Recon H110M bundle, or this DIY one?

Hi all

I'm looking for a bundle upgrade (or equivalent, although it would be nice if it was all built for me as my free time isn't what it used to be).

I came across the Recon H110M for £292 https://www.overclockers.co.uk/reco...ore-value-skylake-gaming-bundl-bu-234-ok.html

The new generations of hardware take some learning (so many model numbers, it's almost wilfully confusing ) but I put together this as an alternative:

• Intel Core i5-6500 £179.99
• Ballistix Sport LT 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C16 2400MHz £44.99
• Asus H170 Pro Intel H170 £99.95
• Total £324.93

The main difference is the motherboard - a H170 instead of H110.

My question is, for the extra £33, is the upgrade on the motherboard worth it? As far as I can see the H170 is better in every way than the H110, not least because it supports 2133MHz RAM rather than the 1800MHz in the H110. It's also got more ports, and more slots (PCI and RAM).

The only downside is I'd have to build it myself (I've built many machines in the past, so it's not a problem, but it'd be nice to plug-and-play).

Is the extra cash worth the improvement in options/performance? Graphics-wise I have an ageing 560Ti, so that would be the next upgrade -- perhaps there's more value in putting that £33 towards the gfx budget?

RAM speed does seem to make a lot more of a difference on Skylake than it does on other platforms, so definitely worth getting faster RAM.

I wouldn't go for a H170 though when the same cash can get you a cheap Z170 board that takes 3200MHz RAM and has better overclocking ability.

Personally I'd go with something like below, then add a cheap 1060 in the future

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x MSI Z170-A Pro Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £94.99

OJ46 said:

RAM speed does seem to make a lot more of a difference on Skylake than it does on other platforms, so definitely worth getting faster RAM.

I wouldn't go for a H170 though when the same cash can get you a cheap Z170 board that takes 3200MHz RAM and has better overclocking ability.

Personally I'd go with something like below, then add a cheap 1060 in the future

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x MSI Z170-A Pro Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £94.99

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That looks like it kicks the pants off the Asus H170!

I think when Skylake first came out there was a fair price gap between the H170 and Z170 boards, but now the Z170's can be bought so cheap they have kind of rendered the lower spec boards obsolete.

If you'd prefer to stick with ASUS there's always this, although it does bump the price up by another £15 so there's probably not a lot of point unless you really prefer them over MSI.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Asus Z170-P Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £109.99

OJ46 said:

I think when Skylake first came out there was a fair price gap between the H170 and Z170 boards, but now the Z170's can be bought so cheap they have kind of rendered the lower spec boards obsolete.

If you'd prefer to stick with ASUS there's always this, although it does bump the price up by another £15 so there's probably not a lot of point unless you really prefer them over MSI.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Asus Z170-P Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £109.99

​

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Good to know. I wonder if OCUK are bundling the H110 to get rid of old stock.

I've got no allegiance to ASUS at all, MSI will do fine (my 560Ti is MSI and has had no problems at all).

On another note, the retail Intel CPUs come with coolers -- do these have decent thermal paste included? Is it fine just to stick with what comes in the box cooler/paste-wise? I don't intend on overclocking that much initially.

FYI, most Z170 boards /cpus will be able to overclock memory to 3200. often 2666 is maximum and some can do 3000.

The intel cooler will be 'fine' but personally i would recommend third party even if its a small one like the Raijintek Aidos.

Yeah as stated above really, it's always worth getting a 3rd party cooler if funds allow but that's always something you could add in the future.

Unfortunately if you're planning on overclocking you really need a 'K' model CPU such as the Core i5-6600K. Intel lock the multiplier on the non K models to force people to use the more expensive K versions

OJ46 said:

Yeah as stated above really, it's always worth getting a 3rd party cooler if funds allow but that's always something you could add in the future.

Unfortunately if you're planning on overclocking you really need a 'K' model CPU such as the Core i5-6600K. Intel lock the multiplier on the non K models to force people to use the more expensive K versions

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Ah yes... I guess I'll stick with stock speeds and stock cooling, if the temps are reasonable. The vanilla i5-6500 will be a big step up from my Q9550 regardless.