Skylake MSI M7 Build Advice

Petelock

Petelock

Petelock

Associate
Joined
30 May 2015
Posts
451
Location
Sussex, UK
Hi all,

I am currently wanting to upgrade my i5 760 system from 5 years back.

I am not an experienced overclocker so the MSI Z170A Gaming M7 really appeals to help me learn as I go with the build. The game boost (auto overclock button) and XMP settings make me feel more comfortable with learning to overclock a PC.

I understand that there are X99 options that would be a stronger upgrade, but would consider a more complete manual overclock next time around (5 years down the line or thereabouts).

Below is my selection of components (I will be keeping my Asus Strix 970 GTX in this build and my Samsung 500gb external HDD):

Your Basket
Intel Core i7-6700
MSI Z170A Gaming M7
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C15 3000MHz Quad Channel Kit - Red
Samsung SM951 256GB M.2 PCIE SSD
Phanteks Enthoo Luxe
Corsair Hydro H100i GTX
SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 750W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold"

I would be considering either SLI or upgrading to a better GPU down the line.
Currently I game at 1080p with a view to upgrade to 4k along with a GPU upgrade.

I also have been considering the best fan configuration in the case, but will come to that once I've made a final decision on the components (liquid cooler being the decider I presume).

I'm pretty much at the point of buying, but wanted to reach out for any advice from those better experienced than myself. The one things that I won't be comfortable changing are the MOBO (unless it was the MSI M9 with built in WiFi) or the processor. I do understand the potential limitations down the line with DX12, but am not confident with a build that may cause me problems down to my lack of overclocking experience.

Really, I guess it comes down to whether the cooler is overkill, as with the RAM and PSU? I would add that I do use LIghtroom RAW files for my digital camera along with Painter 2015 on my Wacom intuos pro (in case that would affect the ram considerations).

Really do appreciate any advice, help and general feedback from the community.

Many thanks.
 
Hi there,

I don't particularly understand swaying away from X99 if you expect your build to last for 5 years - The 6 cores/12 threads make a lot more sense in that regard. You can get an i7-5820k up to 4GHz quite easily, without having to mess around with XMP, voltages, or anything like that. Nothing is forcing you to overclock now, and if you are gunning for half a decade on a CPU, I don't see the point in not getting 6 cores right now.

But, if you are insisting on the 6700k, then there's nothing particularly wrong with your build. I would suggest a 800-850W PSU in my head, but apparently 750W is sufficient for SLI 970s.

Good luck either way you decide to go :)
 
Hi Rowlii,

Thanks for the feedback.

I can certainly see the (valid) argument for the X99 route and perhaps I should reconsider. I had read the processor thread started by 8Pack that pretty much confirms the same.

My hesitation is on the overclocking (which I do want to pursue). My existing PC was a pre build from overclockers that had the amended BIOS out of the box.

I didn't want to get into a situation with X99 and being overwhelmed or breaking my system due to lack of experience. The MSB M7 appealed as it has the newbie overclock button/BIOS support.

Am I being overly cautious I wonder?
 
I honestly think you are being over cautious. I am also new to overclocking and I am hesitant, but there are plenty of guides on YouTube on how to get the most of your X99 build. If there's something you don't inherently feel comfortable with nothing's stopping you from purusing the Z170 route :)

8 Pack's subforums will help you get the most out of either route you go, they're very useful.

As I said, you can just crank up the 5820k to 4GHz, there's a 99% chance it will work without issue, unless you are really, really unlucky with the quality of your chip. It'll give you a lot of processing power until you feel a bit more comfortable with the concept of overclocking.

To be honest, overclocking the processor is fairly straight forward, it's when you get to overclocking the RAM where it gets complicated, changing base clock etc etc.

If you have 15 minutes to spare, watch this, and see if you feel comfortable following the steps he gives.


Edit: Just like on the video - If you change the CPU multiplier to 45, volts to 1.3, and it's stable, great. You have just successfully overclocked your CPU to 4.5GHz, you can stop right there and your CPU will be faster than a stock i7-6700k :p
 
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I never liked motherboard's 'automatic' over clocking features. I've used old MSi OC Genie and Asus's equivalent. Can't really speak for the new ones but my experience is that it just don't work.

My z170 motherboard decided that @4.85 was stable with my 6600K, it required silly volts and imho very bad temps.

Can't really speak for the new MSI boards but I would never pick a motherboard based on easy OC features. But then again, I have been tweaking for a long time.

Buy an overclocked bundle on OCuk if you are really concerned.
 
I never had a clue on overclocking X99 a few weeks ago either mate and so far stable at 4.6ghz and still room for more. The first time I went into the bios I was lost. I was able to get that stable by just changing a couple of things. You should defo go for X99.
 
Thanks for the positive feedback.

Having viewed the video I'm now checking out x99 boards. Will post the revised options. Likely to keep the cooling, case, m.2ssd, ram and Psu as above.
 
Amended build

So, having taken advice and watched a few X99 i7 5820k overclocking videos my basket now looks as follows:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel 5820K 3.30GHz (Haswell-E) Socket LGA2011-V3 Processor - OEM (CM8064801548435) £287.99
1 x MSI X99A SLI Krait Edition Intel X99 (Socket 2011) DDR4 ATX Motherboard £189.95
1 x Samsung SM951 256GB M.2 PCI-e Gen3 8Gbps x 4 Solid State Drive (MZHPV256HDGL-00000) £139.99
1 x Phanteks Enthoo Luxe Full Tower Case - Black £119.99
1 x Kingston Fury Black 16GB (4x4GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C15 2400MHz Quad Channel Kit - Black (HX424C15FBK4/16) £109.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i GTX 240mm High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060021-WW) £101.99
1 x SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 750W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £92.99
1 x Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut High Performance Thermal Paste - 1.5ml / 3.9g £6.95
Total : £1,066.33 (includes shipping : £13.75 Ex.VAT).



Any suggestions of changes that anyone would make?

A reminder that I have an Asus Strix 970 and a 500gb external HDD for the time being to finish off the build.
 
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