I really admire both of those companies for giving that Veteran discount... I think a LOT more companies should be doing this but at least nice that those 2 do...
Thanks Rocky... I am very happy with deciding on those 2 MSI 470's and am actually grappling with getting 1 more to put into my initial build. And thanks for the input on the socket issue and reference to that Mobo. It does look like a good one for a nice price but as you say, unfortunately out of stock and I really wanna get this thing at least mostly built next weekend.
So, I think I have decided to just go with the more recent CPU (i7-6800), which of course, requires a 1151 MoBo.
I am leaning heavily towards this one:
ASRock Z170 Extreme3 LGA 1151 Intel Z170 (currently only $100 after $10 off and $30 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157672The thing I like about this one is that it has 3 PCIe x16 slots and 3 PCIe x1 slots... so, if I use 3 GPUs for my initial build, I can just use the 3 x16 slots and avoid using risers until if and when I decide to bump this rig up to 4, 5 or 6 GPUs. I think this Mobo was recommended somewhere in this forum (maybe even this thread) but if anyone sees any issues with it for what I want to do, please let me know.
For RAM, I am leaning towards these ($69), which have great reviews and appear to be fully compatible with my MoBo and CPU of choice:
G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2133 (PC4 17000) Intel Z170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231884I've also decided on an open build on this, which was also recommended in this thread ($42): assuming there will be no issue with the MoBo fitting but a bit concerned about the PSU.
DIYPC Alpha-DB6 Black Acrylic ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353001&ignorebbr=1For PSU, I'm looking at this for $110 ($30 off regular price). Even though this says Intel 4th gen compatible in the description, I read in at least 4-5 questions and answers on the newegg product page that it is indeed compaitble with the Inel 6th gen CPUs, so should be good there. The thing is, I think i can only support up to 5 470's with this, so if really wanna be able to go up to 6, I guess i would need the 1000w version but that is unfortunately $45 more, so not sure what I will do there.
EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2 220-G2-0850-XR 80+ GOLD 850W Fully Modular
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438018&ignorebbr=1Any feedback on any of these components would be appreciated. Hoping to get my order placed tomorrow if all goes well