Spec me - upgrading build (9900k)

Addicted

Addicted

Addicted

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Joined
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Hey,

So I currently have:

Asus Maximus IV Formula,
6700k @ ~4.5ghz,
16gb Vulcan RAM
EVGA 1080Ti FTW3
Creative Sound Blaster ZxR Soundcard
1Tb Samsung EVO SATA3 SSD.

It's CPU/Mobo watercooled, i dropped the GPU W/C when I upgraded from 2x 290's.

Looking at this spec:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,494.04 (includes shipping: £11.10)​
​


Anything you'd change/replace to save some cash, or am I on the right lines? Every other component not listed in my basket I plan on reusing - so GPU/PSU/CASE etc.

Few questions:

Are 2x16gb sticks worth going for over 4x8gb?
Struggling to decide on Mobo, is there anything that beats this for similar money?
Is it worth ditching the sound card, or is onboard still not that good?

Thanks for your time :)
 
lee32uk said:
What is the pc being used for ? The 6700K is still a decent cpu if you are just gaming.
Click to expand...

Gaming, Video Rendering, Work VM's - so a mixed bag of everything.

Ignoring the usage (and futureproofing), my main thing is working out if the stuff I have chosen is good, or if similar stuff can be switched out for either better features or even lower cost :)
 
Last edited:
Addicted said:
Gaming, Video Rendering, Work VM's - so a mixed bag of everything.

Ignoring the usage (and futureproofing), my main thing is working out if the stuff I have chosen is good, or if similar stuff can be switched out for either better features or even lower cost :)
Click to expand...

The Gigabyte boards have stronger VRM's at the same price point on Z390 chipset. The bios isn't as polished as Asus though, but you do get better RMA support (UK) if needed and there is a Gigabyte rep on the forum. You could even go with the cheaper Aorus Pro for £189.95 for more savings.

Much cheaper Ram. Not as nice as the Corsair but it saves another £150. Also 2 x 16GB is better if you are overlocking as less strain on the memory controller.

You don't really need a soundcard, as onboard is pretty good these days.


My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £460.48 (includes shipping: £10.50)
​
 
lee32uk said:
The Gigabyte boards have stronger VRM's at the same price point on Z390 chipset. The bios isn't as polished as Asus though, but you do get better RMA support (UK) if needed and there is a Gigabyte rep on the forum. You could even go with the cheaper Aorus Pro for £189.95 for more savings.

Much cheaper Ram. Not as nice as the Corsair but it saves another £150. Also 2 x 16GB is better if you are overlocking as less strain on the memory controller.


My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £460.48 (includes shipping: £10.50)
​
Click to expand...


Thanks for the reply man and I'm glad I'm on a similar wavelength :) I found the RAM on a rainforest site for £90 less (£50 more than your selection) so decided to go with that to keep 3200Mhz and RGB - you're right the 4x8 isn't ideal but I can't find any 2x16's that are RGB and a reasonable price ! :( looks like RAM prices have gone insane!

Also glad RE your Mobo suggestion - ended up with the Aorus but went with the Master (around £30 more) based on similar feedback I'd read regarding VRM's and Asus seemingly cheapening out on components and lying about specs!

Also good RE the support. I didn't know this :)

Thanks!

End basket ended up being:

Aorus Z390 Master,
Samsung 970 Evo 1Tb
Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32gb DDR4 3200MHz,
i9-9900k Retail,
new EK waterblock w/ fluid + thermal grizzly kryonaut thermal paste.

Thanks guys :)
 
Also realised I strongly typo'd my previous spec - I had a 4770k not a 6700k - so a couple of generations older than stated :)

6sdA5DH.png


All up & running at a stable 5ghz, awesome!
 
Addicted said:
Also realised I strongly typo'd my previous spec - I had a 4770k not a 6700k - so a couple of generations older than stated :)

All up & running at a stable 5ghz, awesome!
Click to expand...

Lovely stuff mate. Are you not tempted to get that GPU under water? I’ve squeezed a significant amount of additional performance out of my 1080, and without the blower my system is silent. Except for that damned DDC pump which I can’t be bothered to drain the system to swap for my D5. I’ll do it when it’s maintenance time or I upgrade the case (I want the Meshify S2 when I finish my desk build).
 
WantoN said:
Lovely stuff mate. Are you not tempted to get that GPU under water? I’ve squeezed a significant amount of additional performance out of my 1080, and without the blower my system is silent. Except for that damned DDC pump which I can’t be bothered to drain the system to swap for my D5. I’ll do it when it’s maintenance time or I upgrade the case (I want the Meshify S2 when I finish my desk build).
Click to expand...

Yes & No - my previous 2x 290's were under water and while fine, Air is just easier - this cooler is one of the best for the 1080Ti's, so it's quiet enough anyway :)
 
Addicted said:
Also realised I strongly typo'd my previous spec - I had a 4770k not a 6700k - so a couple of generations older than stated :)
Click to expand...
Actually that difference is only one generation and really only incremental, like all since Sandy Bridge.
Fifth gen Broadwell was basically skipped on desktop, because of problems with 14nm.

And since Skylake Intel has had improvements only in marketing lies and not in CPU architecture.
Even latest "9th" gen Intels are copies of that sixth gen Skylake architecture.
"Seventh" gen Kaby Lakes simply shouldn't have been anything else than just new 6750 (or 6770/6790) etc models into sixth gen, because it was only small clock speed tweak.
Additional cores would justify increasing generation number by once since that, but really nothing more.


Addicted said:
Gaming, Video Rendering, Work VM's - so a mixed bag of everything.

Ignoring the usage (and futureproofing), my main thing is working out if the stuff I have chosen is good, or if similar stuff can be switched out for either better features or even lower cost :)
Click to expand...
Now is very bad time for future proofing.
Especially when Intel platform doesn't have much of future to justify its arm and leg price.
Summer will likely bring 12c/24t Zen2 for £300 class and 16c/32t is possible for level of overpriced Intel.
In CES AMD demoed eight core performance equality to 9900K at lot lower power consumption.
(so there's power consumption room for clocking)
 
EsaT said:
Actually that difference is only one generation and really only incremental, like all since Sandy Bridge.
Fifth gen Broadwell was basically skipped on desktop, because of problems with 14nm.

And since Skylake Intel has had improvements only in marketing lies and not in CPU architecture.
Even latest "9th" gen Intels are copies of that sixth gen Skylake architecture.
"Seventh" gen Kaby Lakes simply shouldn't have been anything else than just new 6750 (or 6770/6790) etc models into sixth gen, because it was only small clock speed tweak.
Additional cores would justify increasing generation number by once since that, but really nothing more.
Click to expand...

That's fine, more cores is certainly more useful for my workloads, and while you're right not that much has changed, the extra clockspeed also helps.

EsaT said:
Now is very bad time for future proofing.
Especially when Intel platform doesn't have much of future to justify its arm and leg price.
Summer will likely bring 12c/24t Zen2 for £300 class and 16c/32t is possible for level of overpriced Intel.
In CES AMD demoed eight core performance equality to 9900K at lot lower power consumption.
(so there's power consumption room for clocking)
Click to expand...

It's always the way, you either pay top dollar or struggle to get on release, or you wait and there's promise of something new around the corner. This is just a fact of PC hardware and not one I have an issue with, 8c/16t should be fine for now, my previous setup lasted me a good while so I have no qualms or worries that this will last me a good amount of time either.
 
heads up with generation talk. AM4 supports 2 generations only , ZEN and ZEN two.

ZEN 1 being Ryzen 1*** & 2*** with ZEN 2 being Ryzen 3*** and 4***.

2000 and 4000 series being Refreshes or enhanced fab work - not so much huge design tweaks .

Intel could have done the same with 6***,7***,8*** and 9*** series being all on one LGA 1151 gen socket but they got caught with pants down AND they make board VENDORS a lot of money- plus make a lot of money selling Board chipsets .

DDR5 will move both on to a new socket with DDR6 most likely being a good ten years - so hopefully come 2021 will have a board that can take a decade worth of new CPUs :)
 
Addicted said:
That's fine, more cores is certainly more useful for my workloads, and while you're right not that much has changed, the extra clockspeed also helps.


It's always the way, you either pay top dollar or struggle to get on release, or you wait and there's promise of something new around the corner. This is just a fact of PC hardware and not one I have an issue with, 8c/16t should be fine for now, my previous setup lasted me a good while so I have no qualms or worries that this will last me a good amount of time either.
Click to expand...
Inside single work thread more clock speed certainly always helps.
But video rendering and VMs can hog cores/threads as fast as non-monitored bankers and corporate elite suck society dry.

And unlike Intel changing sockets just for the fun of screwing consumers to rear...
https://www.techpowerup.com/250109/...0-ghz-overclock-on-a-z170-chipset-motherboard
AMD is more consumer friendly and you could upgrade AMD PC bought now.

That earlier support of AM4 to 2020 got confirmed in CES keynote and current motherboards can take Ryzen 3000 CPUs after BIOS update:

Better made motherboards could even have PCIe slots connected to CPU validated for PCIe 4.0 speed and enable it in BIOS:
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-ryzen-pcie-4.0-motherboard,38401.html


orbitalwalsh said:
Intel could have done the same with 6***,7***,8*** and 9*** series being all on one LGA 1151 gen socket but they got caught with pants down AND they make board VENDORS a lot of money- plus make a lot of money selling Board chipsets .
Click to expand...
It's Intel who made money from new motherboards.
Motherboard makers have always lots of work in new motherboards. Starting from design, testing and validation and then going to all manufacturing and logistics of additional products.
Coffee Lake and Z370 so soon after Kaby Lake must have ****** off motherboard makers.
 
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