Another gaming build query

OK. So I have been have researching and learning a lot this last week and now feel better informed about the relative merits of the choices I need to make.

I understand that outside of graphics, there will not be a significant (single core gaming) benefit to upgrading from my current mildly overclocked i7-920 to Skylake, but that the newer enthusiast chips are where it's all at currently.

This means that one option is to simply replace my old GTX295 with a GTX980Ti and see how I get along with it and the games I am currently playing (WOW, GW2 and DOTA2).

Obviously, this does not appeal to the geek in me that wants the new shiny system...

So, I would appreciate some feedback on the following choices:

Choice No.1

I have budget to go for SLI GTX980Ti, but with the new Pascal architecture around the corner, do I really want to invest heavily in the old.
The choice is:

Choice No.2

From a motherboard perspective, I cannot conceive wanting to push things further than basin SLI, so most of the X99 boards have me covered.

Should I go for one of these three:

Choice No.3

From a cooling perspective, I am drawn to performance air cooling, as I am cautious about water and electronics. I would like to push the overclock on whatever CPU I go with, but it will not be ultra extreme enough to warrant full custom water! I understand that my choice of air cooler may impact my ram height, but I am after a great solution and can tinker with it to perfect it.

So, my choice is something like:

Choice No.4

The last choice is for a case, where I have little real preference. It lives entirely out of sight but has a height limit of 580mm.

My shortlist is:


Other Elements of the build



System Total

Total: £2,277.85 - £2575.78

As always, your thoughts are appreciated and I hope I am not too verbose...
 
RobCee said:
I have budget to go for SLI GTX980Ti, but with the new Pascal architecture around the corner, do I really want to invest heavily in the old?
Click to expand...
1. No. The 980 Ti will probably be the same price as a 970 once the new graphics cards are out, so then you can either grab a couple of them for the price you'd pay for a single card now, or invest in the top tier tech of Pascal/Polaris. It's a generational leap, and the performance should be representative of that, however the only condition is that you're patient enough to wait until they're released.

2. Just get the MSI mobo + Crucial RAM bundle. It's the best value, has good features and probably couldn't be beaten by the other motherboards, considering their step up in price. The RAM shouldn't be as much of an issue in terms of clearance either, because those other Kingston sticks look tall!

Hope that helps. Sorry I can't comment on your other choices.
 
I can heartily recommend both of your Noctua air cooling choices. They perform better than a similarly priced water solution, both in terms of cooling and noise.

Be sure to check Noctua's website to see if the heatsink is compatible with your Case, RAM and motherboard combination. Generally the DH15 is the better, but bigger.
 
@Malamo999 - Thanks for that, I do need to step up to a new graphics card, so a single 980Ti will do it for now. I can always re-evaluate when the noew models come out later this year. The more I think about it, the better sense the MSI/Crucial combo makes.

@Bantu - Yes, I am definitely leaning towards the Noctua, but will need a careful look at the dimensions, it is a big old thing and does seem to favour low profile RAM and a big case.
 
It does need a big case, but at least Noctua have put a fair bit of effort in actual testing the main case makes and listing compatibility on their website. For what it's worth i have the U14S in a Fractal Design R5 with an Asus Z170E motherboard and low profile Corsair Vengeance RAM. The case is large so the heatsink fits with lots of room to spare.

The heatsink would also fit with RAM with large heatspreaders, but it would be very tight.
 
If you are contemplating SLI or Crossfire in the future, then you should go for the i7-5930 at £469.99 (+£10 for the retail version with cooler) for the extra PCIe lanes.
 
If you go for a Noctua cooler I would suggest the D15S due to it's offset design. It has better compatibility with the top pci-e slot.

The EVGA G2 has a longer warranty than the SF Leadex. It is slightly cheaper as well.

Have a look at the Fractal R5 if you want a case with noise dampening material.


My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £488.45
(includes shipping: £22.50)
​


​
 
Quartz said:
If you are contemplating SLI or Crossfire in the future, then you should go for the i7-5930 at £469.99 (+£10 for the retail version with cooler) for the extra PCIe lanes.
Click to expand...

The 5820K will handle SLI just fine. Also you don't get a cooler with Haswell-E cpu's. The only difference between retail and oem is the warranty.
 
@lee32uk - Thanks for that, I will switch to the EVGA G2 and the NH-D15S.

I am not really worried about noise dampening in the case, it can't be any louder than my existing setup! I am mainly looking for good airflow, so being able to remove (or just not buy) lots of drive bays is a good thing for me. I have a NAS setup for all the important data, so this machine will get a single SSD and possibly one 3.5" HDD.

Does this one make any sense, or should I just stick to a cheaper case and rip out all the drive bays?

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Mid Tower Case - Black= £139.99

@Quartz, I hear you on the 5930k vs 5820k thing, as I will almost certainly go SLI before changing the CPU/MB again. I think that throwing another £500 at the processor is a bit silly too, so no Extreme edition either.
 
So, currently it is looking like the following:


Total: £1,809.90 to £1,865.90

​
 
You don't need to spend the extra on the 5930K. The 5820K will run SLI just fine along with the pci-e SSD.

I have seen a few reports of slow boot up times with the Intel 750 SSD. The review below is one example.

http://www.thessdreview.com/our-reviews/intel-750-pcie-ssd-review-400gb/5/

There is a firmware update, but Intel themselves say that it will still be slower to boot due to the pci-e device needing more time to initialize.

http://techreport.com/news/29102/intel-750-series-ssd-firmware-update-speeds-up-boot-times

The Samsung SM951 and 950 PRO are other alternatives, although I believe they can have issues with thermal throttling which causes the speeds to drop.
 
Quartz said:
If you are contemplating SLI or Crossfire in the future, then you should go for the i7-5930 at £469.99 (+£10 for the retail version with cooler) for the extra PCIe lanes.
Click to expand...
The performance difference with two cards is so small that the extra £150.00 for the 5930k over the 5820k isnt really worth it. Ive ran dual card sli on mainstream Z77/87 and scores in benchmarks/fps in games were very similair to systems using the same cards but with the more expensive 40 lane X chipset cpu's. For 3 or more cards, yes i could see the point there.
 
setter said:
The performance difference with two cards is so small that the extra £150.00 for the 5930k over the 5820k isnt really worth it. Ive ran dual card sli on mainstream Z77/87 and scores in benchmarks/fps in games were very similair to systems using the same cards but with the more expensive 40 lane X chipset cpu's. For 3 or more cards, yes i could see the point there.
Click to expand...

This is why I will only ever buy a highend single card now. SLI just isn't worth it.
 
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