Need help/advice with build - pretty urgent

[tatalor]

Hello,

Builds link. Small differences: the case is Antec GX300, PSU is a High Power Bronze Element II 600.

I have already ordered/had delivered the 4590 Haswell build (two of them actually, one is for my wife and it's identical except video card, which is a 960 Strix) but I started to have second thoughts after I read up reviews and forums (should have done it before). So I started putting together the 6600k build, which for now is only hypothetical but I can make it happen with some bother if I return/replace what I bought.

Disregard the prices, here in Romania they are very different: $1275 for Skylake and $1055 for Haswell. Their primary use will be gaming with some coding on the side. I probably won't upgrade them along the way, just buy new after 5 years or so.

To make matters worse, I just discovered that GX300 only fits a 140mm height CPU cooler and this is bad as CPU coolers are expensive around here (almost $40 for the Cooler Master 212).

Now the questions/options:

1. Is the Skylake build worth the price difference? I know it's got a more expensive Z170 MB, PSU and cooler (must replace this, see 3.) but if I'm not overclocking would be kinda pointless to buy it so I think it needs them. Also, is Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Gaming 3 preferable? They are about same price here and Gigabyte is easier to get.
2. Will overclocking the Skylake 6600k to 4.5Ghz help in any way with games?
3. And are there any good, cheap and under 140mm coolers comparable to Cooler Master 212 which are usable for this? (my wife's only condition was that the cases are the same and since one is already unpacked and I threw the box, might not be able to return it).
4. The store I might buy 6600k from gives a free cooler with it: ID-Cooling SE 903 which I assume is mediocre but can be perfectly fine if I don't overclock, correct? And I might still keep the Z170 MB in case I overclock after some years.
5. Would a lesser Skylake build make sense? (6600 3.3Ghz, Gigabyte H170 D3H). If I keep the stock Intel cooler, it would cost around $1155, right in the middle of the two). And, is the Intel cooler OK for non overclocking?
6. Would a 4690k make sense? (with a Gigabyte Z97-D3H) it would go about $1120 but again I will have the 140mm cooler problem
7. I could keep the 4590 as I have with the Intel stock cooler (which I assume it works OK)

Damn, and I thought I could make this short. My personal preference would be 6600k Skylake, of course and I can actually afford it, but returning the components, waiting for others and paying extra would kinda be a bother.

Anyways, I would REALLY appreciate some opinions/advices as the return date for my components is pretty near now and I used huge amounts of time just thinking/reading about it.

 

[juanrdp]

1. Is the Skylake build worth the price difference? I know it's got a more expensive Z170 MB, PSU and cooler (must replace this, see 3.) but if I'm not overclocking would be kinda pointless to buy it so I think it needs them.

For me the z170 advantages are worth the diference, M.2 slots, USB 3.x etc... the 6600K and Z170 only have sense for overcloking but you have the 6500 and h170 options, also could use a DDR3 MB to cut expenses.

2. Will overclocking the Skylake 6600k to 4.5Ghz help in any way with games?

Depends on the game and on your GPU, but normally yes, usually games gains more from high GHz cpus that from more cores.

3. And are there any good, cheap and under 140mm comparable to Cooler Master 212 which are usable for this?

On some build i allways use the Noctua NH-L9I but its not really cheap, but i will think twice about cut 10 euros on a thousand euros build on a cheap cpu fan....

4. The store I might buy 6600k from gives a free cooler with it: ID-Cooling SE 903 which I assume is mediocre but can be perfectly fine if I don't overclock, correct?

Correct, that is a 130w cooler that your are using on a 95w chip, must be enought even if it didnt give to you the best temps....

5. Would a lesser Skylake build make sense? (6600 3.3Ghz, Gigabyte H170 D3H). If I keep the stock Intel cooler, it would cost around $1155, right in the middle of the two). And, is the Intel cooler OK for non overclocking?

Yes, have a lot of sense if your are not going to overclock the system.

6. Would a 4690k make sense? (with a Gigabyte Z97-D3H) it would go about $1120 but again I will have the 140mm cooler problem

I would not do that. If a want a lower budget build i will maybe try:

- If im not going to overclock build a H170 with a 6500 CPU and maybe cut cost using DDR3 (that you will also use on the 4690) with a MB like the GA-H170-HD3 or an micro ITX like the ASUS H170M-ED3

- If im going to overlock, i will use a cheap z170 itx MB with DDR3 support and a 6600k and cut a bit of money on the MB and on the memory.

 

[tatalor]

I gave up on a cheap and under 140mm height cooler for overclocking, I doubt such thing even exists

Found this instead: Noctua NH-C12P SE14, which is not exactly cheap (twice as Cooler Master 212 evo, about $75 - $80 here) but it will fit in my case and should overclock a 6600k to 4.5Ghz from what I read. I might get myself one of these and pass the mentioned ID-Cooling SE 903 to my wife's system instead of stock cooler, since she'll probably have either a 6600 or a 4590.

Or maybe I'll just postpone buying a cooler for now and use the gift ID-Cooling SE 903 with my 6600k without overclocking. That should work better than stock cooler, right?

 

[tatalor]

OK, I have reached a decision (mostly). Already returned the h97 boards, CPUs and Sirtec PSUs and ordered most other stuff. The final builds look like this:

Skylake 6600k
Skylake 6600

And some questions:

1.I assume the PSUs are OK for for those buils, right?

2. The cooler is where I'm still undecided. I already got ID-Cooling SE 903 as a gift and I was wondering how it would perform compared to Intel stock cooler which will come with the 6600 (couldn't find any specs for the stock Intel). Basically my dilemma is whether it's good enough for 6600k (no overclock, of course) or if I should just get a cheapish Cooler Master Hyper TX3 Evo (around $20).

As for the Noctua NH-C12P SE14, I looked for under 140mm in height, which is the max that my GX300 case can hold. And since it costs around $70, I would need to hear a very convincing argument to buy it (already way over my budget). Most likely I won't overclock now, but maybe in couple years if needed.

What do you think?

3. Also, if you know any good coolers under 140mm in height, I'd gladly listen.

4. I'm having some trouble finding Kingston FURY 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 and I was wondering how Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 would fare compared to that. I see it even has lower CAS, but is it the same quality wise? Until now I only went Kingston.