#1051
BCLK ocs weren't really possible on Sandy/Ivy Bridge and Has-/Broadwell.

It's a lot more interesting with i5s, the 6400/6500 are 20-25% cheaper than the 6600K (possibly even more of a difference due to the shortage). With the i7s you don't really have that option. 10% isn't as big of a deal and with your budget there's no reason to cut corners.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($513.00 @ IJK)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($99.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($189.00 @ IJK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($78.00 @ IJK)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.00 @ Centre Com)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.00 @ IJK)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($495.00 @ CPL Online)
Case: Fractal Design Define Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($149.00 @ CPL Online)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($79.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Total: $1830.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-06 05:49 AEDT+1100

Thermalright Silver Arrow IB-E and Enermax PSUs might be cheaper and therefore worthwhile alternatives in Taiwan.
As always 390 > 970, cheaper and faster, unless you absolutely need nVidia for some reason.

Thanks! That price is way better than I was expecting, I definitely would've wasted more money if I hadn't asked.
Just out of interest, if you were going to upgrade the power supply to semi modular, or something a bit more efficient, what would be your suggestion?
That's probably my last question, cause I won't get the opportunity to actually take this build to a computer shop for a couple weeks

#1053
There's lots of options, but I'd have to make a pretty long list to be able to guarantee that there'll actually be one of them in stock and not overpriced.
A brick and mortar shop won't have that many semi/fully modular 80+ Gold or higher PSUs in stock anyway, so just posting here again once you know what's in stock would make it far easier for me.
Same for the exact GPU and mobo model.
Availability of Toshiba HDDs can be a bit dodgy as well, if you can't get it or if it's overpriced the Seagate Barracuda (ST2000DM001) is an alternative. There's two versions of it though, one being almost on par with the DT01ACA, the other being significantly slower, which complicates things a bit.

Not sure which build to choose. I know TF2 is CPU dependent but I want to play on high settings with at least 144fps to support the monitor.

So should I go with:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8HG9Vn
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($314.99 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black/Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($38.47 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN7200ND 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($18.37 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($259.99 @ B&H)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire TK Wired Gaming Keyboard ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1230.55

or swap out the i5-4690 for the i7-4790 and a gtx 960?

#1055
Why Haswell and not Skylake?
Why full ATX?
Why 16GB RAM?
Why a 970 and not a 390? Do you need either at all? Just for TF2 it's a waste of money.
Why WiFi?
Why the VG248QE and not the XL2411Z?

i7 does nothing for TF2. The 4790K would be better because of the higher clockrate but you can get that cheaper by overclocking an i5.

Budget?

First, thanks for the help, second, this is my first time building a pc so a lot of my part choices can be chalked up to inexperience.

1. I'm not sure the difference/advantages between the two, so any reasoning would be helpful.
   
2. Again, I'm very new to building so I don't know any disadvantages over a micro-ATX
   
3. I suppose 16gbs is overkill, but I figured why not since it's only $30 more
   
4. Part of my question is if a gtx 960 will be able to play tf2 at high settings, while still keeping a stable 120-144fps
   
5. Because there's no Ethernet cables available in the room for where the computer will be
   
6. Because at the time I put the parts list together the VG28QE was cheaper

I'm aware there are cheaper i5s that can overclock, but being that I am very new to PC building I didn't want to risk frying my CPU/Mobo.

Budget is $1,000-1,200 USD w/monitor and keyboard included...so basically $900 for the tower.

#1057

1. Skylake is newer and faster. Chipsets got more/better features, DDR4 is faster.
   
2. Full ATX is more expensive. Unless you need more PCIe slots than you can get on µATX I don't see the point. µATX cases are smaller and cheaper as well.
   
3. Why not? Because it puts you 30$ over budget.
   
4. How high? Max/movie cfg? Because I don't see it happening. For one TF2 simply doesn't do "stable fps". Unless your minimum fps are above 120 it won't happen. Secondly TF2 is CPU bound. 960 wouldn't be the problem (285/380 is cheaper and faster though), you could get away with less. But it's not possible in terms of CPU, not always. In 6s With a bit less than max and an i7-4790K@5.0GHz. In pubs? Not happening. On stock clocks? Not happening. On stock clocks with a CPU with lower base clock on pubs? Take a guess.
   
5. Ethernet > all though
   
6. So is the GN246HL.

Sooooo, what settings are you going for exactly? And is it for 6s, HL or pubs? Either way there will be drops, especially if you don't want to oc.

#1058

What I meant by "high settings" is high textures/high model detail/maybe some other basic stuff. But not AA, etc. Mainly going for pubs (but never 16v16) and maybe HL later.

#1059
Too bad. AA is one of the few things that you could turn up with little performance impact because it's done on the GPU.
Doesn't really matter though because it's not happening.
I could recommend a better build but you won't get what you want so I don't really see the point. I'd only end up getting blamed for it not living up to your expectations.

#1060
So if I won't be consistently getting 120-144fps is a 144hz monitor not even worth it for this build?

I am looking to upgrade my pc and see where i should start:
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
Mobo: ASRock Z77 Pro4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB SSD, 1TB Hard Drive
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB
PSU: OCZ Fatal1ty 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply

Here's where I'm at so far, my PSU isn't completely modular but my cable management could be a lot better. I am also currently running out of space on my ssd. Is there anything else i should consider?

If that's your current setup and all you're playing is tf2 that should run fine, you could get a cooler and OC the 3570k if you feel you're not getting enough fps though. I'm running a setup that's a little worse than yours and still pull good fps in both 6s and highlander.

#1061
How should I know if you'll think it was worth it? Have you ever used/seen a 120/144 Hz monitor before?

I mean there's a number of options including but not limited to:
-lowering your expectations (read: live with the drops) or
-lowering your settings

Don't take this the wrong way, but you insist on high settings, playing high sens engie in pubs. It just doesn't strike me as an aim-heavy playstyle, so I don't really see you benefitting from a 120/144Hz monitor.

#1062
Never upgrade for the sake of upgrading.
If you don't need better performance you'd just be wasting money.

If you need a larger SSD, get a larger SSD. You could try moving some more stuff to the HDD first though.

Hey Setsul i know you are very much against intel K processors. I have a non k processor and I was wondering if you can overclock it. I probably wont overclock it but i was wondering is there a way. I am more curious then actually having intentions to do it.

New to tftv. Want to get a good pc to run good frames, high quality. I also want it to be good for streaming just for lobbies n crap.

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 960 4GB Video Card
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case
PSU: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)

Thoughts?

#1065
I never said that. While I am against the concept I do understand Intel's reasons.
What I said was that they're not worth it most of the time.*
The whole point of K CPUs is to make you pay extra for the option of overclocking. All non-K CPUs are locked down. You can't oc them**. That's the whole point.

*Performance that you can't get without overclocking doesn't really count because by then you've left the territory of good price to performance ratio long ago. And from a price to performance standpoint if you have to pay extra not only for the mobo and cooler but for the CPU as well, combined with the mediocre overclocking results of Ivy Bridge and Haswell the proportional increase in cost will be larger than the increase in performance. In other words the price to performance ratio gets worse.

**BCLK is still an option but it's more trouble than it's worth (~7% max and destabilizes PCIe -> GPU). Only now on Skylake with PCIe and BCLK independent it became interesting again.

#1066
I might as well just copypaste #1056 and edit it.
Why Haswell and not Skylake?
Why an i7-4790K and a cooler, but a H97 motherboard? Overclocking yes or no?
Why 16GB RAM?
Why a 960 and not a 285/380? Do you need either at all? Just for TF2 it's a waste of money. 960 4GB is just bullshit by the way.
Why no SSD?
Why a 650W PSU for a 300W build?
Are you absolutely sure about Windows 10?

thoughts on AU build
PCPartPicker part list: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/kmfVMp

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($355.00 @ Centre Com)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212X 82.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($52.00 @ IJK)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-P D3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($170.00 @ Centre Com)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.00 @ Umart)
Storage: Kingston HyperX Fury 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.00 @ Umart)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ Centre Com)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 380 2GB Video Card ($289.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.00 @ CPL Online)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($115.00 @ CPL Online)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-AC56 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($75.00 @ CPL Online)
Monitor: AOC G2460PQU 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($379.00 @ CPL Online)
Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Rapid Wired Gaming Keyboard ($110.00)
Headphones: SteelSeries Siberia v3 Headset ($119.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Total: $2026.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

update to #1068

PCPartPicker part list: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/qZpVMp
Price breakdown by merchant: http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/qZpVMp/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($294.00 @ Umart)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170-HD3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($155.00 @ Centre Com)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($74.00 @ Centre Com)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.00 @ Centre Com)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ Centre Com)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 380 2GB Video Card ($289.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.00 @ CPL Online)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($99.00 @ CPL Online)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-AC56 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($75.00 @ CPL Online)
Monitor: AOC G2460PQU 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($379.00 @ CPL Online)
Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Rapid Wired Gaming Keyboard ($110.00)
Headphones: Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 Headphones ($150.00)
Other: Sony ECMCS3 mic ($30.00)
Total: $1962.00

#1068/1069
You could've just edited your post.

Don't know what you're trying to do, don't know the budget. So I can only say the first build is pretty bad, the second is ok-ish but could be better.

#1070 budget is around $2000 AUD
going to be used for primarily games and content creation (photoshop, after effects, illustrator)
what could i improve?

#1071
The usual questions:
Do you want to/are you willing to overclock?
Do you really need full ATX?
Colours vs 120Hz, Lightboost yes/no, G-Sync/FreeSync yes/no?
Why Wi-Fi?

not really no

probably not, any reason to not go miniATX?

120 hz. freesync/g-sync is not a selling point for me

it would be too expensive to get ethernet to my room

#1073
1. Shame, non-K oc on Skylake is nice.
2. No, not really.
3. What about Lightboost though?
4. More than 75$ for a cable? Does your router even have ac? Even if, does that much bandwidth actually make sense? We're talking about Australian internet, aren't we? There's also powerline if you're going to spend that much.

didn't realise it was possible, how do i do it and is it worth it?

Is it worth it, what monitors do you recommend?

Ethernet access is on a different level to where the computer will be. The high price wirelss card is preparing for NBN which is currently being added to my area. powerline is not possible due to old electrical wiring in the house

#1075
1. You still need a Z mobo, it's pretty much "normal overclocking". I'd say it's definitely worth it. i5-6400 + Z mobo + cooler should get you better performance than a 6600 on stock clocks at about the same price. Only once you start pushing past ~4.4GHz I'd expect it to get difficult, but going from 4.4 to 4.8 isn't really worth the premium of the 6600K.

2. The N200 should be in stock at umart and IJK, but there's other options as well.

3. No idea if you'll think it's worth it. The XL2411Z is a nice monitor regardless and it was within budget.

4. Honestly if your wiring is bad enough to prevent powerline (and it's not just the rooms being on different phases/legs, whatever you want to call it) it's a fire hazard. Anyway, here's a way cheaper USB 3.0 wireless adapter that still performs pretty well.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($269.00 @ Centre Com)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($55.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($189.00 @ IJK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($75.00 @ IJK)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.00 @ Centre Com)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.00 @ Umart)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 380 2GB Video Card ($288.00 @ CPL Online)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($59.00)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($77.00 @ Umart)
Wireless Network Adapter: Edimax EW-7822UAC 802.11a/b/g/n/ac USB 3.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($45.00 @ Umart)
Monitor: BenQ XL2411Z 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($449.00 @ CPL Online)
Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Rapid Wired Gaming Keyboard ($110.00)
Headphones: Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 Headphones ($150.00)
Other: Sony ECMCS3 mic ($30.00)
Total: $1993.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-18 22:47 AEDT+1100

#1076
a few queries:
1. i have read online about a significant amount of stuttering with the r9 380. has this problem been fixed, is it something to worry about? also 2GB vs 4GB?

2. Is is worth investing ~$20 in a sound card, or will on board sound be fine

3. How many frames can I expect to get using this setup?

thanks for all your assistance

#1077
1. Haven't heard about that yet. Link(s)? On 1080p 4GB aren't necessary, with a 380/960 it'd just be waste of money. Turn up the settings high enough to even get close to 2GB and you're looking at <30 fps average. http://www.teamfortress.tv/post/514892/pc-build-thread

2. Depends on your headphones. Not sure how much research you've done regarding that. Although given that you want a mic as well the input pre amp (or rather the lack thereof) of onboard might not cut it. The audio setup is a whole different can of worms though.

3. Depends on the game and settings. In TF2 also on the CPU clockrate.

A friend of my is looking for gettting a 970. Is there anything cheaper that will preform just as well, maybe better?

#1079
390.

is fx 6300 still the best at its price range?