Soven's new build

[Soven Taliesyn]

Going to keep this short and simple and update as I go along. It's time to replace the mobo so I can upgrade the memory and and processor. Currently using old LGA 775 socket and wanting to upgrade to i5 (to stay in the budget plan).

1. What are some sites other than newegg that I can use to look for parts.

EDIT: The wife has agreed (happy wife, happy life) to a limited monthly budget of whatever my bonus is. So this isn't going to be a quick project. It'll be a month by month thing. Currently just trying to figure out a plan.

GoFundMe

 

[Space Monkey]

Tom's Hardware is really good. They have a lot of reviews. I'm running an i5 4690K and it's doing great. Are you interested in Haswell or Skylake?

http://www.tomshardware.com/

 

[Soven Taliesyn]

Tom's Hardware is really good. They have a lot of reviews. I'm running an i5 4690K and it's doing great. Are you interested in Haswell or Skylake?

http://www.tomshardware.com/

Which do you recommend?

 

[mromutt]

I really love using amazon to buy all my parts these days. We have a test affiliate link somewhere but I can not seem to find it right now and no one can tell me what it is, if i find it I will link it here!

Here is the affiliate link!

 

[Space Monkey]

Which do you recommend?

That's really a budget question. The 4690 performs well at a good price and clocks at 3.5. It can be boosted to 3.9. It requires a 1150 socket motherboard and takes DDR3 RAM. All of these components are getting to be really resonable in price and are pretty fast. I'm running this system at the moment and I have no complaints. I run Star Citizen on high, every other game I run has no problems, my media creation is fast and I run 2 operating systems. I have 3 SSDs though (all 240GB). I'm using the Gigabyte Ultra Durable Black MOBO and it has tons of features and lots of USB3s.

If you want to be on the bleeding edge though and you don't mind paying the premium, you can go with the 6600 and that clocks at 3.3 and can be boosted to 3.9 Ghz. That will take a 1151 socket so different motherboard maybe more expensive because its newer. It also takes DDR4 RAM. All of these are more expensive.

Both of these i5s have 4 threads, maybe for knitting. Anyway, I don't really see a benefit to going with the Skylake(6600) vs the Haswell(4690) other than the DDR4 and even that, at this point isn't worth the price. I'd rather get more RAM even if its DDR3. Skylake is definitly faster and has a better power usage profile but I really don't think that would really warrant the higher prices. If you really want your system to be fast, it is better to buy an SSD(240GB) for your OS and a seperate HD for files and media then a 16GB of RAM and you'll have a beast of a machine.

Later on, if you want to upgrade, you can do a direct swap to an i7 4790 and not have to change anything else to your system.

Anyway, hope its helpfull.

 

[Soven Taliesyn]

That's really a budget question. The 4690 performs well at a good price and clocks at 3.5. It can be boosted to 3.9. It requires a 1150 socket motherboard and takes DDR3 RAM. All of these components are getting to be really resonable in price and are pretty fast. I'm running this system at the moment and I have no complaints. I run Star Citizen on high, every other game I run has no problems, my media creation is fast and I run 2 operating systems. I have 3 SSDs though (all 240GB). I'm using the Gigabyte Ultra Durable Black MOBO and it has tons of features and lots of USB3s.

If you want to be on the bleeding edge though and you don't mind paying the premium, you can go with the 6600 and that clocks at 3.3 and can be boosted to 3.9 Ghz. That will take a 1151 socket so different motherboard maybe more expensive because its newer. It also takes DDR4 RAM. All of these are more expensive.

Both of these i5s have 4 threads, maybe for knitting. Anyway, I don't really see a benefit to going with the Skylake(6600) vs the Haswell(4690) other than the DDR4 and even that, at this point isn't worth the price. I'd rather get more RAM even if its DDR3. Skylake is definitly faster and has a better power usage profile but I really don't think that would really warrant the higher prices. If you really want your system to be fast, it is better to buy an SSD(240GB) for your OS and a seperate HD for files and media then a 16GB of RAM and you'll have a beast of a machine.

Later on, if you want to upgrade, you can do a direct swap to an i7 4790 and not have to change anything else to your system.

Anyway, hope its helpfull.

I have been debating if I wanted to go DDR3 or DDR4. Still not sure how much better the DDR4 is over the DDR3 to make it worth the extra cost. DDR3 has been fairly cheap for quite some time. I still run DDR2 and DDR3 has been cheaper for years and years. But, I want to do a little pricing around, hence the ask for other sites.

 

[mromutt]

I have been debating if I wanted to go DDR3 or DDR4. Still not sure how much better the DDR4 is over the DDR3 to make it worth the extra cost. DDR3 has been fairly cheap for quite some time. I still run DDR2 and DDR3 has been cheaper for years and years. But, I want to do a little pricing around, hence the ask for other sites.

DDR4 is getting cheaper and getting close to DDR3 prices. That said as of right now DDR4 will not do much for you but, in the future it will have a much greater impact with its higher speeds being utilized more, better drivers for GPUs, better CPUs. So I say DDR4 it worth building in now for the extra $20 - $40 it would cost you :)

 

[Space Monkey]

DDR4 is getting cheaper and getting close to DDR3 prices. That said as of right now DDR4 will not do much for you but, in the future it will have a much greater impact with its higher speeds being utilized more, better drivers for GPUs, better CPUs. So I say DDR4 it worth building in now for the extra $20 - $40 it would cost you :)

That's fair. The price difference between an i5 Skylake Build and an i5 Haswell build is about $120 though give or take between the mobo, RAM and CPU. The performance will still be very good for years to come. If you go with the Skylake, just make sure you get a good motherboard that will last so you can upgrade later and not have to double down.

 

[mromutt]

That's fair. The price difference between an i5 Skylake Build and an i5 Haswell build is about $120 though give or take between the mobo, RAM and CPU. The performance will still be very good for years to come. If you go with the Skylake, just make sure you get a good motherboard that will last so you can upgrade later and not have to double down.

I agree, a motherboard is where you should be investing. It should be the longest lasting component in your system and everything will change around it :)

 

[Space Monkey]

I agree, a motherboard is where you should be investing. It should be the longest lasting component in your system and everything will change around it :)

Yes!
Back in February, I went with the Gigabyte Ultra Durable Black Z97 motherboard (GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK). I got the black version for the "benefit" of it having already been tested since this was my first build and I wanted to limit the errors that I could diagnose with my limited skillz.
The features on it are awesome and so many USB possibilities, they really came in handy. It was easy to pick for me. I'd hate to be in your position having to pick between the two right now. As a whole, Skylake doesn't give you a huge usable big boost in performance just yet but it promises. For workstations it may be better. For gaming, meh. Is it worth the price? Only you can tell.
I plan to reassess my system when the PU comes out of beta in a year or two?SoonTM? Unless I see a decent boost in immediate usable performance in Skylake , I may just simply upgrade to the i7 4790. This is a difference for me of $550 for a medium system in Skylake instead of $300 maybe less for a Beast in Haswell. I know future proof is important but since new hardware is coming out almost every year, future proofing a system seem IMHO like a carrot on a stick that one can never reach. You can always upgrade to something bigger and better. Back when I was researching my build, I saw a lot of people saying to wait for Skylake for REASONS but I needed the PC right now cause I really wanted to play SC and my laptop just didn't cut it anymore. What I build didn't make me waist time or crush my budget for "future proofing" for components that I may not use anyway. All due respect though. I know its a contentious issue.
At this time, I only have one USB 3.0 device. The rest are still USB 2.0. It's an external hardrive that I used for school and GIS file transfers. Although it is fast, I used it exclusively on USB 2.0 until this new build and I was fine with it. The higher speeds of the new USB 3.1 or USB Type C will become increasingly irrelevant as opposed to budgetary considerations.
I don't really consider myself a "power user" just because that sounds really pretentious but I do seem to mess with my computer more than the average. USB 3.1 is cool but if I really need it, I will add it to my system with a PCI. Any additional speed or features due to the new infrastructure is minimal for my use and wont really matter. Just as adding 32GB of RAM is better but honestly it is overkill and a waist of money for most users. Also, the power consumption savings in Skylake are ridiculous because to get an equivalent clock in Skylake to Haswell, these saving seem to just disappear. The difference in price though might mean you are able to stay in budget and be able to get an SSD which will do far more for the speed and performance of your computer.

Anyway, food for thought, good luck! I think the equivalent right now for the Z97 UD board is the GA-Z170X-UD5. No black Version yet.

 

[Soven Taliesyn]

That's always the big issue. Trying to future proof in an age where that limitation may only be a year. I've ran with LGA 775 core to extreme 3.0 and the mobo for many years. It was between upper to middle end when I got it. I've been nearly at its limitations for almost as long. I can only upgrade my ram by another 2 gb which would put me at a whole whopping 8 gigs. It's ran everything pretty well until recently. The most powerful thing going on in my rig is the gtx 560 ti. I figure it's finally time to move up. I've been struggling on what to get because mobo comes down to what kind of ram and cpu and to make sure they'll be worth it for almost as long.

EDIT: I think I may go ahead and get a new tower. Been looking at a corsair for under $100 on newegg.

 

[Space Monkey]

That's always the big issue. Trying to future proof in an age where that limitation may only be a year. I've ran with LGA 775 core to extreme 3.0 and the mobo for many years. It was between upper to middle end when I got it. I've been nearly at its limitations for almost as long. I can only upgrade my ram by another 2 gb which would put me at a whole whopping 8 gigs. It's ran everything pretty well until recently. The most powerful thing going on in my rig is the gtx 560 ti. I figure it's finally time to move up. I've been struggling on what to get because mobo comes down to what kind of ram and cpu and to make sure they'll be worth it for almost as long.

EDIT: I think I may go ahead and get a new tower. Been looking at a corsair for under $100 on newegg.

You're definitely due for an upgrade.

It might be helpful to make a list of the peripherals that you personally use and plan to use in the next 5 years(life on the PC?) and what you will do on the computer (photoshop, video editing, games, officy stuff). This will really determine what you need. Then go down the list of the requirements for these peripherals and uses and how if any of these will be impacted by any new tech or protocol. Even if there is something you will eventually do on your PC that you didn't plan for, the likelyhood of not having a workaround is pretty small.

As far as I can tell, the only thing that I can get in Skylake that I don't have in my current mobo is USB 3.1 and type-C connectors which are not in wide use today. This might change in the near future but I can always get these by adding a simple pci card for $30 with both. Problem solved. I know it is simplistic to just break it down to what connectors are on the back of the mobo but really, that is the only thing that will really affect the use of my computer other than the price I paid for it (angry broke-ass gameplay is not fun). If I were doing computational models, programming and high level video and audio editing, I would not have the same opinion. I may do computational modeling in GIS here and there but I have every confidence that my PC will be able to handle it. It may take me a little bit longer to process by a few minutes at most but if it really matters, me or my employer will be making an investment because it is making me lots of money.
The only thing that 3.1 will be more useful for above 3.0 or 2.0 is transfering from data storage. 3.0 is readily available now and is fast. If I can download a movie in 3 minutes, I really won't care too much if I can do it in 1.5 minute.

If I were to do my PC again today, I wouldn't do Skylake. That's just me though. I don't really go for the most expensive bleeding edge stuff on principle because I hate the buyers remorse in paying for the premium. So eventhough the i74790 was available, I went with the i5 4690 and I was pleasantly rewards by a perferctly working PC. I took this post as an opportunity to compare my specs and I'm pretty happy with what I got. In the end, that's what matters.

BTW, I found this to be very useful in figuring out my Power Supply requirements.
http://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator

 

[Annitias]

I am shocked I was not summoned for this.

First, the PSU calculators use a old as can be method. Consider them pointless now.

A gaming rig with a i5 and a GTX 970 can, yes, can run off of a 650w psu no problem of you have a decent one. Even as low as a 550 if you have a great unit. Most people will not know a solid 650 can handle that. A 750w will be the most common for a gaming build.

If you have questions, more than willing to help. I was a top 100 overclocker at one point and still use LN2 from time to time.

 

[Space Monkey]

I am shocked I was not summoned for this.

First, the PSU calculators use a old as can be method. Consider them pointless now.

A gaming rig with a i5 and a GTX 970 can, yes, can run off of a 650w psu no problem of you have a decent one. Even as low as a 550 if you have a great unit. Most people will not know a solid 650 can handle that. A 750w will be the most common for a gaming build.

If you have questions, more than willing to help. I was a top 100 overclocker at one point and still use LN2 from time to time.

Well, the calculator was useful to me and it seems to be current and updated regularly. There are a lot of opinions out there and it gave me a fixed benchmark to cut through the options. I don't have your experience RussianJ but it definitely help cut through the crap. I saw a lot of posts when I build my computer with people using 1000w power supplies when it really wasn't necesssary. It caused me some confusion and that tool was helpful. Granted I about doubled the amount of wattage that was needed and went with a Gold standard PSU just in case.

 

[Annitias]

Well, the calculator was useful to me and it seems to be current and updated regularly. There are a lot of opinions out there and it gave me a fixed benchmark to cut through the options. I don't have your experience RussianJ but it definitely help cut through the crap. I saw a lot of posts when I build my computer with people using 1000w power supplies when it really wasn't necesssary. It caused me some confusion and that tool was helpful. Granted I about doubled the amount of wattage that was needed and went with a Gold standard PSU just in case.

Not to insult on my comment there, just it is not as accurate as it could be. It adds way too much extra power in other voltages and rails that is no longer needed. I absolutely agree a 1k psu is overkill. Unless your running 4x 290x then you need a 1500w

 

[Space Monkey]

Not to insult on my comment there, just it is not as accurate as it could be. It adds way too much extra power in other voltages and rails that is no longer needed. I absolutely agree a 1k psu is overkill. Unless your running 4x 290x then you need a 1500w

No worries, I am by no means an expert. I'm just relaying my personal experience and the little I know from doing the leg. Hopefully my ramblings will help Soven and anyone who reads it afterwards.
I didn't research rails when I first build my PC and I think it wasn't until you mentioned it on another post that I even realized that was such a thing so I didn't really feel I could speak about it. I did look into it after the fact but it would be great to hear what you have to say on the subject and how to best choose a power supply from your prespective. It might be useful for other TESTies reading this later. Nevertheless, all in good fun.

 

[Soven Taliesyn]

I currently have a 550. I figure it should hold me over until I decide to upgrade my graphics card. But for now, with a budget in mind, updating my video card is low on my to do list.

 

[Annitias]

If it is a trash PSU, it should be on the top of the list to upgrade. A bad PSU can make a great rig into nothing fast and passes along extra wear to the rest of the components.

 

[Space Monkey]

I have to agree with J. Depending on the PSU, it is not necessarily the wattage it provides but the quality of the power that go to your components. It is especially important if you live in an area where your electricity is fluctuating. A bad power supplie can ruin components pretty fast in that case. The good thing is that PSUs are something that if you get right you might not need to buy again for a very long time.

If your power supply has a decent certification rating and you aren't experiencing hardware issues like blue screens and HardDrive errors on your current PC, it should be fine if you are on a budget. It would be best if you could check the voltages that are coming out of it and see if it deviates too much from your PSU's specs. You can usually do that from your bios.

But big grain of salt though, it is something that doesn't have to be super expensive and it makes me sleep better at night given that it is connected with everything in my system.

This is what I got for mine.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438026

When I was first building my PC. I thought I would buy it component by component given my budgetary contrains. I didn't have a previous machine to upgrade from though so I would essentially be staking poxes until I could put it together. As it turns out, I was able to buy it all in one go. You are in a position with your previous computer that you can slowly add newer components. You might want to start with the PSU if it turns out yours is out of spec.

 

[mromutt]

I have to agree with J. Depending on the PSU, it is not necessarily the wattage it provides but the quality of the power that go to your components. It is especially important if you live in an area where your electricity is fluctuating. A bad power supplie can ruin components pretty fast in that case. The good thing is that PSUs are something that if you get right you might not need to buy again for a very long time.

If your power supply has a decent certification rating and you aren't experiencing hardware issues like blue screens and HardDrive errors on your current PC, it should be fine if you are on a budget. It would be best if you could check the voltages that are coming out of it and see if it deviates too much from your PSU's specs. You can usually do that from your bios.

But big grain of salt though, it is something that doesn't have to be super expensive and it makes me sleep better at night given that it is connected with everything in my system.

This is what I got for mine.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438026

When I was first building my PC. I thought I would buy it component by component given my budgetary contrains. I didn't have a previous machine to upgrade from though so I would essentially be staking poxes until I could put it together. As it turns out, I was able to buy it all in one go. You are in a position with your previous computer that you can slowly add newer components. You might want to start with the PSU if it turns out yours is out of spec.

Yeah when it comes to a PSU my advice is always spend the few extra bucks and get a 80+ bronze or higher because they put in higher quality parts to meet the certification and read plenty of reviews.