GrantSP's new build project

[GrantSP]

Couple of minor changes.

Added a 1Tb HDD back again

Changed to an AsRock Fatal1ty motherboard and a Cooler Master Hyper CPU cooler

[phazer11]

I don't see the changes.

[GrantSP]

Weird, I thought that 'permalink' was supposed to keep up with the actual saved list, apparently not.

 

Here's what's current and more than likely what I will go with.

[phazer11]

Still think that 1TB drive is inefficient it's half the price and a 1/3 the cost but at least it's still in the deskstar family.

[GrantSP]

Me again.

This time the items aren't on PCPartPicker because I've sourced them from a local shop but everything is pretty similar except for these changes:

 

MB is now the Asus ROG Maximus VIII Hero to take the Core i5-6600 3.3GHz 6MB Skylake chip (it is the same price as the i5 I had and in stock).

RAM is now also beefed to handle the change and is now: G.Skill Ripjaws V F4-2133C15D-8GVR (RED) 8GB Kit DDR4 2133.

 

 

The biggest hit is to the MB which is $378 and RAM $94.

 

Also I'm thinking of initially getting only one 240Gb SSD and perhaps later getting another as well as the 2TB HDD when funds are better.

Do you think 240 will be fine for an intial few months? I'm thinking it will and as I'm also getting a Win10 OEM disc, reinstalling fresh won't be an issue if I need to migrate applications and get into trouble, like Z had with his Steam and Skyrim.

 

All up it is now around $2200, which sounds a lot more than what was listed but since there is no freight and all the other lists I looked at, like those shown on PCPartPicker had around $150 freight, I'm getting better components, I think.

[Quinnbeast]

With an 80% efficiency power supply, that would be only 400W. I'm running a 600W PSU for a GTX 760 and Core i5 (Haswell). The 760 has a recommendation of a 500W PSU. The GTX 770 recommendation is a 600W PSU: https://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-770/specifications

My apologies for quoting a post from a few months back, but it does highlight where a lot of people go wrong with PSU choice.

 

First off, power supply efficiency reflects the power draw (usually AC) at the socket in comparison to the (typically quoted) DC output. It doesn't mean, for example, that a 500W unit can in fact only supply 400W DC, unless you've bought something that is inaccurately rated and not fit for purpose (i.e. a piece of garbage). Assuming a PSU has accurate specification, a 500W PSU can and will provide 500W DC power. Efficiency is essentially the power lost as heat during the AC-to-DC conversion, and has an equivalent watt rating for the energy lost. A PSU that draws 100W to provide 70W DC output has a 70% efficiency rating, with 30W lost as heat within the PSU.

 

If a PC requires 180W DC, then a good quality 250W unit will have no more or less difficulty in providing the necessary DC power than a 400W unit, and both PSUs will simply draw as much AC power at the socket as is needed to power the internal components (based on efficiency).

 

Any decent brand worth it's salt will quote the 'sustained' power output that the unit is capable of. For example, the 550W BeQuite unit I use will happily provide exactly that all day long. It has a 'Peak' rating of 610W, meaning that any spikes over and above the rated 550W output are handled with ease, and the point of failure is likely closer to 650W.

 

Without intending to be too blunt, 1000W is comically over-specified for a single GPU setup. Unless you're allowing room for adding a second (or third) GPU and a heavy CPU/GPU overclock, then a high quality 600-650W unit should be more than adequate even with some overclocking intentions. Most PSU calculators are in fact marketing tools that do a fine job of selling units based on 'the numbers game', but the quality of the unit or brand should always be the priority over a cheaper unit with a big wattage number stamped on the front.

 

I use a BeQuiet 550W unit for an overclocked i5 with an Nvidia 780, and the fan never ever ramps up. The GPU has the biggest power requirement of all my components, and even then it'll very likely never max out in any real-world setup. So, I'd be surprised if my setup actually went above 380W DC (based on similar systems I've observed), nevermind coming anywhere near the PSU rating. Yes, capacitor aging can be a factor over time, but only if plan on using your PSU at full load for the next 10-15 years; at that stage, only the will of the gods will determine if it's still working or not.

Edited September 19, 2015 by Quinnbeast

[phazer11]

Indeed Quinnbeast. I forgot to post this and another article when that was said but I've posted them before anyways.

https://www.overclock.net/t/183810/faq-recommended-power-supplies

[Greg]

Single Rail vs. Multi Rail *Explained*

[GrantSP]

Okay parts are bought and will be here shortly. Thank you to all for the input.

 

None of the components are currently in my PcPartPicker list because the company I went with has only recently opened a store in Tasmania and they are yet to set up the online store for it. (we do some things rather slowly here in Tassie)

This does mean though that I have saved about $150 in freight from the mainland. Some of which I have spent on the change up to Skylake parts.

So if you're interested these are the major components:

 

Asus ROG MAXIMUS VIII HERO

Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz 6MB

G.Skill Ripjaws V (RED) 8GB Kit (4GBx2) DDR4 2133

Noctua NH-U9B-SE2 Performance CPU Cooler

Corsair Carbide SPEC-01

Antec EDGE-550W

Gigabyte GAMING-8GD 8GB R9 390

OCZ ARC 100 240GB SATA3 SSD (x2)

ASUS 24" VS248H

 

When funds are available again I will get a 2TB HDD as a data storage and possibly look at a real nice mechanical keyboard and gaming mouse.

Possible additions may also be better/more case fans.

[echo451]

Me again.

This time the items aren't on PCPartPicker because I've sourced them from a local shop but everything is pretty similar except for these changes:

 

MB is now the Asus ROG Maximus VIII Hero to take the Core i5-6600 3.3GHz 6MB Skylake chip (it is the same price as the i5 I had and in stock).

RAM is now also beefed to handle the change and is now: G.Skill Ripjaws V F4-2133C15D-8GVR (RED) 8GB Kit DDR4 2133.

 

 

The biggest hit is to the MB which is $378 and RAM $94.

 

Also I'm thinking of initially getting only one 240Gb SSD and perhaps later getting another as well as the 2TB HDD when funds are better.

Do you think 240 will be fine for an intial few months? I'm thinking it will and as I'm also getting a Win10 OEM disc, reinstalling fresh won't be an issue if I need to migrate applications and get into trouble, like Z had with his Steam and Skyrim.

 

All up it is now around $2200, which sounds a lot more than what was listed but since there is no freight and all the other lists I looked at, like those shown on PCPartPicker had around $150 freight, I'm getting better components, I think.

I run with a 240G SSD. It works fine. After putting Skyrim on the drive I was down to 20GB. With a recent upgrade cleanup removed I had ~60G free.

I have a lot of application. Running WIN10 and I have had only one problem having to do with the sound.

With steam, I found out, you can install your games on alternate drives. Everything does not need to be on the drive with the initial steam folder. When I downloaded the witcher 3 I quickly began to run out of space. Not knowing that I could move the game to an alternate drive I ended up copying the Skyrim to a different drive.

 

I found did some test simple FPS and I could detect little difference between the SSD and a decent HDD. Not an exhaustive test in any sense.

 

Good luck with your new rig. 

[GrantSP]

Guys I need a n00bish question answered.

 

Is a PCI-E power cable that splits into 2x connectors the same as 2 seperate PCI-E cables?

To power the new GPU requires an 8 pin + a 6 pin connector and the PSU has a PCI-E cable with a splitter that branches into 2 x 6+2 pin connectors.

 

I can power everything and get to the system and nothing 'looks' wonky but until the GPU is under load I will have no way of knowing for sure.

 

PCPartPicker and the Antec website and my supplier all say I'm supplied with all I need but... 'sinking feeling in my gut'.

[Greg]

Ah yes... the infamous "smoke" test. I think you should be fine using the split cable. My power supply has four 40A rails, so I used the split cable to my video card and it works fine. If I remember correctly, I think you went with a power supply that has a single 12V rail.

 

In any case, it's all the same 12v supply -- "rail" basically just defines how many over-current/short-circuit protectors are used. With a single rail, you have one protector at something like 100+ amps whereas with four rails I have one 40A protector on each connector.

[GrantSP]

If I take your word for it and something goes "BOOM", can I come calling?

 

No, seriously thanks for the update. I haven't really looked into the whole hardware specs and definitions for years, last time I built a computer there was only VGA, HDMI or DVI didn't exist. GPUs didn't need dedicated power or come with cooling fans. Drives still had ATA ribbon cables and you needed a CD-ROM to install the OS.

[GrantSP]

One last question:

HDMI is the preferred option for connecting the monitor?

[Greg]

I'm getting a little rusty at this well since I build a new computer about once every 3 to 5 years, and I imagine even this rate is slowing down since it really isn't practical to build from scratch quite so often. I don't even bother keeping up with the latest and greatest anymore since that's becoming to mean a gigantic speed boost of 5% to 10%.