Anything upcoming in gaming tech?

[Yvaelle]

I was just thinking about how my main gaming desktop is getting older now - it's high end from 5 or so years back - only more recent update was a GTX 770: but the ram and board and cpu are way behind nowadays, and I hate my case (it's pretty - modded it, painted it, good lines - but it weighs a ton (and sometimes I LAN, and my mod feels dated now).

Then I realized I'm not in any rush - and new / interesting tech might be on the way. Is there anything major coming that I should be holding out for? If I want to use this rig to develop VR environments, are there any special considerations?

Thanks for your knowledge

Here is what I had in mind, always interested in your suggestions though:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Silverstone NT06-PRO 74.0 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($160.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($164.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($345.99 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($125.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1171.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-12 20:43 EDT-0400

[Remilia]

Currently, VR you're better off with an AMD card. Granted if you're developing for VR you'd want both types. AMD uses Liquid VR and Nvidia has their own whatever, forgot the name.

As for tech, not expecting much within this year as far as I know.
Zen is supposedly next year Q4. 14/16nm cards don't really have a concrete date.

R5, while a good case, is also pretty heavy. 12kg~ on it's own. Part of it is to do with the sound dampening foam.

[haxartus]

X-point, most definitely.
Although don't rely on using it as RAM, more like a really fast PCI-E SSD.

[Yvaelle]

Thanks for all the info!

Any idea for a better case? I'd like to go with a very simple exterior/lines - don't need any drive bays (fine if it has them, but unnecessary) - a window would be good - and then lightweight but quiet: if that's not a contradiction.

I was considering this: NZXT S340 - almost half the weight of the first one I'd chose. I'll do a custom paint job aftermarket. Open to any suggestions

Edit: Oh, another question! The wattage - PC Part Picker is saying it's a 295W case, that can't mean I only need a 300W power supply right? I don't think I've had a power supply that small in like 20 years, have I been over-doing it all these years?

[Remilia]

Any idea for a better case? I'd like to go with a very simple exterior/lines - don't need any drive bays (fine if it has them, but unnecessary) - a window would be good - and then lightweight but quiet: if that's not a contradiction.

Sort of a contradiction. A window means there's no sound dampening material on that side, so it means it'll be more susceptible for noise bleed.
Dense sound dampening materials tend to be heavy.
Size you'd want a mITX if you're taking it around.
Something like this.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal...-fdcanode304bl
Then either buy your own foam to play with or use one of these by lining the case with it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811999222

Edit: Oh, another question! The wattage - PC Part Picker is saying it's a 295W case, that can't mean I only need a 300W power supply right? I don't think I've had a power supply that small in like 20 years, have I been over-doing it all these years?

Sort of? Though getting a 300W PSU with 2x6+2 PCI-E connector is rather hard to find. So you're kind of forced to a 400W+ regardless.
It's also better if you're going for a silent build to have a higher capacity and efficient PSU. So it'd run cooler and in turn quieter.

Like, a silent build would be something along this line. With whatever GPU with a semi-passive set up that floats your boat. Think most manufacturers have it in their design by now.
Case and cooler are kind of there as a filler. You'll have to scale down the cooler with a smaller case.
Due to the fanless nature of the PSU, have to be careful on how you set things up.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15S 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($107.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular Fanless ATX Power Supply ($126.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $914.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-12 23:05 EDT-0400

[Deleted]

Personally I wouldn't transport a case with a big air cooler installed, even on it's back; my car doesn't have the softest suspension.

Because of that I'd look for a case which would take a kraken x61 and run it at low fans, which would be comparable to big air in both cooling and noise, but isn't hanging 1.3kg from the motherboard.

The r5 is a good case, it's not possible to make a light sound-deadened case without effecting it's structural integrity; nor would I want to carry a case which is prone to changing shape when picked up. The r5 with the deadening stripped out is actually quite a light case but remains rigid when the case is whole (side on). Might be worth looking at nanoxia ds series and the Phanteks Enthoo Pro. Anything in this catagory is going to weigh 25 -35lbs.

Beyond that, look for any case which otherwise fits requirement and sound deaden it yourself. Unfortunately I look for cases which will accept as a minimum 2 x 240 - 360mm radiators for custom loop water, so can't provide much info on cases other than full-towers.

[Sorphius]

Any idea for a better case? I'd like to go with a very simple exterior/lines - don't need any drive bays (fine if it has them, but unnecessary) - a window would be good - and then lightweight but quiet: if that's not a contradiction.

If you don't need drive bays, look at the Fractal Define S. For all intents and purposes it's an R5 that they've removed the drive cages and 5.25" bays from, so it weighs less with the exact same aesthetics. You can get it with or without a window, and it's about $50-60 cheaper than the R5. The only "knock", if you want to call it that, is that it doesn't have quite as much sound dampening.

[Pterodactylus]

I have the S340, and it's a great case. It's solid, doesn't tweak or flex when you push, pull, or lift it. I put it through some torture tests before I started my build. The S340 is Kraken ready, so if you wanted to take Tyrantworm's advice about the AIO water cooler.

My previous rig was so loud that it sounded like I had a mini-hurricane as my cooling. My current rig was built with silence in mind. I have the EVGA 220-G2-0750-XR 80 PLUS GOLD 750 W PSU which I got for $85 from the site I posted. It's $129 on newegg, but NCIX puts it on sale quite often. The PSU is nice because it has an "eco" mode which means it runs fanless the vast majority of the time. There are fanless power supplies, but I am always a bit leery of those. They have great heatsinks I am sure, but I'd like to move that heat with some air.

For my GPU I have the Strix 970 from ASUS, which will be the quietest 970 you can find on the market. The passive cooler on the Strix is the best there is and the fans typically don't come on for me in WoW until I am in a raid and the action picks up.

Here is a build with some of my suggestions:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($114.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: Asus Z170 PRO GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($164.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($318.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Phanteks PH-F140XP_BK 85.2 CFM 140mm Fan ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Phanteks PH-F140XP_BK 85.2 CFM 140mm Fan ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1336.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-14 10:28 EDT-0400

The stock fans that come with the case are 120 mm, so I added some larger fans to replace those. The stock fans are the rear and top mounted, and a larger fan means it can move more air at lower RPMs so it tends to be quieter. If you are patient, you can likely find some deals and get the above parts cheaper than what they are listed. The Phantek fans go on sale from time to time, I know the PSU is on sale fairly often, I have seen the S340 as cheap as $55, and I have seen the Strix for just slightly over $300.