[SOLVED] New System - Help!

[Hrsn]

System Builder - Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB AORUS MASTER, iCUE 4000X RGB ATX Mid Tower - PCPartPicker

about to buy these… does anyone have any recommendations or concerns about compatibility?

hoping to have good temps and minimal bottlenecking

 

[Why_Me]

If you're planning on running dual M.2 SSD's then find a board that has two M.2 slots with heatsinks for those drives.

I'm just using this board for an example.

https://infinite-computing.co.uk/product/gigabyte-z690-gaming-x-ddr4

 

[Lafong]

Compatibility? No.

I'm wondering what your plans are for the 2 TB drive....what do you intend to put on it?

I assume the smaller 500 GB drive will receive Windows and installed applications?

Do you have any sort of budget or are you largely indifferent to expense?

 

[Why_Me]

Compatibility? No.

I'm wondering what your plans are for the 2 TB drive....what do you intend to put on it?

I assume the smaller 500 GB drive will receive Windows and installed applications?

Do you have any sort of budget or are you largely indifferent to expense?

It's a gaming build would be my guess.

 

[Hrsn]

Compatibility? No.

I'm wondering what your plans are for the 2 TB drive....what do you intend to put on it?

I assume the smaller 500 GB drive will receive Windows and installed applications?

Do you have any sort of budget or are you largely indifferent to expense?

I was going to use the 500gb for windows and the 2TB for games, what do you think? Should I go with 256 for windows instead?

 

[Why_Me]

Here's another option to consider. You can always go with a single 500MB M.2 SSD on that build you have up above and use a SATA SSD for storage or just go with a single 2TB M.2 SSD.

https://www.ebuyer.com/921058-crucial-bx500-2tb-2-5-ssd-ct2000bx500ssd1
Crucial BX500 2TB 2.5 SSD £132.99

 

[Hrsn]

Here's another option to consider. You can always go with a single 500MB M.2 SSD on that build you have up above and use a SATA SSD for storage or just go with a single 2TB M.2 SSD.

https://www.ebuyer.com/921058-crucial-bx500-2tb-2-5-ssd-ct2000bx500ssd1
Crucial BX500 2TB 2.5 SSD £132.99


And if you wanted to cut cost here's another option to consider.

Do SATA SSD’s have any downsides when compared with an M.2 SSD? I orginally thought about just 1 2TB SSD but thought it might be a bad idea to have the OS on the same drive as everything else… might make it a bit slower

 

[Lafong]

I was going to use the 500gb for windows and the 2TB for games, what do you think? Should I go with 256 for windows instead?

Windows itself takes up under 30 GB. Maybe even under 20 for a bare install.

You are the world's foremost authority on how large your C drive might become. Looking back over your PC history, how much space have you used?

My C drive has NEVER had 50 GB occupied with dozens of applications.

If I were buying a boot drive tomorrow, I'd buy 256 GB, but again you are the world's foremost authority on YOUR requirements.

Re the 2 TB drive....if it's just for gaming stuff, you might investigate how much of an advantage the 970 EVO Plus would be over a less expensive drive. I can see being highly speed conscious for a Window boot drive, but maybe not for gaming installations?

I don't game beyond Pong and Solitaire.

But maybe you are indifferent to cost. I have no idea.

 

[Lafong]

Do SATA SSD’s have any downsides when compared with an M.2 SSD? I orginally thought about just 1 2TB SSD but thought it might be a bad idea to have the OS on the same drive as everything else… might make it a bit slower

Differences are noted mostly in benchmarks rather than in actual use. The differences are nowhere near as obvious as when going from a spinning drive to an SSD of any type.

Keeping the OS on a separate drive has some advantages unrelated to speed. Hundreds of millions of people keep everything on the same drive without issues. I use separate drives, but not for speed reasons.

Regardless of your current intent, you should back up everything on the OS partition. Your second larger drive would be a likely location to keep that backup.

 

[Why_Me]

Do SATA SSD’s have any downsides when compared with an M.2 SSD? I orginally thought about just 1 2TB SSD but thought it might be a bad idea to have the OS on the same drive as everything else… might make it a bit slower

An M.2 SSD has no advantage over a SATA SSD when it comes to gaming. The reason you see some people go with dual SSD's is in case they have to reformat. I see a lot of both on here .... some go with a single 2TB M.2 SSD and some go with a small M.2 SSD for Windows paired up with a SATA SSD for storage. It's a matter of choice tbh.

I'm going to show you a third option to look at and you want to go with either a single 2TB M.2 SSD or a small M.2 SSD for Windows and a SATA SSD for storage due to the amount of PCIe lanes for the B660 chipset.

https://www.box.co.uk/B660-GAMING-X-DDR4-Gigabyte-B660-GAMING-X-DDR4-Motherboard_4110682.html
Gigabyte B660 GAMING X DDR4 £132.85

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B660-GAMING-X-DDR4-rev-10#kf

https://infinite-computing.co.uk/product/intel-core-i7-12700f
Intel Core i7-12700F £309.75

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...2700f-processor-25m-cache-up-to-4-90-ghz.html

Review of that cpu w/benchmarks.

https://www.techspot.com/review/2391-intel-core-i7-12700/

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydgN4W97Esk&t=708s

 

[Why_Me]

You're going to want a 4-Pin exhaust fan for that Corsair case so that it doesn't become a hotbox.

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/120...50rpm-53cfm-fluid-dynamic-bearing-black-4-pin
Arctic F12 PWM 120mm 4-Pin Case Fan £3.98

A 750w psu will easily push that RTX 3070 Ti you have in your build.

https://www.box.co.uk/Seasonic-Focus-GX-750W-80-Plus-Gold-Full_2736976.html
Seasonic Focus GX 750W 80+ Gold Modular PSU £84.33 INC VAT WAS £109.98 SAVE £25

And if you want headroom for a future card such as an RTX 3080 Ti for example.

https://www.box.co.uk/Seasonic-Focus-GX-850W-80-Plus-Gold-Full_2736977.html
Seasonic Focus GX 850W 80+ Gold Modular PSU £94.96 INC VAT WAS £144.65 SAVE £49

And if you're looking to cut cost even further then here's a case worth having a look at. Such as that Corsair it also requires an exhaust fan .

https://www.awd-it.co.uk/components...d-glass-drgb-satin-black-ph-ec360atgdbk01.htm
Phanteks Eclipse P360A Mid Tower Case £77.99

https://www.phanteks.com/Eclipse-P360A.html

Two more cost cutters.

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/arc...-cpu-cooler-2x120mm-pwm-fan-40mm-vrm-fan-alum
Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240mm RGB AIO £79.99

or ...

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/arc...ro-cpu-cooler-2x120mm-argb-fan-40mm-vrm-fan-a
Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240mm A-RGB AIO £89.99

 

[Hrsn]

You're going to want a 4-Pin exhaust fan for that Corsair case so that it doesn't become a hotbox.

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/120...50rpm-53cfm-fluid-dynamic-bearing-black-4-pin
Arctic F12 PWM 120mm 4-Pin Case Fan £3.98

A 750w psu will easily push that RTX 3070 Ti you have in your build.

https://www.box.co.uk/Seasonic-Focus-GX-750W-80-Plus-Gold-Full_2736976.html
Seasonic Focus GX 750W 80+ Gold Modular PSU £84.33 INC VAT WAS £109.98 SAVE £25

And if you want headroom for a future card such as an RTX 3080 Ti for example.

https://www.box.co.uk/Seasonic-Focus-GX-850W-80-Plus-Gold-Full_2736977.html
Seasonic Focus GX 850W 80+ Gold Modular PSU £94.96 INC VAT WAS £144.65 SAVE £49

And if you're looking to cut cost even further then here's a case worth having a look at. Such as that Corsair it also requires an exhaust fan .

https://www.awd-it.co.uk/components...d-glass-drgb-satin-black-ph-ec360atgdbk01.htm
Phanteks Eclipse P360A Mid Tower Case £77.99

https://www.phanteks.com/Eclipse-P360A.html

Two more cost cutters.

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/arc...-cpu-cooler-2x120mm-pwm-fan-40mm-vrm-fan-alum
Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240mm RGB AIO £79.99

or ...

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/arc...ro-cpu-cooler-2x120mm-argb-fan-40mm-vrm-fan-a
Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240mm A-RGB AIO £89.99

thanks for the suggestions.
I’m planning on having the 3 on the front that come with the case brining in air, the radiator and 2 fans that come with it on the top of the case pushing out hot air and then the exhaust at the back pulling out air. Do you think that will be enough for good temps?

 

[Hrsn]

If you're planning on running dual M.2 SSD's then find a board that has two M.2 slots with heatsinks for those drives.

I'm just using this board for an example.

https://infinite-computing.co.uk/product/gigabyte-z690-gaming-x-ddr4

Is there any downside to having a m.2 without a heat sink? I suppose it would just get a bit hotter than the other. It’s really difficult to find the right parts….

when I change the motherboard to the one you have suggested, I get another note warning at the bottom of the build

• Note:The Corsair iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler may require a separately available mounting adapter to fit the Gigabyte Z690 GAMING X DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard.
• Note:The motherboard M.2 slot #4 shares bandwidth with SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports. When the M.2 slot is populated with a PCIe-based M.2 drive, two SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports are disabled.
• Note:Some physical dimension restrictions cannot (yet) be automatically checked, such as cpu cooler / RAM clearance with modules using tall heat spreaders.

 

[Why_Me]

thanks for the suggestions.
I’m planning on having the 3 on the front that come with the case brining in air, the radiator and 2 fans that come with it on the top of the case pushing out hot air and then the exhaust at the back pulling out air. Do you think that will be enough for good temps?

That will be more than enough. I'd go with the stock fans + 120mm 4-pin rear exhaust fan for now tbh.

 

[Why_Me]

Is there any downside to having a m.2 without a heat sink? I suppose it would just get a bit hotter than the other. It’s really difficult to find the right parts….

when I change the motherboard to the one you have suggested, I get another note warning at the bottom of the build

• Note:The Corsair iCUE H100i ELITE CAPELLIX 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler may require a separately available mounting adapter to fit the Gigabyte Z690 GAMING X DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard.
• Note:The motherboard M.2 slot #4 shares bandwidth with SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports. When the M.2 slot is populated with a PCIe-based M.2 drive, two SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports are disabled.
• Note:Some physical dimension restrictions cannot (yet) be automatically checked, such as cpu cooler / RAM clearance with modules using tall heat spreaders.

All cpu coolers need an LGA1700 bracket / mounting kit in order to work. Check the Corsair site and see if your cooler comes with one already or if not they should send one to you for free. As far as the SSD's go .... either a single M.2 SSD or one M.2 SSD + one SATA SSD for that board..

 

[Hrsn]

All cpu coolers need an LGA1700 bracket / mounting kit in order to work. Check the Corsair site and see if your cooler comes with one already or if not they should send one to you for free. As far as the SSD's go .... either a single M.2 SSD or one M.2 SSD + one SATA SSD for that board..

I’ve changed the board, how’s this? Should accompany for 2 M.2s https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/wTzrH2

Is it normal to have 2 drives in a computer and both to be m.2s? I’ve never done this before and in my previous computer I had a SATA SSD and a HDD. Thanks man

 

[Bob.B]

I’ve changed the board, how’s this? Should accompany for 2 M.2s https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/wTzrH2

Is it normal to have 2 drives in a computer and both to be m.2s? I’ve never done this before and in my previous computer I had a SATA SSD and a HDD. Thanks man

Your into personal pref stuff.
1 disk or 2.
Sata or nvme.
I doubt it will make much of a diff which mix you pick.
The nice thing about m.2 is less cable clutter.

 

[Why_Me]

I’ve changed the board, how’s this? Should accompany for 2 M.2s https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/wTzrH2

Is it normal to have 2 drives in a computer and both to be m.2s? I’ve never done this before and in my previous computer I had a SATA SSD and a HDD. Thanks man

@Bob.B post pretty much sums it up as far as SSD's go.

btw if you don't need WiFi then check out this board.

https://www.technextday.co.uk/produ...x-ddr4-intel-socket-1700-ddr4-atx-motherboard
Gigabyte Z690 GAMING X DDR4 £182.37

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z690-GAMING-X-DDR4-rev-10#kf

 

[Lafong]

Is there any downside to having a m.2 without a heat sink? I suppose it would just get a bit hotter than the other. It’s really difficult to find the right parts….

I wouldn't get excited about the heat sink issue right now. You can always add one later if necessary.

They do run a bit hotter than standard SSDs or spinners.

RIght now I have 3 drives ; here are current temps:

SATA 2.5 inch Crucial SSD boot drive; 31

M.2 2280 Intel NVMe data drive; 36; no heatsink

SATA 3.5 inch Western Digital spinning 5400 rpm data backup drive; 29

Those differences are what I typically see.

Per Intel documents, the critical temp for my NVMe drive is 80 degrees.

It will throttle by design if temps get to 77, the "warning" level. That has never happened in 3 years of ownership.

If I do something like a virus scan or 5 minute write operation on the NVMe, temps will normally get up to the high 50s. Temps ranged from 57 to 64 when I copied data from it to the spinning backup drive for 3 continuous hours.

It spends 98% of it's life under 45.

The day I got it, I did a "Full Diagnostic Scan" using the supplied Intel toolbox to torture it. That test wrote 3 terabytes to the drive in 6 hours...more than I normally write in a year. Max temp reached was 73....in a warm room.

If your temps bother you, of course use a heatsink to relieve your worry.