The PC Build Thread

[ponder]

Opinions on how long Sandy Bridge stays relevant? Just curious mainly....I've kept this box (i5-2500k) almost as long as my q6600 now.

It's still doing OK but it could probably be matched by an OC'ed i3-6100, but then again intel is putting an end to OCing the non-K skylake chips. An i7-3770K if found for cheap used might be a viable upgrade for those wanting a bit more performace.

Digital Foundry very recently did two interesting videos on this topic, have a look at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frNjT5R5XI4
&
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZxZiksWtRQ

 

[ponder]

Perhaps not the right thread for this:
I honestly haven't done much reading up on RAM over the past few years. The rule of thumb has been that 2 modules are better than one; you essentially double the bandwidth, thus increasing the performance. Does this still hold true?

I'll have to look up some references but the noticeable increase in performance from dual channel does not come anywhere close to doubling ram performance. The improvement is small from what I recall. I'll look up some sources tomorrow, my head is getting very heavy & my pillow seems very inviting.

 

[The Voice]

Perhaps not the right thread for this:
I honestly haven't done much reading up on RAM over the past few years. The rule of thumb has been that 2 modules are better than one; you essentially double the bandwidth, thus increasing the performance. Does this still hold true?

Yes, still applicable.

With regards to Red vs Green: for me it's always about what's worked within the budget of my build and best performance per buck. From what I've read recently, Red will benefit more from DX12 games in the future. But currently they're still neck and neck performance-wise - until of course you get into Titan territory, and spend an entire PC budget on a card. As mentioned, one of the benefits of the current Green Maxwell cards is that they're not as power hungry as Red - so one can save a few Rand on the PSU. A 970 (even with its 3.5 + 0.5GB) will still run most games in 1080p on pretty high settings at 60fps. The 380 probably will, too. Of course, it's just a matter of time until games get better, and the frames drop.

Another thing to consider is that the next batch of cards are probably going to be announced in Q2, and/or released in Q3 - so current gen card prices will drop significantly. So waiting a few more months may be viable.

 

[ponder]

Thought as much. That's about R1500-R2500 increase in budget, depending on make and model that one can get.

That depends on whether he sticks to his skylake aspirations or goes with a i7-4790+B85_MB+8GB_RAM for R4.5k if available.... which would actually save him money.

 

[Neoprod]

It's still doing OK but it could probably be matched by an OC'ed i3-6100, but then again intel is putting an end to OCing the non-K skylake chips. An i7-3770K if found for cheap used might be a viable upgrade for those wanting a bit more performace.

Digital Foundry very recently did two interesting videos on this topic, have a look at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frNjT5R5XI4
&
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZxZiksWtRQ

Cool.

I see 2x4Gb CL9 DDR3-2133 RAM from Wootware is R869.00 - will invest in that and put the overclock back. I went back to stock cos' the only game I was playing recently was CS:GO.

 

[StrontiumDog]

That depends very much on his budget. Off the bat a r9 390 or gtx 970 would be a MUCH better option. I'm brand agnostic but I realise some people have preferences for team green or team red.

Is the non x version of the R9 390 equivalent to a GTX 970?

http://www.loot.co.za/search?offset=0&sort=-price&ipp=50&terms=390x&cat=b
Sapphire AMD Radeon TRi-X R9-390X OC Edition Graphics Card - Support 4 x Displays (PCI-E 3.0)(8GB)
R8,122

Sapphire AMD Radeon TRi-X R9-390 Nitro Edition - Supports 4 x Displays (PCI-E 3.0)(4GB)
R6,546

 

[ponder]

Is the non x version of the R9 390 equivalent to a GTX 970?

Yeah those two trade blows.

 

[PhreeMe]

Hi all

I've been looking at doing a full upgrade for a little while now, and after some advice in the GPU thread, have decided to leave the GPU out for now and wait for Polaris/Pascal.

My hardware choices are the following:
MB: MSI Krait Gaming Z170A
CPU: Intel i5 6600K
RAM: 2x8Gb G.Skill F4 2400 DDR4
PSU: Corsair RM650 80+ Gold
Case: Coolermaster Mastercase Pro 5 modular
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i GTX AIO

The idea behind this is to keep it running longer into the future than my current build allowed. I've never overclocked before, which would make the liquid cooler as well as the processor seem like overkill. However based on my previous thought path, being able to overclock the processor will hopefully take the build further down the road.

That build comes in at a little over R15k. While I feel I have made sound choices, my reason for posting is to have the build scrutinized so those with more knowledge can correct me.

If anyone does have the Coolermaster chassis, can you tell me whether you used the SSD mounts above the PSU? I'm a little concerned about the heat that would build up with them being enclosed like that.

 

[ponder]

RAM: 2x8Gb G.Skill F4 2400 DDR4

However based on my previous thought path, being able to overclock the processor will hopefully take the build further down the road.

That build comes in at a little over R15k. While I feel I have made sound choices, my reason for posting is to have the build scrutinized so those with more knowledge can correct me.

If anyone does have the Coolermaster chassis, can you tell me whether you used the SSD mounts above the PSU? I'm a little concerned about the heat that would build up with them being enclosed like that.

If you intend overclocking go for faster ram, 3200MHz+ as it can have a noticeable impact on performance.

Don't worry about the SSDs as the PSU does not really generate much heat, it has a cool air intake at the bottom and vents out the back so they run quite cool these days.

 

[PhreeMe]

True, you gonna need a bigger PSU for the R9 390. But then it has 8GB of real vram vs 3.5GB of the GTX 970. Gameworks does not run well on AMD but it does not really run well on nVidia either, I turn it off. Looking towards the future with dx12/vulkan my money is on AMD. Saying all this as a current nvidia owner.

I was deadset on going Pascal for my GPU upgrade. I ended up watching a clip on Youtube on a channel called AdoredTv or something similar. I had never heard of this guy before, but what he says makes sense when tied in with info gathered from other sites. Even though there are very limited DX12 benchmarks available, the general findings support your theory in a big way.

Whether the DX12 gains carry through on the new generation of AMD's cards or not, time will tell, but it really seems that AMD has a new found lease on life assuming the benchmark numbers are valid.

Should my addled remember, I'll try link that clip later tonight.

 

[PhreeMe]

If you intend overclocking go for faster ram, 3200MHz+ as it can have a noticeable impact on performance.

Don't worry about the SSDs as the PSU does not really generate much heat, it has a cool air intake at the bottom and vents out the back so they run quite cool these days.

Thanks for that ponder. I'll check on the 3200MHz ram and adjust my build.
Regarding the SSD's, it wasn't so much the PSU heat I was worried about (I worded it rather badly), but rather that the drives are 'enclosed' by the bracket that fastens them to the chassis.

Coolermaster Case <- If you check the 5th picture, it shows the covers for the SSD.

I know those aren't the only bays, but would like to know they won't cut back on the lifespan of the drive should I need to use them.

 

[Heinie_V]

Hi guys

which one would you choose between these two graphics cards? Prices included on choice

1. GIGABYTE nVidia GeForce GTX960 - 4096MB GDDR5, 128-Bit Memory Bus, PCI Express 3.0 - R4885.00
Core: Base : 1241MHz | Boost : 1304MHz | Memory: 7010MHz

2. GIGABYTE nVidia GeForce GTX970 - 4096MB GDDR5, 256-Bit Memory Bus, PCI Express 3.0 - R6640.00
Core: Base : 1114MHz | Boost : 1253MHz | Memory: 7000MHz

Is the GTX970 that much better for the difference in price or would the GTX960 be more than good enough??

Obviously if the GTX960 is a good choice then that will be the one because of cheaper price.

The final decision on the rest of the build is as follow:

Chassis: CoolerMaster CM Storm Trooper Black ATX
PSU: CoolerMaster Silent Pro MII Series 1000W
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 3
CPU: Intel Core i7 6700 3.4GHZ Quad Core
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB DDR4 2400MHz (Will later be upgraded to 16GB)
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX960 or GTX970
HDD: Kingston V300 Series 240GB 2.5"

Thank you

 

[ponder]

Hi guys

which one would you choose between these two graphics cards? Prices included on choice

1. GIGABYTE nVidia GeForce GTX960 - 4096MB GDDR5, 128-Bit Memory Bus, PCI Express 3.0 - R4885.00
Core: Base : 1241MHz | Boost : 1304MHz | Memory: 7010MHz

2. GIGABYTE nVidia GeForce GTX970 - 4096MB GDDR5, 256-Bit Memory Bus, PCI Express 3.0 - R6640.00
Core: Base : 1114MHz | Boost : 1253MHz | Memory: 7000MHz

Is the GTX970 that much better for the difference in price or would the GTX960 be more than good enough??

Obviously if the GTX960 is a good choice then that will be the one because of cheaper price.

The final decision on the rest of the build is as follow:

Chassis: CoolerMaster CM Storm Trooper Black ATX
PSU: CoolerMaster Silent Pro MII Series 1000W
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 3
CPU: Intel Core i7 6700 3.4GHZ Quad Core
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB DDR4 2400MHz (Will later be upgraded to 16GB)
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX960 or GTX970
HDD: Kingston V300 Series 240GB 2.5"

Thank you

GTX 970 is WAY better than a 960! If you can go for the 970

You have a Z series MB but the CPU cant overclock, Faster 3200MHz+ RAM would also be to you advantage.

Why a 1000W PSU?

 

[Heinie_V]

GTX 970 is WAY better than a 960! If you can go for the 970

You have a Z series MB but the CPU cant overclock, Faster 3200MHz+ RAM would also be to you advantage.

Why a 1000W PSU?

Will get the GTX970 then.

Which PSU should I rather get? The price difference between a 1000W and a 750W is not that big.

Getting a bigger PSU becomes quite expensive

 

[Neoprod]

Will get the GTX970 then.

Which PSU should I rather get? The price difference between a 1000W and a 750W is not that big.

Getting a bigger PSU becomes quite expensive

Go here and check it out...it's a lot lower than you think.

http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

 

[paul5186]

1000 watts is overkill. Rather get a gold rated modular 650 watt

 

[Neoprod]

Go here and check it out...it's a lot lower than you think.

http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

Meant to add - pick an 80-plus rated PSU with wattage at least 30-40% higher than whatever figure that power calculator tells you your system needs. The reason for that is PSU's hit their optimum efficiency somewhere in the 50%-80% range of their maximum load.

So if that calculator says you need 400W, the minimum wattage PSU you should be looking at is around 550W (a bit more wouldn't hurt).

 

[ponder]

Which PSU should I rather get? The price difference between a 1000W and a 750W is not that big.

Getting a bigger PSU becomes quite expensive

What's the price for that 1000W one?

http://www.rebeltech.co.za/620w-760...48w-eps12v-v291-and-atx-12v-v231-80-plus.html
http://www.rebeltech.co.za/620w-760...tx12v-v23-full-modular-cable-management-.html

Those are both Tier 1 PSUs.

 

[HideInLight]

What matters is the 12 v rail. Check out the rebeltech site, on their descriptions:

Cooler Master B V2 (RS-500-ACAB-B1), 500w ([COLOR="#FF0000"]12v:456w[/COLOR]), EPS12V V2.91 and ATX 12V V2.31, Active-PFC, Single 12V+ Rail, 6x SATA, 3x Molex, 2x 8pin (6+2) PCI-Express, 24pin (4pin Detachable), 1x 8pin (4+4) CPU, 1x 120mm HDB Fan (Hydro-Dynamic Bearing) with Intelligent Fan Speed Control, OVP/OCP/OPP/SCP/OTP, 3 Years Warranty

They conveniently display the most important bit.
btw that's the PSU I bought and I'm already running a GTX 460 with it (same-ish power requirement as GTX970 ironically even though it's much slower). Heck it could probably do a 250w GPU, modern Nvidia GPUs just use a whole lot less power.

I got 3 years warranty on it and I paid R649 for it on 9th of January.
http://www.rebeltech.co.za/475w-600...-v291-and-atx-12v-v231-active-pfc-single.html

Considering it's now nearly R900, all I can say to the guys trying to build their rigs via retail right now, good luck.

 

[Heinie_V]

I can get a 1000W PSU for around a R1000. I buy direct from the suppliers so get everything at cost price