# Final build part list (gaming/edit build)



## El_Mayo (Sep 18, 2014)

I've posted about this for a while and I decided I'd wait til the GTX 970 came out,  which it is tomorrow. Even though I don't know a price yet I'll pay up to the same amount a 780 currently costs. Posting the list for a final check, make sure I haven't put anything terrible on my list.

CPU - i7-4790K
Motherboard -  MSI Z97 Gaming 5  ASUS Z97-A
Memory - GeIL Evo Potenza DDR3 2400 (used)
Storage - Crucial MX100 256GB
Case - Phanteks Enthoo Pro
GPU - *MSI* GTX 970
CPU cooler - Thermalright TRUE Spirit 140 Power

Notes:


The RAM is used only once but I'll have 14 days to return, and I'll stress-test within that time to make sure it's all good
I will buy the RAM first and make sure there are no clearance issues before buying the Scythe Mugen 4/Thermalright True Spirit Power 140.
I have a valid code to download Windows 8, but I have no idea how to *legitimately *download a Windows 8 image
I've already got a 2TB HDD and a Corsair TX650W
I'll be applying for £35 cashback through toptechcashback for buying the CPU and motherboard from the same seller


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## Kursah (Sep 18, 2014)

Download a Windows 8 image from Microsoft. IIRC you can enter your key on their site (after creating an account) and they will provide the ISO that you need.

That's fast RAM, what's the quanitity? I hope at least 8GB, I would rather have 16GB of 1600/1866 than 8GB of 2400 though, especially if this will be a 3-5 year build and you're a power user. 

Also look at the Noctua U14S, I love mine...it's a big tower but not uber massive...makes it easier than some others to install memory. May still have issues with tall DIMMS.

The TX650 should do just fine. I've had great luck with that PSU...and the newer NV's are claiming to have substantially lower power consumption. Do keep in mind that these CPU's sip energy usually...but OC-ing increases their max load consumption by multitudes. 650W should still be MORE than enough.

Looks like a very solid build that will last you quite a while! I'm looking forward to hearing more about it once you build it!


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## Naito (Sep 18, 2014)

I'm almost certain that MS provide a download manager/installer for Windows 8. I think it may be just the Windows 8.1 upgrade installer as that downloaded an entire ISO when I used it. Maybe try on an existing machine.


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## El_Mayo (Sep 18, 2014)

Kursah said:


> Download a Windows 8 image from Microsoft. IIRC you can enter your key on their site (after creating an account) and they will provide the ISO that you need.
> 
> That's fast RAM, what's the quanitity? I hope at least 8GB, I would rather have 16GB of 1600/1866 than 8GB of 2400 though, especially if this will be a 3-5 year build and you're a power user.
> 
> ...



Yeah it's 16gb.dont mind doing away with the heatspreaders though, even tho they are quite appealing. Yeah I'm looking to get the new 900 series, hopefully 650W will handle another 970 in a year or 3

update: just bought the RAM as it was being watched by 12 other eBayers


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 18, 2014)

Z97-A


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## El_Mayo (Sep 19, 2014)

GorbazTheDragon said:


> Z97-A


What's that?

edit: looked it up. Getting this instead

also oh my god the 970 starts at £260! Which brand should I buy, EVGA or MSI or Zotac? they're the 3 cheapest brands I can find


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 19, 2014)

Emm, the Strix looks pretty nice, has a better VRM, so I'd expect it to do better water cooled, otherwise the EVGA ACX is also good.

Wait? Z97-A or Gaming 5?

I personally would go for the Asus board, it has better software and BIOS.


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## El_Mayo (Sep 19, 2014)

GorbazTheDragon said:


> Emm, the Strix looks pretty nice, has a better VRM, so I'd expect it to do better water cooled, otherwise the EVGA ACX is also good.
> 
> Wait? Z97-A or Gaming 5?
> 
> I personally would go for the Asus board, it has better software and BIOS.


Yeah they're both close in price (£6) and they both qualify for £35 cashback so I'm going for the ASUS. the EVGA ACX I'm looking at isn't the suoerclocked version and uses the ACX 1.0 version cooler not the new 2.0, and it's only a few quid cheaper than MSI, which is supposed to be a good overclocker and have really good temps


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 19, 2014)

Link for the 970? On the US pcpartpicker the 970 ACX Superclocked is only $6 more than the non SC. On uk its 20 quid :< I'd go with the EVGA.


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## El_Mayo (Sep 19, 2014)

GorbazTheDragon said:


> Link for the 970? On the US pcpartpicker the 970 ACX Superclocked is only $6 more than the non SC. On uk its 20 quid :< I'd go with the EVGA.



on here mate. £21 more than the standard EVGA version


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 20, 2014)

Yup, I'd go with the standard ACX one at those prices. But this price to performance... AAAAAAAAAAA


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## El_Mayo (Sep 20, 2014)

GorbazTheDragon said:


> Yup, I'd go with the standard ACX one at those prices. But this price to performance... AAAAAAAAAAA



went with the MSI Twin Frozr GTX 970, main clinchers being the quiet operation when idle and the quiet cooler. Presumably they all overclock the same


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 20, 2014)

Yeah there is basically no difference. Personally, considering that you are going with the Z97-a, I'd go with the Evga card, I think they match better aesthetically.


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## El_Mayo (Sep 22, 2014)

Bought a Thermalright True Spirit as I was able to get free delivery from Scan. The Enthoo Pro came with free delivery and I called Scan and asked them to tack on an extra part to the package for free, after all extra £5 to add a cooler to the already massive case delivery box doesn't make sense to me


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## El_Mayo (Sep 23, 2014)

The motherboard has come and I can only read the manual for now (waiting on the RAM). There is an automatic overclock option, anyone know if this is a good idea? sounds good cos I know nothing about it. 

Had a look in the TPU review and I don't understand why 

Makes you wonder why you would need to spend any more
comes under a negative for the board in the review, and how it didn't get editor's choice based on what was said in the review


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## GreiverBlade (Sep 23, 2014)

El_Mayo said:


> The motherboard has come and I can only read the manual for now (waiting on the RAM). There is an automatic overclock option, anyone know if this is a good idea? sounds good cos I know nothing about it.
> 
> Had a look in the TPU review and I don't understand why
> 
> ...


that board is golden, the only board who get better is the Maximus VII Ranger in his category (only for the look as it loose the SATA-Express, not that it's a real loss), editor choice? is that a important criteria? nope.

indeed that negative comment isn't a negative comment: it means "you have a lot for what you spend on it".

i took the Maximus VII Ranger only because my retailler had a difference of 20chf between them (159.90 the Z97-A and 179.90 the MVIIR )

and for the auto OC well the MVIIR did not bad for a 25% CPU up (3.5 to 4.490~)


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## El_Mayo (Sep 23, 2014)

GreiverBlade said:


> that board is golden, the only board who get better is the Maximus VII Ranger in his category (only for the look as it loose the SATA-Express, not that it's a real loss), editor choice? is that a important criteria? nope.
> 
> indeed that negative comment isn't a negative comment: it means "you have a lot for what you spend on it".
> 
> ...



haha not important to me, just wondering whether they wanna avoid giving editor's choice to a cheaper board

Does the auto OC well with voltages? it doesn't use an obscene voltage does it?


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## GreiverBlade (Sep 23, 2014)

El_Mayo said:


> Does the auto OC well with voltages? it doesn't use an obscene voltage does it?



CPU-Z read 1.249V (i don't use turbo) and Open hardware monitor read .... nothing ... and show a CPU speed of 5547mhz ... wtf?


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## El_Mayo (Sep 23, 2014)

I'm trying to put the chip in the motherboard and I've closed the lid but the little handle on the side feels like it's gonna snap if apply anymore pressure to bring it down. Is this normal or am I doing it wrong?


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 23, 2014)

It requires quite a bit of pressure, a few kg at least to close the latch, just make sure the CPU is well seated.


El_Mayo said:


> The motherboard has come and I can only read the manual for now (waiting on the RAM). There is an automatic overclock option, anyone know if this is a good idea? sounds good cos I know nothing about it.
> 
> Had a look in the TPU review and I don't understand why
> 
> ...


I've said this for ages. There is no reason to buy one of the mainstream boards that's over ~$200. If you go more expensive, you might as well go with X99. The amount you pay for the small things you get on the more expensive board is quite pathetic.


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 23, 2014)

Did you make sure its layed in there properly or should i say keyed up. Because if it isnt you can damage the motherboard


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## El_Mayo (Sep 23, 2014)

eidairaman1 said:


> Did you make sure its layed in there properly or should i say keyed up. Because if it isnt you can damage the motherboard













The gold triangle is in the bottom left corner
This is my first non AMD chip and k was happy to see it doesn't have tiny, bendable chips. I don't know if that's cos my last CPU was in 2010 and both AMD and Intel have moved on from that kinda thing, or Intel chips have always been like this


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 23, 2014)

Looks seated properly, you probably aren't pushing it hard enough. It takes more force than AMD sockets, by quite a lot.


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 23, 2014)

I think thats correct. The 2 notches in the cpu should be at the top towards the hinge. Did you drop the cpu in vertically.


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## Countryside (Sep 23, 2014)

Nice build, not bad at all


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## El_Mayo (Sep 23, 2014)

eidairaman1 said:


> I think thats correct. The 2 notches in the cpu should be at the top towards the hinge. Did you drop the cpu in vertically.


Yeah I see two dimples in the too left and right corners and the text is the right side up. I thought I was doing it right but the amount of force I have to apply just feels wrong! 


Countryside said:


> Nice build, not bad at all



Cheers mate, been waiting since June (waited for both Devil's Canyon AND GTX 900!)


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 23, 2014)

El_Mayo said:


> Yeah I see two dimples in the too left and right corners and the text is the right side up. I thought I was doing it right but the amount of force I have to apply just feels wrong!
> 
> 
> Cheers mate, been waiting since June (waited for both Devil's Canyon AND GTX 900!)



it looks like it dropped in so latch it down. The lga socket is a reverse zif socket


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## El_Mayo (Sep 23, 2014)

eidairaman1 said:


> it looks like it dropped in so latch it down. The lga socket is a reverse zif socket



I was expecting a type of click or it to latch into place like the AMD AM3 socket I used last, rather than it being held in place under tension. It's in now. Will install heatsink


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## El_Mayo (Sep 23, 2014)

Push or pull through the heatsink? Pull is easier to clean with AIO rads, same for heatsink?


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 23, 2014)

I'd go pull, there is not really a performance difference between the two. And often the mosfet heatsinks are less obtrusive than the RAM...


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 23, 2014)

Push air through. If you have 2-4 fans then do push pull config on the hsf/rad


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## El_Mayo (Sep 24, 2014)

GorbazTheDragon said:


> I'd go pull, there is not really a performance difference between the two. And often the mosfet heatsinks are less obtrusive than the RAM...





eidairaman1 said:


> Push air through. If you have 2-4 fans then do push pull config on the hsf/rad



 conflicting response... I might give pull a whirl and try push if the temps are unacceptable


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## eidairaman1 (Sep 24, 2014)

You want air to be pushed through the heatsink


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## El_Mayo (Sep 24, 2014)

eidairaman1 said:


> You want air to be pushed through the heatsink



watching this vid has got me thinking I should go pull, in the end the push radiator looks nasty as hell! My heatsink fin density isn't as high as an AIO but still!


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 24, 2014)

I've run a Hyper212 evo in pull and in push, there was no perceptible difference in performance.

As you said it will be easier to clean dust from the fins/fans


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## RCoon (Sep 24, 2014)

GorbazTheDragon said:


> I've run a Hyper212 evo in pull and in push, there was no perceptible difference in performance.
> 
> As you said it will be easier to clean dust from the fins/fans


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 24, 2014)

Wat. Temps are like 1deg lower in pull, even better than I'd have thought.


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## RCoon (Sep 24, 2014)

GorbazTheDragon said:


> Wat. Temps are like 1deg lower in pull, even better than I'd have thought.



Looking at the graph, the large looking differences are single degrees. So in that event I'd go for whatever looks best.


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## El_Mayo (Sep 24, 2014)

SSD came today. Had no idea they'd be this small!


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## springs113 (Sep 24, 2014)

Are you guys in the UK, I'm on my phone so can't really tell.  Waiting for some pics on your build.


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## El_Mayo (Sep 24, 2014)

almost everything is here, only waiting on the graphics card. going to try and install windows 8 using a usb sd card reader... hopefully this works



springs113 said:


> Are you guys in the UK, I'm on my phone so can't really tell.  Waiting for some pics on your build.



I'm from the UK, yeah


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 24, 2014)

You went with the MSi right?

Was just looking at the reviews, and to me it seems like the EVGA chips are better binned, that seems to have been the case since for a while actually.


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## El_Mayo (Sep 25, 2014)

GorbazTheDragon said:


> You went with the MSi right?
> 
> Was just looking at the reviews, and to me it seems like the EVGA chips are better binned, that seems to have been the case since for a while actually.



yeah mate, wasn't much in it, MSI is a bit quieter supposedly and has that idle silence feature


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## El_Mayo (Sep 25, 2014)

so what am i supposed to install on my SSD again? it's C: by default cos Windows 8 is on it. Is it just for programs and games? I've got 100GB of games backed up on my HDD

Ratio limit is greyed out... Is there something I'm doing wrong? Might have to use auto OC in the mean time


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 25, 2014)

On SSD you should put anything that you want to be able to load up quickly, basically games. Most other programs are fast enough on a 7200RPM. I'd suggest creating another program files folder on a secondary drive.

Where it says Auto on the 1-Core Ratio Limit, key in a number with your keyboard.


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## El_Mayo (Sep 25, 2014)

Gah unlimited boot loop after trying to install some windows updates...!  This is a legit copy as well!

Edit: fixed this. Do I wanna set up restore points on the SSD? would that be too much writing to the disk?


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 26, 2014)

You can back up the SSD on your secondary drive if you want. Might be useful. Shouldn't take too long


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## El_Mayo (Sep 28, 2014)

GorbazTheDragon said:


> You can back up the SSD on your secondary drive if you want. Might be useful. Shouldn't take too long



Do you mean back up as in everything on the drive or just save the restore points there? 

Overclocked to 4.6ghz and now my idle temps are about 10-15 degrees higher... I'm guessing auto voltage is to blame. What's a safe max voltage for Haswell? Am I okay to change just the ratio multiplier and keep the voltage at the stock voltage until it's unstable then push the voltage up, or are there other things to do?


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 28, 2014)

Either. Whichever you think necessary.

I'd say 1.35v. Although I would not be surprised to see your cooling becoming an issue before that. You might want to push up the Vin (CPU input voltage) by a few hundred mV too. Are you running at flat out 4.6GHz? Or do you still have the power saving options enabled so the CPU downclocks when it's not being used?


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## El_Mayo (Sep 28, 2014)

GorbazTheDragon said:


> Either. Whichever you think necessary.
> 
> I'd say 1.35v. Although I would not be surprised to see your cooling becoming an issue before that. You might want to push up the Vin (CPU input voltage) by a few hundred mV too. Are you running at flat out 4.6GHz? Or do you still have the power saving options enabled so the CPU downclocks when it's not being used?



I just changed core ratio to 46 a debt everything the way it was (Auto). I saw the chip idle at slightly up from 800 to about 820 mhz so I think the downclocking still happens. I'm not actually sure if it's running 4.6GHz as a turbo frequency or a regular load frequency now. I monitored temps under load with Prime 95 and Realtemp and there was huge differences in core temps. Some were 45 while others would be like 73

EDIT: reseated the heatsink and tightened up the heatsink backplate and the temps went back to normal, but the load temps are out of line. 95 degrees 3 seconds after Prime95 starts... i took the heatsink off and noticed the paste wasn't covering the entire chip, so perhaps it's that?


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 28, 2014)

Voltages are probably still very high due to auto settings. I'd suggest starting from something like 1.3v at 4.5GHz, then pushing the clocks up from there. If the temps are high (100c under p95) turn down the voltage until they are acceptable. Haswell doesn't seem to have much of a problem running at 90+c.


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## El_Mayo (Sep 28, 2014)

GorbazTheDragon said:


> Voltages are probably still very high due to auto settings. I'd suggest starting from something like 1.3v at 4.5GHz, then pushing the clocks up from there. If the temps are high (100c under p95) turn down the voltage until they are acceptable. Haswell doesn't seem to have much of a problem running at 90+c.



Just had another play with it, I'm getting 95 degrees on the small FFT test to be fair, which says *maximum heat*. With Blend and in place I'm around 70-75 degrees. Seems normalish, but I'll try your settings in the BIOS


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## GorbazTheDragon (Sep 28, 2014)

Depends on how much you want to have for margins. I usually have absolute worst case scenario at ~100c.


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## El_Mayo (Sep 29, 2014)

GorbazTheDragon said:


> Depends on how much you want to have for margins. I usually have absolute worst case scenario at ~100c.



It's hitting 100 degrees in Blend and Small FFt. The temps jump from idle to 94 degrees in less than a second... I'm thinking there's not enough thermal paste. I'll wait for my new syringe to be delivered then reseat heatsink with new paste...

It's hitting 100 degrees on the stock clocks and voltage... that can't be right. unless something's up with my chip and its temp sensors are fucked but I'm seeing the same temps in AI Suite III, Realtemp and Coretemp


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