Demon_

The newer i7 6700K (higher memory bandwidth, higher system bus, higner graphic performances) is the best cpu for gaming. 6 cores cpu is useless for now, notably for DCS. Most of the today games don't use more than 3-4 cores. DCS use less than 2 cores. As long as you reached 4+ Ghz. The i5 6600K is the best for the buck for gaming. Cheers! What will you purchase? A 2013 Chevrolet Corvette or the newer generation 2015 Corvette? Welcome cugiahamchoi.

Yes, Thermalright manufacture excellent coolers, probably the best.

The +5v standby is always on. To allow the motherboard to control the power supply.

Agree. Except if you don't know how to fight and only turn right and left.

http://www.thetechgame.com/Archives/t=5613293/power-supply-guide-the-good-and-the-bad.html http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm Seasonic manufacture their own PSUs. Long time PSU manufacturer, all of their products are very good, one of the few OEM's to still make quality low-mid power units. Seasonic units are generally quiet, high quality and good value. http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/psu_manufacturers

Plenty of fun! And the power supply? https://www.overclockers.co.uk/seasonic-m12ii-620-evo-620w-80-plus-bronze-power-supply-ca-052-ss.html

At that level of price, you have the basic. But, at first, you should try without an external sound card. Check in Specifications/Audio. Exemple: Realtek® ALC892 : https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Motherboards/Z170-A/specifications/ Realtek® ALC1150: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5499#sp The Asus Xonar DX (AV100 processor) or DSX (AV66 processor). I use a Xonar Dx with Tritton Pc510 HDa (5.1 analog). I don't know the performance difference (big or small?) of an external sound card with an usb heatsets or 2 speakers, compared to the motherboard integrated audio.

Can't tell. Depending of the integrated audio circuitry of the motherboard. Many motherboard use "the minimum" Realtek ALC1150, ALC892, ALC887. A sound card with his audio processor will give you better surround effect. At least an Asus with the AV66, AV100 processor.

You can use the first PCIe 3.0/2.0 x1 slot.

The good gamer, the minimum, the crap. Asrock Z170 Gaming K6, MSI Z170A-SLI Plus, Z170A Krait Gaming, Gigabytes GA-Z170-UD3, Z170-Gaming K3 (no sli), GA-Z170XP-SLI, GA-Z170 Sniper, GA-Z170X-Gaming 3, GA-Z170M-D3H, Asus Z170-A, Z170 Pro Gaming, Z170-E, Difference between a good gaming motherboard and a crap:

Look for the gpu frequency. But don't spend too much, you will see tiny difference in performance.

i5 Sandybridge still does the bizz...? Yes. No reason to upgrade now. i5 2500K (or i7 2600K) 49 fps min. Still good! i7 6700K only 7 more at the same speed. 14% improvement.

No. A surge protector is only good for one time. The components absorb the energy (one time) and become useless. You have a led (red) indicator who tells you that.

Only an ups can prevent this.

"I really don't want to think or mess around with overclocking" We all begin like that. The newer generation i5 6600K (learn to overclock) with a Cooler Master Hyper 212. Or paid the price, i7 6700K. But the i5 4690K, i7 4790K are good choices too, if they are less expensive. And the i5 6600K at stock 3.9Ghz is probably enough. Look at the min, 53 at 4.0Ghz and only 3 more at 4.5Ghz. Asus Z170-A, Gigabyte Z170X-UD3, Gigabyte Z170X-Gaming 3, MSI Z170A Krait Gaming, MSI Z170A Gaming M3 (no sli). Power supply http://www.thetechgame.com/Archives/t=5613293/power-supply-guide-the-good-and-the-bad.html http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm Bronze certification for a one video card's system, gold certification for a sli/crossf config.

http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/downloads/world/

Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 3TB, cheap and fast: http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/hdd-charts-2013/-04-Write-Throughput-Average-h2benchw-3.16,2904.html

Get a Z170 motherboard chipset. The overclock feature is disabled with the H170. The Asus H170 PRO GAMING don't support sli. Maybe a 256MB or 512MB Samsung 850 EVO is enough. The Corsair RM series are unknown... Find something else: http://www.thetechgame.com/Archives/t=5613293/power-supply-guide-the-good-and-the-bad.html Get a quiet Noctua NH-D15 or NH-D14. Or a 240-280mm heatsink liquid cooler: http://www.corsair.com/en-ca/blog/2015/april/corsair-hydro-series-cpu-cooler-decoder-ring-and-case-compatibility-chart Sunday -24°C here.

Yes, the number mean something, Look for the processor frequency. Faster is better. Overclock for 4Ghz or more. Anyway, the i5 6600K hits 3.9Ghz on turbo mode without overclocking. The best for the buck: http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX36377 http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_Heatsinks The i5 6600K (or the i7 6700K) is the newer generation and slightly better than the i5 4690K-4670K at same speed. That depend on your wallet. 4K resolution is very expensive. You can get another video card (sli) at your upgrade at 4K resolution. But the Gtx970 has 3.5MB of useable Vram, the last 0.5MB is kaput. Maybe you will have to lower one or two settings at this high resolution. Nothing is perfect. Power supply made by Seasonic, Delta are very good. http://www.thetechgame.com/Archives/t=5613293/power-supply-guide-the-good-and-the-bad.html http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/psu_manufacturers http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

Any vendors who want to sell you an i7 hyper threading cpu for gaming is a... Vendor. Keep the $100 for a good cpu heatsink. A 27" 1920x1080 for gaming is the minimum. Serious gamers use a 40-55" 4K tv, not a small 32". Video card for 4K tv? #1 and #8: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=144333 Yes, the power supply of an "all-in-ones" is too cheap for gaming.

Hyper threading is useless for gaming.

Nop! The price should be very good because; The cpu is not a "K" model (3.4Ghz is not the best for DCS). The mobo is not an overclocker. The video card is outdate (only 1GB of Vram). How old is the SSD? The SSD is a 1.5 million hours reliability. 5 Years Limited Warranty or 75 TBW Limited Warranty (Whichever comes first)

You will introduce air bubbles in the systeme. What case?

Note: In crossfire setup (Series 300), you will need a big power supply: http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

I think the Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 don't support sli. http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4955#ov