New PC Build

So...I decided to pull the trigger for a new build and make it a Christmas present to myself :)

While this isn't a 100% completely new build, it's most of the way there. I will be moving some components from my current machine over to the new build and then waiting to upgrade some of the remaining components.

The main purpose of this build was to prepare for the upcoming Broadwell-E chips (around Q2 2016) and the new nVIDIA Pascal cards (still awaiting release date announcement). Considering it may be mid 2016 before the new GeForce cards launch (maybe even later, who knows) I wanted to at least get all the foundational parts in place to be ready for the new components. Once those items come out, that's when I'll make the switch over to full 4K gaming as well (new monitors will come along with the CPU and GPU).

Also, my main rig serves two roles: High-end gaming and heavy workloads for work-related tasks (VMware lab environments, etc...) so that's why some of the specs might seem like "overkill" to the average user.

(Won't worry about links to products on current build)

Current Build
CPU: Intel Core i7 477K (Haswell) Quad-Core 3.5GHz, 8MB L3 Cache, Socket LGA 1150
Motherboard: MSI Z87 G45 Gaming (32 GB RAM Max)
RAM: 32GB (4x8GB) Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3-1600 (x2 16GB kits)
GPU: EVGA nVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 4GB SSC
Power Supply: Corsair AX760 760 Watt PSU
Case: Corsair Carbide 500R Mid Tower Case (White)
Storage: (x2) 500 GB Samsung EVO 840 SSD, (x1) 250 GB Samsung EVO 840 SSD, (x1) 2.0 TB Samsung SATA HD
Monitors: (x2) LG 24" 1080p LED Display

New Build
CPU: Intel Core i7 5820K (Haswell-E) Hexa-Core 3.3GHz, 15 MB L3 Cache, Socket LGA 2011-3
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819117402)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 (128 GB RAM Max)
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157543)
RAM: 32GB (4x8GB) G.Skill Ripjaws 4 DDR4-2133
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231786)
GPU: nVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814487136)
Power Supply: Corsair HX850i 850 Watt PSU
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139083)
Case: NZXT H440 Steel Mid Tower Case (White)
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811146218)
Storage: 256GB Samsung 950 Pro m.2 PCI-Express 3.0 x4 SSD
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147466)
CPU Cooling: Thermaltake Water 3.0 Extreme Liquid Cooling Unit
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835106253)

This will be fun in that it allows me to work on a new build and get a bump in some areas (slightly better CPU, jump from GTX 770 to GTX 970, m.2 SATA SSD). It will allow for me to be able to just pop in the new Broadwell-E when it comes out since it will use the same LGA 2011-3 socket architecture. At that time, I'll add in a second RAM kit to double to 64 GB (VMware labs that I run can eat it all up in a heartbeat, trust me) and toss in a second m.2 SATA SSD.

Then we'll see what the new GeForce cards look like when they're released and maybe...just...maybe...Samsung will have a curved 28" 4K LCD by that pont :)

Will post pictures once it all arrives next week.

Going to be a fun second week on vacation :)

Good luck to ya!

w00t! New gear has arrived! :)

Attachment 20845

Link seems to be broken for me


Sent from the Matrix using telepathic communication

First n00b post in that apparently posts cannot be edited after a few minutes :(

So, hopefully, the image will properly appear here this time...

http://s27.postimg.org/nhv9m6ulv/New_PC_Build.jpg

Already underway in getting this little Storm Trooper built :)

Going to be bun watching him evolve :)

Link is working now, good luck with your build


Sent from the Matrix using telepathic communication

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AOD_lanius424

Link is working now, good luck with your build


Sent from the Matrix using telepathic communication

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LOL

I would say build for a VR machine - by the time 2016 is over, VR is going to rule the market. But the build looks good!

So, a few updates :)

Everything came in the other day (Wednesday) and it took me a couple of days to get it all put together due to taking time with cable management, New Years festivities, and catching up on sleep.

So, as of yesterday morning, this was the current state:

Case with components installed...

http://s19.postimg.org/u3mmul6pv/New...d_External.jpg

A peek inside...

http://s19.postimg.org/x2y4vg5kz/New...d_Internal.jpg

This case is SUPER slick. I love the ability to do some good cable management (especially for someone like me that absolutely HATES cable management) but there is definitely not much space to work with on the backside. I don't have a picture of the backside just yet, but there's also a fan control module / hub and other cables that are already included as part of the case. Add in additional ones being run, and it gets pretty tight. I has some white LED lighting built-in, but nothing too extravagant (although, there is lighting above the I/O panel in the back, which is awesome when having to check on a cable, plug something in, etc...).

Another thing that caught me a little by surprise (and this one is on me, as I think I might have confused the front of this case with another one I as looking at) is that there are NO 5.25" bays (so no optical drives). No big deal, mainly, given that everything is pretty much downloadable these days. The only thing I had to use an optical drive for was my Windows 10 Pro OEM disc. Yanked one over from my other rig and just used it as needed.

The cover of the PSU is a nice touch and then the panel you see on the right, behind that are six additional 2.5" / 3.5" bays for drives. The front panel covers three 120mm intake fans (extremely quiet) and then there's the one you can see in the rear as the 140mm exhaust fan (similarly quiet). The two fans you see up top are the bottom side of the Thermaltake Water 3.0 Extreme cooling unit. And while it might look like one of the tubes is rubbing up against the exhaust fan, I assure you it's not :)

You can see two of the SSDs mounted on top of the PSU housing (pretty nifty). There is one more SSD and an HDD behind the drive bay housing also. The primary SSD is the Samsung 950 Pro NVMe m.2 drive that's in a slot on the motherboard itself.

I spent a good part yesterday getting the system up and going with everything installed and testing out performance. The 5820K Haswell-E has a stock core clock of 3.30GHz, but between the liquid cooling and the built-in ASRock overclocking tool, it has zero issues running at 4.00GHz:

http://s19.postimg.org/guhwlywqr/New_PC_Build_CPU_Z.jpg

The day then took an interesting turn as I was planning to head up to Micro Center to get a few things for working on the cable management side of the house, adding in some lighting and then maybe seeing if they had any stock of the monitor I wanted that they were running a great deal on (which, they didn't). Also, I thought I really needed to see something like a 1440p / 144Hz monitor in action before making a decision, so I could do that while I was there.

I've decided to ditch any plans for full-on 4K gaming for the next couple of years and will go the 1440p (i.e. 2K) route for now. I still want to go with something with a 144Hz refresh rate and, if at all possible, G-Sync capabilities. Micro Center was running a special on the 27" ASUS ROG 1440p monitor that has G-Sync capability that usually runs for about $750 or so (depending on where you look). They were offering it around $650. I had told myself that if I liked it, and they had some in, I would go ahead and grab one now then the second one later on as part of "Phase II" :) They didn't have any of those in stock (which I already knew, but one can hope, right?) but next to it was the FreeSync (AMD) model. Same exact specs, just the different technology, and $50 cheaper. So, I grabbed the last one of those so that I could gauge whether or not it was the route I wanted to go and could take it home to try it out. I also figured that I could just come trade it in next week when the new shipment comes up and grab the one with the G-Sync functionality :)

So...no biggie...right? Until I head to the back to look at a few more things before heading out. I probably should have just gone this route to begin with, and I won't bore you with the details (as I have enough already, I'm sure :)), but let's just say that this is what I ended up coming home with:

http://s19.postimg.org/ux3u0y24j/New_PC_Build_Oops.jpg

I actually thought about grabbing another GTX 970 and going SLI, but the single 980 Ti gives better options in the future (if, say, Pascal isn't all it's cut out to be and I could just run another 980 Ti...or two) and may have a better resale value also. I got them to match a price for that one that I saw on Amazon that was about $100 less than what they were offering in the store.

So then here's the updated internal view with the 980 Ti:

http://s19.postimg.org/o5dey3d4z/New...nal_980_Ti.jpg

And here's a good shot of the new monitor next to my current 24" LG "plain ole 1080p"...

http://s19.postimg.org/mcai9rryb/New...us_Monitor.jpg

I have to say...that monitor is friggin' gorgeous. jumping up to 120Hz - 144Hz is insane and I'm already struggling with having to use something else besides that one (with the two of them side by side). May end up being tough going back up there to just "exchange" that one for the one I originally wanted vs. trying to figure out if I want to go ahead and grab the second one and call it a day :)

So yeah, now I've also go a brand new GTX 970 that didn't even get burned in before bring replaced, so I've got to figure out what to do with that. Planning on putting it on eBay. Will also be putting my entire "old" rig up on eBay or Craigslist here in the next day or so.

May be another change or so when it's time to replace the CPU. While the ASRock boards are great and I've had zero problems with this one (X99 Extreme4), I can't say that I'm a fan at all of their overclocking capabilities (even for the slightest OC'er like myself). May end up swapping out with an ASUS board when it's all said and done.

Either way, going to be a fun next few months. Will post more updates / pictures as things progress.