New build i7 6700K

[migrantwing]

Doing a new build for the OH and have opted for an i7 6700K. Was going to go for an i5, but thought an i7 would be a better all rounder for gaming AND video proccessing and everyday computing.

I'm just wondering which board and RAM would be a good bet alongside an i7 6700K.

I was looking at either an ASUS Z170-A mobo or possibly an ASUS ROG board, but don't want to spend crazy amounts on the mobo. I'd like to try overclocking the i7 and possibly the RAM, just to get some more power out of them.

RAM: I know that the new 1151 sockets allow for DDR4, but what is some decent RAM to buy? I was thinking of going 2x8gb (16gb) but not sure what MHZ to go for. Kingston or Corsair etc.

I'm so out of touch with the newer PC stuff that has come out in the last 4-5 years, so am not totally 100% sure of what is what.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks...

 

[azaran]

For motherboard, unless you need all the advanced fuction of an ROG board, its probably not worth the cash. A mainstream board like the Asus Z170-A or Gigabyte Gaming 3 or 5 would be good choices.

For RAM, it changes pretty fast now that a lot of companies have finally added to the mix. G.skill still seems like the most popular, their Ripjaw 4 and Ripjaw V are great sticks, I think the Trident Z are sexy as hell. Kingston Hyper Fury X is also pretty popular. 16GB is a good starting point for doing video processing. Speed... well faster stuff is coming out better and cheaper now than it was last year. I'd say pick a price point and then see what the offerings are in it, and remember timings are as important as the speed.

Tho if you wanted to get really in to video editing, you may want to consider an X99 system and get a 6 core CPU in, assuming budget even allows for that.

For cooling, since you're OCing. I'd recommend something a bit on the beefy side for air cooling. Cryorig H5 would be a good start or an R1 Universal. Past that point you're likely looking at a very big cooler like the NH-D15 from Noctua or going with water cooling. And your case will help determine some of these options as well as to what will fit and what wont.

 

[migrantwing]

For motherboard, unless you need all the advanced fuction of an ROG board, its probably not worth the cash. A mainstream board like the Asus Z170-A or Gigabyte Gaming 3 or 5 would be good choices.

For RAM, it changes pretty fast now that a lot of companies have finally added to the mix. G.skill still seems like the most popular, their Ripjaw 4 and Ripjaw V are great sticks, I think the Trident Z are sexy as hell. Kingston Hyper Fury X is also pretty popular. 16GB is a good starting point for doing video processing. Speed... well faster stuff is coming out better and cheaper now than it was last year. I'd say pick a price point and then see what the offerings are in it, and remember timings are as important as the speed.

Tho if you wanted to get really in to video editing, you may want to consider an X99 system and get a 6 core CPU in, assuming budget even allows for that.

For cooling, since you're OCing. I'd recommend something a bit on the beefy side for air cooling. Cryorig H5 would be a good start or an R1 Universal. Past that point you're likely looking at a very big cooler like the NH-D15 from Noctua or going with water cooling. And your case will help determine some of these options as well as to what will fit and what wont.

Great info, thank you!

I think I'll stick with an ASUS Z170-A then.

Can you give me a brief insight into timings? That's one thing I definitely don't understand.

 

[azaran]

Timings... lower the CAS number means better latency. So two kits of the same frequency RAM, one has CAS 15 one has CAS 16, CAS 15 is better than CAS 16. It goes beyond that but thats the basic idea that most people care about. I'm going to link you to some articles rather than try and explain it all in here. Don't worry about DDR3 vs DDR4 in the articles, the theories translate out to the latest and greatest.

Quick article
http://www.thinkcomputers.org/memory-timings-explained/

More than you probably ever wanted to know
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/understanding-ram-timings/

 

[migrantwing]

Thank you azaran, for all your help. The links you posted were very helpful.

The build I'm going for is:

(Some of these components I already have ** )

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor

CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler

Mobo: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

RAM: Kingston FURY 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory

SSD Primary Drive: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

**Secondary Drive: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

**Back up/Storage Drive: Western Digital WD Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive

**GPU: MSI Radeon R9 380 4GB Video Card

**PSU: SeaSonic Platinum 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

Case: Thermaltake Core V71 ATX Full Tower Case

 

[azaran]

Looks like a good overall system. One thing, you are WAY over buying on your PSU. Your system as it stands now is pulling at peak, almost 500watts. If you were going to SLI some high end GPU's the 1000w PSU would be a good idea but for what you're doing you could easily get something less expensive. You only need like a 550w for that rig really.

~Edit And just noticed you'd already bought the PSU. Well you likely wont be needing to worry about power requirements anytime soon!

 

[migrantwing]

Looks like a good overall system. One thing, you are WAY over buying on your PSU. Your system as it stands now is pulling at peak, almost 500watts. If you were going to SLI some high end GPU's the 1000w PSU would be a good idea but for what you're doing you could easily get something less expensive. You only need like a 550w for that rig really.

~Edit And just noticed you'd already bought the PSU. Well you likely wont be needing to worry about power requirements anytime soon!

Yes, sir! The PSU was already bought. My gf's old system was running a GTX 560ti and the PSU just wasn't cutting it. I suggested a 750W PSU or so, but there was a great deal on the Seasonic 1000w Platinum. It's a beast of a PSU

 

[migrantwing]

Had to make a few changes. Opted for a Sabertooth MK 1 board and a Cryorig H5 Universal cooler instead of the Z170-A board and the Cryorig H7 cooler as I couldn't find an H7 anywhere and the Sabertooth is a better board with a few more bells and whistles on it, plus it looks like a real heavy duty, sturdy board.

All purchased, should hopefully arrive middle of next week then I can start the build

Once again, thank you for your help, azaran

 

[azaran]

The Sabertooth line up is a good one, and honestly I prefer the H5 mounting system to the H7 so you should be good to go for a really good build. Glad I could help out!

 

[migrantwing]

The Sabertooth line up is a good one, and honestly I prefer the H5 mounting system to the H7 so you should be good to go for a really good build. Glad I could help out!

The H5 arrived today and it looks very sturdy indeed. The mounting system looks solid, too, as you say. I'm just waiting for the other components to arrive so I can start building. It's a Bank Holiday here in the UK, so the earliest I'll get any of the stuff is most probably Tuesday or Wednesday. Arghh! I decided to go for the Sabertooth as it seems a much sturdier, heavy duty board as opposed to the standard Z170-A.

Thank you! I'll keep you updated on the build