Advise on new SB build

JJ452 · 22 Mar 2011 at 20:37

Hi guys,

I am trying to decide on some components to use on my new sandy bridge build. I use my computer for gaming/media consumption/student stuff - nothing really mission critical.

I have got the following:

EVGA 570 SC, Bitfenix colossus (white), Corsair AX850, Asus Xonar D2X, Intel X25-M 160GB and Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB.

What I now need is a mobo, ram and a cpu.

CPU:

I was thinking the 2500k - don't think I need the 2600k however I only upgrade every 3/4 years so will I regret not getting the better one? Will HT ever really improve game performance or everyday tasks (3-4 years down the road)?

CPU Cooler

The colossus only has 4 fan slots so I was thinking the H70 with direct venting out the back would be a good idea but the Noctua NH-D14/Thermalright Silver Arrow seems to perform better. Anyone have experience with this case and any of these coolers?

Mobo:

I was thinking ASUS P8P67 pro/evo/deluxe - don't know which but would like a good overclock, so is more more suited to overclocking/performs much better than the other? Does another manufacture have a better board in the £150-£200 price range? I also think my ram decision may factor into this (see below).

RAM

Patriot Viper 2 Sector 5 2250MHz - thinking 8GB of this as timings and speed look great. It runs at 1.6-1.7v which is high, would any of the p67 mobos be able to supply power to the ram without problems - will this affect the cpu overclock?

Any advice would be great.

kmufc77 · 22 Mar 2011 at 20:46

Surveyor · 22 Mar 2011 at 20:54

Ideally you want RAM which works at 1.5V or less for Sandybridge or you could shorten the lifespan of your CPU.

Unless you have some burning desire for ultra fast RAM you can get 4GB of 1600MHz RAM for around £40 or 8GB of 1600MHz RAM for not much more than the Patriot Viper 2 Sector 5 2250MHz .

Personally I have the MSI P67A-GD65 which has been faultless and has exhibited none of the problems that some are having with ASUS boards.

hybrid572 · 22 Mar 2011 at 20:54

The i5 2500K is better than the i7 2600K for your needs. Hyperthreading has been about for years, and won't be coming to gaming any time soon.

My personal favourite cooler is the Hyper 212 Plus. I would also recommend the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro. These coolers will go directly on top of your CPU. I don't have any experience with your case, but any decent case will have ample airflow, and extra fans beyond a CPU cooler will do little to improve temperatures. The coolers you mention cost significantly more than you need to spend, but both of the air coolers you mention will decrease temperatures a little further.

Your RAM is overpriced and excessive. 4GB of DDR3 1333MHz would perform identically in terms of gaming. Buy 1600 or 1333, whichever turns out cheapest or with the brand you like. Your RAM will need to run at no greater than 1.65V.

Surveyor · 22 Mar 2011 at 20:57

hybrid572 said:
Your RAM will need to run at no greater than 1.65V.

That's not the advice given by OCUK.

Quote from OCUK "Recommended memory voltage is 1.50v, so make sure to run your memory at 1.50v, higher could limit lifespan of the CPU".

kmufc77 · 22 Mar 2011 at 21:01

Yup 1.5v is the max recommended for sandybridge setups

1.65v is for i7 1136 sockets

hybrid572 · 22 Mar 2011 at 21:03

Surveyor said:
That's not the advice given by OCUK.

Quote from OCUK "Recommended memory voltage is 1.50v, so make sure to run your memory at 1.50v, higher could limit lifespan of the CPU".

Quoting Gibbo in the Sandy Bridge Overclocking Thread:

Memory Voltage - Intel recommend 1.50v plus/minus 5% which means upto 1.58v is the safe recommended limit. In our testing we have found 1.65v has caused no issues.

[...]

We've also discussed with Asus and MSI regarding voltages for memory and they also confirm in their testing 1.65v caused no issues with reliability.

RAM which is recommended to run at 1.5v should really be run at 1.5v, but as long as one keeps it at or below 1.65V, there should be no problem at all.

That said, most RAM recommended to be run at 1.65V may be run at 1.5-1.55V with no issues.

Surveyor · 22 Mar 2011 at 21:06

kmufc77 said:
Yup 1.5v is the max recommended for sandybridge setups

1.65v is for i7 1136 sockets

Thanks for the support

Personally I'd recommend 1600MHz RAM.

Custom PC did a test with varius speeds of RAM for Sandybridge and concluded that was the sweet spot.

hybrid572 · 22 Mar 2011 at 21:11

Surveyor said:
Custom PC did a test with varius speeds of RAM for Sandybridge and concluded that was the sweet spot.

This is certainly true, but for gaming, RAM speed is virtually snake oil anyway. My main reason for buying 1600MHz is that it costs the same as 1333, and more manufacturers have 1600 available on OCUK.

Surveyor · 22 Mar 2011 at 21:23

hybrid572 said:
Quoting Gibbo in the Sandy Bridge Overclocking Thread:

Memory Voltage - Intel recommend 1.50v plus/minus 5% which means upto 1.58v is the safe recommended limit. In our testing we have found 1.65v has caused no issues.

[...]

We've also discussed with Asus and MSI regarding voltages for memory and they also confirm in their testing 1.65v caused no issues with reliability.

RAM which is recommended to run at 1.5v should really be run at 1.5v, but as long as one keeps it at or below 1.65V, there should be no problem at all.

That said, most RAM recommended to be run at 1.65V may be run at 1.5-1.55V with no issues.

And to quote Gibbo from later on in that thread:

Gibbo said:
HI there

Right memory at 1.65v seems absolutely fine, still not a single issue with our rig, still going strong in prime.

I think the issue is coming from anyone trying a combination of the following:-

1. High Vcore
2. High frequency memory
3. High Vdimm

I think when your trying to push its just too much for the CPU to deal with voltage wise.

These chips to get the best results shoud ideally be set at:-

1. 1.35-1.40v Vcore for maximum overclock and ideally 1.30v for 24/7 running.
2. Keep memory frequency ideally around 1600MHz and tighten the timings up.
3. Keep memory voltage sub 1.55v
4. Keep chipset/pll at default and BCLK at 100MHz.

I think the above setting will yield 4.6GHz-4.8Ghz happily but with complete stability and a system that run around the 75c mark.

This accords with the official advice given by OCUK and Intel to stick to 1.5V.

kmufc77 · 22 Mar 2011 at 21:24

Surveyor · 22 Mar 2011 at 21:25

hybrid572 said:
This is certainly true, but for gaming, RAM speed is virtually snake oil anyway. My main reason for buying 1600MHz is that it costs the same as 1333, and more manufacturers have 1600 available on OCUK.

Sweet spot for price and performance then.

Twice the win and you can get plenty of 1.5V 1600MHz RAM.

No need to stress your CPU's memory controller with 1.65V.

JJ452 · 24 Mar 2011 at 21:43

Ok, I read some reviews and they all agree with what you said about the ram so I'm thinking:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-058-GS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517 - 1 or 2 of these - I only really need 4GB but would feel better with 8

or

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-062-GS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

Would I notice any difference in these two RAM sets?

Also as for the motherboards - reviews point out that the ASUS boards perform better. Are the issues with the ASUS board hardware related or software? Do you think more issues are coming up with them because they are selling more (and so issues are more like to pop up) or are most people who buy them having trouble?