First new build in 14 years ... what do you think?

[dud]

These items are currently sitting in my shopping cart at NE and I am ready to pull the trigger but was hoping to get some helpful advice and community input. Thank you for taking your valuable time in responding ...

The machine will be used for general-purpose use. The most extreme usage will be light/medium gaming. I play WoWarships and SW3 as well as some FPSs from 8-15 years ago.

Here is the list:

1. Intel Core i5-4690K CPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117372


2. ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer LGA 1150 Intel Z97 Motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157501


3. Fractal Design Define R4 Titanium Grey Silent ATX Mid Tower Case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352022


4. EVGA 120-G1-0650-XR 80 PLUS GOLD 650 W power supply:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438026

5. CORSAIR Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 memory:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186

6. SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5" 250GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal Solid State Drive:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147372



I may purchase a HD later and plan to use the HD 4600 graphics until I decide on a low-to-mid end vid card. With a tube of thermal paste and about $3 shipping AND after rebates the total price comes out at about $582. What do you think?

Thank you again ...

 

[LTC8K6]

If you don't plan to overclock, then you don't need a K cpu.

I would go with Skylake/170 board/ddr4 at this point. i5-6600 if not overclocking and i5-6600K if you want to overclock.

You'd be more future proof.

They have much better graphics than Haswell, too.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I've heard some people comment in the past, that if you're going to build new, then you want to buy the newest tech on the market. Which would be Skylake (socket LGA 1151).

There currently are production problems with Skylake, causing retailers to jack up prices of the "K" CPUs, and possibly some platform bugs / teething pains too.

So going with Haswell might not be the worst choice.

If you don't mind me asking, what do you currently have? An Athlon XP?

One thing to consider, is if you plan on keeping the new PC for another 10-15 years, then you might want to buy higher-end than just an i5, especially if this build is for gaming specifically.

Also, I would appreciate your insights on what it was like to keep a PC for 14 years. I proposed in some threads in the CPU and OCing forum to keep a PC for 10 years. But I've not quite done that. (Still have my Q9300 rigs, don't really use them, they seem a little sluggish compared to current tech.)

 

[VirtualLarry]

If you don't plan to overclock, then you don't need a K cpu.

I would go with Skylake/170 board/ddr4 at this point. i5-6600 if not overclocking and i5-6600K if you want to overclock.

You'd be more future proof.

They have much better graphics than Haswell, too.

If you don't plan on getting a discrete GPU right away, then the better iGPU of the Skylake CPUs should be a serious consideration.

I second the vote for a 6600K.

 

[dud]

I've heard some people comment in the past, that if you're going to build new, then you want to buy the newest tech on the market. Which would be Skylake (socket LGA 1151).

There currently are production problems with Skylake, causing retailers to jack up prices of the "K" CPUs, and possibly some platform bugs / teething pains too.

So going with Haswell might not be the worst choice.

If you don't mind me asking, what do you currently have? An Athlon XP?

One thing to consider, is if you plan on keeping the new PC for another 10-15 years, then you might want to buy higher-end than just an i5, especially if this build is for gaming specifically.

Also, I would appreciate your insights on what it was like to keep a PC for 14 years. I proposed in some threads in the CPU and OCing forum to keep a PC for 10 years. But I've not quite done that. (Still have my Q9300 rigs, don't really use them, they seem a little sluggish compared to current tech.)

I am currently running an Opteron from about 2007, given to me by my son. I personally have not conducted a new build since 2004. Not having an up-to-date system has not been much of a problem as my current system does everything that I ask it to do ... albeit slowly. I mentioned gaming because I do play a little. I use games as a tool to keep my mind sharper as I age. Thank you for your response ...

 

[maddogchen]

looks fine to me.

 

[dud]

If you don't plan to overclock, then you don't need a K cpu.

I would go with Skylake/170 board/ddr4 at this point. i5-6600 if not overclocking and i5-6600K if you want to overclock.

You'd be more future proof.

They have much better graphics than Haswell, too.

Newer always sounds better ... but after doing some research I've found that the i5-6600 is slower than the i5-4690K at stock speeds. Overclocking the 4690K only widens the gap.

Is it me or is Skylake a big letdown over Haswell?

 

[DigDog]

some FPSs from 8-15 years ago.

Quake, UT and CS.

 

[dud]

Quake, UT and CS.

The name in your sig comes up a LOT.

 

[MrTeal]

Newer always sounds better ... but after doing some research I've found that the i5-6600 is slower than the i5-4690K at stock speeds. Overclocking the 4690K only widens the gap.

Is it me or is Skylake a big letdown over Haswell?

It isn't a massive increase, but it's not bad. In the area of integrated graphics it is a good chunk better than Haswell. Depends on how much you'll get the itch to play newer games, but that alone might we worth an increase in cost. Something like this would move you to Skylake and would allow a little more overclocking headroom vs the stock Haswell cooler, but it's still marginal on value vs what you put together.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($269.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($86.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Fractal Design Edison M 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $676.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-08 16:30 EST-0500

 

[DigDog]

The name in your sig comes up a LOT.

eh, i play QuakeLive every day, i'm not criticizing you. It's just that, you dont need a monster PC to play these 3 games.

 

[balloonshark]

The CPU in the OP is $225 with promo code EMCEFEM49 until the 14th. I assume you have to be on their mailing list for it to work. Since 3 items in the op are in that email I assume the OP might already know about the code. If not enjoy!

 

[dud]

eh, i play QuakeLive every day, i'm not criticizing you. It's just that, you dont need a monster PC to play these 3 games.

No, I didn't think that you were doing anything but being helpful. I meant that your reference to Mayne was strange. I hear a lot about him (and see a lot of MOD activity) related to him.

 

[dud]

The CPU in the OP is $225 with promo code EMCEFEM49 until the 14th. I assume you have to be on their mailing list for it to work. Since 3 items in the op are in that email I assume the OP might already know about the code. If not enjoy!

Yes, I was aware of the discount, thank you. Each item in my shopping cart is either discounted, a rebate ... or both.

I'm still trying to decide whether to go Haswell or Skylake. Haswell is older tech but it is cheaper and faster than the comparable Skylake chip.

 

[frozentundra123456]

That is a nice build, but for general use and light gaming of the type that you are describing, an i3, either haswell or preferably skylake (I think the i3 cpus are showing more improvement gen to gen than the quads now) would be a nice choice as well.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Yes, I was aware of the discount, thank you. Each item in my shopping cart is either discounted, a rebate ... or both.

I'm still trying to decide whether to go Haswell or Skylake. Haswell is older tech but it is cheaper and faster than the comparable Skylake chip.

I'd get the Skylake for the better graphics/media capabilities. You might not even need a dGPU at all.

 

[DigDog]

No, I didn't think that you were doing anything but being helpful. I meant that your reference to Mayne was strange. I hear a lot about him (and see a lot of MOD activity) related to him.

yeah, mayne is our little precious flower, we couldn't exist without him.

 

[Yuriman]

I'd get the Skylake for the better graphics/media capabilities. You might not even need a dGPU at all.

Pretty much this.

That is a nice build, but for general use and light gaming of the type that you are describing, an i3, either haswell or preferably skylake (I think the i3 cpus are showing more improvement gen to gen than the quads now) would be a nice choice as well.

And this.

A Skylake i3 will probably suit your needs nicely. Integrated graphics is much better than on Haswell, and power usage is lower.

Some small critiques:

1) I doubt you need a 650w power supply, as your entire system will probably draw less than 120w under load, and idle closer to 25w. Even a low-end discrete video card will probably not push you past 200w. Having an over-sized power supply will waste electricity and cost you more up-front, for little to no benefit. Last month I snagged a pair of 400w Sparkle Platinum-rated power supplies off Newegg for $25 each, and something similar would be a superior choice for your use-case.

2) The only benefit you'll see with a mid-tower is that it will be large and easy to work in. The downside is that it will be practically empty with your chosen hardware, and take up a lot of unnecessary space. You may consider an micro ATX build, or even ITX. With ITX you're limited to 2 RAM sticks, but you can build a similarly powerful system for little to no price premium that's a tiny fraction of the size.

In this picture below, I have 3 cases: 1 ATX midtower I was using until last year, the ITX "tower" I'm using now for my main PC, and an ITX case I could have used had I not needed room for a discrete video card. Note that all 3 will accept the same desktop CPUs.

If you're fine with having a very slightly slower CPU (probably unnoticeable for your uses) and only need one hard drive, you might even consider an Intel NUC. They require that you get laptop-sized RAM and come with a mobile CPU, but will not perform significantly differently than a desktop i3.

This is the footprint of an Intel NUC:

 

[dud]

I was going to modify the design to an i5-6600K so I went back to NE to delete then add ... but found that NE had mucked it up again ... they had raised the price of at least one item in my shopping cart.

I've just about had it with Newegg.

 

[malabo]

If you don't plan on getting a discrete GPU right away, then the better iGPU of the Skylake CPUs should be a serious consideration.

I second the vote for a 6600K.

yep i think it comes down to this. i havent kept track of any of the skylake problems other than the headsink one but id defintely go with that for the igp alone

 

[Termie]

The ONLY reason for the OP to get Skylake is the iGPU, the CPUs themselves offer him nothing worth paying for. And the Core i3-6100's iGPU offers about 90% of the speed of the 6600K's, and 50% more than the 4690K's. A dual core with HT is all he needs for his games (especially with an iGPU).

OP, the only reason to get a quad-core would be if you wanted to do something other than iGPU gaming on the system.

For reference, a few iGPU benchmarks of the 6100 vs. 4170 a G3258: http://techbuyersguru.com/ultralight-gaming-shootout-pentium-g3258-vs-core-i3-4170-vs-core-i3-6100

 

[VirtualLarry]

The ONLY reason for the OP to get Skylake is the iGPU

For reference, a few iGPU benchmarks of the 6100 vs. 4170 a G3258: http://techbuyersguru.com/ultralight-gaming-shootout-pentium-g3258-vs-core-i3-4170-vs-core-i3-6100

Now, there are a couple of other things thing to keep in mind with regard to the Pentium G3258's limitations. First, it uses a first-gen "Intel HD" graphics chip from the Sandy Bridge line of CPUs, whereas the Core i3 uses the Haswell HD 4400 chip.

I don't think that's correct. I didn't think that the "Intel HD" of a 4th Gen Core CPU, was the same iGPU as a 2nd Gen Core CPU.

But we do have to add a few caveats to all of this: the issues of motherboard availability and memory speed. Simply put, there are very few Skylake ITX motherboards under $100 as of our publication date, and that's shocking this long after Skylake's release. Secondly, it's clear that Intel rushed Skylake to market, and in so doing designed its specifications based on the DDR4 RAM market as it existed a year ago. In hindsight, even Intel probably realized that it made a grave mistake limiting its low-cost chipsets to 2133MHz RAM when 2666MHz RAM is now selling for the same price, and soon enough 3000MHz RAM may be as well. Skylake is so sensitive to memory speeds that preventing users from capitalizing on these free or virtually-free performance upgrades is a serious failing. We suspect that when Skylake's replacement, code-named Kaby Lake, arrives in a year or so, the biggest improvement it offers will be a higher limit on memory speeds for its low-cost chipsets.

Well, at least they got that right.

 

[VirtualLarry]

double post, sorry

 

[dud]

double post, sorry

It's OK. I appreciate all the help that I have received within this thread. I have decided to pursue the i5-6600 or K route as soon as I can get the parts for a FAIR price. Newegg keeps playing with me on the price of certain components with WIDE price swings every few days. It has become so tedious that I've actually considered buying a pre-built from Dell or (God forbid) HP. Yes, the systems use cheaper/inferior components but you can get a lot more bang for your buck with a pre-built. I passed on an i7 Skylake with a 580Ti a week or so ago for less than $1200 ... mostly because the vid card is significant overkill to anything that I currently do.

If the price difference between a Haswell and Skylake system is less than $100 AND I can lower the risk of the system becoming obsolescent too soon by going Skylake then so be it.

Thanks again ...

 

[MrTeal]

The ONLY reason for the OP to get Skylake is the iGPU, the CPUs themselves offer him nothing worth paying for. And the Core i3-6100's iGPU offers about 90% of the speed of the 6600K's, and 50% more than the 4690K's. A dual core with HT is all he needs for his games (especially with an iGPU).

OP, the only reason to get a quad-core would be if you wanted to do something other than iGPU gaming on the system.

For reference, a few iGPU benchmarks of the 6100 vs. 4170 a G3258: http://techbuyersguru.com/ultralight-gaming-shootout-pentium-g3258-vs-core-i3-4170-vs-core-i3-6100

At stock, I might agree with you. However, the OP's post on the i5 Haswell seems to indicate he would be looking at OCing. That swings a pretty wide performance delta to the 6600k, especially if he's looking at using the iGPU which can also be over clocked with the k processor.