. Its an enthusiast forum.
For VR I would look at two FuryX video cards or the new Radeon pro duo
OR wait until the summer, new AMD and Nvidia cards are hitting the market and they will be aimed at VR and 4K.

Pro Duo
http://www.amd.com/en-us/products/graphics/desktop/radeon-pro-duo?sf22575023=1

polkfarmboy

After further research about drivers and life span of the cards etc I have went back to the 980ti as my pickfor the build. The price is now at $2050 so thats like nearly 3k so far,, I keep thinking about the audio gear I could be buying for that amount and it turns my stomach.

Sami

If you're spending that much make sure you get liquid cooling instead of fans. I am going to guess video cards (whatever you're getting there should be at least 2 of them) are your most expensive item at this point.

polkfarmboy

I did research into the cpu cooler and found that this fan hits the same benchmarks as a liquid cooler but the main attraction is that it has lower decibels compared to other fan and liquid coolers.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L7UZMAK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00L7UZMAK&linkCode=as2&tag=ad07a-20&linkId=5O5GLSCPQFOK3JMR

JT01

Just want to put another option out there, since you may decide to use the PC outside of your VR uses. Gaming laptops are now being sold with external GPU enclosures, so if you are interested in something prebuilt, portable, and certified ready for VR, you may want to look at MSI and Alienware laptops (to name a couple). I've always built my own PC, but this new innovation has my interest.

polkfarmboy

They build them at your expense, I was checking the razor norebooks and those are $1800. when you add the upgrade extrenal gpu box your talking $400 plus another $660 for the graphics card to go inside.

Sami

I was really referring to real liquid cooling and not the closed loop CPU coolers. Then again if you don't have plans to overclock the Nochua CPU cooler is probably the best choice. Just make sure the GPU doesn't have heat issues (so no SLI'ed R290X's for example).

If you don't want to hassle with custom liquid cooling for the GPU's:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125838&cm_re=water_cooling_980ti-_-14-125-838-_-Product

polkfarmboy

Sami that is a good graphics card however the noise is really important. The cards that I have been looking into is the various nvidia gtx 980 ti offerings with the lowest decibels. I dont have a 4 display so I am looking into something cheaper. The reason is that from what I am gathering on past trends and current architecture that the card thats going to beat this for price wont be around for 9 months.

This is the cards I am going for but!..... its went up in price by $97 in the last 10 hours as I have the build in my amazon card and just checked. I hope it goes back down as amazon is out of stock.

Polkie2009

It's been 10 years since I built a desk top computer, Sami was right, those graphics cards with the latest and greatest always have been very_ expensive. Wait another 6 months and something better and faster is available,lol. I was always an AMD guy, but I was told a few years ago that Intel was gaining on them. You're right PFB, it's easy to sink a lot of money into one of these gaming pc's , let us know what you end up with!

mrbiron

Pcpartpicker.com
Do not build based on Amazon!

RamZet

Ok,
I can't let this go on anymore.
Give me you budget please!

polkfarmboy

$2000

Here is the card I am I going for when it drops back down to around $620. This is the silent low decibel model.http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Installed-Backplate-Graphics-06G-P4-4995-KR/dp/B00YDAYOK0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=A3LGJ9ZB5RSN9T

I already linked the cpu fan for but I will need some low profile ram for the motherboard because of clearance issue with that cpu fan in there.
http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Technology-2666MHz-HX426C15FBK4-16/dp/B00TPQPOIS?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_3&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

For the cpu I am going to go with this intel model because of how cheap its gotten and its a beast but it will need a different motherboard to fit because of how large it is.
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-5820K-Haswell-E-Processor-BX80648I75820K/dp/B00MMLXIKY?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_6&smid=AQJGMN2V76O30

Here is the mother boardhttp://www.amazon.com/MSI-Desktop-Motherboard-Chipset-LGA2011-3/dp/B00V4V4SFC?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_7&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Here is the SSDhttp://www.amazon.com/Samsung-850-EVO-3-5-Inch-MZ-N5E500BW/dp/B00TGIW1XG?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_5&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I will be storing alot of games so I need 2 terabytes of space and for storage therem is no advantage of going with an expensive ssd so its a hdd for cheap and has near the same speed as an SSDhttp://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Desktop-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST2000DM001/dp/B005T3GRN2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_4&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

This is a pretty nice 1000watt power supply for future proofinghttp://www.amazon.com/XFX-PRO1000W-Platinum-Compatible-P11000BELX/dp/B0067G6PA0?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_9&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

The case that allnthese bits'n bobs are going to go in is mayben the Razor edition nzxt case because it huge and looks like xbox with thenblack and greenhttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RJKXCDG/ref=twister_B019C7RYL4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I have fallen in love however with the lanli pc08 but thats when you start loosing it and spending money on crap thats not going to make a diff, besides the lanli is more for liquid cooling setupshttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112471

Sami

Check if you have MicroCenter close by. You'll save a bit on the CPU: http://www.microcenter.com/category/4294966995,4294964566/Intel-Processors

Their GPU prices aren't bad either. At this point your most cost effective card would probably be AMD. I got two R9 290X's back in the day when they were $250 a piece. They run hotter than hell but if you have the cooling they perform great. In general the AMD's when paired scale better in most games than the NVidia's. Even more when you run 3. I would settle for a R9 390 at this point and wait. Most likely the card will perform very well and doesn't cost nearly as much.

polkfarmboy

I checked the prices on that and amazon aint far of for the i7 I picked so its only a $27 diff. We dont have any decent pc stores in fargo at all.

The main thing that puts me off with AMD is the new cards they have coming out this summer. This means that they will not put alot of effort and resources into optimising the drivers via updates to get more performance. Nvidia does not have new cards coming soon so I would guess they will keep throwing everything they have at those 980ti cards because nothing new is coming anytime soon.

Sami

You would save about $200-300 by going with a i7-4790k instead of the 5820k. For gaming the 4790k is going to be faster, in general, as it has much faster cores. Those 2 extra cores on the 5820k aren't going to help much in most games.

If you're set on the 5820k shop around as that Amazon price is horrible. Newegg has it $60 cheaper:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117402&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction-Components&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-Components-_-Processors - Desktops-_-Intel-_-19117402&cm_sp=&AID=11892368&PID=7828656&SID=

Sami

polkfarmboy wrote: »

I checked the prices on that and amazon aint far of for the i7 I picked so its only a $27 diff. We dont have any decent pc stores in fargo at all.

On Amazon the 5820k is $415, at MicroCenter it is $320. Even at NewEgg it is much cheaper.

I was looking at the DDR4 prices and made me realize you should scratch the 4790k option as it would only save under $100. Even though the 4790k would be faster in most cases the new socket will make that motherboard last you longer when you feel the need to upgrade the CPU.

mrbiron

Just pay attention to where the M.2 is located. Directly between your GPUs. If those suckers are enfernos, I would opt for a standard SSD that can be lcoated away from all that heat.