First build in a long time, first time trying to overclock

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Answermancer

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Hello! I used to build all my PCs, but in recent years I've been buying ASUS gaming laptops instead since I was moving around a whole lot. My current machine is an ASUS G74SX-A1.

Now I've decided it may be time to go back to a dedicated gaming desktop, and after doing some research I've decided to try overclocking for the first time as well since it sounds pretty easy on the newer Intel chips.

And so, after doing a bunch of reading here and elsewhere I have come up with the following build:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=28537127

This is right around what I want to spend, and seems like it would work pretty well. I plan to overclock it to 4.5Ghz, but if I can't get that high that's fine too.

I will primarily use it for gaming, but also Photoshop, Premiere, Blender, and Unity work stuff.

Anyway, since I haven't done this in a while, and never built a PC for overclocking before, I was hoping for some advice or comments on the build and whether you think I'm making any major mistakes with my choices.

Thanks!
Chris

Edit: I see PCPartPicker lets you do this
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($42.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($148.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-118BB DVD/CD Drive ($21.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1378.40
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-11 22:23 EDT-0400)
 
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JackNaylorPE
Ya paying $190 for case and PSU....better case and same PSU is $170 ($200 - $30 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1390812

CPU (1155) and MoBo (1150) are not compatible... for ya video editing, you'll want hyperthreading no ? 4670k for gaming, 4770k for gaming plus apps that uses hyperthreading.

I think the hero is a great board.... for $180....at $220 I find it hard to recommend. Keep in mind i have no issue recommending the Maximus VI Formula at $300 but when ya put the Hero up against other boards for $30-$40 less, is just doesn't compare well. It is aesthetically pleasing tho and if that pushes ya over the edge by all means jump on it.

The Asus Z87 Pro is an excellent package even rolling...
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

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Ya paying $190 for case and PSU....better case and same PSU is $170 ($200 - $30 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1390812

CPU (1155) and MoBo (1150) are not compatible... for ya video editing, you'll want hyperthreading no ? 4670k for gaming, 4770k for gaming plus apps that uses hyperthreading.

I think the hero is a great board.... for $180....at $220 I find it hard to recommend. Keep in mind i have no issue recommending the Maximus VI Formula at $300 but when ya put the Hero up against other boards for $30-$40 less, is just doesn't compare well. It is aesthetically pleasing tho and if that pushes ya over the edge by all means jump on it.

The Asus Z87 Pro is an excellent package even rolling in Wifi at a price under $185. The MSI Z87-GD-65 ($190) has received outstanding reviews many claiming it is "the best Z87 board released" and its little brother the G45 ($160) has already garnered 22 awards....Gigabyte GA-G1.Sniper and GA-Z87X-OC are also worth looking at. I'd suggest you use the newegg compare function and decide for yaself what features most appeal to you.

The EVGA Superclocked or SC series is one Id avoid. Since the 5xx series EVGA has slapped the SC moniker on factory overclocked cards that have a nice cooler but stock PCbs and VRMs while everyone else has uses beefed up VRMs and custom PCBs. The EVGA Classified version has beefed up VRM and custom PCB. The MSI Lightning is the hottest performer but comes at a price premium. The MSI N770 and Gigabyte windforce otherwise lead the pack at 1137 MHz.....but the Guga's 4380 proce tag makes it very attractive.

The RAM is not gonna fit under ya cooler, to i am noticing on some MoBos of late, this is not a problem. Use low profile RAM.....Im partial to these for the price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226382

newegg been having trouble keeping many 2400s in stock of late
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226346

Ya have a NAS specific hard drive....this is currently the fastest desktop drive available and it's same price and 50% bigger
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148844

If ya wanna improve things but stick close to current price, I drop RAm speed down to 1866 and move up to a Phanteks PH-TC14-PE cooler. The higher CPU OC will I think be of more value than the faster RAM.
 
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Answermancer

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Ah yes I just caught the slot incompatibility a moment ago, that would have been a pretty stupid mistake -_-.

Should I go with a 4670K then? Most of the stuff I've been reading was about OCing the 3570, is the 4670 pretty similar in that regard? From what I was reading I'm not sure if the 4770K is worth the extra $100 when I'll primarily be gaming, I don't do a lot of video editing just a little here and there. I do use Photoshop a lot though.

Is the 4770K also good for overclocking as well?



Yeah... I do rather like the aesthetics of it, the features sounded good and I also quite like ASUS in general so I think I'll stick with the Hero if price is the only downside.

Thanks!
 
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

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I added more to original post so take a re-read....

Again the 4670k is fine for gaming but the 4770k will be very helpful in ya other stuff. And it does give ya another 100MHz in gaming .... in case ya need that lil push :)

4770k I find is better and worse for overclocking.....lemme explain

1. Hyperthreading means 8 cores instead of 4 so more heat ... which usually works against higher OCs

2. OTOH, the 4770ks are clocked higher outta the gate.

3. I have found that .... if I leave HT on, I can OC a i5 higher than an i7 ..... but if I turn off HT, using only 4 cores, then I can OC the i7 higher than the i5

Fortunately, with Asus' higher end boards, you can go into the Tools section and "save" various 'sets" of BIOS settings. So I set up one for 24/7/365 w/ HT on and maybe a 4.4 - 4.6 OC and then shoot or something higher with HT off. Save booth and then choose which one I want to use at boot time.
 
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Answermancer

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I'll check some of these out, but like I said the Hero is looking pretty good, and if it has the ASUS OC saving capability you describe in the next post that also sounds good.


Ah that is good to know, I had mostly based that decision on the fact that I want a GTX 770 and the EVGA was highly rated on Newegg. How about this Windforce then? I have read good things about that before as well and you mention it here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125463

Surprisingly the price is lower too. o_O


Thanks for the warning, that looks like a fine replacement, thanks!


Not sure what NAS specific means. I saw that drive but the rating and comments say it is very unreliable (2 out of 4 breaking) and I really want a reliable drive more than another TB. The one I chose was very highly rated which is why I chose it.


Hmm, I was really only planning to take it to about 4.5 anyway, you think with HT on it wouldn't get too hot at that speed? Also that feature sounds nice so if it's as easy as you say I could see myself doing that for really crazy graphics intensive games, just wouldn't want to have to fiddle with it all the time.

Hmm I will have to think on that I guess, not sure whether I want the i5 or i7 :). Maybe I should just bite the bullet and get the i7 since it should be more useful all around and more future proof...

Edit: Updated parts list I am now considering (Possibly with i7 instead of i5)
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($42.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($142.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-118BB DVD/CD Drive ($21.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1372.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-11 23:22 EDT-0400)
 
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

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Like I said, I got nothing against the hero....It's selling well so Asus Im sure is happy to make a few extra $$ off it and frankly, the Asus BIOS is worth $20 premium :)

I recommended the Giga GFX card in my original post .... I been buying it or the MSI depending on which one is cheaper on buy day.

NAS = Network Attached Storage .... lil box that a network of computers connects to for shared storage....designed for multiple I/O at same time rather than sustained transfer rate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822122136

7200.14 is shown below
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/desktop-hdd.15-st4000dm000-4tb,3494-3.html

Looks better....still think you should get the Corsair 500R....The 922 was a great case .... in its day ... but its a bit long in the tooth .... I have done prolly a dozen 922 builds,....but none in last 2.5 years ... the 500R is just nicer in every way I can think of....well except crappy newegg photos.

If ya want those bog overclocks tho you will need a better cooler:

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/phanteks_ph_tc14pe_cpu_cooler_review,14.html
Phanteks w/ stock fans - 51.75C
Hyper 212 w/ stock fan - 65.75C

Thinking of ya color scheme.....
Black is $75, Red $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709011
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709004
 
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Answermancer

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Hmm... yeah I'm just really worried it's gonna fail in a year or something. Seriously half of the NewEgg reviews say they had theirs fail or 2/4 were DOA. I know I need to find a drive other than that NAS one now, just not sure what to get. I find HD failures to be the worst mishap since you lose your data on top of having to buy a replacement.

On the other hand I'll have my OS on the SSD so even if the HD fails I won't have to redo the system from scratch... I hadn't thought of that since I've never had a SSD before.

Still, I wish I could find something more reliable, a lot of the drives on NewEgg (especially the non-NAS seagates) have a lot of people reporting quick failures.


Oh, I meant to put the cooler you recommended on that list, I just forgot :).


[strike]Well, I think I like the look of the CM more, I watched a video of the newegg guy going over it and I liked it there as well. The one you recommend I'm not a fan of the white panels and the black version is sold out.

What exactly makes that one better? They both seem to have similar features, good airflow, lots of fans, etc.

Note that the 922 on NewEgg has USB 3.0 ports on the front panel. Some of the other sites seem to link to an older model which only had USB 2.0 ones.[/strike]

Edit: Okay I've watched some videos on YouTube of the Corsair case and it does look pretty great afterall. You're right the NewEgg pics don't do it justice. I'm sold ;P

Current setup below. I'm still worried about the HD, and I think I'll probably switch to the i7. But I haven't decided yet :).
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($142.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-118BB DVD/CD Drive ($21.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1519.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-12 01:56 EDT-0400)
 
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Answermancer

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Alright, so I think I'm pretty happy this this setup then:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=28537127

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($142.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-118BB DVD/CD Drive ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1621.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-12 15:09 EDT-0400)

The only thing I'm not really happy with is the potential reliability of the hard drive. Other than that I feel pretty good about it and will probably order it today or tomorrow unless someone points out any other issues/suggestions.

Thanks!
 
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JackNaylorPE

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If the aesthetics of a big heat sink bothers ya, that's certainly a valid reason to look elsewhere. No discounting that fact as irrelevant. However, I don't think a big rad looks that much better .... The Boc does a great job but it's fans make the thing just too fugly so I can understand the aesthetic objection there. But personally, I like the look of the color coordinated Phanteks.... looks kinda awesome to my eyes. But that's a matter of personal taste

OTOH, while I'm personally an advocate of "real" water cooling, to my mind (and ears) the noise trade off on the H series stuff is just waaaaaay too big.... In order to get to the same thermal performance the H100 is 16 times louder (perceived loudness). If ya change the fans, now ya spent more, and ya performance drops further below the air coolers.

My personal 63 reasons why not to use a H series cooler ..... your mileage may vary :)

Reason 1. Cost more.

Reason 2. No significant advantage in cooling over better air coolers. When tested with same paste and stock fans, Phanteks, Silver Arrow and Noc D14 have better thermal performance.

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/corsair_h100_hydro_series_extreme_performance_liquid_cpu_cooler,13.html

Phanteks with stock fans and common thermal paste - 51.0C
Corsair H100 with stock fans and common thermal paste - 52.5C

However, this performance comes at a cost; noise. At 2600RPM, the H100 isn’t a quiet unit at all and similarly at 2000RPM, it can still be quite intrusive. In terms of performance per noise, high end air coolers from Phanteks, Noctua and Thermalright still reign supreme, contrary to Corsair’s own marketing. Like other ALC units, the H100 relies too much on high RPM fans for its performance when the goal of water cooling is generally for extreme performance at low noise levels.
Click to expand...

Reason 3. Risk of having water inside system not outweighed by any "advantage".

Reasons 4 - 63. The 60 dBA noise level at full load. (skip to 2:00 minute mark)
http://martinsliquidlab.org/2013/03/12/swiftech-h220-vs-corsair-h100i-noise-testing/

With the CPU at 100%, the Swiftech is at 46 dBA. The CPU is at 55% load when the H100i hits 46 dBA

For many, the noise is not an issue....but one of those things you should be aware of before ya buy.

 
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Answermancer

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The aesthetics don't bother me. Thanks for all the relevant info, I don't think I want to take the plunge into the water cooler. Seems more complicated and finicky, and loud apparently.

I think I'll stick with the Phanteks you recommended, I can always get a different cooling solution later if need be.

[strike]Do I need to get a thermal paste separate from the cooler? Or does it come with some? If I have to get some separate is there a recommended one?[/strike]

Nevermind I see on the NewEgg page that it comes with some.
 
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