Advice regarding 2 system upgrades.

[Nauticle]

Hello, I'm looking to upgrade my system and my sister is looking to upgrade hers as well.

1. My system will be used for gaming, light 3d modelling/autocad, general browsing, playing/streaming video and music. Her system will be used for light gaming, programming, graphic design, 3d modelling, general browsing and playing/streaming video and music. She will also be using VMs (no idea what for). Demanding Games I'll be playing are The Witcher 3, Dragon Age Inquisition and the new Tomb Raider when it comes out.

2. Looking at ~$1000-~1200 Canadian for me, ~$1500 for her. Either one of us can go higher if it's for a good reason.

3. Canada.

4. MemoryExpress.com , Canadacomputers.com , Vuugo.com , Tigerdirect.ca , Newegg.ca , NCIX.com , Directcanada.com .

5. No brand preferences.

6. For my machine
-Phanteks Enthoo Pro Case
-LG DVD writer
-1xSSD, 5xHDD (more SSD/HDD are planned)
-XFX R9 290x DD GPU (no 2nd gpu planned. upgrade to 14nm possible)
-LG W2453v Monitor, Razer Blackwidow keyboard, Logitech MX518 mouse, ATH-AD900x headphones
-NH-D14 and 6 fans

For her machine.
-Silverstone Strider 1000W Silver PSU (from my current build)
-EVGA GTX 570 GPU (my old gpu)
-3xHDD (may add more HDDs and a SSD)
-Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers

7. Yes. I'll be overclocking both machines.

8. I'll be using 1920x1080 but have plans to add another 1080p or a 1440p monitor. She is using either 1680x1050 or 1920x1080 (can't remember exactly.) She may add another 1080p monitor at some point.

9. Before the end of September.

10. Nope.

The current builds I have planned are the following
My Upgrade parts
-Intel Core i7-5820k
-Asrock Extreme6/3.1
-G.Skill DDR4-2400Mhz C15 4x4GB
-EVGA 850W G2 or Coolermaster v850W
-1 more fan (need rear exhaust)

Her upgrade parts
-Intel Core i7-5820k
-Asrock Extreme4/3.1
-G.Skill DDR4-2400Mhz C15 4x4GB
-Silverstone Strider 1000w Silver (from my current system)
-EVGA GTX 570 (my old card)
-Corsair Obsidian 450D

Price/Store breakdown so far (not including rebates)
MemoryExpress - G.Skill F4-2400C15Q 16GRR (x2) for $337.85 (inc taxes/s&h)
NCIX - Intel Core i7-5820k (x2) and Asrock Extreme4/3.1 for $1318.97 (inc taxes/s&h)
Newegg - EVGA 850W G2, Asrock Extreme6/3.1 and Corsair Obsidian 450D for 814.62 (inc taxes/s&h)

Coolermaster v850W PSU could be swapped in for the EVGA PSU at ~$225 from Canadacomputers. They also have an Antec HCP 850W for ~$150 (not including taxes/s&h) but its sold out for now.

Questions/Concerns
1. What CPU heatsink and how many extra fans (and what configuration) will my sister need.
2. Is 850W overkill for my machine.
3. Will these builds work? Or should I be looking at Skylake instead?
4. Should I look at buying a Sandisk Extreme Pro 480GB SSD for $240 from Memoryexpress. I don't know what I would put on there aside from games I rarely play
5. Any tips or tricks for upgrading to Windows 10 from Windows 7. I have 7 on my SSD and want 10 on there as well. Clean install would be nice.

Comments. Regarding motherboards - We prefer to have USB 3.1 and preferably with 1 type-C connector. Don't care if wifi is built in or not. Dual gigabit lan is a nice extra.

If anyone has any ideas for an audio solution that has 2 inputs (WiiU and PC) and 2 headphone outputs (with independent volume options) that would be great as well.

Thanks.

 

[Cerb]

Why go with LGA2011, and have all those RAM-hog uses, and then skimp out on RAM? If anyone has any ideas for an audio solution that has 2 inputs (WiiU and PC) and 2 headphone outputs (with independent volume options) that would be great as well.

Then...

She will also be using VMs (no idea what for).

7. Yes. I'll be overclocking both machines.

We are both willing to sacrifice some performance for more longevity.

That's two reasons not to OC, sandwiching the statement that you will OC.

So, are you both students, doing all this crap for academic needs, or are you both trying to make a living with the non-gaming aspects of these PCs?

 

[Nauticle]

I don't use the programs to the point where Ill need more than 16GB of RAM at least not yet and she doesn't know how much she will need. As for my longevity comment I honestly have no idea what I meant when writing that last night... probably best to ignore that one. For myself its learning and leisure. For her its leisure and maybe making some money on the side.

Why is overclocking and using VMs a bad thing?

I hope this helps answer some of your questions.