Build advice

nine_tails

nine_tails

nine_tails

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Joined
7 Mar 2015
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Location
London
Hello!

So Andy from DPD finally delivered my overclockers package , and now its go time for the build. I am used to swapping components in and out with ease, but this will be my first build in a while.

Components as follows:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte Z170XP-SLI - Intel Core i5 6600K Bundle **£20 Saving** £303.97
1 x Powercolor Radeon R9 390 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (AXR9 390 8GBD5-PPDHE) £259.99
1 x Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E250B/EU) £85.99
1 x EVGA Supernova G2 650W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £74.99
1 x Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Midi Tower Case with Window - Black £59.99
1 x Kingston Fury Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-21300C15 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (HX426C15FBK2/8) £59.99
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn White CPU Cooler £39.95
1 x Samsung SH-224FB/RSMS 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - Retail M Disc Compatible £19.99
Total : £904.86 (includes shipping : Ex.VAT).




I have read through the thread on OCUK and seen a few youtube videos and am raring to go.
Just before, i'd like to have any word of advice from you experienced folks about amateur mistakes.

I had a few questions as well.
1. The R9 requires an additional power supply , does both the connectors need to be supplied , i.e 6 pin and 8 pin ?
2. With the case above, what should the orientation of the fan on the heat sink be to be most effective?

/*Sorry software related*/
3. Has any one run a VM on a configuration like above ? Or is it more sensible to dual boot it. I would be using a linux distro to do some development now and again.
4. Any softwares i should get straight away to bench mark and monitor temps etc?

Cheers!
 
1. You shouldn't be using an additional power supply, but yes you will need to use both connectors.
2. Personal preference, although most people will have it exhausting out the back so it's getting cooler air from the front of the case rather than hotter/restricted air coming from the graphics card.
3. Just run a VM, personally I use VMware.
4. Prime95, HWMonitor, CPU-Z, GPU-Z, 3DMark, AIDA64, Heaven, CrystalDiskMark; to get you started.
 
nine_tails said:
Hello!

So Andy from DPD finally delivered my overclockers package , and now its go time for the build. I am used to swapping components in and out with ease, but this will be my first build in a while.
Click to expand...

Hey Nine,

Nice.

nine_tails said:
I had a few questions as well.
1. The R9 requires an additional power supply , does both the connectors need to be supplied , i.e 6 pin and 8 pin ?
Click to expand...

The PSU brings them, and yes, connect both. "Additional power supply" just means that it needs more than just the 60/75W provided by the motherboard through the PCI-E slot, i.e. needs those PCI-E cables.


nine_tails said:
2. With the case above, what should the orientation of the fan on the heat sink be to be most effective?
Click to expand...

Flow of air towards the rear fan. Meaning the fan should be placed on the heatsink as in the pics (with its hub against heatsink), and cooler orientation so the fan is nearer to the RAM.


nine_tails said:
/*Sorry software related*/
3. Has any one run a VM on a configuration like above ? Or is it more sensible to dual boot it. I would be using a linux distro to do some development now and again.
Click to expand...

Not me. Hope someone else can answer that.


nine_tails said:
4. Any softwares i should get straight away to bench mark and monitor temps etc?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

CPU-Z, GPU-Z, HWiNFO64, Cinebench R15, Asus RealBench, Intel Extreme Tuning Utility, Unigine Heaven/Valley. Also check out the benchmarks on 3Dmark.com like FireStrike etc.
 
Hi guys, some trouble in paradiso.... I grabbed 4 x 4 gb of the above ram. Now the problem is, i cant get it to boot with all 4 dimms installed. I tried each dim in all the slots, the seem to boot fine. Next up , i tried dual channel. Again seems ok. But as soon as i put in all 4 dimms , the PC does not boot up, it just powers up.... cpu fan spins a bit and then reboots. Any ideas what could be the issue ? PSU or the motherboard or hopefully just me?

Also no beeps on startup... successful boot into bios or not :/

Will try a BIOS update tonight as well.

Cheers!
 
Last edited:
Morning mate!

Yep , tried to set the profile to XMP, still does not work.Strange thing is , CPUZ still reports the DRAM frequency is 1333 (DDR to 2666?).

Cheers!
 
Last edited:
nine_tails said:
Morning mate!

Yep , tried to set the profile to XMP, still does not work.Strange thing is , CPUZ still reports the DRAM frequency is 1333 , the BIOS however shows frequency to 2666. I am wondering if i need to set the frequency/voltage manually in the BIOS , any guides/tips to do this?

Cheers!
Click to expand...

It's on 2666MHz then. CPU-Z shows the single data rate, then you multiply by two (i.e. DDR = Double Data Rate) to get the effective frequency already correctly displayed in BIOS.

Did you buy the RAM from OcUK? If so, open a thread in Customer Services asking them for advice on this problem.

Here's the thing - you should only really have to tinker with voltages if you're overclocking. And your RAM will not work even at default non-XMP 2133.

You can go two ways with this - return RAM quick and exchange for another kit that may work without issues. Or test each stick with Memtest first, before changing any voltages (and like I said - it really shouldn't need this at stock speed/voltage, although at times four sticks end up needing it).

If Memtest shows any errors, you should grab a pic of the screen for OcUK.

To be honest, since Dual Channel worked okay you said - I'd just return the RAM and go for 2x8GB instead. I wouldn't like having to tinker with voltages on a brand new build with everything at stock, for it to work, if it were mine.
 
Yep , everything from OCUK. Cool mate, will try that.

Just noticed by BIOS version got reverted to factory. Is there anything i need to do to switch the BIOS to the newly updated one ? I upgraded it via windows using the BIOS application on gigabytes website. Would like to try this before opening an RMA.

Edit : Seems like the BIOS gets reverted if the boot fails with 3 or 4 sticks.

Few more tests

Following combinations work in dual channel (have not tried them all)

4,1
4,3
1,2

Following do not work.

4,2

Seems more and more that the board is the culprit :(
 
Last edited:
Bumping to let everyone know, this is a BIOS issue, i tried a "unofficial" version from the internets and got it working. F4C fixes this. If any one needs it , let me know.

Cheers!
 
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