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"I Need a New PC!" 2017 The Ryzing of Kaby Lake and NVMwhee!

It is at stock voltage, which is a bit over 1.3v. Which makes me think I should try undervolting the core before thinking maybe it's a terrible core. I used Liquid Metal from Thermal Grizzly, scraped old adhesive off. Re-did this after I saw my temps to ensure everything was perfect, got the same high temps.

If it's a Gigabyte motherboard make sure the bios is up to date, they had issues with using too much core voltage.
 

Kadey

Mrs. Harvey
Alright what do I have to do to get the fastest speed out of my ram. Just for reference I set the DRAM frequency to DDR 3200.

QnSmzm1.png


I set my cpu at 4.7ghz. Seems to be running fine.
 

LilJoka

Member
Alright what do I have to do to get the fastest speed out of my ram. Just for reference I set the DRAM frequency to DDR 3200.

QnSmzm1.png


I set my cpu at 4.7ghz. Seems to be running fine.

Most kits would want DRAM Voltage at 1.35v and adjustment of the DRAM primary timings to match the XMP timings - in advance DRAM config menu.
 
I've almost finished picking out my PC, but the final question is if I want to go for a Ryzen 1600x or an Intel 7700k. Such a difficult decision. :(
 

LordAlu

Member
It's not hard. Mainly for gaming, 7700K easy. If your work load takes advantage of more cores, 1600x.

I've almost finished picking out my PC, but the final question is if I want to go for a Ryzen 1600x or an Intel 7700k. Such a difficult decision. :(
Pretty much. Are you (other than normal browsing etc) gonna be using your PC to play games? Get the Core i7-7700K. Are you gonna be doing other stuff, like streaming, editing, or any other workload that likes cores? Get the Ryzen 5 1600/X.
 

sikkinixx

Member
Alright so rolling this around in my head for a while... to overclock my 2500k would mean getting a non-stock cooler (I'm assuming) and a bunch of other dicking around for something that won't last me too much longer. So trying to put something together that is good enough to last several years, running at 1080p, for a fairly reasonable price. I've already got a 500w power supply, a nice mATX case (BitFenix Phenom), a newish SSD so I really need Ram, CPU, Motherboard and a Video card.

PCPartPicker part list: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/Zf4BtJ
Price breakdown by merchant: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/Zf4BtJ/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($280.25 @ shopRBC)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($99.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Crucial - 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($74.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: MSI - Radeon RX 580 8GB ARMOR OC Video Card ($319.99 @ Amazon Canada)

Total: $774.23

I had originally thought of a 1500x instead to save $40 but looking at reviews it seems like it's not the best especially if games start taking advantage of more than four cores. I had also looked at the RX 570 instead to save about $60ish but reviews made the 580 8GB look like a better purchase? I would go with a 1060 but they are a lot more for the 6GB variants unless I get one of those one-fan mini versions, which seem kinda sketch.

Canadian prices suck. I hate our dollar.
 
It's not hard. Mainly for gaming, 7700K easy. If your work load takes advantage of more cores, 1600x.

Pretty much. Are you (other than normal browsing etc) gonna be using your PC to play games? Get the Core i7-7700K. Are you gonna be doing other stuff, like streaming, editing, or any other workload that likes cores? Get the Ryzen 5 1600/X.

Alright, I think I'll just go with the 7700k then, I will probably use my rig for some 3d modelling but probably not enough to warrant reduced gaming performance. Thanks!
 
Forza Horizon 3 pushed me to get a new GPU, a 1080Ti aftermarket.

Now I just have to find more demanding games, because I haven't bought AAA / graphics intensive games for a while.
 

Kyougar

Member
I am currently looking to replace my GPU (R9 270 iceQ)

Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_ldr.170427-1518)
System Manufacturer: MSI
System Model: MS-7850
BIOS: BIOS Date: 02/21/14 10:42:16 Ver: 04.06.05
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4670 CPU @ 3.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.4GHz
Memory: 16384MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 16328MB RAM


I was looking at the Sapphire Radeon RX 570 Nitro+ or Sapphire Radeon RX 570 Pulse ITX (40€ cheaper and 8% less gpu power)
Maybe even a GTX 1060 but dunno when the new nvida cards get out and dont want an old 300€ card before I get a complete new PC

Is the 570 ok with my current build? power adapter is 500 or 600 watt dont remember, but when I build it, I took a model with enough excess power.
I wont update the OS right now, Have windows 10 pro key but wont switch yet.

I know the cpu is a bottleneck, but I am not someone who has to optimize and max out everything in a game, it should just be smooth on 1080p or 1440p later when I update the monitor.
My current problem is, that my card gets too hot and I dont like when it gets over 80°C for a long gaming session.

Appreciate the help.
 
Forza Horizon 3 pushed me to get a new GPU, a 1080Ti aftermarket.

Now I just have to find more demanding games, because I haven't bought AAA / graphics intensive games for a while.

Watch Dogs 2. At max settings possibly most demanding game right now. Depending on resolution will tax even the Ti, speaking from experience.

Is it actually a problem for an i7 7700k to run at ~70°C (package temperature) for several hours?.

No.
 

popo

Member
Alright, I think I'll just go with the 7700k then, I will probably use my rig for some 3d modelling but probably not enough to warrant reduced gaming performance. Thanks!

Also depends on how much money you spend on the rest of the system. The higher the resolution and beefier the gfx card - the more likely you will need the extra 10% or so to avoid bottlenecking.

If for example you got a 1050 or 1060 equivalent and play at 1080p - you are unlikely to notice much of a difference.
 

LilJoka

Member

Have a look at the spec for the ram kit.
If you don't use XMP profile and manually overclock the ram then these settings need tweaking:

DRAM Voltage, 1.2v standard, XMP speed usually requires 1.35v.

DRAM Primary timings, usually like 15-15-15-38. Start with the ram spec defined timings. You can set this in the Advanced DRAM Config menu under the Ram Freq setting.

VCC IO, default ~1.0v, XMP 3200mhz will target around 1.2v.

VCC SA, default ~1.0v, XMP 3200mhz will target around 1.2v.

VCCSA/IO can usually be tweaked to reduce temperatures of the CPU, so I tend to not use XMP and manually set the above. They are controlling the voltage to the Intel memory controller.

Or just forget about it and enable XMP profile to use a hammer approach.

Either way you'll want to test the ram with hci memtest.
http://hcidesign.com/memtest/
Test about 80% of the ram capacity and 1 instance of memtest per CPU thread.
 
Also depends on how much money you spend on the rest of the system. The higher the resolution and beefier the gfx card - the more likely you will need the extra 10% or so to avoid bottlenecking.

If for example you got a 1050 or 1060 equivalent and play at 1080p - you are unlikely to notice much of a difference.

This is my full build, I think I'll definitely benefit from the additional performance.


One more question about the 7700k and the whole delidding debacle, that's just something to do if you want to get really high overclocks right? I don't really feel comfortable doing it even with that tool so I'd rather not if I can help it.
 

LilJoka

Member
This is my full build, I think I'll definitely benefit from the additional performance.



One more question about the 7700k and the whole delidding debacle, that's just something to do if you want to get really high overclocks right? I don't really feel comfortable doing it even with that tool so I'd rather not if I can help it.

There is no requirment to delid, it drops temps so you can get higher overclocks like 5ghz.
You can get a good overclock without delidding also.
 

blakdeth

Member
I'm looking for RAM recommendations for the following parts. The thing I'm most confused about is the speed and latency of the RAM? What can I realistically expect if I'm only interested in using the XMP profile?

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz
Motherboard: Asus - STRIX Z270G Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
 

LilJoka

Member
I'm looking for RAM recommendations for the following parts. The thing I'm most confused about is the speed and latency of the RAM? What can I realistically expect if I'm only interested in using the XMP profile?

CPU: Intel - Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz
Motherboard: Asus - STRIX Z270G Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

3000/3200mhz is good and achievable with XMP.
3000mhz cl14/15 timings
3200mhz cl15/16 timings
 

Gavin Robertson

Neo Member
I'm currently using three monitors, in a one above two below set up. Top monitor is an old Dell used for my Twitter client and PC monitoring software. Bottom left is my main, a 144Hz BenQ for gaming and browsing. Bottom right is an old Asus used exclusively for watching video. All three are 24 inch, 1080p. Yes, I like to multitask.

I've got a bit of spare cash this month, so I thought I might change things up a bit. Ideally, I'd like to "merge" the first and third displays into one 4k panel, and just go with a dual side-by-side set up, but I'm unsure if that would work? Would there be issues with a 1080p/4k side-by-side set up? I've seen some complain about scaling issues with 4k displays, but is that limited to gaming? I'd only be using for Twitter and video, retaining the BenQ for gaming.
 

doemaaan

Member
Instead of creating a new thread, I'll post my question here. Hope someone can help.

I was thinking of buying a Stalker bundle, but I'm not sure my laptop can play the game (with medium settings at least?). I have a Lenovo laptop from 2015 I think. It is not a gaming laptop. I know Stalker came out about 10 years ago, but to put things into perspective, I can play half-life two with no problems whatsoever.

I'm hoping I can play Stalker the same way. HL2 and Stalker only have a three year gap between releases. At work so I don't have the specific laptop model.
 

Celcius

°Temp. member
This is what I have, whatever that means.

The since it's DDR (double data rate) then you would multiply the "DRAM Frequency" by two to see the actual speed your memory is running at.
1500 x 2 = 3000mhz
Your memory is rated for 3200mhz and I can see from your above screenshot that you have that set in the bios... have you tried enabling XMP? (looks like its turned off in that screenshot)

Also (this part is optional), but I noticed in your earlier screenshot that your bios is from 12/6/2016, which was the first bios available for your motherboard (dated nearly a month before the motherboard was released). It looks like there are newer bios versions available for your motherboard which state "Improved memory compatibility" and other updates: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/Z270-GAMING-M7.html#down-bios
If you do have issues getting your memory to run at its rated speed, one last thing you may want to try is updating your bios to the latest version, which just involves downloading the file to a flash drive and then while in your bios selecting the option to update the bios from flash drive. Beware that if you do this it will erase all of your saved settings so please be sure to either take screenshots or make a note of them beforehand.

edit: Also, with your cpu at 4.7ghz now you may want to run a stress test such as Asus realbench overnight just to confirm that the cpu is stable: http://dlcdnmkt.asus.com/rog/RealBe...03.171136509.1495248865-1038077904.1493261191. You may want to leave a program like realtemp running in the background so that you can see the max/min/average cpu temperatures during the test as well.
 

kennah

Member
Instead of creating a new thread, I'll post my question here. Hope someone can help.

I was thinking of buying a Stalker bundle, but I'm not sure my laptop can play the game (with medium settings at least?). I have a Lenovo laptop from 2015 I think. It is not a gaming laptop. I know Stalker came out about 10 years ago, but to put things into perspective, I can play half-life two with no problems whatsoever.

I'm hoping I can play Stalker the same way. HL2 and Stalker only have a three year gap between releases. At work so I don't have the specific laptop model.
Hard to give a definitive answer with zero specs but it would probably play fine.
 

Celcius

°Temp. member
This might be a dumb question, but what do you mean by this? Do you mean I need to be looking at memory with cl15 or cl16 to achieve 3200mhz using the XMP profile?

He means that with a memory kit rated for 3000mhz you could easily get CL14 or CL15 timings, and with a memory kit rated for 3200mhz you could easily get a kit rated for CL15 or CL16. Ideally you want the speed to be as high as possible with the cas latency (CL) to be as low as possible. 3200mhz is the sweet spot for kaby lake in terms of price/performance. Also just fyi when someone mentions CL16, they're referring to the first number of the memory's 4 main timings. For example, timings of 16-18-18-38 would be considered CL16.

I personally run this kit: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232217
3200mhz @ CL14, except when I bought my pair in January they were only $140 instead of $175.

If you wanted to save a bit you could get this kit: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231941&ignorebbr=1. Still runs at 3200mhz but at CL16. You'd save $65 and wouldn't notice the difference in day to day usage.
I also doublechecked and this memory is on your motherboard's QVL (qualified vendors list): http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb...500.19207817.1495247713-1038077904.1493261191 which means that it's been tested to be compatible with your particular model motherboard. If you wanted to use the XMP profile with this kit then it would put you straight to 3200mhz & CL16.
 

Kadey

Mrs. Harvey
I figured it out. 4.7ghz with 3200 ram. Thanks.

My temps and everything are fine. I've been playing Fallout 4, having a stream on with a browser and multiple tabs and messengers and everything is cool still. My PC room is very cool to begin with.
 
Alright what do I have to do to get the fastest speed out of my ram. Just for reference I set the DRAM frequency to DDR 3200.

QnSmzm1.png


I set my cpu at 4.7ghz. Seems to be running fine.

Just enable XMP. It's a big button in the top left corner. Select your correct frequency, enjoy.
 

Kadey

Mrs. Harvey
Yeah I enabled XMP.

So theoretically if I have my CPU at 4.7 with 1.2 volts and its at low temps does that mean I can clock it even higher? I might be able to do 5.0 easy. I think I hit the RNG lottery.
 

Celcius

°Temp. member
I figured it out. 4.7ghz with 3200 ram. Thanks.

My temps and everything are fine. I've been playing Fallout 4, having a stream on with a browser and multiple tabs and messengers and everything is cool still. My PC room is very cool to begin with.
Yeah I enabled XMP.

So theoretically if I have my CPU at 4.7 with 1.2 volts and its at low temps does that mean I can clock it even higher? I might be able to do 5.0 easy. I think I hit the RNG lottery.

KabyLake and other modern cpus support a type of instruction set called AVX (Advanced Vector Extensions). When the cpu executes this type of instructions then it makes the cpu run hotter and consume more voltage. When testing an overclock it's especially important to run a stress test that executes avx instructions, as they a make a significant difference in the temperatures you experience and the voltage required for stability.

Fallout 4 doesn't take advantage of avx instructions (that I'm aware of) so you'd want to run something like asus realbench (less demanding but does use avx) or prime95 28.10 blend (much more demanding, uses avx2 & fma3 instruction sets). Otherwise in the future you could unknowingly run a program that uses one of these instruction sets and the machine could possible BSOD, lockup, restart, etc... The only game that I'm aware of that currently takes advantage of avx instructions is Forza Horizon 3, but if you also run other applications on your PC then some of them could also possibly use avx or even games in the future.

Just for reference mine requires 1.28v for 4.7ghz, but that's stable for 24 hours of prime95 28.10 blend with avx/fma3 instructions going. I could run asus realbench at 4.8ghz all day but failed within 20 minutes of prime95 and eventually settled for 4.7ghz. Most people these days consider prime95 overkill and just run asus realbench but I just wanted to share the experience I've had.

Also, because AVX instructions are so stressful on the cpu, z270 motherboards have a feature called avx-offset. If you enable this feature it enables you to run the cpu at a lower speed when it detects avx instructions being executed. So for example you could run 4.9ghz normally and then tell the cpu to drop down to 4.7ghz if a program using avx instructions starts running. I gave the feature a try just to test it out but for 24/7 normal usage I don't use it. I'd recommend reading this guide: http://edgeup.asus.com/2017/01/31/kaby-lake-overclocking-guide/
----
[Optional] Once you're done with the cpu core speed, one small thing you may want to try is overclocking your cpu cache (there should be a multiplier option for it in the bios, setting min cache freq & max cache freq to the same multiplier). It doesn't make a big difference but it's free so I run mine at 45x (4500mhz). In the above cpu-z screenshot it shows your "NB Frequency" as running at ~4200mhz, which means that your cpu cache is running at stock. It may be worth a try setting it to 45x and seeing if your cpu is still stable (but only after being stable in stress tests with avx instructions).
 

LilJoka

Member
Yeah I enabled XMP.

So theoretically if I have my CPU at 4.7 with 1.2 volts and its at low temps does that mean I can clock it even higher? I might be able to do 5.0 easy. I think I hit the RNG lottery.

Just keep testing, you'll hit a temperature limit before any dangerous voltages. Learn the chip and know what the ballpark vcore is for 4.7-5ghz then decide on what to stabilise fully with realbench and prime95 blend.
 

Weevilone

Member
I got a stick of 32GB Optane memory in the mail today. Originally I wanted to use it for cache on a huge spinner with my Steam games on it, but currently there is a limitation that it can only be used with a boot drive.

I've got an ancient Samsung 840 for boot, so maybe it helps a little. Mostly wanted to fiddle with new tech, and I'm hoping they overcome the current boot cache restriction.
 

Saige

I must do better.
Current setup:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz
MB: Asus B85M-E/CSM Micro ATX LGA1150
RAM: 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600
GPU: GTX 760 2GB
PSU: Antec 620W 80+ ATX
Soundcard: XONAR DX
SSD: 840 EVO 250GB SSD
HDD: 1TB 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case: Fractal Design - Define Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case

Looking to make some upgrades:
CPU: Intel Core i5-7500
MB: Z270MX-GAMING 5 mATX w/ DDR4-2400
RAM: Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4 3200MHz Kit (2x 8GB)
GPU: GeForce GTX 1080 8GB
SSD: 850 EVO SSD, 500GB

For monitors I just have two 1080ps right now, but eventually want to get something like a 2560X1440 144HZ Gsync.
Not interested in overclocking stuff. Replacing my SSD since I’m finding 250GB to be a bit low and I hear things about SSD lifespans.

Hoping to reuse my current case, power supply, hardrive, and soundcard. I guess since I’m switching motherboards I would need to get a new copy of windows OEM too.

Anything about this seem off?
 

Celcius

°Temp. member
I got a stick of 32GB Optane memory in the mail today. Originally I wanted to use it for cache on a huge spinner with my Steam games on it, but currently there is a limitation that it can only be used with a boot drive.

I've got an ancient Samsung 840 for boot, so maybe it helps a little. Mostly wanted to fiddle with new tech, and I'm hoping they overcome the current boot cache restriction.

I was just reading about Intel Optane earlier this week... I'd be interested to know how much of a difference it makes for you.
 

Weevilone

Member
I was just reading about Intel Optane earlier this week... I'd be interested to know how much of a difference it makes for you.

Honestly I bet none. I wasn't all that impressed with my Samsung 960 Pro so I sent it back. It was nice, but not $600 nice.

I wouldn't have bought this if I realized it couldn't cache a non-boot drive, but what's done is done. I get why that's not a priority, but when I game it's usually the same title until I beat it. I think that use case could cache ok.
 
Hi, all - hoping some of the regulars here can help point me in the right direction.

My current PC setup is coming up for 7 1/2 years old and it's starting to get pretty creaky. I'm pretty sure I don't have an easy upgrade path and my best bet is going to be a clean build, but perhaps someone can have a look over my current rig and see what might be doable.

Currently I'm running:

Gigabyte P55-UD4 mobo
i7(860) 2.8GHz processor
ATI 5850 (1GB) GFX card
G.Skill Ripjaw (4GB - 2x2GB/1600MHz) RAM
2 x 1TB Samsung HDDs
Corsair HX 620W PSU
2 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon fans


...all in an Antec P183 case, with a BenQ E2220HD 22" monitor, plus DVD-RW/DVD drives and misc. peripherals (keyboard, mouse, tablet etc.) Running Win7.

I do a bit of gaming, and ideally I'd like to be relatively future-proofed for that (VR not an issue, but I'm looking to run current games maxed-out). Otherwise, I do some freelance graphic design and photography, and the lack of RAM and relatively small HDDs (and the lack of a SSD) is hitting me hard for software like Lightroom and Photoshop.

Ideal build - if I have to start from scratch - would be something with a lot more RAM (I'm thinking 16GB), a decent-sized SSD for OS and using as a massive scratchdisk for Photoshop/Lightroom to allow me to work with large image files as quickly and smoothly as possible, a couple of large HDDs for longer-term storage of photos, design projects and other archive stuff (my music library, books, fonts etc.) and a reasonably grunty GFX card. Monitor doesn't need to be huge - 22-24" is probably fine - but it does need to have good colour repro etc. for working with photos and doing design work. A decent DVD-RW and Blu-ray drive would be great too, but they can be added later if it means being able to put some cash towards other components now. I've been pretty happy with the Antec case, so I'm going to be looking for another from their line - I have enough space to go a bit taller here where the PC is going to end up living as well. Not sure about PSU - I'd imagine I'll be needing something bigger than the 620W, and I'll likely go with Corsair again as the current PSU has been flawless for 24/7 use over 7 1/2 years.

Is it worth trying to cannibalise components from the current rig, or should I just clear it and give it to my daughters as a shared PC and start fresh? Budget for a new build is probably £1,000-£1,500 max, but if I can scrimp on some components and expand later next year without hassle I'd be up for that (e.g. go for 8GB RAM now and expand that later)

Any advice would be most welcome!
 

Saige

I must do better.
Yes, buy an i7 instead. 4 threads in 2017 are a bad idea if you aren't exactly pressed for cash

Ah okay, I don’t mind spending a bit more if it’s worthwhile. Just going off of the PC Build list in the OP I see it went from i5-7500 to i7-7700K.

I guess if I don’t plan on overclocking the i7-7700 is the way to go.

Thanks,
 
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