Considering a new desktop & G-Sync LCD... Suggestions?

I would highly suggest doing a simple loop with EKWB. Custom loops seem to scare people but they really are simple and by the time you buy two AIO kits for cou and gpu you pretty much paid for a full on simple loop. It will look better and preform better than two AIO kits.

 

I'd prefer 1440p secondary, although considering 1080p since it will be used more for video viewing and such.

RAM, I know I can go less, I just like to run a RAM disk now for things like ShadowPlay and VM's. RAM gets gobbled up quickly. 32GB is definitely overkill and that is an option I'm considering to start with 16GB.

I thought full ATX case would be the best bet then I shouldn't have to compromise on cooling and add-ons. I will put it on a small stand next to my desk so it won't really matter.

I have an old Dell 24" 1920x1200 LCD I've been using for about 10 years now (wow) and it still works fine. Just no DP or HDMI inputs, only DVI and VGA. But it may suffice for now. Problem is that is sucks up 60W of power when on, and gets hot as heck.

Man, I've been out of the desktop loop for a while. Not that long, but I used to build water cooled rigs for people 7+ years ago, and my last personal build was probably 3 years ago now (wow) with an i5-3570k and GTX 670, and barely used it, and too underpowered for modern games. Was using my laptop 90% of the time. Now with my new house (moving in a week ) it may make more sense for a desktop.

This is a bit more reasonable still:

 

for the CPU, I recommend the 5930K as it has 40 PCIe Lanes and from my testing that offers a slight boost in GPU performance so you can get the most out of your video card.

for the motherboard get like what I have, the X-99 Deluxe. I chose that over the Rampage V Extreme as it's the only motherboard that can offer x16 PCIe speed across all slots. Other motherboards are limited of if you ever do wanna go SLI it would make a huge difference.

GeForce GTX 980 Ti SLI @ 8x (353.06) [W7]



GeForce GTX 980 Ti SLI @ 16x (353.06) [W7]

 

It doesn't matter, he's not doing SLI

 

I'm thinking of future upgrade options, it'd be a big hassle swapping the motherboard if he decides to go SLI

 

Why would he need to swap mobos? It's a simple CPU swap.

 

I am also referring to having x16 speed across all PCIe slots bro....that is, to get the X-99 Deluxe as well

 

That's unnecessary for 2-way SLI/XFire

 

Regarding PCIe scaling, this Guru3D article and this TechPowerUp article should be very informative.

Bottom line is PCIe 3.0 x8 and x16 has negligible impact on performance especially for a single GPU, so nothing to be concerned about.

@Matrix Leader: Actually no the X99 Deluxe cannot offer "true" x16 across all slots. Only the first and third physical PCIe slots run x16, the other three are hardwired to x8 only.

Look at the picture below, see how some of the PCIe slots appear to be "missing pins" compared to others? (look at the last 3 PCIe slots and look at the shiny metallic bits and you'll see the difference) Yeah those are the x8 slots, while the PCIe slot with the full array of pins are the x16 slots.



If you want true x16 across all slots you'll need boards that come with PLX chips that provide additional PCIe lanes, such as the X99-E WS workstation board.

 

Plus SLI blows chunks at anything lower than 4k right now anyway.

 

X99-A supports 16/16 speeds.

 

So X99-Deluxe is no different than RVE then

 

Pretty much. Picture that zooms in on the PCIe slots says it all.

Spoiler

 

PLX and a slew of PCIe x16 slots is useless for a single-socketed consumer X99 board

 

Thanks gents. Yeah I don't think I'll be going SLI anytime soon. Costs are already near prohibitive. I really do want a nice widescreen display though and my meager GTX 670 and i5-3570k just won't cut it.

Now I'm to the point that I may just upgrade my ITX case and just get: Mobo, CPU, GPU, RAM, LCD. That will set me back about $2500US.

 

I'm eager to see your new system bro

 

Forget the new mobo and CPU, just get a bigger case and better CPU cooler. The i5-3570K, heck even the 2500K, is still a very capable gaming chip when overclocked. Plus you're not going SLI and DX12 is on the horizon so a more recent CPU may just be a waste.

 

If money is tight do what octiceps said. Get that Noctua and GPU. Once you'll be ready to move to 2011, you can use that cooler as well.

 

If money is tight but you still want an upgrade, look into some good deals for a Z97 mobo + 4790K. Microcenter does ridiculous bundles from time to time, and if you're willing to buy used, you could get both for $400 or less.

 

If you call spending $1500 extra as being "tight" then I guess yeah, lol. Going with current system with just adding the 980 Ti may be the best option for now. I actually have some of breathing room for cooling and overclocking the CPU with the Zalman 8900 in there. I haven't cleaned the desktop out in nearly 2 years probably, and a wPrime test peaks at 3.6GHz and doesn't exceed 78C with ambient of about 25-26C where the desktop sits. I'm sure a repaste and cleaning the fins and fan will drop temps a few C, and with some UV and slight OC will keep FPS where they need to be. I'm sure at that high res the GPU will still be the bottleneck anyhow.

Then at least I can have my nice awesome monitor and drive it with reasonable FPS and upgrade CPU and mobo and case later if needed. So I've gone from a whole new desktop down to just a GPU and LCD, lol.

 

And that's there is a beauty of building a PC - you can always add stuff later and reuse other parts.

On that note, visualization on how PCs are upgraded:

 

Not a bad idea really. Your CPU isn't exactly a slouch. The 980ti is a fantastic card too. I've very impressed with its performance both stock and overclocked.

 

The 3x70K chips overclock really well, you should be able to easily hit 4.4GHz, up to 5GHz if you have a really good clocking chip. I've had my [email protected] for 2.5 years now, still rock solid. If the temps are too high you can delid them, either with a vise or razor blade, it's easy and you will get some crazy temp drops using liquid ultra.

 

Well, I got the 980 Ti and opted for an Asus PG278Q LCD.

Let me just say the 980 Ti is fast, but in my tiny ITX case it and the CPU are HOT and system is LOUD. Playing the new "Mad Max" game CPU went up to 95C and GPU up to 88C. I'm thinking a new case and CPU heatsink are in order. If I take off the case cover off though it only gets to 80C and 77C so I may have to just leave the case cover off of it. Wish I could find a mesh case cover for my Cooler Master Elite 120 though.

I'm still looking at the Obsidian 450D and a Noctua NH-D14 since that one seems like the best fit for that case, or the Cooler Master Hyper 612 Ver.2. and delidding the CPU. Need a vice for that though. I had one at my old house, but I left it there (doh!) since it was attached to my work bench.

 

The NH-D15 is universally better from what I've seen. Delidding should drop your temps 10-15C IIRC.

If taking your side panel off dropped temps that much it means you aren't getting enough airflow. There should be a few good options if you want to stick with ITX, even if you want a custom loop. Which 980Ti did you buy?

 

I know I'm not getting much airflow, the case is rather cramped, but I'd rather make use of what I have at the moment, so will probably just leave the case cover off. I recently bought a new home and am tapped out for a little while. I got the MSI 980 Ti. I will likely delid though if I can get ahold of a vice. Will probably buy one anyhow since I know I'll need one.

 

You can delid with a razor blade as well, I've heard it is pretty easy and that's what I plan to do with my 4790K as it has a row of electronics you can't hit which the 3x70K chips don't have. If you use the vice method be careful, you can still hit the die into the lid and ruin the chip. If you have access to other processors that do not use a soldered lid I would highly suggest practicing before taking on the 3570K. If you do buy a vice make sure it has square edges, not rounded, as you want to grip the lid on the inner lip. When you tap the lid off try not to sever the glue completely, you do not want to knock the lid off just loosen it enough so it can be pried off.

 

What CPU do you have in the current build?

 

IIRC it's i5-3570k.

 

Yes, i5-3570k

 

Unfortunately my motherboard is an H77 chipset so no overclocking. When I bought the motherboard a few years ago I had no intentions of it, so saved myself probably about $50. In any case I did order a new case (Corsair 450D) and liquid cooling Corsair Hydro H110i. I figure I should be able to port that to my new motherboard and CPU in six months or so. I also am going to delid my i5-3570k. I ordered some CLU and going to use that and may even repaste my GPU with it.

 

Meh, just repasted my 980 Ti with CLU and made 1C difference from stock paste.

 

Yeah I think CLU scales in its effectiveness as temperatures rise. I had similar results when I repasted my old 980's. But on my 3920xm and in your case a delidded desktop CPU it it's night and day once you push it to the limits.

 

Whole 1C?!?

 

As soon as I get my vice, I will delid and put it to the test.

But it does take longer to ramp up to temp and also cools off more quickly. The heatpipes are very hot to the touch, so maybe a fan blowing across the pipes may help it a bit more as well. Will look into that when I get my new case.

 

Which 980 Ti model did you get exactly?

If you're considering a rebuild, any chance you'd want to try out an AIO instead of air cooler? If nothing else it stops the CPU heat from being dumped into your case, although there are other factors (like how comfortable you are with CLCs) to consider.

 

Not sure if high-end air coolers would fit in that case, at the very least you should have low-profile RAM. They're quite heavy too, you may want to go the AIO route if you're worried about mobo flex and damage during transport or in the long term.

Edit: I see you got an H110i. @n=1 it's your fault for making me think otherwise LOL.

 

reading comprehension fail

Yeah good choice on the H110i, should really help with both CPU and GPU temps.

 

Yeah I considered all that weight on the mobo is not a good thing, not to mention all the heat and that massive mass just sitting there taking up room. The H110i seems like a more elegant solution.

I got my vice. This weekend I'll mount it to my workbench and go for a delid. With any luck I should be able to build up my system with the new case and H110i and see how she goes.

Also, I was considering modding the side panel of the 450D from the glass to a mesh. Wonder if this would help or hinder cooling?

 

Can't see any reason why it would hinder cooling. If your 980 Ti uses a blower it will have better access to fresh air; if it uses axial fans then the heat will get dumped outside the case instantaneously.

 

I don't know. Sometimes airflow patterns can keep things pretty cool, and different openings can create dead spots. But if I opened the side seems like it would just be that much better.

 

Yes leaving the side panel off would indeed be that much better. If you're going with a mesh, I guess my only suggestion would be to drill some mounting holes for a fan or two. When I was running my SLI 970s on air, even putting a 140mm side fan inside the case that had no access to outside air and was simply recirculating hot air on the two cards, lowered the GPU temps by about 4-5C on both cards.

I think this just goes to show that any airflow, even if full of hot air is better than no air.

 

Thanks. Yeah I was planning on mounting a fan or two on it. I think I have a Scythe 120mm thin fan somewhere. I ordered a spare side panel (only $15) so if I screw up I have a spare .

 

Well it seems I'll be building a new PC sooner than I thought. I delidded my CPU. Went fine. I removed the CPU clamp bracket and installed the cooler on top of it, with no CPU IHS, no problem. Performance seemed a little lower than it should be and temps were meh. But all cores were running as planned. So I relidded the CPU, re-added the clamp bracket, secured the heatsink and now the system just powers on then off then on then off then on then off. I went back to a delidded CPU and still same issue. Just might as well jump in. Not ready to spend the money, wanted to wait for skylake, but Haswell E i7-5820k sounds tasty but I may just go with an i7-4790k.

 

if it aint broke, don't fix it.

word for people who over tinker. (i need to keep telling myself that aswell)

 

Butterfingers.
But I kinda suspect you did it on purpose. Admit it, Wingnut, you wanted that 5820 so that's why you killed your i5.

Anyone wants to be a bad cup so we could interrogate Wingnut?

 

I think I may just go with the 4790k because well, that's the most I can afford. Already breaking the bank. But maybe I just hold out on the i7-5820k

 

Can't you sell one of your laptops and get that 5820?

 

Yeah, I'm looking to sell. Just too lazy, lol. Haven't figured out what works best at the moment. Tempted to sell the P770ZM-G if I'm going to use my desktop more, because the P650SE is more portable. I just hate selling because dealing with buyers is a pain in the rump. People want everything for nothing and/or are super duper meticulous about a used laptop even at a bargain. I may go with 5820k though. It seems like the best option.

Edit: Alright. I just put in an order for the i7-5820k and mobo at local MicroCenter will pick it up today. CPU is $300! Ordered DDR4 because was much cheaper online than at MicroCenter, but next day shipping so with any luck should be able to build my desktop this weekend.

 

InB4 WingNut (tries) to delid the 5820K