Tech Help New Rig Suggestions

[Mr_B]

For what it's worth, the new platform isn't ANY better for gaming. The productivity benchmarks are only slightly better. Personally, I'd go with a Haswell setup and load up on more DDR3 as prices will soon start to fall as DDR4 comes to be more popular. The difference in price would allow in getting a better video card which will give significantly better performance for the money than the new processor architecture. Bleeding edge isn't always better, especially since you're not playing the absolute latest games and/or rendering/etc.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/08/intel-skylake-core-i7-6700k-reviewed/

 

[Wizekraker]

Yeah, I would suggest going with older older cpu models and drop your ssd for a better gpu. As this will help you in the long run.

 

[reflex99]

For what it's worth, the new platform isn't ANY better for gaming. The productivity benchmarks are only slightly better. Personally, I'd go with a Haswell setup and load up on more DDR3 as prices will soon start to fall as DDR4 comes to be more popular. The difference in price would allow in getting a better video card which will give significantly better performance for the money than the new processor architecture. Bleeding edge isn't always better, especially since you're not playing the absolute latest games and/or rendering/etc.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/08/intel-skylake-core-i7-6700k-reviewed/

I agree that Skylake isn't a huge/worthwhile improvement (not accounting for overclocking), but buying into a platform that is already obsolete is rarely sound advice.

If Kaby Lake comes out and is substantially better, a 1150 motherboard will be stuck where it is today, but 1151 will support future processors. The difference between a 4690K and the 6600K is only $10-20. Motherboards are essentially the same price between 1150/1151. To me the future upgrade flexibility is worth $20. Further $20 won't really afford enough wiggle room to allow a meaningful gpu upgrade, so I think it is worth it to go for the new platform.

Additionally if an 1151 motherboard fails in the future your options for replacement will be better for longer. Currently the selection of 1155 motherboards is sparse to say the least, and I imagine availability of 1150 boards will follow a similar trend.

On RAM, I've typically observed the opposite of what you describe (barring supply issues). As more fabs move production over to the new standard (DDR4), the old standard (DDR3) will get more expensive since supply is greatly reduced. DDR1 went up shortly after 775 showed up (upgrading ram on 939 platforms was a pain sometimes). DDR2 spiked shortly after DDR3 became mainstream, and I imagine that DDR3 will go up too.

Right now the cost difference between DDR3/DDR4 is basically non-existant.

 

[Snipeye]

On RAM, I've typically observed the opposite of what you describe (barring supply issues). As more fabs move production over to the new standard (DDR4), the old standard (DDR3) will get more expensive since supply is greatly reduced. DDR1 went up shortly after 775 showed up (upgrading ram on 939 platforms was a pain sometimes). DDR2 spiked shortly after DDR3 became mainstream, and I imagine that DDR3 will go up too.

Right now the cost difference between DDR3/DDR4 is basically non-existant.

This is exactly what happened with the move from DDR to DDR2 and DDR2 to DDR3. DDR3 prices are at the lowest they will realistically get, barring sales and liquidation. Manufacturers are already releasing DDR4 kits at similar prices at DDR3, meaning it's more likely that DDR4 prices will actually get lower over time as manufacturing efficiencies are realized.

Sorry Mr_B, I'm taking the opposing view on this. A new build will be better off going with Skylake and DDR4 memory. If the upgrade isn't substantial enough to Skylake, then don't bother upgrading the system, except maybe just the video card, new storage, and memory. Maximum PC, Anandtech, PC Gamer, and Tomshardware all had the same train of thought. Skylake's performance isn't significantly better than Haswell/Broadwell, but if you have a system that is much older, such as the Core2Duo or Nehalem processors, then it's a good buy to go straight to Skylake, unless Haswell/Broadwell drops down a lot more in price, and the gain in price would be outweighed by its immediate obsolescence out of the box.

 

[armypoilce]

[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fierce-Powerful-PC-Computer-WARRANTY/dp/B00GOW2TVG"]Fierce GEB Powerful Fast Gaming PC, Budget Desktop Computer, 2 YEAR WARRANTY (3.90GHz Dual Core, 4GB RAM, 1TB Hard Disk, Radeon HD 8470D Graphics): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516roz1-g-L.@@AMEPARAM@@516roz1-g-L[/ame]

 

[Samurai_TwoSeven]

CPU: i5-4460 - Honestly one of the most reliable CPUs of its time. Its cheaper than the Devil's Canyon and honestly I wouldn't invest in Skylake yet or spend the extra for X99

Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - Cheapest air cooler and extremely reliable.

Mobo: Asus Z97-A - Moderately priced mobo that can support overclocking

RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2x4GB) - Good pricing for good memory

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB - Lots of mass storage, however if you want a faster boot time and read speeds, splurge a little on a 250GB SSD for an OS drive.

GPU: Asus GeForce GTX 970 Strix - 970 has plenty of graphics performance though not up to spec with the 980, but that is to be expected

Case: Corsair 200R - Good priced case for the quality

PSU: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Qcjngs

 

[ChocolateVillain]

CPU: i5-4460 - Honestly one of the most reliable CPUs of its time. Its cheaper than the Devil's Canyon and honestly I wouldn't invest in Skylake yet or spend the extra for X99

Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - Cheapest air cooler and extremely reliable.

Mobo: Asus Z97-A - Moderately priced mobo that can support overclocking

RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2x4GB) - Good pricing for good memory

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB - Lots of mass storage, however if you want a faster boot time and read speeds, splurge a little on a 250GB SSD for an OS drive.

GPU: Asus GeForce GTX 970 Strix - 970 has plenty of graphics performance though not up to spec with the 980, but that is to be expected

Case: Corsair 200R - Good priced case for the quality

PSU: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Qcjngs

You can save 30 bucks if you drop the 212 Evo, 4460 is a locked processor and you won't need an after market CPU cooler. Just stick with the stock one, unless the PC is in a really hot environment. but even then I would recommend adding a few case fans over a 212.

"Powerful, Fast, Gaming" lulz

Just no...
Powerful, Fast, Gaming need to be removed from the title of that computer.

 

[Snipeye]

CPU: i5-4460 - Honestly one of the most reliable CPUs of its time. Its cheaper than the Devil's Canyon and honestly I wouldn't invest in Skylake yet or spend the extra for X99http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Qcjngs

Why wouldn't you want to invest in Skylake with a brand new computer build? Unless you're on a very strict budget, or there's a good sale for an older generation CPU, why would you want to sink money into a chipset that's outdated and won't even be compatible with new upgrades within the next 3-5 years? I'm referencing new RAM, it would most likely be DDR4, which would require a new motherboard, which will most likely require a new CPU because the new motherboard wouldn't be compatible with the older LGA 1150 socket.....

 

[Energized]

I still Have a doubt what motherboard I should take,

I can choose between:
MSI Z170A GAMING M3
MSI Z170A GAMING M5
MSI Z170A GAMING PRO
MSI Z170A-G45 GAMING

Maybe for 40 euro more i can get the MSI Z170A GAMING M7

What do you guys think is the best ? i thought MSI Z170A GAMING PRO was the best but i don't really know the differences.

This is what I will buy beside that, It is higher as my buget... it will just take me a bit longer to get...

Aerocool XPredator X3 Devil Red Edition as case
Intel? Core i5-6600K, 3,5 GHz (3,9 GHz Turbo Boost), Processor
(FC-LGA4, "Skylake")
Kingston HyperX 16 GB DDR4-2666 Kit
MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G graph card
Corsair CS650M 80 PLUS Gold power supply.

if i'm right these components work perfectly together.
Still have to find a nice Cpu cooler but Can't really find one for the 1151 socket. or does 1150 socket coolers also work on those motherboards ?
total cost will be arround 1350
Only still thinking about what motherboard I should get. since some of you guys told I could better choose a 1151 over a 1150

 

[Wizekraker]

for the motherboard, look for how many sata/usb ports will you be planning on using. No point buying $250-300 mobo. When you not gonna be using half it is i/o ports or PCI/PCI Express lanes.

 

[Energized]

I Probably will only use 1 Graph Card And 4/5 Usb, Don't know for what I should use the rest.
So I think I need to choose between the MSI Z170A GAMING PRO or MSI Z170A GAMING M3
What would you think ?

 

[ChocolateVillain]

Still have to find a nice Cpu cooler but Can't really find one for the 1151 socket. or does 1150 socket coolers also work on those motherboards ?

1150 socket CPU coolers fit 1151 socket. Just a note you will need to buy a CPU cooler because Skylake does not come with a stock cooler.

I Probably will only use 1 Graph Card And 4/5 Usb, Don't know for what I should use the rest.
So I think I need to choose between the MSI Z170A GAMING PRO or MSI Z170A GAMING M3
What would you think ?

I tired looking for the Gaming M3 and I could not find any for sale. Has that one come out yet?

The Gaming Pro looks alright tho, has the same IO configuration as the M3, supports SLI/Crossfire if you decided to add another card down the line, and both have M.2 support.

The Gaming Pro has RGB lighting on it and some weird SATA port location (Not a huge problem unless you are a cable neat freak)

 

[Energized]

1150 socket CPU coolers fit 1151 socket. Just a note you will need to buy a CPU cooler because Skylake does not come with a stock cooler.





I tired looking for the Gaming M3 and I could not find any for sale. Has that one come out yet?

The Gaming Pro looks alright tho, has the same IO configuration as the M3, supports SLI/Crossfire if you decided to add another card down the line, and both have M.2 support.

The Gaming Pro has RGB lighting on it and some weird SATA port location (Not a huge problem unless you are a cable neat freak)

In the netherlands this is the site where i can buy the m3 from https://www.alternate.nl/MSI/Z170A-GAMING-M3-Moederbord/html/product/1216151?tk=7&lk=17219
It has to be out, because there are already m5/m7 versions
But in short you should go for the m3 over the gaming pro ?

 

[reflex99]

All of the listed motherboards except the M3 support 2 way SLI & Crossfire @ dual 8x speed, so I would exclude the M3 if you ever in the future might possibly want to add a second GPU. M3 supports CFX but only at 4x from the PCH for the second slot, which is less than ideal.

Just looking at them (not a totally objective analysis here) the M3 & GAMING PRO also have a much less robust CPU power delivery system, so if you're big into overclocking you might want to consider one of the higher end boards.

The M5 and G45 GAMING appear to be relatively similar and better than the M3/ GAMING PRO, but I'd have to have have hands on time to make a final call.

Outside of those two major points, It really just comes down to what features you think you need. MSI's website does a real poor job of explaining the differences. So you'd have to see for yourself which one fits your usage.

I'd probably recommend the G45 GAMING or the GAMING PRO since SLI compatibility is nice to have.

The CS650M is decent but nothing special. If the price is right in your location it'll do just fine.

1156, 1155, 1150 and 1151 all share the same CPU cooler mounting layout. If you need a recommendation, I'd recommend Cooler Master's Hyper 212+ or 212 EVO. They perform good enough, and are pretty cheap usually. The thermal paste that comes with it is typically garbage, but serviceable if you don't want to splurge on a better performing paste at this time.