Is the i5 4690 and asus z97-a a future proof combination

[HongaarseBeer]

Hello,

I am wondering if the combination of the Intel core i5 4690 and the Asus Z97-A will be any good if it comes to being future proof. I currently only want to use the r9 380 as a gpu, but will it be possible to expand this? I read on the site of Intel that the cpu only supports up to 16 PCI Express ports, up to 1x16, 2x8, 1x8+2x4. So if I have things like a network adapter et cetera, will there be any room left to possibly upgrade/add anything in the future?

And if there is the possibility of adding another gpu someday, could that be the same kind of gpu or would I need one that has a different PCI port?

This is the build: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/kGZHxY

Thanks.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

Have you bought this build already? If not, you'll be far better served with something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($34.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.48 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: Edimax EW-7612PIn PCI-Express x1 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter ($32.99 @ Adorama)
Monitor: AOC G2260VWQ6 21.5" 75Hz Monitor ($120.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $779.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-15 07:06 EDT-0400

With the RX 480 right around the corner, now is a bad time to buy a GPU.

With regards to PCIe lanes, you'll be able to have a single GPU with multiple PCI devices, but you won't be able to have two GPUs with multiple PCI devices.

 

[HongaarseBeer]

Have you bought this build already? If not, you'll be far better served with something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($34.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.48 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: Edimax EW-7612PIn PCI-Express x1 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter ($32.99 @ Adorama)
Monitor: AOC G2260VWQ6 21.5" 75Hz Monitor ($120.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $779.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-15 07:06 EDT-0400

With the RX 480 right around the corner, now is a bad time to buy a GPU.

With regards to PCIe lanes, you'll be able to have a single GPU with multiple PCI devices, but you won't be able to have two GPUs with multiple PCI devices.

No, I haven't bought anything yet. Will this build you suggested be good for gaming in general? And won't this RX 480 be incredibly overpriced compared to the R9 380? I live in the Netherlands, so prices might be different and Newegg doesn't ship everything to here unfortunately.

But coming to the gpu lanes, does what you state mean that there will only be space for one gpu?

Also, my apologies for the amount of questions, I am new when it comes to building a PC. I will take a look at what you suggested as a build, thank you

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

It's a good gaming build when paired with a good GPU. By all accounts, the RX 480 is going to be cheap and supposedly offer GTX 980 levels of performance, which is a huge leap over the R9 380.

With x16 PCI lanes you can have one GPU with other PCI devices, or two GPUs with no other PCI devices.

 

[HongaarseBeer]

It's a good gaming build when paired with a good GPU. By all accounts, the RX 480 is going to be cheap and supposedly offer GTX 980 levels of performance, which is a huge leap over the R9 380.

With x16 PCI lanes you can have one GPU with other PCI devices, or two GPUs with no other PCI devices.

Aaah, I get that part for the GPU now. And thanks a lot for this build, I will delve into it.

Since I need a network adapter that requires PCI, I will only be able to use one GPU and thus not be needing Crossfire/SLI, and I probably overkilled with the mobo for my build

 

[GhislainG]

Why do you need a PCI network controller? Can't the motherboard LAN controller meet your requirements?

 

[HongaarseBeer]

Why do you need a PCI network controller? Can't the motherboard LAN controller meet your requirements?

I have no possibility of getting an ethernet cable to my room unfortunately, that's why

 

[DonkeyOatie]

mITX motherboards usually come with WiFi cards on board.

 

[HongaarseBeer]

mITX motherboards usually come with WiFi cards on board.

That would be very useful. Are those compatible with the i5 4690? And are there any other differences between an ATX board and a mITX one?

 

[CountMike]

Call us when you get back to the future. you'll know more than anybody.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

mITX motherboards tend to have a single PCIe slot and only two DIMM slots. They also tend to be more expensive and the Z series chipset isn't very common.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

The OP does not seem to need a Z board, so a H97 will do fine and the ASRock H97 ITX/AC has been used successfully in ten builds at school. Two DIMM slots soes not seem to be a problem either. 2x 8Gb is plenty.

The ASRock Z97E also overclocks my i7 4790K well and runs my Trident X at 2400Mhz.

 

[HongaarseBeer]

The OP does not seem to need a Z board, so a H97 will do fine and the ASRock H97 ITX/AC has been used successfully in ten builds at school. Two DIMM slots soes not seem to be a problem either. 2x 8Gb is plenty.

The ASRock Z97E also overclocks my i7 4790K well and runs my Trident X at 2400Mhz.

I already took a look at H97 motherboards because I don't plan on overclocking anyways. Will that H97 board you suggest also be able to run with just one 8gb stick or do you recommend using two?

Also, which one of these two do you think is best:
- ASRock H97M-ITX/AC

- ASRock H97 Performance

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

The OP does not seem to need a Z board, so a H97 will do fine

I know, I'm just stating the differences.

OP, why would you consider a Haswell build when your budget allows for Skylake?

 

[HongaarseBeer]

The OP does not seem to need a Z board, so a H97 will do fine

I know, I'm just stating the differences.

OP, why would you consider a Haswell build when your budget allows for Skylake?

Well, to be honest I am kind of over my budget. I planned on spending some 850-950 euro's, so that's why I'm reviewing my build to look for unnecessary things to cut down some costs. The i5 4590 costs 179,99 and the 4690 199,99 euro's. I am not sure how much those Skylake ones cost to be honest.

I also looked for new motherboards, H97 ones, and that also saves me some 50 euro's compared to the Asus Z97-A, (a motherboard that is slightly overkill for me?)

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

The build I posted before comes in at €677 (using German retailers) which gives you almost €300 to spend on a GPU, most likely the RX 480.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (€202.80 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€108.32 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (€42.43 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€63.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€54.16 @ Mindfactory)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case (€57.27 @ Mindfactory)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit
Wireless Network Adapter: Edimax EW-7612PIn PCI-Express x1 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter (€20.89 @ Mindfactory)
Monitor: AOC G2260VWQ6 21.5" 75Hz Monitor (€127.83 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €677.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-16 10:20 CEST+0200

 

[HongaarseBeer]

The build I posted before comes in at €677 (using German retailers) which gives you almost €300 to spend on a GPU, most likely the RX 480.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (€202.80 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€108.32 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (€42.43 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€63.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€54.16 @ Mindfactory)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case (€57.27 @ Mindfactory)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit
Wireless Network Adapter: Edimax EW-7612PIn PCI-Express x1 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter (€20.89 @ Mindfactory)
Monitor: AOC G2260VWQ6 21.5" 75Hz Monitor (€127.83 @ Mindfactory)
Total: €677.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-16 10:20 CEST+0200

Thank you, I will consider this build!

 

[DonkeyOatie]

The OP does not seem to need a Z board, so a H97 will do fine and the ASRock H97 ITX/AC has been used successfully in ten builds at school. Two DIMM slots soes not seem to be a problem either. 2x 8Gb is plenty.

The ASRock Z97E also overclocks my i7 4790K well and runs my Trident X at 2400Mhz.

I already took a look at H97 motherboards because I don't plan on overclocking anyways. Will that H97 board you suggest also be able to run with just one 8gb stick or do you recommend using two?

Also, which one of these two do you think is best:
- ASRock H97M-ITX/AC

- ASRock H97 Performance

If this http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Fatal1ty%20H97%20Performance/ is what you mean by ASRock H97 Performance, it is neither mITX, nor does it have a built-in WiFi card.

For what I suggested, the - ASRock H97M-ITX/AC is the appropriate answer.

The System Bicycle_repair_man suggests is a good one which you should consider. I would use a slightly more expensive and faster SSD, but the overall parts, especially the PSU, are very good.

 

[HongaarseBeer]

The OP does not seem to need a Z board, so a H97 will do fine and the ASRock H97 ITX/AC has been used successfully in ten builds at school. Two DIMM slots soes not seem to be a problem either. 2x 8Gb is plenty.

The ASRock Z97E also overclocks my i7 4790K well and runs my Trident X at 2400Mhz.

I already took a look at H97 motherboards because I don't plan on overclocking anyways. Will that H97 board you suggest also be able to run with just one 8gb stick or do you recommend using two?

Also, which one of these two do you think is best:
- ASRock H97M-ITX/AC

- ASRock H97 Performance

If this http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Fatal1ty%20H97%20Performance/ is what you mean by ASRock H97 Performance, it is neither mITX, nor does it have a built-in WiFi card.

For what I suggested, the - ASRock H97M-ITX/AC is the appropriate answer.

The System Bicycle_repair_man suggests is a good one which you should consider. I would use a slightly more expensive and faster SSD, but the overall parts, especially the PSU, are very good.

Thank you. That motherboard looks very decent and even leaves space for possible Crossfire! Do you think there would be a difference if I would dual-channel the RAM (2X4) or not (1x8)?

And for the SSD, where does it state what it's speed is? Also, do you think Mushkin has good quality products? I had some of their products in mind, their SSD and RAM, but I wouldn't know anything about the quality, because it's is not a renowned brand yet in the Netherlands

 

[Dragos Manea]

@bicycle_repair_man, you are so wrong about pci lanes, yes the cpu has 16 lanes of gen 3 but the other slots on the motherboard are gen 2 and they are generated bya motehrboard controller, if what you are telling is true then if you connecta graphics card to the 16x slot then it will work in 8x because of some lanes are used by sata express port, m.2 port and so on, which is not true. i ahev a m.2 on 4 lanes gen 2, i have 2 hdd on sata express port which uses pci lanes too and my gpu is running on 16x because they are separate lanes. usually a motherboard has the following, 16 lanes gen 3 and additional 8 lanes gen 2, the 16 lanes can be use as 8x+8x gen 3 without affecting the 8 lanes of gen2, i was in teh same dillema as the op and researched quite a lot. For more details just google cpu lanes and motherboard lanes also you can read this too http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2965066/pcie-lanes-cpu-motherboard.html .

EDIT: My motherboard is asus z97-c and i have 16 lanes gen 3 from cpu and 8 more gen 2 from motherboard chipset, the z170 chipset i read it can generate even more lanes from the motherboard.

 

[Lucio_1]

Regarding the Wifi, even if the MOBO you choose doesn´t has onboard Wifi, you can purchase those Wifi USB Adapter. Works great.

And regarding the Haswell or Skylake build, definetally Skylake. Unless you already have some DDR3 Rams to use (and/or if you had an existing MOBO, which you already said you dont) on the new build, there´s no reason to choose the 4690 instead of 6500. I would go even further and pick the 6600.

People tend to compare the base clock of 3.2 Ghz (6500) with the 3.3 Ghz (6600) and say it´s not worth spend $20 more and get 0.1 Ghz. But these processors runs most of the time with turbo boost, so while the 6500 reaches 3.6 Ghz, the 6600 reaches 3.9 GHz, so + 0.3 Ghz well worth it the extra $20, in my opinion.

 

[HongaarseBeer]

@bicycle_repair_man, you are so wrong about pci lanes, yes the cpu has 16 lanes of gen 3 but the other slots on the motherboard are gen 2 and they are generated bya motehrboard controller, if what you are telling is true then if you connecta graphics card to the 16x slot then it will work in 8x because of some lanes are used by sata express port, m.2 port and so on, which is not true. i ahev a m.2 on 4 lanes gen 2, i have 2 hdd on sata express port which uses pci lanes too and my gpu is running on 16x because they are separate lanes. usually a motherboard has the following, 16 lanes gen 3 and additional 8 lanes gen 2, the 16 lanes can be use as 8x+8x gen 3 without affecting the 8 lanes of gen2, i was in teh same dillema as the op and researched quite a lot. For more details just google cpu lanes and motherboard lanes also you can read this too http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2965066/pcie-lanes-cpu-motherboard.html .

EDIT: My motherboard is asus z97-c and i have 16 lanes gen 3 from cpu and 8 more gen 2 from motherboard chipset, the z170 chipset i read it can generate even more lanes from the motherboard.

Thanks for clearing this up!

 

[HongaarseBeer]

Regarding the Wifi, even if the MOBO you choose doesn´t has onboard Wifi, you can purchase those Wifi USB Adapter. Works great.

And regarding the Haswell or Skylake build, definetally Skylake. Unless you already have some DDR3 Rams to use (and/or if you had an existing MOBO, which you already said you dont) on the new build, there´s no reason to choose the 4690 instead of 6500. I would go even further and pick the 6600.

People tend to compare the base clock of 3.2 Ghz (6500) with the 3.3 Ghz (6600) and say it´s not worth spend $20 more and get 0.1 Ghz. But these processors runs most of the time with turbo boost, so while the 6500 reaches 3.6 Ghz, the 6600 reaches 3.9 GHz, so + 0.3 Ghz well worth it the extra $20, in my opinion.

I'm starting from scratch and I haven't bought anything yet either. I have decided now that I will go for Skylake instead of Haswell, since many people recommend that. I will read some things about those two CPU's and compare them.

That turbo boost, is that something that's enabled or activated automatically or do you need to do something to get that to work?

 

[DonkeyOatie]

Turbo boost is automatic, but more complex than suggested above.

With one thread running, the 6500 will ramp up to 3.6Ghz if needed, and the 6600 will ramp up to 3.9Ghz. Some older games will work this way.
As more threads are used, each of the CPUs will run slower.

Turbo Boost is available for very brief bursts.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

@bicycle_repair_man, you are so wrong about pci lanes, yes the cpu has 16 lanes of gen 3 but the other slots on the motherboard are gen 2 and they are generated bya motehrboard controller, if what you are telling is true then if you connecta graphics card to the 16x slot then it will work in 8x because of some lanes are used by sata express port, m.2 port and so on, which is not true. i ahev a m.2 on 4 lanes gen 2, i have 2 hdd on sata express port which uses pci lanes too and my gpu is running on 16x because they are separate lanes. usually a motherboard has the following, 16 lanes gen 3 and additional 8 lanes gen 2, the 16 lanes can be use as 8x+8x gen 3 without affecting the 8 lanes of gen2, i was in teh same dillema as the op and researched quite a lot. For more details just google cpu lanes and motherboard lanes also you can read this too http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2965066/pcie-lanes-cpu-motherboard.html .

EDIT: My motherboard is asus z97-c and i have 16 lanes gen 3 from cpu and 8 more gen 2 from motherboard chipset, the z170 chipset i read it can generate even more lanes from the motherboard.

Yes, quite right; didn't realise the others were 2.0.

My mistake.