Need help building a monsterPost Date: 2015-08-12 |
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13sharonj
Newbie Joined: 12 Aug 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 58 |
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Topic: Need help building a monster Posted: 12 Aug 2015 at 9:00pm |
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Budget:
Max is $4000-$4500 I'm looking for a fast gaming machine that can handle games such as FSX and GTA 5 on very high settings easily Here is the build so far: System Configuration: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Digital Storm Apollo Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 6700K 4.0GHz (Codename Skylake) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS Z170-DELUXE (Intel Z170 Chipset) System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2800MHz Corsair Dominator Platinum DHX (Extreme-Performance) Power Supply: 1200W Corsair AX1200i (Digitally Controlled Power) Expansion Bay: Dual Solid State Hard Drive Hot Swap Bay Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (512GB Samsung 850 PRO) Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (1TB Western Digital - Black Edition) Storage Set 3: - No Thanks RAID Config: - No Thanks RAID Card: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Graphics Card(s): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB (ASUS Strix Edition) Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Zx (Includes Audio Control Module) HPC Processor: - No Thanks Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D15 (Extreme Performance) H20 Tube Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected Chassis Fans: Upgrade All Fans to Corsair Airflow Performance Edition (Up to 6 Fans) Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled LED Lighting System (Multiple color options and lighting effects) Airflow Control: Digital Storm Thermal Management Control Board & Software Chassis Mods: Fan Blow-Holes: VREG/CPU & Graphics Card Area: Laser Cut and Mount a Side Window 140mm Fans Noise Reduction: Noise Suppression Package Stage 2 (Optimized Airflow & Fan Speeds with Noise Dampening Material) LaserMark: - No Thanks CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires High-End Motherboard Selection) Graphics Boost: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability Memory Boost: Memory Fan Kit Only (Does not include memory overclocking service) OS Boost: Yes, Disable and tweak all of the non-crucial services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional (64-Bit Edition) For the power supply, do i need 800/1000/1200W? Memory wise I'm just not sure if I need 16GB or 32GB and what frequency is best? I'm trying to avoid liquid cooling, will this config i have run cool enough? Any input is appreciated, and is the Apollo more advantageous compared to the Velox with an identical config? Forgive me I'm new at this. |
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DS Veteran Joined: 28 Oct 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1674 |
Quote Reply Posted: 12 Aug 2015 at 10:47pm | |
If you aren't dead set on the styling of the Apollo or absolutely need the hot-swappable hard drive bay, I'd suggest going with the Velox. It has excellent air ventilation, especially around the GPUs.
You will only need 1000W at most...16GB of memory is more than enough...You can upgrade to an All-in-One loop if you wanted to (no maintenance), but some early reviews are showing the Thermal Interface Material beneath the heat spreader on the processor (not removable without voiding the warranty) is a significant limiter and will limit the effectiveness of better cooling solutions. Here's a config. I switched the SSD for the new Intel which is faster than any other drive out there (supported with the Hyper card that is included with the motherboard). I removed the audio card...the audio on the motherboard is excellent. I switched the DVD drive to Blu-ray; the Blu-ray drive they use is actually a BDXL drive. Configuration URL: https://www.digitalstorm.com/configurator.asp?id=1260173 Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot
Seller - Digital Storm Velox Edited by - 12 Aug 2015 at 10:50pm |
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db188
DS Veteran Joined: 29 Jul 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2115 |
Quote Reply Posted: 12 Aug 2015 at 11:16pm | |
For the power supply, do i need 800/1000/1200W?
a good 1000W psu should meet your needs. the two vid cards will pull 300w'ish (each) under max load and the cpu another 200w'ish. extreme oc'ing the cpu and gpu(s) will increase this some.
Memory wise I'm just not sure if I need 16GB or 32GB and what frequency is best? for gaming, you won't need 32GB. I'm trying to avoid liquid cooling, will this config i have run cool enough? that's the best air cooler you can get and it is actually more quiet and performs better than most AIO closed loop liquid coolers on the market. it won't come close to a custom water loop, but neither will any AIO. however, things to be aware/concerned about are the size/weight of that air cooler on the mobo (especially during shipping). i myself (as well as others) have experienced shipping damage directly related to this big air cooler and it's older sibling the D14. there's also the matter of ram clearance, so make sure they are compatible. Any input is appreciated, and is the Apollo more advantageous compared to the Velox with an identical config? i have no personal experience with either case, but i will say that the Velox' construction seems better to me for air cooling (at the expense of more noise). Edited by db188 - 12 Aug 2015 at 11:21pm |
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13sharonj
Newbie Joined: 12 Aug 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 58 |
Quote Reply Posted: 13 Aug 2015 at 7:28am | |
Very interesting, so I have a few more inquiries guys:
Is it necessary / safe to Stage 2 overclock my processor vs Stage 1? Are fan-blow holes a bad idea on an Apollo since its not as well ventilated as the Velox? Is it a bad idea to boost the memory aka the memory fan kit? I see that the memory in "no name's" suggested config the memory will be at 2888mhz, is there a reason to go with 2888mhz vs. 2666mhz for example? I appreciate all the help guys, this is a pretty big investment so I'm nervous about making a mistake. Edited by 13sharonj - 13 Aug 2015 at 10:56am |
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zpconn
Newbie Joined: 02 Jul 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 29 |
Quote Reply Posted: 13 Aug 2015 at 9:30am | |
Are you planning on using this machine for productivity tasks like video editing or just for gaming?
If gaming is the most intensive task you'll use it for, then the X99 platform (the 5930k processor) is not going to help you much. Theoretically it might help in the future if games get better at utilizing more cores. Right now, the 6700k is going to be better for a gaming build -- and cheaper too. However, the extra cores of the 5930k have advantages for tasks that easily scale computationally -- gaming just isn't one of them. |
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13sharonj
Newbie Joined: 12 Aug 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 58 |
Quote Reply Posted: 13 Aug 2015 at 10:04am | |
Gaming will be the main focus so I'll stick with the 6700k. |
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13sharonj
Newbie Joined: 12 Aug 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 58 |
Quote Reply Posted: 13 Aug 2015 at 11:05am | |
I'm also having a lot of trouble trying to figure out if I should go air cooled or a liquid cooled system, I originally wanted to stay away from liquid but I am also looking for longevity out of this build. Any insight on which method is better?
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DS Veteran Joined: 28 Oct 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1674 |
Quote Reply Posted: 13 Aug 2015 at 11:08am | |
Overclocking GPUs in SLI
It isn't difficult to overclock GPUs. So long as you do not crank up the voltage, the life of the GPUs will not diminish. You can take off the option for DS to do the overclocking if you want to follow the guide above (ASUS has a tool similar to EVGA Precision). As for memory, take a look at my Configuring a Computer post linked in my signature. There are several factors that go into memory performance and the combination of speed and latency timings are intertwined, so going down to 2666MHz may not change your memory performance (I just added it as you had put 2800MHz RAM in your config and it's only a $29 difference). The Dominator Platinum sticks have extended heat sinks to dissipate more heat if you are going to overclock the memory beyond the XMP profile settings. If you are going to stay at the XMP profile, you don't need any extra cooling, and the fan kit on the memory may interfere with the CPU cooler. The fan blow holes wouldn't be a bad idea. You still get more ventilation over the GPUs with the Velox though (where you really need the additional ventilation; The CPU is blowing side-to-side so it probably won't benefit as much). Storage on the Velox requires a phillips head screw driver, but that is it. You just remove the left-side panel and you have clear access to the drives. And finally on processor overclock. The i7-6700K are good to be overclocked on air to 4.7 - 4.8 GHz, depending on how lucky you get. It will require some voltage increases to get up to those speeds, though. DS may be a little conservative in their overclock and may only push the processor to 4.5 - 4.6 GHz, which can be stable at lower voltages. Check out information on Multicore Enhancement if you do not want to have the voltages raised at all...it may not be worth having any overclock on the computer. |
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db188
DS Veteran Joined: 29 Jul 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2115 |
Quote Reply Posted: 13 Aug 2015 at 1:56pm | |
unless you're playing games on a notebook with only an iGPU for graphics i wouldn't worry too much about getting the fastest memory possible. faster memory also helps productivity usage, but from a gamer's perspective you'll be perfectly fine with what DS offers as a baseline in it's DDR4 systems. so, imo, it's just not worth spending the extra money on upgrading the memory over the baseline.
if you need/want a technical review/article to support my opinion please read: http://www.anandtech.com/show/8959/ddr4-haswell-e-scaling-review-2133-to-3200-with-gskill-corsair-adata-and-crucial/10 it's tested/based on Haswell-E memory scaling, but it should very well apply to Skylake too. also, i wouldn't worry about memory fan kits and overclocking ram beyond its XMP profile setting either. Edited by db188 - 13 Aug 2015 at 1:59pm |
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db188
DS Veteran Joined: 29 Jul 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2115 |
Quote Reply Posted: 13 Aug 2015 at 2:15pm | |
also, crank up the resolution and you increase the amount of AI interaction on-screen and therefore the amount of computational operations being processed. That’s important to higher-than-1080P gamers...something to keep in mind. in addition, what higher CPU utilisation of fewer cores, rather than lower utilisation of many threads, also spells is diversified difficulty for thermal and overclocking management. When running a CPU near its frequency limit, it is harder to maintain the stability of heavily loaded cores than it is for more threads running at a lower utilisation. Edited by db188 - 13 Aug 2015 at 2:22pm |
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13sharonj
Newbie Joined: 12 Aug 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 58 |
Quote Reply Posted: 16 Aug 2015 at 7:24am | |
You guys are awesome thank you for all the input.
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Alex
Admin Group Digital Storm Supervisor Joined: 04 Jun 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 16312 |
Quote Reply Posted: 16 Aug 2015 at 8:07pm | |
The community always has great feedback/input.
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13sharonj
Newbie Joined: 12 Aug 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 58 |
Quote Reply Posted: 23 Aug 2015 at 10:40am | |
Okay so im leaning heavily towards the Velox but I have one question that hopefully someone can answer:
If i stay with an all air cooled system (Noctua NH-D15 fans) how often will I need to remove dust and clean out the Velox and is it easy to do so? |
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 23 Aug 2015 at 11:10am | |
Hi 13sharonj...... Waaaaaay too many variables to answer that. Depends where the rig will sit, how dusty is the room and any animals. I have forced hot air, dusty, 3 cats that have lots of fine hair and only need to clean it every 4-6 months. My rig sits on a cabinet about 2.5 feet off the ground and gets little dust.and hair.
A few bursts of compressed air usually does the trick, through the fans and through the coolers vanes that carry the heat away. A couple of bursts across the mobo and psu. Others will do it every month. |
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13sharonj
Newbie Joined: 12 Aug 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 58 |
Quote Reply Posted: 23 Aug 2015 at 9:26pm | |
Alright haha well thank you for that info bprat22. Should be putting my order through very soon (next day or so).
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