Any comment on my configuration/

[george2005]

Hello,

I am thinking of building a non-gaming computer. And thinking of the following configs:

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K Skylake Quad-Core 4.0 GHz (Will not OC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 Tower Cooler
MB: ASRock Z170 Extreme4
MEM: G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3200
Boot Drive: SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 250GB NVMe PCI-Express 3.0 x4 SSD
Power: Rosewill Quark-550, Quark Series 550W Full Modular Power Supply with LED Indicator


I have no plan to OC, do I still need CPU cooler?
For Motherboard, I need USB3.1, and it should be compatible with SAMSUNG 960 EVO
I will not play game but will do some photo editing. Do I still need a standalone video card?
Is 550W enought?
Any good case under $50?

Thanks!

 

[CountMike]

You are buying a very overclockable rig but do not plan on OC ?
You need some CPU cooler, might as well put a good one.
No need for dedicated GPU for what you plan to use computer for.
That PSU should be enough and then some.

 

[RCFProd]

Which photo editing program uses more than 4 cores currently? I'm sure Photoshop doesn't use more than 4 threads for example. The amount of RAM is key, 16GB is fine. You've chosen a lighning fast SSD, that's good too. Might need discrete graphics depending on the type of editing you do. A GTX 1050 maybe.

 

[george2005]

Is CRYORIG H7 Tower Cooler good enough?

I OCed before but the system is not stable. I want something super fast and very stable. With 4.0GHz CPU and M.2 NVMe SSD, I believe the speed is fast enough, so no OC clocking for the CPU.

I usually shoot RAW with Nikon DSLR. I probably will use Nikon Capture NX-D a lot for photo editing. Other than than, I will do internet surfing and youtube. I have an old Radeon 5700 HD, if I do need graphic card, I can move that card from my old computer to this new one.

For the case, how about Zalman ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ZM-Z9 NEO BLACK? It already have 5 stocking fans and I don't need to buy extra.

What I am confusing actually is the RAM. Seems to achieve 3200, I have to OC, right? What does the RAM OC mean?
Does it mean I buy DDR4 SDRAM 2133 and OC to 3200? Or I buy DDR4 SDRAM 3200 and OC to 3200?
Is anything greater than 2133 considered as OC?

Does it make a difference to use SDRAM 2133 or 3200. I read the review of Z170 Extreme4 motherboard, it can barely OC ram to 3000. To achieve 3200, I probably need extreme6.

 

[RCFProd]

Go with the i7-6700, you don't need the i7-6700k. i7-6700 also turbo's to 4.0 Ghz.

Instead of ATX size, why don't you build a Mini-ITX or Micro-ATX size PC with either a Fractal Nano S or Fractal Mini C case? Do you need the ATX size? I'd make a small but powerful build.

Don't need a CPU cooler with the i7-6700, it comes with a stock Intel heatsink which is adequate. However an aftermarket CPU cooler will be more silent, make the CPU run even cooler and add air flow to your system.

For RAM DDR4 frequency you just enable XMP in BIOS and your RAM will run at 3200 Mhz.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($303.77 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Extreme4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($111.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($84.97 @ Jet)
Storage: Samsung 960 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($329.00 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.78 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Define Mini C MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1024.48
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-06 03:50 EST-0500

 

[george2005]

For the CPU, I probably stick to i7-6700k.

For the motherboard I am also looking at ASUS Z170-A, which seems have better reviews. Will ASUS Z170-A support SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 250GB NVMe PCI-Express 3.0 x4 SSD?

For the cpu cooler, I hate to apply themal paste. I'd like to have a clean installation. Any recommendation on a quiet cooler with thermal paste pre-applied, for < $100, either air or liquid.
I found cooler master 212 evo & Corsair Hydro Series H100i V2, but worry about the noise from those 2 coolers.

For the memory, if I buy DDR4-3200 and enable XMP in BIOS, is it still considered as OC?

 

[RCFProd]

Look for CRYORIG H7. It has thermal paste pre-applied, is silent and performs really well. It's the king of price/perf cooling.

960 EVO will work with the Asus Z170-A.

In terms of XMP being considered an OC, in a way, yes. It's not as ''comfortable'' for your mobo and CPU to use, when comparing DDR4-3200 in XMP compared to DDR4-2133. In some cases you need to OC your CPU a bit to reach DDR4-3000+ speeds.

 

[george2005]

I checked CRYORIG H7 specification. Does not look like it has thermal paste reapplied. The noise level is quite low though.

If necessary, I can OC CPU a little bit. What ram should I buy then?

 

[RCFProd]

AFAIK thermal paste IS pre-applied, although many sources say It's not. It does come with a thermal paste tube, that might make people think it isn't pre-applied. As far as I know it is though.

Most DDR4-2666+ RAM sets are good really. G.Skill, Kingston, Corsair you name it.

Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $84.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-08 04:31 EST-0500

 

[george2005]

Thanks so much! Here is the updated list I am going to build:

Intel Core i7-6700K Skylake Quad-Core 4.0 GHz
ASUS Z170-A LGA 1151 Intel Z170 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Corsair Hydro Series H105 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 250GB NVMe PCI-Express 3.0 x4 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-V6E250BW
G.SKILL TridentZ Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000) Intel Z170 Platform Desktop Memory Model F4-3000C15D-16GTZ
Zalman ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ZM-Z9 NEO BLACK


How much power do I need (I might add an old AMD Radeon 5700 HD in the future)?

 

[george2005]

Will also add a SATA III harddrive later.

 

[RCFProd]

How much power do I need (I might add an old AMD Radeon 5700 HD in the future)?

You'll be fine with a good ~400 watts power supply and a single 6-pin pcie connector.
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm


I'm sure Intel's onboard graphics are stronger than an HD 5700 series graphics card though.