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It's been at least a half a dozen years or so since I've upgraded anything major in my system, and a currently incoming GTX 970 has set in motion the "what if" questions once again. Normally, I'd like to think that I can put together a pretty solid build plan, and away I go, but I've stared at way too many motherboard and CPU spec sheets already, and it's starting to feel like I'm working myself into circles. So, it's time to seek some help... Current System: FX-6100 @ 4.38GHz under a 212 EVO on top of an ASUS M5A97 with 16GB(4x4) of 1333MHz cheapo Kingston DDR3 powered by an Antec 650W power supply and finally stuffed inside an HAF 922. Now, I tend to be long winded, so I'll try to keep this as brief as possible. My reasoning behind upgrading is threefold: I'm concerned my current rig will bottleneck my yet to arrive 970 in certain applications (maybe I'm wrong?), I'd like to future-proof within reason (I know, easier said than done), and finally, it's just time for something new. System usage consists of day-to-day computing, web browsing, a small amount of CAD work, gaming, usually along the lines of GTA V, Fallout 4, Flight Simulators (FSX & X-Plane), and pretty much whatever else happens to subdue my ADHD at the time. I'd like to upgrade gradually, but I'd also like to switch to an Intel based system, which makes the process slightly more difficult, especially considering the current state of the Canadian dollar, although it does seem to be improving daily. I don't necesarilly have a solid budget, but I would like to spread the purchases out as much as possible, and get a solid "bang for the buck" without sacrificing too many features. Finally, onto the plan as it currently stands: Short Term: Pick up a G3258, and Z97 based MoBo (I like the looks of MSI's Z97S Krait Edition), swap the cooler, RAM, and GTX 970 onto the Intel board and stick with my existing case and power supply. Ideally, I'd like to keep the MoBo budget below $200 CAD. The lower, the better, but I have a short wishlist: M.2, 2-way SLI, USB 3.1, and ideally Black/White, Black/Blue, or Black/Black in color. The USB 3.1 is more of a stretch goal, and I'm not above using an expansion card in the future if that makes more sense. Mid Term: Upgrade to faster RAM, swap out the 212 for an AIO (H100 or the like). I might consider custom water cooling, but I'm struggling with the cost vs benefit at this point. Long Term: Add a second 970, upgrade CPU, and add an M.2 SSD My thought process being, start with the G3258 because it's a much lighter hit to the wallet right now, over the next 6-12 months, upgrade cooling solution, squeeze every Hz possible out of it, meanwhile saving for something more powerful, knowing that if I trash the G3258, it's not the end of the world financially. To summarize, I guess what I'm asking is, am I on the right track with the Z97 chipset? With the G3258? Am I going to limit my upgrade options by going with an LGA 1150 socket now? Is this a decent plan, or should I just suck it up, save some cash, and upgrade everything all at once in the future? Thanks in advance, any and all advice is much appreciated.

Hello! I am looking for a case, can someone recommend me one? This is what I need: ATX Size Enough Space for the Noctua NH-D15 (That's why my old case isn't working anymore - the cooler is just too big) At least one space for an SSD At least three bays for 3,5" HDDs USB 3.0 Front 2 Fans - One in Front, One in the Back Easy-To-Remove Dust Filters Good cable management paths No power supply (I already have one) I'd love to get one for under 100$ but I am willing to pay up to 150$ if the case is f*cking awesome. If it matters, here are my other components: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BC97zy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Already suggested: NOCTIS 450 - BLACK + RED (Mid Tower) 149€ NOCTIS 440 - BLACK + RED (Mid Tower) 133€ Phanteks Enthoo Pro 99€ Phanteks Enthoo Pro M 89€ Phanteks Eclipse P400/s 84,90€ NZXT S340 79,9€ Fractal Design Define S/R5 129,9€

I have been searching for a EVGA Z97 Stinger for a very long time. My brother was able to snatch one right before every single z97 board fell off the world thanks to Skylake. Would anyone know where i could find one? I've used Ebay and craigslist and so on, but nothing came up. Thanks in advance.

Hey lads, I'm looking to upgrade a good chunk of my gaming rig. A lot of my setup is going to be blue themed (Blue LED lights, RGB keyboard/mice, etc.) I'm going to be rebuilding my PC into a new case, adding new components and such. I would like the main overall theme of my PC to be blue, and so I'm looking for a new Z97 motherboard that goes with the blue theme. I definitely need a Z97 motherboard, because I run an i7 4790K, and don't plan on upgrading any time soon. My current motherboard is a Gigabyte Z97-HD3, so I'd like to find one that has similar/better features. I'd rather keep the price reasonably low, but I don't mind if I have to spend a couple $100 AUD. Thanks

Hello everyone! I will be building my first computer some time soon, and I will probably get a microatx case. My cpu will be the g3258. Now I know that I can overclock this cpu on the H chipsets, but due to future proofing I was thinking about getting a Z board, because the first thing I probably will upgrade it the cpu, but not sure if I want an unlocked. Should I get a Z97 board? And if no, should I just go with a h81 board or get a h97 board? Thanks

Hey, Since I am completely new to PC building, could I have your opinion of the aforementioned motherboard (Asrock z97 Annivesary) with a i7-4790k, crucial ballistix sport RAM, gtx970 and a wifi card? Questions: Will there be too little space for my wifi card/RAM? I am using a cooler master seidon 120V. Overclocking performance? BIOS of asrock MOBOs?

I am unable to figure out how to overclock on this mobo and would like to know if anyone else have had the problem and if there is a way to actually do it.

Hello. Iv had my PC together for a while now and iv finally got round to correcting my RAM frequency. Easy job i though. Switch XMP on. Frequency set to 2400 in the DRAM frequency drop down. However when you go the the front page under 'DRAM Status' it shows its still set to 1333. Everywhere else shows the correct speed but not there. Am i going mad or is it just a quirk of the BIOS? Its a asus Z97-k with a intel i5 4690k cpu.

I was looking at motherboard options for z97 and there really are a lot of them. Which one would be best for about $100-$120?

What I have now is a Asrock Z97m pro motherboard. I want to use it to build a new pc but I not sure whether it still can be use or not? I had to make sure it works before I buy all other components. It haven't been used and kept for 7/8 months in my uncle house. So is there a way to check whether it still able to function normally ?

Hey guys! first time posting here. I have a question. Does anyone know of a way to get custom LED visulizations on motherboards (Mine is the ASUS sabertooth z97). I love LED's in PC systems, and I love the idea of GeForce's LED visilization software, but I don't want to shell out money for a LED capable GPU, esp. not just for LEDs. Nor the extra bulk of dedicated LED lighting (i.e. NZXT hue, etc.) I then thought, my mobo is covered in LEDs, why not utilize those (when I'm not using them for debuging on startup ) A brief search on the Goog's didn't show any options. Does anyone know if/how this can be achieved? Thanks guys! -Nate

With Fallout 4 on the verge of launch, I decided to upgrade my pc for better performance,so I installed a new msi z97 pcmate and an i5 4690k. However after this I can only use the integrated graphics on my machine and that requires the gpu to be uninstalled. I have tried repeating etc... The card definitely works as ive checked it. Any help would be much appreciated Many thanks

1. Will the noctua nh-d15 block any gpu slots ( 980ti )? 2. Will the cooler be too heavy and damage the mobo? Thanks!

So I'm giving it another go. tl;dr After two failed builds and 3 years of RMA'ing and stress, I'm trying to salvage something usable from the wreckage. The question is: Do I down/sidegrade back to some old parts I have (less costly and more sensible) or do I stick with my upgrade? If you don't want to read, just scroll down to see the two parts lists below that I have to chose between. Currently, I have an i5 2500K and an i5 4690k. I was considering, if I can get a refund for the 4690k, about going back to the 2500k and overclocking it. A lot of comparisons/reviews/threads have said that it's not a worthwhile upgrade if you overclock your 2500K (I know I should have read this at the time) and that it's worth skipping this gen if you already have one. So this leaves me with a choice between the two CPU's I have currently, the 2500k and a new Z77 board or the 4690K with a new Z97 board. The only issue there is, the Z77 boards now aren't any cheaper than Z97 and are really rare here in the UK. However I've narrowed one down that I can get from the US on Newegg that's only £100 and I've got an alternative Z97 replacement for the Asus Maximus VII Hero that I RMA'd. So I got a refund on the motherboard. As well as my Corsair H100i, which IMO was not worth the money. The rad had bubbles so it made weird clicking noises and the fans whined/whirred noticeably, and temps weren't the massive change I expected. Instead I'll go back to my old trusty Hyper 212 EVO or, even more likely, upgrade to a Noctua NH-D14. So here's my part list for the two builds. Some of which I already have (RAM, PSU, Hyper 212 EVO, 2500K and 4690K) or can sell other parts/get refunds from to pay for (Ignore the total cost, as I said have bought the above already). Also I currently have an EVGA GTX 770 SC and I would probably only get an upgrade to the 970 (in the list below) if I sell my 770 and go for the cheaper i5 2500K build. What do you all think? Which route should I go? 2500K OC'd and maximum money back, or stick with 4690K? OPTION 1 - 2500K BUILD PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler (£56.90 @ Amazon UK) Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£62.99 @ Amazon UK) Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£113.79 @ Amazon UK) Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (£259.98 @ Amazon UK) Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£82.99 @ Amazon UK) Total: £576.65 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-16 13:38 GMT+0000 OPTION 2 - 4690K BUILD PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£169.45 @ Amazon UK) CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.99 @ Amazon UK) Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£113.49 @ Amazon UK) Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£62.99 @ Amazon UK) Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£113.79 @ Amazon UK) Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (£259.98 @ Amazon UK) Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£82.99 @ Amazon UK) Total: £827.68 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-16 13:33 GMT+0000 A bit of backstory, in short (as possible), I had my first custom build (2500K build) fail on me two years ago. It started with the GPU and then the motherboard and hard drives went later. I ended up going through 5 GPU's from EVGA, I spoke personally to their European Support Manager, Dominik, on a private incoming call it got that bad. In the end I went from a failed 580 to a 770 SC thanks to EVGA support. Which wouldn't be a bad deal at all if it wasn't for the nervous breakdown it caused. I ended up getting so miffed and angry that I RMA'd or sold the parts. And then from that money I built a new rig, started afresh, even called it Black Phoenix (the case was black). Unfortunately, the motherboard on this new build (an ASUS Maximus VII Hero no less!) was "faulty" (USB issues and pins on board separated from the board itself) and I've had to RMA it and am now left without a motherboard and so no working PC. On top of that my mouse has been RMA'd twice (Razer Deathadder) as the sensor went. I've spent 3 years of my life RMA'ing goods. I could and should just review companies support and RMA processes I'm that well versed in them. I still enjoy building rigs, I want to play games more and they're my only respite really from daily stresses and problems. Plus, I'll always need a PC anyway. For other stuff... you know? Let me know if I missed anything. And thank you to anyone that reads and/or responds <3

Does anyone here have a suggestion for a good z97 board for around $250CAD? I'm not really good when it comes to choosing a motherboard, and I want to make sure I don't get a bad one for my new PC.

Title says it all.

I know there's a colour difference, I actually prefer the look of this one. I know that there are fewer video connectors, but is that, with the aesthetics and price, are those the only differences?

It's nearly Christmas and I am going to upgrade my PC soon. I was wondering whether to go for the Z97 Krait with a good deal (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130801) or wait to upgrade to haswell and a Z170 in the future. I currently have a Z97 PC mate by MSI (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130779&cm_re=z97_pc_mate-_-13-130-779-_-Product) and an intel i5-4440k. Should I upgrade or wait?

Hi everyone, I recently decided to flash my BIOS. I probably could have left it alone but I'm doing a clean Windows 10 install soon with the new updates and wanted to make sure everything was up to date. I started to get the 5 short beep error during startup after flashing, running the most recent BIOS (v2.02) and when booting into the UEFI BIOS it is still beeping and incredibly slow. Windows still starts up eventually. I know this code means "process failure" based on a quick google search, but everything worked fine before the update so I don't know what this could mean. My specs are listed below, so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! EVGA Z97 Classified EVGA 980 ti Classified Corsair HX850 Corsair Vengeance 4GBx4 Intel Core i7 4790k

Hi, I recently bought parts for my custom pc build. I chose the Asrock z97 extreme4 and a xeon E3 1231 v3 as processor. Motherboard specs say it is compatible, but assembling the build it doesn´t boot, but with an i5 it boots without any problems. I went with a tec guy close by, he told me that even thought it has the same socket, the motherboard doesn´t support it. If I now want to buy another motherboard, how can I know for sure if it will be compatible. Or should I rather consider buying an i7 processor?? I was looking at the asus z97-a motherboard, but am not sure if it´ll fix my problem.

Hello guys, I just wanted some input from more experienced builders in regards to this motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130801 It is the MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition, my budget is around this price tag. Rest of the setup: Intel Core i5 4590 3.30 GHz, Ripjaws F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH - (2x2GB, DDR3 1333), (Except the case and CPU, everything is from my old build.) EVGA GeForce GTX 260, Toshiba 500GB SATA HDD, Bitmore 850W PSU, Corsair Carbidde SPEC-02 case. Thank you for your time.

Hello, I am planning on building a small computer in the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Itx. I am going to be using a Intel Pentium G3258 (and before you say go z170, I only need the pc to last 2/3 years and I can upgrade to a 4690k or 4790k anyway, which is why I want to go z97.) I plan on cooling the cpu with a NZXT Kraken X31 (unless there is something else you would suggest) and therefore am hoping for some healthy overclocks. The PC will be sitting on my desk (hence itx) and it will be used for school work and gaming. Games I play frequently are GTA V, Project Cars, CSGO and Just Cause 3. I would ideally like to play these games at good settings in 1080p 60fps, however I know that the budget (of £600/$900 max although ideally less) may not accomodate this and as such 30fps is ok. My Current Parts List is this: PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/Pd8G99 Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/Pd8G99/by_merchant/ CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor (£51.96 @ Aria PC) CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X31 69.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£54.89 @ Aria PC) Motherboard: MSI Z97I AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (£89.99 @ Amazon UK) Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£31.08 @ Amazon UK) Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£31.08 @ Amazon UK) Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£57.70 @ Amazon UK) Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card (£158.99 @ Ebuyer) Case: Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX Mini ITX Tower Case (£45.98 @ CCL Computers) Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£63.31 @ Amazon UK) Total: £584.98 The parts list above is not what it will necessarily look like. I am planning on adding a second 250gb 850 EVO later and also the second stick of ram (which is why 2 sticks are listed). So my questions are: What is the best z97 itx motherboard? (The max I can spend on one is £110/$160) Is there anything I have overlooked, or any parts I should swap out? Is the 4gb 960 worth it? Thanks for any help

Hi, Im currently using an Asus Z97 Ranger Motherboard with 4790k CPU in my Sig Build. The current configuration is using a single 970GTX, a Sandblaster Z and a Samsung Xp941 (in PCIE adapter) in a PCIE slot to get PCIEx4 (rather then the bandwidth limiting x2 m.2 slot) Here's the issue .... I've finally bitten the bullet and purchased a second 970GTX for SLI. Meaning less lanes from the CPU. Will be able to use the 2x8X PCIE for the SLI 970's, and still have PCIE lanes available for the M.2 SSD + the Sandblaster Z? Or Am I going to have to get reduced to 800Mb/s reads on the XP941 in the dedicated m.2 slot?

Hi all, Before you ask I haven't just jumped straight on here as soon as it didn't work, I've looked around and the all the solutions presented are having no help. The blunt way to put this is that the BIOS is not detecting the SM951 (512GB NVMe) in my M.2 slot. System in question: CPU: i7-4790K Mobo: Asus Maximus VII Hero (Z97) RAM: 16GB Corsair DDR3 No other drives connected at the moment. Have successfully installed and booted into windows using a WD Green 4TB. Running the latest BIOS, no overclock, fresh install and using the official Windows 10 USB installation stick. I can come to one of 3 conclusions based off my research: 1) My SM951 is dead. (Or perhaps, although it shouldn't be, it's incompatible.) 2) My M.2 slot on the mobo is dead. (It was brought new though) 3) The possibility that the official Win10 USB stick is not GPT partitioned (apparently required) Would love to hear your suggestions on this. Thanks, MJBYTTV

Okay so I'm trying to overclock my 4690k on my H97 board (you heard that right) and I'm running into some stability issues. I can reach 4.3ghz @ 1.065v + 0.010v perfectly fine with good temps and everything, but I just can't make it to 4.4ghz. I even tried raising to voltage to 1.230 and no luck. Is it because of my m-board? (Asrock H97 Anniversary) Also I bought a MSI Z97 Krait off Newegg a few days ago so I'm not too worried. Is it a cpu or motherboard issue? Specs: i5 4690k Cryorig H7 Asrock H97 Anniversary 8gb Gskill Ares GTX 760 EVGA 650w Gold Ps: Sorry for this being so long, I just wanted to explain everything