Upgrading, help needed

[rphawks]

1 minute ago, Stardar1 said:

I picked the Z170-Pro

Oops. The images are the same.  

[Stardar1]

Just now, stconquest said:

Nope.

My thoughts as well. 

 

Are there any additions you'd make to this then?

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/xMnBvV

[stconquest]

4 minutes ago, Stardar1 said:

My thoughts as well. 

 

Are there any additions you'd make to this then?

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/xMnBvV

I would go with better RAM.  TridentZ are some of the best kits on the market... 3000MHz+... yeah it does make a difference, even in some games.

 

The Z400 is a MLC drive but is a bit sluggish.  The "slugishness" won't matter too much.

 

EVGA is one of the best manufacturers in the tech world.  I would opt to go with them when possible.  The FTW is going to be a better card anyways.  There is no back plate on the ASUS card.

[Stardar1]

1 minute ago, stconquest said:

I would go with better RAM.  TridentZ are some of the best kits on the market... 3000MHz+... yeah it does make a difference, even in some games.

 

The Z400 is a MLC drive but is a bit sluggish.  The "slugishness" won't matter too much.

 

EVGA is one of the best manufacturers in the tech world.  I would opt to go with them when possible.  The FTW is going to be a better card anyways.

Super LUCE is great RAM, and 2400 MHz is plenty fast for what I'm doing, and TridentZ is kinda ugly to me. 

 

Is the Curcial MX300 any better?

 

I have an EVGA GTX 970, it was awesome, EVGA is great, I love them, but I love the look of that cooler on the ASUS. The FTW is also another $60. 

[stconquest]

1 minute ago, Stardar1 said:

Super LUCE is great RAM, and 2400 MHz is plenty fast for what I'm doing, and TridentZ is kinda ugly to me. 

 

Is the Curcial MX300 any better?

 

I have an EVGA GTX 970, it was awesome, EVGA is great, I love them, but I love the look of that cooler on the ASUS. The FTW is also another $60. 

Faster RAM will provide a more stable frame rate in games that have high CPU overhead:  GTAV, Fallout 4, etc...

 

The MX300 has Crucial's first implementation of 3D NAND,  It is faster than the Z400, I am not too sure about sustained speeds over many years.  Worst case scenario, you might have to format the drive in 3-4 years, but IDK for sure.

 

The FTW has a custom PCB, a better warranty (due to CS) and comes with a backplate.  Enjoy staring at the bare PCB of the ASUS card

[Stardar1]

Just now, stconquest said:

Faster RAM will provide a more stable frame rate in games that have high CPU overhead:  GTAV, Fallout 4, etc...

 

The MX300 has Crucial's first implementation of 3D NAND,  It is faster than the Z400, I am not too sure about sustained speeds over many years.  Worst case scenario, you might have to format the drive in 3-4 years, but IDK for sure.

 

The FTW has a custom PCB, a better warranty (due to CS) and comes with a backplate.  Enjoy staring at the bare PCB of the ASUS card

I can buy a backplate for the ASUS card, right?

 

Thanks, I'll look into the SSD a bit more, as for the RAM, I've been on 1600 MHz for 4 years, I think 2400 will be just fine. 

[stconquest]

Just now, Stardar1 said:

I can buy a backplate for the ASUS card, right?

 

Thanks, I'll look into the SSD a bit more, as for the RAM, I've been on 1600 MHz for 4 years, I think 2400 will be just fine. 

Hey, I am only recommending.  Ultimately you do what you want.  I don't know if ASUS offers backplates, or if there are any third party units for that 1070.  I would assume no.

 

I picked those TridentZ because of the white, GSkill Ripsaw V kits come in black and cost less:  $80  http://pcpartpicker.com/product/Cf98TW/gskill-memory-f43200c16d16gvkb

[Stardar1]

2 minutes ago, stconquest said:

Hey, I am only recommending.  Ultimately you do what you want.  I don't know if ASUS offers backplates, or if there are any third party units for that 1070.  I would assume no.

 

I picked those TridentZ because of the white, GSkill Ripsaw V kits come in black and cost less:  $80  http://pcpartpicker.com/product/Cf98TW/gskill-memory-f43200c16d16gvkb

It does looks nice, taking a closer look, but it's an extra $50 over the super Luce. 

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/products/memory/#m=17&t=14&C=21

[stconquest]

4 minutes ago, Stardar1 said:

It does looks nice, taking a closer look, but it's an extra $50 over the super Luce. 

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/products/memory/#m=17&t=14&C=21

The CAS 14, 3200 kits are the best GSkill makes (at 3200).  There is a limited supply so the cost goes way up.  I would not spend that much more.  That $100 (CAS 16) kit was my limit.

[Stardar1]

Just now, stconquest said:

The CAS 14, 3200 kits are the best GSkill makes.  There is a limited supply so the cost goes way up.  I would not spend that much more.  That $100 (CAS 16) kit was my limit.

then it's really a question of this:

 

is it worth the $20 to lose LEDS (which are AWESOME) and gain 400 MHz?. 

 

As well as going from CAS 15 to 16

[Quaker]

28 minutes ago, Stardar1 said:

I have looked into this quite a lot, when I take into account the server hosting and photoshopping I do, as well as the fact that PlanetSide 2 seems to be able to use 6 threads, the i7 is worth it. 

A picky detail, but the i7-6700 is 4 cores with 8 threads. (The i7-5820 is 6 cores/12 threads)

 

On the other hand, more cores = more bragging rights.

[stconquest]

1 minute ago, Stardar1 said:

then it's really a question of this:

 

is it worth the $20 to lose LEDS (which are AWESOME) and gain 400 MHz?. 

 

As well as going from CAS 15 to 16

Like I said, the RipsawV kits are $80... That is a 800MHz difference.

[Stardar1]

Just now, Quaker said:

A picky detail, but the i7-6700 is 4 cores with 8 threads. (The i7-5820 is 6 cores/12 threads)

I know, and have decided on the 6700k. 

[Stardar1]

Just now, stconquest said:

Like I said, the RipsawV kits are $80... That is a 800MHz difference.

My bad, was thinking 2800 instead of 2400 for some reason. 

[Quaker]

1 minute ago, stconquest said:

Like I said, the RipsawV kits are $80... That is a 800MHz difference.

Due to the fact that most of the software ends up running in the various on-chip caches, the actually speed of the main RAM makes very little difference (unless you are using the IGP for graphics).

[stconquest]

Just now, Stardar1 said:

My bad, was thinking 2800 instead of 2400 for some reason. 

Most people still think RAM speed is irrelevant.  People here have done extensive testing on RAM clocks/timings.  Some minimum FPS dips in certain games showed as much as 10% improvement when running higher frequencies (higher than the 2133MHz standard).  Those minimum FPS dips cause a game to feel unstable, stuttering and such.

 

If the cost is $10-$20 or so more, go with 3000MHz+ RAM.

[Stardar1]

1 minute ago, stconquest said:

Most people still think RAM speed is irrelevant.  People here have done extensive testing on RAM clocks/timings.  Some minimum FPS dips in certain games showed as much as 10% improvement when running higher frequencies (higher than the 2133MHz standard).  Those minimum FPS dips cause a game to feel unstable, stuttering and such.

 

If the cost is $10-$20 or so more, go with 3000MHz+ RAM.

but... but... LEDs!

 

ok, ok, fine. 

[stconquest]

7 minutes ago, Quaker said:

Due to the fact that most of the software ends up running in the various on-chip caches, the actually speed of the main RAM makes very little difference (unless you are using the IGP for graphics).

CPU utilization of data between it and the RAM is done in real time, most of the time.  There is not enough cache on the CPU to hold much data.  I am not too well versed on particulars. 

 

I have been shown by people here that do this stuff adamantly that RAM speed indeed DOES play a role in CPU performance in many situations.

[stconquest]

4 minutes ago, Stardar1 said:

but... but... LEDs!

 

ok, ok, fine. 

 

[Stardar1]

Just now, stconquest said:

 

the only question now is the backplate on the GTX 1070... That and the SSD which I need to look into. 

[stconquest]

1 minute ago, Stardar1 said:

the only question now is the backplate on the GTX 1070... That and the SSD which I need to look into. 

Go EVGA! 

 

SSD... hmmm... You want a black PCB, right?

[Stardar1]

Just now, stconquest said:

Go EVGA! 

 

SSD... hmmm... You want a black PCB, right?

If i cannot find a backplate for the Dual, I believe there is one for MSI's Armor X2. 

 

I've had 3 EVGA cards and one SAPPHIRE, time to expand my horizons a bit XD. 

 

as for the PCB on the M.2, it depends how obvious the color would be. 

[stconquest]

1 minute ago, Stardar1 said:

If i cannot find a backplate for the Dual, I believe there is one for MSI's Armor X2. 

 

I've had 3 EVGA cards and one SAPPHIRE, time to expand my horizons a bit XD. 

 

as for the PCB on the M.2, it depends how obvious the color would be. 

The MX300 is blue and does match the motherboard.

[Stardar1]

Just now, stconquest said:

The MX300 is blue and does match the motherboard.

so maybe the X400 is a better choice, assuming that "sluggishness" really won't affect much. 

[stconquest]

Just now, Stardar1 said:

so maybe the X400 is a better choice, assuming that "sluggishness" really won't affect much. 

I just noticed that it is not the Z400.  The X400 is TLC flash based and is faster than the Z400.

 

http://www.thessdreview.com/featured/sandisk-x400-ssd-review-512gb/6/

 

Go for it.