Hi
Some advice plz :)
I'm doing a mid range gaming PC build and am looking for a motherboard…considering the ASUS Z170-AR Motherboard for around $230
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ASUS-Z170-AR-Motherboard-/1718929…?
I have the following other parts on their way to me:
4 * 8Gb LTX DDR4 ram modules
256GB SSD
3Tb HDD
GeForce GTX 980 TI Video Card
Intel i6700k CPU
Will this motherboard be ok ?
Also any advice on a case and power supply and cooling system ?
Cheers
Pookie
Use this for the PSU requirements.
For the cooling you have to choose between liquid or air. I've read that air is substantial.
The case just needs to fit everything but I'd say it comes down to whichever you like the look of.
I'm not experienced enough to give specific advice but I hope this helps.
mid range with a 980ti, 32gb of ram, 6700k
mmkay..
Only 256gb SSD…still not high end enough…lol.
Well, either you go 256GB, or 2TB SSD, it will arguably perform the same. It's just a storage device. The same principle on ram, where unless you go heavy video editing, 8Gb is enough. Even 16GB can accommodate playing BF4 Max setting + streaming video + youtube playing + utorrent downloading + 20 tabs crhrome with numerous extension, all at the same time as long as your internet connection is decent enough.
Midrange
6700K 980TI
Ayy
For a power supply, my recommendation would be the EVGA Supernova G2 750W. Rock solid power supply, and comes with a 10 year warranty.
As for a cooler, that depends on whether you're going to overclock. If you're overclocking, go for something like the Noctua NH-U12s, otherwise I'd suggest getting just something like the Gammaxx 300.
Also, if you're not planning to overclock, you can spend $100 less and get a H170 motherboard. As everyone else said, this is a high end gaming pc not midrange :P.
I disagree. Get something more powerful so your psu is under less load. I have a similar setup and was using a 750w psu and when playing graphic intensive games the psu fan would get ridiculously loud. It was significantly louder than the GPU fan and was extremely annoying. Replaced it with a 1000w and solved my issue.
I've got the G2 and it's silent, and the fan doesn't spin at all under 300W. Even with the fan running, it's inaudible to my ears when the case is closed. Some lower quality 750W power supplies will obviously have loud fans, but the G2 isn't one of those. 1000W is a complete waste of money. The selected components will be unlikely to pull more than ~500W under full CPU and GPU load making it quite inefficient.
Hmmm that's annoying. I just presumed it was because the load was too high.
I was using a Corsair HX750i before hand and when I upgraded my GPU to a 980ti the higher power load on my PSU was causing dramas. The PSU fan would crank up and it would sound like somebody was using a hair dryer 1m away from you. Wasn't coil whine or anything, just the fan at high rpm. Standby load was ~190w and under max load was ~490w iirc.
Switched to a Supernova G2 1000W and now it's fine.
I have had a cougar gold 800 watt for 3 years running a titan gpu nicely no troubles.
Probably cause you had a corsair psu
I have the Asus Z170-AR in my current rig. Great value for money motherboard, haven't had a single issue with it other than a lack of rear USB ports (keyboard, mouse, printer, headphones, wireless controller adapter maxes me out). It has M.2 support, USB 3.1 (types a + c IIRC) so good for a bit of future proofing. Really attractive board too IMO.
As for the case, what are you after? Something flashy, something subtle? How many HDD? Do you need a 5.25" bay for anything? Window or no window? Budget?
Are you overclocking? I'm going to presume yes as you have a k chip and you are looking at z170 board. Get a decent cooler and you'll get decent overclocking headroom. I'm running my 6600k at 4.5ghz (24x7 safe overclock) and get a max of 60 degrees Celsius whilst gaming. XTU sees max of 67 degrees, but unlikely to see that load everyday. That's with a custom loop water cooling set up - I value my silence. An AIO such as one of Corsairs or Fractals offerings would be good for some overclocking, if you want to go air I can't help you as I've never used anything other than a stock heatsink or water.
PSU choice you could go seasonic platinum, EVGA g2, just ensure you get plenty of juice for your build. Use a PSU calculator for the minimum and slap a bit extra on. I'd guess at a minimum a 750 watt up. This doesn't mean it'll use it all, but it'll be available if you need it.
Ok, thanks for advice everyone :)
Looks like I should grab the EVGA G2 750W power supply.
and a decent water cooling system.
I considered this a mid-range system because i'm not getting a Titan GPU or a 4k monitor etc… but it sounds like from opinion this is indeed a high-end build…so I will go with that opinion since I am by no means an expert or even a keen enthusiast :)
I am very greatful for the advice and opinions given with regards my build, I would hate to waste money on rubbish components and have to listen to my son carry on about it :/
I hope he will be happy with the final build.
My RAM arrived today, so the SSD and CPU and 980Ti should be coming soon.
As regards the case, I would like to be able to fit 1 SSD and a 3Tb HDD. No need for 5.25 disc drive but I would like a CD/DVD reader/burner. It would be nice to set it up so that my son can show off to his mates by having a window in the case with some nifty LEDs inside :) Budget not really a problem…I just hate paying full price for anything :)
As for the motherboard, I have only ever had ports at the back of the tower case, so I kinda would like to still have this if possible, unless it's fine these days not to have that?
Overclocking? I'm not really sure of the finer details of this but my son says it would be good to do :/ so I guess the system needs to be built to accomodate this option.
Cheers
Pookie
Damn…looks like the Motherboard is back up to $288. I hate missing out on a bargain :( any other ideas ?
For the motherboard you were interested in, MSY sells it for $229 http://www.msy.com.au/viconline/pc-components/15989--asus-z1…
As for cases, anything will suit-they are subjective so maybe let your son have a look at a few. I personally like some of the NZXT cases (H440 is probably my first pick) here.
For lighting (without breaking the budget), these are great http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5M-3528-5050-RGB-Leds-SMD-LED-Str…
If you decide to go for something like that, stick with the 5050 LEDs as they have the red, green, and blue LEDs built into each module rather than being separated. They are very bright, look great in a case, and can be cut to size if needed.
Regarding water cooling, check out options such as the Nepton 280L, and Corsair H110 if that's in your price range. Anything lower than that and you'd probably be better off going for an air cooler such as the NH-U12S if overclocking is planned.
Best of luck!
A good air cooler is still better and cheaper than an AIO solution at that level.
Definitely. I just let OP know since he seemed interested in water cooling. Only real benefit is aesthetics at that level IMO (which can be a large factor for some).
The Enthusiast built (third most powerful/expensive overall, most powerful/expensive on the mainstream platform) from Logical Increment matches quite closely with your hardware.
Ok so now I am not sure to go with water cooling or air cooling ? I don't really care too much about which looks better, after all the tower will probably just sit under the table, a few LEDs is ok though, but in terms of which way is best to keep it all cool and reliable I put performance ahead of looks :) so subtracting looks from the equation, is air or water cooling better?
Unless you're willing to spend a large amount of money, air cooling is far better overall IMO. As I said previously, the Noctua NH-U12S is a great option if you're overclocking.
With water cooling, there are far more points of failure. If either the pump or the radiator fails, the system is rendered useless. That's not to mention the risks of leaks which do occur (rarely, but still can happen).
donnot: Thanks for your advice. It is something I was thinking about (having water flowing inside my PC), just doesn't sit well. I will look into the air cooling you suggest, I also understand that I need to grab a heatsink :/
Cheers
Pookie
What do you mean by a heatsink? The air cooler comes with a heatsink, with a fan attached.
You don't need to buy an extra heatsink but you might need a small tube of thermal paste. It will depend on the manufacturer of the cooler whether a thermal pad has already been applied, a tube of thermal paste has already supplied, or you need to purchase it yourself.
Ok thanks :)
The cooler comes with thermal paste.
http://cplonline.com.au/noctua-nh-d15-multi-socket-pwm-cpu-c…
Excellent choice, it is quiet and it cools better than most water coolers. However, the NH-D15 is one of the largest air cooler on the market so please check your clearances. Its dimensions (with fans) are: 16.5cm (h), 15.0cm (w), 16.1cm (d). Full specs are here: http://noctua.at/en/nh-d15.html
I think all your RAM modules will fit if they are low profile (do you mean to say LPX (low profile) instead of LTX (no such thing)). Check that the PC case provides 17cm clearance to the top of the mainboard. Check how close the PCI-e x16 video slot is to the CPU mount. If they are too close to each other, you may find it necessary to remove one of the fans to make room for the video card.
32GB of ram seems like overkill for a gaming machine. That is also going to create a relatively large page file on your OS drive (therefore consuming a large chunk of your premium ssd storage). Can always move it to the other drive of course, but again that amount of memory won't benefit any current generation games.
With 32GB (or more) of RAM, it is recommended to turn off Windows page file, hibernation and fast boot, and to use the spare RAM as a virtual disk.
Actually Microsoft officially do not endorse removing the page file, even when you have a lot of memory. Of course people will do what they wish and if it works then power to them.
I think MS's advice is to keep a minimum 50MB page file on the boot drive, and it also applies if you plan on moving the page file to a second disk. This is to enable Windows to dump its memory for troubleshooting when it BSOD. How often do you whip out the debugger and examine the crash dump after a BSOD?
However, if you keep a page file (even a small 50MB one) then Windows will keep "swapfile.sys" for Modern Apps, but unlike pagefile.sys you cannot control how big swapfile.sys can become and where it is located.
Personally, I have yet to run into problem on my 16GB laptop (with no page file) and my 32GB desktop (with no page file and 16GB RAM disk). This is with Photoshop running multiple edits (I am studying PS). It will be a different story for people who do video rendering. They can never have enough RAM, CPU cores, GHz, and page file.
Wow, great advice from everyone, thank you :)
I recently bought a great special priced motherboard from MSY (Fatalty) but they cancelled my order saying the one they were going to send me was no good :( So now I don't have a motherboard :(
So I am looking for one with same specs , and now can also consider the coolers specs and the advice I have received above :)
Any suggestions on a case and a motherboard to accomodate the NA-D15 cooler and my 2 x 16GB LPX RAM modules ?
Also, I have read the suggestions and discussion about the pageful etc….however I am not a Windows person so perhaps my son will know what it all means :)
Cheers
Pookie
Visit the Noctua NH-D15 specs page I linked to, click the "Service" tab and "Motherboard Compatibility" sub-tab. Scroll down pass the diagram and click "> LGA1151". Pick your favourite MBs from the list. Go and research them.
Go to http://au.pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/ and start a new parts list. Start filling in your components. Add your first favourite MB. Now when you go pick a case, the compatibility filter will only list those cases that should fit. Pick your favourite cases and research them. Make sure you manually check the internal dimensions, in case PCPartPicker got it wrong.
Repeat for your other favourite MBs.
Alternatively, take advantage of the 15% eBay Kogan offer and write down every Z170 MB models in Kogan's store. Now pick the MB most compatible with NH-D15 which fits in with your budget. Compare with StaticIce to make sure it is a good deal. Go to PCPartPicker to find a compatible case.
Check also the OzB classifies forum. You might pick up a case for less than retail.
from the stuff you have already ordered it seems you pretty much know what you are building and what MB, Case, PS and Cooling you need. So why are you really here asking these questions?