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[RGM79]

Hey guys, newb here. Building a Skylake system.

Any technical compromises to these Gigabyte or Asus motherboards I should be aware of?

For the Gigabyte motherboard, Killer networking can have some issues. The Killer ethernet utility is useless bloatware but there is an option to only install the driver and not the utility which makes it alright. The VRM heatsinks around the CPU socket are larger than the ones on the Asus motherboard which is a plus for cooling and any potential overclocking you might do. It also has 5 audio ports and SPDIF if audio output matters to you, it makes it easier to hook it up to certain 5.1 speaker sets. The Asus motherboard only has USB 3.0, while the Gigabyte motherboard supports USB 3.1. There's also the metal-reinforced PCI-E slots, but that's more of a gimmick than anything really useful.

Overall, it looks like the Gigabyte model is better. It also costs more, but I think the Gigabyte is worth it for the USB 3.1 support, among other advantages. Not that the Asus model is bad in any way, it just doesn't have as much feature-wise.

 

[Samaritan]

Alright, so this is the build I'm currently working on. Looking for advice on where I might be able to cut some fat.

Obviously that 980 Ti is the glaring cost issue here, but I'm not necessarily wanting to change that for something slower. Same goes for the 1TB SSD. I'm tired of dealing with two separate drives, so I want a big, fat SSD in this system. Doesn't have to be the Samsung drive, but from my research that seemed to be the best choice, even if it's one of the pricier ones.

There's not a magic number I'm trying to get under, but anywhere I can reasonably cut costs is what I'm looking for. Also, I don't necessarily need to build this ASAP. I'm thinking I might wait for Black Friday, but maybe not.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (Purchased For $0.00)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170XP-SLI ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($362.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($649.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 w/Window (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($105.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 850W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $0.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($90.00 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: Fractal Design FD-FAN-SSR2-140 66.0 CFM 140mm Fan ($12.60 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Samsung P2370HD 60Hz 23.0" Monitor (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $1735.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

 

[RGM79]

Alright, so this is the build I'm currently working on. Looking for advice on where I might be able to cut some fat.

Obviously that $650 video card is the glaring cost issue here, but I'm not necessarily wanting to cut it. Same goes for the 1TB SSD. I'm tired of dealing with two separate drives, so I want a big, fat SSD in this system. Doesn't have to be the Samsung drive, but from my research that seemed to be the best choice.

There's not a magic number I'm trying to get under, but anywhere I can reasonably cut costs is what I'm looking for. Also, I don't necessarily need to build this ASAP. I'm thinking I might wait for Black Friday, but maybe not.

There's alternative parts you can go with to save money. You want 2x8GB, there's no benefit to going with 4x4GB and doing that will just fill up all of the RAM slots. It's unlikely that you'll ever need to add more RAM when you already have 16GB, but 2x8GB is still preferable. The Crucial BX100 1TB SSD is available for a much lower price and offers comparable performance. The EVGA GPU isn't bad, but the Asus Strix is a bit better in overall performance and the triple-fan cooler is excellent for overclocking, going by Techreport's roundup review. If you won't be using an optical drive, then I recommend you go for the Fractal Define S, it offers a bit less than the Define R5 but is still no slouch when it comes to airflow and noise dampening. The windowless version is even cheaper. Here's my version of your build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (Purchased For $0.00)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170XP-SLI ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Team Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($299.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB STRIX Video Card ($644.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define S w/Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($80.10 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 850W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $0.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($90.00 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: Fractal Design FD-FAN-SSR2-140 66.0 CFM 140mm Fan ($12.60 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Samsung P2370HD 60Hz 23.0" Monitor (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $1622.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-01 01:44 EDT-0400

 

[Samaritan]

There's alternative parts you can go with to save money. You want 2x8GB, there's no benefit to going with 4x4GB and doing that will just fill up all of the RAM slots. It's unlikely that you'll ever need to add more RAM when you already have 16GB, but 2x8GB is still preferable. The Crucial BX100 1TB SSD is available for a much lower price and offers comparable performance. The EVGA GPU isn't bad, but the Asus Strix is a bit better in overall performance and the triple-fan cooler is excellent for overclocking, going by Techreport's roundup review. If you won't be using an optical drive, then I recommend you go for the Fractal Define S, it offers a bit less than the Define R5 but is still no slouch when it comes to airflow and noise dampening. The windowless version is even cheaper. Here's my version of your build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (Purchased For $0.00)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170XP-SLI ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Team Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($299.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB STRIX Video Card ($644.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define S w/Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($80.10 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 850W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $0.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($90.00 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: Fractal Design FD-FAN-SSR2-140 66.0 CFM 140mm Fan ($12.60 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Samsung P2370HD 60Hz 23.0" Monitor (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $1622.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-01 01:44 EDT-0400

Good stuff! Appreciate you still helping me with this.

I literally chose those sticks of RAM just for their color, but the ones you've found weren't even on my radar, so I'll make a note of them.

Going to stick with the Fractal Define R5 as I do wish to keep my DVD drive. But appreciate the suggestion.

I noticed there's two versions of that ASUS STRIX 980 Ti, one at factory clock speeds and one overclocked. The overclocked one seems sold out in most places, but it shouldn't be too difficult to buy the slower one and overclock it to the speeds of the other model right?

What about this as an alternative?: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB

 

[RGM79]

Good stuff! Appreciate you still helping me with this.

I literally chose those sticks of RAM just for their color, but the ones you've found weren't even on my radar, so I'll make a note of them.

Going to stick with the Fractal Define R5 as I do wish to keep my DVD drive. But appreciate the suggestion.

I noticed there's two versions of that ASUS STRIX 980 Ti, one at factory clock speeds and one overclocked. The overclocked one seems sold out in most places, but it shouldn't be too difficult to buy the slower one and overclock it to the speeds of the other model right?

What about this as an alternative?: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB

Shame that the specific version of that Asus Strix isn't in stock. Yes, you can buy a slower clocked GTX 980 Ti and overclock it as well, although be warned that not all GPU chips overclock to the same degree. Still, it's worth a try. The Gigabyte G1 Gaming is a good card but it's $670, I thought you wanted to save money? Consider these two cheaper models instead, they have good coolers:

Asus Strix GTX 980 Ti for $650 - the non-overclocked version of the Asus Strix recommended earlier that I didn't realize was out of stock.
MSI GTX 980 Ti Gaming LE for $637 - it's a twin fan model like the EVGA card you had in your parts list, except the cooler is slightly larger (taller) and therefore perhaps better for cooling and overclocking.

 

[Samaritan]

Shame that the specific version of that Asus Strix isn't in stock. Yes, you can buy a slower clocked GTX 980 Ti and overclock it as well, although be warned that not all GPU chips overclock to the same degree. Still, it's worth a try. The Gigabyte G1 Gaming is a good card but it's $670, I thought you wanted to save money? Consider these two cheaper models instead, they have good coolers:

Asus Strix GTX 980 Ti for $650 - the non-overclocked version of the Asus Strix recommended earlier that I didn't realize was out of stock.
MSI GTX 980 Ti Gaming LE for $637 - it's a twin fan model like the EVGA card you had in your parts list, except the cooler is slightly larger (taller) and therefore perhaps better for cooling and overclocking.

Definitely a shame; that ASUS would've been perfect. Same goes for the Crucial SSD you linked to. It's actually out of stock on SuperBiiz, so it's going to be $340 instead of $300.

EDIT: Looks like the non-overclocked ASUS is also out of stock on SuperBiiz, so it's going to be $660. Might as well just pay $10 more and get the Gigabyte at that point.

 

[thundr51]

Need advice guys, I'm using an i5-2500k with hd 7950 with 16 gb of ram and so far haven't had any problems aside from low frames with some games at highest settings. What will give the biggest gains, upgrading to an i7, or upgrading my gpu?

 

[Kezen]

Need advice guys, I'm using an i5-2500k with hd 7950 with 16 gb of ram and so far haven't had any problems aside from low frames with some games at highest settings. What will give the biggest gains, upgrading to an i7, or upgrading my gpu?

Your GPU. Although there are CPUs out there which could give you very significant boosts in the latest games.

 

[solid mike]

Yeah, that TP-Link card is for an ethernet connection, not wifi. I'd look into something with wireless N or AC capability, depending on what router you have.

Welp, that's humiliating. On to look for a wireless adapter then.

Would a B85 motherboard suffice, instead of an H97 because I'm only going to be using an i5 4460 CPU?

 

[legacyzero]

Check the list in the OP, and then try some out at a local computer shop.

Seems the OP, and most of the folks that told me on Twitter to go with the Logi G502.

So I went with that. Thanks!

 

[thundr51]

Your GPU. Although there are CPUs out there which could give you very significant boosts in the latest games.

That's what I was thinking. I was thinking of grabbing a i7-4790 along with this board and a 750w power supply. Would that be enough?

 

[Kezen]

That's what I was thinking. I was thinking of grabbing a i7-4790 along with this board and a 750w power supply. Would that be enough?

Oh yes the 4790k is a beast.
Good choice for the MB as well.

What's your PSU model ? 750w should be plenty but don't cheap out.

 

[thundr51]

Oh yes the 4790k is a beast.
Good choice for the MB as well.

What's your PSU model ? 750w should be plenty but don't cheap out.

Currently have a Corsair 500 but looking to move up to
this

 

[Kezen]

Currently have a Corsair 500 but looking to move up to
this

Excellent PSU.
You can go for it.

 

[thundr51]

Excellent PSU.
You can go for it.

Thanks for the quick reply, got a discount code for the cpu and wanted to jump on it.

 

[Hey Im Patrick]

Welp, that's humiliating. On to look for a wireless adapter then.

Would a B85 motherboard suffice, instead of an H97 because I'm only going to be using an i5 4460 CPU?

That should be fine. What you need to check are the other features like how many USB 2.0/3.0 ports, audio ports, M2, etc.

 

[GetDigitized]

So, I built my pc two years ago i5-4670k,8gb ram,650w bronze psu but after my first graphics card became faulty after a month I didn't replace it due to irl stuff... I'm in no rush to get one atm, but is it worth waiting until next years graphics card with my specs? I've read hbm is being introduced in next years graphics cards... I use my pc for FFXIV,skyrim,witcher 2 etc but have a PS4 which I play on for multiplats/ps exclusives... So....would it be worth waiting until next year for me, I'd be buying the mid range 960/970/380x priced cards if that changes anything.

 

[opticalmace]

So, I built my pc two years ago i5-4670k,8gb ram,650w bronze psu but after my first graphics card became faulty after a month I didn't replace it due to irl stuff... I'm in no rush to get one atm, but is it worth waiting until next years graphics card with my specs? I've read hbm is being introduced in next years graphics cards... I use my pc for FFXIV,skyrim,witcher 2 etc but have a PS4 which I play on for multiplats/ps exclusives... So....would it be worth waiting until next year for me, I'd be buying the mid range 960/970/380x priced cards if that changes anything.

So you don't currently have a video card? In that case definitely just buy now. Look at the 970 or 390 (I assume the latter is close in price).

edit: unless you mean you still have the faulty video card... in which case RMA it, it's probably still under warranty.

 

[jediyoshi]

Damn I hope another $280~ 970 pops up again soon. Have had a dead video card for 2 weeks now, was looking at a r9 380, but the price bump feels worth the jump.

 

[GetDigitized]

So you don't currently have a video card? In that case definitely just buy now. Look at the 970 or 390 (I assume the latter is close in price).

edit: unless you mean you still have the faulty video card... in which case RMA it, it's probably still under warranty.

Nah I don't have one atm, I'm in no rush to get one since I don't currently have the time to justify the ffxiv sub atm, I was just wondering if there's any point in waiting for next years graphics cards since I believe they're going to have new architectures and the mid range 380 AMD cards for the past few years have been very similar iirc.
EDIT- Also, I read that these cards might not be able to fully use DX12?

I'd be gaming in 1080p, maybe 1440p in a year or two.

 

[Afro]

Just discovered a really strange issue. No idea how long this has been going on. Hoping someone might have an idea how to fix.

My games (Mad Max for example) run about 100 frames higher when in Windowed Borderless compared to Full Screen.

Fraps reads 167 frames while in Windowed Borderless. Switch to Full Screen (1080p/144hz) and my frames drop drastically down to the mid-70's.

What in the the world? Any ideas? Using g-sync + single 980ti.

[edit: SOLVED?]: disabling v-sync via Nvidia Control seemed to fix it. not sure why they now allow you to enable both g-sync and v-sync via Nvidia Control with the semi-recent update. confusing. whatever, think I'm good. that was destroying my frames.

 

[kennah]

Nah I don't have one atm, I'm in no rush to get one since I don't currently have the time to justify the ffxiv sub atm, I was just wondering if there's any point in waiting for next years graphics cards since I believe they're going to have new architectures and the mid range 380 AMD cards for the past few years have been very similar iirc.
EDIT- Also, I read that these cards might not be able to fully use DX12?

If you're going to wait for what's next, you're always going to wait for what's next. If the onboard works for you for now, then may as well stick with it. Alternatively, you could try and find a used 670 or 7950 for like $100 or so to tide you over.?

 

[GetDigitized]

If you're going to wait for what's next, you're always going to wait for what's next. If the onboard works for you for now, then may as well stick with it. Alternatively, you could try and find a used 670 or 7950 for like $100 or so to tide you over.?

That's exactly what I wanted to avoid,lol.My brother has a 7950(or 7850?) lying around so I can use that if I need it... However, if next years graphics cards will be major improvements which translate over to actual gains or future proofing, over this years I don't mind waiting. IGX sucks , but I have my ps4 to play games atm.

 

[kennah]

That's exactly what I wanted to avoid,lol.My brother has a 7950(or 7850?) lying around so I can use that if I need it... However, if next years graphics cards will be major improvements which translate over to actual gains or future proofing, over this years I don't mind waiting. IGX sucks , but I have my ps4 to play games atm.

Use your brother's card and upgrade when you feel like it. No harm in that at all I'd say. I have a 670 4gig that I'm going to keep using for another two years (but that's because I'm on a 4 year upgrade cycle and don't play games until they've been out for a year or more)

 

[chaosblade]

Looks like I'll be attempting another super cheap Christmas PC, a sequel to last time (for a different person). This one should be easier/better because I don't think I need nearly as many parts. Probably just a CPU/mobo/GPU and maybe a SSD.

Have an "acceptable" case (Antec 300), PSU (old, good Corsair 550W), and 8GB DDR3. HDD is a little small (320 or 500GB), but should be okay if I can get him a decent 240GB SSD to go along with it rather than just replace the drive with another HDD.

Does Microcenter still do really good CPU/motherboard bundles? Last I checked they weren't all that great, and given the extra effort required to use Microcenter it's not really worth saving less than $10 over a Newegg combo.

A $400 budget would be pretty good. His goal is to get a PC that can play Star Citizen... don't think any CPU/mobo/GPU combo in that price range is going to end up doing it well though.

 

[The Boat]

Ugh, my new PC keeps losing the time... probably the CMOS right? Could it be the mobo? Bah, I'll have to activate RMA..

 

[Zaph]

Ugh, my new PC keeps losing the time... probably the CMOS right? Could it be the mobo? Bah, I'll have to activate RMA..

I'd definitely check the motherboard battery before going through the hassle of a RMA. Maybe it's a dud and needs replacing? Or might just have got knocked out of position.

 

[The Boat]

I'd definitely check the motherboard battery before going through the hassle of a RMA. Maybe it's a dud and needs replacing? Or might just have got knocked out of position.

Is there any easy way to check? I mean, if it's something as simple as replacing the battery it might not be worth it to go to all that work.

 

[Zaph]

Look on your motherboard for the battery, it'll be either upright or flat:

Make sure it's seated correctly and not knocked out of position. If the motherboard is new check for a plastic pull tab between the battery and socket contact which you might need to remove. If it's still not holding CMOS memory, but another battery (they're really cheap and widely available) and try that.

 

[matrixman92]

is mix and matching RAM a bad idea? I just need 4 more gigs.

This is what I have right now. Can I just buy any 4 gb to add as long as it matches this: 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104262

Edit: after some quick googling it seems like it is a bad idea

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

Need some advice on how to proceed here. The only internal storage I have right now is a WD 500GB HDD. I find myself running out of space often and uninstalling games to accommodate the much larger sizes of today's newer titles.

Should I add a second HDD (WD 1TB) or an SSD (probably 250GB)? I can't spend too much right now so I'm just wondering what the smartest plan would be.

 

[opticalmace]

Need some advice on how to proceed here. The only internal storage I have right now is a WD 500GB HDD. I find myself running out of space often and uninstalling games to accommodate the much larger sizes of today's newer titles.

Should I add a second HDD (WD 1TB) or an SSD (probably 250GB)? I can't spend too much right now so I'm just wondering what the smartest plan would be.

I would go SSD, they're a huge improvement on regular spinning drives. You'd have to maybe prioritize what games you have installed (or on the SSD) but I wouldn't go back to a HDD as my primary drive.

 

[The Boat]

Look on your motherboard for the battery, it'll be either upright or flat:

Make sure it's seated correctly and not knocked out of position. If the motherboard is new check for a plastic pull tab between the battery and socket contact which you might need to remove. If it's still not holding CMOS memory, but another battery (they're really cheap and widely available) and try that.

OK, I'll check it later today Thanks!

 

[Nakazato]

Any suggestions on clean out PC ? Got might dusty

 

[RGM79]

Welp, that's humiliating. On to look for a wireless adapter then.

Would a B85 motherboard suffice, instead of an H97 because I'm only going to be using an i5 4460 CPU?

Yeah, B85 or even H81 would meet your needs. Just be aware that those motherboards need to have a high enough BIOS revision to support the i5 4460, because those chipsets came out quite a while before the generation of processors that included the i5 4460. The best thing to do would be to check the motherboard to see what BIOS revision it comes with, ask the retailer. Then check the manufacturer's website to see if the i5 4460 is supported with that version or not. Otherwise if you can't find any answers, all H97 motherboards work out of the box with the i5 4460 so if it doesn't cost much more then maybe stick with H97 for the convenience.

Looks like I'll be attempting another super cheap Christmas PC, a sequel to last time (for a different person). This one should be easier/better because I don't think I need nearly as many parts. Probably just a CPU/mobo/GPU and maybe a SSD.

Have an "acceptable" case (Antec 300), PSU (old, good Corsair 550W), and 8GB DDR3. HDD is a little small (320 or 500GB), but should be okay if I can get him a decent 240GB SSD to go along with it rather than just replace the drive with another HDD.

Does Microcenter still do really good CPU/motherboard bundles? Last I checked they weren't all that great, and given the extra effort required to use Microcenter it's not really worth saving less than $10 over a Newegg combo.

A $400 budget would be pretty good. His goal is to get a PC that can play Star Citizen... don't think any CPU/mobo/GPU combo in that price range is going to end up doing it well though.

You're right about Star Citizen. All of the Microcenter bundles are listed here. For best performance.. I think instead of a bundle, he should get the i5 4590 processor from Microcenter, and then get the rest of the stuff elsewhere.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.00 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 4GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($206.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $410.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-01 14:24 EST-0500

Alternatively an R9 380 graphics card like this MSI Twin Frozr model ($180 after $20 rebate) is also an option, it's slightly cheaper. Can't find much in the way for Star Citizen benchmarks for the GTX 960 and R9 380 compared with each other, but I would assume both perform similarly.

is mix and matching RAM a bad idea? I just need 4 more gigs.

This is what I have right now. Can I just buy any 4 gb to add as long as it matches this: 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104262

Edit: after some quick googling it seems like it is a bad idea

Technically it should work just fine. RAM compatibility can be finicky at times, though. If you don't mind returning it, then give it a try. Keep in mind that there's going to be far more people posting about their new purchase being incompatible than those helpfully telling others that it is compatible. Sometimes a motherboard BIOS update is needed for it to support new RAM properly.

Any suggestions on clean out PC ? Got might dusty

Cans of compressed air for blowing out most of the loose dust. Tweezers or toothpicks for clumps of dust stuck in nooks and crannies. Cotton swabs or a towel/cloth and water or isopropyl alcohol for dust that's caked onto surfaces and won't rub off easily.

 

[mike23]

Just saved $30 on my build. Amazon dropped the price of the 980 TI I bought from $730 to $700 and a quick chat later and they refunded the difference.

 

[OkayRene]

For the Gigabyte motherboard, Killer networking can have some issues. The Killer ethernet utility is useless bloatware but there is an option to only install the driver and not the utility which makes it alright. The VRM heatsinks around the CPU socket are larger than the ones on the Asus motherboard which is a plus for cooling and any potential overclocking you might do. It also has 5 audio ports and SPDIF if audio output matters to you, it makes it easier to hook it up to certain 5.1 speaker sets. The Asus motherboard only has USB 3.0, while the Gigabyte motherboard supports USB 3.1. There's also the metal-reinforced PCI-E slots, but that's more of a gimmick than anything really useful.

Overall, it looks like the Gigabyte model is better. It also costs more, but I think the Gigabyte is worth it for the USB 3.1 support, among other advantages. Not that the Asus model is bad in any way, it just doesn't have as much feature-wise.

Thanks for the feedback. wasnt aware of the issues with Killer, what's the premier brand for LAN componentry?

 

[Skii]

Disabling should be the same in terms of unloading the driver. But uninstalling the Realtek drivers from control panel will cause the default Microsoft drivers to be installed, this will result in working audio.

Sorry for the late reply. Been busy with uni work so haven't had time to play games until now. Anyway, getting rid of the Realtek program hasn't fixed the problem unfortunately

It's still there. Here's another LatencyMon report.

ONCLUSION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your system appears to be having trouble handling real-time audio and other tasks. You are likely to experience buffer underruns appearing as drop outs, clicks or pops. One or more DPC routines that belong to a driver running in your system appear to be executing for too long. Also one or more ISR routines that belong to a driver running in your system appear to be executing for too long. At least one detected problem appears to be network related. In case you are using a WLAN adapter, try disabling it to get better results. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:04:50 (h:mm:ss) on all processors.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Computer name: DESKTOP-OA7C0PN
OS version: Windows 8 , 6.2, build: 9200 (x64)
Hardware: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC., Z170-A
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6600K CPU @ 3.50GHz
Logical processors: 4
Processor groups: 1
RAM: 16293 MB total


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU SPEED
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reported CPU speed: 3504 MHz
Measured CPU speed: 1 MHz (approx.)

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.

WARNING: the CPU speed that was measured is only a fraction of the CPU speed reported. Your CPUs may be throttled back due to variable speed settings and thermal issues. It is suggested that you run a utility which reports your actual CPU frequency and temperature.



_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 31170.885937
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 2.682180

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 31169.132515
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1.534349


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED ISRs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 3156.912671
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: storport.sys - Microsoft Storage Port Driver, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0.178288
Driver with highest ISR total time: ndis.sys - Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS), Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0.521525

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 505677
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs): 546
ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 8
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED DPCs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 3435.845890
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: ndis.sys - Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS), Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0.203120
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: ndis.sys - Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS), Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0.446359

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 1254509
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs): 1621
DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 8
DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 18
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.

NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.

Process with highest pagefault count: gfexperienceservice.exe

Total number of hard pagefaults 5224
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 2955
Highest hard pagefault resolution time (µs): 131443.033961
Total time spent in hard pagefaults (%): 0.277412
Number of processes hit: 25


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PER CPU DATA
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 11.694107
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 3123.724315
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 5.492908
CPU 0 ISR count: 469937
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 3435.845890
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 4.555342
CPU 0 DPC count: 1125216
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1.735179
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 3156.912671
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0.555699
CPU 1 ISR count: 32825
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 603.007991
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0.34060
CPU 1 DPC count: 53631
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1.037044
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 440.407534
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0.006294
CPU 2 ISR count: 3469
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 206.080479
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0.158730
CPU 2 DPC count: 37056
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1.007160
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 3 ISR count: 0
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 462.359589
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0.127558
CPU 3 DPC count: 40253
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The storage driver is up there which is what I was told was the problem last time. The guy who helped me before wasn't interested in latencymon reports but wanted me to make trace.etl files which lead him to believe it was down to intel storage management. Made me disable all the storage stuff in bios including speedstep, turbo etc. to alleviate the problem but it didn't work.

 

[RGM79]

Thanks for the feedback. wasnt aware of the issues with Killer, what's the premier brand for LAN componentry?

Well, Killer networking in and of itself isn't that bad, it's just that the gimmicky marketing and the Killer utility don't really amount to much. Intel LAN chipsets would seem to be preferable for reliability and performance, but I can't find any benchmarks that would really be trustworthy. Realtek LAN chipsets are considered to be a step down from Intel, but I've honestly never had much of a problem. They appear to be cheaper in cost than Intel LAN, so Realtek LAN is more common on less expensive motherboards.

 

[LilJoka]

Sorry for the late reply. Been busy with uni work so haven't had time to play games until now. Anyway, getting rid of the Realtek program hasn't fixed the problem unfortunately

It's still there. Here's another LatencyMon report.



The storage driver is up there which is what I was told was the problem last time. The guy who helped me before wasn't interested in latencymon reports but wanted me to make trace.etl files which lead him to believe it was down to intel storage management. Made me disable all the storage stuff in bios including speedstep, turbo etc. to alleviate the problem but it didn't work.

Uninstall the Intel lan driver, look for version 19.1 driver if the latency is fixed.

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

Just want to give a shout out to all the guys who helped me out last night.

New mobo and cpu work like a charm. And got rid of all the BSODs after fiddling with the RAM clock settings. Good times!

 

[Qassim]

Just discovered a really strange issue. No idea how long this has been going on. Hoping someone might have an idea how to fix.

My games (Mad Max for example) run about 100 frames higher when in Windowed Borderless compared to Full Screen.

Fraps reads 167 frames while in Windowed Borderless. Switch to Full Screen (1080p/144hz) and my frames drop drastically down to the mid-70's.

What in the the world? Any ideas? Using g-sync + single 980ti.



[edit: SOLVED?]: disabling v-sync via Nvidia Control seemed to fix it. not sure why they now allow you to enable both g-sync and v-sync via Nvidia Control with the semi-recent update. confusing. whatever, think I'm good. that was destroying my frames.

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3798/~/geforce-hotfix-driver-358.59

Do you have these drivers installed? Performance when using G-Sync on the current WHQL drivers is reduced, hence the hotfix drivers.

Disabling v-sync may be disabling G-Sync once you hit passed a certain fps (your refresh rate), as that was the purpose of separating Monitor Tech and V-Sync into two separate options, so that G-Sync works up until you hit your refresh rate, then disables past that so that you don't incur input lag.

If G-Sync is enabled, you should be getting no more than 144fps. If you're getting more, G-Sync isn't working past that 144fps.

 

[Skii]

Uninstall the Intel lan driver, look for version 19.1 driver if the latency is fixed.

I'm using a WLAN card that I bought. I don't think I have intel drivers installed. Should I just disable the WLAN drivers for now and see what happens?

 

[Wowfunhappy]

Guys, what generally causes stuttering?

By which I mean, a game is generally getting 60fps but it will occasionally pause on a given frame for longer than normal. And these pauses happen often enough to make the game feel substantially less smooth.

I've heard that this is a common problem on multi-GPU setups, but that doesn't apply to me.

In particular, would using an SSD rather than an HDD be likely to help? I've been looking at getting an SSD for a little while now, and when I'm honest with myself the main reason is because I'm hoping it would get rid of the stutter. I don't really care about loading times.

 

[LilJoka]

I'm using a WLAN card that I bought. I don't think I have intel drivers installed. Should I just disable the WLAN drivers for now and see what happens?

Full specs?
And yes try disabling the wlan adapter, uninstalling would be better though.
Check if the Intel lan or Realtek or any other LAN driver is installed in control panel.

 

[LilJoka]

Guys, what generally causes stuttering?

By which I mean, a game is generally getting 60fps but it will occasionally pause on a given frame for longer than normal. And these pauses happen often enough that it makes the game feel substantially less smooth. I've heard that this is a common problem on multi-GPU setups, but that doesn't include me.

In particular, would using an SSD rather than an HDD be likely to help? I've been looking at getting an SSD for a little while now, and when I'm honest with myself the main reason is because I'm hoping it would get rid of the stutter. I don't really care about loading times.

Full specs? Game/s your having trouble with?
SSD won't help, only initial load times, my guess would be cpu bottleneck, lack of ram, malware.

 

[Skii]

Full specs?
And yes try disabling the wlan adapter, uninstalling would be better though.
Check if the Intel lan or Realtek or any other LAN driver is installed in control panel.

I have this one installed.

If I uninstall it, won't that cause problems as I'll have no internet? lol. Sorry if these are stupid questions haha.

 

[RGM79]

Guys, what generally causes stuttering?

By which I mean, a game is generally getting 60fps but it will occasionally pause on a given frame for longer than normal. And these pauses happen often enough to make the game feel substantially less smooth.

I've heard that this is a common problem on multi-GPU setups, but that doesn't apply to me.

In particular, would using an SSD rather than an HDD be likely to help? I've been looking at getting an SSD for a little while now, and when I'm honest with myself the main reason is because I'm hoping it would get rid of the stutter. I don't really care about loading times.

That'll depend on the game and what your system specs are. SSD could help but only in certain situations. E.g., if the game you're playing is one of those open-world types with "seamless" loading, it could be possible that the stuttering is because the game is trying to load data in the background. That said, I'm not aware of any games that would stutter specifically because they were installed on a hard drive, and there are no games that I know specifically require an SSD for optimal experience.

 

[TouchMyBox]

Full specs? Game/s your having trouble with?
SSD won't help, only initial load times, my guess would be cpu bottleneck, lack of ram, malware.

SSDs can certainly help with level streaming stutter. Arkham Knight being a big example (lol).

If the stuttering is happening just as you're keeping confined to a single area, then an SSD isn't going to help most likely.

 

[DeathGlobe]

Whats a decent monitor thats 250 or less? Right now I use a basic acer monitor I got at walmart. I would like something with built in speakers so I can plug my ps3 into it