Building a gaming rig, need suggestions

enthralled · 2013-04-11T10:14:43+00:00

Hi, I need your opinion for a gaming rig: Board: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4 (DDR3) CPU: 3.5 GHz - i7-3770K 8M/LGA1155 + ThermalTake CLP0596 Frio Advanced for LGA...

enthralled

d3ad wrotethis will weigh quite a bit, I wish I had relatives who would carry so much for me :(

man, I'm only getting parts I can't find here from US:
Sound Card, VGA, SSd and Mobo.

enthralled

What mobo do you recommend for i7-4770K?
I only want basic OC. Are these good choices?
Gigabyte Z87 LGA 1150 2 Way SLI Overclock ATX Motherboard
or
ASUS Z87-PLUS DDR3 1600 LGA 1156 Motherboard (not sure why name says 1156)

Just to make sure, ThermalTake CLP0596 Frio Advanced is compatible with 1150 cpus, right?

AvoK95

1156/55/50 have the same coolers. Compare boards against features. Whichever one you think you would need it get that. If they're identical get whatever one is cheaper.

enthralled

I built my rig last week. Although it took couple hours, this is my first successful build.

After OS and drivers, I ran a few benchmarks (Cinebench and 3DMark) and compared to similar builds, just to make sure parts are running normally. My Fire Strike Extreme score: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/724480 (GPU stock clock)

I tried Alice Madness Returns in S3D (using 3DTV Play on my 40" 3dtv) with Helix mod; my mind was blown away! Currently playing Mirror's Edge, also using Helix mod to fix 3D, and it's truely something else!
One small drawback for using a 3dtv instead of dvi 3d display, is you have 2 choices: 1080p@24 or 720p@60. 24fps is pukey, so I go with 720p@60. I think this is minor, since 3d is so immersive (with the right depth and convergence settings), I get to play on a big screen (vs 27" max for dvi 3d monitors), plus @720p I can set higher settings with AA.
Helix is also working on 3d for Bioshock Infinite, I can't wait! I really think s3d gaming should be next gen.
I also play Serious Sam 3 BFE (1080p no s3d) at Ultra and get average 90 fps.

All ordered parts + price:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AqXql6Q_IBP-dFVUVmVsckE5bEFGOURQRVNJclplUnc&usp=sharing

Thanks again guys!

yasamoka

Nice! You got a GTX780!

720p 60FPS per eye is very easy to push on a single GPU starting from GTX670 and onwards, that's almost the same workload as 1080p 53FPS non-3D, which can be pushed easily in the majority of games.

Mistake ordering that Zx, the ACM is worthless. Zx = Z internally, so no issues there. You only wasted like $26, no biggie. Hope you're pushing good headphones or speakers with that awesome soundcard?

Like your CPU and motherboard choices, good one!

I'd be careful about RAM voltages. These sticks need 1.65V for their stock settings I believe, 1.65V seems around the max for SB/IB/Haswell systems so keep that in mind. Try and run them at 1.5V or a bit more if that works. Also, confirm that they run at 1.65V by default (default here being XMP profile).

And good thing you listened to advice...

enthralled

yasamoka wroteMistake ordering that Zx, the ACM is worthless. Zx = Z internally, so no issues there. You only wasted like $26, no biggie. Hope you're pushing good headphones or speakers with that awesome soundcard?

I know I realized my mistake after shipment. I originally read reviews for the Z without ACM, didn't notice the issue with ACM degrading quality until too late; so I'm not using it. I can do without it anyway, by controlling volume using keyboard and switch between speakers/headphones in sound blaster control panel.
I'm using ATH-M50 btw, great headphones now even greater. I used to max volume on my old onboard sound. Now at 50% and my ears gonna explode!

yasamoka wroteI'd be careful about RAM voltages. These sticks need 1.65V for their stock settings I believe, 1.65V seems around the max for SB/IB/Haswell systems so keep that in mind. Try and run them at 1.5V or a bit more if that works. Also, confirm that they run at 1.65V by default (default here being XMP profile).

I looked everywhere for profile settings to set xmp.i couldn't find it. Maybe my mobo doesn't support xmp for my dram?
Default frequency was set to 1333. I manually changed it to 1600. Dram voltage set to auto, which is 1.513v.

yasamoka

Great choice of ATH-M50 for closed headphones! Dude, awesome :thumbsup:

How was the sound upgrade?

I bet your timings are a bit loose now with the sticks running @ 1600MHz @ 1.513V. Check those.

enthralled

yasamoka wroteI bet your timings are a bit loose now with the sticks running @ 1600MHz @ 1.513V. Check those.

I checked here: http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KHX16C10B1R_8.pdf it states "This module has been tested to run at DDR3-1600 at a low latency timing of 10-10-10 at 1.5V" How do I know if I should change the voltage?

enthralled

Oh I just noticed timings on auto is 9 9 9 24. Should I revert to default 1333?

yasamoka

Reds are 9-9-9-24 or 8-8-8-24 by default?

1600 9-9-9-24 is what the Corsair Vengeance run at @ 1.5V. Intel prefers higher speeds over tighter timings AFAIK.

enthralled

yasamoka wroteReds are 9-9-9-24 or 8-8-8-24 by default?

1600 9-9-9-24 is what the Corsair Vengeance run at @ 1.5V. Intel prefers higher speeds over tighter timings AFAIK.

My Bios defaults are 1333 9-9-9-24 1.513v for the Red

yasamoka

No I mean the sticks' specs.

enthralled

Well, this is my exact module http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KHX16C10B1R_8.pdf
If you can't open the pdf, here's what it says (I don't know what it means):
This module has been tested to run at DDR3-1600 at a
low latency timing of 10-10-10 at 1.5V. The SPD is programmed to JEDEC standard latency DDR3-1333 timing of
9-9-9 at 1.5V. This 240-pin DIMM uses gold contact fingers and
requires +1.5V. The JEDEC standard electrical and mechanical
specifications are as follows: ...

yasamoka

Ahh saw, nevermind. I'll try to figure out stuff. Not in number-crunching mode ATM.

enthralled

yasamoka wroteAhh saw, nevermind. I'll try to figure out stuff. Not in number-crunching mode ATM.

Ok, I'll keep it to default 1333 9-9-9-24 @1.513v for now. I don't think there's much difference between 1333 and 1600 for gaming anyway. Right?

yasamoka

1600 is the sweet spot I guess. If it was at 1600 @ the voltage and timings you have specified, I'd do a single memtest86+ pass (boot it from USB). If it's fine, a bit of Prime95 Blend test and you're good to go.

Watch your temps, of course.

enthralled

yasamoka wrote1600 is the sweet spot I guess. If it was at 1600 @ the voltage and timings you have specified, I'd do a single memtest86+ pass (boot it from USB). If it's fine, a bit of Prime95 Blend test and you're good to go.

Watch your temps, of course.

I don't think a 1-3 fps gain is worth the hassle. I'll keep it @1333 auto for now. I'll probably do 16gb Ram upgrade around Christmas if necessary.
Please correct me if you think I should do 1600 with my red now.

yasamoka

Nah, have fun.

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