Yes, another please check my build request :)

[Maiyr]

Hi all,

If you can please give a quick glance over to make sure my choices seem somewhat reasonable.

I have not built a system since my current C2D so it's been a while and I wanted to make sure there is nothing obvious about my choices that would raise a red flag in so far as compatibility and reasoning. This will be my browse the web/gaming system.

Motherboard -- Asus z170-Pro
http://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z170-PRO
or
Motherboard -- Asus z170m-Plus
http://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z170M-PLUS

CPU -- Intel Core i7-6700K
http://ark.intel.com/products/88195/Intel-Core-i7-6700K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4_20-GHz

RAM -- Corsair Dominator Platinum Series 16GB DDR4 DRAM 2666MHz C15 Memory Kit
http://www.corsair.com/en-us/domina...ram-2666mhz-c15-memory-kit-cmd16gx4m2a2666c15

PSU -- Antec EDGE 650
http://store.antec.com/edge-series/edge-650.html

System Drive -- Samsung SSD 950 PRO NVMe 512GB
http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/memory-storage/MZ-V5P512BW

Temp Drive -- Samsung SSD 850 PRO SATA III 256GB
http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/memory-storage/MZ-7KE256BW

Storage Drive -- Western Digital Blue 4TB
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=770

The GPU will likely be an Nvidia 1070/1080. The system will be put together over the next two months so I have the time to wait.

I realize there are things missing but I feel these are the core pieces.

For the 3 6700 CPU's (6700, 6700K, 6700T) I don't really see much difference except for the Thermal Solution Specification (91w vs 65w vs 35w) and the
Frequency (4Ghz vs 3.4 Ghz vs 2.8Ghz). Is there one I should pick over the other for my use? I went for the 6700K solely due to it higher Frequency.

The Nvidia cards have a 500W PSU requirement so I figure 650 should give me plenty of headroom.

I am torn between these two motherboards. The reality is that the Pro offers way more than I will ever use, but it "appears" to have better audio (maybe a wider range of M.2 support?)? I base that solely on the fact of a higher codec number than on the Plus (1150 vs 887). I really have no idea and I'll be plugging it into a pair of 100 dollar speakers anyway so guessing that if anything my speakers are my weak link. Bottom line is this is the first system I have ever contemplated not having a discreet audio card in so it is a psychological challenge for me. lol Speaking of audio, couldn't I forgo the entire on-board audio and bit-stream the audio out of the on-board hdmi into a receiver?

Thanks for any and all comments.

Maiyr

 

[Ken g6]

If you're not doing big reads and writes, such as video editing, I don't see a reason for getting an M.2 drive. They have better bandwidth, but higher latency. Edit: Apparently not. I'd just get a 512GB or 1TB SATA3 drive.

Good CPU, good PSU, decent RAM.

I really have no idea and I'll be plugging it into a pair of 100 dollar speakers anyway so guessing that if anything my speakers are my weak link.

If you think $100 speakers are weak, get the 1150 audio.

Speaking of audio, couldn't I forgo the entire on-board audio and bit-stream the audio out of the on-board hdmi into a receiver?

Or do this. Or use the digital audio out on either board.

 

[mnewsham]

but higher latency

uhhh? Not really, my 950 Pro latency is half any of my other SSDs.

It takes about twice as long to boot up because of PCI initialization in the BIOS, but that's a different matter, once it's booted and into the OS, the M.2 Drive is miles beyond pretty much any SATA offerings in random read/write, IOPS, latency etc.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

You're going to need a CPU cooler with that 6700K, and which one you should get will depend on whether you plan to overclock or not. The most recommended is the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO, though it is getting long in the teeth. This is a nice roundup of some of the newer coolers.

 

[frowertr]

Yeah, I am wondering about the claim of higher latency as well. M.2 is just the physical connector. I have a Samsung 850 Pro M.2 SATA3 drive. Are you saying because it's a M.2 drive the latency is higher no matter if the bus is SATA or PCI-E??

 

[maddogchen]

the two different size motherboards confuses me. I would figure out the size computer first and then decided on the motherboards with that size.

For the Pro, there is a cheaper option in the Z170 PRO GAMING, that gives you the same 1150 audio and has M.2.

 

[Maiyr]

This is a nice roundup of some of the newer coolers.

Thanks for that link. I will probably go with the Noctua NH-D15S. http://noctua.at/en/products/cpu-cooler-retail/nh-d15s/video

Maiyr

 

[Ken g6]

It takes about twice as long to boot up because of PCI initialization in the BIOS, but that's a different matter, once it's booted and into the OS, the M.2 Drive is miles beyond pretty much any SATA offerings in random read/write, IOPS, latency etc.

So that's how it works. I must have gotten confused at some point.

 

[Maiyr]

My main concern with the sys drive is that I want the best possible, within reason, experience with just general navigation within the OS and game loading. I'll have to read a bit more then on the SSD 950 PRO NVMe vs the Samsung SSD 850 PRO SATA III.

Thanks,

Maiyr

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Thanks for that link. I will probably go with the Noctua NH-D15S. http://noctua.at/en/products/cpu-cooler-retail/nh-d15s/video

Maiyr

Good choice, but it is a tall cooler (160mm) so make sure it fits the case.

 

[mnewsham]

So that's how it works. I must have gotten confused at some point.

As far as I can tell doing my own testing anyway.

I don't have a full suite of software at my disposal to do testing, but using some basic disk benchmarks shows a read access time of around 0.104ms and write access around 0.051ms for my Seagate 600 SSD. Whereas my 950 pro gets 0.039ms for read and 0.035ms write.

A good ~2.5x as fast on the read access, and still a good 70-80% faster for write access.

 

[Maiyr]

So I am reading that the Asus z170m-Plus support AMD's Crossfire.
http://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z170M-PLUS

Stupid question, but this has zero to do with anything in so far as a single video card is concerned, correct? In other words a single NVidia card (960, 1070, 1080, etc) will work in this MB just fine, right?

Thanks,

Maiyr

 

[mnewsham]

Crossfire and SLI are for multi-GPU setups, if you never plan on getting more than a single GPU this is irrelevant for you. Any motherboard will support a single AMD or Nvidia GPU assuming it has a PCIe slot (which yours has plenty).

 

[Marakai]

Hi everyone,

It's been a few weeks and I wanted to give closure on this. Typing this from my PC with the new internals.

Shopping around I ended up a smidgen under AU$1500, with this setup:

- Asus Z170-WS motherboard, nice and cleanly designed, sturdy, looks better in RL than on the photos if anything
- 2x16GB Corsair DDR4-2133, not anything special, I was RAM bound more than speed, after all
- Intel i7 6700K, quite a feelable jump in speed and snazziness from the previous 3770K, I must say!
- Corsair H-55 watercooler for the CPU

Everything fit into my old case without issues and my old PSU was already more than sufficient with 800VA.

For now, still the old nVidia GTX660. Decided I wasn't going to overpay for the first run of GTX1070, FE or whatever. Expect within a few months they'll come down drastically in price.

Thanks everybody for the advice!