What are your thoughts on my PC build "Blue Dragon"?

[EnsisTheSlayer]

Here's the link; http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xFYYpg

I was inspired by Ed(gar) from TechSource to make this Blue/Black build. Blue and purple are proven to calm the mind, and blue is my favorite color. I recommend checking out some of the custom parts as well as I have some pretty sweet Schiit (as I proceed to have a Fiio E10K instead). This is sort of my dream build, and I think this build is absolutely flawless and perfect. Obviously I want all of your opinions on it though. Positive or negative.

 

[Ken g6]

Mostly looks quite good. One major issue: You want sticks of RAM in sets of four, not two, with LGA 2011.

Other things:
- Are you sure you want to buy a high end graphics card now? New ones are coming this summer.
- No Blu-ray drive?

 

[mnewsham]

No M.2 SSD drive? The Samsung 950 pro drives are very fast for a boot drive or if you're doing any high I/O tasks.

 

[nsafreak]

Some rather odd choices, let me go down my list:

GPU: It's not a bad GPU at any means but with Pascal releasing in the very near future I find it hard to recommend a top tier GPU like the 980 Ti.

SSD: Not an m.2 drive? And for that matter, only 250 GB? This day and age a 500 GB drive is really quite affordable especially for the amount you're putting into this build

Optical drives: Two? For that matter, like Ken I'm wondering if you're going with an optical drive at all why not get a Blu ray drive? That's the only reason I have one in my system is so that I can make copies of movies I purchase for my media server.

Headphones: Seems kindof odd to me to have two sets, although the Audio Technicas selected might be better for music than they are for gaming. Still, perhaps you should consider getting just a set of those and purchasing an Antlion Modmic.

Speakers: Personally, I'm not a big fan of Logitech speakers, just something about their sound seems a little bit off to me at times. If you're into music perhaps you might want to consider a better set of 2 channel speakers.

Chair: Have you actually sat in one of these chairs? Because the "gaming" chairs I've tried out are ok for short sessions but anything long isn't quite as comfortable. If you're going to be spending serious cash on a chair I highly recommend looking at something from HON, Steelcase or Herman Miller. Sure, they won't be cool looking "gaming" chairs but they'll be far more comfortable over a long period of time.

Surge protector: If you're going to spend all of this money on this rig and the peripherals, why skimp with a generic surge protector? I'm not saying go all out with a high end UPS but a decent $120 - $150 ish UPS from somebody like APC or Tripplite would be a far better investment

Mic: Wait, so you're spending the cash for a decent audio interface but you're getting a combo microphone with both USB and XLR? Seems kindof silly to me as you're obviously going to use the XLR plug if you're going to purchase the audio interface. A better option would be the Audio Technica AT2020.

 

[Yuriman]

At first glance, it looks pretty solid, but there are some small things, as others have said.

-Would you consider going with a high-end air cooler instead of the NZXT? Pumps tend to be noisy, and failure-prone. Not frequently, but over the decade I was watercooling, I had two pump failures, and after the second one I sold off all of my watercooling gear and vowed I would not go that route again.

-4 sticks of RAM.

-980Ti is about to be replaced, and will likely devalue rapidly. Now is not a good time to buy a high-end card.

-Maybe a Platinum-rated PSU? That one is a fine choice, though.

-2 DVD drives?

-Windows 8?

-I'm not a fan of either headset you've chosen. 5.1 sets tend to be gimmicky, with software positional audio often providing better directional sound for games.

If you bought it just as it is, you'd probably be happy with it though.

 

[EnsisTheSlayer]

Updated build; http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XDJQjX

The E-Blue chair has a lot of excellent reviews and people say that it's good for 10+ hours of gaming. I did a little research and they use E-Blue chairs for Esports tournaments and other gamig events in Japan. Also Ed from Techsource has a similar chair made by the same company, and this build is based off of his so...

Other than that I changed quite a few things so check it out!

 

[Freddy1765]

Why two pairs of headsets? Do yourself a favour and buy some proper stereo headphones and a ModMic. I've got a pair of Beyer Dynamic DT-770 Pro with a ModMic 4.0, it works really well.

 

[mnewsham]

Getting an AT2020, Scarlett 2i2, AND a modmic?

If you're getting a desktop mic with audio interface, use that. If you're not, then get a modmic. But I don't think you need both.

 

[Freddy1765]

Getting an AT2020, Scarlett 2i2, AND a modmic?

If you're getting a desktop mic with audio interface, use that. If you're not, then get a modmic. But I don't think you need both.

Ah, I missed the looong list of miscellaneous items on the bottom.
I would agree that two microphones is indeed unnecessary! Is OP getting into streaming or content creation? That's a whole lot of money being spent on recording-shenanigans.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Getting an AT2020, Scarlett 2i2, AND a modmic?

If you're getting a desktop mic with audio interface, use that. If you're not, then get a modmic. But I don't think you need both.

Different mics for different tasks.

A little boom mic like the modmic would mostly be useful for gaming voiceovers, tutorials, or other stuff where you're sitting down (cabled to the computer) but need your hands free, since you're basically turning a pair of high end headphones into a gaming headset. It'll pick up your voice, but not much else. (Useful if you have housemates, live near mass transit, etc.)

The AT2020 and 2i2 would be more directional - it won't pick up everything, but is sensitive as hell within a ~120 degree cone. Useful if you were recording a panel discussion, or musical performances and want to just pick up everything in the room. I'm partial because I've used the same setup (2x AT2020 and a 2i2) for years - been doing concert recordings and audition tapes for my friends since grad school, and they were a big upgrade from my old poor-college-student gear. (Although they're still pretty entry-level. But they get a really nice, accurate sound. Flutes in particular; it's hard to get a flattering recording.)

But if you're just doing a single AT2020, and if you're not recording acoustic music, the AT2020U is probably a better idea. (It's just the USB version of the AT2020, and would be perfect for, say, podcasting.)

If I were doing multitrack recording of, say, a rock band, I'd need different mics (pickups, etc.) Mic'ing a drum kit is usually 3-4 inputs minimum.

 

[EnsisTheSlayer]

Different mics for different tasks.

A little boom mic like the modmic would mostly be useful for gaming voiceovers, tutorials, or other stuff where you're sitting down (cabled to the computer) but need your hands free, since you're basically turning a pair of high end headphones into a gaming headset. It'll pick up your voice, but not much else. (Useful if you have housemates, live near mass transit, etc.)

The AT2020 and 2i2 would be more directional - it won't pick up everything, but is sensitive as hell within a ~120 degree cone. Useful if you were recording a panel discussion, or musical performances and want to just pick up everything in the room. I'm partial because I've used the same setup (2x AT2020 and a 2i2) for years - been doing concert recordings and audition tapes for my friends since grad school, and they were a big upgrade from my old poor-college-student gear. (Although they're still pretty entry-level. But they get a really nice, accurate sound. Flutes in particular; it's hard to get a flattering recording.)

But if you're just doing a single AT2020, and if you're not recording acoustic music, the AT2020U is probably a better idea. (It's just the USB version of the AT2020, and would be perfect for, say, podcasting.)

If I were doing multitrack recording of, say, a rock band, I'd need different mics (pickups, etc.) Mic'ing a drum kit is usually 3-4 inputs minimum.

I plan on just recording vocals for songs and video game theories. Is the Audio Technica AT2020U with a pop filter good enough to suit my needs in your opinion? I know the USB version can't use an audio interface but I don't plan on recording instruments so I thinks it's good.

If it is fine the way it is here's the updated build; http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CwLNJx

 

[EnsisTheSlayer]

Why two pairs of headsets? Do yourself a favour and buy some proper stereo headphones and a ModMic. I've got a pair of Beyer Dynamic DT-770 Pro with a ModMic 4.0, it works really well.

The pair of ATH M50x headohones are one of the most popular studio-grade audio monitoring headphones. I got rid of the ModMic and decided with the Roccat Kave XTD because of the true 5.1 surround sound and the mic. I read reviews and they suit my needs perfectly. The point of surround sound headsets is to immerse me in an FPS game. I will use the M50x for RPG style games where I don't need to pinpoint the sound of footsteps. IMO it's more convenient this way. I'm perfectly content with purchasing another pair of headphones, and I'd love to use anything at my disposal to increase immersion and performance in FPS games.

Other people think tenkeyless keyboards are great for FPS games, but I can easily move my keyboard a little bit to the left so it's still comfertable to use and gives me extra mouse space.

 

[mnewsham]

The point of surround sound headsets is to immerse me in an FPS game

Fake surround sound like you get with those headsets isn't anything particularly good for FPS gaming.

You would be better served by a pair of open back headphones with a wider soundstage and positional accuracy such as the Sennheiser HD600 or AKG K701

But hey, it's your money.

 

[EnsisTheSlayer]

Fake surround sound like you get with those headsets isn't anything particularly good for FPS gaming.

You would be better served by a pair of open back headphones with a wider soundstage and positional accuracy such as the Sennheiser HD600 or AKG K701

But hey, it's your money.

Logitech is fairly known for making fake surround sound headsets, but these actually have 3 drivers per can. I know the headphones I chose aren't the best, but I'm not really the type of person to spend $400-500 on a pair of headphones. I think it's more convenient and wallet friendly this way, and I've done quite a bit of research. I've tested both headphones in real life, that's how I know they're perfect for my needs.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I plan on just recording vocals for songs and video game theories. Is the Audio Technica AT2020U with a pop filter good enough to suit my needs in your opinion? I know the USB version can't use an audio interface but I don't plan on recording instruments so I thinks it's good.

If it is fine the way it is here's the updated build; http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CwLNJx

For podcasting? Absolutely. For recording vocals? Maybe. I'd probably want to play-test a few different ones with the interface I was going to use, to be sure I was getting the sound I wanted.

The Shure M57 is probably the most commonly recommended entry-level vocals mic. You'd need a USB interface / pre-amp for it though.